Get Over It

In an article I saw today it would appear that the gay mafia (who look simply FABULOUS in their Italian suits and coordinated accessories) are offended with President-elect Obama's choice to have evangelical pastor Rick Warren deliver the inaugural invocation.

"Gay rights advocates are criticizing President-elect Barack Obama's choice of a popular evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, saying it shows disrespect for a constituency that strongly supported his campaign.

Pastor Rick Warren, a best-selling author and leader of a Southern California megachurch, is one of a new breed of evangelicals who stress the need for action on social issues such as reducing poverty and protecting the environment, alongside traditional theological themes. But the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, said Warren's opposition to gay marriage is a sign of intolerance.

'We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination,' the group said in a letter to Obama, asking him to reconsider."

Oh waaaaah! Get over yourselves! I feel a deep level of disrespect by the way the homosexual "lobby" is forcing itself on my life. I am confronted by homosexual perversion almost everywhere I go. Want respect? Act respectable.

And here's a little tip, y'all: just as many evangelicals helped to get Mr. Obama elected. You didn't get it done by yourselves. He's not your little lap dog who has to bark when you say so. You are not the only people in America, and your agenda isn't the most important one. In fact, your agenda isn't important at all. Hate to break it to you.

Or is it wrong for President-elect Obama to invite someone who represents a constituency of roughly 18 million American adults to the table as well? Most likely, that number is low because it is based on Barna's fairly strict definition of evangelicalism.

I am personally shocked but quite pleased with Mr. Obama's choice. I'm sure that your heretics will eventually get their say too. So if this post or Mr. Obama's decision offends you, here is a hammer. Build a bridge and get over it.

God Help Us

I just read a very distressing article about the downward ethical trends among our nation's youth. According to the article:

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls — 30 percent overall — acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.

...Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.

Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.

Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money — 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls.

Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Is it just me or does anyone else detect a disconnect between the data in the first part of this quote and the statement in the last paragraph? This is utterly appalling to me. Such a discrepancy would either indicate to me that there are some really bad people not accounted for in this survey or that a whole bunch of people have absolutely not clue about what is moral or ethical.

Just as scary as the results of this survey is the responses that the article reported from educators that were presented the results. A typical response came from Peter Anderson the principal of Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts. He said, "This generation is leading incredibly busy lives — involved in athletics, clubs, so many with part-time jobs, and — for seniors — an incredibly demanding and anxiety-producing college search."

Another "educator" said, "We have to create situations where it's easy for kids to do the right things," he added. "We need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer."

I think though that Michael Josephson hit the nail on the head when he "contended that most Americans are too blase about ethical shortcomings among young people and in society at large. 'Adults are not taking this very seriously,' he said. 'The schools are not doing even the most moderate thing. ... They don't want to know. There's a pervasive apathy.'"

Why are many adults not taking this seriously? I would suggest that a similar survey given to adults about the age of the kids' parents would find that they are no better than the kids surveyed. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, America is in a serious moral crisis.

Good grief! The guys I quoted above made excuses instead of even acknowledging that these behaviors are wrong. I wonder if the tone of these individuals would have been different if the survey showed that intolerance, ethnocentrism, or conservatism were on the rise. And one suggested that if we make it easy enough then they won't have to cheat! These people are morally bankrupt! It is a classic case of the blind leading the blind. No wonder we're so screwed up!

Information like this just convinces me that a reckoning is coming and coming soon. God help us.

This Annoys Me

According to a Michelle Malkin piece today, eHarmony has wimped out and agreed to change its business model to include homosexuals because of a lawsuit leveled against them. Would somebody please get a spine?! If nobody stands up to this crap it will not stop - in fact it will get worse. I would rather shut down my business than give in to this kind of unconstitutional coercion.

The absurdity of this lawsuit is beyond bounds. That the AG of New Jersey even countenanced it is an outrage. Are there not plenty of websites that help homosexuals hook up? Are there not plenty that help them find a "life partner?" Well, hooking up homosexuals or adulterers isn't, er, wasn't eHarmony's thing. They were serving the portion of the market that they wanted to serve. Should a business be forced to serve all portions of the market? I suppose that the pedophiles and folks that like our four-legged friends will be up in arms demanding equal access too. Perhaps they could serve necrophiliacs too?

Where does it stop? Perhaps I should sue JC Penny's because I can't get milkshakes there.

Stupid People Vex Me

They vex me so!

Give Me A Break!

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on Great Britain to adopt Islamic sharia law. Yes you read that right. No, I'm not kidding; once again proving that common sense isn't.

The Archbishop of Canterbury caused consternation yesterday by calling for Islamic law to be recognised in Britain.

He declared that sharia and Parliamentary law should be given equal legal status so the people could choose which governs their lives.

This raised the prospect of Islamic courts in Britain with full legal powers to approve polygamous marriages, grant easy divorce for men and prevent finance firms from charging interest.

