United States being prepared for the New World Order and the end times
Sometimes I can relate to the Prophet Jeremiah of ancient Israel. He had a job given to him by God to speak words of warning to a rebellious nation. The sad thing is that he was even told that his words would not be heeded. He uttered words of warning without much effect on a nation headed towards destruction.
Over a year ago, I got a feeling of impending calamity that was greater than usual. I had been sounding warnings not only in the political arena but also in the church world for years. In case you are wondering why I would interest myself in both subjects, I will quote one ministry that I have heard numerous times on a radio program. "Politics determines how we live here on earth. Religion determines how we will live forever."
I have known for years that the nation was going to slide towards immorality and financial ruin. I knew it by simply watching the government and our nation as a whole. I also saw the same thing by watching the state of the church in America. As the churches go, so go the people, and so goes the nation. Years ago, we all saw prominent ministers with huge television followings fall and a decay in moral standards in the church in general. In recent years, sexual immorality has plagued ministers. Catholic priests, famous personalities, and not so famous ministers alike, some of whom I have known personally, have fallen into sin with sex and money.
This past year, I have really shied away from prolific writing, blogging, talk shows, and message forums for which I had become known and to which I dedicated a lot of my time. The time to see what I had warned against was going to come to pass and quite frankly I did not want to pop a blood vessel spending the energy dwelling upon such.
I have been reading up on church history lately. As I have stated in this very column, I have also been reading a lot of American history and founding documents, especially behind those who wrote those documents. The more I read, the more I am amazed at how warnings have come for literally hundreds of years and yet people do not respond. Nor do they recall history.
I truly attempt to tread lightly on the church history and warnings against abuses in Christendom, using wisdom where I can. Sometimes, however, I just have to stomp on a few grapes and become the winepress. In politics, I have a similar tendency to be blunt but have a more reckless attitude. Believe it or not, the two are oft intertwined.
Just Monday, I was reading the notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Rufus King warned on August 7th, "A great vice in our system was that of legislating too much." I have decried greatly legislation that even our own Congressman has sponsored. I have decried state legislation that has limited liberty and punished average people. I have decried local government regulation that extended authority, curbed freedom, and taxed the citizenry greatly. Obviously, this is not a new concept, considering that Rufus King uttered that warning almost 221 years ago.
I believe in fairness, so I will not point a finger exclusively at the Obama Administration on the nation level, or at the Perdue Administration on the state level. When George W. Bush was pushing legislation running up debt at an unprecedented level, I squawked. When I saw the effort to double the national debt (which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate) in just the first 100 days in office I squawked about the Obama Administration, too. Obama proposes to double the debt again within 10 years and in his own words, is "unsustainable".
In some trains of theological thought, there will be a one world dictatorship and a one world economic system. The fact is that this could never happen with an America that is economically strong. We could only succumb to this idea if we were in a position of great weakness. If this is theologically accurate, then I can see that this nation is being set up to accept just that very thing.
Just as Jeremiah had to watch Nebuchadnezzar besiege Israel, I have felt as he did in watching my country being besieged, just by other means.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Column for May 14, 2009
Determine your core values and stand thereupon
A friend of mine commented to me a few days ago that she thought I was a Libertarian, meaning a member of that political party. I must admit that many of their beliefs fall within my scope of opinion. There are some views, however, with which the Libertarian Party and I diverge.
I had commented upon my support for Chad Adams for the chairman's position for the Republican Party of North Carolina. I left the Republican Party several years ago because I saw a serious leftward slide in the party, lack of local support at the county level for local candidates, and a general malaise amongst the GOP leadership.
I have met Chad, corresponded with him, and read behind him for several years. He and I have many of the same values when it comes to the role of government, the size of government, and personal freedom. I had commented more than once that if Chad wins the chairman position, I may just be persuaded to rejoin the Republican Party.
Chad is not necessarily a politician, but he is what I consider to be a core values sort of guy. He is what he is and sticks by his beliefs. I am very much the same way. I have values applicable to politics, religion, family, and most other facets of life. My values have been forged over time, have been revised, and often extended as I have read, studied, prayed, and fellowshipped with others.
My core values, though many of them are similar to the Libertarian Party, are antithetical to that party's current platform. For instance, I am staunchly pro-life in the abortion debate. When standing for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", nothing could embody that view more than standing up for the rights of the unborn. As a former fetus, I am glad that I am allowed liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and above those two, life. That is just one example, but it is one of my core values.
By the way, this is a core value that I did not always hold. It is one that came as a result of maturation, a total change of heart, God's grace, and logic. At one time, I was an ardent supporter of a woman's right to choose an abortion. I assented to this to the point where, and I am not proud to admit this, three of my own offspring were slaughtered in utero when I was a young, stupid heathen. This is just one reason that I am excited about the upcoming birth of my firstborn in about 10 weeks.
Core values can get you into a lot of trouble. They can also be the only way you can withstand with peace of heart. Core values can cost you a lot. They have me during my lifetime, and yet it is because of those losses that I have learned to stand firm.
I fellowship often with church people. I have said for years that one of the greatest parts of being a Christian is that you get to be around the saints of God. I have at the same time said that one of the worst parts of being a Christian is that you have to be around the saints of God. This dichotomy has at times made me gregariously misanthropic. Yeah…I know…but just look it up.
My core values in the faith have been tried. When years ago I was booted out of the very church congregation I co-founded, I had to stick by my convictions. It took years, but I have enjoyed a little slice of vindication in the past few months. Without those core values, how could I know I was doing the right thing when I stood firm?
My point is that in politics (just as in matters of religion, etc.), I have opinions. Those opinions are based upon careful consideration of what my core values should be. My friend who thought that I was a Libertarian because I was not a registered Republican recognized some values that were similar. I am libertarian in my views, meaning that I believe in liberty and the God who gave us our liberties. I am not Libertarian according to the so-called political party. My values make up who I am, not some party name.
Political parties come and go, slide to and fro in their platforms. I have resolved that my values, however, are forged and will stand. They may continue to be refined as I continue to age and mature as a man, but they will guide me nonetheless. If your political party has left you, then you are in good company. If your church denomination has left you standing on your core value beliefs and you watched their collective values slouch towards Gomorrah, you are in good company. Forge your values, then stand firm.
A friend of mine commented to me a few days ago that she thought I was a Libertarian, meaning a member of that political party. I must admit that many of their beliefs fall within my scope of opinion. There are some views, however, with which the Libertarian Party and I diverge.
I had commented upon my support for Chad Adams for the chairman's position for the Republican Party of North Carolina. I left the Republican Party several years ago because I saw a serious leftward slide in the party, lack of local support at the county level for local candidates, and a general malaise amongst the GOP leadership.
I have met Chad, corresponded with him, and read behind him for several years. He and I have many of the same values when it comes to the role of government, the size of government, and personal freedom. I had commented more than once that if Chad wins the chairman position, I may just be persuaded to rejoin the Republican Party.
Chad is not necessarily a politician, but he is what I consider to be a core values sort of guy. He is what he is and sticks by his beliefs. I am very much the same way. I have values applicable to politics, religion, family, and most other facets of life. My values have been forged over time, have been revised, and often extended as I have read, studied, prayed, and fellowshipped with others.
My core values, though many of them are similar to the Libertarian Party, are antithetical to that party's current platform. For instance, I am staunchly pro-life in the abortion debate. When standing for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", nothing could embody that view more than standing up for the rights of the unborn. As a former fetus, I am glad that I am allowed liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and above those two, life. That is just one example, but it is one of my core values.
By the way, this is a core value that I did not always hold. It is one that came as a result of maturation, a total change of heart, God's grace, and logic. At one time, I was an ardent supporter of a woman's right to choose an abortion. I assented to this to the point where, and I am not proud to admit this, three of my own offspring were slaughtered in utero when I was a young, stupid heathen. This is just one reason that I am excited about the upcoming birth of my firstborn in about 10 weeks.
Core values can get you into a lot of trouble. They can also be the only way you can withstand with peace of heart. Core values can cost you a lot. They have me during my lifetime, and yet it is because of those losses that I have learned to stand firm.
I fellowship often with church people. I have said for years that one of the greatest parts of being a Christian is that you get to be around the saints of God. I have at the same time said that one of the worst parts of being a Christian is that you have to be around the saints of God. This dichotomy has at times made me gregariously misanthropic. Yeah…I know…but just look it up.
My core values in the faith have been tried. When years ago I was booted out of the very church congregation I co-founded, I had to stick by my convictions. It took years, but I have enjoyed a little slice of vindication in the past few months. Without those core values, how could I know I was doing the right thing when I stood firm?
My point is that in politics (just as in matters of religion, etc.), I have opinions. Those opinions are based upon careful consideration of what my core values should be. My friend who thought that I was a Libertarian because I was not a registered Republican recognized some values that were similar. I am libertarian in my views, meaning that I believe in liberty and the God who gave us our liberties. I am not Libertarian according to the so-called political party. My values make up who I am, not some party name.
Political parties come and go, slide to and fro in their platforms. I have resolved that my values, however, are forged and will stand. They may continue to be refined as I continue to age and mature as a man, but they will guide me nonetheless. If your political party has left you, then you are in good company. If your church denomination has left you standing on your core value beliefs and you watched their collective values slouch towards Gomorrah, you are in good company. Forge your values, then stand firm.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Column for May 7, 2009
Swine flu, government control, and your personal freedom
It is axiomatic that those who have power do not voluntarily relinquish it. Rather, those with power usually seek more of it. We have seen this as a society on all levels of life, whether it is business, small town government, state, or national government.
I have received scathing reviews for pointing these things out, though they should be plain as day even to a casual observer. Along with the warnings about power grabs have come real life examples. Yet I was called an alarmist, as if I was the little boy who cried wolf.
What happens when the wolf is indeed stalking his prey? What if the wolf was so cunning that he was able to take advantage of a diversionary scare in order to secure his position? Folks, that is exactly what we see going on right now.
I type this while coughing from time to time and sniffling. This is not to mention the lack of energy that comes from the onset of a head cold. And yet I don't mind saying that the current scare of the Swine Flu is no big deal. In fact, I am tired of hearing about it. Every day, every hour, newscasts are barraging us with fears of some mild strain of influenza. Why are we hearing so much about it? It is a mere scare tactic to condition sheeple into accepting government directed control for the sake of avoiding an epidemic. And the news media is soaking it up for a lazy sell in order to have something to report.
Amongst the clamor of the alarmist rants about an epidemic, I have actually heard health experts occasionally get their message through that the Swine Flu is nothing to worry about. In fact, there will be fewer cases of Swine Flu infections than normal influenza. And yet we hear the newest death toll each hour on the radio.
Scared sheeple will buy into the tactics and allow themselves to be controlled over something minor. Yet these same sheeple have criticized people like myself who have been warning about socialist incursions into our everyday lives.
I was told I was crying wolf about socialism and yet now the federal government owns huge chunks of General Motors, Chrysler, AIG, and Citi Bank at your expense. I was told I was crying wolf about attempts at gun control, yet I have read about legislative bill after bill that provide for stringent restrictions on your freedoms. I was told that I was crying wolf about the increasing control on what you can and can not express in public, and yet I read just this week about a mayor of a small town that had one of the town council members arrested for speaking his mind at a town council meeting. The list goes on and on, folks.
I am amazed at the hysteria over a mild strain of influenza by both the government and the media and yet there is no call for sealing off the southern border of the United States, which is where most carriers of this illness enter the country. Of course it would not be politically correct to call for that, since these same people are the ones who want wide open borders and do not mind an influx of people from third world nations full of disease.
In the Bible, in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus said, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." That is a good principle to follow in life in general, not just in Christianity. We are told that there are "wiles of the devil". There are wiles of the world's system as well. One very effective wile is to scare people into accepting more and more control and to give up more and more freedom in the name of peace or safety. As Benjamin Franklin said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
In the coming days, keep watching the news, keep listening to the tactics employed by the mainstream media, and watch what our governments at all levels do. You will see the Law of Entropy at work. It does not only apply to thermodynamics; it also applies to our society as well.
It is axiomatic that those who have power do not voluntarily relinquish it. Rather, those with power usually seek more of it. We have seen this as a society on all levels of life, whether it is business, small town government, state, or national government.
I have received scathing reviews for pointing these things out, though they should be plain as day even to a casual observer. Along with the warnings about power grabs have come real life examples. Yet I was called an alarmist, as if I was the little boy who cried wolf.
