American Thinker: The Top Ten Pending Eruptions

The Top Ten Pending Eruptions

By Deanna Chadwell

It’s shaping up to be a long, hot summer, one filled -- like Yellowstone Park -- with geysers and hot springs ready to blow at any moment. But these are political eruptions, not nature's fury.  If I didn’t know that God has things under control I’d be terrified, but in the interest of keeping track of the truth let’s list the top 10 political eruptions we can expect to blow sometime soon.

10.  Hunter Biden. He’s at the end of the list because what happens with him is not likely to directly impact any of us, but he’s such a shocking collection of immoralities and corruptions that we all know deep in our bones that such nastiness cannot be condoned in a reasonable, prosperous, free society. Hardly a week goes by without some new scandal surfacing, and each seems worse than the last. Now he’s selling “paintings” as a money-laundering scheme. He and his slimy doings are bad enough by themselves, but he’s the president’s son. Sooner or later something has to be done about him and about the part his father has played in all of it.

9. Speaking of whom, something is also going to have to be done about Joe’s mental state, but that is complicated by the fact that Kamala’s mental acuity is not much better. She’s not suffering from dementia per se, but I suspect that she’s never been all that bright. And Pelosi is next in line and her mental problems border on insanity. So, what we will do about this mortifying state of affairs is going to require some divine intervention -- and soon -- have you heard him whisper/hiss his way through a press briefing? Yikes.

8. Critical Race Theory and the communist infiltration in our schools make up my #8. I’m thrilled to see angry parents accosting school boards. We need a lot more of that. I’m also thrilled to see parents pulling their kids from public schools and educating their children at home.  Will we be able to rectify the damage that’s been done? It will be hard because we have a couple of generations of teachers who have succumbed to the propaganda, so who do we find to teach the kids the truth?  It will be interesting to see how this shapes up this summer. It’s a desperate issue because our 1st Amendment is at stake here.

7. Not only is our 1st Amendment being challenged, so is the 2nd Amendment. These are lines we cannot cross and yet every time there’s a shooting the ante ratchets up another notch and we all know that if the 2nd Amendment goes, the 1st disintegrates and without those we have no freedoms of any kind. This assault on our freedoms of speech is made worse by the power of the mega-media and its desire to shut us up. It’s a relief to see some states staking out their ground on this issue. Sooner or later we’ll see a three-way face-off amongst states’ rights, federal overreach, and Big Tech.

6. Which makes me think of the McClusky’s in St. Louis, which gets us to our Number 6 – inner city violence.  Portland’s riot squad -- all 50 of them -- have resigned and no sane person can blame them. The murder rate there is up over 500%. Baltimore’s murder rate has hit a new high and Chicago is now the shooting capital of the country. Police are being sued, shot at, and defunded, so I doubt there’ll be much help from that quarter and here we are in riot season. The temperature in Portland and Seattle is stuck at triple digits -- will that shut down the rioting or heat it up? We’ll see.

5. Government spending and the national debt is resulting in inflation. The last year’s lockdowns are still stifling the economy. People who are harvesting government stay-at-home subsidies are weakening businesses that can’t find enough labor. Confusingly, the jobless numbers don’t look good, either. We’re financially walking a very shaky tightrope.

4. At number 4 I’ve put the border crises/invasion. Of course all will be well now that Kamala has visited El Paso, but we don’t see a lot of hope here. I’m thrilled that Texas has taken this bull by its horns and pledged to finish its part of the wall. I’m pleased to see that both Florida and Nebraska are sending troops down there to help out. But the solution we were well on way to has vanished.  The situation is deadly with summer scorching the deserts; cartels attacking ranch owners on the border; and drugs, disease, and criminals flooding in.

3. Number 3 on my list is the whole mess with COVID-19 origins, treatment suppression, Fauci/Wuhan/Google/Gates and the vaccine side effects. I can’t even imagine how all of that is going to get untangled because every day a new piece of damning information rises to the surface and raises even more concerns. Something needs to be done about Cuomo and his malfeasance with the nursing home deaths. Something needs to be done to atone for all the people who could have been treated with either Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine but were denied those medications. How do we relieve the paralyzing fear so many are stuck in? How do we help children who were adversely affected by school closures? How do we resurrect our small businesses? Most important of all, how do we prevent this from happening again?

