How the greatest nations fall

Great nations have existed throughout history. Great nations have also fallen. It is usually never because another nation has beaten the great nation that they have fallen but because of a few societal choices over several decades that slowly erode the culture until it cannot stand and will never again be the great nation it once was.

1. Move from religion
The great nations are typically birthed with a strong religious foundation. This foundation bring great strength on which the nation stands. Through this moral strength the nation eventually becomes wealthy. This is absolutely inevitable for nations that are truly great. However once the nation becomes rich, more and more members of society credit themselves over their religious beliefs for their prosperity. God gets pushed aside in the public square.

2. Choose money/comfort over children
As the nation gets richer and the rat race ensues, the need to look wealthy and to not let be derailed from that becomes common. Couples tend to choose not to marry in order to protect their own finances. Couples tend to not want children because they believe that children are a drain to their personal wealth. Many couples choose to have just one child. This is coupled with the political acceptance of legally aborting children for birth control purposes and to maintain, as much as possible, their financial position.

3. Once abortion/infanticide (or both in some societies) has become commonplace for two or three generations, there comes an eventual labor shortage. Thus born is the need to import workers at a higher rate than these foreign workers can or want to assimilate.

These foreign citizens eventually build their own enclaves and begin to balkanize the nation based on language differences and/or religious differences. Eventually the societal underpinnings that made the nation great are defended by fewer and fewer people. Because non-immigrants keep aborting their offspring, national pride is not being passed down to the next generations. There are fewer and fewer people who are taught to love the nation as it was founded and what made it great. They slowly are unable to maintain a majority.

Eventually the military will not even be able to keep up its numbers because there will not be enough people willing to die for a balkanized nation. Smaller paramilitaries will form to defend their enclave as war will actually be between the different segments of the populations. Thus civil war will encompass the nation and it will no longer stand.

Read your history and you will see the same patter repeated over and over. Sadly the greatest nation ever to inhabit the planet, The United States, is well into step 3 and its leaders have not found the need to stop that which contributes to her slow suicide.

May God Bless America

Disection of Romans passage

Romans 8:15-16

"15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship (or adoption). And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

This is from the Matthew Henry Commentary:

But you have received the Spirit of adoption. Men may give a charter of adoption; but it is God’s prerogative, when he adopts, to give a spirit of adoption-the nature of children. The Spirit of adoption works in the children of God a filial love to God as a Father, a delight in him, and a dependence upon him, as a Father. A sanctified soul bears the image of God, as the child bears the image of the father.

That makes sense as does this:

V 16. Beareth witness with our spirit. Many a man has the witness of his own spirit to the goodness of his state who has not the concurring testimony of the Spirit. Many speak peace to themselves to whom the God of heaven does not speak peace. But those that are sanctified have God’s Spirit witnessing with their spirits, which is to be understood not of any immediate extraordinary revelation, but an ordinary work of the Spirit, in and by the means of comfort, speaking peace to the soul. This testimony is always agreeable to the written word, and is therefore always grounded upon sanctification; for the Spirit in the heart cannot contradict the Spirit in the word. The Spirit witnesses to none the privileges of children who have not the nature and disposition of children.

Is it not ironic or not possibly ironic?

• A suicidal man jumps from a building to certain death but while falling he waves his arms to control his fall. A quadrapalegic man in another town sits in a wheel chair and he cannot wave to his daughter as she smiles toward him during her soccer game.
• A woman is in tears because the expensive invitro procedure did not take... again. Her dreams of having a child are still in question for another month. A woman at a planned parenthood in another town schedules her 8th abortion.
• A man leaves the urologist after receiving the news that he has such a low sperm count that he and his wife will need to adopt. A fertile man in another town has admitted he is homosexual.
• A child is amused by throwing all of her toys all over the playroom with reckless abandon. A refugee child on the other side of the world holds on for dear life to a tattered doll that is her only toy.
• A close and loving family gathers at the bedside of a cancer inflicted brother who is in his last hours of life. In another town 3 healthy siblings live just a few miles from one another but have not spoken in years due to a petty disagreement.
• A rich man does not answer his phone any longer for fear it is someone else claiming to be a friend who is asking for money. A middle class man in another town receives several calls a day from friends he knows genuinely care for his well being.
• A loving and involved father and fireman is killed while serving his community. A father in another town left his children for a new girlfriend and has not been seen in years.
• Let's establish the fact that God is in complete control. Let's also agree that God does everything for good. Then why would God let such apparent injustices occur? To the non-Christian or the new Christian it is just proof that God is not a benevolent father.
• The glaring contrasts above are actually proof of a fallen world, not an unjust God. Consider the following passage:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD . "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

