According to an article at Fox News, the city of Philadelphia has begun a new campaign to engage children as young as 11 in the use of condoms.
A new website set up by the city’s Health Department to promote the campaign offers, “If you live in Philadelphia and are between the ages of 11 and 19, you can now have condoms mailed directly to you for FREE. Maybe it’s difficult for you to stop by one of our sites to pick up condoms. Or maybe you’re just shy or feeling weird about picking up condoms.”
The free service does not require parental consent or even parental knowledge.
How is this legal? In a 1998 case regarding condom distribution in Philadelphia’s schools, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit determined that if “the program lacks any degree of coercion or compulsion…neither an opt out provision nor parental notification is required by the Federal Constitution.” Parents United for Better Schools, Inc. v. School District of Philadelphia Board of Education, 148 F.3d 260 (1998). Since children are not compelled to ask for free condoms, the offer by the city doesn’t constitute a violation of parental rights according to the courts.
So your child can’t take an aspirin at school without a parent’s letter and the consent of the school nurse, but he can have a condom shipped right to his door – to your door. It is worrying that anyone would be encouraging 11-year-olds to make independent decisions about sex. To do so on your tax dollars only makes matters worse.
Full Article
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/13/philadelphia-condom-campaign-targets-kids-young-11/
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
A Christian Response to Earth Day
by Doug Phillips
http://www.visionforum.com/
All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. All men have faith in something. In the end, men will either worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.
In the 18th century, many began to worship the mind. The religion of that day was rationalism. In the 19th century, this god morphed into scientism. But science failed to provide the answers to ultimate questions. The men of the 20th century looked for a more immediate solution to the problems of humanity — they chose to worship the State. This failed. Statism proved to be a harsh taskmaster. In the absence of any real solutions from rationalism, scientism, and statism, men fixed their attention on a new god — or rather, an ancient God that just needed a new facelift.
That god is the earth.
21st-century men are earth worshippers. They are sanitized pantheists. Of course, they don’t call themselves pantheists or earth worshippers, but religious devotion to the material world is the essence of this modern faith.
This religious devotion to the material world as god comes in many shapes and sizes, but it has become ubiquitous in our culture. The new pantheism is at the heart of the green movement. It is reflected in the priorities of Hollywood, in the agenda of politicians, and in the curriculums of the government schools. It is found in the marketing campaign of Madison Avenue, in the reality TV shows of cable television, and sadly, even in pulpits across the nation. The worship of the creation has become a defining undercurrent in our culture, even as it is reshaping many of the cultures of the modern world.
And this is one reason why this Friday, April 22, millions of people (perhaps billions) representing the countries of the United Nations will stop to celebrate the high holy day of this religion as they pay homage to the earth God. Of Earth Day, evolutionary anthropologist Margaret Meade once explained that:
EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.
EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way — which is also the most ancient way — by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another.
Should Christians care about the earth? Not only must we care about it, we have a holy duty to engage the earth. The difference between the objectives of biblical Christianity and radical environmentalism can be found in the religious assumptions of both groups.
Four Lies of the Radical Environmentalist Movement
With Earth Day comes billions of dollars worth of environmentalist propaganda driven by their religious worldview. Some of the themes you can expect to hear repeated this year include the following:
1. The Earth Is Our Mother: The very expression “Mother Earth” is popular parlance in our culture and reflects the old pagan longing to worship the physical world. Modern environmentalists, with their devotion to the idea that man is just another life-form to spring from the womb of the earth on the evolutionary journey of life, speak openly about earth being the mother of man.
2. Human Life Has No Greater Intrinsic Value Than Animal Life: The notion that man is an insignificant blip in the universe and that our planet is almost as insignificant as man is an oft-repeated concept of the modern environmentalist movement. Radical environmentalists complain about the carbon footprints of humans, and the sin of “Speciesism” — man discriminating against lower life-forms.
3. The Greatest Crisis Facing Humans is the Despoiling of the Earth: From the media campaigns of former Vice President Al Gore, to the film agenda of Avatar, radical environmentalists want you to believe that the single greatest problem facing humanity is the environmental destruction of earth.
4. Absent a Radical Shift in Private Practice and Public Policy, the Environmental Crisis Will Lead to the End of Life on Earth: Modern pantheists care deeply about the future. One thing is clear: Radical envioronmentalists have their own eschatology. They see the end of the world coming because of nuclear waste, global warming, the loss of rainforest in the Amazon, or any of a host of perceived environmental hazards.
