The Gifts from Thorns

Something different for a change.  The Sunday School teacher gave us homework.  He wanted us to write up something like you would find in the "Portals of Prayer".  The "Portals of Prayer" is a daily devotional booklet published by Concordia Publishing House for the LCMS.  For the month of December 2012 each day was about a Gift from God.  So our devotional was to be about Gifts.  Our own version of a Gift listed in the "Portals of  Prayer" or some completely new Gift.  This is my homework.  It may not be the final draft but it will be close.

 

The Gifts from Thorns

Read Psalm 91

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited” 2 Cor 12:7 ESV

“From brambles of thorns roses grow”

                                                              Mikhail

To keep Paul grounded in this world, to keep him humble, God allowed St. Paul to develop, as the King James puts it, “a thorn in my flesh”. This thorn forced Paul to turn to God for strength. As he says later in verse 10 “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” As with Paul so with us. God allows thorns in our flesh to bring us to our knees before Him to seek His strength. God turns our thorns into the many roses of His Blessings.

There was a lady who suffered from many medical problems throughout her life. On one occasion she needed surgery on her foot. On the day of surgery family and friends and her Pastor gathered with her in the hospital. Surgery, even if just on a foot, was surgery after all. Carrying risks. Showing the weakness of the flesh. Her gift of thorns reveled the blessings of family, friends and pastors. Right before the nurses were to take her to the operating room the Pastor prayed with her. Her thorn became the rose petals of Prayer and Comfort.

As her family and friends gathered in the surgical waiting room the Pastor offered a prayer for successful surgery. Her thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for her loved ones.

As the “Amen” was said they looked up. All the other people in the waiting room were looking at them in silence. These people had been listening too. This lady’s thorn became the blessing of Prayer and Comfort for people she didn’t even know. The Pastor’s prayer had contained the Word of God. The Good News of Christ. The Comfort of the Great Physician. The Holy Spirit working through the Word touched each and every heart in that room. We may never know how many thorns in loved ones flesh caused these people to be in this room at this time to hear this prayer. But God knows and his Holy Spirit will not return to Him void. From the gift of thorns to this one lady the roses petals of blessings surrounded her, her family and friends and perfect strangers. Who but God knows how many were moved that day through the gift of thorns to everlasting life.

There is a poem that begins: “For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost…”

I think it could be rewritten this way:
“For the gift of a thorn, a prayer was said;
For the word of a prayer, a soul was won…”

Our Hymn
“Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; Your best, your heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”
Lutheran Worship 510:1 Amen

An AR primer

A brief primer on “Assault Rifles”. The AR15 used in the recent mass murder of children has been referred to as an assault rifle. Here are some facts concerning this type of firearm:

The rifle used fired a .223 (5.56mm) caliber round originally designed to hunt varmints such as prairie dogs and coyotes. It is considered a mid range round firing a 45 to 55 grain bullet at approximately 3200 feet per second. This round is considered by some to be a bit under powered for deer but there are hunters who do deer hunt with it. An effective killing range would be out to 300 yards or so. But with an expert maybe longer. The United States adopted this round in the 1960’s to be fired from the Armalite Rifle which we now know as the AR15. The military version is known as the M16. Some of the reasons for the adoption of the M16 and this round are: The round was effective at short range and since we were fighting in the jungles of Vietnam ranges were reduced. This smaller round allowed our GI’s to carry (hump) more ammo. And since soldiers have to carry everything they needed this was a good thing. Some of our soldiers in recent wars have carried up to 80 pounds in weapons, armor and gear. The M16 was a lighter weapon to carry. The previous battle rifle the Army was using was the M14 which was all wood and steel and used heaver ammo. The M1 rifle of WWII weight more than 9 pounds and carried 8 rounds. The plastic and steel M16 and the .223 allowed the GI to carry twice the firepower for the same weight.

Definition of Assault Rifle.

The news likes to report the murderer used an automatic rifle or an assault rifle to shoot the children. An assault rifle is a select fire rifle. This means the rifle has a selector switch which will place the rifle in one of three different modes. They are: SAFE, SEMI, AUTO. This means the rifle is placed in SAFE which means it won’t fire. SEMI means the rifle will fire one round each time the trigger is pulled. AUTO means the rifle will fire continuously while the trigger is held back until the trigger is released or the magazine is empty. Some versions have a 3 round burst instead of full AUTO but you get the idea. A rife firing full AUTO is difficult to control. It is also difficult to hit the target after the first couple of rounds because of muzzle climb. And wastes ammo. In Vietnam many units had orders to not go to AUTO unless they were given a direct order by their NCO (non commissioned officer I.e.: sergeant/platoon leader).

The rifle used by the shooter was an AR15 which has a selector switch for SAFE and FIRE only. It will not fire full AUTO it can only fire one round for each pull of the trigger.

Magazines:

Magazines are not “high capacity” they are the normal capacity magazines designed for the firearm. Restricting the magazine capacity will only cause the firearm user to change magazines more often. 30 rounds in 30 seconds will now be 30 rounds ( three magazines of 10 rounds each) in 45 seconds. That’s figuring on a 5 second magazine change. 5 seconds won’t matter if you are hiding in a corner praying the cops get there in time.

The shooter at Virginia Tech had two handguns. One with a 10 round magazine and another with a 15 round magazine. He also had a backpack with 30+ magazines with him. Magazine capacity is not a limiting factor.

The Media:

The media in concert with the politicians is using hype to lead the public conversation against firearm ownership to institute a new Assault Weapons’ Ban. The Assault Weapons’ Ban of a few years ago were all cosmetic. If you already had a semi auto version of an AR15 or AK47 etc you were “grandfathered in”. So the rifles were not gotten rid of. The ban eliminated the import of rifles that had a pistol grip, bayonet lug, flash suppresser, magazines with a capacity of over 10 rounds, etc.

The ultimate wish of the media and the politicians is to remove all firearms from the people. They want to create a ground swell for new anti gun laws and to render the 2^nd Amendment moot if not repealed altogether. The reasons for the 2^nd Amendment can be found in the writings of our Founding Fathers. The Constitution was not ratified until the Bill of Rights were included. They are the first 10 Amendments that give specific Rights to the People and put binders on the power of the Government. See my previous post on the 2^nd Amendment.

Facts:

According to a study by John Lott, 2 million people in America stop robberies, rapes and murders each year using some form of firearm.

