Friday, July 30, 2010

Wheels Coming Off The Wagon

From My Perspective - - -

Can the unimaginable become the inevitable? Can the inconceivable become the reality? Can the unconquerable become the vanquished? Can dominant strength vanish suddenly and become impotence? Can redistribution of wealth quickly diminish charity and business acumen (sharpness and shrewdness) and bring about uniform poverty and dependence on more controlled redistribution? Can creative intelligence erode and become herd instinct? Can the most powerful nation allow for self-inflicted wounds that will cause it to become weak and captive to the whims of those who will seize control of it?

A recent release (July 28, 2010) - The Year America Dissolved By: Paul Craig Roberts (See: Infowars.com), he writes: “It was 2017. Clans were governing America. The first clans organized around local police forces. The conservatives’ war on crime during the late 20th century and the Bush/Obama war on terror during the first decade of the 21st century had resulted in the police becoming militarized and unaccountable. As society broke down, the police became warlords. The state police broke apart, and the officers were subsumed into the local forces of their communities…The dollar had collapsed as world reserve currency in 2012 when the worsening economic depression made it clear to Washington’s creditors that the federal budget deficit was too large to be financed except by the printing of money. With the dollar’s demise, import prices skyrocketed. As Americans were unable to afford foreign-made goods, the transnational corporations that were producing offshore for US markets were bankrupted, further eroding the government’s revenue base. The government was forced to print money in order to pay its bills, causing domestic prices to rise rapidly. Faced with hyperinflation, Washington took recourse in terminating Social Security and Medicare and followed up by confiscating the remnants of private pensions. This provided a one-year respite, but with no more resources to confiscate, money creation and hyperinflation resumed. Organized food deliveries broke down when the government fought hyperinflation with fixed prices and the mandate that all purchases and sales had to be in US paper currency. Unwilling to trade appreciating goods for depreciating paper, goods disappeared from stores. The government sent troops to confiscate goods for distribution in kind to the population. This was a temporary stop-gap until existing stocks were depleted, as future production was discouraged. Much of the confiscated stocks became the property of the troops who seized the goods. Goods reappeared in markets under the protection of local warlords. Transactions were conducted in barter and in gold, silver, and copper coins…Large scale food and other production broke down as local militias taxed distribution as goods moved across local territories. Washington seized domestic oil production and refineries, but much of the government’s gasoline was paid for safe passage across clan territories. Most of the troops in Washington’s overseas bases were abandoned. As their resource stocks were drawn down, the abandoned soldiers were forced into alliances with those with whom they had been fighting. Washington found it increasingly difficult to maintain itself. As it lost control over the country, Washington was less able to secure supplies from abroad as tribute from those Washington threatened with nuclear attack. Gradually other nuclear powers realized that the only target in America was Washington…”

Can any of this happen in our lifetime – in our nation? In Matthew 24:4-14, Jesus said: “Watch out that no one deceives you...You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places…you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me...Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved…” In Jeremiah 9:23-24,“This is what the LORD says: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.” In Matthew 24:44: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Consider these things with me!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Chances and Stances

From My Perspective - - -

Life is made up of unending choices. Those who are innovative and motivated can achieve. Those who are complacent and lazy become oriented and satisfied with their status quo lifestyle. The United States Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Following are choices and possibilities for the pursuit of “…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…”

Choice and Possibility #1:
Cloward and Piven, two professors at Columbia University (1983), outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands. It is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival…and can be counted on to always vote for bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it. Some approach to this political ploy: (1) Universal Health Care; (2) Legalize the 12 million illegal immigrants; (3) Make Puerto Rico the 51st state; (4) Mandate Cap and Trade; (5) Raise Taxes on Small Business Owners; (6) Control Banks and Businesses with Stimulus Monies; (7) Ignore the Electorate or anyone who might oppose this agenda.

Choice and Possibility #2:
Five Principles for sound economic and political direction shared by Adrian Rogers: “(1) You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity; (2) What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving; (3) The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else; (4) When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for that is the beginning of the end of any nation; (5) You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

Choice and Possibility # 3:
The Wall Street Journal summarizes the State of our National Economy – “Tax revenues are smaller, spending is greater, and the deficits are thus larger than the government has been saying. Tax revenues will continue to be small so long as the government maintains this fascination with taxing the achievers and redistributing the wealth. Remember that the government actually collects more revenue when taxes decline. The expansion of national debt will grow exponentially under the government’s plans for our future. So we have less tax revenue, higher taxes, higher unemployment and higher government spending.”