~ Isaiah 55:8-9

My personal thoughts on the assault on Christmas

OK, this my annual venting concerning the abolition of Christmas in our culture.

Retail advertisers seem the most motivated to not call December 25th - the day they rely on people who celebrate Christmas to patronize them - Christmas. Most all of them call it the ubiquitous "holiday". Grrrrrr. However I just want to talk about the most egregious. It involved the Lowe's flyer, where they called the Christmas Tree a "Family Tree". I must say beforehand that once there was an outcry, Lowe's sent out a new flyer in which called it a Christmas Tree.

This made me think. Someone in the advertising department had to cognitively make the decision that "Family Tree" was a good idea. They must have even decided that "Holiday Tree" was not even good to call it. For what reason? So as to not offend those who don't celebrate Christmas. Even atheists tend to celebrate on Christmas Day. It is a tree that people put gifts under on a holiday that we call Christmas. So how in the world would someone think it is a good idea to call it a "Family Tree". I thought that was something you tracked your ancestry on. And another thing, those who don't celebrate Christmas will not be buying the tree anyway! So in that respect who cares if it is called a Christmas Tree. It is kind of like Christians being offended that a Menorah is not being advertised as a "Family Candle Holder". I mean come on!

I have been with my company for 10 years now. In 1997 we had a Christmas party and that continued for a number of years. A few years back as the assault on Christmas was growing, the spineless decision makers chose to follow suit and they began calling it a Holiday Party. However we are now 2007 and even the Holiday appears to be offensive. This year we are having "Winterfest 2007". Are you done chuckling yet? What is that? Winterfest! We are in December and we are celebrating the beginning of winter and the coming 4 months of frigid weather. That is not something I have ever considered celebrating.

Have a good day and Merry Christmas!

Random Sports Thoughts

My prediction on the NFL's Competition committee

Everyone who knows the NFL knows that the parity is the intended consequence of any rule change. Their dream is to make all 32 teams 8-8 so that every game to the last week will be meaningful. For the most part they have succeeded.

However there is a human unintended consequence of the salary cap. First came the "hometown discount". This meant that superstars with more money than God would take less than they could make with a lesser franchise in order to make room in the salary cap so the team could hire more talent. The next phenomena is well established superstars taking huge pay cuts to come and play for a winner. In 2007, the perfect storm has developed in New England. Adelius Thomas, Randy Moss and other took less money to play for Bellichick and company. Thus that season, the Patriots were so much better than nearly any opponent that is was laughable.

I predict that the competition committee will not sit quietly on this one. I believe that they institute something that will regulate the hometown discount. They will assign elite players a level. Any player placed in this elite level by the NFL must be paid a minimal salary and cannot be traded for anything but a 1st round draft pick. This would keep several superstars from flocking to one team on minimal salaries so as to win a championship.

Don't put it past the socialists on the competition committee to consider this.


Manny smarter than he knows

Well they said it was just Manny being Manny. Several local news types tried to make a scandal out of it. I thought it was brilliant. It was brilliant because it was not meant to be brilliant thus it was childlike and honest.

After the 3rd straight loss to the Indians in the ALCS, Red Sox nation was feeling pretty bad and beginning to pack things in for the year. The Red Sox were not hitting and incredibly uptight. Then came Manny. In a nonchalant interview Manny said "If it doesn't happen, who cares? ... There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."

This comment from one of their leaders brought it all home and brought reality back to the team. One of the reasons that Ramirez is so good is because he does not make baseball life and death. He enjoys it. The comments he made changed the collective psyche of the entire team. From that point on the team was looser and having fun.

I believe that was the turning point for the team and Ramirez should get credit for the unintended consequences of his comment.