You know, sometimes when I'm around adolescents I can't help but wonder what has happened to their brains. The thing is at least they have an excuse. Their bodies are coursing with extremely elevated levels of hormones that they have never had to deal with before. From the picture I saw of the Archbishop of Canterbury, I believe that he is well beyond that excuse.

How could anyone who is supposed to be the head (or at least second in charge) of the Church of England suggest something so looney? This is the problem that comes with removing and/or ignoring the foundational truths that Western culture has been built upon. If you remove enough threads you end up with something that looks nothing like the original garment. But then I'm advocating another religious law, am I not?

I suppose that I would be curbed by that argument if all religious laws were equal, but they are not. Christian law is built upon the moral law of Judaism with mercy added. It is this law that has given birth to Western Culture; and it is the departure from that law that is threatening its survival, and, I am convinced, is the source of most of the maladies afflicting us including "global warming."

Stop the Stupidity!

I found this new career opportunity online today. Global Warming is going to make Y2K look like a legitimate threat! If you think that you got fleeced for Y2K you ain't seen nothing yet!

If you want to wallow sideways in the public trough here is the perfect opportunity for you. (What do you think Al Gore is doing? I'll bet he is beating these salary levels too.):

Carbon coach
Reducing contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, or the carbon footprint, is one huge step toward sustainability, but few guidelines exist for how companies gunning to be green should proceed. Carbon coaches offer this essential information. In addition to calculating carbon footprints and offering advice for offsetting them, carbon coaches help companies fit sustainability into their overall mission. Their services range from providing branding strategy for "green" product launches to advising companies on their relationships with NGOs....

Few guidelines exist, indeed. In fact I read an article today about how the UN is now saying that bio-fuels will cause more trouble than they will mitigate, but I will get to that in a moment. Back to the article at hand.

Most carbon coaches work at consulting firms, where they command salaries ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 for entry-level positions and $60,000 to $100,000 for mid-level positions.

Sadly, folks working for not-for-profit companies aren't going to make that much. "Non-profit organization salaries aren't as high; an entry-level carbon coach with a master's degree can expect a salary of $30,000 to $50,000." Well, it's for the children, though, right? Just like John Edwards' compassionate legal work for all of those poor children, right? It WAS for them, wasn't it? But then why did he take HALF of the rewards in legal fees? But I digress...

In another "What the crap?..." story, check out this headline from across the pond:

A British bus company has apologized to a girl who is led around on a leash by her boyfriend and describes herself as a human pet after one of its drivers threw her off a bus. Tasha Maltby, 19, told British newspapers she was the "pet" of her 25-year-old fiancé Dani Graves….

WHAT?!!! Yes, I read that right.

Maltby -- who lives on state benefits and got engaged in November -- said her choice of lifestyle might seem unusual but was harmless.

"I am a pet," she told the Daily Mail. "I generally act animal-like and I lead a really easy life. I don't cook or clean and I don't go anywhere without Dani. It might seem strange but it makes us both happy. It's my culture and my choice. It isn't hurting anyone."

Well, can't say that I could see that happening here... the very suggestion that a woman wear a leash would end up sending a fellow to the dentist for a new set of teeth with most of the women I know. People are weird.

So back to the UN article I was talking about earlier. I find it hilarious (in an infuriating sort of way) that the UN is backpedaling on its claim that bio-fuel will be the great messiah of our poor, little, carbon-polluted world.

...Regan Suzuki of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization acknowledged that biofuels are better for the environment than fossil fuels and boost energy security for many countries. However, she said those benefits must be weighed against the pitfalls — many of which are just now emerging as countries convert millions of acres to palm oil, sugar cane and other crops used to make biofuels.

...Foremost among the concerns is increased competition for agricultural land, which Suzuki warned has already caused a rise in corn prices in the United States and Mexico and could lead to food shortages in developing countries.

Is anyone besides me not surprised that no one stopped to think about the possible negative effects of this policy? Politicians never do. Just like the stupid bill that was passed by the geniuses in Washington that outlawed incandescent light bulbs - while favoring fluorescent bulbs that contain heavy metals and other serious toxins. I stopped needing someone to wipe my nose about 34 years ago, thank you very much.

Here's a shock for you: I am totally in favor of the development of alternative / renewable fuel sources. I suspect that I just surprised some of my more loyal readers with that statement. Why am I in favor of the development of alternative fuels and new technologies? Do you think that it is because I am concerned one iota about global warming? NOT A CHANCE.

The reason that I support bio-fuel development is because (based on my own reading) it looks like a relatively small farm could produce enough ethanol to allow a family to cut its dependence on oil severely if not completely. I am sick of the oil companies and commodity traders and the local gas stations charging as much for their product as they can without starting a riot.

They know that there is no competition for their product. They have a captive market. Americans can't just stop driving cars. The public transportation infrastructure does not exist on a large scale and the structure of our communities is not conducive to public transportation. Big oil knows that they have us between a rock and a hard place. The development of bio-fuel technology gives me the chance to produce my own fuel and stick it to the man. Viva la revolucion!