What happens when the wolf is indeed stalking his prey? What if the wolf was so cunning that he was able to take advantage of a diversionary scare in order to secure his position? Folks, that is exactly what we see going on right now.
I type this while coughing from time to time and sniffling. This is not to mention the lack of energy that comes from the onset of a head cold. And yet I don't mind saying that the current scare of the Swine Flu is no big deal. In fact, I am tired of hearing about it. Every day, every hour, newscasts are barraging us with fears of some mild strain of influenza. Why are we hearing so much about it? It is a mere scare tactic to condition sheeple into accepting government directed control for the sake of avoiding an epidemic. And the news media is soaking it up for a lazy sell in order to have something to report.
Amongst the clamor of the alarmist rants about an epidemic, I have actually heard health experts occasionally get their message through that the Swine Flu is nothing to worry about. In fact, there will be fewer cases of Swine Flu infections than normal influenza. And yet we hear the newest death toll each hour on the radio.
Scared sheeple will buy into the tactics and allow themselves to be controlled over something minor. Yet these same sheeple have criticized people like myself who have been warning about socialist incursions into our everyday lives.
I was told I was crying wolf about socialism and yet now the federal government owns huge chunks of General Motors, Chrysler, AIG, and Citi Bank at your expense. I was told I was crying wolf about attempts at gun control, yet I have read about legislative bill after bill that provide for stringent restrictions on your freedoms. I was told that I was crying wolf about the increasing control on what you can and can not express in public, and yet I read just this week about a mayor of a small town that had one of the town council members arrested for speaking his mind at a town council meeting. The list goes on and on, folks.
I am amazed at the hysteria over a mild strain of influenza by both the government and the media and yet there is no call for sealing off the southern border of the United States, which is where most carriers of this illness enter the country. Of course it would not be politically correct to call for that, since these same people are the ones who want wide open borders and do not mind an influx of people from third world nations full of disease.
In the Bible, in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus said, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." That is a good principle to follow in life in general, not just in Christianity. We are told that there are "wiles of the devil". There are wiles of the world's system as well. One very effective wile is to scare people into accepting more and more control and to give up more and more freedom in the name of peace or safety. As Benjamin Franklin said, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
In the coming days, keep watching the news, keep listening to the tactics employed by the mainstream media, and watch what our governments at all levels do. You will see the Law of Entropy at work. It does not only apply to thermodynamics; it also applies to our society as well.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Column for April 30, 2009
The fun you can have with a little boy in the house
I can not count the number of times that my lovely bride has made the comment that she already has two boys to raise and now has another on the way. She has one son, there is me, and then Troy Junior who will arrive in about a dozen weeks. My father had five boys, my brothers all had mostly boys, and I had a lot of male cousins. I am used to how boys play and interact. My wife, having only a sister for a sibling, is getting a lesson in what boys are about.
Since we married in October, there has almost never been a dull moment in the LaPlante household. With two dogs, two cats, three birds, a kindergartener, a mother-in-law, and a newlywed couple, things are often boisterous. I have wanted children for years, and I am having a glorious time being a father.
Boys are different than girls, which was actually a headline some years ago for a major national news magazine. Since I had a younger brother while growing up and was raised with a sharp, New Englander, sarcastic sort of wit, I know the fun one can have with a boy in the house, much to the chagrin of my lovely bride.
My step-son is now at the age where he is discovering new words and the fact that boys and girls are indeed different. I am constantly amazed at how children categorize things. In his words, "girls do not have pickles". This is news to a six-year-old, and I can only chuckle. I can tell that I am going to have a chat with him in the not too distant future about some things.
With my propensity towards humor in every day life, I often find humor in things that make my bride blush. The boy came up to her one day and asked, "Mommy, is _____ a bad word?" My wife was aghast with the shock of the question and I was about rolling on the floor with laughter. I was informed how I was not helping the situation whatsoever. Meanwhile, I was wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes.
One day, I was driving on Pollock Street in Selma, and seeing the establishment, the boy asked, "What is a pawn shop?" My answer was simply, "They sell chess pieces". His reply was simply, "Oh," while his grandmother fought to hold back her laughter from the passenger seat.
John has just found out that he likes showers instead of always taking a nightly bath. I love the fact that the shower curtain is drawn, because he does not see me coming like he would if he was taking a bath, instead. A cup of cold water dumped over the top of the shower curtain and onto an unsuspecting child is a favorite past time. Ah, I can hear those little screams of surprise now. I can expect some payback eventually when he gets tall enough to retaliate. I am sure he now has a new tactic to practice on a baby brother of his own some day, as well.
I wish I had my video camera ready one day when I heard a small boy's voice singing as he banged on his toy keyboard. John loves country music. He was hitting the keys with one hand while holding the toy microphone in the other. In a singing voice that would make Simon Cowell wince, he was wailing repeatedly, "I saw God today," and doing his best George Strait imitation. That was funny enough as it was. Then he proclaimed, "OK, just one more song, then y'all can leave church!" I chuckled softly as I waited to hear what was coming next. He then broke into the 1980's pop favorite, "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt!" Ah, the things you see and hear without a camcorder in hand. So much for our appearance on "America's Funniest Home Videos".
Speaking of catching things on video, a couple of days ago, I was asked about an old movie that was on TV. "Why is that movie in black and white?" I couldn't resist. My answer was something akin to, "Well, a long time ago, the entire world was black and white. Old movies were made before the earth started to turn color in about 1939. Do you remember the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? The movie started out in black and white and then suddenly turned to color. We have documented on film for all posterity the world's change over from black and white to color. That is what made that movie so famous."
Yes, sir, I am enjoying being a daddy. And in a few months, I get to have another victim…I mean son to play with.
I can not count the number of times that my lovely bride has made the comment that she already has two boys to raise and now has another on the way. She has one son, there is me, and then Troy Junior who will arrive in about a dozen weeks. My father had five boys, my brothers all had mostly boys, and I had a lot of male cousins. I am used to how boys play and interact. My wife, having only a sister for a sibling, is getting a lesson in what boys are about.
Since we married in October, there has almost never been a dull moment in the LaPlante household. With two dogs, two cats, three birds, a kindergartener, a mother-in-law, and a newlywed couple, things are often boisterous. I have wanted children for years, and I am having a glorious time being a father.
Boys are different than girls, which was actually a headline some years ago for a major national news magazine. Since I had a younger brother while growing up and was raised with a sharp, New Englander, sarcastic sort of wit, I know the fun one can have with a boy in the house, much to the chagrin of my lovely bride.
My step-son is now at the age where he is discovering new words and the fact that boys and girls are indeed different. I am constantly amazed at how children categorize things. In his words, "girls do not have pickles". This is news to a six-year-old, and I can only chuckle. I can tell that I am going to have a chat with him in the not too distant future about some things.
With my propensity towards humor in every day life, I often find humor in things that make my bride blush. The boy came up to her one day and asked, "Mommy, is _____ a bad word?" My wife was aghast with the shock of the question and I was about rolling on the floor with laughter. I was informed how I was not helping the situation whatsoever. Meanwhile, I was wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes.
One day, I was driving on Pollock Street in Selma, and seeing the establishment, the boy asked, "What is a pawn shop?" My answer was simply, "They sell chess pieces". His reply was simply, "Oh," while his grandmother fought to hold back her laughter from the passenger seat.
John has just found out that he likes showers instead of always taking a nightly bath. I love the fact that the shower curtain is drawn, because he does not see me coming like he would if he was taking a bath, instead. A cup of cold water dumped over the top of the shower curtain and onto an unsuspecting child is a favorite past time. Ah, I can hear those little screams of surprise now. I can expect some payback eventually when he gets tall enough to retaliate. I am sure he now has a new tactic to practice on a baby brother of his own some day, as well.
I wish I had my video camera ready one day when I heard a small boy's voice singing as he banged on his toy keyboard. John loves country music. He was hitting the keys with one hand while holding the toy microphone in the other. In a singing voice that would make Simon Cowell wince, he was wailing repeatedly, "I saw God today," and doing his best George Strait imitation. That was funny enough as it was. Then he proclaimed, "OK, just one more song, then y'all can leave church!" I chuckled softly as I waited to hear what was coming next. He then broke into the 1980's pop favorite, "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt!" Ah, the things you see and hear without a camcorder in hand. So much for our appearance on "America's Funniest Home Videos".
Speaking of catching things on video, a couple of days ago, I was asked about an old movie that was on TV. "Why is that movie in black and white?" I couldn't resist. My answer was something akin to, "Well, a long time ago, the entire world was black and white. Old movies were made before the earth started to turn color in about 1939. Do you remember the movie, "The Wizard of Oz"? The movie started out in black and white and then suddenly turned to color. We have documented on film for all posterity the world's change over from black and white to color. That is what made that movie so famous."
Yes, sir, I am enjoying being a daddy. And in a few months, I get to have another victim…I mean son to play with.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Column for April 23, 2009
Congratulations to my fellow right wing extremists
Now that I have been labeled by my own government as a dangerous "right wing extremist", I have news for you. Many of you who read this column are now classified as such, too. And I guarantee that many other people that you know are also now classified by the Department of Homeland Security as extremists. What did we do to gain such an honor? We simply believe in a government following its own Constitution.
For those who oppose a North American Union, gun control, abortion on demand, illegal immigration, forced universal government service for all citizens, infringement upon United States sovereignty, and violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, you now have your own file in some government database and are labeled as an extremist.
If you think that I am making this up, there is a 10 page bulletin just released by the Department of Homeland Security that I have on my computer right this moment that says so. Apparently the socialist bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. believe that returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are potential future domestic terrorists.
The left wing has been poking fun at the right for having tax protest rallies, anti-illegal immigration rallies, and associating anyone who opposes the current governmental policies as a "skin head", racist, or neo-Nazi. I have seen and heard such comments my own self. The ironic part is that the Nazi Party in Germany was not a right wing party. They were leftists. They were The National Socialist German Workers' Party.
I have never heard of right wing radicals (now consisting of your average, everyday citizen of this country that loves freedom and a constitutional republic) being violent and inherently racist. Lest we forget, it was the left wing that opposed the Civil Rights Act. It was a leftist activist that shot Abraham Lincoln. Right wingers who attended tax protest tea parties across the nation last week were entirely peaceful.
Compare that to the left wing protesters at UNC Chapel Hill last week. Imagine that…left wing socialists at Chapel Hill. Who would have thought that could happen? An acquaintance of mine had organized an event at UNC through the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee. You may have heard that former candidate for President, Tom Tancredo from Colorado was the guest speaker. ALIPAC had a video camera rolling and put the video on the internet. I got to see the footage that no television station was carrying.
Ignorant college students were protesting the fact that Mr. Tancredo, who was my second choice during the Presidential Primaries last election season, was going to speak about the topic of states allowing illegal aliens to get in state tuition rates at state universities. Before the event began, students were protesting, illegally blocking building exits, and attempting to impede the event. During the talk, students strung a banner in front of Tom Tancredo. They would not listen to reason and only wanted to be disruptive. A protester outside the room broke out a pane of glass to the external window and chaos ensued.
The very same ideologues that have been harshly critical of "right wing extremists" and warn of "right wing domestic terrorists" themselves became a brand of terrorists of their own. They resorted to violence and attempted to squash any voice of dissent. Freedom of speech is fine if it is in their favor, but must be stopped at all cost if it is of a different perspective.
That same philosophy has become prevalent in our government. Any voice of opposition must be silenced. The opposing views must be forcibly stopped. That, my friends, is not American. It is not ethical. It is not the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is hypocrisy in action. That, my friends, is what you have elected to office at our state and national levels.
I am in good company, though. The voices of Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and many others held the same freedoms dear to their hearts and risked their lives to stand by their convictions. They would have been labeled radical right wing extremists. Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and even Jesse Helms would have been labeled as right wing extremists.
If you believe in smaller government, lower taxes, the right of a baby to be born and not killed in utero, in following the United States Constitution, and the punishment of criminal behavior, then you too are now a right wing extremist. The federal government may have a file on you by now. Congratulations, comrades, you have now been classified by your own government as a potential domestic terrorist.
Now that I have been labeled by my own government as a dangerous "right wing extremist", I have news for you. Many of you who read this column are now classified as such, too. And I guarantee that many other people that you know are also now classified by the Department of Homeland Security as extremists. What did we do to gain such an honor? We simply believe in a government following its own Constitution.
