A Seventh-Day Adventist woman riding a Dallas transit bus was reading the Bible aloud to her small children on Saturday and was told by the bus driver to either stop or get off the bus. The woman refused. The bus driver said, "Well, I don't think this is the place or time to do so." The woman responded, "Oh, but it's the perfect time and the perfect place since it is our Sabbath and it is the time with the Lord and therefore I'm going to continue."
At that point, a transit supervisor came on board the bus and also instructed the woman to stop, and again, she refused. The family was removed from the bus.
The mother is convinced this is religious persecution. The transit authority claims it is policy because they do not permit any loud or abusive behavior on the buses. Sorry, but that's not going to fly in this case.
First, the policy as indicated on the warning decals posted inside the bus is referring to loud, profane, and abusive speech. The graphic on the sticker shows a balloon filled with expletive symbols and stamped with the standard red "NO" symbol. I hardly think the Biblical passages being read by the mother fit this category of speech.
Second, are we to honestly believe that this mother was yelling these readings to her children? Again, based upon the criterion that loud, profane, and abusive speech is what is prohibited, it is difficult to comprehend the mother was violating an arbitrary standard of loudness. How do they measure that anyway?
Lastly, and most important, the bus driver did not mention any such speech policies, but said "I don't think this is the place or the time to do so." Sorry, transit authority, but that is subjective and personal. The place and time to do such a thing is not an issue of concern to transit policy. This is religious discrimination, although a minor altercation, and by no means indicative of anything systemic in public transportation. The bus driver handled this poorly, and the "annoying" woman--she did have one of "those" personalities--would never win in this situation. Still, it is another example of the simmering animosity growing towards American Christianity.
Long Anticipated Glenn Beck Interview with Ron Paul... I say, "Good job, Mr. Beck!"
From the buildup to Ron's Paul interview with the fiery Glenn Beck, I was under the impression that it would be much worse than it turned out to be. Initial reaction to this interview by Ron Paul supporters was grossly exaggerated and inappropriate. In fact, I'm quite disappointed in the reactionism of Paul's supporters. I celebrate the mass support for Dr. Paul, but I would caution his supporters from turning him into a martyr.
First, Beck dedicated his entire hour-long program to this interview with Ron Paul. Second, Beck was in agreement with a great deal of Ron Paul's positions--probably more so than most news pundits. Third, the questions were detailed and did not lead Dr. Paul. Fourth, he spoke respectfully with Dr. Paul and politely questioned only some of Paul's positions. Lastly, and most importantly, Beck gave Ron Paul plenty of time to answer each question and DID NOT cut off or speak over Dr. Paul like the bullies at FOXNews (O'Reilly and Hannity). Beck even gave Dr. Paul the last few minutes to say whatever he wanted.
I thought this was a great exchange. It was almost took the form of a debate at some points, and Beck handled himself very well. Much ado is made of a few seconds of a scrolling banner quoting Huckabee saying "Paul is dead, Paul is dead." This is ridiculous. In response to the allegation that Huckabee had a "floating cross" in this Christmas TV ad, Dr. Paul alluded to the famous quote by American novelist Sinclair Lewis that "when fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." Dr. Paul's supporters are overreacting. This was probably the most helpful interviews for Ron Paul's campaign. It even provided Glenn Beck with an opportunity to spew his own libertarian leanings. Here is the full interview in seven parts.
"Not surprisingly, many homeschoolers have decided that Huckabee is their man. Early in the Republican race, Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) gave ex-Governor Huckabee a ringing endorsement, claiming that he would be the friend of homeschoolers and hold the conservative Christian banner high if elected president. I do find this surprising—while the average homeschooler may not be politically informed and know the background of a candidate who pushes all the right buttons in a high-profile political contest, and they count on the recommendations of trusted sources for whom to vote in big races, HSLDA does have the whole scoop which means they ought to know better. I have appreciated HSLDA’s principled stand for unpopular positions, such as being against vouchers and charter schools, but since Patrick Henry College was built on the outskirts of the corridors of power and the welcome mat has been put out by Republican lawmakers for those well-scrubbed and anxious-to-change-the-world students, their principles seem to be wearing thin. PHC is named after a man who is known for being one of our country’s foremost statesmen. Pragmatism and electability are flimsy stuff on which to build one’s statesmanship."
His parents were missionaries in the Philippines, and when his mother fell seriously ill while she was pregnant with him--and the doctors recommend she exercise her "reproductive right" and abort him--she went through and delivered Tim Tebow in August of 1987.
The Tebow's homeschooled their children, and after seeing Tim's remarkable athletic ability, took advantage of a Florida law allowing homeschooled students to participate on the sports teams of their local public schools. As quarterback, Tim Tebow eventually led the Nease High School Panthers to a state championship and garnered awards for himself.
