‘Train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.’  ~ Proverbs 22:6

I read an article recently that scared the Barjesus out of me:

‘In Germany, the state rather than the parents is considered to be primarily responsible for the well-being of children.’

Let that sink in for a minute.  That should frighten you to the very core of your being.  Do you think it can’t happen here?  It already is.

Stand firm.

‘They have tithed their children to the state and then they complain against how much the government is costing them.’  ~ R. J. Rushdoony

‘For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.’  ~ II Thessalonians 3:10

‘In the beginning, at least in America, the Little Red Hen was used in reading primers as a means of teaching a clear morality. … Now instead of illustrating how those who refuse to work should not share the bounty of those who do, morality has flipped 180 degrees.

‘Today, the Little Red Hen is demonized as being unfair because she doesn’t share her bounty. The new morality is that everyone receives an equal share, whether they earned it or not. Removes any incentive to work, doesn’t it? And why should you work since everyone will be equally poor.’ 

‘…you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.’  ~ Dueteronomy 17:15

• You can’t print your way into prosperity—no matter what the Federal Reserve may tell you.  

• In related news: ‘The dollar fell to the lowest level this year against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners as speculation the global economy is emerging from the recession [sic] reduced demand for a refuge.’ 

• Wow, they spent that much time and money just trying to figure out why we swing our arms when we walk?!  

• Before you are forced, coerced, or even strongly urged to get the H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’ vaccination (or any other for that matter), have your doctor sign a Vaccination Warranty.  

• First the Dot-Com Bubble burst, then the Housing Bubble, now the Higher Education Bubble is set to go.  

• Ron Paul has introduced into Congress H.R. 1233, the Taxpayers’ Freedom of Conscience Act which would prohibit taxpayer funds from being used to perform abortion both at home and abroad.  

An Homage to the Great Spaghetti Harvest of 1957

• ‘Be that as it may, this incident throws the spotlight on a shadowy national network of domestic spies – in effect, Obama’s political police, who infiltrate dissident groups of whatever sort and send the information back to what are called “fusion centers,” part of the new “integrated” approach to fighting our eternal “war on terrorism” — a war that isn’t only being fought on the battlefields of Afghanistan.’  

• Would you like to live longer (or at least healthier)? You should drink coffee daily.  

• Even stipulating that Professor Gates acted in an undignified and irrational manner towards the police, his arrest was unconstitutional.  

• ‘The Federal Reserve — the quasi-autonomous body that controls the US’s money supply — is a “Ponzi scheme” that created “bubble after bubble” in the US economy and needs to be held accountable for its actions, says Eliot Spitzer, the former governor and attorney-general of New York.’  

• For those who think we still live in a free country, the State of Texas has now legalised kidnapping: ‘A new state law will allow police to arrest people who don’t leave town under mandatory evacuation orders.’  

• The Federal Government is threatening to use the military to enforce its vaccination programmes—whether you want it or not: ‘The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials.’  

• A very interesting article regarding a reporter who exercises her Second Amendment rights—in California.

• ‘But that’s how we’ll know when the [economic] correction is over – when people give up on the stock market…when they want nothing more to do with it. Judging by today’s news…we’re still a long way from there.’  

1980’s Moment: Sweethearts of the Rodeo 

6.VIII.45

‘He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’  ~ Luke 10:18

Franz Reichelt provided a perfect example of why you never—never—test your inventions on yourself first.  Never.  (And, if you do, don’t let somebody film it.)

As Ron Paul explains, the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ boondoggle is just the latest manifestation of what Frederic Bastiat described as the ‘Broken Window Fallacy.’

‘…and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.’  I Thessalonians 4:11, 12

• Click here to read about war crimes, Yankee-style.   

• ‘I always felt sorry for people who had children. I never wanted to have a child. I thought children were a terrible waste of time, energy, and money. I literally felt very sorry for people who had children. I was never going to do something so foolish. I was totally, unbelievably wrong. I am telling you, it is the best thing that has happened to me. If there is anybody watching this show who has not had children, I urge you to get home and get on with it. You take a day off if you have to. You don’t take a day off these days, go home for lunch. But you should definitely have children.’  (Legendary investor/ billionaire Jim Rogers) 

• I don’t know what the Russians are worried about; essentially everything Americans currently think about World War II is false as it is. 

• ‘U.S. Vice President Joe Biden rejected the Russian push for a sphere of influence over former Soviet nations, saying as he headed to Georgia on Wednesday that no nation could veto another country’s choices.’  (Does he really expect us to take them seriously?  We’ve been ‘vetoing’ other countries’ choices for decades!) 