For those who oppose a North American Union, gun control, abortion on demand, illegal immigration, forced universal government service for all citizens, infringement upon United States sovereignty, and violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, you now have your own file in some government database and are labeled as an extremist.
If you think that I am making this up, there is a 10 page bulletin just released by the Department of Homeland Security that I have on my computer right this moment that says so. Apparently the socialist bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. believe that returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are potential future domestic terrorists.
The left wing has been poking fun at the right for having tax protest rallies, anti-illegal immigration rallies, and associating anyone who opposes the current governmental policies as a "skin head", racist, or neo-Nazi. I have seen and heard such comments my own self. The ironic part is that the Nazi Party in Germany was not a right wing party. They were leftists. They were The National Socialist German Workers' Party.
I have never heard of right wing radicals (now consisting of your average, everyday citizen of this country that loves freedom and a constitutional republic) being violent and inherently racist. Lest we forget, it was the left wing that opposed the Civil Rights Act. It was a leftist activist that shot Abraham Lincoln. Right wingers who attended tax protest tea parties across the nation last week were entirely peaceful.
Compare that to the left wing protesters at UNC Chapel Hill last week. Imagine that…left wing socialists at Chapel Hill. Who would have thought that could happen? An acquaintance of mine had organized an event at UNC through the Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee. You may have heard that former candidate for President, Tom Tancredo from Colorado was the guest speaker. ALIPAC had a video camera rolling and put the video on the internet. I got to see the footage that no television station was carrying.
Ignorant college students were protesting the fact that Mr. Tancredo, who was my second choice during the Presidential Primaries last election season, was going to speak about the topic of states allowing illegal aliens to get in state tuition rates at state universities. Before the event began, students were protesting, illegally blocking building exits, and attempting to impede the event. During the talk, students strung a banner in front of Tom Tancredo. They would not listen to reason and only wanted to be disruptive. A protester outside the room broke out a pane of glass to the external window and chaos ensued.
The very same ideologues that have been harshly critical of "right wing extremists" and warn of "right wing domestic terrorists" themselves became a brand of terrorists of their own. They resorted to violence and attempted to squash any voice of dissent. Freedom of speech is fine if it is in their favor, but must be stopped at all cost if it is of a different perspective.
That same philosophy has become prevalent in our government. Any voice of opposition must be silenced. The opposing views must be forcibly stopped. That, my friends, is not American. It is not ethical. It is not the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is hypocrisy in action. That, my friends, is what you have elected to office at our state and national levels.
I am in good company, though. The voices of Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and many others held the same freedoms dear to their hearts and risked their lives to stand by their convictions. They would have been labeled radical right wing extremists. Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, and even Jesse Helms would have been labeled as right wing extremists.
If you believe in smaller government, lower taxes, the right of a baby to be born and not killed in utero, in following the United States Constitution, and the punishment of criminal behavior, then you too are now a right wing extremist. The federal government may have a file on you by now. Congratulations, comrades, you have now been classified by your own government as a potential domestic terrorist.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Column for April 16, 2009
It is unethical to pay for someone else's irresponsibility
As a parent, I shudder at the thought of someone other than myself teaching my children about sex. I have a boy who is just now asking questions about babies, how his mother is going to get the baby out of her tummy, and wondering how the baby came to be. For those with a Judeo-Christian or even Muslim world-view, there are ethics that go along with the practice of sexual relations. Primarily, I believe that sex education should take place in the home and be received from caring parents and reinforced with the ethics and responsibilities of such.
There are interesting ethical debates surrounding the consequences of sexual activity. Just recently, I have been involved with two in particular. They are not only ethical in nature but also practical civic lessons.
A fellow conservative writer shared a news story on the internet about how an HIV/AIDS prevention program for African nations instituted under President George W. Bush has released data showing that there has been a 10% decrease in the spread of AIDS in those nations since the program began. Sure, a decrease in the spread of any disease is good news. However, I have a serious objection to the program to begin with.
My objection is simply this. I see nowhere in the United States Constitution that empowers our country to simply take money supplied by our tax paying citizens and give it away to other countries, regardless of the "feel good" or even "do good" results. The Constitution's preamble states its purpose; "…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…"[sic] That is it. AIDS prevention in Africa does not fall under any of those categories.
It is therefore illegal and thus unethical to take the hard earned tax dollars of Americans and give them to some third world dictatorship in the hopes of disease prevention, as noble as that goal may be. Disease prevention efforts would be more appropriate if they were in our own nation, since that is more closely aligned with the scope of the Constitution. Even then, I am dubious as to its legality thereunder.
My conservative friend would argue that the program did good and thus was a good move. I argued that the disease is spread by behavior and it is inappropriate for us to spend money in another country for behavior modification. The return argument was of course that a large percentage of AIDS victims in Africa are children that got it from their parents. My retort is simple. Sex is a behavior with consequences. If you have AIDS, do not procreate.
The second example is that my wife and I were at her OBGYN recently for a prenatal checkup. While there, we saw a young couple with two children and another on the way. We heard them say that there was one other child who was not with them. Seeing a young couple having a family is a wonderful thing…or is it?
The family present consisted of a woman with a toddler, a baby no more than 6 months old, and the one on the way was 20 weeks along, so we heard. The mother was obviously taking care of the children. The father is disabled, apparently blind. The couple was paying for their visit through Medicaid. Or more appropriately stated, we taxpayers are paying their medical bills.
I am going to go out on a limb here and surmise that the couple is also getting other government assistance in the form of WIC, food stamps, Social Security disability, and who knows what else. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
For a toddler to have a baby brother or sister so close in age means that the couple procreated soon after the child was born. To have a baby six months old and a 20 week pregnancy means that they procreated yet again shortly after the baby was born. Look…we now know what causes pregnancy. Actually, we have for thousands of years now.
For the taxpayers of this country to pay for a family to live and then to pay for their irresponsible sexual activities is just plain unethical. Birth control would have been a whole lot cheaper than bringing more crumb crunching tricycle motors into this world at public expense.
I am all for helping out others, especially as friends, neighbors, family, and church members. However, when do we draw the line and say that the bad decisions taken by people are not going to be paid for by the general populace? That is a matter of ethics just as much as the moral implications of having sex to begin with.
As a parent, I shudder at the thought of someone other than myself teaching my children about sex. I have a boy who is just now asking questions about babies, how his mother is going to get the baby out of her tummy, and wondering how the baby came to be. For those with a Judeo-Christian or even Muslim world-view, there are ethics that go along with the practice of sexual relations. Primarily, I believe that sex education should take place in the home and be received from caring parents and reinforced with the ethics and responsibilities of such.
There are interesting ethical debates surrounding the consequences of sexual activity. Just recently, I have been involved with two in particular. They are not only ethical in nature but also practical civic lessons.
A fellow conservative writer shared a news story on the internet about how an HIV/AIDS prevention program for African nations instituted under President George W. Bush has released data showing that there has been a 10% decrease in the spread of AIDS in those nations since the program began. Sure, a decrease in the spread of any disease is good news. However, I have a serious objection to the program to begin with.
My objection is simply this. I see nowhere in the United States Constitution that empowers our country to simply take money supplied by our tax paying citizens and give it away to other countries, regardless of the "feel good" or even "do good" results. The Constitution's preamble states its purpose; "…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…"[sic] That is it. AIDS prevention in Africa does not fall under any of those categories.
It is therefore illegal and thus unethical to take the hard earned tax dollars of Americans and give them to some third world dictatorship in the hopes of disease prevention, as noble as that goal may be. Disease prevention efforts would be more appropriate if they were in our own nation, since that is more closely aligned with the scope of the Constitution. Even then, I am dubious as to its legality thereunder.
My conservative friend would argue that the program did good and thus was a good move. I argued that the disease is spread by behavior and it is inappropriate for us to spend money in another country for behavior modification. The return argument was of course that a large percentage of AIDS victims in Africa are children that got it from their parents. My retort is simple. Sex is a behavior with consequences. If you have AIDS, do not procreate.
The second example is that my wife and I were at her OBGYN recently for a prenatal checkup. While there, we saw a young couple with two children and another on the way. We heard them say that there was one other child who was not with them. Seeing a young couple having a family is a wonderful thing…or is it?
The family present consisted of a woman with a toddler, a baby no more than 6 months old, and the one on the way was 20 weeks along, so we heard. The mother was obviously taking care of the children. The father is disabled, apparently blind. The couple was paying for their visit through Medicaid. Or more appropriately stated, we taxpayers are paying their medical bills.
I am going to go out on a limb here and surmise that the couple is also getting other government assistance in the form of WIC, food stamps, Social Security disability, and who knows what else. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
For a toddler to have a baby brother or sister so close in age means that the couple procreated soon after the child was born. To have a baby six months old and a 20 week pregnancy means that they procreated yet again shortly after the baby was born. Look…we now know what causes pregnancy. Actually, we have for thousands of years now.
For the taxpayers of this country to pay for a family to live and then to pay for their irresponsible sexual activities is just plain unethical. Birth control would have been a whole lot cheaper than bringing more crumb crunching tricycle motors into this world at public expense.
I am all for helping out others, especially as friends, neighbors, family, and church members. However, when do we draw the line and say that the bad decisions taken by people are not going to be paid for by the general populace? That is a matter of ethics just as much as the moral implications of having sex to begin with.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Column for April 9, 2009
Gun control only disarms the innocent
It is tragic to see how many lives have been taken this past week in various incidents of killing rampages. There have been shootings in an immigration office in New York, shootings in Pittsburgh, in Washington State, and of course the recent mass shooting in a Carthage nursing home here in North Carolina. All of these incidents have made national news.
Of course there is the typical knee-jerk reaction to violence committed by individuals wielding firearms. What you rarely hear in such news reports is whether or not the perpetrators obtained the firearm in a legal or illegal manner to begin with. If the guns were legally obtained, then no new gun law would have helped stop the crime. If the guns were illegally obtained, then laws would have been irrelevant, anyway, since that is the definition of the word illegal.
Criminals do not follow the law by definition. For every nut job out there with a gun, there are millions more who are responsible, sane gun owners. So how do government officials try to keep nut jobs from attacking? They put further restrictions on law abiding, responsible people.
I have read about several attempts to curb your freedom in the name of protecting you. One has even been hidden in the guise of a health care rider on the spending stimulus bill. One way or another, your privacy, your freedom, and safety will be abridged in the name of safety and security.
Here in North Carolina, Senate Bill 664, deemed "The Rapist Protection Act" bill by opponents has resurrected the idea of "safe storage" of firearms. As a collector myself, I do own safes for storage of firearms. I want to protect my investment from theft. I do not want to prevent my access to them when needed. Firearms would have to be stored in locked locations, essentially with ammunition stored separate from the gun itself under this proposed law. There are numerous other insane requirements, including holding a property owner liable for what those who step foot on his property do.
In the United States House of Representatives, HR 45 is a bill that would require licensing for all people who purchase firearms as well as a record for each and every gun sale. Of course we already have laws that do that. The bill has language to seize further regulatory control under the guise of regulating interstate commerce. It used verbiage such as, "…to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youths, and other persons prohibited by federal law from receiving firearms…" If it is already illegal for these people to obtain firearms, then we don't need yet another law that does the same thing. Further laws only make criminals out of already law abiding citizens or seriously infringe upon their freedoms. What part of the Second Amendment's "shall not be infringed" is so hard to comprehend?
The stimulus bill signed into law requires that your health care records be placed into a huge database. People who have had any issues in the past would be heavily scrutinized and judgment calls would prohibit them from obtaining a firearm for personal protection.
I know of one person whose home was almost broken into this weekend. He lives out in the country. A burglar was at his home and attempted to get in through a window. Now this man is concerned about protecting himself and his wife, and rightly so. He wishes to purchase a gun for home defense. He served honorably as a Vietnam War combat veteran.
However, since he had a few problems coping with the horrors of war after his return to the United States almost forty years ago, his health records are available in a database and he will most likely be placed on a "prohibited persons" list maintained by the FBI. In case you think that I am exaggerating here, I also had a family member who was denied a pistol carry permit right here in North Carolina for having sought mental health care after a traumatic experience several years ago. That person's health record was available to law enforcement for determination of whether or not to infringe upon gun rights.