According to the 2011 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report homicide (by any means) is not among the top 15 leading causes of death in America.

The 2009 CDC report listed 16,799 homicides with 11,493 of those attributed to guns. During that same year, motor vehicle deaths were nearly triple that of gun-related death - 34,485 vs. 11,496. Death from accidental falls totaled 24,792, almost double the firearms homicide total.

Homicide by other guns (non-handguns) have remained at approximately 2% since 1985.

Since Britain has instituted it’s gun ban gun violence by gangs have increased to the point the once gun-less Bobbies are now walking around armed.

As of this writing there have been 500 homicides in Chicago.

There have been 26 gun deaths in Chicago schools this year.

Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. Some of the law are:

Prohibit the registration of handguns, thus effecting a broad handgun ban

Require that guns be registered prior to their acquisition by Chicago residents

Mandate that guns be re-registered annually, with another payment of the fee

Render any gun permanently non-registerable if its registration lapses

　

Conclusion:

All this hype about the gun used is because it’s “scary” looking. It looks military. It can shoot lots of bullets fast. The media and politicians are trying to stear the naritive away from the 2^nd Amendment right and towards emotional knee jerk reactions to disarm the people.

The Founding Fathers were clear in their writings that the 2^nd Amendment was NOT about hunting and Militias. No they made it clear the people’s rights to own guns, firearms, weapons was there for the self protection of the people from a tyrannical government. Remember we had just fought a war of independence from Britain and they knew how far an unchecked government could and did go to suppress the people.

Our government is moving from Freedom and Liberty to Tyranny. We must look past the scary gun and fight for our Rights!

The 2nd Amendment

Ok one last attempt to explain the 2^nd Amendment and the “need” for magazines that hold 10-20-30 rounds. I am not going to discuss the actual magazines or firearms but rather the broader question of the need of the 2^nd Amendment.

In answer to the question “why do you need a 30 round magazine?” I would reply “because the guy kicking down my door will have one”. That’s the one line answer that leaves everyone unsatisfied. Their eyes cross. Their brain cannot fathom the totality of that statement. So here’s the longer version.

Why do I need a 30 round magazine? Why do I need access to an AR15? Who tells me what I need or don’t need. Who has the power in America? The People? The Government? Your answer to the last two questions will show your understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Let us return to those times of old where men wore powdered wigs and spoke in flowery ways. The colonies had put up with many wrongs from the English Crown and despite their attempts at a peaceful redress of grievances finally penned the Declaration of Independence. Part of the second paragraph reads as following.

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness---That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed….” (emphasis mine)

Let us now look to the preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

In this case the emphasis is not mine. The words We the People were written in emphasis to establish who is setting up this Constitution and who has the power. The Founding Fathers were afraid of a strong central government so they wrote the Constitution as a relatively short document designed to establish limited government at the same time allowing freedom and liberty to thrive. The Constitution is a wall around the power of the government. The Constitution protects us from the same type of tyrannical government we broke away from in 1776.

If I remember my history right when it came time for the States to ratify the Constitution there were concerns about the absence of a list of Rights in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson wrote from Paris about a lack of Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalists were also concerned with a central government that was too powerful. The Federalists said that a Bill of Rights were not necessary because these Rights were understood and didn’t need to be listed. Thank God for James Madison. He wrote the Bill of Rights! With these Rights attached the States were able to ratify the Constitution. Read the Bill of Rights, they are the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution! They all are about the individual’s rights. This is the list of Civil Rights you hear so much about. As an individual you have the Right of: Freedom of Speech (1). Freedom of Religion (1). Freedom to assemble (1). Freedom to petition the Government (1). Freedom to keep and bear Arms aka self defense (2). Freedom to not be forced to house soldiers (3). Freedom from unlawful searches and seizures (4). Freedom from self incrimination (5). Freedom to a speedy and public trial (6). Freedom to a jury trial in civil cases (7). Freedom from excessive bail or fines (8). Freedom from cruel and unusual punishments (8). Freedom of other rights not listed (9). Freedom to retain the powers not in the Constitution (10).

I will now concern myself to the 2^nd Amendment. What was the original intent of the 2^nd Amendment? Why was the phrase “keep and bear Arms” used? Let us look to what was written back then.

“The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals… It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.” Albert Gallatin to Alexander Addison, October 7, 1789

“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to us them…” Richard Henry Lee, January 25,1788

“To disarm the people…[is] the best and most effectual way to enslave them…” George Mason, June 14, 1788

“The right of the people to keep & bear arms has been recognized by the General Government; but the best security of that right after all is, the military spirit, that taste for martial exercises, which has always distinguished the free citizens of these States;…. Such men form the best barrier to the liberties of America.” Gazette of the United States, October 14,1789

“The great object is, that every man be armed… Every one who is able may have a gun.” Patrick Henry, June 14, 1788

“The advantage of being armed… the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation… In the several kingdoms of Europe,,, the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.“ James Madison, Federalist 46

“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms for all would be alike; but since some will not, other dare not lay them aside… Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them… The weak will become a prey to the strong.” Thomas Paine, July, 1775

“A free people ought…to be armed…” George Washington January 14, 1790

You can see by these writings of our Founding Fathers, and there are many more I could have added, we have the individual right to bear Arms. Arms were for the preservation of our Liberty. Arms preserve ourselves and our property. Arms for protection from the criminal kicking in our door. Protection from the foreign invader. Protection from our own governments attempts to enslave We the People.

As you have read, the early writings about Arms must be viewed through the lens of history. We had just fought a war of independence. Wars require military Arms. Invaders and governments have military Arms. Criminals won’t give up their arms even if we do and they will have the most firepower they can get their hands on. They will have the “high capacity” magazines. They will have the AR15s and the AK47s. So will the invader and the tyrannical government.

So why do I need these things? Because I determine what my needs are as a free man. Because I have the Right to keep and bear Arms. This Right shall no be infringed! Because I am one of We the People.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

　

　

　

Moral Decline, Part 1

This post may seem to run counter to the previous post I made about the Connecticut Shooting. There is no doubt that the EVIL COWARD is to blame. This post is my attempt to explain why there seem to be more and more evil cowards committing these heinous acts.

No society can long withstand the assault upon it’s morals as America has. That is the sad state we find ourselves in today and the list is long.

