Route 66:19 When Religion meets Politics

With all the regime changes going on, it only seemed right for Cyrus to let potential trouble makers go back to their homeland. One doubts if the king realized that the Jewish prophets had predicted his actions even before his predecessor had conquered Jerusalem.

As it turned out, there was resistance  to his orders, leading to political pressure. Lies were spread, based only on past history, that the Jewish leadership wanted full freedom to go with their religion.

And so, the king changed his mind and called for the temple project to end. Ezra, as the priest in charge, obeyed, waiting patiently for official permission to continue. The next administration saw through the bureaucracy of his predecessor's staff and gave another decree.

God is patient and works with and in spite of politicians. It is hard to fight city hall, but impossible to fight God.

Perpetual Twilight

So, we have almost survived eight years of Barack Obama.  Back during the 2008 campaign I was willing to give him a chance.  I know, he was not my choice, but as a the first bi-racial man to make it to the White House, I had hopes that he would help bring the country together.

He did not do anything close.  If anything, the nation is more divided than it was when he began.  I think the reason is clear: he abandoned the very racial harmony reflected in his parents for the cultural values of his black mentors and liberal white grandparents.  It appears he was "used" by those who had an agenda.

Will our new president, almost a polar opposite of the last one, do any better.  So very "white" that even his liberal history probably will not help, Donald Trump enters the stage of world history as a business man trying to save a bankrupt business.  Unfortunately, our country cannot declare bankruptcy to rebuild.  Deals will be made, and as conservatives my friends and I will belatedly enter the 21st century -- a "brave new world" in which darkness and light mingle into a perpetual twilight.

We can only hope that the twilight lasts for generations -- or until the Lord returns -- for after the twilight comes the night. This is the natural cycle of nations, so we should not be surprised.  Our responsibility to God and to ourselves is to always do the right thing.

This "right thing" is not political, but moral and spiritual.  It is not based upon the changing mores of this world, but firmly upon ten simple, but profound, commandments from God Himself.  We must show honor where honor is due: to God, family and community.  We must eskew behavior that brings harm to our neighbors in any way.

Grandiloquence

gran·dil·o·quence (grăn-dĭl'э-kwэns) n. Pompous or bombastic speech or expression. --gran·dil'o·quent adj. --gran·dil'o·quent·ly adv.

The "word of the day" (expert) pops up on my electronic version of The American Heritage®  Dictionary, Third Edition  ©1994, from SoftKey®, Int.  Today's random word inspired me to commit on my blog due to its timeliness during the Democratic National Convention.  In all fairness to the DNC, I did not watch the Republicans last week and don't plan on watching the convention this week either.

Politicians in general, though, tend to make speeches that make them sound much better than they are.  Seldom do we hear humility among them.  I suppose that is to be expected at the top, for such men and women wish to show that they are "in control."  However, in America we do not have royalty or official "classes."  We are all the same: citizens with the same rights as free adults.  There are exceptions due to those law breakers among us -- some even denied some rights after conviction and "time served," but that is for another discussion.

The next time you hear a politician waxing grandiloquently, remember that his big talk is from someone on the same standing before God as anyone of us to whom he speaks.  We have no "king" except Jesus, as the pilgrims were wont to say.  In this nation, that still holds true even for unbelievers!  There is no king to whom we owe allegiance other than the heavenly one if we choose to acknowledge Him.  Let us look to a leader who first knows how to serve.

Phil. 2:
5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Thank You, Sarah Palin

I came upon this video at a centrist (traditional) Democratic site. It seems that there are many Clinton supporters that are not happy with the party. Apparently they are somewhat like "Reagan Democrats." Anyway, one of them apparently has seen past the negative press and is impressed with Sarah Palin.



I like the diversity of those chosen to speak in this video. It's too bad that so many people let partisanship blind their reason and logic. In the past the true difference between the major parties was small government vs big government. The first "Democrat" was for small government (that is, Thomas Jefferson) and the first Republican was virtually the INVENTOR of "big government" as we now know it (the federal power grab of Abraham Lincoln in a noble attempt to save the union).