2. It’s hard to decide between my 1st and 2nd concerns. But let’s go with the election audit efforts as Number 2. I’d put it at Number 1 if I thought there was much of a chance that Trump could be reinstated, but right now that seems like a pipe dream. But whether the recounts show the massive fraud most of us expect or not, the distrust this has engendered is monumental, the 2022 midterms are barreling down on us, and this needs sorting out now. I am so grateful for all the people who are fighting this battle, for all who are working hard in the audits. I just can’t picture what the outcome will be, but it better be soon.

1. I’ve put in first place China for several reasons. Trump always said they were our biggest problem and he’s been right about everything else. It’s also becoming obvious that China was behind the pandemic -- accidently or otherwise -- and we’re starting to see that China has been infiltrating our universities, fomenting racial hatred, and generally chipping away at our most sacred institutions. It also looks like they played an important part in rigging the 2020 election.  Now they’re threatening our ally Taiwan and making trouble in Hong Kong. They’re imprisoning their own people on religious grounds -- torture and slavery a big part of their anti-Islam program. They’re building a huge navy and messing around in the South China Sea. They’re up to something, and none of it is good.

These aren’t the only problems facing America right now, but they are the biggest volcanoes threatening our nation. We don’t know when each one will blow, but blow they will; they must. The pressure has to be released. Let’s each make our own list, or use this one as a prayer agenda, and get down on our knees. If these all go off at once, only God can help us.

One More Time

I've received requests, again, to publish this one, one more time:

"I have met with difficulties ... such as I never expected; but they must be borne with. The cause we are engaged in is so just and righteous that we must try to rise superior to every obstacle in its support."

~~ George Washington to Major General Philip Schuyler (Dec. 5, 1775)

I have been much troubled of late, regarding the fight which is even now striving for the heart and soul of America. We seem to be two peoples sharing a common border, but very little else.

Beginning over a century ago, school curricula began teaching that the founders of this nation were evil white Europeans. Slowly but steadily, the lives and writings of those who painstakingly crafted this Constitutional republic are forgotten, and in their place, we are served pablum ... the most puerile pap imaginable. Our younger daughter's history text, some years ago, had 24 pages about Sacajawea, but only ONE PARAGRAPH about George Washington.

Long has the pop culture and the so-called "mainstream" media told us that conservatives are evil, selfish, greedy, and so on. We're told that whatever their struggles, it has little-to-no relevance to today. After all, these are modern times. Didn't you know?

Bull. That's all a crock of the worst kind of garbage.

The men and women who gave their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor - a term which has nearly no modern equivalent - did NOT fight, stand, and often die so that greedy politicians could take care of us. That is NOT government's job, and I don't care who says it is. Anyone who believes that has been deluded. Or worse, they are deliberately ignoring the truth.

When President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the students at Columbia University in 1954, he spoke the following words:

Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionaries and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.

Absolutely.

We can no longer afford to sit idly by, hoping for the best, while those who hate America are striving to destroy it from within.

The progressives - those who want to progress beyond the Constitution - are in a decades-old struggle to take over this nation, this federation of united States. They know that it cannot be destroyed by conventional means, so they have undertaken to weaken it from within ... to use our compassion, our essential goodness, against us.

They tell us we must "care" about this cause or that ... we must "care" about the hungry, the needy, the disadvantaged. Well, here's a news flash: we do. The citizens of the United States have traditionally contributed more to charity than those of any other nation on earth.

But that's not good enough, they say. The problem is too large, too complex, too daunting for churches, or civic organizations, or charitable foundations to deal with it. Only government can do it properly, they say.

Well, "they" say LOTS of things. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1965; how's that workin' out for you?

Yay, poverty's gone! Oh. Wait.

One of the things our domestic enemies tell us is that the Constitutional is just an old document. They say it's no longer pertinent to us, today. Oh, really? Patrick Henry said,

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.

That Constitution lays out a few specific duties for the "General Government", as Thomas Jefferson phrased it. It also specifically says that anything not specifically spelled out in that document as being the responsibility of that government, is deliberately reserved to the States, or the People. That's the 10th Amendment (in case you've been under a rock for the last few years). But the Progressives in government, and their appointees who legislate from the judiciary, have been warping that for a long time now.