The bottom line is that criminals will get guns and whack jobs will use them if they want to, regardless of whether guns are legal or not. Further gun restrictions only harm law abiding, innocent people and produce victims. The story in Carthage may have been much different had someone who worked there been trained to use a firearm and had one available to stop the attack. Instead, it was a "gun free zone" and a lot of people died as a result.
It is tragic to see how many lives have been taken this past week in various incidents of killing rampages. There have been shootings in an immigration office in New York, shootings in Pittsburgh, in Washington State, and of course the recent mass shooting in a Carthage nursing home here in North Carolina. All of these incidents have made national news.
Of course there is the typical knee-jerk reaction to violence committed by individuals wielding firearms. What you rarely hear in such news reports is whether or not the perpetrators obtained the firearm in a legal or illegal manner to begin with. If the guns were legally obtained, then no new gun law would have helped stop the crime. If the guns were illegally obtained, then laws would have been irrelevant, anyway, since that is the definition of the word illegal.
Criminals do not follow the law by definition. For every nut job out there with a gun, there are millions more who are responsible, sane gun owners. So how do government officials try to keep nut jobs from attacking? They put further restrictions on law abiding, responsible people.
I have read about several attempts to curb your freedom in the name of protecting you. One has even been hidden in the guise of a health care rider on the spending stimulus bill. One way or another, your privacy, your freedom, and safety will be abridged in the name of safety and security.
Here in North Carolina, Senate Bill 664, deemed "The Rapist Protection Act" bill by opponents has resurrected the idea of "safe storage" of firearms. As a collector myself, I do own safes for storage of firearms. I want to protect my investment from theft. I do not want to prevent my access to them when needed. Firearms would have to be stored in locked locations, essentially with ammunition stored separate from the gun itself under this proposed law. There are numerous other insane requirements, including holding a property owner liable for what those who step foot on his property do.
In the United States House of Representatives, HR 45 is a bill that would require licensing for all people who purchase firearms as well as a record for each and every gun sale. Of course we already have laws that do that. The bill has language to seize further regulatory control under the guise of regulating interstate commerce. It used verbiage such as, "…to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youths, and other persons prohibited by federal law from receiving firearms…" If it is already illegal for these people to obtain firearms, then we don't need yet another law that does the same thing. Further laws only make criminals out of already law abiding citizens or seriously infringe upon their freedoms. What part of the Second Amendment's "shall not be infringed" is so hard to comprehend?
The stimulus bill signed into law requires that your health care records be placed into a huge database. People who have had any issues in the past would be heavily scrutinized and judgment calls would prohibit them from obtaining a firearm for personal protection.
I know of one person whose home was almost broken into this weekend. He lives out in the country. A burglar was at his home and attempted to get in through a window. Now this man is concerned about protecting himself and his wife, and rightly so. He wishes to purchase a gun for home defense. He served honorably as a Vietnam War combat veteran.
However, since he had a few problems coping with the horrors of war after his return to the United States almost forty years ago, his health records are available in a database and he will most likely be placed on a "prohibited persons" list maintained by the FBI. In case you think that I am exaggerating here, I also had a family member who was denied a pistol carry permit right here in North Carolina for having sought mental health care after a traumatic experience several years ago. That person's health record was available to law enforcement for determination of whether or not to infringe upon gun rights.
The bottom line is that criminals will get guns and whack jobs will use them if they want to, regardless of whether guns are legal or not. Further gun restrictions only harm law abiding, innocent people and produce victims. The story in Carthage may have been much different had someone who worked there been trained to use a firearm and had one available to stop the attack. Instead, it was a "gun free zone" and a lot of people died as a result.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Column for April 2, 2009
My family and I just returned from a long weekend getaway. I have been thinking all weekend about what to include for this week's column. I keep a list of things on a notepad from which I can draw for ideas. Other times, like last week, I find an issue I can jump on immediately.
This weekend, I was struck by several things. I will not call them epiphanies, since they are nothing new to me. However, they sure reinforced my ideals.
We went to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to do some cavern exploring. I have been there before, but my wife and six year old have never been there. I knew what to expect in the caverns, and chose to visit Luray Caverns, their car and caravan museum, Endless Caverns, and on the way home, Monticello.
I was awestruck the first time I ever visited Luray. The magnificent rock formations, the immense caverns, the beautiful colors all were incredible to behold. The site was certainly very commercialized, with gift shops, brick paved walkways throughout the caverns, DVD videos of the area, books, shirts, and every sort of "touristy" trinkets you can imagine.
Endless Caverns, on the other hand, is very "mom and pop" style. The caverns go on further than Luray, but are less spectacular than Luray's caverns. They are not as clean and developed as Luray, but still beautiful.
What stuck me was the sheer magnitude and beauty of the two caverns. I realize that I was not asked to write a column on religion. However, I do want to take the time to relay how pensive such a visit, even for the second time, truly makes me. I ponder how big God is, how he created the earth, and how he is a magnificent artist. These caverns may never have been discovered, and yet the majesty would still be there underground. They would still be displaying His majesty even if us mere humans never were able to see His handy work.
I was amazed at the contrast between those caverns and Dinosaur Land. Hey, we had a six year old with us, so we had to do some kid friendly stuff, too. Though he was amazed at the caverns, he was not as excited at the prospects of visiting the Museum of United States Presidents as I was.
Dinosaur Land was basically wood framed structures covered with chicken wire and plaster. They depicted different dinosaurs. Just as at the caverns, there were descriptions of millions of years of time and evolution. I have to admit, I used to believe that garbage, but have been persuaded to be a believer in Creation Science and have long ago discarded such drivel.
Anyway, the attempt of someone to turn their backyard into a tourist attraction was just so dim in contrast to the glory of gorgeous caverns. I almost felt that way about Monticello, as well.
The more I read, the less that I am a fan of Thomas Jefferson. I have developed a greater respect for John Adams and less esteem for Jefferson. Anyway, that is entirely a different discussion for a different day. The bookstore at Monticello was phenomenal and I was able to add to my library of historical books. I just had to be temperate in my purchasing, because I found dozens of books I wanted to acquire.
I was struck by the undertaking of the estate and the manpower necessary to build that facility on a mountaintop over 200 years ago. It was completed 200 years ago this year. I have seen greater homes than Jefferson's Monticello, but for a 1700's plantation home, it was still beautiful.
Both Dinosaur Land and Monticello paled in comparison to the magnificence of God's creation as seen in the caverns. I was reminded that no matter how great man's accomplishments are, God's are greater. When magnificent homes are built for the world to see, God still displays his splendor even though it was hidden for thousands of years.
At one time, Monticello had fallen into disrepair and had to be restored. The caverns have only been getting more spectacular as time passes, as long as man did not intervene and break off stalactites (as was the case in the caverns. The practice was once encouraged out of greed so that the proprietors could charge by the pound for stalactite souvenirs.) One way or another, the rocks did cry out the glory of God.
Yes, I know that this is not a normal column, but I am not ashamed to declare the glory of my God and King.
This weekend, I was struck by several things. I will not call them epiphanies, since they are nothing new to me. However, they sure reinforced my ideals.
We went to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to do some cavern exploring. I have been there before, but my wife and six year old have never been there. I knew what to expect in the caverns, and chose to visit Luray Caverns, their car and caravan museum, Endless Caverns, and on the way home, Monticello.
I was awestruck the first time I ever visited Luray. The magnificent rock formations, the immense caverns, the beautiful colors all were incredible to behold. The site was certainly very commercialized, with gift shops, brick paved walkways throughout the caverns, DVD videos of the area, books, shirts, and every sort of "touristy" trinkets you can imagine.
Endless Caverns, on the other hand, is very "mom and pop" style. The caverns go on further than Luray, but are less spectacular than Luray's caverns. They are not as clean and developed as Luray, but still beautiful.
What stuck me was the sheer magnitude and beauty of the two caverns. I realize that I was not asked to write a column on religion. However, I do want to take the time to relay how pensive such a visit, even for the second time, truly makes me. I ponder how big God is, how he created the earth, and how he is a magnificent artist. These caverns may never have been discovered, and yet the majesty would still be there underground. They would still be displaying His majesty even if us mere humans never were able to see His handy work.
I was amazed at the contrast between those caverns and Dinosaur Land. Hey, we had a six year old with us, so we had to do some kid friendly stuff, too. Though he was amazed at the caverns, he was not as excited at the prospects of visiting the Museum of United States Presidents as I was.
Dinosaur Land was basically wood framed structures covered with chicken wire and plaster. They depicted different dinosaurs. Just as at the caverns, there were descriptions of millions of years of time and evolution. I have to admit, I used to believe that garbage, but have been persuaded to be a believer in Creation Science and have long ago discarded such drivel.
Anyway, the attempt of someone to turn their backyard into a tourist attraction was just so dim in contrast to the glory of gorgeous caverns. I almost felt that way about Monticello, as well.
The more I read, the less that I am a fan of Thomas Jefferson. I have developed a greater respect for John Adams and less esteem for Jefferson. Anyway, that is entirely a different discussion for a different day. The bookstore at Monticello was phenomenal and I was able to add to my library of historical books. I just had to be temperate in my purchasing, because I found dozens of books I wanted to acquire.
I was struck by the undertaking of the estate and the manpower necessary to build that facility on a mountaintop over 200 years ago. It was completed 200 years ago this year. I have seen greater homes than Jefferson's Monticello, but for a 1700's plantation home, it was still beautiful.
Both Dinosaur Land and Monticello paled in comparison to the magnificence of God's creation as seen in the caverns. I was reminded that no matter how great man's accomplishments are, God's are greater. When magnificent homes are built for the world to see, God still displays his splendor even though it was hidden for thousands of years.
At one time, Monticello had fallen into disrepair and had to be restored. The caverns have only been getting more spectacular as time passes, as long as man did not intervene and break off stalactites (as was the case in the caverns. The practice was once encouraged out of greed so that the proprietors could charge by the pound for stalactite souvenirs.) One way or another, the rocks did cry out the glory of God.
Yes, I know that this is not a normal column, but I am not ashamed to declare the glory of my God and King.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Column for March 26, 2009
Being a gentleman does not equate to being a good representative
For years, I have been both critical and complimentary of our United States Congressman, Bob Etheridge. My philosophy is that if you are willing to complain, you had better be fair and be willing to give credit where credit is due.
I have been very willing to credit Mr. Etheridge positively when he voted against a gun control bill in the House of Representatives. I have also been sharply critical when ol' Bob sponsored bills that are patently unconstitutional or causes that are left wing and socialistic.
I remember when Bob Etheridge ran for Congress years ago. I was working in radio and interviewed him on the air immediately following the Railroad Days Parade in Selma. He dodged straight questions. After election to Congress, he did the same thing when I would interview him on the air. He would call the station asking to be put on the radio but did not want to have anything other than fluffy, soft questions thrown his way.
Last week, a liberal shill for the Democrat Party and staunch supporter of Bob Etheridge wrote a scathing letter to the editor impugning a regular reader and letter writer, David Speckhardt. Leon Lucas of Kenly skewered Mr. Speckhardt accusing him of basically being totally ignorant and uneducated about Mr. Etheridge and stated that the criticism was unwarranted as well as out of touch with reality.
I went back and read Mr. Speckhardt's short letter to the editor. He dealt with the recent voting record of Bob Etheridge. The fact that Mr. Etheridge has aligned himself with Nancy Pelosi and the far left wing of the Democrat Party is not debatable. Mr. Etheridge has continuously voted for and sponsored pork barrel spending that is not allowed by the Constitution, including two bail out bills amounting to trillions of dollars in spending.
Mr. Etheridge recently was quoted as saying, “Traders on Wall Street should not be able to get rich at the expense of folks on Main Street who are struggling. Taxpayer funds should not be used to pay bonuses to the very individuals whose excessive risk-taking caused the financial crisis that has harmed thousands of North Carolina families. When AIG has repaid taxpayers and is footing the bill, it is entitled to award compensation as it sees fit. However, I cannot allow the company to use taxpayer dollars for its executives greed.”
I say that you, Mr. Etheridge, should never have voted for any such bail out scheme at the expense of the taxpayers to begin with. It was government pressure and control upon mortgage companies and system that helped cause the problems. It is government involvement in the economy that is going to prolong the recovery, not help it.
I agree with Mr. Etheridge that it is imprudent of AIG and other companies to pay millions in executive bonuses to leaders of failing companies. However, I find it horrendously hypocritical to be outraged at the paying of executive bonuses that are a mere fraction of the money that the government is bilking out of the taxpayers of this nation in a scheme that is patently unconstitutional to begin with.