Kudos go out to Mrs. Tebow for choosing life. Kudos go out to the Tebow family for showing the support of their son and sibling in his chosen pursuit. Finally, kudos go out to Tim Tebow for working so hard.
While the present political debate focuses on the myriad of classic issues such as health care, abortion, gay rights, and the war, the impending crisis of the dollar may trump a great deal of these concerns in the immediate.
It's what they've always wanted, so they fabricate "global warming" as a scheme to push towards globalism and the elimination of U.S. sovereignty. Imagine, taxed by the U.N. for something like this. It's like Mr. Warburg (Council on Foreign Relations) once said:
"We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only question is whether that government will be achieved by conquest or consent."
Oh, Chris, you're such a wacko conspiracy theorist. Am I? Take a gander at the first paragraph of this article from the Financial Times on Al Gore's recent appearance in Bali:
Al Gore savaged the US government’s "obstructing" attitude and urged delegates at the UN conference on climate change to ignore Washington if necessary to pursue the "moral imperative" of a new global regime.
So, it appears you have two choices: 1) the continuation of American fascism and imperialism by the Right Wing of the Establishment, or 2) the incrementalism of global government by the Left Wing. Then again, you could take door number three, and support the push towards a return to Constitutionalism by a particular candidate whom you should know by now.
Here is the most popular television pastor in America telling the godless Larry King that he doesn't feel bad about leaving out the Scriptures from his sermons; or isolating them to the end. What are you thinking, Joel?
Mr. Osteen is symptomatic of a more serious condition within the larger Christian community--a condition that indicates judgment may lie ahead for the church. Doctrine is all but gone for most mainstream churches. Osteen will never himself address it. Here he has an international platform (his televised services reach 100 countries), and he does his best to NOT mention Scripture or sin. How can anyone be a gospel minister and not mention sin?
R.C. Sproul & Al Mohler on the Seeker Sensitive Movement
These men make great points, but I might add one more. What never dawned on these seeker church leaders was the nature of Christianity itself. Isn't Christianity a sacrificial faith? Doesn't it require an absolute life-giving commitment to the absolute Lordship of Christ in every area of our lives? Well, if you bring people into the church by allowing them to dress any old way, watch the service on a widescreen TV in the church's coffee bar, and by removing all Biblical and theological language, when, pray tell, do you expect to introduce them to the self-denying commitment Christianity requires? However you bring people in is how you'll have to maintain them. You can't bring in a bloodletting commitment later.
National Presidential Caucus Announces Results From First-Ever National Caucus
-- Barack Obama Wins Democrat Caucuses; Ron Paul Dominates Both GOP And "Open" Caucuses --
Washington, DC (December 12, 2007) -- On December 7, 2007 in cities and small towns across the country, Democrat, Republican and "Open" Caucus groups formed independently online and Caucused face-to-face on National Caucus Day. The first-ever National Presidential Caucus is now history and the results are in.
Barack Obama wins over Democrat voters generating 40% of Democrat Caucus voter preferences. Obama was followed by a three-way tie for second, with John Edwards, Bill Richardson and "Undecided" each generating 20% of Democratic Caucus preferences.
On the Republican side, Ron Paul obliterated the field for the GOP generating the preference of 50% of GOP Caucuses. Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson follow, generating 33.3% and 16.6% of Republican Caucus preferences, respectively.
Among votes in Open Caucuses, Ron Paul wins with 62.5% of Open Caucus votes, followed by Barack Obama (18.75%), Fred Thompson (12.5%), and Hilary Clinton (6.25%).
Results were tallied from 19 independently formed Caucus groups (Republican, Democrat, and Open) that met on Friday, December 7th, 2007 in Dallas, TX (2D); Sarcoxie, MO (O); Boise, ID (R); Needham, MA (D); Carthage, MO (O); Manhattan, KS (D & R); Pineville, MO (O); Richmond, MO (O); Costa Mesa, CA (O); Springfield MO (R); Winston-Salem, NC (O); Overland Park, KS (R); New York City, NY (O); and Joplin, MO (R), Warrensburg, MO (R), Roselle Park, NK (D), and Philadelphia, PA (O).
Some caucuses used multiple voting rounds with minimum vote thresholds to give citizens a chance to change their minds and switch candidate preferences, but all meetings were built on a first round of issue discussion and deliberation. Multiple rounds of voting were not prohibited and each group was encouraged to create the most engaging caucus format possible. However, threshold voting eliminates all but the top vote-getters. While that may have been the intention for some groups, the NPC feels obligated to recognize the efforts and opinions of all caucus goers.