Those who love this Union, and the Constitution, and revere the idea that governmental authority flows upward from US, not downward from the government, are now waking up to find the burglar's out the door with all our possessions.

You think you're free? Do you have a permit for concealed carry in your wallet? Did you have to get permission to exercise your unalienable natural right, the one which shall not be infringed? Have you tried not paying the taxes on your home? Your car?

Do you need a permit to hunt? To fish? To board a plane? To vote?

Ihre Papieren, bitte.

Don't tell me about your driver's license; driving is a privilege, rather than a right. Unfortunately, too many have never been educated as to the difference.

This war - and make no mistake; it is a war for the heart and soul of this country - is here, now. You've watched that General Government ignore the voice of the constituency. You've seen them dismiss concerned and angry citizens at meeting after meeting; talking down to upset voters as if they were unruly children. After all, they say, they know what's best for us. Just shut up and listen, and they'll tell you.

Is your existence so precious that you'll pay any price in taxes, in licenses and fees and fines and penalties, in thousands upon thousands of new laws making your freedom a crime? Or, as Patrick Henry said, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" You know what I mean, folks. Big Brother the Nanny will tell you what's best, after all.

The massive entitlement programs which have been put in place, to enslave generations of Americans, will be tough to dismantle. But we must try. We can't allow the promise of a free lunch to bankrupt us. Unfortunately, the politicians are seemingly ignorant of TANSTAAFL. They need to be educated.

No more. Stand up, my friends. We can not allow this to continue.

I know that many of you are already doing what you can. To those, I say, "Bravo!" But many of us could do more. Our elected officials must understand that we will NOT sink back into slumber while they continue to destroy our liberty, one new regulation at a time.

Just a couple of years ago, the Democrats informed us - while they berated the previous administration in the most hateful and derogatory terms - that dissent is patriotic. Oh, really? Then why were the Tea Partiers told to sit down and shut up? Why did the Rethuglican Party coopt the Tea Party movement? Why are conservatives called the same names now, by those still in power? Now dissent is not only unpatriotic, they say, but "hate speech".

As long as there's any hope that peaceful protest will still work, we must be peaceful. But we must also be insistent and steadfast in our determination that they have gone too far. The day could be fast approaching when we may not be able to do - or say - anything at all about it.

Righting the Wrongs, Re-Visited

I've received a couple of requests to publish this one again, and the weather outside is crummy (icy/snowy, multiple accidents, etc), so here you go:

 

"I have met with difficulties ... such as I never expected; but they must be borne with. The cause we are engaged in is so just and righteous that we must try to rise superior to every obstacle in its support."

~~ George Washington to Major General Philip Schuyler (Dec. 5, 1775)

I have been much troubled of late, regarding the fight which is even now striving for the heart and soul of America. We seem to be two peoples sharing a common border, but very little else.

Beginning over a century ago, school curricula began teaching that the founders of this nation were evil white Europeans. Slowly but steadily, the lives and writings of those who painstakingly crafted this Constitutional republic are forgotten, and in their place, we are served pablum ... the most puerile pap imaginable. One of our daughters' history text, some years ago, had 24 pages about Sacajawea, but ONE PARAGRAPH about George Washington.

Long has the pop culture and the so-called "mainstream" media told us that conservatives are evil, selfish, greedy, and so on. We're told that whatever their struggles, it has little-to-no relevance to today. After all, these are modern times. Didn't you know?

Bull. That's all a crock of the worst kind of garbage.

The men and women who gave their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor - a term which has nearly no modern equivalent - did NOT fight, stand, and often die so that greedy politicians could take care of us. That is NOT government's job, and I don't care who says it is. Anyone who believes that has been deluded, or is deliberately ignoring the truth.

When President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the students at Columbia University in 1954, he spoke the following words:

Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionaries and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.

Absolutely.

We can no longer afford to sit idly by, hoping for the best, while those who hate America are striving to destroy it from within.

The progressives - those who want to progress beyond the Constitution - are in a decades-old struggle to take over this nation, this federation of united States. They know that it cannot be destroyed by conventional means, so they have undertaken to weaken it from within ... to use our compassion, our essential goodness, against us.

They tell us we must "care" about this cause or that ... we must "care" about the hungry, the needy, the disadvantaged. Well, here's a news flash: we do! The citizens of the United States have traditionally contributed more to charity than those of any other nation on earth.