Mr. Lucas should perhaps read the United States Constitution. If he does not have one, I will gladly mail him a free copy at my expense. The same offer applies to every reader of this newspaper.
I am not going to defend Mr. Speckhardt's position, as I do not see that he needs any support. The facts do that for me. I will say that as ignorant as he was accused of being towards Bob Etheridge by a shill for a liberal representative, Mr. Lucas is far more ignorant of Mr. Speckhardt. David has actually read the Constitution. I have actually conversed with and met Mr. Speckhardt on several occasions and read his many letters to the editor in this and other newspapers. He is an ardent supporter of one of my favorite proposals, the Fair Tax plan.
In his letter to the editor, Mr. Speckhardt did not call Bob Etheridge names. He only questioned his support of whack jobs like Nancy Pelosi and the far left agenda. I do not care that Mr. Etheridge, "visits Kenly several times a year to check on his people and to determine what our needs and feelings are," as Mr. Lucas stated. I care that Congressman Bob Etheridge is voting totally against his oath of office regarding his support of the Constitution and is aiding the slow death of America with his votes.
Whether you like a politician or not is not the issue. The issue is proper performance. One can be wonderful at being wrong, as is the case here. It just means that ol' Bob is a good politician. It does not mean that he is a good statesman.
For years, I have been both critical and complimentary of our United States Congressman, Bob Etheridge. My philosophy is that if you are willing to complain, you had better be fair and be willing to give credit where credit is due.
I have been very willing to credit Mr. Etheridge positively when he voted against a gun control bill in the House of Representatives. I have also been sharply critical when ol' Bob sponsored bills that are patently unconstitutional or causes that are left wing and socialistic.
I remember when Bob Etheridge ran for Congress years ago. I was working in radio and interviewed him on the air immediately following the Railroad Days Parade in Selma. He dodged straight questions. After election to Congress, he did the same thing when I would interview him on the air. He would call the station asking to be put on the radio but did not want to have anything other than fluffy, soft questions thrown his way.
Last week, a liberal shill for the Democrat Party and staunch supporter of Bob Etheridge wrote a scathing letter to the editor impugning a regular reader and letter writer, David Speckhardt. Leon Lucas of Kenly skewered Mr. Speckhardt accusing him of basically being totally ignorant and uneducated about Mr. Etheridge and stated that the criticism was unwarranted as well as out of touch with reality.
I went back and read Mr. Speckhardt's short letter to the editor. He dealt with the recent voting record of Bob Etheridge. The fact that Mr. Etheridge has aligned himself with Nancy Pelosi and the far left wing of the Democrat Party is not debatable. Mr. Etheridge has continuously voted for and sponsored pork barrel spending that is not allowed by the Constitution, including two bail out bills amounting to trillions of dollars in spending.
Mr. Etheridge recently was quoted as saying, “Traders on Wall Street should not be able to get rich at the expense of folks on Main Street who are struggling. Taxpayer funds should not be used to pay bonuses to the very individuals whose excessive risk-taking caused the financial crisis that has harmed thousands of North Carolina families. When AIG has repaid taxpayers and is footing the bill, it is entitled to award compensation as it sees fit. However, I cannot allow the company to use taxpayer dollars for its executives greed.”
I say that you, Mr. Etheridge, should never have voted for any such bail out scheme at the expense of the taxpayers to begin with. It was government pressure and control upon mortgage companies and system that helped cause the problems. It is government involvement in the economy that is going to prolong the recovery, not help it.
I agree with Mr. Etheridge that it is imprudent of AIG and other companies to pay millions in executive bonuses to leaders of failing companies. However, I find it horrendously hypocritical to be outraged at the paying of executive bonuses that are a mere fraction of the money that the government is bilking out of the taxpayers of this nation in a scheme that is patently unconstitutional to begin with.
Mr. Lucas should perhaps read the United States Constitution. If he does not have one, I will gladly mail him a free copy at my expense. The same offer applies to every reader of this newspaper.
I am not going to defend Mr. Speckhardt's position, as I do not see that he needs any support. The facts do that for me. I will say that as ignorant as he was accused of being towards Bob Etheridge by a shill for a liberal representative, Mr. Lucas is far more ignorant of Mr. Speckhardt. David has actually read the Constitution. I have actually conversed with and met Mr. Speckhardt on several occasions and read his many letters to the editor in this and other newspapers. He is an ardent supporter of one of my favorite proposals, the Fair Tax plan.
In his letter to the editor, Mr. Speckhardt did not call Bob Etheridge names. He only questioned his support of whack jobs like Nancy Pelosi and the far left agenda. I do not care that Mr. Etheridge, "visits Kenly several times a year to check on his people and to determine what our needs and feelings are," as Mr. Lucas stated. I care that Congressman Bob Etheridge is voting totally against his oath of office regarding his support of the Constitution and is aiding the slow death of America with his votes.
Whether you like a politician or not is not the issue. The issue is proper performance. One can be wonderful at being wrong, as is the case here. It just means that ol' Bob is a good politician. It does not mean that he is a good statesman.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Column for March 19, 2009
Trying to not be weary and not faint in my column
I was just asked if writing a column each week wears on me after a while. To be perfectly honest, sometimes it does. Today is one of those days in which it does wear on me.
Sometimes ideas for columns just present themselves to me and I find easy fodder. Other times I start to bang away on my keyboard only to re-write with something else altogether. My biggest challenge is sometimes not what to include in a column, but what to leave out. I often have to go back and take things out of the column and still get the idea across. The newspaper's editor will attest to the idea that I can sometimes just keep typing like the Energizer Bunny bangs a drum. Sometimes, before I know it, I have doubled my allotted space. I have gotten chastised for that more than once. I thank the editor for his criticism and keep on typing with the intent to do better in the following column.
What wears on me at times is the wonder as to whether or not the effort is worth the energy and having any influence or not. I obviously have a set of ideals, cling to them like a pit bull, and am not afraid to express them. I have lost friends because of this very thing. I have lost acquaintances and connections with old friends, coworkers, classmates, and the like as a result. I have been kicked out of churches for the same tenacity to what I believe…nay, know to be truth.
What I can say in hindsight is that I have in almost every such case been vindicated. I have been proven correct, men have come to me later (sometimes years later) and apologized, or the facts just bore out as such. There have literally been times when I "knew that I knew that I knew" what I was pontificating was the honest truth. I have clung to that and when deep in my gut I know I am right, I am almost never wrong. When I am wrong, I am man enough to admit it, make corrections, and press forward.
So, with that being said, why would I be weary? I grow weary from time to time when I am so exasperated at the things I see around me and feel powerless to do anything about them. Usually it is when I am profoundly disgusted in general rather than at a specific principle.
What do I mean by in general? When I see trillions of dollars wasted on programs that will do little except get us into tremendous debt. I mean when I see terrorist prisoners about to be released from a prison to fight another day. I mean when I see this country announcing in advance to the world and to our enemies when they can expect to get no more resistance from the United States. I mean when I see the state of North Carolina raid the lottery budget to balance the state budget and yet spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
I mean when my taxes go up and see no real relief in sight. I mean when I see local spending at the municipal and county levels at an all time high. I mean when I see an invasion of this nation by illegal aliens and no desire on the part of our elected officials to stop it. I mean when our elected officials totally and blatantly ignore the Constitution. I mean when our system of government is usurped and we become a socialist nation. I mean when I see the Communist Manifesto played out before my eyes in the United States and I want to move to Iceland or Canada.
Sure, all these thoughts cause me to grow weary, make me want to throw up my hands in disgust, and ask, "Why bother?" However, if I am anything, I am tenacious in my beliefs. When I know something to be true, I latch on and hold fast. I admire those who are the same way. God made me stubborn about some things and it is my lot in life to hold fast. If it were not so, I would not be writing my little column about big ideas here in this little newspaper in this little town. Thank you, Lord God, for my opportunity and responsibility to do so.
I was just asked if writing a column each week wears on me after a while. To be perfectly honest, sometimes it does. Today is one of those days in which it does wear on me.
Sometimes ideas for columns just present themselves to me and I find easy fodder. Other times I start to bang away on my keyboard only to re-write with something else altogether. My biggest challenge is sometimes not what to include in a column, but what to leave out. I often have to go back and take things out of the column and still get the idea across. The newspaper's editor will attest to the idea that I can sometimes just keep typing like the Energizer Bunny bangs a drum. Sometimes, before I know it, I have doubled my allotted space. I have gotten chastised for that more than once. I thank the editor for his criticism and keep on typing with the intent to do better in the following column.
What wears on me at times is the wonder as to whether or not the effort is worth the energy and having any influence or not. I obviously have a set of ideals, cling to them like a pit bull, and am not afraid to express them. I have lost friends because of this very thing. I have lost acquaintances and connections with old friends, coworkers, classmates, and the like as a result. I have been kicked out of churches for the same tenacity to what I believe…nay, know to be truth.
What I can say in hindsight is that I have in almost every such case been vindicated. I have been proven correct, men have come to me later (sometimes years later) and apologized, or the facts just bore out as such. There have literally been times when I "knew that I knew that I knew" what I was pontificating was the honest truth. I have clung to that and when deep in my gut I know I am right, I am almost never wrong. When I am wrong, I am man enough to admit it, make corrections, and press forward.
So, with that being said, why would I be weary? I grow weary from time to time when I am so exasperated at the things I see around me and feel powerless to do anything about them. Usually it is when I am profoundly disgusted in general rather than at a specific principle.
What do I mean by in general? When I see trillions of dollars wasted on programs that will do little except get us into tremendous debt. I mean when I see terrorist prisoners about to be released from a prison to fight another day. I mean when I see this country announcing in advance to the world and to our enemies when they can expect to get no more resistance from the United States. I mean when I see the state of North Carolina raid the lottery budget to balance the state budget and yet spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
I mean when my taxes go up and see no real relief in sight. I mean when I see local spending at the municipal and county levels at an all time high. I mean when I see an invasion of this nation by illegal aliens and no desire on the part of our elected officials to stop it. I mean when our elected officials totally and blatantly ignore the Constitution. I mean when our system of government is usurped and we become a socialist nation. I mean when I see the Communist Manifesto played out before my eyes in the United States and I want to move to Iceland or Canada.
Sure, all these thoughts cause me to grow weary, make me want to throw up my hands in disgust, and ask, "Why bother?" However, if I am anything, I am tenacious in my beliefs. When I know something to be true, I latch on and hold fast. I admire those who are the same way. God made me stubborn about some things and it is my lot in life to hold fast. If it were not so, I would not be writing my little column about big ideas here in this little newspaper in this little town. Thank you, Lord God, for my opportunity and responsibility to do so.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Column for March 12, 2009
Why do I wake up scratching so much? Some canine logic for thought.
In my home, my wife and I have a baby gate placed in our bedroom doorway. Because of the construction of the hallway and the door jams, I have not installed the locking mechanism or hinge on the plastic swinging gate. It wedges in the niche at the door frame nicely. The gate is not in place to keep a baby in or out, but rather to keep my dogs from coming into the bedroom at night.
I have two dogs. One is a Pekingese that I have owned for about three years. Because she is white and beautiful, I named her Daisy. She was a special needs animal that was abandoned and was even on WRAL TV, which is how I found out about her story. I adopted her after she was rescued from certain death at the animal shelter. Daisy's news story and follow up story are on the internet on her myspace.com page or youtube.com. My other dog is a mutt that was rescued from being chained to a clothes line in below freezing weather last year. I named him Slime Dog because when I rescued him, he was full of the slime of mud and his own bodily waste. I affectionately told him that he was a slimy dog. He responded to my calling him that, hence the name. He is part black and part white, so I have pondered renaming him Barack Odoga in honor of our new President.
The two dogs became best friends and are a source of both joy and frustration at times, as all pets are. The Pekingese used to be rebellious and still has some fits of insubordination when it comes to her being housebroken. One of her favorite spots was on my bedroom floor, hence the gate to keep her out. Barack Odoga has become very affectionate towards his humans over the past year he has been living here, and loves the indoor comforts of a house pet. He also still enjoys being in my fenced backyard and to go on walks. He loves to jump on my bed or my son's bed and snuggle. My wife, however, seriously dislikes sharing a bed with Barack Odoga, so the gate stays in place.