Number one on my list is abortions. A couple of numbers to remember when it comes to abortions. The first is 54,559,615. That is the number of babies aborted (cut from their mother’s wombs) from 1973-2011 in the US. The other number I want you to remember is 1.2 million (1,200,000). Every year since 1978 there have been in excess of 1.2 million abortions performed in the US. And finally a third number, 2%. That’s the number of abortions reported because of rape or incest in the US. These numbers are from the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life website found here: http://www.mccl.org/us-abortion-stats.html . These numbers closely match the numbers reported by Planned Parenthood.

Friday an evil coward forced himself into a grade school and murdered many, including 20+ children. It is all in the news now with new crews from all the networks parked in the little town reporting all the facts they can find. Even if they are the wrong facts. Yet! Yet, every day over 3,000 children, babies, are cut up in their mother’s womb and suctioned out. To be thrown away like so much garbage. There is not a single news camera to be found to cover this story. Remember the 2%? The number of abortions as a result of rape or incest? Rape and incest are terrible things to happen to women and girls. Yet this is the main argument trotted out whenever abortion is debated. Emotions run high with this argument and I can understand the strain upon a woman both physically and mentally. I can see the use of abortion in this case or in the case of the risk to the life of the mother. However most of the remaining 98% of the reasons for an abortion listed involve the following: cannot afford another child, don’t want a child, a child will interfere with the mother’s life style, the mother doesn’t want a lasting relationship with the father. How can the murder of innocents on this scale not affect the morals of a country?

As we can see from the abortion reasons above that America has devolved into a selfish nation. We look for instant gratification. We think of the ME and the NOW. Thus we move to the next item on our list.

The media. Wither it’s the news or movies. The music or TV. The media trots out assaults upon our morals time after time. Case in point, the news crews are swarming all over the little town in Connecticut with their cameras and reporters thrusting their microphones into everyone’s face. Just so they can be the First to get some tidbit of a story ahead of their competition. This is such a problem the state of Connecticut has assigned a trooper to each of the victims families. Not to protect them from evil doers but to protect them from the media. (Although I could possibly assign evil doers status to the media)

Movies show violence. Lots and lots of violence. Now don’t get me wrong I like movies that have a lot of bang bang boom boom. But should we be showing such graphic violence in movies that children and young adults watch? Then there is the hypocrisy of the actors who make these movies then decry the violence of the people. They decry gun violence yet make movies where they shoot thousands of rounds killing thousands of people. Maybe they should stop showing gun violence in movies just like they stopped showing people smoking. They won’t because that would cost them money.

How about the video games where the player is the shooter killing all around them. All this numbs the mind and the soul of the viewer and player. And I think that is the reason for the change in our media over the years. The numbing of the soul. The violence. The sex. The anti marriage messages. The anti religion messages. The anti Christian rants and hints. Name the number of TV show that have a happily married couple. How about the number of shows that have a single parent? The number of shows where the actors are sleeping with every one and every thing. How about the shows were the pastor or priest is some bumbling buffoon. Or some kind of amoral person. “The butler did it” has been replaced with “the preacher did it”.

I could go on and on but this is getting too long so I will end this as: Part 1

Connecticut School Shooting

On December 14^th, 2012 a tragic shooting took place at a school in Connecticut. Much blame will be assigned to the guns used. But there is only one place to put the blame.

THE SHOOTER!!

Yes the shooter. An EVIL COWARD who went to a place he knew would be defenseless against his cowardly actions. Yes, he brought a gun to a “Gun Free” zone. Therefore ensuring there would be no resistance to his EVIL intent.

The poor children’s bodies were still lying bleeding on the floor when the politicians were elbowing for mic time to call for more gun control. Yet we have gun laws on the books now that should have stopped this act.

It’s against the law to murder your mother.

It’s against the law to bring a gun onto school property.

It’s against the law to bring a gun into a school building.

It’s against the law to shoot out a window in a school to gain access to the building.

It’s against the law to murder children and teachers in school.

There are stricter punishments on the law books for anyone convicted of committing a crime with a gun.

All the facts are not in as of this writing so a complete list of laws broken may include more.

Did any of these laws prevent EVIL COWARD from committing this heinous act. No! Evil people will do evil things regardless of the Law! What, you say laws don’t make us safer? No they don’t. Only law abiding moral people follow laws. As the saying goes “locks only keep honest people honest“. Enacting more laws won’t make us more safer. What can we do to stop this from happening again? Sadly not much if anything. If all guns are outlawed then only the outlaws will have guns. Sounds like an NRA slogan doesn’t it? It’s a true statement. According to CNN there were 310 million nonmilitary firearms in the U.S. as of 2009. In 2011 47% of Americans polled told Gallup they had at least one gun in their home. Wow those are big numbers. If guns are to blame how come 47% of Americans aren’t murderers? To use the same argument concerning the 12-20 million illegal aliens in the US. How do you deport them all? If we outlaw guns how do you collect 310 millions firearms? The numbers are truly daunting. Do you truly think all legal gun owners will turn in their guns? You’re dreaming if you do.

But lets just say they do. How have the strict gun control laws worked in Chicago? How about Washington D.C.? They both have very, very strict gun laws yet hundreds of people die each year by gun violence in those cities. Will the gang bangers and evil doers turn in their guns? I don’t even have to answer that question do I. I do know they would vote for gun control because they would know if they kicked in a door to your house there would be no firearm to stop them at the door. Maybe a ball bat or golf club. But if you remember the scene from “Indiana Jones” what did Indy do when confronted by a sword wilding bad guy in the market? He just stood off and shot him dead. That’s you trying to stop an evil doer when he has a gun. Remember the first rule of a gun fight, bring a gun.

What guns were used in the Oklahoma City bombing? How about those flights on 9/11?

In 1927 a school board treasurer in Bath, Michigan got mad at the school about his taxes going up. Over a period of time he hid dynamite and other explosives in the school. On May 18^th he beat his wife to death then set fire to his house. While firefighters were fighting that fire he set off the dynamite at the school. As rescuers were at the school he drove up in his explosive laden car and set it off too. Searchers later found 500 pounds of dynamite and other explosives in the school basement that failed to go off. The death toll was 38 elementary school children, 2 teachers, 4 other adults plus the school superintendent.