But that's not good enough, they say. The problem is too large, too complex, too daunting for churches, or civic organizations, or charitable foundations to deal with it. Only government can do it properly, they say.

Well, "they" say LOTS of things. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1965; how's that workin' out for ya? Yay, poverty's gone!

 

Oh, wait.

One of the things our domestic enemies tell us is that the Constitutional is just an old document. They say it's no longer pertinent to us, today. Oh, really? Patrick Henry said

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.

That Constitution lays out a few specific duties for the "General Government", as Thomas Jefferson phrased it. It also specifically says that anything not specifically spelled out in that document as being the responsibility of that government, is deliberately reserved to the States, or the People. That's the 10th Amendment (in case you've been under a rock for the last few years). But the Progressives in government, and their appointees who legislate from the judiciary, have been warping that for a long time now.

Those who love this Union, and the Constitution, and revere the idea that governmental authority flows upward from US, not downward from the government, are now waking up to find the burglar's nearly out the door with all our possessions.

You think you're free? Do you have a permit for concealed carry in your wallet? Did you have to get permission to exercise your unalienable natural right, the one which shall not be infringed?

Ihre Papieren, bitte.

Don't tell me about your driver's license; driving is a privilege, rather than a right. Unfortunately, too many have never been educated as to the difference.

This war - and make no mistake; it is a war for the heart and soul of this country - is here, now. You've watched that General Government ignore the voice of the constituency. You've seen them dismiss concerned and angry citizens at meeting after meeting; talking down to upset voters as if they were unruly children. After all, they say, they know what's best for us. Just shut up and listen, and they'll tell you.

Is your existence so dear that you'll pay any price in taxes, in licenses and fees and fines and penalties, in thousands upon thousands of new laws making your freedom a crime? Or, as Patrick Henry said, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" You know what I mean, folks. Big Brother the Nanny will tell you what's best, after all.

The massive entitlement programs which have been put in place, to enslave generations of Americans, will be tough to dismantle. But we must try. We can't allow the promise of a free lunch to bankrupt us. Unfortunately, the politicians are seemingly ignorant of TANSTAAFL. They need to be educated.

No more. Stand up, my friends. We can not allow this to continue.

I know that many of you are already doing what you can. To those, I say, "Bravo!" But many of us could do more. Our elected officials must understand that we will NOT sink back into slumber while they continue to destroy our liberty, one new regulation at a time.

Just a couple of years ago, the Democrats informed us - while they berated the previous administration in the most hateful and derogatory terms - that dissent is patriotic. Oh, really? Then why were the Tea Partiers told to sit down and shut up? Why did the Rethuglican Party coopt the Tea Party movement? Why are conservatives called the same names now, by those still in power? Now dissent is not only unpatriotic, they say, but "hate speech".

As long as there's any hope that peaceful protest will still work, we must be peaceful. But we must also be insistent and steadfast in our determination that they have gone too far. The day could be fast approaching when we may not be able to do - or say - anything at all about it.

Saturday Morning

This is the first weekend in a month that we haven't awakened to a major snow clean-up, so it's already a good day. :)

It's supposed to be sunny today, but sunrise isn't until 9:10, so that's still nearly two hours away. Meanwhile, the local forecast is filled with news of the dense fog advisory in Anchorage. But we're not in Anchorage, so it's all good.

We'll go out after breakfast to do our usual weekend shopping, but the only other plans for the day involve running our taxes. Traditionally, I've waited until April, because we've had to pay additional funds. Every. Single. Year.

But this year, for the first time, I can answer "yes" to the "Did you buy a house?" question. We're looking forward to a possible refund for a change. It'll be a nice change of pace.

* * * * *

We watch the reports of rioting and property destruction ("protests", my giddy aunt!) with a growing sense of anger. It's about time someone spanked these rampaging Leftist idiots.

I'm going to stop right there, as I can feel my BP rising. And there's no sense spoiling a good morning.

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Have a wonderful, safe weekend!

Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent: Political Unrest

(with apologies to fans of Olde Bill)

 

 

The world is undergoing a shaking, right in front of our eyes, as played out on the 24-hour news cycle. Governments and political powers which previously seemed unmovable are trembling. Kings, prime ministers, presidents and rulers who were untouchable in the past are being removed from their places. Aside from unrest from different parts of the world, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis are getting stronger, and more frequent. It's time to read the signs of the time and check the historical map. Where are we, according to God’s master plan?

"Shaking of the earth" is not something that should surprise any reader of the Bible. God's Word records that it has already happened, and predicts that it will happen again.

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."

Heb 12:27 ~ This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.

Heb 12:28 ~ Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

Heb 12:29 ~ For our God is a consuming fire.

Paul, the author of the book of Hebrews, summarized the above text from the book of Haggai, chapter 2:6-7.

 

That book adds the following prophecy in preparation for the glorious temple and heavenly kingdom:

“I will overthrow royal thrones, destroying the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots and charioteers. The horses will fall, and their riders will kill each other.” Hag 2:22

Today, more turmoil is shaking the Middle East and central Europe, as those who are termed refugees turn on their hosts. From there, they slaughter innocents by the dozens and sometimes hundreds. The heat of Islamic revolution has spread or is now spreading to other countries.

The world as it was has been shaken, which once again reminds us of three fundamental truths.

THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL SOMEDAY SLIP AWAY

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."

No government or person, no matter how powerful they are, has the power to remain. The world is changing as it revolves.

Again, this shaking of world powers is not new to history. Daniel, chapter two, dramatically described it in prophetic way through the dream of the Babylonian king, and through it, the future transitions of the world powers were revealed.

You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Dan 2:31-35

 

Historians and Bible scholars generally agree that those symbols match these world powers:

1. The Babylonian Empire by Nebuchadnezzar - the head of gold

2. The Medo-Persian Empire: by Darius and Cyrus - the arm of silver

3. The Grecian Empire by Alexander the  Great - the belly and thighs of bronze

4. The Roman Empire by Caesars - Legs of iron and clay

Daniel 2:44 ~ In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.

Matthew 21:42 ~ "Then Jesus asked them, "Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ’The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see.’ "

Matthew 21:44 ~ "Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

This present world and all its governments will someday pass away. We have to put our hope and trust in someone who will remain forever.

Our relationship with God is the only thing that we can keep forever.

Matthew 16:26 ~ "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?"

All things may pass away; the world as we know it may be uprooted; life as we experience it may come to an end; but one thing stands eternally sure--the relationship of the Christian to God.

 

If you want to have a closer relationship with Jesus, you can pray this prayer and make that promise your own:

Dear God,

I can't manage my own life without you. I invite Jesus to come into my heart today and be the King and Lord of my life from this time on. I surrender my life to you today and I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

What then? Then you need to find a church which teaches the Bible, not feel-good messages from the Reader's Digest, and can help you find your way.

 

In the meantime, I would suggest you read a modern translation of the Gospel of John (fourth book of the New Testament). It explains who Jesus is, what He did, and why - and more importantly, what that means to you.

 

 

h/t Randy Bataanon

Political Unrest: What's Going On?

The world is undergoing shaking, right in front of our eyes. Governments which previously seemed unmovable are trembling. Kings and rulers who were untouchable in the past are being removed from their palaces. Aside from unrest from different parts of the world, earthquakes and tsunamis are getting stronger & more frequent. It's time to read the signs of the time and check the historical map. Where are we, according to God’s master plan?

"Shaking of the earth" is not something that a Bible reader should be surprised with. The Bible recorded that it has already happened and predicts that it will happen again.

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."

Heb 12:27 ~ This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.

Heb 12:28 ~ Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

Heb 12:29 ~ For our God is a consuming fire.

Paul, the author of the book of Hebrews, summarized the above text from the book of Haggai, chapter 2:6-7.
That book adds the following prophecy in preparation for the glorious temple and heavenly kingdom:

“I will overthrow royal thrones, destroying the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots and charioteers. The horses will fall, and their riders will kill each other.” Hag 2:22

Today, more turmoil is shaking Egypt, where the 30-year regime of Mubarak fell, and the new Egyptian ruler has all but declared himself a pharaoh, while his government is adopting a Sharia constitution. The heat of revolution has spread or is now spreading to other countries in the Middle East.

The world as it was has been shaken, which once again reminds us of three fundamental truths.


THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL SOMEDAY SLIP AWAY

Heb 12:26 ~ When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: "Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also."