Four Christian Assumptions About the Earth
1.The Earth is Witness to the Power and Authority of God the Creator Who Alone May Be Worshipped: The Bible teaches that the very existence of the earth is a reminder to all men of the eternal power and Godhood of Christ, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). It reminds us that as long as the earth continues, the promises of God will remain faithful (Genesis 8:22; Deuteronomy 7:9). Significantly, the Bible warns us that the consequence for man rejecting the witness of creation is that he worships creation itself (Romans 1:22-25).
2.The Earth Was Made for the Glory of God and the Benefit of Man Who Was Made the Pinnacle of Creation and of Infinitely Greater Value than Animals or the Earth Itself: Man is the pinnacle of creation and has more eternal value than the earth or any of the creatures who live on it (Psalm 8:5). Man is not a carbon footprint; he is the image-bearer of God. This means that the most “insignificant” human life (insignificant only in the eyes of man) is of inestimably greater value than that of a blue whale, a snail darter, a spotted owl, a mountain, or a tree.
3.The Earth Has Been Placed under Man who Has a Moral Obligation to Subdue it and to Exercise Wise Stewardship over the Earth: Man is God’s appointed steward on earth, and his core mission is to be His agent of dominion over it. Toward this end, God has placed all things under man to be used for his benefit and to be carefully stewarded and cultivated for God’s glory. “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).
4.The Earth is Not the Problem: The reason why the earth suffers is because of man’s sin that has plunged the earth into judgment. Man brought death and judgment to earth. In fact, the whole creation is groaning and waiting redemption (Romans 8:22-23). Despite the righteous judgment of God on earth, He is merciful and promises the continuation of the seasons and the fundamental stability of the planet until the end of time (Genesis 8:22), at which there will be a new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).
Conclusion
All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. In the end, they will worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.
Earth Day, and the radical environmental movement that spawned this high holy day of pantheism, are at war with the Gospel because they perpetuate false worship. The Christian response to the idolatry of Earth Day might be reduced to this simple thought: Jesus Christ is the Creator, and He alone is to be worshipped. He created man as the pinnacle of creation and determined that humans would be the only part of creation to be made in the very image of God, and that man as the image-bearer of God would rule over the earth.
On a practical level, this means that Christians need to stop allowing the radical environmentalist movement to define the issue. We must cease from being the tail and become the head on the question of our duties, privileges, and responsibilities vis-a-vis creation. The Bible has a great deal to say about our use of the resources of the world and our relationship to the earth. Of all people, Christians who honor the Creator should have a passion for creation. We are losing the debate through subversion, silence, lack of vision, and because of the Christian community’s fear of the God-ordained, perpetually valid, creation precept called “The Dominion Mandate.” This mandate directs man is to rule over the earth, subduing it and taking dominion over it for his benefit and for God’s glory. Implicit to the Dominion Mandate is the duty of man to cultivate, wisely manage, and carefully steward the planet.
Finally, man’s problems will never be solved through the elevation of human reason, the power of science, or the interventions of the state. Nor will rescuing the biosphere of planet earth save man or ensure him a future on this planet. You cannot save the earth. But human beings can be saved. And the only hope of salvation is found in Jesus Christ — the Creator! It is this Creator through whom we live and breathe and who by the very power of His word holds the worlds together. He will someday establish a new heaven and a new earth and will bring all of His people into Glory.
Full article:
http://www.visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/2011/04/9402/
http://www.visionforum.com/
All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. All men have faith in something. In the end, men will either worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.
In the 18th century, many began to worship the mind. The religion of that day was rationalism. In the 19th century, this god morphed into scientism. But science failed to provide the answers to ultimate questions. The men of the 20th century looked for a more immediate solution to the problems of humanity — they chose to worship the State. This failed. Statism proved to be a harsh taskmaster. In the absence of any real solutions from rationalism, scientism, and statism, men fixed their attention on a new god — or rather, an ancient God that just needed a new facelift.
That god is the earth.
21st-century men are earth worshippers. They are sanitized pantheists. Of course, they don’t call themselves pantheists or earth worshippers, but religious devotion to the material world is the essence of this modern faith.