Things have changed. But I will cover that in another blog.

Mike's Story

Here it is: A brief Video Biography of Mike Huckabee!

One of Four:



Two of Four:



Three of Four:



Four of Four:



This is the man that everyone dismisses. These short clips don't even scratch the surface of his accomplishments - any ONE of which could qualify him for public leadership. He deserves the FULL respect of all who must acknowledge him in this Two-man race!

Please consider helping with a donation (in the sidebar).

Of One Blood: The myth of "race"

I am a staunch conservative, but I have to admire Senator Barack Obama! The man refuses to make "race" an issue. In a New York Times article, he is accurately (as far as using "race" to describe human variation can be) called "biracial." He is just as "white" as he is "black," though his skin pigmentation is definitely from his natural father, Barack Obama, Sr, whom he never really knew. The Senior Obama was an exchange student from Kenya who separated from his very white mother, the late Shirley Ann Dunham, when the child was two.

"Disclaimer"*
From a comparison of MY records (incomplete) and a search via rootsweb (I am descended from the Dunhams), I am about a 10th cousin to the Senator!

His mother then remarried another student - this time Indonesian - and moved him to Indonesia for some of his earliest education. He basically "grew up white." However, he has consistently taken on the cause of Americans of African descent. But he refuses to call the cause "racial." And so do I. From the Genesis record we know that ALL mankind is descended from one couple. This is confirmed in the New Testament:

Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

And so, let us take some advice from the Junior Senator from Illinois. Let us admit that we need to look for solutions to HUMAN problems, not "racial" ones.

Huckabee on the death penalty

Mike Huckabee gives the straight story on the death penalty - the only candidate that ever had to sign off on any. He rightly differentiates between guilty killers and killing the innocent pre-born child. And then, he ends with a zinger!



I like Mike -- winner of the debate in two statewide polls (undecideds in Florida 44%, general listeners in Iowa, %36)!

Mike Gets Serious

The Chuck Norris ad was "cute," and it got Mike's name out to the whole nation. However, many naysayers out there disapproved of the humor. Well, Gov. Huckabee used our contributions over the last week wisely. A short 30 second spot makes the point: "Believe"



I like Mike!

"You didn't have a baby, you had a fetus"

How utterly heartless to say such a thing to a grieving mother of a stillborn child. But such is the mindset of the pro-abortion crowd. The state official that explained to Joanne Cacciatore that a death certificate was all she would get was just pronouncing the "official" practice in most states. A baby is not "alive" until it breathes air.

This is patently false! And the abortionists know this. The science is so clear that the pro-abortion forces are against the movement that has gotten nineteen states -- including such bastions of liberalism as California and New Jersey! -- to pass laws allowing official documentation of the births. But Democratic governor Bill Richardson (who happens to be "running" for president) has vetoed a bill that would have given babies in New Mexico this honor.

How can someone be granted a "death certificate" without first having LIFE? That is a logical inconsistency if language means anything at all. What a stillbirth amounts to is a spontaneous late-term abortion. A majority of "abortions" used to be just "stillbirths," for intentional acts of violence against a developing child was thought to be barbaric. Unfortunate deaths of developing children were grieved as any such tragic deaths were.

Thankfully, South Carolina is one of the states that offer certificates. But three cheers -- and accolades -- to Indiana, Missouri, and Arizona! These states not only offer certificates, they give tax exemptions for the child. Now THAT'S commitment to life.

Chart and story

I read this first in the NYTimes Headlines online edition, Seeing the headline there, I immediately thought of the "abortion debate." And sure enough, that angle received its due. I was a surprised that some at Planned Parenthood were soft to the idea of giving the parents ways to greive their loss.

Fifty Million Killed

Fifty Million Dead! That's more killed per day than were killed on 9/11 !

The last thirty-four years have NOT seen an improvement in the lives of America's women. And it is NOT the fault of the political or religious right with a "continuing prejudice" against the fairer sex.