Anyway, this new "concern" by the UN is a big smoke screen in my opinion. They are already looking for a graceful way to escape the corner they have put themselves in by buying into the Chicken Littles' dire predictions and drinking the loonies' Kool Aid. See, it will cost all of the big wheels in the UN too much profit if petroleum goes away. They can't have that, but in the meantime they will line their pockets with ummm, spend waste trillions of dollars (yes, Virginia, that is trillion with a "t") until everyone figures out that the sun still keeps coming up in the morning and realizes that all this climate change is a bunch of hooey. (Then they'll blame Al Gore for it all, but he'll shift the blame to President Bush somehow.)

Come QUICKLY, Lord Jesus!

Update On the Wal-Mart Bomb Incident

Well, since no one got blown up yesterday, there was almost no coverage of "the rest of the story" on the bomb threat at the Kannapolis Wal-Mart. However, I finally did manage to find an article in today's Salisbury Post that rounded out the details.

It turns out that the two men arrested for the incident were trying to carry a tool box into the store when they were stopped and told that they would have to leave it at the Customer Support desk. When asked what was in the toolbox one of the men replied, "a bomb."

Not the smartest response in our post 9/11 world. Especially when you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest and when your companion has crack cocaine in his pocket. Now it becomes even clearer why a "C" is considered "average." Very, very, scary.

When I saw the two men's pictures in the news article, I realized that I had actually seen them in the store when I was there. They had walked right past me and my niece before we got ready to leave.

The article estimated that there were about 200 people in the store. That was a pretty gross underestimation. If there were 10 people in the store there were 400. I have often wondered where they all come from. It seems that nobody in my area has a day job. The parking lot at Wal-Mart and Jake Alexander Boulevard are always packed with cars all day long.

So, the long and the short of it is that my brush with excitement yesterday was all over someone being a smart Aleck. The moral of the story is: if you look like a thug, have an outstanding warrant for your arrest, and have crack cocaine in your pocket, it is probably not a good idea to make a false bomb report. It turns out that is a felony too. (Makes you wonder what he would have been charged with if it really HAD been a bomb.)

"Now you know the REST of the story. Good DAY!"

The Age Of Fantasy

I saw a headline over the weekend that nearly sent me through the roof:

Global Warming's Trillion Dollar Debate

TRILLION DOLLAR DEBATE?!!!!! I can feel my blood pressure getting up already.

The subtitle read, "UN scientists say climate change is happening faster than thought as politicians head to Bali to hammer out Kyoto's successor."

This is wrong on so many levels it is just hard to know where to start.

Let me remind you of the words of the founder of the Weather Channel, John Coleman, that I shared HERE last week:

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend. (emphasis mine)

"Global warming" "man-made climate change" or whatever alarmist title you want to put on it is an utter, total, and complete sham.

First of all to use "global warming" and "debate" in the same sentence requires some fairly restrictive rules. It is OK to talk about the debate between gullible junk scientists about how long it will take for "global warming" to destroy all life on the planet. However, you cannot use "global warming" in conjunction with "debate" in a way that would indicate any meaningful dialog between scientists who support the fantasy of global warming and those scientists whose research indicates that the aforementioned scientists are full of beans. For example, you can say "Scientists who believe in global warming are afraid of scientific debate on the subject." But you couldn't legitimately say, "The facts of global warming have reached scientific consensus through the application of scientific method and open scientific debate."

Let it suffice for this portion of the rant to say that no consensus has been reached in the scientific community about catastrophic climate change as a result of application of the scientific method and scientific debate based on the data collected via objective observation. That's the truth no matter what Comrade Gore says. (I don't care if he DID invent the internet!) What a jerk.

OK, so I managed to look over this article (by liberal CNN) and see that the whole article is about an urgent reworking of the Kyoto treaty that the US never ratified. They're trying to make it even MORE restrictive.

Kyoto, the far-reaching agreement reached in 1997 intended to reduce global carbon emissions, is nothing compared to what could be coming next as the world's governments confront the ecological damage from global warming and debate what needs to be done to fix it.

I love it when journalists lie right off the bat, don't you? While many nations did buy into all of this nonsense, the US did not - of course the writer of this article didn't make it sound that way, did he? (He did, MUCH later in the article, acknowledge that President Bush wouldn't ratify the treaty.)

The fourth and final UN report on climate change, due Saturday, is expected to emphasize that the warming of the planet is "unequivocal" and that humans are the main cause. That report will act as a blueprint for the next crucial round of climate talks starting next month in Bali, Indonesia.

Thank God, it is the LAST report. We couldn't handle any more misinformation.

Scientists say up to an 85 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions is needed to head off potential catastrophic changes that could lead to more floods and famine. How to best achieve those cuts is where the fight begins. (emphases mine)

Is it just me, or are these "scientists" being mighty vague? Even they don't have the gall to boldfaced lie! They are even hedging their words here so that when Mr. Coleman's prophecy comes to pass they will be able to back out of it and try to salvage a modicum of credibility. Weenies!