No government or person, no matter how powerful they are, has the power to remain. The world is changing as it revolves.

The shaking of world powers is not new to history. Daniel, chapter two, dramatically described it in prophetic way through the dream of the Babylonian king, and through it, the future transitions of the world powers were revealed.

You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-- an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Dan 2:31-35

Historians and Bible scholars generally agree that those symbols match these world powers:

1. The Babylonian Empire by Nebuchadnezzar - the head of gold
2. The Medo-Persian Empire: by Darius & Cyrus - the arm of silver
3. The Grecian Empire by Alexander the  Great - the belly and thighs of bronze
4. The Roman Empire by Caesars -Legs of iron and clay

Dan 2:44 ~ In the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.

Mat 21:42 ~ "Then Jesus asked them, "Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ’The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see.’ "

Mat 21:44 ~ "Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

This present world and all its governments will someday pass away. We have to put our hope and trust to someone who will remain forever.

 Our relationship with God is the only thing that we can keep forever.

Mat 16:26 ~ "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?"

All things may pass away; the world as we know it may be uprooted; life as we experience it may come to an end; but one thing stands eternally sure--the relationship of the Christian to God.







If you want to have a closer relationship with Jesus, you can pray this prayer and make this your own:

Dear God,

I can't manage my own life without you. I invite Jesus to come into my heart today and be the King and Lord of my life from this time on. I surrender my life to you today and I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Amen.


h/t Randy Bataanon

Secession in the News - Again

Click the link to read the entire Congress.org article - and a h/t to The Maritime Sentry for first linking to this story:

The political message underlying last week's Hawaii celebration outside the White House was clear: The island state wants out of the union.

~~snip~~

Hawaii isn't the only state whose citizens believe the U.S. is occupying it unfairly. Secession movements persist to this day in border states like Texas, Vermont, Alaska, and parts of New York.

The Supreme Court ruled in the years following the Civil War that it is illegal for states to secede from the union, but that hasn't stopped people from trying it.

~~snip~~

Vermont's push for independence stems from opposition to war policies that began under President Bush, while Texan secessionists complained last year about having to pay for the health care overhaul.

The motivation differs slightly in Alaska and Hawaii, which have always had a secessionist impulse driven by their distances from Washington and local cultures.

"The idea is, 'We're so remote from the mainland that we should really be doing things our way,'" Paul Starobin, author of "After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age," said.

Townhall.com: Obama Has Enraged the "Citizen Class"

Fascinating piece by Austin Hill, over at Townhall.com. Excerpt:

The “citizen class” is horrified.

We’re speaking here of those Americans who, while they may disagree on a variety of social and public policy issues, nonetheless agree on a few, crucial matters.

~snip~

Our nation is good, U.S. citizenship is distinct, and national sovereignty is non-negotiable. In a nutshell, this is the mindset, the worldview, of the citizen class. It has nothing to do with one’s ethnicity, or socioeconomic background, or sexual orientation, or gender. It has everything to do with one’s most deeply held beliefs.

Not every U.S. citizen possesses the “citizen class” view (clearly some Americans don’t understand the blessing of their status), yet a majority of us still do. And no matter how much we may disagree on other matters, those of us in the citizen class won’t budge on these three items.

And this why President Obama has enraged the citizen class. He has planted the seeds of doubt regarding our nation’s goodness, and has implied that U.S. citizenship, and national sovereignty, are irrelevant.

Read, as they say, the whole thing. I think he comes pretty close to "right on the money".

Secession In The News

The Maritime Sentry: Secession In The News

My friend DR has posted a link to a pretty good article about what the author refers to as the growing secessionist movement in the U.S. Please read it, and then return for discussion.

What I said in my comment:

Many of [the author's] conclusions appear correct, although I disagree with his politics (no surprise, there). There are many, many who are beyond "fed up" and have moved on to "given up" re: the federal state. Be it ever so difficult, politically/financially/socially, they want OUT. Out of the corruption, the pandering, the politicization of everything, the scary-fast growth of the Nanny State, the impending demand for a doubling of the current tax rates, and the desire to "progress beyond" the Constitution.

They just want out. And I'm thinking they make a very good point.