Besides the dogs, I've had two cats even longer. The two sweet felines are able to jump over the gate quite easily and love to come say hello, get or give affection, or sleep on the bed or dresser. Old Slime Dog could probably jump over the gate if he wanted to, but he has yet to discover that part. Sometimes when the cats jump over the gate, they will push off with their hind feet in mid jump and nudge the gate open just a little bit. As dumb as he is (I often call him "Stupie" and he responds nicely), Slimy is smart enough to know how to get his paw or snout in the slightly cracked open gate and push it open. That is when the fun begins.
I am a very light sleeper and am often have insomnia. I have for decades. When I hear the gate get kicked open, I know the dog will get his snout through the gate rapidly and will end up jumping on the bed, take up real estate on my king size bed, pull down covers, and inhibit free human movement. I can tell you from experience that a semi-conscious, annoyed pregnant woman is a she-bear and old Slimy gets shoved, kicked, and fussed at until he relents and leaves the bed. I, on the other hand, am more tolerant of canine snuggles and dog breath. Besides, Slimy does does not complain about snoring and will toss and turn less than my wife does.
What is the object lesson here? We have allowed the gate to be cracked on a lot of things in our government, family, and religious lives. We allowed money to be taken from the "locked" Social Security fund and now that money is part of general revenues and expenditures. We allowed money to be raided from the highway trust fund in NC and now Governor Perdue is illegally raiding the state lottery trust fund to balance the North Carolina state budget. We allowed no fault divorce, single parent homes, welfare programs, tax increases, homosexual agendas, liberal sex education programs, illegal immigration, gun control, worldliness, and so many other issues to enter through a crack in the gate instead of locking it down. Now we have to pay the consequences of a wide open gate and wake up with fleas.
In my home, my wife and I have a baby gate placed in our bedroom doorway. Because of the construction of the hallway and the door jams, I have not installed the locking mechanism or hinge on the plastic swinging gate. It wedges in the niche at the door frame nicely. The gate is not in place to keep a baby in or out, but rather to keep my dogs from coming into the bedroom at night.
I have two dogs. One is a Pekingese that I have owned for about three years. Because she is white and beautiful, I named her Daisy. She was a special needs animal that was abandoned and was even on WRAL TV, which is how I found out about her story. I adopted her after she was rescued from certain death at the animal shelter. Daisy's news story and follow up story are on the internet on her myspace.com page or youtube.com. My other dog is a mutt that was rescued from being chained to a clothes line in below freezing weather last year. I named him Slime Dog because when I rescued him, he was full of the slime of mud and his own bodily waste. I affectionately told him that he was a slimy dog. He responded to my calling him that, hence the name. He is part black and part white, so I have pondered renaming him Barack Odoga in honor of our new President.
The two dogs became best friends and are a source of both joy and frustration at times, as all pets are. The Pekingese used to be rebellious and still has some fits of insubordination when it comes to her being housebroken. One of her favorite spots was on my bedroom floor, hence the gate to keep her out. Barack Odoga has become very affectionate towards his humans over the past year he has been living here, and loves the indoor comforts of a house pet. He also still enjoys being in my fenced backyard and to go on walks. He loves to jump on my bed or my son's bed and snuggle. My wife, however, seriously dislikes sharing a bed with Barack Odoga, so the gate stays in place.
Besides the dogs, I've had two cats even longer. The two sweet felines are able to jump over the gate quite easily and love to come say hello, get or give affection, or sleep on the bed or dresser. Old Slime Dog could probably jump over the gate if he wanted to, but he has yet to discover that part. Sometimes when the cats jump over the gate, they will push off with their hind feet in mid jump and nudge the gate open just a little bit. As dumb as he is (I often call him "Stupie" and he responds nicely), Slimy is smart enough to know how to get his paw or snout in the slightly cracked open gate and push it open. That is when the fun begins.
I am a very light sleeper and am often have insomnia. I have for decades. When I hear the gate get kicked open, I know the dog will get his snout through the gate rapidly and will end up jumping on the bed, take up real estate on my king size bed, pull down covers, and inhibit free human movement. I can tell you from experience that a semi-conscious, annoyed pregnant woman is a she-bear and old Slimy gets shoved, kicked, and fussed at until he relents and leaves the bed. I, on the other hand, am more tolerant of canine snuggles and dog breath. Besides, Slimy does does not complain about snoring and will toss and turn less than my wife does.
What is the object lesson here? We have allowed the gate to be cracked on a lot of things in our government, family, and religious lives. We allowed money to be taken from the "locked" Social Security fund and now that money is part of general revenues and expenditures. We allowed money to be raided from the highway trust fund in NC and now Governor Perdue is illegally raiding the state lottery trust fund to balance the North Carolina state budget. We allowed no fault divorce, single parent homes, welfare programs, tax increases, homosexual agendas, liberal sex education programs, illegal immigration, gun control, worldliness, and so many other issues to enter through a crack in the gate instead of locking it down. Now we have to pay the consequences of a wide open gate and wake up with fleas.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Column for March 5, 2009
Here is your chance to sound off or get involved in your town
I wrote recently that "Selma is a great town but…" seems to be a familiar phrase I hear. I had one email conversation recently in which I was asked for a list of things I felt needed attention or were problematic.
I figure that it is time that we hear from some of our citizens as to their concerns here in town. I strongly encourage each of you to write the newspaper and take advantage of the "letters to the editor" section and express your thoughts, complaints, compliments, problems, suggestions, and desires for your home town.
For the sake of brevity, I will share just some of my own recent list.
1. Selma leadership seems fixated on expanding the town through forced annexation rather than attracting people to move and/or build here. Forced annexation is unethical, it is confiscatory in nature, and past efforts have been expensive as well as illegal.
2. The town neglects some simple and inexpensive things that will enhance its image such as fresh paint on flag poles, no parking zones on curbs, town facilities, and the like. Not all improvements are expensive. Let's take care of the little things we can do on the cheap before pursuing dreams of grandeur.
3. Almost three years ago, the town worried about liability over a free standing water tower that was abandoned and left alone for years but ignores the broken, uneven sidewalks that are used every day. Common walking surfaces are a much greater liability risk. Why strain at a gnat and swallow a camel?
4. We have sewer lines that are 100 years old and in disrepair and yet the town seems to want to add more area to the town that will require additional infrastructure including water and sewer lines. Why seek to add area to the town and yet ignore the upkeep of existing infrastructure?
5. The town attempts to exert undue influence on people who live in the ETJ, outside the city limits. I have written on this extensively.
6. We have over 60% renters in the town. That leaves the primary property tax bill on absentee landlords who do not care about the town in which their properties are located. A minority of citizens actually own property, live here, and have a stake in the town. This leads to little pride in the town and attracts a low quality of citizenry. Though this was addressed in the Strategic Plan, I am not convinced that the action of outlawing duplexes that limits freedom and ran contrary to the Planning Board's wishes was the best method of stemming the tide of rentals.
7. By and large, the town council and mayor disregard what the citizens express at public hearings or what may have been recommended by citizen advisory boards, and have even been openly critical of those opinions. This does not instill the desire for serving the community or to get involved with one's town. I will say that Councilman Eric Sellers, in general, is courteous enough to read and respond to emails. Thank you, Mr. Sellers. I believe in contacting my elected officials.
8. I have witnessed bullying and intimidation tactics employed on council members and on citizens, which is just unacceptable behavior. I have also witnessed pontification of one thing at town council meetings and then a pontiff's turn around vote for exactly the opposite.
9. Selma is full of illegal aliens. At town hall, employees must cater to those who are here illegally and/or do not speak the common language of the land. Failure to discourage immigrants from moving here results in low quality renters and neighborhoods, raises our crime rates, costs money for the time and materials in two languages, and just plain needs to stop with the drain on our budget. This problem is even greater at higher levels of government and affects our taxes, our education system, our health care system, and our culture. If we had sufficient resolve even at the town level, we could make a difference in this problem.
These are just some of the items I shared, but with a little sanitizing of content for public consumption and space constraints. What would be in your list? Write the newspaper and let the town know. Get involved. Speak out. Exercise your freedoms. Here is my one suggestion in pondering your items. Be prepared to offer items for which you believe there to be a viable solution.
I wrote recently that "Selma is a great town but…" seems to be a familiar phrase I hear. I had one email conversation recently in which I was asked for a list of things I felt needed attention or were problematic.
I figure that it is time that we hear from some of our citizens as to their concerns here in town. I strongly encourage each of you to write the newspaper and take advantage of the "letters to the editor" section and express your thoughts, complaints, compliments, problems, suggestions, and desires for your home town.
For the sake of brevity, I will share just some of my own recent list.
1. Selma leadership seems fixated on expanding the town through forced annexation rather than attracting people to move and/or build here. Forced annexation is unethical, it is confiscatory in nature, and past efforts have been expensive as well as illegal.
2. The town neglects some simple and inexpensive things that will enhance its image such as fresh paint on flag poles, no parking zones on curbs, town facilities, and the like. Not all improvements are expensive. Let's take care of the little things we can do on the cheap before pursuing dreams of grandeur.
3. Almost three years ago, the town worried about liability over a free standing water tower that was abandoned and left alone for years but ignores the broken, uneven sidewalks that are used every day. Common walking surfaces are a much greater liability risk. Why strain at a gnat and swallow a camel?
4. We have sewer lines that are 100 years old and in disrepair and yet the town seems to want to add more area to the town that will require additional infrastructure including water and sewer lines. Why seek to add area to the town and yet ignore the upkeep of existing infrastructure?
5. The town attempts to exert undue influence on people who live in the ETJ, outside the city limits. I have written on this extensively.
6. We have over 60% renters in the town. That leaves the primary property tax bill on absentee landlords who do not care about the town in which their properties are located. A minority of citizens actually own property, live here, and have a stake in the town. This leads to little pride in the town and attracts a low quality of citizenry. Though this was addressed in the Strategic Plan, I am not convinced that the action of outlawing duplexes that limits freedom and ran contrary to the Planning Board's wishes was the best method of stemming the tide of rentals.
7. By and large, the town council and mayor disregard what the citizens express at public hearings or what may have been recommended by citizen advisory boards, and have even been openly critical of those opinions. This does not instill the desire for serving the community or to get involved with one's town. I will say that Councilman Eric Sellers, in general, is courteous enough to read and respond to emails. Thank you, Mr. Sellers. I believe in contacting my elected officials.
8. I have witnessed bullying and intimidation tactics employed on council members and on citizens, which is just unacceptable behavior. I have also witnessed pontification of one thing at town council meetings and then a pontiff's turn around vote for exactly the opposite.
9. Selma is full of illegal aliens. At town hall, employees must cater to those who are here illegally and/or do not speak the common language of the land. Failure to discourage immigrants from moving here results in low quality renters and neighborhoods, raises our crime rates, costs money for the time and materials in two languages, and just plain needs to stop with the drain on our budget. This problem is even greater at higher levels of government and affects our taxes, our education system, our health care system, and our culture. If we had sufficient resolve even at the town level, we could make a difference in this problem.
These are just some of the items I shared, but with a little sanitizing of content for public consumption and space constraints. What would be in your list? Write the newspaper and let the town know. Get involved. Speak out. Exercise your freedoms. Here is my one suggestion in pondering your items. Be prepared to offer items for which you believe there to be a viable solution.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Column for Feb. 26, 2009
A few weeks ago, this newspaper ran a poll on its web site asking if readers knew anyone who lost their job. I voted in the affirmative in that poll, since I have known several such people. As a matter of fact, in my own household we had a recent job loss with which we are having to contend. My employer has laid off a lot of people in another state to consolidate its operations into North Carolina. My father-in-law got laid off after some 35 years or more with the same employer.
I understand cut backs. I have been the victim of them my own self, and on more than one occasion. I have no problem with people who have been displaced getting a "hand up" when they are down. There is a system designed for that very circumstance. I know first hand that there are people on both sides of the employment balance, both employee and employer alike, that abuse that system. I have even been served with a summons twice to appear before the Employment Security Commission to testify on the behalf of a wronged employee as well as one time for an employer that terminated an employee in a just manner. For every abuse story, however, there are many more honest stories.
Whenever I personally lost a job, I personally chose not to file for unemployment benefits but rather searched for work quickly, secured it even if it was a situation of serious underemployment, and kept going with life. It is never a fun thing. As I said, that was a personal choice.