The Bush administration has so far resisted mandatory caps, and all eyes will be watching to see if White House negotiators hold up the Bali talks.

THANK GOD!!! I'm glad someone is finally giving President Bush credit for doing something smart. Oh wait, this guy (and apparently the rest of the world) blames President Bush for blocking the caps that will save us all from ourselves. History will vindicate him on this one. "Global warming" is the new "acid rain."

Our intrepid reporter goes on to say:

Previous versions of the report, written in the 1990s, said global warming was likely happening and likely caused by humans but acknowledged that the science was not yet certain. The latest report, released in three parts over the course of this year, took away practically all that uncertainty.

Written by over 2,500 top government-appointed scientists from around the world, the fourth report is a user-friendly version that will be used by politicians and bureaucrats as a blueprint during negotiations next month in Bali and beyond.

"Gawrsh, Mickey! It MUST be true then."

Reality check (with much thanks again to John Coleman):

I suspect you might like to say to me, "John, look the research that supports the case for global warming was done by research scientists; people with PH D's in Meteorology. They are employed by major universities and important research institutions. Their work has been reviewed by other scientists with PH D's. They have to know a lot more about it than you do. Come on, John, get with it. The experts say our pollution has created an strong and increasing greenhouse effect and a rapid, out of control global warming is underway that will sky rocket temperatures, destroy agriculture, melt the ice caps, flood the coastlines and end life as we know it. How can you dissent from this crisis? You must be a bit nutty.

Allow me, please, to explain how I think this all came about. Our universities have become somewhat isolated from the rest of us. There is a culture and attitudes and values and pressures on campus that are very different. I know this group well. My father and my older brother were both PHD-University types. I was raised in the university culture. Any person who spends a decade at a university obtaining a PHD in Meteorology and become a research scientist, more likely than not, becomes a part of that single minded culture. They all look askance at the rest of us, certain of their superiority. They respect government and disrespect business, particularly big business. They are environmentalists above all else.

And, there is something else. These scientists know that if they do research and results are in no way alarming, their research will gather dust on the shelf and their research careers will languish. But if they do research that sounds alarms, they will become well known and respected and receive scholarly awards and, very importantly, more research dollars will come flooding their way. (Don't pretend they don't. JDE)

So when these researchers did climate change studies in the late 90's they were eager to produce findings that would be important and be widely noticed and trigger more research funding. It was easy for them to manipulate the data to come up with the results they wanted to make headlines and at the same time drive their environmental agendas. Then their like minded PHD colleagues reviewed their work and hastened to endorse it without question.

There were a few who didn't fit the mold. They did ask questions and raised objections. They did research with contradictory results. The environmental elitists berated them brushed their studies aside. (Isn't this what Al Gore has done? JDE)

I have learned since the Ice Age is coming scare in the 1970's to always be a skeptic about research. (Remember that? I'm still bummed that didn't happen... JDE) In the case of global warming, I didn't accept media accounts. Instead I read dozens of the scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct when I assure you there is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. It is all a scam, the result of bad science. (all emphases and asides mine)

The thing that really makes me mad is that this "scam" based on "bad science" is going to cost TRILLIONS of dollars. Let that word trill off your tongue. It incenses me that bureaucrats and politicians throw numbers like this around so carelessly about an utter prevarication.

Let me put this all in perspective. Let's consider just how much money is being wasted on this post-digestive male bovine silage. According to Compassion International it is possible to feed clothe and educate a child on $32 a month. That would be $384 a year and $6912 to raise a child from birth to age 18. If only 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) were wasted - and it will be FAR more - on global warming you could have fed, clothed and educated one hundred forty-four million, six hundred seventy-five thousand, nine hundred twenty six (144,675,926) children from birth until their 19th birthday. God will hold these liars accountable for their malfeasance.

Ever wonder why Al Gore has been such a crusader? According to THIS article, he has a vested interest in the global warming lie. Apparently, there is big money in global catastrophe.

Perhaps you wonder how I, with no Ph.D. in anything - a former English major, can be so confident that global warming is a hoax. I am certain it is a hoax because I know what the Bible says about mankind's (and the world's) end. If the increased temperatures shown in the data used by global warming's champions are to result in mankind's demise then there is nothing that can be done to avert disaster, and we might as well enjoy the air conditioning, warm heat, and fast cars that carbon-based energy has gotten us.

Once, back when Western Civilization's underpinnings were still Christian, mankind made huge strides in science and thought and the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment were born. Now our atheistic scientists have sacrificed scientific method and objectivity on the altars of Darwinism, greed, and vanity, giving birth to the Age of Fantasy.