Sweet and Sour World Series victory

Yes I am happy that our beloved Red Sox won it all again. I cried in '75, '78 and '86. '04 and '07 have been quite a remedy for all of those years.

However something has evolved in MLB that I think is very unhealthy. Started by the Yankees, big market teams have begun spending what money they make. Small market teams in no way can afford to do this. Thus there is an elite group of cities; New York, Boston, LA and Chicago that can afford to spend exorbitant amounts of money on free agents while smaller market cities hope for the best. In 2007 the Red Sox beat the Indians of Cleveland and the Rockies of Denver. Both of these small market teams had team salaries of around $60M. So together their team salaries in 2007 were about $115M. The Red Sox player salaries in 2007 total $143M. OK maybe if the Rockies and Indians could combine their best players and maybe add a $30M in superstars then I would feel better about this victory.

Until then I say a salary cap in MLB is the way to go.

Our finest protect the vacuum from being filled by the lawless

This may seem like an obvious statement but honestly it is a appearing to be less than obvious to many in our society.

There is a plethora of police cam videos replayed on TV and the Internet and they continue to remind me of what is entailed in the job of our law men and women. It is not all Miami Vice or Adam 12. These people babysit daily the litany of humans who refuse to get along and refuse to obey the laws of a civil society.

I then came upon a website run by former and current criminals who honestly believe that they are doing their neighborhoods a service by "policing" the Police. Their objective is to videotape and post videos of cops being too rough with perps. While surfing their site I kept asking myself 'who do these guys want doing police work'? What do these guys ultimately want? I thing they want the police to not be so mean to their criminal buddies.

OK! Well what if the police agreed with these guys and they all resigned or they all agreed to leave the criminals alone and essentially neutered themselves? This has actually happened in varying degrees in recent history. Remember the riots in 1992 in LA? The Police chose to withdraw from south central LA. Well what then happened? The vacuum was filled by the gang members and they assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner. Immediately due process was withdrawn from all victims.

If there are no police then there will be a void and that void will be filled. By nature it does not go unfilled. For instance look at your typical lawless third world country. They are not really lawless. Yes there is no established law set forth in writing by a government but there is law established and carried out by those with the least to lose led by those with the most to gain. Albeit murderous and tyrannical but there is a law. Essentially "warlords" take a piece of land and their henchmen essentially "police" the territory. Do you think there is due process for the innocent in these areas? Me neither.

So what is the solution and what works? I believe the police forces work best for their communities when they have a stake in that community. I mean if members of the police force have a wife and kids or a mortgage or something else larger than they are that they are responsible for then they are more likely to honestly seek to do what is right to law abiding citizens while weeding out the criminals in the community.

Let's look at the opposite for a moment. In many major cities, gang members control neighborhoods. Who are these gang members? They are typically 15-25 year old males. They own no property and they have no family to support and create a safe environment for. Basically they have no stake in the neighborhood being civilized and livable. So what do they do? They terrorize law abiding neighbors and kill each other. If there were no Police on their block then they would be the ones to fill the void of neighborhood control and "security". Furthermore, look at any instance in any city in any country. When law and order are removed, gangs of youth assume that role and the city is no longer a safe place to be.

Yes police are imperfect. They are human. They deal with the worst people in our society on a daily basis. They get worn down. But they typically have mouths to feed at home and they desire a safe place for their families. In an imperfect world our trained police forces are more perfect than anything else on the planet and we owe them a debt of gratitude for risking their lives and their health so that the "police vacuum" can never be assumed by the lawless.

Letter sent to the Derry News today

Either Derry/Londonderry has become Massachusetts-North, the Derry News favors letters from liberal voters and/or conservatives just don’t write letters to the editor. I think all three have a semblance of truth. I am frustrated and honestly disheartened by routinely reading letters to the editor that are full of complete naiveté and downright ignorance.

First let’s start with Barak Obama. This man is truly a gifted orator and he may have wonderfully destructive programs to allow the government to take over everything, but his foreign policy actually makes the 1992 Bill Clinton look like Henry Kissinger. I am continually frightened by the fact that liberal candidates and their voters refuse to acknowledge that this is a dangerous world and there are people out there right now that want America to be a pile of dust – literally.