This religious devotion to the material world as god comes in many shapes and sizes, but it has become ubiquitous in our culture. The new pantheism is at the heart of the green movement. It is reflected in the priorities of Hollywood, in the agenda of politicians, and in the curriculums of the government schools. It is found in the marketing campaign of Madison Avenue, in the reality TV shows of cable television, and sadly, even in pulpits across the nation. The worship of the creation has become a defining undercurrent in our culture, even as it is reshaping many of the cultures of the modern world.
And this is one reason why this Friday, April 22, millions of people (perhaps billions) representing the countries of the United Nations will stop to celebrate the high holy day of this religion as they pay homage to the earth God. Of Earth Day, evolutionary anthropologist Margaret Meade once explained that:
EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.
EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way — which is also the most ancient way — by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another.
Should Christians care about the earth? Not only must we care about it, we have a holy duty to engage the earth. The difference between the objectives of biblical Christianity and radical environmentalism can be found in the religious assumptions of both groups.
Four Lies of the Radical Environmentalist Movement
With Earth Day comes billions of dollars worth of environmentalist propaganda driven by their religious worldview. Some of the themes you can expect to hear repeated this year include the following:
1. The Earth Is Our Mother: The very expression “Mother Earth” is popular parlance in our culture and reflects the old pagan longing to worship the physical world. Modern environmentalists, with their devotion to the idea that man is just another life-form to spring from the womb of the earth on the evolutionary journey of life, speak openly about earth being the mother of man.
2. Human Life Has No Greater Intrinsic Value Than Animal Life: The notion that man is an insignificant blip in the universe and that our planet is almost as insignificant as man is an oft-repeated concept of the modern environmentalist movement. Radical environmentalists complain about the carbon footprints of humans, and the sin of “Speciesism” — man discriminating against lower life-forms.
3. The Greatest Crisis Facing Humans is the Despoiling of the Earth: From the media campaigns of former Vice President Al Gore, to the film agenda of Avatar, radical environmentalists want you to believe that the single greatest problem facing humanity is the environmental destruction of earth.
4. Absent a Radical Shift in Private Practice and Public Policy, the Environmental Crisis Will Lead to the End of Life on Earth: Modern pantheists care deeply about the future. One thing is clear: Radical envioronmentalists have their own eschatology. They see the end of the world coming because of nuclear waste, global warming, the loss of rainforest in the Amazon, or any of a host of perceived environmental hazards.
Four Christian Assumptions About the Earth
1.The Earth is Witness to the Power and Authority of God the Creator Who Alone May Be Worshipped: The Bible teaches that the very existence of the earth is a reminder to all men of the eternal power and Godhood of Christ, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). It reminds us that as long as the earth continues, the promises of God will remain faithful (Genesis 8:22; Deuteronomy 7:9). Significantly, the Bible warns us that the consequence for man rejecting the witness of creation is that he worships creation itself (Romans 1:22-25).
2.The Earth Was Made for the Glory of God and the Benefit of Man Who Was Made the Pinnacle of Creation and of Infinitely Greater Value than Animals or the Earth Itself: Man is the pinnacle of creation and has more eternal value than the earth or any of the creatures who live on it (Psalm 8:5). Man is not a carbon footprint; he is the image-bearer of God. This means that the most “insignificant” human life (insignificant only in the eyes of man) is of inestimably greater value than that of a blue whale, a snail darter, a spotted owl, a mountain, or a tree.
3.The Earth Has Been Placed under Man who Has a Moral Obligation to Subdue it and to Exercise Wise Stewardship over the Earth: Man is God’s appointed steward on earth, and his core mission is to be His agent of dominion over it. Toward this end, God has placed all things under man to be used for his benefit and to be carefully stewarded and cultivated for God’s glory. “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).
4.The Earth is Not the Problem: The reason why the earth suffers is because of man’s sin that has plunged the earth into judgment. Man brought death and judgment to earth. In fact, the whole creation is groaning and waiting redemption (Romans 8:22-23). Despite the righteous judgment of God on earth, He is merciful and promises the continuation of the seasons and the fundamental stability of the planet until the end of time (Genesis 8:22), at which there will be a new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).
Conclusion
All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. In the end, they will worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.
Earth Day, and the radical environmental movement that spawned this high holy day of pantheism, are at war with the Gospel because they perpetuate false worship. The Christian response to the idolatry of Earth Day might be reduced to this simple thought: Jesus Christ is the Creator, and He alone is to be worshipped. He created man as the pinnacle of creation and determined that humans would be the only part of creation to be made in the very image of God, and that man as the image-bearer of God would rule over the earth.