Further thoughts: I wonder if the pro-secession folks have given thought to what they'd have, on the outside of the U.S. Will they be able to maintain a sound political structure? Is their state's constitution going to be used by the newly-independent nation-state they've created? What safeguards do they propose to ensure that the existing state government will continue, unimpeded?

Will their new country have diplomatic ties to the remaining States? Will the U.S. deign to recognize their passports? What about currency, i.e., whose will they use? If their own, what will it be based on? How will they conduct trade with the States? And will they seek confederation with other seceding states, or try to go it alone?

And if things go Tango Uniform from there ... where would they be able to go?

As the Joker advised Lt. Eckhardt: "Better be sure."

Righting the Wrongs

"I have met with difficulties ... such as I never expected; but they must be borne with. The cause we are engaged in is so just and righteous that we must try to rise superior to every obstacle in its support."

~~ George Washington to Major General Philip Schuyler (Dec. 5, 1775)

I have been much troubled of late, regarding the fight which is even now striving for the heart and soul of America. We seem to be two peoples sharing a common border, but little else.

Beginning nearly a century ago, school curricula began teaching that the founders of this nation were evil white Europeans. Slowly but steadily, the lives and writings of those who painstakingly crafted this Constitutional republic are forgotten, and in their place, we are served pablum ... the most puerile pap imaginable. One daughter's history text, some years ago, had 24 pages about Sacajawea, but ONE PARAGRAPH about George Washington.

Long has the pop culture, and the so-called "mainstream" media told us that conservatives are evil, selfish, greedy, and so on. We're told that whatever their struggles, it has little-to-no relevance to today. After all, these are modern times. Didn't you know?

Bull. That's all a crock of the worst kind of garbage.

The men and women who gave their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor - a term which has nearly no modern equivalent - did NOT fight, stand, and often die so that greedy politicians could take care of us. That is NOT government's job, and I don't care who says it is. Anyone who believes that has been deluded, or is deliberately ignoring the truth.

When President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the students at Columbia University in 1954, he spoke the following words:

Here in America we are descended in spirit from revolutionaries and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.

Absolutely.

We can no longer afford to sit idly by, hoping for the best, while those who hate America are striving to destroy it from within.

The progressives - those who want to progress beyond the Constitution - are in a decades-old struggle to take over this nation, this federation of united States. They know that it cannot be destroyed by conventional means, so they have undertaken to weaken it from within ... to use our compassion, our essential goodness, against us.

They tell us we must "care" about this cause or that ... we must "care" about the hungry, the needy, the disadvantaged. Well, here's a news flash: we do! The citizens of the United States have traditionally contributed more to charity than those of any other nation on earth.

But that's not good enough, they say. The problem is too large, too complex, too daunting for churches, or civic organizations, or charitable foundations to deal with it. Only government can do it properly, they say.

Well, they say LOTS of things. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1965; how's that workin' out for ya? Yay, poverty's gone! Oh, wait.

One of the things our domestic enemies tell us is that the Constitutional is just an old document. They say it's no longer pertinent to us, today. Oh, really? Patrick Henry said

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.

That Constitution lays out a few specific duties for the "General Government", as Thomas Jefferson phrased it. It also specifically says that anything not specifically spelled out in that document as being the responsibility of that government, is deliberately reserved to the States, or the People. That's the 10th Amendment (in case you've been under a rock for the last year). But the progressives in government, and their appointees who legislate from the judiciary, have been warping that for a long time, now.

Those who love this Union, and the Constitution, and revere the idea that governmental authority flows upward from US, not downward from the government, are now waking up to find the burglar's nearly out the door with all our possessions.

You think you're free? Do you have a permit for concealed carry in your wallet? Did you have to get permission to exercise your unalienable natural right, the one which shall not be infringed?

Ihre Papieren, bitte.

Don't tell me about your driver's license; driving is a privilege, rather than a right. Unfortunately, too many have never been educated as to the difference.

This war - and make no mistake; it is a war for the heart and soul of this country - is here, now. You've watched that General Government ignore the voice of the constituency. You've seen them dismiss concerned and angry citizens at meeting after meeting; talking down to upset voters as if they were unruly children. After all, they say, they know what's best for us. Just shut up and listen, and they'll tell you.