I think Steve Graham over at Hog On Ice said it best:

It just occurred to me: isn't Al Gore's idiotic theory the epitome of God-denying humanism? The ancients realized that the weather was something man could not control, so they appeased their heathen gods as well as the actual, correct God. Now a certain segment of society thinks God is unfashionable. So they're looking for a way to turn man into the shaper of storms and droughts. Man, who can barely program his clock radio...

Another Reason Not To Live In Massachusetts

Local Boy Scouts Accused of Being Too 'Pro-War' In Cambridge, Massachusetts

Apparently the cradle of the American Revolution has taken a dovish turn. The descendants of the men that died at Bunker Hill and the Boston Massacre, the heirs of the Boston Tea Party have decided that Boy Scouts shouldn't be supporting the troops overseas. They're spinning in their graves. Secession is sounding better and better every day, y'all.

They were just trying to collect donations for American troops. But the Boy Scouts end up getting busted by the City of Cambridge. All their boxes were taken down at polling stations for being too "pro-war." FOX25's Ted Daniel reports from Cambridge with details.

You really ought to click HERE and watch the story if your blood pressure hasn't had a workout today.

Apparently, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry aren't the only lying bureaucrats in MA. (Yeah, yeah, I just KNOW you're shocked....) Anyway the lady in charge of pulling the plug claimed that they hadn't gotten permission before placing the donation boxes. LIE! According to the scoutmaster, they got permission TWICE before bringing out the collection boxes. Hmmm. I wonder which person I will believe. The politician? Or the Boy Scout? Hmmm...

Making matters worse is that only one person complained. One person brought about the end of the project. And even worse than that? The jerk was there to vote.

Did You Hear About This?

Weather Channel Founder: Global Warming ‘Greatest Scam in History’

Here is the lion's share of John Coleman's (John Coleman was the founder of The Weather Channel) article. If you want to see the whole thing you can read it HERE.

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM....(What a great way to start an article! JDE)

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmentally conscientious citizens....

This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.... (This guy is hilarious! JDE)

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril....

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend.

Even without a Ph.D. in meteorology, man-made climate change simply doesn't make sense. There are far too many naturally occurring greenhouse gas producers that exceed our own ability to produce these gases. I just can't believe how many people have fallen for this bold-faced lie. I guess we are back to the philosophies of the leaders of the Third Reich again:

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
- Adolph Hitler

The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over.
- Joseph Goebbels

The great problem is that there are too few in the world who use the stuff between their ears for anything but padding to keep their heads from imploding.

I Wonder If It Rained Today In Georgia

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - God

I really meant to write about this this morning, but I wasn't able to get to it before now. Today was the day that the Governor of Georgia, Sonny Purdue, lead a prayer for rain on behalf of the state of Georgia. I was praying right along with him (albeit from a several hours' drive away). I don't know if they got any rain in Georgia, but we got a little here.

There was an article about the impending prayer meeting last night that really ticked me off.

Ga. Governor Prays For Rain Amid Drought
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer Mon Nov 12, 6:15 PM ET


The tone of the article was incredibly cynical and arrogant.

As Georgia descends deeper into drought, Gov. Sonny Perdue has ordered water restrictions, launched a legal battle and asked President Bush for help. On Tuesday, the governor will call on a higher power (emphasis mine).

He will join lawmakers and ministers on the steps of the state Capitol to pray for rain.

While public prayer vigils might raise eyebrows in other parts of the nation, they are mostly shrugged off in the Bible Belt, where turning to the heavens for help is common and sometimes even politically expedient (emphasis mine).

"Christianity has more of a place in the culture here than in some other region," said Ray Van Neste, a professor of Christian studies at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. "And it's only natural, in a way, for the public to pray for rain." (Emphases mine.)

First Mr. Bluestein refuses to acknowledge that they are praying to God. No, to him it is just some nebulous "higher power." Then he goes on to suggest that what Governor Purdue is advocating violates the mythical "separation of church and state." Then he suggests that the Governor is merely using this prayer as an opportunity to grandstand and win votes. (I wonder if he would lay this charge against Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama with their newfound religious zeal?) After all, in the poor little backwards South they aren't sophisticated enough to realize that rain doesn't come as a result of prayer, right? It's just a cultural thing. There's nothing to it. It means nothing.

WHAT CONDESCENDING, EQUINE ORGANIC FERTILIZER!

Bluestein went on to say "In the U.S., public expressions of faith are often discouraged as a breach of the separation of church and state."

He makes it sound like it has always been thus. Down through our history Americans have had the good sense to know when they have run afoul of God's favor. Days of called fasting and prayer have been COMMON since the 1600s. Every single year there is a National Day Of Prayer, and every single year our nation celebrates Thanksgiving. That's right, THANKSGIVING, NOT turkey day. Don't get me started on that.

I find it telling that Bluestein didn't find any Christians to talk to. He did, however, manage to find a group of folks that were opposed to the prayer meeting, though.

The loudest opposition to Perdue's move has come from the Atlanta Freethought Society, a secular group that is expecting about a dozen of its 125 members to protest at the vigil.