On a practical level, this means that Christians need to stop allowing the radical environmentalist movement to define the issue. We must cease from being the tail and become the head on the question of our duties, privileges, and responsibilities vis-a-vis creation. The Bible has a great deal to say about our use of the resources of the world and our relationship to the earth. Of all people, Christians who honor the Creator should have a passion for creation. We are losing the debate through subversion, silence, lack of vision, and because of the Christian community’s fear of the God-ordained, perpetually valid, creation precept called “The Dominion Mandate.” This mandate directs man is to rule over the earth, subduing it and taking dominion over it for his benefit and for God’s glory. Implicit to the Dominion Mandate is the duty of man to cultivate, wisely manage, and carefully steward the planet.
Finally, man’s problems will never be solved through the elevation of human reason, the power of science, or the interventions of the state. Nor will rescuing the biosphere of planet earth save man or ensure him a future on this planet. You cannot save the earth. But human beings can be saved. And the only hope of salvation is found in Jesus Christ — the Creator! It is this Creator through whom we live and breathe and who by the very power of His word holds the worlds together. He will someday establish a new heaven and a new earth and will bring all of His people into Glory.
Full article:
http://www.visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/2011/04/9402/
Monday, April 18, 2011
Snooping: It's not a crime, it's a feature
New apps hijack the microphone in your cell phone to listen in on your life
Mike Elgan
April 16, 2011
(Computerworld)
Cellphone users say they want more privacy, and app makers are listening.
No, they're not listening to user requests. They're literally listening to the sounds in your office, kitchen, living room and bedroom.
A new class of smartphone app has emerged that uses the microphone built into your phone as a covert listening device -- a "bug," in common parlance.
But according to app makers, it's not a bug. It's a feature!
The apps use ambient sounds to figure out what you're paying attention to. It's the next best thing to reading your mind.
Your phone is listening
The issue was brought to the world's attention recently on a podcast called This Week in Tech. Host Leo Laporte and his panel shocked listeners by unmasking three popular apps that activate your phone's microphone to collect sound patterns from inside your home, meeting, office or wherever you are.
By listening in on your phone, capturing "patterns," then sending that data back to servers, marketers can determine the following:
- Your gender, and the gender of people you talk to.
- Your approximate age, and the ages of the people you talk to.
- What time you go to bed, and what time you wake up.
- What you watch on TV and listen to on the radio.
- How much of your time you spend alone, and how much with others.
- Whether you live in a big city or a small town.
- What form of transportation you use to get to work.
Full article
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9215853/Snooping_It_s_not_a_crime_it_s_a_feature?taxonomyName=Privacy&taxonomyId=84
Mike Elgan
April 16, 2011
(Computerworld)
Cellphone users say they want more privacy, and app makers are listening.
No, they're not listening to user requests. They're literally listening to the sounds in your office, kitchen, living room and bedroom.
A new class of smartphone app has emerged that uses the microphone built into your phone as a covert listening device -- a "bug," in common parlance.
But according to app makers, it's not a bug. It's a feature!
The apps use ambient sounds to figure out what you're paying attention to. It's the next best thing to reading your mind.
Your phone is listening
The issue was brought to the world's attention recently on a podcast called This Week in Tech. Host Leo Laporte and his panel shocked listeners by unmasking three popular apps that activate your phone's microphone to collect sound patterns from inside your home, meeting, office or wherever you are.
By listening in on your phone, capturing "patterns," then sending that data back to servers, marketers can determine the following:
- Your gender, and the gender of people you talk to.
- Your approximate age, and the ages of the people you talk to.
- What time you go to bed, and what time you wake up.
- What you watch on TV and listen to on the radio.
- How much of your time you spend alone, and how much with others.
- Whether you live in a big city or a small town.
- What form of transportation you use to get to work.
Full article
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9215853/Snooping_It_s_not_a_crime_it_s_a_feature?taxonomyName=Privacy&taxonomyId=84
Thursday, April 14, 2011
John Boehner's "Deal"
by Chris Johnson
www.americandecency.org
The "deal" struck last Friday by House Speaker Republican John Boehner and Democrats President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 (through the end of September) and cut approximately $38.5 billion in spending.
It will also allow Planned Parenthood to continue to kill 910 American children every day. CNSNews.com explains the math:
"According to a fact sheet released by Planned Parenthood last month, the group did 332,278 abortions in 2009. That equals an average of 910 abortions per day—or about 38 per hour, or one every 95 seconds."
