Monday, October 19, 2009

Hope or Hype or Hoax

From My Perspective - - -

Last week, most Cable News Channels featured a heart-wrenching account of six-year old Falcon Heene of Fort Collins, Colorado who was allegedly playing in a weather-type balloon that accidentally launched. Helicopters were scrambled; Denver Airport temporally halted flights; Emergency personnel were quickly on the scene pursuing the Balloon; and people were temporally riveted to their TV sets hoping and praying the young boy could be rescued. The public was so caught up in the event that they emailed suggestions of what might be tried to bring the balloon safely down.

Hours and days have now past and a news headline in today’s - The Wall Street Journal Online – is “BALLOON INCIDENT A HOAX, POLICE SAY”. The body of the news report states: “Colorado law-enforcement officials are now certain that the tale of the ‘balloon boy’ was a publicity stunt, they said Sunday, and are planning criminal charges against the child's parents for reporting that he had drifted into the sky aboard a saucer-shaped balloon. Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said investigators had concluded that Richard and Mayumi Heene made up the story involving their 6-year-old son, Falcon, in hopes of attracting media coverage and getting a contract to star in a reality television show. Parents of the boy in the Colorado wayward balloon chase now face criminal charges over the much publicized incident. It has been determined that this was a hoax, a publicity stunt, the sheriff said Sunday, adding, On the bizarre meter, this rates a 10…He would recommend the filing of two felony charges against the parents - contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of six years, and attempting to influence a public servant. The government will also seek restitution for the money it spent scrambling to find the child…”

Today, The London Times Online reports: “HILLARY CLINTON SUFFERS ‘MIS-SPEAKING’ RELAPSE WITH BELFAST BOMB CLAIMS”. The body of the report states: “Hillary Clinton has been caught ‘mis-speaking’ again in a manner that suggests that she hasn’t learnt from past experiences of her globe-trotting, ‘lily-gilding’ speeches. The US Secretary of State was exposed during her battle with Barack Obama to become the Democratic presidential nominee over her claims to have landed in Bosnia under sniper fire. She was even described as ‘a wee bit silly’ for claiming greater credit than was her due for the Irish peace process, having made several visits to Northern Ireland as First Lady. She was back in Belfast last week, giving a gentle push to politicians dragging their heels over a final piece in the peace process jigsaw. During a speech she made to the Stormont parliament she said that Belfast’s landmark Europa Hotel was devastated by an explosion when she first stayed there in 1995. The Europa, where most journalists covering the decades-long conflict stayed, was famed as Europe’s most bombed hotel, earning the moniker ‘the Hardboard Hotel’. The last Provisional IRA bomb to damage the Europa was detonated in 1993, two years before President Clinton and his wife checked in for the night. The last time the Europa underwent renovations because of bomb blast damage was in January 1994, 22 months before the presidential entourage booked 110 rooms at the hotel. Mrs. Clinton told assembled politicians at Stormont: ‘When Bill and I first came to Belfast we stayed at the Europa Hotel…even though then there were sections boarded up because of damage from bombs’.”

It would be refreshing if lives would be lived and seen as honest and true. It would also be welcomed if there was less embellishment in terms of what is said and communicated. It would be beneficial if Biblical Principles for life and speech would be the reality that governs one’s words and actions. In The Amplified Bible - Romans 12:17, “Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble - aiming to be above reproach - in the sight of everyone. And, in II Corinthians 8:20-21 – “We are on our guard, intending that no one should find anything for which to blame us…For we take thought beforehand and aim to be honest and absolutely above suspicion, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.” Above Reproach and Aiming To Be Honest and absolutely above suspicion – worthy goals and practices. That should be our Hope and Daily Pursuit. Consider These Things With Me!

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