Robert A Hall is Tired, and I am too

He's tired of people telling us how horrible and mean and terrible the United States is, tired of being told how mean and stingy he is and in general, tired of people running us down.

Check it out at his blog entry here.

It's long, but it's worth the read. Amen, sir.

So Much for "No More Special Interests"

yeah, those promises that Mr. Obama made while he was campaigning, about not allowing special interests and lobbyists to write bills and get special treatment...

Well, we see that Mr. Obama can't even keep a promise for what, 2 weeks? Check out the latest spending bill. I can't call it a "stimulus package", because it's not stimulating the economy of the country - even though that's what its proponents are calling it. Stimulating the economy of the special interests that are getting our tax money - and our CHILDREN'S tax money thrown at them? Oh heck yes.

An Amusing Letter

Just saw this blog post and had to share. Funny!

"Why I Can't vote For Barack Obama"

This just showed up on Snopes, marked "True". Huntley Brown, jazz pianist, composed an email saying why he can't vote for Barack Obama. While I dislike bringing politics to my blog, they're everywhere, and he makes several of the points I've been struggling to codify, so I'm gonna just take his.

Why I Can't Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown

Dear Friends, A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.

Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads I follow. I can't dictate the terms He does because He is the leader.

I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from the other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning to name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not matter. We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I don't know Obama so all I can go off is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)

To beat Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.

There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100% rating. There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted No on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. There is a reason he voted No on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted No on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito. These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.

Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue.

The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps. (Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.
God help him. There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.
Think about this: You can't give a kid an aspirin without parental notification but that same kid can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.

There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.

Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah Wright teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?

Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 "Go and make disciples of all nations." This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?

Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a ...

1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.

Would you support a President who went to a church like that?

Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.
This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church. The church can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.

A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if it’s a white church or a black church it's still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.

Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of Liberation. Cone once wrote: "Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?

So what does all this mean for the nation?

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says
1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

Here is what we know for sure.

God is not schizophrenic.

He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God.

Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.

For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; “Father, based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.”

I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.

Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,
1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?

Blessings, Huntley Brown

There is a followup email to this located at http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp

I'm sorry, Mr. Brown, for the stupidity and evil you and your family must endure because you're standing up for morality and Christ-centered ethics. But thank you for standing up for them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Walter for President!

Well, after reading this post by Captain Spaulding, I decided to help out with the "none of the above" campaign. However, I'm backing a different slogan, and a different candidate.

Walter For President!
Come on, everybody, join me!

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Heard on the radio this morning that New York City is ordering and installing a bunch of surveillance equipment, to better keep an eye on people in Southern Manhattan.

The Radio People were entirely OK with this.
They said that they didn't mind The Government keeping an eye on us, because after all, if you're not doing anything WRONG, then why should you have anything to worry about? They never ever realized that "wrong" can be entirely subjective when it comes to this sort of thing. WRONG right here right now might be stuff that we can universally agree is WRONG: rape, pillage, murder, theft, etc.

but...

That stuff will still be there for other surveillance. What about if right to Free Speech...or Free Press...or Freedom to Congregate becomes slightly...less...legal - and then downright illegal? I know it's cliche to bring up the Holocaust, but seriously - Jews and Roms (Gypsies) didn't do anything wrong either. Their BIG SCARY CRIME was being born with the "wrong" bloodline.

When Bad (or Very Very Insecure, yet Well-Meaning) Guys are in power, WRONG becomes very very fluid, and more and more RIGHTS are abridged in the name of "safety" and "public welfare". Just because it's done by The Government doesn't mean it's good for us, or even a good idea. Anyone can become corrupt, given enough time, power, and leeway. The checks and balances that are in existence in our governmental charter, known as the Constitution, work because all three branches of the government acknowledge and follow them to make them work. These, in fact, are our best hope for prevention of Governmental Tyranny: the competition and conflict among the 3 branches of the government were put in place to prevent any one branch or person from taking over.

I think that far too many people have forgotten about George Orwell's hideous visions of the future - perhaps because they were "trendy" back in the '70s. It's easy to dismiss things you'd rather not think about, especially if they were popular, once. But Animal Farm and 1984 aren't just trendy books, that were popular once and then relegated to the dustbin of history and literature.

I would much rather not have all these Governmental Eyes poking into my business, watching my every move. I realize that most of my life is already available for Governmental Scrutiny - every time any of us use a credit card, open a checking account - heck, even get a paycheck - the government knows about it and can track us. That's a price of doing business. This post by its very existence is adding to the Documentation about the Inner Workings Of My Brain, such as it is. And heck, we're already visible by satellite & Internet. Google Earth anyone?

I'm not saying that the cameras and the intent behind them is a bad thing. They're not, in and of themselves. Higher camera surveillance in high-crime areas saves money and lives - the citizens aren't dependent upon a patrol driving by at a critical time to prevent a crime. A few people can monitor these cameras, and send help when & where it's needed, rather than having several hundred people physically monitoring those areas. That's a great idea, and a good use of resources.
However, the mindset behind the radio announcers' comments is, I think, a bad thing. Assuming that just because you haven't done anything WRONG means you have no reason to fear is true in and of itself - but who defines "wrong"?

Who watches the watchers? Who guards us from the guardians? Who will protect us from our protectors?

We have to. Free elections, intelligent and informed voters, making the BEST choices they can, rather than the "easy" choices, or the "incumbent" choice because...eh, I can't be bothered to find out anything about the candidates - WE have to make sure by our INTELLIGENT use of due process, that OUR rights are kept safe.

WE watch the watchers.