Issue results reflected opposition to Iraq involvement, foreign intervention in general, and health care, immigration and erosion of civil liberties rounding out the top concerns of all caucusers.
Self-organized and independent, most gatherings were small, informal discussion sessions, while others attracted hundreds of participants including party officials and campaign operatives in a raucous bid for supporters. The NPC feels that the results at each caucus is of greatest importance and relevance to those in that caucus room and to that local community where those ideas were exchanged, relationships were created, passions were shared. We believe this is social capital formation at its finest.
The NPC was previewed by major media from CBS News, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among others. The actual Caucuses are receiving a fair amount of local attention from the mainstream media, including front page newspaper coverage in Greensboro, NC and TV coverage by WNBC news in NYC, the largest NBC affiliate in the nation.
But even better, people reported on their own caucus events. Using numerical reports, commentary, pictures & video, and through a growing number of blogs, each caucus tells its own story. Some reports from those who participated, include Kansas City: "Wow, what a great evening it was in Kansas City!"; New Jersey: "It was a fun night with close to 200 people participating in this exercise."; Chicago: "It was a very informative experience."; Boise, Idaho: "It was an extremely fun event..." Video footage is being compiled on the official National Presidential Caucus channel on YouTube. Visit http://www.youtube.com/NationalCaucus to view.
"The NPC wants to applaud everyone who took the time and made an effort to engage their neighbors in this evening of passionate civic discourse, said Don Means, NPC's primary organizer. "You have just ushered in a new era of participatory democracy in America. Your country should be proud of you!"
National Presidential Caucus is the product of a consortium of partisan, bi-partisan and non-partisan interests who seek to demonstrate how local, self-organized, web-enabled face-to-face gatherings is the new basis for participatory democracy. To view National Caucus endorsers visit: http://www.nationalcaucus.com/endorsements . For more information about the National Presidential Caucus vision visit: http://www.nationalcaucus.com/about
CONTACT:
Myles Weissleder National Presidential Caucus myles@nationalcaucus.com Office: 415-332-3205
"Modern man seeks rootlessness; his love of urban life is grounded in the desire for anonymity. When he shows a taste for rural life, it is not neighborliness and roots he seeks, but Nature, so that his anti-urban motives are as rootless as his urban life. The family means roots; it means relationships, responsibilities, children, parents, in-laws, relatives, and the rooted routine of a household." ~ R. J. Rushdoony
If you think about it, there's probably nothing more ridiculous under heaven than an evolutionist. There is nothing more fabricated; nothing more faith-based; and nothing more audacious. The efforts that men will go through to dispel the notion of God exceed human civilization's most stupendous achievements. The aggregate ingenuity and energy required to construct the Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, or rocket into space, cannot remotely compare to the absolute denial of God by fallen man. His hatred of God knows no bounds. Supposedly, human evolution is now accelerating. My goodness. I don't even know what to say. Absolute science fiction. I'll share it with my kids. They'll get a good laugh out of it.
First Blackwater, now this. The privatized monsters are loving the War on Terror. It's good to see that 9/11 benefits someone. Multiplied billions for defense and oil interests, and a field day for their hired guns to kill and rape.
I've known of Dr. Michael Brown for a good many years. He's most unique since he was raised in a conservative New York Jewish home and has a Ph.D. from NYU in semitic studies, but he is a devout Christian protestant AND is Charismatic. How Charismatic was he? Well, he was a central part of the Brownsville Revival of the 1990s (a.k.a. "the laughing revival"). I have some of his books, and he is a serious technical scholar. His volume Israel's Divine Healer is over 450 pages and over half the pages consist of endnotes; a good many of which cite technical sources of other languages. Here he's answering a common Jewish objection that Christian doctrines of the incarnation and divinity of Christ equates to idol worship.
Christmas comes early for die hard recons. Someone has graciously posted video of one of Christianity's finest thinkers, teachers, and philosophers. What I wouldn't give to have Dr. Greg Bahnsen back in the mix! Watch and learn from one of the best.
More of that good ol' "Fair and Balanced" reporting from FOXNews. Geraldo Rivera calls Ahmadinejad a "devil," and this is supposed to be honest journalism. This is disgusting. When one woman refers to Bush as the "so-called President," Rivera rebukes her for being disrespectful--all the while hurling a stream of slanderous insults against the President of Iran.
Rivera claims that Ahmadinejad wants to "wipe Israel off the map." How then does he explain the longstanding Jewish population living within Iran and this meeting between anti-Zionist Jews and the Iranian leader.
How glorious it is to see two very religious groups speak peacefully to one another and pledge an extension of peace for their respective peoples. This is a far cry from the American stonewalling and aggression of the neoconservatives.