The only focus of the Democrat voters seems to be universal government-controlled health care for all, as if health care is not available to some people. Did you know there is a law that requires emergency rooms not to turn anyone away? Why do you think hospitals in the southwest are closing? Even illegal aliens know this. The problem with the medical system today is the result of decades of removing market forces from the equation. Since the advent of the third party payer (insurance companies and medicaid) the prices of health care have skyrocketed because the customers are not paying the real full price. Having the government take over health care – as all the Democrat candidates have promised – will be like having a humungous insurance company in control but one with no accountability (you can’t sue the government). Honestly it is government laws and regulations intended to help people that have driven up the costs of health care. Oh and we can’t leave out the trial lawyers (Hi John Edwards) whose frivolous law suits of our doctors has required them to take out millions of dollars in insurance just to protect themselves. But these insurance costs actually kill many medical practices, especially OB-GYNs. I will give an example. Years back I heard of a medication that was given to cows which cost about $15. However if a similar shot was given to humans it would be $3000. When asked why, the response was “cows don’t sue”.

Anyone who believes in Barack or Hillary’s class-envy tax the rich to pay for everything plan either has no understanding market economics or is blindly partisan. The fact remains that we are currently in a roaring economy though widely unreported by the liberal media. This is precisely because of the tax cuts for everyone pushed by Bush. I know many people don’t like tax cuts for the rich but let’s face it. The rich have the money, folks. When wealthy private citizens can keep more of their money then they can invest their money into private endeavors thus creating real jobs and creating real wealth. Government confiscation of money does not create wealth. So what if the rich like to buy expensive cars and homes. This demand gave work to a middle class auto worker and a middle class construction worker. Would it be better for Hillary to take the rich person’s money to then give it to people who don’t work just so she could look like a hero? Anyone who believes that money belongs in the hands of government over private individuals has bought hook, line and sinker that a benevolence government can do better with our money than we can. I don’t believe this.

As for the war, all of the democrat candidates and voters who believe that the only solution for peace is to get out of Iraq now frighten me the most. The conversion of Iraq from a dictatorship to a democracy takes lots of time and many of our bravest Americans have given their lives in this cause. If we stay the course then we will prevail. Iraq will become a democracy and the region will be stabilized. However if we pull out now, Iraq (or even the UN) are not strong enough to protect the vacuum that will be filled by Iran (Russia by proxy) and the genocide that will ensue. If this happens then our servicemen and women will have died in vain and you will not want to see how high gas prices will go with Iran and Russia in charge of Iraq’s oil supply, not to mention how emboldened our enemies will become. This scenario is too frightening to imagine.

One last comment I would like to make is concerning Londonderry’s most high profile liberal. I have taken my family to Mack’s apples for apple picking every September for several years. However I have had enough of Andy’s signs and the repeated idiocies that I read from him. I did a Google search and there are plenty of apple orchards in this great state. My family will be taking a longer trip from now on to pick apples because I can no longer patronize this local embarrassment.

I hope this letter will counter the overabundance of ignorance and partisan campaign speeches I read in this section every week.

Porn: It just keeps getting worse and more vile

This Blog contains references to sites that most would find vile and offensive. If you have a proclivity to porn addiction please consider not reading this blog. My intention is not to feed your addiction but to illustrate how bad it is getting. Do not read this blog if you believe you will be negatively affected by discussion of vile sites on the internet.

Porn has taken on a drastic change with the advent of the internet and the unlimited competition for viewers. This has nuclear-bombed the envelope in what is porn and what is sex between consenting adults.

Pornography used to be some semblance of a plot, poor dialogue then quickly jumping in the sack. Usually one guy and one gal participating in mutual pleasure, although mostly favoring the man. There would sometimes be the edgy videos where more than 2 people would participate. But that was basically the genre.

The internet has taken this to a whole new level. There seems to be a central theme to most of the new porn on the internet. Yes women have always been considered in porn to be objects and to have the sex drive of a man but today the focus is moving further to blatent degredation, humiliation and abuse. Even more tragic is there is absolutely no shortage of young women who volunteer for this for a little money. Most sites are totally open about referring to women as pieces of meat (there is a site called "Meatholes" with no shortage of girls) or whores or just totally there to service men and being thrown in the garbage when done.