"The governor can pray when he wants to," said Ed Buckner, who is organizing the protest. "What he can't do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia."…

Well, I reckon he did anyway. Since the Atlanta "Freethought" Society didn't want any rain prayers offered on their behalf, I decided to pray that Governor Purdue's prayers for rain wouldn't benefit any of the Society's members one iota. I guess it might make an impression if everyone around them got rain but their land stayed parched and dry!

I didn't realize it, but the Governor of Alabama has also called for prayer to end the famine.

Perdue won't be the first governor to hold a call for public prayer during the epic drought gripping the Southeast. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley issued a proclamation declaring a week in July as "Days of Prayer for Rain" to "humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady in times of difficulty."

My hat's off to both Governors, who, at least in this case, have proven themselves courageous and wise enough to know from where rain comes. Good job, fellas. My prayers are with you. Oh yeah, and thanks, Lord, for the rain!

Coulter On McCarthy

Ann Coulter has an interesting article out about McCarthy sparked by a new book written on the subject. You can read the article HERE.

I was once talking with a friend about McCarthy and she stunned me by asking me what was wrong with Americans choosing to support Communism. The question struck me as absurd because there is nothing more antithetical to Democracy than Communism. The very pursuit of the one undermines the other. How could anyone pursue a communist agenda in America without committing treason?

Admittedly I need to learn a lot more about what happened during "McCarthyism," but my suspicion is that he was stopped too soon. I plan to read Coulter's Treason and the book Coulter referenced in her article, Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies by M. Stanton Evans.

Ironic, no?

In Land of the Monkey God, a Primate Menaces

More from The Land Of Really Strange Notions... I just find this hilarious: men have allowed themselves to be ruled by monkeys. God has a funny sense of humor. It is as if He said, "OK, you want to worship a monkey? Fine, then I'll give the monkey dominion over you."

It is incomprehensible to me that people still worship literal idols and even more inconceivable that people would consider a monkey a god. There are some seriously messed up folk in this world. What gets me is that we are losing IT jobs to these folks at an alarming rate.

I wonder whatever happened with the menacing wild turkeys in Massachusetts? Remember? I posted about it HERE.



What a great picture!

That's Just Messed Up

Man In India Marries Dog As Atonement

Now I've heard of some beer-goggle inspired weddings, but this dude married an actual pooch. Bizarre just doesn't come close to describing this.

True Colors

Imagine the scene:

I followed Clinton during a recent bus tour across Iowa, when she and her entourage pulled into a Maid-Rite, a greasy spoon famous for its loose-meat sandwich. Clinton settled into a red stool at the counter, ate a sandwich, chatted with her waitress and then was on her way.

The scene gave Clinton perfect fodder for her next few stump speeches. It turns out her waitress was a single, working mom — just the kind of voter Democrats are courting aggressively this year.

Clinton recalled the meeting for an audience up the road in Boone. "The woman waiting on us — it was her first day," she said, adding, "She was a little nervous. Single mom, raised two boys, works at a nursing home and always has a second job."

If she's elected president, Clinton promised, people like her waitress will have it better….

Hillary Clinton, defender of the little guy, savior of the poor, friend to women... not so much.

Enter Exhibit A: It would seem that neither Hillary or anyone in her entourage believes in tipping.



As was surprisingly reported by NPR reporter David Greene neither Hillary nor anyone else in the entourage left a tip. The waitress that waited on and spoke with Hillary said, "I don't think she understood at all what I was saying. I mean, nobody got left a tip that day."

That's not the worst of it either. Hillary's exploitation caused the waitress even more problems than the work without pay.

The local paper ran photos of her with Clinton. She said her supervisor at the nursing home isn't a big Hillary Clinton fan and she thinks that may be related to why her hours were almost totally cut.

Because of the lost hours she has had to get yet another job. (Just like all of us "rich" people will have to if Hillary gets to tax us like she would like to.) She went on to say, "I wished I would have been asked first. I wish she would have asked if she could talk about me later. I didn't like it when someone called me up and said Hillary Clinton is talking about you. It's like, what'd I do now? What's she saying?"

Since this story aired the Clinton camp vehemently denies its veracity:

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer wrote to NPR in an e-mail: "The campaign spent $157 and left a $100 tip at the Maid-Rite Restaurant. Wish you had checked in with us beforehand."

Esterday said "nobody got tipped that day," and NPR should have checked with the Clinton campaign before the story aired to see if any tip was left and how it was done. We regret that this was not done. On Thursday, Esterday was sticking by her story.

"Why would I lie about not getting a tip?" she told NPR. She also maintained that her co-workers at the restaurant had not received tips.

A Clinton campaign staffer called on Esterday at the restaurant Thursday after the story aired. The staff member apologized to her and gave her a $20 bill, according to Esterday. The Clinton campaign confirmed that visit. The campaign also produced photocopies of receipts showing $157.46 was paid to Maid-Rite on a VISA card on Oct. 8 for meals consumed by the candidate's entourage. The tip was supposed to have been paid in cash, and the campaign insisted such a payment was made but has declined to make available a staff member who was present at Maid-Rite and left tip money.