The writer of the article, Terry Jeffrey, also explains what all that breaks down to for government funding per abortion. Or to speak more clearly, this is how much of OUR money goes to killing babies so their irresponsible mothers don't have to be inconvenienced.
"Though the hundreds of millions in federal tax dollars Planned Parenthood receives annually theoretically are not supposed to be used to pay for the hundreds of thousands of abortions the group does each year, the fact remains that the approximately $326.88 million Planned Parenthood received from federal programs in 2009 equaled about $932 per abortion it performed."
Tax are due in 3 days, do you know where your money's going?
I'm going to give Boehner the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's looking at the big picture and planning on ending funding to Planned Parenthood in the 2012 budget, but this kind of genocide should not be a bargaining chip.
I met a guy during my time in D.C. who told me that he was a conservative, but he didn't think we should make such a big deal out of issues like abortion. He said he believed in life from the moment of conception, but that the child was alive "kind of like a tree is alive."
To be fair, once he started thinking about that, he kind of backed off that assertion, but it made me think. We come up with nicer words for horrible things and it allows us to become sort of numb to the issue.
I'm talking about using words such as "abortion" instead of what it really is - murder. Or saying "fetus" instead of "baby." In the movie "Hotel Rwanda," which portrays the beginning of the Rwanda genocide, the Hutu tribe refers to the Tutsis as "cockroaches" in attempt to dehumanize them. I think that's what has happened with the issue of abortion.
In that spirit, I was horrified to hear that Boehner had settled for a deal which did not defund Planned Parenthood. If those were postnatal babies, would the same deal have been struck? If Planned Parenthood were putting 910 two year-olds in gas chambers every day, would Boehner have signed off on this "deal?"
The answer is obviously no, but whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut should not define humanity, and there is no sliding scale on the value of a human life.
I'm hearing a lot of Republicans, conservatives, even pro-life websites saying Boehner did what he had to do and made the right decision. I hear people say that the Republican congress, which is pro-life almost without exception, only controls "one half of one third of the government," which is kind of like saying "the dough only makes up one third of a pizza." Without the House of Representatives, everything falls apart.
Why is the House especially important? Because all appropriations must start in the House of Representatives. In other words, if the House doesn't begin a bill to fund something, it doesn't get funded. So Republicans had the ultimate leverage.
Why would Boehner throw that away, particularly on such an important - literally life or death - issue? The only answer is politics.
A problem that is making itself painfully clear is manifested in the election cycle. Republican leadership is looking forward to the 2012 elections and making important decisions based on what will keep them and their party in office.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of keeping the right people in power. But when reelection becomes more important than doing what's right for the nation - indeed, even something as basic as protecting human lives - something is out of balance.
Another argument is that if Boehner hadn't agreed to this "deal," our troops would not have been paid for a month. It could have potentially cost some of our soldiers their lives.
That resonates with me. My grandfather and my great-grandfather served in the Army, I have a
sister in the National Guard, and I dreamed of joining the military myself for a lot of my childhood. Few people have more respect and admiration for the U.S. military than I.
But we aren't losing 910 soldiers every day. And as priceless as the life of every man and woman who has chosen to put themselves between us and the enemy is, the lives of the innocent children in their mother's womb are just as priceless.
And just as our soldiers are better equipped, both in training and equipment, to defend America's citizens than we are ourselves, we are the only defense that those children have.
May our leadership in the future have the courage to protect America's children.
www.americandecency.org
The "deal" struck last Friday by House Speaker Republican John Boehner and Democrats President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 (through the end of September) and cut approximately $38.5 billion in spending.
It will also allow Planned Parenthood to continue to kill 910 American children every day. CNSNews.com explains the math:
"According to a fact sheet released by Planned Parenthood last month, the group did 332,278 abortions in 2009. That equals an average of 910 abortions per day—or about 38 per hour, or one every 95 seconds."
The writer of the article, Terry Jeffrey, also explains what all that breaks down to for government funding per abortion. Or to speak more clearly, this is how much of OUR money goes to killing babies so their irresponsible mothers don't have to be inconvenienced.
"Though the hundreds of millions in federal tax dollars Planned Parenthood receives annually theoretically are not supposed to be used to pay for the hundreds of thousands of abortions the group does each year, the fact remains that the approximately $326.88 million Planned Parenthood received from federal programs in 2009 equaled about $932 per abortion it performed."