• Why would a young woman agree to perform in "Gagging Whores" where several men shove their fists down her throat, spit in her mouth, slap her face, call her names, hold her nose while they are shoving their privates in her mouth until she vomits, pull her hair, then ejaculate on her?
• What kind of girl would let 100 guys to ejaculate on her face? I have read interviews and these girls say they "like the attention". That may give some insight into potentially a lack of a loving father in their young lives.
• What kind of young girl would want to be 1 of 5 or 6 girls that has sex with 1 guy in one session? How detached must she have to be to allow a man to have intercourse with her after he was just having intercourse with 5 other girls?
• Why would a girl agree to being called a "Pissmop" and to having her face urinated on and her mouth urinated in by several guys then told to say "hi daddy" into the camera?
• What kind of young girl would agree to be in a movie called "Young, Dumb and full of C*m"? (I'm sorry I couldn't write it)
• Why would a 19 year old girl allow 4,5,10,15,50,200 guys inside of her in one session? Is the money that good?? Some say it is.
• Why would a girl want to be with "Max Harcore" whose only m.o. is to make them gag, vomit, drink all his bodily fluids and eventually be broken and cry?
  

Some say these girls can make well over six figures easily. Market economics tells you that since this field is being flooded by lost young girls that salaries will have to go down. Regardless of the money the price that these young girls are paying on their souls is immeasurable. As a man who is approaching 40 years of age and 13 years of marriage, I have felt years of repercussions of my viewing of pornography. I now have young children and in their eyes is pure innocence. I have a forgiving wife whom I mistreated for most of our relationship because of my porn addiction.

You know, I only (not to minimize the damage) viewed the stuff. Someday these 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 year old girls will be 25, 30, 35, 40 and will hopefully have a husband. She will look in his eyes and want to be loved but what she did as a younger women will be still be in her brain and probably still purchaseable on the internet. This will hinder the potential true joy she should be feeling with a truly loving husband. Many of these young girls, by the fact that they have allowed themselves to be abused in porn, probably have little self-esteem anyway and a tendency toward a poor relationship with men. Finding a loving man may be something they may never know how to do. How would any guy feel knowing there are videos on the internet of his wife - the mother of his children - doing sexual acts with groups of strange men? Contrast that with a man who marries a virgin. Think about it ...

If the ladies have not contracted a disease that renders them incapable of carrying a child, then they may someday give birth to a new life. This is when what they did on film, when they were young, may emotionally break them. The money they made for participating in the abuse is long spent BUT the video is still out there and will forever be out there on someone's harddrive. How can they not fear that this innocent little life may someday see what mom did when she was young? These women basically have to spend the rest of their lives worrying that their kids may see what they did. If you don't agree that they will worry about it then you probably don't have children.

What about the men in these videos? There is the site where the 1 man gets to have 5 or 6 women at once. It is called The Lucky Man. I actually prefer to think of him as the Unlucky Man and his future wife the Very Unlucky Wife. In the Lucky man he is serviced by several women without having to emotionally connect with any of them. Someday when he is older and wants to keep a wife he is going to have to connect with her emotionally. His brain will always remember what is was like to be with 5 girls at once. As much fun (though emotionally detached) that he had for that hour, he was really not being loved by these women. They were getting paid to be with him and to have sex with him. And how can his future wife ever compete with that. How can she ever accept it? What happens if his daughter were to one day see it?

What about the men who partcipate in the videos that openly and joyfully degrade and abuse women? These men have no idea what damage they are doing to themselves, their ability to connect to a wife in the future, their ability to have loving sexual relations with anyone. I don't say this lightly. Once they have crossed the bridge where they can only be turned on when they are degrading a woman, a return to a normal view of sexuality may nearly be impossile to acheive. It will take many years of healing to rewire the way they think, if they agree that they are indeed brain damaged. I intentionally chose "brain damaged" because their sexual and emotional psyche has been perverted, altered and damaged to such a degree healing will be painful, if indeed healing is sought.