According to the United States Department of Labor's web site, "In general, the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own (as determined under State law), and meet other eligibility requirements of State law. Unemployment insurance payments (benefits) are intended to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers who meet the requirements of State law." In general, as the feds put it, I don't have a problem with temporary assistance for workers who find themselves suddenly unemployed and did not become so as a result of disciplinary action or of their own volition. In our current economy, there are plenty of people finding themselves in this circumstance.
My dear sweet wife and I were married in October of last year. In July of this year, we are expecting our first child together, a honeymoon baby. My wife has lived in Harnett County all of her life. That is, until we made the big commitment. She has had two jobs in her entire life. One was as a waitress and subsequently a wait staff supervisor, then for the Harnett County government. The department for which she worked made use of her talents for over a dozen years. Unfortunately, politics have their way of playing out in the office, not just during election season.
Under state law, an elected official, specifically, a Register of Deeds or a county Sheriff can hire and fire at will. Under law, such employees "serve at the pleasure" of the elected official. That means that they do not have to abide by state or county labor laws and procedures. If the local sheriff does not like the color of the car you drive to work, he can get rid of you at his whim. The official can set obscure policies such as the requirement for all departmental employees to reside within the county, even if there is no such requirement by the county Human Resources or even county law. Hey, even the County Manager for Harnett County does not live in Harnett County.
Just so my readers who are suffering through hard economic ties and feel wronged will know, my wife and I are right there with you. My wife was let go from her job in January with a letter explaining that her departmental head was exercising her state law supported right to let her go because she was reorganizing the department, and gave the reason for her selection that she has a personal policy that all employees of her department must reside in the county and she moved to Selma when we married. Never mind the fact that my wife was always at work earlier than employees who reside withing a mile or two of the office and knows every job in that department, she had to go. Furthermore, other office employees also reside in other counties. In reality, she was terminated because she is pregnant and the leadership did not want to deal with an employee being out on Family and Medical Leave Act provisions. The "piece de resistance" is the county fighting the claim for unemployment benefits, so we still have to contend with over one third of our family income being instantly removed by the whim of a petty dictator. If you really want to have fun ladies, try being a woman who is over four months pregnant and diligently seeking new employment.
With the mistakes being made by our federal government right now with the handling of our economy, bail outs, and the incredibly wasteful non-stimulus spending, we are all going to feel the hurt. My 401(k) is now a 200.5(k). My income has been slashed, and I will soon have another mouth to feed. Take heart my fellow citizens. You are not alone. And even more importantly, no matter what happens, God is still on his throne.
I understand cut backs. I have been the victim of them my own self, and on more than one occasion. I have no problem with people who have been displaced getting a "hand up" when they are down. There is a system designed for that very circumstance. I know first hand that there are people on both sides of the employment balance, both employee and employer alike, that abuse that system. I have even been served with a summons twice to appear before the Employment Security Commission to testify on the behalf of a wronged employee as well as one time for an employer that terminated an employee in a just manner. For every abuse story, however, there are many more honest stories.
Whenever I personally lost a job, I personally chose not to file for unemployment benefits but rather searched for work quickly, secured it even if it was a situation of serious underemployment, and kept going with life. It is never a fun thing. As I said, that was a personal choice.
According to the United States Department of Labor's web site, "In general, the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own (as determined under State law), and meet other eligibility requirements of State law. Unemployment insurance payments (benefits) are intended to provide temporary financial assistance to unemployed workers who meet the requirements of State law." In general, as the feds put it, I don't have a problem with temporary assistance for workers who find themselves suddenly unemployed and did not become so as a result of disciplinary action or of their own volition. In our current economy, there are plenty of people finding themselves in this circumstance.
My dear sweet wife and I were married in October of last year. In July of this year, we are expecting our first child together, a honeymoon baby. My wife has lived in Harnett County all of her life. That is, until we made the big commitment. She has had two jobs in her entire life. One was as a waitress and subsequently a wait staff supervisor, then for the Harnett County government. The department for which she worked made use of her talents for over a dozen years. Unfortunately, politics have their way of playing out in the office, not just during election season.
Under state law, an elected official, specifically, a Register of Deeds or a county Sheriff can hire and fire at will. Under law, such employees "serve at the pleasure" of the elected official. That means that they do not have to abide by state or county labor laws and procedures. If the local sheriff does not like the color of the car you drive to work, he can get rid of you at his whim. The official can set obscure policies such as the requirement for all departmental employees to reside within the county, even if there is no such requirement by the county Human Resources or even county law. Hey, even the County Manager for Harnett County does not live in Harnett County.
Just so my readers who are suffering through hard economic ties and feel wronged will know, my wife and I are right there with you. My wife was let go from her job in January with a letter explaining that her departmental head was exercising her state law supported right to let her go because she was reorganizing the department, and gave the reason for her selection that she has a personal policy that all employees of her department must reside in the county and she moved to Selma when we married. Never mind the fact that my wife was always at work earlier than employees who reside withing a mile or two of the office and knows every job in that department, she had to go. Furthermore, other office employees also reside in other counties. In reality, she was terminated because she is pregnant and the leadership did not want to deal with an employee being out on Family and Medical Leave Act provisions. The "piece de resistance" is the county fighting the claim for unemployment benefits, so we still have to contend with over one third of our family income being instantly removed by the whim of a petty dictator. If you really want to have fun ladies, try being a woman who is over four months pregnant and diligently seeking new employment.
With the mistakes being made by our federal government right now with the handling of our economy, bail outs, and the incredibly wasteful non-stimulus spending, we are all going to feel the hurt. My 401(k) is now a 200.5(k). My income has been slashed, and I will soon have another mouth to feed. Take heart my fellow citizens. You are not alone. And even more importantly, no matter what happens, God is still on his throne.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Column for Feb. 19, 2009
Congratulations, my fellow Americans. The United States government now has more debt than the entire annual gross domestic product of the entire world combined.
I was asked to give Obama a chance. When I declared that he is a socialist and was going to bankrupt America, I was told that I was just plain unfair. With the non-stimulus bill that is going to be law, we just mortgaged the future of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Many have dubbed the so-called stimulus bill the "porkulus" bill, and rightfully so. Even the Congressional Budget Office has declared that the stimulus spending effects on job growth will be miniscule.
With so many business concerns being taken over or even funded by the government, I have actually seen some fools cheer. Just this weekend, I was part of an internet discussion. One poor, misguided soul named Hannah was heralding the end of capitalism with the non-stimulus bill. She said, "Hurray! The end of capitalism! Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains! Off with the chains of capitalism and then we will have real freedom."
The sad thing is that she meant it. She declared that the election of Barack Hussein Obama was a mandate for a change of the type of government, saying that those who cleave to the Constitution are "outmoded". Of course there was the obligatory liberal twaddle of blaming George Bush for war spending and any other leftist nonsense she could muster with her diminished thought processing ability.
To the concept of blaming Bush for war spending and the so called mandate I said, "The "war debt" combined for the past decade is dwarfed by the liberal spending of the non-stimulus spending about to hit. Do you consider the Constitution to be "outmoded"? If that founding document is outmoded, then I will be happy to be considered such, as well."
Apparently, to those who must have failed civics class in school, if you do not support democracy, then you are an imbecile. I am told that accepting Obama's policies are merely the end result of democracy in action, regardless of the Constitution or the evils of socialism.
I want to make this point clear. The United States is not now nor has it ever has been a democracy. This nation is a representative republic. My five year old is learning to recite The Pledge of Allegiance, which has the phrase "...and to the republic for which it stands". I shall ensure that he understands what that means. Article IV Section 4 of the Constitution states "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government". There is a huge difference between a republic and a democracy. In reading the notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787, it is clear that the founding fathers abhorred democracy.
It is impossible to be a true patriot and be a liberal at the same time. Ironically, I find that liberals often defend their characterizations of the Bush/Reagan/Bush era as patriotic. I personally have a lot of criticism for the Bushes as well as some of Reagan's policies. However, my criticisms are based upon an established standard rather than irrational, erroneous representations of an impossible Utopian society. This one woman actually called herself a "liberal patriot". One can not be a patriot and be antithetical to the very foundation of your nation and its core values.
I find it ironic that many liberals bash capitalism, big business, and the quest for profit while at the same time laud socialism, big government, and the quest for monetary control over its subjects. With all of its inherent flaws, mainly because of the sinful nature of man, capitalism is the best system of economics for all of mankind.
Capitalism has brought this nation from being a developing nation to being an economic powerhouse in the world. It has caused a fraction of the world's population to be the innovators in business and modern society. We have developed technology faster and advanced science further than any other nation on the planet as a result of pursuing financial gain as a reward.
No other nation on earth is more generous to charitable organizations, builds more hospitals, has built a better health care system, brought wealth to more people, or financed the spread of the Gospel more than the United States. All of this was made possible by the positive benefits of capitalism.
The national debt with which we are now saddled as well as the increasingly unconstitutional spending and governmental control now threaten to totally destroy the greatest republic in human history. Watch for resistance movements emerge as more and more states rediscover the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
I was asked to give Obama a chance. When I declared that he is a socialist and was going to bankrupt America, I was told that I was just plain unfair. With the non-stimulus bill that is going to be law, we just mortgaged the future of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Many have dubbed the so-called stimulus bill the "porkulus" bill, and rightfully so. Even the Congressional Budget Office has declared that the stimulus spending effects on job growth will be miniscule.
With so many business concerns being taken over or even funded by the government, I have actually seen some fools cheer. Just this weekend, I was part of an internet discussion. One poor, misguided soul named Hannah was heralding the end of capitalism with the non-stimulus bill. She said, "Hurray! The end of capitalism! Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains! Off with the chains of capitalism and then we will have real freedom."
The sad thing is that she meant it. She declared that the election of Barack Hussein Obama was a mandate for a change of the type of government, saying that those who cleave to the Constitution are "outmoded". Of course there was the obligatory liberal twaddle of blaming George Bush for war spending and any other leftist nonsense she could muster with her diminished thought processing ability.
To the concept of blaming Bush for war spending and the so called mandate I said, "The "war debt" combined for the past decade is dwarfed by the liberal spending of the non-stimulus spending about to hit. Do you consider the Constitution to be "outmoded"? If that founding document is outmoded, then I will be happy to be considered such, as well."
Apparently, to those who must have failed civics class in school, if you do not support democracy, then you are an imbecile. I am told that accepting Obama's policies are merely the end result of democracy in action, regardless of the Constitution or the evils of socialism.
I want to make this point clear. The United States is not now nor has it ever has been a democracy. This nation is a representative republic. My five year old is learning to recite The Pledge of Allegiance, which has the phrase "...and to the republic for which it stands". I shall ensure that he understands what that means. Article IV Section 4 of the Constitution states "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government". There is a huge difference between a republic and a democracy. In reading the notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787, it is clear that the founding fathers abhorred democracy.
It is impossible to be a true patriot and be a liberal at the same time. Ironically, I find that liberals often defend their characterizations of the Bush/Reagan/Bush era as patriotic. I personally have a lot of criticism for the Bushes as well as some of Reagan's policies. However, my criticisms are based upon an established standard rather than irrational, erroneous representations of an impossible Utopian society. This one woman actually called herself a "liberal patriot". One can not be a patriot and be antithetical to the very foundation of your nation and its core values.
I find it ironic that many liberals bash capitalism, big business, and the quest for profit while at the same time laud socialism, big government, and the quest for monetary control over its subjects. With all of its inherent flaws, mainly because of the sinful nature of man, capitalism is the best system of economics for all of mankind.
Capitalism has brought this nation from being a developing nation to being an economic powerhouse in the world. It has caused a fraction of the world's population to be the innovators in business and modern society. We have developed technology faster and advanced science further than any other nation on the planet as a result of pursuing financial gain as a reward.
No other nation on earth is more generous to charitable organizations, builds more hospitals, has built a better health care system, brought wealth to more people, or financed the spread of the Gospel more than the United States. All of this was made possible by the positive benefits of capitalism.
The national debt with which we are now saddled as well as the increasingly unconstitutional spending and governmental control now threaten to totally destroy the greatest republic in human history. Watch for resistance movements emerge as more and more states rediscover the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Column for Feb. 12, 2009
Once again, an "I told you so". This time about local ordinances and tyranny
People scoffed when I wrote that local planning and zoning ordinances can be used for control and can be a form of tyranny. Here are two more examples of usurpation of power and freedom.