Evil men will find ways to do evil deeds. All we can do is prepare as best we can. Maybe allow more law abiding citizens to conceal carry. (I have a problem with that statement having the government allow us to exercise our constitutional right) Maybe have armed guards at schools. Maybe monitor people with mental health issues more closely. Although I would have to be careful with that one. With ObamaCare coming up and gun haters gearing up more people may be declared mentally dangerous just to restrict access to guns and get around that messy 2^nd Amendment. Anyway don’t blame the gun.

Or the broken home. There are many people from broken homes who don’t murder.

Or mothers and fathers. There are many people who have a bad relationship with their mothers or fathers who don’t murder.

Or mental problems. There are many people with mental problems who don’t kill.

Do all these contribute to the EVIL COWARD’s last act? I suppose they could but we could find thousands of people just like him that don’t murder It is popular in our culture today to assign blame for evil deeds. Mothers, fathers, schools, churches, lack of God in our schools or lives, no money, too much money, blacks, whites, it’s all somebody’s else’s fault. Anybody remember the “Twinkie Defense”? But I ask and answer this way:

Why did he do this? He was an evil coward!

Who’s fault is it that this happened? The one who’s finger was on the trigger!

Who's money is it?

So much to say but this is a start.

When you work for an hour do you receive an hour’s pay? To whom does that money belong? Wither you are paid by the hour or by salary or commission your investment of time and labor is rewarded by an agreed upon monetary amount. Who’s money is it?

Let us suppose you saved your money over time and invested it into a business. One that you work long hours at growing and keeping afloat. You take some of the net profits as salary and re-invest the rest in your business to grow it. Is that money yours?

Remember the President saying during the campaign that “you didn’t build that”? Some say he was taken out of context but I happen to think it was one of his rare honest moments. I also think he is not alone in thinking that in Washington. Listen to the words that are used in the latest budget crisis. The one that really rubs me wrong is the idea that the rich aren’t paying their fair share. To phrase it another way the President likes to state that not raising taxes on the wealthiest one percent costs Washington billions of dollars a year.

Now we get to the crux of the matter. When you earn a dollar who’s dollar is it. Following the rhetoric of the President and other politicians it must be theirs because letting you keep more of that dollar COSTS THEM! Yes they think that letting the rich keep only two thirds of every dollar they earn is bad. They must pay their fair share. But what is a fair share? The President and his minions won’t answer that. They just keep repeating their mantra: pay fair share, pay fair share, pay fair share……

Sadly the American people have bought into this madness. Obama was re-elected. So let’s look into this more.

The top 1% of the wage earners pay 10% of the income taxes.

The top 10% of the wage earners pay 40% of the income taxes.

The top 53% of the wage earners pay 100% of the income taxes.

The bottom 47% pay no tax.

What’s a fair share? Who needs to pay more? Why does the government need more money? Why the answer is to spend it. There’s even talk of another stimulus bill next year and any spending cuts are to agreed upon later. But later never comes. It didn’t come under Regan when the Democrats promised cuts in exchange for raising taxes. It didn’t come under the first Bush when the Democrats promised cuts in exchange for raising taxes. Why should a promise from Democrats to cut spending be believed now?

So now we are at the philosophical fork in the road. The sign asks the question: “Whose money is it?”. The right fork is marked “Yours”. The left fork is marked “The Governments”.

“Yours” means you work for yourself and the government takes a little bit of each dollar you earn to contribute to the benefits of living in America, i.e.: roads, defense, the common good, etc. “Yours” also means you are the master of your life in as far as it doesn’t interfere with your neighbors life. It also means you are to prepare for life’s ups and downs. You should be as self reliant as you can be. If you need help you can get it from friend, family, church. The government will also give you temporary help in time of need.

“The Governments” means you work and the government leaves you less and less of each dollar you earn. The government knows better how to spend the dollars you earn. You are not the master of you life. The government will take care of you. There’s no need to be self reliant. Washington is now your father and mother. Let them guide you through life.

Which philosophy would allow you your freedom for “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”?

　

My answer to the question “Who’s money is it?” is MINE.

My answer to the question “What is fair?” is this…

IF THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY ONLY ASKS FOR 10% WHO DOES WASHINGTON THINK THEY ARE TO ASK MORE!!!!

Black and White

Black and White. That’s how I see the world. Black and White, right and wrong, good and bad. Good and evil. Truth and lies.

Growing up I was taught there was a right and a wrong way to behave. A right and a wrong way to think. A right and a wrong way to believe. A binary thought process. Ones and zeros. On and off. Right and wrong.

I still believe that way. In every situation there is a right way to proceed and a wrong way. You see right is Right just as truth is Truth. You don’t have to believe it for a truth to be true. Just like you don’t have to understand the right way for there to be a Right way. Where we have gone wrong as a people is moving away from the concept of Right and Wrong. A few years ago a creeping thought entered into our collective conscience. This way of thinking was called “situational ethics”.

Our whole society is built upon this new thought process. We have embraced this concept because it allows us to bypass our teaching and our conscience mind telling us not to do what we know to be wrong. This lets us enjoy those guilty pleasures we want but know we shouldn’t have. Hollywood is full of people who embrace this thought. These same people produce show after show of people doing wrong. Why? I suspect they are trying to influence all of us that this is normal. So we emulate them and strive to be just like them. Behaving badly is now the new norm. The most outrageous behavior is celebrated and is out there for all to see. So we have shows where people live together without the benefit of marriage. Children born out of wedlock. People having sex before they even shake hands. Men of God ridiculed for quoting the Bible. Show after show displaying bad behavior holding it up as noble. To embrace the phrase “if it feels good, do it” to the point that we behave like beasts in the field.

It is not just Hollywood.

As a people we allow ourselves to be sucked into this philosophy so we can temper the guilt and disdain that wells up inside us. And yet that little voice will not be totally silenced. The Bible tells us even the natural man has the Laws of God printed upon his heart. And so we are miserable when we do what we know to be wrong. Or put in another way “in our sin“. Taking it out on any who come our way and dare to place the mirror of Truth before us.

It has now gotten so bad that life has no worth. A young man in Peoria was killed for his iPad. The weak are preyed upon and beaten for sport as seen on video after video on you tube. Children are cut apart and sucked out of their mother’s womb because they are not wanted. Or they will hinder mommy from having a good time. Don’t we know that children are a gift from God?

Are we so rich we can reject God’s gifts?