I believe the long term relational and phsychological effects of participating in these videos is, I feel, undeniable. Now let's change gears. What about the 11 year old boy that is surfing the internet on a computer without a filter? What about the day he discovers "Meatholes"? Will he seek out an 11 year old female classmate for a kiss? Or will that not be enough? When I was 12 I found porno magazines that distorted my view of sex and how women are to be treated. My subsequent viewing of porn entrenched that line of thinking for much of my adult life. It is only through an immersion in Jesus Christ and an active fleeing from porn that I am SLOWLY being healed and being able to see what I have been missing. The further I move from Porn the more I have been able to feel what it is to truly love my wife and be loved by her and to be actually connected to her emotionally.

But what about that 11 year old that stumbles on one of those sites? He is immediately being taught, not just that women are there to serve men, but that they are to be abused and degraded - and the women like it.... Since porn is progressive and the user always needs something more vile to get the same "high", where can this 11 year old go except one step closer to something unlawful?

It pains my heart to see future mommys and daddys morgaging their emotional future for a little money today without even knowing it. Someday the girls will be 25 and used up. There will be a thousand girls with younger faces who are not yet jaded that will take their place. It pains me that any 13 year old can fill his young head with the degredation of women as he gets inadvertantly educated on sexuality via his internet connection.

My friends, we are in a real dangerous place. God help our young people involved in internet porn and those, young and old, who view it.

(This blog was originally posted in April 2006 on a different blog site that I no longer post at.)

Spoiling a child or creating a giver

When I was much younger I was of the opinion that you shouldn't give too much to your kids because you will create a brat and an adult that is selfish, self-centered and impossible to please.

Through the years my opinion has changed.

I have cousins who didn't get much as children. Ironically they were very giving children. They always gave away whatever they did have. But as adults they without a doubt totally self-centered. They only live for what makes them happy, damn their kids. Most of them have multiple children out of wedlock and seem totally focused on serving themselves and filling a void in their own lives that was not filled as children.

I have other cousins who we viewed as spoiled rotten children. Their parents gave them tons of presents at Christmas. Every birthday party was a major event. Their parents never missed any of their activities. The kids never went without an abundance of love and attention and gifts. They are entering adulthood and I have observed that they are some of the least self-centered people I know. They are very giving young adults, especially to their parents and grandparents.

It appears that when we are kids and our parents give to us freely and abundantly, it causes two things to happen. First of all it teaches us to give. Kids with giving parents tend to be more charitable and less focused on getting stuff when they become adults. Secondly, Kids with self-centered parents tend to be self-centered when they reach adulthood. They seem to use people throughout their adult lives in a vain attempt to fill a void. They feel entitled to only be served since they were cheated at kids.

Personally in my own life, my parents gave us everything we needed; we never went without. I went through a long self-centered phase in my teens and 20s. But since finding and building a relationship with Christ I have moved away from that to what I feel is my true self, I feel a desire to serve and give to others which is how my parents were with my sister and I.

No matter how much we received or did not recieve from our parents we all have some level of a void to fill, that can only be filled by Jesus Christ. A willingness to follow his teachings and to live for HIS glory will heal any wounds.

The Bewilderment that is Buffet

Warren Buffet bewilders me. OK, He's a liberal. By definition liberals are not right upstairs. By every time he opens his mouth and discusses economics he makes me wonder how in the world he is a billionaire. His words repeatedly display utter ignorance about economics.

I will focus today on his recent comments about Barak Obama. The headline on Bloomberg.com stated "Obama Can Spread Prosperity, Fairness, Buffett Says". Huh?

OK. I am an engineer. I have an engineering degree. I do not have a finance degree nor any experience in the market except for losing money. Buffet is a billionaire earned through his skills in the market. How can anyone who is smart enough to build a fortune like his actually believe that a president can spread prosperity and fairness? The closest thing to that ever happening was Ronald Reagan's tax cuts. Our nation is still prospering from those bold moves 25+ years ago. But fairness? A free market is the closest thing to bringing about fairness but Obama is a liberal and sides with socialism before capitalism. A socialist "pie in the sky" goal is fairness, usually sought by force since the free market does not guarantee prosperity to those who don't work.