I bet they do wish they had checked beforehand. This whole thing smells like last week's fish. #1 Why would someone who admitted to liking Clinton in her interview claim that she hadn't been tipped? #2 Why, if they HAD actually tipped Ms. Esterday did someone from the Clinton camp return and give her a $20?

Clinton's claim would be a whole lot more plausible if it hadn't happened before. Enter Exhibit B:

February 11, 2000
It's all the buzz in Albion: Hillary stiffs a single mom
By Barbara J. Saffir
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Maybe it's no big deal elsewhere, but it's all the buzz in Albion.

Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped into the Village House, a favorite diner in this upstate farming town, and ordered two orders of scrambled eggs, home fries and rye toast. So far, so good. The locals appreciate a hearty appetite.

Her breakfast was on the house, and when she left the waitress, a single mom, found not a penny at her plate.

The locals have been talking about little else since Tuesday, when she stopped for breakfast after making a speech about how New York's farmers "are really hurting these days."

I rest my case.

The thing that gets me is that in both of these stories the people who were stiffed were still willing to vote for this fraud. No wonder we have so many bad politicians. There are a lot of stupid people out there voting.

This Kind Of Stupidity Is Why Public Schools Are Failing

If I had children I doubt that I would allow them to go to public school. Stories of THIS kind of stupidity abound.

A 13-year-old junior high school student was given two days of detention after school officials spotted her hugging friends after school last Friday.

Megan Coulter, an eighth-grade student at Mascoutah Middle School, was hugging her friends goodbye after school Friday when vice principal, Randy Blakely, saw her and told her she would receive two after-school detentions.

Blakely had previously warned Coulter that she was in violation of the school's policy on public displays of affection after she was seen hugging a student at a football game.

The school's policy says that “displays of affection should not occur on the campus at any time.”

If the child were tonsil-tickling another student in some passionate embrace it would be one thing, but this is stupid. God help us if this vice principal were ever deputized and allowed to carry a gun! He'd make Barney Fife look like a model of levelheadedness.

How do boobs like this get in these positions? Perhaps it has something to do with the idea that a baseball player can make $8 million a year (or more) but we are straining to pay starting teachers even $30k a year. Our priorities are in the wrong place, and there is little to attract our most qualified people to these jobs. That is not to say that there aren't some wonderful administrators and teachers out there, but sadly, they are becoming fewer and fewer.

The Hour of the Thief

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
- God (Luke 12:39)

They say that ignorance is bliss. If that is true Michael Moore must be in a constant state of ecstasy. Actually, I don't believe that Michael Moore is ignorant. I could excuse him if he were. No, His Royal Haughtiness is something far more malevolent - he is a bold-faced liar and distorter of truth. The sad thing is that he is right about one thing: there are a lot of really stupid Americans. Let me take that back. I don't know how many Americans are really stupid, but I will say that there are a lot that are pretty ignorant. These people act like they have been hypnotized. They fall for everything that they see or hear hook, line, and sinker.

One of my greatest laments these days is, "Where have all of the thinkers gone?" It seems like way too many Americans checked their brains at the door of the hospital when they left the maternity ward. I lay much of the blame at the feet of the educators of this country. There is very little in the education of our population that actually challenges an individual to learn the basic principles of logic and reasoning. There are very few courses that require this sort of thought. Geometry and Trigonometry and some of the higher maths incorporate proofs into their curricula. These certainly train individuals to use logical thought to solve problems. Computer programming requires an understanding and application of logic. However, these courses are few and far between, and (with the exception of computer programming) few emphasize the logical aspects of the disciplines. If you think back on your education, I dare say that like me, you will have to admit that you were rarely ever forced to think logically. 90% of all education today doesn't require thought. It requires an ability to memorize, regurgitate, and apply. That is a far cry from real thought.

I guess I was one of the fortunate ones. One of my teachers in Junior High School began my logic instruction. Oddly enough it was my English teacher in 7th and 9th grade. Mrs. Emerson was a great teacher. I hated her in 7th grade because she actually made you work! Sheesh! But occasionally she would give our class logic puzzles to solve. They were incredibly hard! But eventually I began to get the hang of drawing accurate conclusions based on incomplete information. In college I actually had a course that applied logical principles to more abstract ideas like morality and ethics. Fortunately, my professor did not take advantage of this opportunity to force me to conform to any predetermined conclusions. (Thank you SO much Dr. Stalnaker! I am eternally grateful to you!) The two courses that I took with Dr. Stalnaker at NC State taught me like nothing else to follow an argument to its logical conclusion. They also forced me to look at the major issues of the day and form well conceived opinions. He also taught me to be consistent in my arguments to avoid contradicting myself. Perhaps the honorable Senator Kerry would benefit by taking Dr. Stalnaker's class. I would be willing to say that these two courses were the most valuable ones that I took in 5 years at the university. But I digress.