Good and bad. Black and white. There is only one Right way. No Gray. Just the Black of evil. The black of death. What we see as gray is our attempts at deluding ourselves. Our unwillingness to do the right thing, the hard thing. We avoid the cost to ourselves at the expense of our souls.

Now we’ve reached the point. The point that our very souls are at stake. “What profit’s a man if he gains the whole world but looses his soul.” To do right is good and to do wrong is bad. The natural man referred to earlier is also know by another name. The “old Adam”. This “old Adam” must be fought against and as Luther says we must drown him in the waters of baptism daily.

I have a vision of myself holding a man under water. This man doesn’t want to drown so is fighting with all his might. Arms and legs are flailing and punches are being thrown. A mighty struggle is taking place. As I struggle I grow weaker as he grows stronger. I peer into the water and see it’s me I am fighting against. Just when I can’t fight any longer God places his hands on mine to help me drown this “old Adam” of mine. As long as I don’t reject His help and shake off His hands the battle is won. But only for today. Tomorrow it begins again. I must surrender to God and His Truth daily so I can use His strength to defeat what’s in me.

There is only one Right.

There is only one Truth.

THE IRS WANTS TO KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU!

Ok, time to get your mad on. Or not. It would appear the ObamaCare debate really doesn’t resonate with the American people. Oh well. Maybe the following will get your blood pressure up. I hope it does.

On “The Examiner” website ( found at washingtonexaminer.com) dated October 1, 2012. Byron York, chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner writes about how Romney should expose the IRS as the enforcer for ObamaCare.

My readers may remember I was concerned about the IRS overseeing the implementation of ObamaCare. How thousands of new agents will be hired to help enforce ObamaCare upon 300,000,000 Americans. Now see how the IRS will even further invade our lives.

Remember, the IRS will impose penalties if you don’t have medical insurance or if you have inadequate medical insurance. Two things you have to consider when you read that statement.

1. How are penalties assessed? Well it’s been reported the IRS cannot directly fine you if you don’t comply with the mandates of Obamacare. BUT! They can assess and deduct any penalties from any tax return you may receive. That’s right. The average tax return is $3000. Now imagine the IRS taking out 600 to 1200 dollars for your non compliance. How does that make you feel? I’d be mad. But wait there’s more. Let us consider item number 2.

2. Quoting “The Examiner” article again. “The IRS will also determine who is eligible for taxpayer-financed subsidies to purchase health care on the exchanges that will be set up in every state.” How do they do that you ask? Well you will be required to report, to the IRS, every time there is a change in your status. That’s right. Your status determines whether you are eligible or in compliance with the Obamacare rules and regulations. So every time you get a raise, a new job, move to another state, get married, divorced, have kids, have kids move out -- you will be required to report it to the IRS for the purpose of recalculating your eligibility.

That’s right you have to report to the IRS every time there is a change in your life. If you don’t you may be penalized. Think owing the IRS a fine. You may also be denied benefits. Or at best your benefits may be delayed.

This will be enforced starting 2014. This was reported under questioning at a congressional hearing by Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS.

So remember. Starting in 2014 you must inform the IRS, by official form I’m guessing, of the following:

A raise.

A promotion.

A change in employment.

A move to another state.

Marriage.

Divorce.

Birth of a child.

A child move out.

Anything that changes you status.

With the conversations concerning health care that are out there the following would not be beyond the scope of the questions the IRS may require answers for.

Do you smoke?

Do you drink alcohol?

Do you own a firearm?

Do you engage in high risk sports? I.e.: hunting, skiing, skydiving, ATV riding, motorcycle riding, etc

The above increases the risk to health and also increases the risk of bodily injury.  That would raise health care costs.  So who’s to say that won’t be required reporting too? So how much do you want to report to the IRS and have that information reside on a government computer forever.

How’s that Hope ‘n’ Change working for you now? How’s that “You have to pass the bill to know what’s in the bill“. Maybe we should consider all this when we vote November 6^th.

It’s not just about who the President is. It’s also the House, Senate, State Governors, State Senators and Congressmen.

We really must vote. Not to vote give up your say in how this country moves forward. If you give up your vote you give up your rights. Remember the loss of freedom is always just one vote away.

Thanks for reading.

I remember in school having to say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning.  We would all stand and face the Flag and place our hand over our heart.

I would pledge allegiance to this flag.

I will not pledge allegiance to this abomination.

Across the world Muslim savages are burning the American flag.  Perhaps we should send them the above disgraceful image to burn instead.  Hell, I may even burn one myself.

And while we are sending them Obama's flag perhaps we should STOP sending them these......

Just saying.......

So I wanted to start writing again but didn’t know where to start. Talk about Mary? Talk about the last few weeks and my feelings? Well that may come sometime but for now those feelings are a little too raw to say much except I am still having trouble figuring what to do with myself. For years I have tried to write and this blog was an extension of that desire. So I will once again write. Even if it is only a few words. Just a thought. An idea. Anything…….

Then it hit me. The TV cameras show a podium in the Rose Garden. The President appears. He gives his speech about the children of illegal aliens who were dragged to America and forced to get an education and now face a future of uncertainty. They cannot go to college. Can’t get a job. Can’t have a life. All because of the actions of their illegal alien parents sneaking their families across our boarders. Breaking our laws. Stealing identities so they can get a job. Driving without insurance because they are illegal’s. Shutting down ER’s by seeking medical help without insurance. The list goes on and on and on….

But this is not about illegal aliens.

This is about Barack Hussein Obama and his attempt to go around the Constitution, To Rule by Executive Order.

January 20, 2009. Obama places his hand upon a Bible and says. “ I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the Office of President of the United States faithfully, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God”

March 2011. At a town hall meeting aired on Spanish speaking Univision Obama was asked about using Executive Order to stop deportation of students. His response was that he could not stop deportations through Executive Order.

September 2011. On the Whitehouse.gov website a video of Obama show him explaining he could only enforce the laws as laid out by Congress and did not have the authority to go around the laws nor to ignore the laws concerning the deportations.

June 15, 2012. Apparently magic pixy dust has been found that now allows Obama to continue to raise the Presidency to one of a Dictatorship. Why? What happened that could change his mind? There were no explanations. No citing of legal authority. No court ruling.