By the time this column is published, the Town Council will have most likely taken a vote on whether to apply its ordinance on abandoned, nuisance, and junked motor vehicles to the ETJ, or extra-territorial jurisdiction. The proposal by the town is to allow the code enforcement officer to take an ordinance specifically intended for application within the city limits and extend the authority to cover into the ETJ, which is not within the town limits.
An ETJ exists for the sole purpose of planning growth outside the town's corporate limits to accommodate orderly future growth of the town. I personally disagree with the existence of an ETJ, since it amounts to regulation without representation. There is a violation of being governed without the consent of the governed or the benefit of services of the governing agency.
Selma wants to take an ordinance designed to be about motor vehicles and traffic and apply it to people who do not live within Selma. Junk cars have nothing to do with systematic planning for future growth of a town. Don't get me wrong, I hate to see junk cars in driveways and on properties here in town or outside of town as much as anyone. However, I have a fundamental problem with the idea of taking a law designed to be enforced within the town limits and apply it outside of our corporate limits. If we can do that with the junk cars provision, why do we not find a way to enforce the town's speed limits, parking, fire prevention, and livestock possession laws on people who do not even live within our town, as well?
Can you see how this is "letting the camel stick its nose into the tent"? Let's clean up our own act here in town before even thinking about telling people who do not even live within the town to clean up theirs. Let's not enforce what is in effect a parking and storage law outside of the town's limits.
A second issue came up recently and hit my best friend. My buddy, Dave, lives way out in the country in northern Johnston County. It takes me almost thirty minutes to get there from my house in Selma. He moved to the middle of nowhere on purpose.
One day, Dave came home to find a violation notice on his door. A busy body code enforcement officer for Johnston County went on to his private property on a private road to complain about the fact that he has three campers and a lot of cars on his land.
Every one of the cars is registered. Two of the campers are response vehicles for emergency communications. One is owned by the Johnston County REACT Team, one is for the NC Emergency Reserves and has been used in hurricane response efforts by several agencies. One camper is a private RV. Two of the vehicles in question are registered to the State of North Carolina, and after the state abandoned its constitutional militia efforts, several former members have been left with the burden of upkeep and storage of its vehicles.
Dave takes no services from the county, such as water, sewer, electricity, etc. He had a county inspector on his property when he had his house built and the utility hook up for his campers installed and approved. He has met the requirements for keeping vehicles on his property registered. Yet a meddling inspector felt compelled to show up to a private residence on a private road in the middle of nowhere to extend a hand of power onto someone's private country acreage. He even used Google Earth type satellite photos from a few years ago as evidence for coming onto private property.
The fact is that there have been no complaints by any neighbors or passers by. This is the hand of over-reaching government. It is funny that I pass by dozens of junked cars, dilapidated buildings, old signs that probably violate the county sign ordinance, and properties that were once construction sites but are now illegally abandoned to get to Dave's house. The inspector would have to drive past the same things in order to get there.
Why can we not just leave people alone when they are out in their own remote personal paradise? Some people move to the country to escape such problems only to find some eager beaver intruding on their freedoms already approved by previous inspectors. Yes, local ordinances can just as easily be used as a form of oppression as can state or federal laws. I told you so.
People scoffed when I wrote that local planning and zoning ordinances can be used for control and can be a form of tyranny. Here are two more examples of usurpation of power and freedom.
By the time this column is published, the Town Council will have most likely taken a vote on whether to apply its ordinance on abandoned, nuisance, and junked motor vehicles to the ETJ, or extra-territorial jurisdiction. The proposal by the town is to allow the code enforcement officer to take an ordinance specifically intended for application within the city limits and extend the authority to cover into the ETJ, which is not within the town limits.
An ETJ exists for the sole purpose of planning growth outside the town's corporate limits to accommodate orderly future growth of the town. I personally disagree with the existence of an ETJ, since it amounts to regulation without representation. There is a violation of being governed without the consent of the governed or the benefit of services of the governing agency.
Selma wants to take an ordinance designed to be about motor vehicles and traffic and apply it to people who do not live within Selma. Junk cars have nothing to do with systematic planning for future growth of a town. Don't get me wrong, I hate to see junk cars in driveways and on properties here in town or outside of town as much as anyone. However, I have a fundamental problem with the idea of taking a law designed to be enforced within the town limits and apply it outside of our corporate limits. If we can do that with the junk cars provision, why do we not find a way to enforce the town's speed limits, parking, fire prevention, and livestock possession laws on people who do not even live within our town, as well?
Can you see how this is "letting the camel stick its nose into the tent"? Let's clean up our own act here in town before even thinking about telling people who do not even live within the town to clean up theirs. Let's not enforce what is in effect a parking and storage law outside of the town's limits.
A second issue came up recently and hit my best friend. My buddy, Dave, lives way out in the country in northern Johnston County. It takes me almost thirty minutes to get there from my house in Selma. He moved to the middle of nowhere on purpose.
One day, Dave came home to find a violation notice on his door. A busy body code enforcement officer for Johnston County went on to his private property on a private road to complain about the fact that he has three campers and a lot of cars on his land.
Every one of the cars is registered. Two of the campers are response vehicles for emergency communications. One is owned by the Johnston County REACT Team, one is for the NC Emergency Reserves and has been used in hurricane response efforts by several agencies. One camper is a private RV. Two of the vehicles in question are registered to the State of North Carolina, and after the state abandoned its constitutional militia efforts, several former members have been left with the burden of upkeep and storage of its vehicles.
Dave takes no services from the county, such as water, sewer, electricity, etc. He had a county inspector on his property when he had his house built and the utility hook up for his campers installed and approved. He has met the requirements for keeping vehicles on his property registered. Yet a meddling inspector felt compelled to show up to a private residence on a private road in the middle of nowhere to extend a hand of power onto someone's private country acreage. He even used Google Earth type satellite photos from a few years ago as evidence for coming onto private property.
The fact is that there have been no complaints by any neighbors or passers by. This is the hand of over-reaching government. It is funny that I pass by dozens of junked cars, dilapidated buildings, old signs that probably violate the county sign ordinance, and properties that were once construction sites but are now illegally abandoned to get to Dave's house. The inspector would have to drive past the same things in order to get there.
Why can we not just leave people alone when they are out in their own remote personal paradise? Some people move to the country to escape such problems only to find some eager beaver intruding on their freedoms already approved by previous inspectors. Yes, local ordinances can just as easily be used as a form of oppression as can state or federal laws. I told you so.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Column for Feb. 5, 2009
Come on, let me hear a great big Amen, my brothers and sisters!
The Triangle area made history of its own for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The Triangle viewing area had the highest ratings and number of viewers in the entire country for the inauguration ceremony. Of course most of us were snowed in that day, so it allowed us the opportunity to watch television more than most of the country. Make no mistake that regardless of your opinion of the man, the inauguration of Barack Obama as President was indeed an historic occasion.
I watched the ceremony, along with my wife and mother-in-law. My five year old, for some reason, could not have cared less and played with his toys, instead. Immediately following the inauguration ceremony, I published an observation with some commentary on the internet that I felt that the closing benediction by a black minister was patently racist in nature. In a day and time when the inauguration of a (half) black President was supposed to signal a healing in race relations, I found it in bad taste, bad judgment, and inappropriate for a man to pray in the name of my Lord and Savior and indict an entire race of people, namely Caucasians, with an insult. I could not believe the amount of comments I got from around the country and around the world. Literally thousands of people read my commentary on an obscure web site and skewered me over my observation and assertion. My commentary is nothing new and has been pretty much written here in the past. But because I had the audacity to take note that the comment was racism (as have many others, as I later found out from reading news reports after I had already made my commentary) and stand by my comments, I was ridiculed, written about, scoffed, and insulted.
The "reverend" Joseph Lowery is a prominent black minister from Alabama, was active in the civil rights movement (for which I give full support), and has spoken at such events as the funeral for Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, he has also been outspoken in support of supposed civil rights for sodomites and supports civil unions. Joseph Lowery delivered the benediction, and gave the following quote which even made Barack Obama visibly annoyed.
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen."
The underlying assertion is that whites do not embrace the things that are right and oppress the other ethnic groups so mentioned. Sure, the line is catchy and is a line from an old Blues song, or so I read. However, how can anyone seriously expect to be taken seriously as an advocate for racial harmony, reconciliation, or parity when making hateful remarks in front of millions of people in attendance and many more millions on television that only serve to "pick at the scab" of bigotry? I found the comment to be racist in nature and entirely inappropriate, and I called it as such.
Not only did I get comments from people who are rabid left wing Obama supporters, I also got comments from people claiming to be Native American, black, and Caucasian who also found the comment to be inflammatory and inappropriate for the same reason. I was amused when I was told that I was narrow minded and was a racist for pointing out racism. Hey, I point out racism by "whitey", too, and did so on the same internet page. I got comments from people who whether as a sick joke or just to stir the pot that were extremely racist, full of hate, or were ethnic jokes. I deleted a good many comments that I found either patently offensive, just plain wrong, or not germane to the topic at hand. Of course by deleting comments, I was then accused of censorship and not honoring First Amendment rights. Since the First Amendment only applies to government actions, not mine, I slough off such criticisms.
The bottom line is this, as I wrote on the internet. The comment was "just wrong and in itself racist. I despise racism, and I do not care from whence it comes." If people truly expect to be treated with total parity and accepted as equals in society, then they need to stop fanning the flames of racial hatred with such attitudes and remarks. Now, can you say Amen?
The Triangle area made history of its own for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. The Triangle viewing area had the highest ratings and number of viewers in the entire country for the inauguration ceremony. Of course most of us were snowed in that day, so it allowed us the opportunity to watch television more than most of the country. Make no mistake that regardless of your opinion of the man, the inauguration of Barack Obama as President was indeed an historic occasion.
I watched the ceremony, along with my wife and mother-in-law. My five year old, for some reason, could not have cared less and played with his toys, instead. Immediately following the inauguration ceremony, I published an observation with some commentary on the internet that I felt that the closing benediction by a black minister was patently racist in nature. In a day and time when the inauguration of a (half) black President was supposed to signal a healing in race relations, I found it in bad taste, bad judgment, and inappropriate for a man to pray in the name of my Lord and Savior and indict an entire race of people, namely Caucasians, with an insult. I could not believe the amount of comments I got from around the country and around the world. Literally thousands of people read my commentary on an obscure web site and skewered me over my observation and assertion. My commentary is nothing new and has been pretty much written here in the past. But because I had the audacity to take note that the comment was racism (as have many others, as I later found out from reading news reports after I had already made my commentary) and stand by my comments, I was ridiculed, written about, scoffed, and insulted.
The "reverend" Joseph Lowery is a prominent black minister from Alabama, was active in the civil rights movement (for which I give full support), and has spoken at such events as the funeral for Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortunately, he has also been outspoken in support of supposed civil rights for sodomites and supports civil unions. Joseph Lowery delivered the benediction, and gave the following quote which even made Barack Obama visibly annoyed.
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen."
The underlying assertion is that whites do not embrace the things that are right and oppress the other ethnic groups so mentioned. Sure, the line is catchy and is a line from an old Blues song, or so I read. However, how can anyone seriously expect to be taken seriously as an advocate for racial harmony, reconciliation, or parity when making hateful remarks in front of millions of people in attendance and many more millions on television that only serve to "pick at the scab" of bigotry? I found the comment to be racist in nature and entirely inappropriate, and I called it as such.
Not only did I get comments from people who are rabid left wing Obama supporters, I also got comments from people claiming to be Native American, black, and Caucasian who also found the comment to be inflammatory and inappropriate for the same reason. I was amused when I was told that I was narrow minded and was a racist for pointing out racism. Hey, I point out racism by "whitey", too, and did so on the same internet page. I got comments from people who whether as a sick joke or just to stir the pot that were extremely racist, full of hate, or were ethnic jokes. I deleted a good many comments that I found either patently offensive, just plain wrong, or not germane to the topic at hand. Of course by deleting comments, I was then accused of censorship and not honoring First Amendment rights. Since the First Amendment only applies to government actions, not mine, I slough off such criticisms.
The bottom line is this, as I wrote on the internet. The comment was "just wrong and in itself racist. I despise racism, and I do not care from whence it comes." If people truly expect to be treated with total parity and accepted as equals in society, then they need to stop fanning the flames of racial hatred with such attitudes and remarks. Now, can you say Amen?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