The Left Wing Lunacy March continues in this latest example from Democracy Now! Amy Goodman needs to resign from her post and turn the operation over to Lou Dobbs who has a much stronger grasp of democracy than she. This was a hit piece intended to break the vast progressive populist support of American idealism presently represented by media reps like Lou Dobbs and politicians like Ron Paul. Goodman is a shill for the interests of the ADL and the SPLC. Watch how Lou Dobbs uses his rigorous masculine presence to easily control these two liberal watchdogs. Good job, Mr. Dobbs!
Tax Breaks for Homeschoolers. "No, no," says the Lefties
Conservative, Bible-believing, Christians can do no right at this point. Virtually everything done by fundamentalist believers is construed as crazy, ignorant, unenlightened, or part of the vast dominionist conspiracy. (Note: I've always found it humorous that the "experts" concerned about a dominionist conspiracy to take over America are the same people that regularly criticize longstanding Conservative conspiracy theorists. I guess one man's whacko conspiracy theory is another man's objective analysis).
The latest from my blog review is from the odd bunch at MoreTalkThanAction (i.e., Talk2Action). Where they find their contributors exceeds my capacity for estimated fearmongering and hatred. They just have a knack for locating and then parading vitriolic spinmeisters.
This guy is bent out of shape because Mitt Romney is suggesting a tax break for homeschooling families:
"In South Carolina last month, White House hopeful Mitt Romney upped the ante in the Republican war against public education. No doubt playing to the Palmetto State's crucial evangelical primary voters, Romney announced he favored tax breaks for parents who home school their children. For Romney, American parents should not only be encouraged to abandon the public schools; they should be rewarded for it."
This is priceless. First, it shows the utter hypocrisy and self-contradiction of the Left. He believes there is a war against public education. Might that be in addition to the war on Christmas that these guys continually claim is non-existent? Or maybe the war on Conservative Christianity? No, there are no wars for us--only for them.
Second, he deems a tax break as a reward for abandoning the public schools. I may be mistaken, but aren't these Leftists supposed to be pro-choice? I guess I can choose to kill my unborn child, but I can't choose to educate my child. If I do that, I'm engaged in a war against public education. Hey pal, sometimes being for Christ makes me against something else. If I choose to serve the Lord by providing MY children with a Biblical education, then don't make it about you and your educational system. It's the price you pay for your policies.
Lastly, Romney is right: "I also believe parents who are teaching their kids at home, homeschoolers, deserve a break, and I've asked for a tax credit to help parents in their homes with the cost of being an at-home teacher." We are removing millions of little burdens from an already strained public school system, and it's costing us dearly. But, that's our religious commitment. A little tax break is a nice way of saying, "Thanks, Christians!" After all, it would certainly end the Intelligent Design and gay debate. No more Christians means you can teach evolution and sodomy in every class!
More from the moronic:
"Far more important, of course, than the cost of tax credits to home schooling parents is the start of an irreversible journey down the path of undermining American public education."
So, to this point we've heard abandonment, war, and now undermining public education. I wonder how he really feels? It's funny. I don't recall my wife and I ever discussing abandonment, war, or undermining when we decided to teach our children at home. And, if the end result is an undermining of public education, well, that's not my fault, pal. State-sponsored education ain't in the Constitution; so if there's any undermining going on, it's an undermining of our two most precious commodities: the family, and Christian tradition. Public education undermines the Christian family and the Christian faith. What, pray tell, do you expect devoted Christians to do? Go along so you'll be happy? Not gonna happen, cap'n!
Tell you what, you sacrifice for public education by paying twice your taxes. That should take care of things, don't you think? If every Leftist would simply pay twice the tax rate, then all the Christians could simply drop out without missing a beat. What's that? You don't want to pay TWICE? Too bad. I do it all the time.
I suggest these secularists count their blessings and stop provoking the Christian Right. If they start touching Christian education, they're going to have a political war on their hands the likes of which they've never imagined.
You get Congressman Ron Paul on your TV show and waste half of his time talking about abortion--knowing he won't state his moral position on it--then tell him he won't win the election. Not a great day for feminism. These gals actually could use some barefoot, pregnant, kitchen time. (I'm joking. No hate mail please).
I refer to it as being Christophobic. Same thing. And there is that trend in the American social debate also. Honest criticism of religion in politics is quickly turning into phobia and anger of fundamental Christianity. Just read the comments on any secular blog--or for that matter, the comments on YouTube (if you can stomach them). Hatred of Christians and Christianity is growing exponentially. I won't place the blame on anyone directly. We all share a part in this.