Choice and Possibility #4:
Matthew 6:31-34 (The Message Translation) – “What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” The NLT states: "So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow…” To this end, a choice was made and presented by Joshua to a confused and directionless people (Joshua 24:15) – “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." What choice will you make? Go with Joshua! Consider these things with me!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Dead But Not Done

From My Perspective - - -

If you cut the head off of a poisonous snake, is the snake dead? No! Can its fangs still bite and excrete venom? Yes! Does a Constrictor immediately lose its strength and grip? No! How much Arsenic (arsenic and its compounds are used in insecticides, weed killers, solid-state doping agents, and various alloys) or Strychnine (an extremely poisonous white crystalline alkaloid used as a poison for rodents and formerly used topically as a central nervous system stimulant) is needed to bring about death in a person? Just a little administered over an extended period of time! In 1944, the film Arsenic and Old Lace was produced. “The lead character played by Cary Grant is Mortimer Bruster. He is a newspaperman and author known for his diatribes against marriage. We watch him being married at city hall in the opening scene. Now all that is required is a quick trip home to tell Mortimer's two maiden aunts. While trying to break the news, he finds out his aunts' hobby; killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar. Mortimer finds a corpse hidden in a window seat and suspects Teddy, but his aunts explain that they are responsible ("It's one of our charities"). They have developed the "very bad habit" of ending the presumed suffering of lonely old bachelors by serving them elderberry wine spiked with arsenic, strychnine and just a pinch of cyanide. The bodies are buried in the basement by Teddy, who believes he is digging locks for the Panama Canal and burying yellow fever victims…” The point is that the victim is unaware of the presence of the poison or its deadly consequence until it is too late for remedy.

A news story yesterday describes: One dead jellyfish wreaked havoc on a New Hampshire beach this afternoon, stinging close to 150 people, most of them children, and sending five to the hospital, fire officials said. Rye, N.H., emergency officials received the call around 1:30 p.m. that 125 to 150 people, including children and a few adults, at Wallis Sands State Park had been stung by a jellyfish…Park officials had tried to remove a large dead jellyfish from the water earlier in the day, but it broke apart and the floating pieces stung the children in the water…The jellyfish was roughly the size of a cover of a trash can… Lifeguards treated the majority of the children with vinegar and baking soda…Five children were transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital as a precaution over allergy concerns…Several summer youth groups had made a trip to the beach today…No one could remember the last time they had experienced a jellyfish sting in the area, let alone nearly 150…” Once again, no one knew of the presence of the Jelly Fish remains or that its stingers could still cause pain, discomfort and other result.

In public discourse, Denigration and Contamination have entered and dominate both thought and attitude. Some cringe each time racial slurs or accusations surface, and when the word Nazi is bandied about. The use of these terms polarizes the public, while attempting to gain support from minority ethnic groups. There is little regard for the old wounds and scars that are reopened; nor for the pain that is inflicted that will enrage some who have no meaningful context, historical knowledge or experiential background that attaches to these references. Words have consequence and can be just as deadly as a dosage of arsenic, strychnine or cyanide. The Bible speaks of these things in precise terms. In James 3:5-6, we read: “…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” The Message Translation renders these verses with these words: “A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything - or destroy it! A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” In Luke 12:1-3, Jesus warned against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, and how it could and would contaminate others. In Galatians 5:9, Paul echoes this concern when he wrote: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Words used carelessly, randomly, recklessly or purposefully can and will prevent civil discourse beyond ones calculation! Be careful what you say and when you say it! Consider these things with me!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Huddledoms Are Among Us

From My Perspective - - -

The English Language is both fascinating and curious. We select words and attach definition and meaning to them that was never the original intent of the word. Most recently, we have heard the words of ridicule toward Sarah Palin because of her repeated use of a word – “refudiate”! The Urban Dictionary seizes on the moment to define “refudiate” and states: “When Sarah Palin decides regular English words aren't good enough, she'll just go ahead and make a new one. Here, “refudiate” bridges the gap between "refuse" and "repudiate", to mean exactly what she wants it to mean…or - to really tell someone off.” She used this word in a Fox News report when she stated: “The President and his wife...can refudiate what this group (the NAACP) is saying."

Other coined words that have found entrance into our language are: Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They are fictional characters in an English language nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. The characters are perhaps best known when Carroll, having introduced two fat little men named Tweedledum and Tweedledee, quotes the nursery rhyme, which the two brothers then go on to enact. The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other but always complement each other's words. The Nursery Rhyme is - - -
Tweedledum and Tweedledee Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow, As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so, They quite forgot their quarrel.