Tax are due in 3 days, do you know where your money's going?
I'm going to give Boehner the benefit of the doubt and assume that he's looking at the big picture and planning on ending funding to Planned Parenthood in the 2012 budget, but this kind of genocide should not be a bargaining chip.
I met a guy during my time in D.C. who told me that he was a conservative, but he didn't think we should make such a big deal out of issues like abortion. He said he believed in life from the moment of conception, but that the child was alive "kind of like a tree is alive."
To be fair, once he started thinking about that, he kind of backed off that assertion, but it made me think. We come up with nicer words for horrible things and it allows us to become sort of numb to the issue.
I'm talking about using words such as "abortion" instead of what it really is - murder. Or saying "fetus" instead of "baby." In the movie "Hotel Rwanda," which portrays the beginning of the Rwanda genocide, the Hutu tribe refers to the Tutsis as "cockroaches" in attempt to dehumanize them. I think that's what has happened with the issue of abortion.
In that spirit, I was horrified to hear that Boehner had settled for a deal which did not defund Planned Parenthood. If those were postnatal babies, would the same deal have been struck? If Planned Parenthood were putting 910 two year-olds in gas chambers every day, would Boehner have signed off on this "deal?"
The answer is obviously no, but whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut should not define humanity, and there is no sliding scale on the value of a human life.
I'm hearing a lot of Republicans, conservatives, even pro-life websites saying Boehner did what he had to do and made the right decision. I hear people say that the Republican congress, which is pro-life almost without exception, only controls "one half of one third of the government," which is kind of like saying "the dough only makes up one third of a pizza." Without the House of Representatives, everything falls apart.
Why is the House especially important? Because all appropriations must start in the House of Representatives. In other words, if the House doesn't begin a bill to fund something, it doesn't get funded. So Republicans had the ultimate leverage.
Why would Boehner throw that away, particularly on such an important - literally life or death - issue? The only answer is politics.
A problem that is making itself painfully clear is manifested in the election cycle. Republican leadership is looking forward to the 2012 elections and making important decisions based on what will keep them and their party in office.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of keeping the right people in power. But when reelection becomes more important than doing what's right for the nation - indeed, even something as basic as protecting human lives - something is out of balance.
Another argument is that if Boehner hadn't agreed to this "deal," our troops would not have been paid for a month. It could have potentially cost some of our soldiers their lives.
That resonates with me. My grandfather and my great-grandfather served in the Army, I have a
sister in the National Guard, and I dreamed of joining the military myself for a lot of my childhood. Few people have more respect and admiration for the U.S. military than I.
But we aren't losing 910 soldiers every day. And as priceless as the life of every man and woman who has chosen to put themselves between us and the enemy is, the lives of the innocent children in their mother's womb are just as priceless.
And just as our soldiers are better equipped, both in training and equipment, to defend America's citizens than we are ourselves, we are the only defense that those children have.
May our leadership in the future have the courage to protect America's children.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Soros: It’s Not Easy Being God
By Joy Tiz Wednesday, April 7, 2010
"I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control otherwise they might get me into trouble." -George Soros
Obama’s boss, George Soros discovered his own narcissism at an early age. Robert Slater, in his unauthorized biography of Soros—Soros, The Life, Times & Trading Secrets of the World’s Greatest Investor:
“Yet, what is one to make of a child who believed he was God?”
Slater posits that such grandiose thoughts in childhood, if they were the “fleeting dreams of a small child” might be understandable if Soros had given any indication as an adult that he had outgrown his delusions.
“Yet, as an adult, he offered no sign, no dismissive gesture, no footnote signifying that he no longer clung to such wild convictions, but only the suggestion of how difficult it was for someone to believe himself a deity.” (Pg. 15).
In other words, Soros figured out early on that his messiah complex wasn’t going to be well received in the real world and he should try to tone it down a bit.
He’s having mixed results with that.
There are those who still cling doggedly to the fabrication that Soros is some kind of “philanthropist” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The compassionate philanthropist has been pushing for human euthanasia for years.