The point that I intend to make at some point this evening is that people like Michael Moore are trying to convince Americans that the events of 9/11 were either an aberration - a fluke, or that they are a fabrication of the great satan, President Bush. I am here to assure you tonight that neither assertion is true. Sadly, there are many who would prefer to live their lives like the proverbial ostrich with their heads in the sand. They have chosen denial because they cannot handle the undeniable truth that there is a rather large group of unreasonable people out there who hate America regardless of who is in the White House and have made it their mission and quest to destroy as many of us as possible.

My friend WB wrote an incredible post today entitled Woman With Possible Terror Ties Arrested that is a MUST READ. Folks, I am not kidding. You REALLY need to read this post. When I read it I was reminded that this war on terror is VERY real and isn't just being played out somewhere over in the Middle East. People, the enemy is here and is looking for an opportunity. READ THE POST.

After reading what he had to say a couple of things just jump out at me. First of all, it is evident that we don't hear about all of the potential terrorists that are caught by our law enforcement officers. I don't know who is covering this up. Perhaps it is the government. There are very good economic and security reasons to not let this sort of information get out. Perhaps it is the media. Most of them don't want us to realize that there is still an imminent threat to our country. That would go a long way to getting President Bush re-elected. I'm guessing that it is probably a combination of the two, but if I had to pick one, I'd probably lean more heavily towards the government. Neither of these stories were covered by the Drudge Report or Newsmax, two very conservative news sources. Secondly, we are very blessed to have such a great group of people protecting us. It has been almost 3 years since 9/11 and there hasn't been a successful major attack on America since then. With the type of activity that WB describes in his post that is nothing short of a miracle.

Folks, we need to get real about the threat to our country. The danger is very real, very clear, and very present. How many of the WMDs that the world was convinced existed in Iraq prior to the coalition invasion are now in terrorist hands inside of the United States or our coalition partners? (Yes, the WORLD. The US didn't make this stuff up! Stop believing that tripe that Moore tries to pass off as truth! The UN passed resolution after resolution and asserted over and over that these weapons were there. Why does everyone seem to have such a hard time remembering something that happened longer than 8 hours ago?) How many of the missing Russian "suitcase" nuclear weapons are hidden inside major US cities? If these weapons are used against us, they will make the attack on the World Trade Center look like a bad traffic accident by comparison. These weapons have the capability of destroying CITIES. They don't discriminate between Republican or Democrat, liberal, moderate, or conservative, white or black, male or female, young or old either.

Now let's consider this: who would the terrorists prefer to have in the White House? Would they rather have someone who thinks that we should get a consensus from the UN and especially from countries that are partners with the regimes that support terrorists? Or would they prefer to have a team in Washington that has proven that they are willing to take the fight to the terrorists even if we are the only country on the Earth with the courage to fight them, freeze their assets, and hunt them like the dogs that they are? Where do John Kerry and John Edwards fit into that picture? How about President Bush and Dick Cheney? Which one is the most likely to strike fear into the heart of the enemy? If you were a terrorist would you rather be treated as a criminal or as a combatant? Do you want to agree with a terrorist? Not me!

How about this: which of the candidates has demonstrated an ability to choose a course of action and follow it through to completion? Which of the candidates has actual foreign policy experience? Which team has the most experience actually governing the country? Is this a time for dual mindedness? The Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Is this a time for instability? Is this a time for on-the-job-training? I think not.

I know this is some heavy stuff. It is easy to become fearful when you think of the possible destruction that could be done by a single successful terrorist. I am here to tell you that there is hope though. If we had to rely solely on our ability to catch every terrorist and to uncover every plot against us, we would have reason to fear, but we don't. We can repent of our self-reliance and cry out to the God of our forefathers. We can turn back to Him and ask Him to protect and heal our land. The Bible tells us:

The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.
Psalm 28:7

O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.
Psalm 140:7

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down." Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."
- Psalm 91

This is good news. I am so grateful to have a God who loved me enough to rescue me from my own wickedness by sending His Perfect Son as a sacrifice to wash away my sin and imperfection so that I could enjoy the benefits of knowing and loving Him. That is something the terrorists don't understand. I have a God who is into LIFE! He loves to give us life! Isn't that amazing?! We have no need to fear if we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ to cleanse us and bring us peace with a just God. I don't have to fear the destruction. My God is more than capable of defending me and my life here on earth, but even if He chooses to let my body die, He has promised that I will live with Him FOREVER. If THAT isn't good news, NOTHING is!

If all of this is foreign to you, but you want to know how to gain this confidence it is really simple. Just ask God for it. He says that He will give the gift of salvation to anyone who is willing to ask Him for it, who will confess that Jesus is the King of their life, and who believes that God raised Jesus from the grave. That may still be hard to grasp so I'll try to lay it out in simple steps tomorrow.