Judging by Obama’s actions and the little facts that I know I can only conclude the following. Given the fairly even poll numbers with Romney and the beating Obama is getting on the economy he wanted to change the news narrative. To control the conversation. This also served to bolster Obama’s numbers with the Hispanic population into which Romney has been making slight inroads.

Couple this with the talk of Senator Marco Rubio’s name being banded about for Romney’s VP choice. As well as Senator Rubio’s version of the Dream Act that will be coming out soon and which is said to be very similar to what Obama announced June 15^th. I cannot imagine Obama wanting Rubio’s bill to be debated and possibly passed before the election and then have Rubio run against him in the VP slot.

Regardless how you feel about the subject of student deportations I believe this could have been handled better this way.

Ring, ring.

“Hello, this is Senator Rubio speaking.”

“Yes Senator, this is President Obama. May I speak with you for a minute?”

“Why yes Mr. President.”

“I’ve heard some good things about your proposed Dream Act and I believe it has many of the same things I would like to see in such a bill. I would like to meet with you soon to see if we could come to some kind of mutual agreement on the wording. Then, with my support we could move this bill along through the Senate and House. What do you think?”

“Yes Mr. President, I would love to work with you on getting this bill through Congress.”

“Great Senator! I look forward to our bi-partisan cooperation on this important legislation.”

A conversation like this with the subsequent bi-partisan presentation of such a bill would go a long way towards accomplishing what the President tried to do June 15^th. The President would have been seen as a hero working as a leader. Reaching across the aisle. Getting the job done for the country. As well as going a long way in negating Senator Rubio’s influence with the Hispanic vote should Romney choose him for VP.

This would have been the right way to approach this subject. It would have been the Constitutional way to reach his goal. But no. This President sees himself above this. He feels decrees from him should be followed without question. Obama does not seem to want to do the hard heavy lifting that our Constitutional Republic requires of it’s leaders. So we return to the scene in the Rose Garden where this administration once again acts contrary to the stated duties of the Executive Branch of our Constitution.

And don’t get me started on the lack of outcry from Congress. They may wish to abdicate their authority to the Presidency but I do not. To Congress I say, “Do your job or get out!”

The same to the Press. DO YOUR JOB OR GET OUT!

November 6^th. The jobs of the Senators, Congressmen and the President are up for a vote. To the people of the United States I say…..

DO YOUR JOB AND GET OUT AND VOTE!

New Beginnings

As my many readers know Mary has .... What's an elagent way of saying one's wife has died? Passed away? The Lord has taken her home? How bout just saying that I have been ripped in half. We were the M&M's. Mike and Mary. I don't remember how to be Mike without Mary. So I am dimmished but I carry on. It's not good-by. It's see you later. I have decided to write again. To continue to post Michael's veritas. To declair the truth. To speak the Truth to the world.

New HHS Mandate

HHS Mandates.

The Department of Health and Human Services has mandated that all religious insurance providers, health care providers and hospitals provide contraception, sterilization, “morning after abortion drugs” and abortion on demand. And has given the religious organizations one year to comply regardless of how these provisions violate religious beliefs. The biggest religious group affected is the Catholic charities and hospitals. They thought they were getting a waiver from this mandate for the Bishop’s support of ObamaCare last year. Silly, silly people. They thought Obama would keep his promise. Who do they think they are? A labor union or some business in Nancy Pelosi’s district? After all that’s where the majority of the 1500 plus ObamaCare waivers went to.

In response the Catholic Bishops put out a letter to be read in all churches last Sunday stating they will not comply with this HHS mandate and will fight it.
I stand with the Catholic Bishops.

One. This is a clear violation of their rights as put forth in the first amendment.

Two. I also feel this is a violation of the fourteenth amendment’s equal protection clause in respect to the rights of the unborn child.

Three. I feel this would be successfully argued against in the courts. Especially in light of the recent unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court that stated the government cannot mandate who religious organizations can hire if that hiring would violate the religious organizations beliefs.

Why would the Obama administration try to incite one quarter of the US population who are Catholic? Especially during an election year? What about the rest of us who for religious reasons oppose abortion on demand? I can only think of a few reasons why.

Reason one. Obama and his administration are arrogant and full of themselves. They believe they are the only ones who know what is best for us. After all he is the “anointed one” our very own “dear leader”. Obama’s advisor Valerie Jarrett said that Obama was so smart that he becomes bored quickly with the job of president.

Reason two. They hope the Roman Catholic Church in America will fight. Remember the IRS is in charge of overseeing compliance with ObamaCare. I see the administration revoking their tax exempt Statius so the government can then tax the Catholic Church’s income, property and assets. This would be a boon of millions if not billions of dollars to the government for them to spend as they see fit. They do love our money. This would also quash any resistance from other church bodies.

Reason three. The Catholic Church gets out of the business of health care and hospitals. Thus causing a collapse of our health care system. The Obama administration would then be forced “for the good of the people” to assume total control of health care in America. Think about it. The administration is already tying everything to health care. Be it gun ownership, smoking, obesity, salt intake, sugar in soda, car safety, children’s sport activities, &c. Therefore all can be regulated regardless of that pesky old “outdated” Constitution. They could have total control over our bodies and activities from cradle to grave.

Reason four. This is a miss direct action. A slight of hand to focus our attention here while they slip something past us with the other hand. I don’t know yet what that would be but with these guys you never know.

Reason five. This could be yet another attack on religion in America. Obama’s spiritual advisor during his campaign has resonantly come out praising the decline of the Jewish/Christian religion in America and the rise of a new secular religion. A religion of the government. If this is true then this is a game changer. Our Rights come from God not man. But if we get rid of God in our nation then where do our Rights come from. The government. Obama during the last campaign talked about how the Constitution was a document of negative liberties. He wants to rewrite the Constitution to his own standards of rights and liberties. How many times has our Constitution been rewritten? Zero! A few Amendments that’s it. How many times has the constitution in other countries been rewritten? Several times for each country. Why? In part because they believe their rights come from the government. Governments change therefore rights change.

Couple all this with the report from two bioethicists, one from Duke University the other from the National Institute of Health. Their report asked the question “what makes killing wrong?” Their conclusion was: if a person had no abilities left to them, then it would be ok to kill that person and harvest their organs so others may live. Why wait for them to die. They also believed that killing humans for these reasons was no different than weeding a garden. This sort of weeding out happen in the 1930s to the old and infirm, “the retarded”, Jews and Gypsies in a little country you might of heard of, Germany. This was also advocated by our own leaders 30 years before the Nazis. Isn’t history wonderful.