The august altruist has long believed we made much too big of a fuss about 9/11, an event which he found inspiring: “Hijacking fully fueled airliners and using them as suicide bombs was an audacious idea, and its execution could not have been more spectacular.” (George Soros, “The Bubble Of American Supremacy,” The Atlantic Monthly, 12/03)
Poor George, like his current Jackal in Chief, has carried the burden of being a god throughout his life:
“A passage in his book The Alchemy of Finance, published in 1987, distinguishes Soros from all other financiers, ever. ‘I have always harboured an exaggerated view of my self-importance,’ he wrote. ‘To put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god or an economic reformer like Keynes, or, even better, like Einstein. My sense of reality was strong enough to make me realise that these expectations were excessive, and I kept them hidden as a guilty secret. This was a source of considerable unhappiness through much of my adult life. As I made my way in the world, reality came close enough to my fantasy to allow me to admit my secret, at least to myself. Needless to say, I feel much happier as a result.’”
In 2003, Soros figured out that he could force his repugnant ideas on America more efficiently by simply changing the government than by pressing the actual issues:
“‘I’ve come to the conclusion,’ Soros told Fortune, ‘that one can do a lot more about the issues I care about by changing the government than by pushing the issues.’ In short, he has become the world’s angriest billionaire.” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
In 2006 and 2008, Soros made substantial progress toward his goal of changing the United States government:
“Though Soros and his Shadow Party failed to bring about ‘regime change’ in 2004, the vast network of interrelated Shadow Party groups would prove to be key players in the 2006 midterm elections that saw Democrats seize control of Congress. Of particular significance was Democracy Alliance, a non-tax-exempt nonprofit entity registered in the District of Columbia, which Soros had founded in 2005, and whose long-term objective was to develop a funding clearinghouse for leftist groups.”
“In 2008, Soros’ Shadow Party was again a major force in the movement that not only expanded the Democratic Party’s congressional majorities, but also delivered the presidency to Barack Obama.”
George Soros has orchestrated plenty of regime changes. Don’t be fooled by the mythology that Soros was instrumental in opposing communism in Eastern Europe. Soros places himself on whichever side is most likely to net him the greatest power.
According to Slater, Soros is fascinated by chaos. “That’s how I make my money: understanding the revolutionary process in financial markets” (Slater, pg. 47).
If it’s chaos Soros is looking for, he’s got the right cipher in the White House.
"I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control otherwise they might get me into trouble." -George Soros
Obama’s boss, George Soros discovered his own narcissism at an early age. Robert Slater, in his unauthorized biography of Soros—Soros, The Life, Times & Trading Secrets of the World’s Greatest Investor:
“Yet, what is one to make of a child who believed he was God?”
Slater posits that such grandiose thoughts in childhood, if they were the “fleeting dreams of a small child” might be understandable if Soros had given any indication as an adult that he had outgrown his delusions.
“Yet, as an adult, he offered no sign, no dismissive gesture, no footnote signifying that he no longer clung to such wild convictions, but only the suggestion of how difficult it was for someone to believe himself a deity.” (Pg. 15).
In other words, Soros figured out early on that his messiah complex wasn’t going to be well received in the real world and he should try to tone it down a bit.
He’s having mixed results with that.
There are those who still cling doggedly to the fabrication that Soros is some kind of “philanthropist” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The compassionate philanthropist has been pushing for human euthanasia for years.
The august altruist has long believed we made much too big of a fuss about 9/11, an event which he found inspiring: “Hijacking fully fueled airliners and using them as suicide bombs was an audacious idea, and its execution could not have been more spectacular.” (George Soros, “The Bubble Of American Supremacy,” The Atlantic Monthly, 12/03)
Poor George, like his current Jackal in Chief, has carried the burden of being a god throughout his life:
“A passage in his book The Alchemy of Finance, published in 1987, distinguishes Soros from all other financiers, ever. ‘I have always harboured an exaggerated view of my self-importance,’ he wrote. ‘To put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god or an economic reformer like Keynes, or, even better, like Einstein. My sense of reality was strong enough to make me realise that these expectations were excessive, and I kept them hidden as a guilty secret. This was a source of considerable unhappiness through much of my adult life. As I made my way in the world, reality came close enough to my fantasy to allow me to admit my secret, at least to myself. Needless to say, I feel much happier as a result.’”