•  ‘Beginning in the 16^th Century, Scottish Presbyterian churches began using communion tokens.  Before the celebration of communion, church’s [sic] elders would visit each member and examine his or her knowledge of the faith.  Those meeting elders’ approval were given a small lead (or other metal) token which permitted them to receive communion.  These tokens often would list the church, a year and the minister’s initials.  The use of such tokens continued when American Presbyterian churches were created.  By the early 20^th Century, use of such tokens ceased as clergy and elders viewed communion as a means of grace, as opposed to a reward for knowledge and good behaviour.’ 

•  ‘The attorney representing an Army major fighting deployment to Afghanistan because he believes Barack Obama is not legally his commander-in-chief is declaring victory after the Soldier’s orders were revoked yesterday.’ 

•  ‘The bigger problem is that the mortgage bubble infected a number of areas beyond just subprime. The subprime crisis was the first to drop, like a marathon dancer that falls to the floor exhausted. But there are still other dancers on the floor ready to topple over too.’ 

•  ‘The Great Default is coming. Count on it.’ 

•  ‘Only when at least one of these criminal gangs is dismembered will there ever be any “change” in Washington. With the Republicans out of the way and the Democrats completely discredited, the chance for a true revolution in Washington couldn’t be better. You may say I’m a dreamer, but life without Republicans should at least be considered. With the taste of Bush and Cheney fresh on our tongues, what do we have to lose?’ 

•  ‘The business model is remarkably simple. So simple even a banker can get it. You borrow from depositors at one rate. And you lend to borrowers (who are also depositors, usually) at a higher rate. What could go wrong?  Well…that’s what makes bankers bankers. They manage to mess it up.’ 

• ‘By 2007, the world economy was taking curves far too fast. As we guessed, the stimulus didn’t stimulate nearly as well as the meddlers had hoped. Instead of increasing real output in the US, it lured Americans to spend and speculate…and drove Chinese entrepreneurs to put up new factories in order to give them something to buy. In America, debt grew 5 times faster than GDP; for each dollar of extra income, Americans added $5.50 to their debt.’ 

To-day’s 1980’s Moment: Glass Tiger – ‘Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone’

  ’And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.’  ~ Genesis 2:12

• ‘In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so that it could reuse the videotape.’ Yeah, right—the ‘story’ just keeps getting better and better.

• ‘The present worldwide inflation has done, and will continue to do, immense harm. But it may eventually lead to one great achievement. It may make it possible to restore (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say to create) a full 100 percent gold standard.’

• The Bubble Economy claims another victim: Crocs.

• Preach it, Pat!

• Want to see what State-Controlled, Centralised Environmental Planning actually gets you? A toxic desert, for one thing.

Sir Douglas Quintet, ‘Mendocino’

• ‘A victory was achieved Monday for residents of one small street in New Jersey when a court ruled in favor of their effort to secede from Toms River and join Lavallette. ‘

Have you ever wondered what The Beach Boys would sound like if they were members of the Church of Christ?

• ‘Faced with a “consensus” view which looks increasingly implausible, a fast-growing body of reputable scientists from many countries has been coming up with a ”counter-consensus”, which holds that their fellow scientists have been looking in wholly the wrong direction to explain what is happening to the world’s climate. The two factors which most plausibly explain what temperatures are actually doing are fluctuations in the radiation of the sun and the related shifting of ocean currents.’

• Pastor Chuck Baldwin discusses Christian (dis)obedience to the government in light of Romans 13.  I am not certain that I agree entirely with his interpretation of that Scripture; however, I do agree that we must submit to the government—unless and until our leaders command us to act in a manner contrary to God’s Moral Law. 

• ‘The [Health Reform (sic)] bill lists eight specific ways that states may use federal grant money to carry out immunization-promoting “interventions.” Method “E” calls for “home visits” which can include “provision of immunizations.” In other words, whether you want your kids (or yourself) to receive certain vaccines, the state can forcibly administer them in your home.’

• ‘President Bush argued frequently and forcefully that his first job was to keep us safe. He was wrong. The Constitution tells us that his sole job was to enforce the Constitution; and that means keeping us free.’

• As if the Military-Industrial Complex has not wreaked enough havoc on our Republic—and the world—we now have word of the latest and greatest invention of the War Machine: The Corpse-Eating Robot.

• Allow me to translate for Hillary!™ Clinton: ‘Although none of us in the government will actually be getting our hands dirty, nor will we be doing any of the actual killing and/ or dying, we are fully prepared to send YOUR sons to their demise in order to achieve our geopolitical agenda.’