Lets recap:
Advisors to Obama want to replace God and religion with a religion of the government.

The administration is attacking religion and religious health care providers to provide abortions &c.

A report from two prestigious sources, Duke University and the National Institute of Health putting forth the idea of killing people for organ harvest. A report that may end up being cited in future court cases.

Does anyone remember a certain state senator from Illinois named Obama? While in the Illinois state senate he fought for, FOUGHT FOR, the ability to deny health care for a child who had survived an abortion attempt. A child who despite efforts to kill it in the womb was born alive anyway. State senator Obama fought to deny care to the child who was alive and living separate (outside of) from it’s mother. Obama would have allow a child to die from neglect. This is the man in the White House. This is our President of the United States.

We must stand with the Catholics and fight for God and our Rights. Who is with me?


What if they passed an unjust law and we all just said NO.

The Divine Liturgy

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” I Corinthians 13:11


Many, many years when I was a senior in high school I was a member of a movement called the “Jesus Freaks”. Later we were called the “Jesus People”. A very good friend of mine had a girl friend who was a LCMS Lutheran. Attending one of her services I (we all) thought how structured how ridged it was. Our churches were all much less structured. Our prayer meetings before school in one of the main hallways were always free flowing including extemporaneous prayers, many “praise Jesus”, singing not so churchy songs, guitar playing &c. A few years later I met my wife. Then our daughter was born and baptized. Then God gave us (and me) another lesson in church. Mary had back surgery and wanted to receive communion. I called the new Lutheran pastor in town and he came over. When he offered me communion I declined because I wasn’t Lutheran. One thing led to another and I took instruction. Then before you knew it I was a Lutheran.

Now look at me. I have never attended a “High Church” Lutheran service I think I would like it. I very much like the Liturgy. The older the better. Anything less than the Divine Service setting three from the Lutheran Service Book is darn near contemporary service as far as I am concerned. I have even been known to recite the Litany and Compline. I draw great solace from the Liturgy.

So it would not surprise anyone that I sometimes research the Liturgy or parts of it like the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Creeds. Being a history buff and a searcher of knowledge I read the books I can find and surf the Net looking for information. Looking for history on the Liturgy I ran across a reference to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. St. John was a church father who lived c. 347-407 AD. As an aside the name Chrysostom is the English for the Greek word Chrysostomo which translates as “golden mouthed”. Apparently St. John was quite the talker and given this title “Chrysostomo”. Unfortunately I could not find any copy of his Liturgy older than a few hundred years old. But what I could find was interesting. If laid it side by side with our Divine Service setting three you can see many similarities.

I then found that St. John’s Liturgy was a shortened version of St. Basil’s Liturgy. St. Basil was an contemporary of St. John and was Bishop of Caesarea from 370-379 AD. Again I could not find anything close to an original copy but what I could find looked similar to what we use today. St. Basil based his Liturgy on the Liturgy of St. James. St. James was the brother of Jesus and some have dated his Liturgy to the First Century. Scholars today place it around the late Third or early Fourth Centuries. Regardless no copies of the Liturgy of St. James can be found before the Tenth Century. The Liturgy of St. James was reported to be very long taking two to three hours to complete. This is why St. Basil and then St. John Chrysostom shorten the service. The length had grown to the point where the laity would not, or could not, spend the time to attend.

I was also surprised to find out that a hymn used in the Liturgy of St. James is still in use today. “Let all Mortal flesh keep silence” hymn number 621 in our Lutheran Service Book. Amazing this ancient chant of Eucharistic devotion is still being sung today in our churches after sixteen or more centuries.

Two points I found struck me when I read about these Liturgies. First was the fact that at a point in the service everyone who was not taking communion, i.e.: the catechumens and visitors were asked to leave. In an example of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the Deacon would announce “Doors, doors. Let us give heed to wisdom”. None but the faithful were admitted into the church at this period of the Divine Liturgy. Again in the Liturgy of St. James the Deacon proclaims “Let none remain of the catechumens, none of the unbaptized, none of those who are unable to join in prayer. Look at one another. (Shut) the door. All erect; let us again pray to the Lord”.

Deacons would post themselves at the doors to guard against entry. This part of the service impressed me as a nod to the “Holy of Holies” where the “mysteries of Christ” were revealed. This also made the receiving of the Body and Blood a really big thing that only those who have received these “mysteries” were able to comprehend and receive worthily. It seams we Christians in this modern age have forgotten this mystery. I sometimes wonder if we think we are above that being “modern man” and not some ancient uneducated people in awe. We go to communion not looking back at the whole birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. We commune “ex opere operato”. Which means “from the work done”. In other words by simply going through the motions without our heart in what we are doing. To quote the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV 63 “They imagine that the Sacraments give the Holy Spirit by the outward act (ex opere operato), without good emotion in the one receiving them. As though, indeed, the gift of the Holy Spirit were a useless matter.”

Again, when reading the more modern copies of the ancient Liturgies you come away with a service that focuses more intently on the sufferings of Christ and what that means to us. While it lengthened the services these Liturgies drove the penitent to his knees before the altar. Not in some pious pose but as a truly repentant sinner clinging to the foot of the Cross begging for the Body and Blood that brings Salvation. A focus we would do well to remember.

The second item that struck me was the similarities in these ancient Liturgies and our own. Including the hymn “Let all mortal flesh keep silence”. When we set in church on Sundays and chant our Liturgy we are saying almost the very same words chanted by the faithful for the last 17, 18 or 19 centuries. Think of it. Millions of Christians have chanted the same words for hundreds of years we chant today. So the Saints from the beginning of the Church, to today, to however long God allows into the future chant the same Liturgy. God in His Omnipotence looks at the Church seeing all in all times and places worshiping using the same words. If that don’t make you want to worship through the Liturgy then think on this. In our service the Pastor chants, “with angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven…” we then sing the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). “All the company of Heaven” includes, among others, all the Saints who have gone before. So when we use the traditional Liturgy we not only worship in the same manner as Christians have for centuries before us. We also worship with those very same Christians in Heaven. Worshiping with the same words.