Another of these coined words is: “huddledom.” It was taken from an article that appeared in The Glasgow Herald in 1923: “The huddledoms of haunting disease, poverty, and overcrowding.” It means: “A state or condition of confusion and disorder.” The way our language is used may qualify as an additional meaning for “huddledom”. Dictionary.com has a section called: The Hot Word Blog. They ask this question: “What word do scientists use to describe the most ginormous star ever discovered?” If there is no applicable word, then how do the Scientists express themselves? In this case, the answer is: “If you find something that’s bigger than you thought was physically possible, how would you describe it? You start with what you already have, which is R136a1, the equivalent of a cosmic ZIP code. The R stands for Radcliffe Observatory, which located the star…Massive isn’t the same thing as ”big” in astronomy. Mass is roughly equivalent to weight, and R136a1 is hefty: it once weighed 320 times as much as our sun - that was when it was born. Because of its density, the star is unstable and part of its mass is constantly coming apart…” In this instance, before a word can be formulated, that which occasioned the quest will have disbursed or disintegrated.

In the realm of religion, there are many words that are used that tend to confound and confuse. It may be by design in order to whet one’s appetite to research the subject at hand. Some of the terms have faded into the background - such as: “supralapsarianism” versus “infralapsarianism”. Supra-lapsarianism means “the doctrine that the decree of election preceded human creation and the Fall”; Infralapsarianism means the opposite. Defining the terms would require many words and pages whereas, The Gospel can be explained in more simple terms. Acts 2 (Peter’s Sermon on The Day of Pentecost) contains several theological concepts. However, when people became convicted and asked (Acts 2:37-38): “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” Similarly, when The Philippian Jailer asked (Acts 16:30-31): “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." The Book of Romans could easily be a theological textbook. When it came to the Gospel and who can be saved, Paul answered (Romans 10:13): “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." No “confusion or disorder” here – just a simple response by faith! Consider these things with me!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Aphorisms

From My Perspective - - -

Do you have moments when you wish life was less complex? Do you share the thought that it would be both nice and refreshing if the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) was applied with greater frequency? Have you arrived at a point where you feel that excess verbiage is intended – not to clarify – but to confound? Are you beginning to realize that in modern legislation and communication – “the devil is in the details”? At the end of the day, do you feel that misrepresentation and talking points overshadow what is actual and will become a mandate for you? Do you think it would be preferable if politicians (and others) would say what they mean and mean what they say? Maybe – to speak as an aphorist – and champion clarity?

Aphorisms are: “concise statements containing a subjective truth or observation cleverly and pithily written. Aphorisms can be both prosaic or poetic…They are pointed sentences expressing a wise or clever observation or a general truth…Aphorisms can also be seen as Maxims for Life.”
Some examples of Aphorisms are:

• Lost time is never found again. - Benjamin Franklin
• The great thing about hypocrisy is that once you accept it in yourself, you can condemn it in other people.
• They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin
• Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
• If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
• Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
• A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
• After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you're probably dead...
• Always be yourself because the people that matter don't mind and the ones that mind don't matter.
• Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

The Book of Proverbs contains several Aphorisms (Maxims). Some examples are:
• “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?” (1:22)
• “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” (6:6-11)
• “There are six things the LORD hates -- no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers.” (6:16-19)
• “There are three things that make the earth tremble -- no, four it cannot endure: a slave who becomes a king, an overbearing fool who prospers, a bitter woman who finally gets a husband, a servant girl who supplants her mistress.” (30:21-23)
• “There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise: Ants - they aren't strong, but they store up food for the winter. Rock badgers - they aren't powerful, but they make their homes among the rocky cliffs. Locusts - they have no king, but they march like an army in ranks. Lizards - they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings' palaces.” (30:24-28)

Lastly – Jesus stated: "If any of you wants to be my follower…you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mark 8:34-37)… Keep it simple! Walk and Live by F.A.I.T.H. = Forsaking All I Trust Him! The Lord will give you sufficient strength for your journey! Consider these things with me!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The Hidden and Unseen World

From My Perspective - - -

Counter-Intelligence; Covert Operations; Secret Missions; Spies; Assassinations; Black Helicopters – along with Conspiracy Theories that have been around for many years. The History Channel has been showing details of some of this nation’s activities during and following World War II that has not been included in many History Books. There were some Clandestine Groups bent on maintaining an evil cause, such as, the SS Officers and Staff who escaped Germany near the end of World War II when defeat seemed certain. They located themselves in Latin and South America with a hope they might one day establish a Fourth Reich patterned after Hitler’s Third Reich.