I have heard the song ‘Walkin’ On a Thin Line’ from Huey Lewis and the News scores of times in the past 25 years but I never realised (perhaps I wasn’t sufficiently paying attention) that it is an anti-Vietnam War song: 

‘And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…’ ~ Hebrews 9:27

• ‘America’s media repeatedly claimed that Afghan women would be better off under the U.S.-supported Northern Alliance puppet government headed by Karzai than under the Taliban. But when I went to Afghanistan and asked women what they thought, they had a different story. The defeat of the Taliban brought about the collapse of law and order, making life even more dangerous, especially for women. “Under the Taliban,” a woman told me, “I watched rapists being executed. Now I see them in the government.”’ 

• What happens when you give a 13 year-old a Sony Walkman and take away his ipod?  ‘Did my dad … really ever think this was a credible piece of technology?’ 

• ‘It is well known that William F. Buckley spent some time in the CIA before he went on to start National Review.’ 

• ‘What Heaven And Earth sets out to do is restore a sense of scientific perspective to a debate which has been hijacked by ‘politicians, environmental activists and opportunists’. It points out, for example, that polar ice has been present on earth for less than 20 per cent of geological time; that extinctions of life are normal; that climate changes are cyclical and random; that the CO2 in the atmosphere – to which human activity contributes the tiniest fraction – is only 0.001 per cent of the total CO2 held in the oceans, surface rocks, air, soils and life; that CO2 is not a pollutant but a plant food; that the earth’s warmer periods – such as when the Romans grew grapes and citrus trees as far north as Hadrian’s Wall – were times of wealth and plenty.’ 

• Of course it’s not a hate crime—the victims were white. 

• You mean it was all propaganda? 

• Even the Amish were sucked in by the Bubble Economy.

• ‘As consumers cut back, businesses are scrambling. 14 brands you know — from an NHL hockey team to Obama’s suit maker — that are hitting the skids’.’ 

• How can the government screw up the economy even more?  Why, by raising the minimum wage…in the midst of a recession, no less! 

• ‘[Rick] Warren said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls “the five global giants” of war, poverty, corruption, disease, and illiteracy.’  No mention of the Gospel here.  What exactly is the ‘purpose’ that drives Rick Warren’s life?  

• Coming soon to the U.S. of A.: The Debt Explosion. 

“[T]he British Constitution is more like a republic than an empire. They define a republic to be a government of laws, and not of men. . . . An empire is a despotism, and an emperor is a despot, bound by no law or limitation but his own will; it is a stretch of tyranny beyond absolute monarchy. For, although the will of an absolute monarch is law, yet his edicts must be registered by parliaments. Even this formality is not necessary in an empire.” ~ John Adams, Novanglus Papers, 1775.

• If there is one thing I cannot tolerate it is a drunk badger. 

• ‘In her opening address to the church’s General Conference in California, Jefferts Schori called that “the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God.”’ 

• ‘[Goldman Sachs] has raised the possibility that there is a danger that somebody who knew how to use this program could use it to manipulate markets in unfair ways.’ 

‘May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!’  ~ Psalm 72:4

It seems that the world to-day is conspicuously and sadly devoid of heroes–at least of the variety that receives not their accolades according to how well they catch a ball, drive a car repeatedly in circles, or carry a tune.  True heroes–true heroes–are to-day difficult to find.

This has not always been the case, of course; one may look back through the pages of history to find innumerable heroes to be admired and emulated.  Though many, if not most of them, are of the martial variety Christendom has been blessed with scores of contenders for the faith, defenders of the weak, and advocates for the poor–all heroic in varying degrees and manner.  Sadly, it seems I find myself looking into the past for heroes more often than I seem to find them amidst us.

I found one such hero yesterday where all modern heroes seem to reside in these advanced times of ours: Youtube.  I was a bit surprised to realise that I had not heard of George Galloway, MP (a member of the British House of Commons) nor his struggle to clear his name against spurrious and fabricated charges lodged against him by the U.S. Senate in their errant and Quixotic efforts to legitimise and justify the war against Iraq. 

Mr Galloway’s heroic and pointed defence of his reputation and courage in standing up to a body full of hubris and arrogance is not only refreshing but encouraging.  If only more men had the fortitude to contend for the TRUTH as does Mr Galloway!

I encourage you to watch all six portions of the following video of Mr Galloway’s testimony before  the Senate Homeland Security Sub-committee.  Then take heart–there are heroes among us!

[UPDATE: For some reason Part I of the video will not appear on the screen.  However, you may view it here.]

[UPDATE II: After researching Mr Galloway a bit more, I have determined that he is a strange bird with some even stranger ideals and beliefs.  That being said, the videos are still worth watching and he can be praised for this display of courage in particular, if not for much of anything else.]