Think about that whenever someone wants to remove, reduce or back off celebrating Communion. Or when someone wants to have guitars, drum sets, clowns and dancers in the service. Or more importantly, when you are sitting through the Liturgy and your mind wonders……

Keystone Pipeline

President Obama has done it again. The Keystone Pipeline has been canceled. Axed. Nixed. Well you get the idea. Why? “The Republicans made me do it”. Yup those evil Republicans put an arbitrary 60 day deadline on the president to make a decision on the pipeline. After all with the president focusing on so many things like a laser he didn’t have time to make an informed decision so he said, screw it I’ll just kill it.

The Keystone pipeline was to transport oil from our friends and neighbors to the north (aka Canada) to the oil refineries in Texas along the Gulf. The EPA has signed off on it. The Interior Department said it was ok. The president? He said he would put off any decision until 2013. In other words he was going to wait until after the election. I guess it was too much to expect leadership from someone who voted “present” in every vote while he was in the Illinois Senate.

So this leader of the free world ignored the following.

1) Canada was willing to ship us oil to refine and use. And… And… Canada is not using our dependence on oil to suck money from us (and U.S.) so they can use US Dollars to finance the killing of US Citizens.

2) This project is truly shovel ready. There are warehouses full of pipe and equipment just waiting for a Presidential signature to start work. Yes by some estimates some 20,000 jobs could be created by his okaying this project.

3) With these jobs and ensuing sub contracts thousands, millions even billions of dollars of revenue and taxes could be poured into our economy.

But no, this president is using this opportunity to placate the conservation block of the Democratic Party during this election year. Reports also suggest the unions are ok with this and are being paid off for their support by appointments to the NLRB. Also he is using these appointments to get money and support for the upcoming election. Isn’t presidential elections wonderful. A man of principle who is a leader would be quite a change in the white house.

Oh, did I mention the Canadian oil company is now considering piping the oil to the coast and selling it to China? Yes our friends the Chinese. You know the country that is buying up our debt. A person would think Obama is doing this on purpose so rub the backs of the Chinese. Or maybe there was a phone call in the night? After all the Chinese are growing fast and need all the oil they can get.

So the upshot is that we are still going to be dependent on oil shipped from countries that hate us and use our own money to try and kill us. Gas prices are projected to go over $4 a gallon this summer. Americans are still out of work. The country is still racking up debt.

While this pipeline would not be flowing by then the hope of this project would have helped hold off the speculators who do effect gas prices. The same speculators who go crazy every time some rat faced dictator from some podunk country who is only listen to because they have oil.

And finely to all those who keep saying drilling and pumping now will not help us now. That it will take years to get new oil flowing into the system. I say WE CAN DO IT IF WE HAD LEADERSHIP!

If we would have had leadership in the 70’s during the oil embargo we would not be in such a state now. If we had leadership anytime since we wouldn’t be here now. If we had started drilling and pumping then we could tell all those in the sand box to “pound sand” now.

A true leader would have put to the American people the need for energy independence is on par as our quest for the Moon. Yes put it that way to put it to the people. “As we came together as a nation to put a man on the Moon. We will strive to be independent of foreign oil by the end of the decade”. A true leader would look beyond the next election. A true leader would put the good of the people before his own election, his own party. A leader would point out every barrel of oil we buy from countries who wish us harm is aiding and abetting our own demise. Yes a leader would lead by example. Stay in the white house instead of vacationing all over.

I’m just saying…….

Political Principles

The political season is well underway and crazy seems to be the norm. Recently a politician from Massachusetts made a typical statement a politician would make. In effect he said, and I paraphrase, vote for someone who can beat Obama not someone who you agree with or someone you like or someone who stands on true constitutional, conservative principles. No the criteria for voting for someone is “can he win“. At this politician’s suggestion we should vote for Mitt Romney because he can win. Regardless of his positions on a number of subjects. Regardless of the fact Romney is not the most conservative of the candidates. I maintain that we are in this position today because “we the people” have voted for the man who we think can win regardless of his beliefs. Remember the criteria is constitutional and conservative. So who in the past meets that criteria. Ragan 40, yes. Bush 41, no (republican in name only -rino). Clinton 42, no. Bush 43, no (rino). McCann, no (rino). Obama 44, hell no. Romney, no (rino).

So what can we conclude from this? Settling for someone is many times as bad if not worse than loosing the election. I maintain that the constitutional crises in this country has reached the point that we MUST vote for our principles first and foremost. If we settle for the most likely to win things will not change. Government will continue to grow. Government will continue to infringe upon our rights as outlined in the constitution. Government will take over more of our lives, telling us what to do, when to do, and how to do everything. No more individual freedoms. Taxes will go up. The borders will not be secured. Illegal aliens will be rewarded for breaking of our laws by receiving amnesty. Our way of life will continue to decrease. Our military will decline. Our security will be in jeopardy.

If we vote our constitutional and conservative principles and win then we truly win. If we vote our principles and loose, we still win if the republican in name only looses. This is the only way to make the established politicians set up and take notice. Remember when McCann lost in 2008 we got Obama. The Tea Party arose and political change swept the 2010 election. The political elite are now harping about how we need to forget about our principles. Forget the Tea Party principles. Can’t we just get along? They fear us. They fear we’ll stick to our guns. They fear loosing their power. These politicians don’t care who is in the White House as long as it is one of them. Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same coin. They content themselves with playing a game of political music chairs. One time Democrats are in power. The next the Republicans. Two party political process equals one party domination.

Power and money is the only thing career politicians understand. If we stick to our guns they loose that power and money. We force them to move in our direction to get the votes to maintain their power. They will try to scare us into voting for them by raising the specter of Obama winning. What good does it do if we win an election but loose our political souls?

Think on it. Who is the most conservative and constitutional candidate? Do the research. Vote for the best. Yes even if there is not an “R” after his name. Write down your guiding principles. Here are some of mine:

1) The Constitution is absolute. This includes the right to free speech. The right to practice your peaceful religion. The right to keep and carry arms. States rights. Security in your person, papers and property.

2) Maintain the borders. No amnesty for illegal’s.

3) Strong Military. Fewer soldiers overseas.

4) The right to life.

5) Smaller, less intrusive Government.

6) Less reliance on foreign energy sources.

7) Fewer/lower taxes.

8) Foreign aid reduced to near zero.

9) End the rule of career politicians. The President has term limits. Lets have them for the House and Senate too.