In 2003, Soros figured out that he could force his repugnant ideas on America more efficiently by simply changing the government than by pressing the actual issues:
“‘I’ve come to the conclusion,’ Soros told Fortune, ‘that one can do a lot more about the issues I care about by changing the government than by pushing the issues.’ In short, he has become the world’s angriest billionaire.” (Mark Gimein, “George Soros Is Mad As Hell,” Fortune, 10/27/03)
In 2006 and 2008, Soros made substantial progress toward his goal of changing the United States government:
“Though Soros and his Shadow Party failed to bring about ‘regime change’ in 2004, the vast network of interrelated Shadow Party groups would prove to be key players in the 2006 midterm elections that saw Democrats seize control of Congress. Of particular significance was Democracy Alliance, a non-tax-exempt nonprofit entity registered in the District of Columbia, which Soros had founded in 2005, and whose long-term objective was to develop a funding clearinghouse for leftist groups.”
“In 2008, Soros’ Shadow Party was again a major force in the movement that not only expanded the Democratic Party’s congressional majorities, but also delivered the presidency to Barack Obama.”
George Soros has orchestrated plenty of regime changes. Don’t be fooled by the mythology that Soros was instrumental in opposing communism in Eastern Europe. Soros places himself on whichever side is most likely to net him the greatest power.
According to Slater, Soros is fascinated by chaos. “That’s how I make my money: understanding the revolutionary process in financial markets” (Slater, pg. 47).
If it’s chaos Soros is looking for, he’s got the right cipher in the White House.
ACORN Pleads Guilty to Voter Registration Fraud in Nevada
The defunct political advocacy group ACORN has pleaded guilty to one count of an election law violation in Las Vegas, Nevada.
ACORN attorney Lisa Rasmussen told Fox News that a plea agreement was worked out with the state attorney general. The violation was for unlawfully providing compensation for registering voters based on the total number of people registered. Sentencing for the organization is set for Aug. 10, and the potential fine is a maximum of $5,000.
ACORN itself was named as a criminal defendant in the case for allegedly running an illegal voter registration scheme called "21," or "Blackjack," which paid ACORN workersarned bonuses based on the number of voters they registered in Nevada during the 2008 election.
This is the only case in the country in which ACORN itself was named as a felony defendant. The organization, a one-time community-based activist group, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after dozens of its workers allegedly committed voter fraud in cases that led to numerous convictions.
The deputy regional director of ACORN, Amy Busefink, was sentenced to a year of probation in January after she pleaded the equivalent of a no-contest to two misdemeanor counts of conspiracy in relation to the voter registration payment plan.
ACORN field director Christopher Edwards copped a plea with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Busefink and ACORN.
The original complaint filed in May of 2009, included 26 counts of compensation for registration of voters, a felony At the time Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat, said at the time that "we would be aggressive in our pursuit and prosecution of any fraudulent activity that might threaten the integrity of the election process."
Among the fake names proseuctors said that were filed by ACORN were Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo, along with other members of the team.
ACORN has long faced criticism after dozens of its workers allegedly committed voter registration fraud during the 2008 election. The group dissolved amid falling revenues last year after conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute caught some of its workers offering tax advice to them.
ACORN attorney Lisa Rasmussen told Fox News that a plea agreement was worked out with the state attorney general. The violation was for unlawfully providing compensation for registering voters based on the total number of people registered. Sentencing for the organization is set for Aug. 10, and the potential fine is a maximum of $5,000.
ACORN itself was named as a criminal defendant in the case for allegedly running an illegal voter registration scheme called "21," or "Blackjack," which paid ACORN workersarned bonuses based on the number of voters they registered in Nevada during the 2008 election.
This is the only case in the country in which ACORN itself was named as a felony defendant. The organization, a one-time community-based activist group, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after dozens of its workers allegedly committed voter fraud in cases that led to numerous convictions.
The deputy regional director of ACORN, Amy Busefink, was sentenced to a year of probation in January after she pleaded the equivalent of a no-contest to two misdemeanor counts of conspiracy in relation to the voter registration payment plan.
ACORN field director Christopher Edwards copped a plea with prosecutors and agreed to testify against Busefink and ACORN.
The original complaint filed in May of 2009, included 26 counts of compensation for registration of voters, a felony At the time Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat, said at the time that "we would be aggressive in our pursuit and prosecution of any fraudulent activity that might threaten the integrity of the election process."
Among the fake names proseuctors said that were filed by ACORN were Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo, along with other members of the team.
ACORN has long faced criticism after dozens of its workers allegedly committed voter registration fraud during the 2008 election. The group dissolved amid falling revenues last year after conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute caught some of its workers offering tax advice to them.
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