Is your existence so dear that you'll pay any price in taxes, in licenses and fees and fines and penalties, in thousands upon thousands of new laws making your freedom a crime? Or, as Patrick Henry said, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" You know what I mean, folks. Big Brother the Nanny will tell you what's best, after all.

The massive entitlement programs which have been put in place, to enslave generations of Americans, will be tough to dismantle. But we must try. We can't allow the promise of a free lunch to bankrupt us. Unfortunately, the politicians are seemingly ignorant of TANSTAAFL. They need to be educated.

No more. Stand up, my friends. We can not allow this to continue.

I know that many of you are already doing what you can. To those, I say, "Bravo!" But many of us could do more. Our elected officials must understand that we will NOT sink back into slumber while they continue to destroy our liberty, one new regulation at a time.

Just a couple of years ago, the Democrats informed us - while they berated the previous administration in the most hateful and derogatory terms - that dissent is patriotic. Oh, really? Then why are the Tea Partiers told to sit down and shut up? Why are conservatives called the same names now, by those in power? Now dissent is not only unpatriotic, they say, but "hate speech".

As long as there's any hope that peaceful protest will still work, we must be peaceful. But we must also be insistent and steadfast in our determination that they have gone too far. The day could be fast approaching when we may not be able to do - or say - anything at all about it.

March 25, 2010 - Threats, Violence, and Voters

Threats? Violence? Broken windows, phone calls ... so NOW they're listening?

The sheer arrogance of the Congress-critters is astounding. They've ignored their constituents, ignored the calls and letters, ignored e-mails, massive protests, and personal visits. Most recently, they've locked their doors and refused to even meet with the very folks who pay their salaries & whose votes they might need.

Do I condone the brick-throwing? No. Do I understand the frustration? Yes, I do.

The progressives have exposed their motives, and have only themselves to blame for the voters' frustration. Should it involve broken windows? No, I don't think the situation has devolved to that level. Do I think it might come down to that?

It's possible, although I pray that it won't.

This country was founded by Christians, for the most part, and those folks - who were, I believe, gifted by God with supernatural intelligence and understanding - dedicated this federation of united States to Him. I don't believe He will allow the nation to go that way again.

There may be civil unrest, although it would be ugly. But I pray to God that this country will not again suffer the horror of brother-against-brother warfare. Better the disaffected States should be allowed to leave, if necessary to avoid war.

There may be a time for war, folks, but we ain't there yet. Please - please - do ALL you can to effect change before we even think about armed rebellion. And federal-type folks? Don't be too gung-ho about drawing down on your masters (and I do mean all those taxpayers out there). NOTHING good will come of either side pulling a trigger, I assure you. You do remember that part about being a civil servant, don't you?

And isn't it sad that we have to talk about sides? We may be farther down that road than we want to acknowledge, but let's think it through. One more time.

Thursday Thoughts

Sorry for the light posting for the last couple of days; I poured myself into the post about events in the Navy, a couple of days back, and since then have been very busy.

I spent some time this afternoon writing another long-ish article about the growing undercurrent of calls for Alaskan secession, and then had second thoughts about publishing it. I don't want to be accused of fanning the flames. But I didn't start the fire (with apologies to Billy Joel), nor will it go out if I don't write about it.

But some are now pointing to the current administration's recent series of rulings regarding Alaska, and wondering whether Washington's dissatisfaction with Sarah Palin is spilling over into regulatory practices.

* * * * *

There's a search on, in Denali National Park, for an overdue aircraft inside Denali National Park with a pilot and a wolf biologist on board. Their Cessna 185 was supposed to return around nightfall, last night, but hasn't been seen since it took off at noon Wednesday.

UPDATE: Human remains have been found aboard the burned wreckage of an airplane in Denali National Park, the National Park Service said Thursday night.

My sympathy & prayers go out to their families.

* * * * *

I see the Colorado boy who was thought to have been aboard that balloon was found, hiding in a cardboard box in his attic. Thank God he's safe. In trouble? Now that's another story ...

* * * * *

It's 48 and partly clear this afternoon. The sun was shining for several hours, but the clouds are thickening once again. Just like last year, the muttering about how "it should be snowing by now" is on the increase. And just like last year, the only possible answer is, "hang on - it'll be here soon enough."

Like next week, according to AccuHunch Weather.

* * * * *

On a lighter note, I've just ordered one of these:













Happy hunting!