The Washington Post has prepared a study of clandestine operations and has begun to publish their findings. It is entitled: “A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control” by Dana Priest and William Arkin. The initial release states: “The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work. These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine. The investigation's other findings include:
• 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counter-terrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.
• An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.
• In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.”

In another publication, we read - The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder explains the intelligence contractor problem: "Contractors do a lot of work that the government used to do by itself; oversight has become next to impossible; the intelligence-policy complex has created a revolving door of sorts where the line between private companies and intelligence agencies blurs; and of course waste, mismanagement, and more. Since 9/11, the intelligence community has welcomed a surge in contractors while building a larger civilian counter-terrorism workforce - a larger national security state…The ODNI Director of Communications Art House…lists the three likely conclusions of the story: (1) The intelligence enterprise has undergone exponential growth and has become unmanageable with overlapping authorities and a heavily outsourced contractor workforce. (2) The IC and the DOD have wasted significant time and resources, especially in the areas of counter-terrorism and counterintelligence. (3)The intelligence enterprise has taken its eyes off its post-9/11 mission and is spending its energy on competitive and redundant programs.”

Spies and Counter-Intelligence have always been an integral part of History – Moses sent out 12 spies into what would be The Promised Land (Numbers 13 and 14); King David had 37 Mighty Men who had special skills and courage (II Samuel 23). They would break through enemy strongholds and accomplish what seemed like impossibilities. At one point, David longed for a sip of water from the Well in Bethlehem (V. 15-16), and three of his mighty men broke through the Philistine lines and brought him the water for which he longed. The recent news spoke of 12 Russian Spies in our country, ordinary type people, who were seeking strategic information that would be useful to their country’s causes. Jesus Christ desires that you be one of His Mighty Persons – with courage and daring – as you share His Gospel and penetrate enemy strongholds. He can and will use ordinary people for the task. He will use you! Consider these things with me!

Monday, July 19, 2010

The Enemy Within

From My Perspective - - -

In The Washington Times for July 16th, 2010 is the following statement: “I have obtained this document sent by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It appears the Washington Post is about to push the bounds of intelligence reporting. The intelligence agency seems concerned.” A Letter in this regard is also published, and if authentic, substantiates the report:
“Early next week, the Washington Post is expected to publish articles and an interactive website that will likely contain a compendium of government agencies and contractors allegedly conducting Top Secret work. The website is expected to enable users to see the relationships between the federal government and its contractors, describe the type of work the contractors perform, and may identify many government and contractor facility locations…
“Foreign intelligence services, terrorist organizations, and criminal elements will have potential interest in this kind of information. It is important that companies review their overall counterintelligence posture to ensure that it is appropriate. Specifically, we recommend that companies affected by this publication and website assess and take steps to mitigate risk to their workforce, facility and mission, to the extent consistent with your contractual relationship with ODNI. These steps should include re-enforcement of security and counterintelligence protections and steps to enhance workforce awareness. CI and security events related to the publication of these articles and website should be reported through normal company channels to the MSC/Security office. For the time being, thresholds should be lowered to aggressively report anomalous behavior….”

Meanwhile, Catholic Online reports: “The change in language was barely noticeable to the average citizen but political observers are raising red flags at the use of a new term freedom of worship by President Obama and Secretary Clinton as a replacement for the term freedom of religion. This shift happened between the President's speech in Cairo where he showcased America's freedom of religion and his appearance in November at a memorial for the victims of Fort Hood, where he specifically used the term freedom of worship. From that point on, it has become the term of choice for the President and Secretary Clinton…
"In her article for First Things magazine, Ashley Samelson, International Programs Director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, stated: To anyone who closely follows prominent discussion of religious freedom in the diplomatic and political arena, this linguistic shift is troubling - The reason is simple. Any person of faith knows that religious exercise is about a lot more than freedom of worship. It's about the right to dress according to one's religious dictates, to preach openly, to evangelize, to engage in the public square. Everyone knows that religious Jews keep kosher, religious Quakers don't go to war, and religious Muslim women wear headscarves-yet freedom of worship would protect none of these acts of faith…"

The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 43 – “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from deceitful and wicked men…Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send forth your light and your truth…Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
In Psalm 143, the Psalmist once again prays – “O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief…The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead…I remember the days of long ago…Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails…Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies…”
As a nation, we seem to be losing our foundational values, basic freedoms and moral compass. Silence and apathy are two of the great enemies within. Ignoring reality, embracing a vague hope, remaining silent and being inactive in a just cause is an inexcusable posture. You can make a difference! Stand up and be counted! Consider these things with me!