Abortion on demand has slacked off a bit in some places - such as South Carolina - but it is not all together clear why. I mean, really, the very ones that would be seeking abortions are those that never saw life outside of the womb. It can be reasonably assumed that around twenty-five million of those abortions were to the developing lives of girls, many of who would undoubtably grown up as "victoms" of society and "used" by the men in their lives!

But the numbers seem to be about the same year by year. Of course, we have gone from 200 million to 300 million in those three decades or so. And so, the "rate" of abortions has fallen. But our politicians can't seem to uphold the nations abhorance to "partial birth" abortions. That is, if you can call the court system "political." And you know it is (even if they deny it).

And so, here it is. After two weeks of silence, I rant again!

We pro-lifers have "science" our side and still continue to stumble politically. A conservative president gets two appointments to the Supreme Court in one year and we still have to "worry" about a "swing" vote in a pseudo-conservative put in by a previous "conservative" president. You'd think that with FIVE of NINE justices being Catholic the pro-life issues would be a "slam dunk." Not so. A "Kennedy" holds the cards in the Court even as a far-left Kennedy takes over a "ruling" position in the Senate. No relation. But we wonder. Hmmm....

Enough for now.

Brownback takes a stand

I have not decided which of the presidential hopefuls to support in the 2008 primaries (coming in Feb. 2008, I believe), but I certainly think that Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas looks promising. In a recent editorial in the NY Times, the paper lambasted him for daring to block the nomination of Janet Neff. Why would he do such a thing?

Well, according to the Times, to be against gay marriage is showing "hateful views toward gay people." Sen. Brownback took note that the judge had not only "attended" a commitment ceremony for a woman, but gave a homily at said ceremony. The senator seemed to think that this showed that the judge may just be too biased to sit on a federal bench. He offered a compromise - to stop blocking the nomination if the good judge would recuse herself on any cases dealing with "gay marriage." And this, to the Times, is hateful.

This is the same editorial board that has supported the efforts of the Democrats for the last six years in blocking the nominations of pro-life judges based on their bias towards life and against abortion. For some reason I have missed the editorials that considered such actions as "hateful"!

I guess "hate" is in the mind of the writer.

Is The State Newspaper biased?

I don't know how many readers I have in South Carolina, but this blog is a reaction against the accusations from an article by Lee Bandy of The State Newspaper. It is my understanding that a news article is supposed to TRY to be unbiased. Opinion should be reserved for the editorial pages, or at least one could hope that would be the case. The whole tenure of the article seems to be pro-McCain and even anti-Bush!

Eight years is a long time, but I do seem to remember that Senator McCain voiced quite some disdain for Conservative Christians BEFORE the "Christian Coalition" ever got involved with the campaign. I remember being quite unconfortable with BOTH Bush and McCain, voting instead for Alan Keyes, a true conservative that had very little chance of winning.

That being said, the article is found here. A pertinient quote states about the 2000 primary:


"So, the Bush operation here decided to play hardball. Some say dirty. There were tough ads all over radio and television. The Christian Coalition turned loose its army of soldiers to spread falsehoods about McCain and his family. Bush began each day with a new blast at his opponent. They tried to paint McCain into a liberal corner — liberal, at least, compared with Bush."

Well, at best McCain has proved to be a moderate. He is most certainly more "liberal" than President Bush. I would say that he is certainly more concervative than Rudy Juliani, while being to the left of Mitt Romney. It will be interesting to see the "spin" the media puts on the Fundamentalist-leaning upstate as it comes out in favor of a prominent Mormon politician. And a "yankee" to boot! :-)

I remember hearing Dr. Bob Jones III speak of sharing a seat with a Mormon on a political trip to Taiwan. He was in perfect agreement with the man's political views while definitely being against his theology. At least in that kind of situation there seems to be a "separation of church and state." It will not be a question of religion, but of conservativism. Who knows, perhaps the trials of a national campaign will drive a staunch Mormon into a fuller understanding of who Jesus Christ is.