Does Buffet like Obama and his ilk because they favor government taxing high incomes and redistributing the money? Well I can see why Buffet would be bothered with that. He already has his money. He doesn't need an income. Like many liberal millionaires and billionaires, they always favor high income taxes on other people trying to get rich but frown on "wealth" taxes on the fortunes of those who have already made it financially.

To add to this bewilderment he has done some things that are tremendous. The biggest one to me is when he announced that a significant portion of his wealth will not go to his children. He said, "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing". This is wisdom on the level of Solomon.

How can a man be so wise but then routinely say something so ignorant?

The vacuum that could end the USA

I just wanted to quickly comment on the kind of a human nature understanding of the consequences of pulling out of Iraq.

If the Dems were in charge, they had their way, and they chose to give a date of withdrawal and they followed threw with withdrawing that day. Here is what would happen:

1. Those responsible for the violence in Iraq, like Iran and Syria would stop the bombings. Why sacrifice more of your people???

2. After the date has passed and the US presence is gone then Iran will move in and the Sunni's better beware. Iran will not go in alone. They will be fully financed and backed by Russia and/or China. These nations will immediately control the oil fields and in essense have the US and the west by the balls.

3. The US will either

A. Have to fight Russia/China/Iran to get the oil fields back in order to bring the prices down.
B. Force a different form of energy on the west so as not to be slaves of Rus/Chi/Iran.
C. Negotiate with the Rus/Chi/Iran and pray that they are nice to us.

There WILL be a vacuum in Iraq if we leave too soon and more powerful enemies will ally to take over the oil rich nation. Iraq must be able to defend itself before we can leave. Otherwise a Rus/Chi/Iran powergrab will bring the USA to its knees - without a single bullet shot.

However if we hold fast until Iraq is strong then we will have a powerful ally in that volitile region and an indirect say in the price of world oil.

God bless the USA

NH public television and the myth they voluntarily propagandize

I watched a program on NH Public Television over the weekend called NH Outlook. They did a p program on global warming and it was deeply troubling. The program's entire premise was that Global warming and climate change is occurring and we are causing it. This premise was purported by one person after another who "felt" that it was happening - usually based on Al Gore's movie and really nothing else.

There was no science (because none exists) investigated and more importantly there was no (none, nada) look at the other side of the issue, like the lack of a consensus among scientists. No one who believes it is not happening was interviewed whether it was a person on the street or a historian that is armed with reams of evidence to show the ebbs and flows of climate change.

Is this how public television does things (rhetorical)? They take a myth and report it as fact and refuse to talk to anyone who has evidence that their belief is actually a myth? This appears to be propaganda financed by the taxpayers to get people to ultimately believe that they need to allow government to control their personal lives and choices in order to be in the good graces of the religion known as global warming.

Populists and the simpletons they excite

The following is an excerpt from an article in the Manchester Union Leader that I just read. John Edwards gave a speech at an apple orchard owned by a whackjob liberal in Londonderry, NH:

"On his first day as President, Edwards said, he would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and end any forms of domestic spying programs. Also, as soon as elected, he would draw down 50,000 combat troops from Iraq, with the others following in nine to 12 months. He also said his promise of health care for every citizen would be funded through re-establishing taxes on wealthy individuals that were cut during the current Bush administration.

Andy Mack Sr., who runs the farm, said he was impressed but not persuaded. He said he was still "conflicted" between Edwards and Obama, but would be paying attention right up to the primary.

Bill Steward, an independent voter from Derry, said he also remained undecided."

Edwards and his mantra of populism is totally void of common sense. And then to read Londonderry's resident dunce, Andy Mack, say he was impressed makes my head spin.
Do people who like to hear populist speeches just live in a fantasy world of what they wish the world were like? They obviously don't like truth and they have no concept of "consequences of actions". Everything this article quoted Edwards as saying he would do would have horrendous effects on our nation, our world, our economy and our way of life but hey! they sound great to those with their heads in the sand.

1. Git'mo and the domestic spying program are essential to root out terrorists on our soil. Ending them would empower the enemy.

2. Getting troops out of Iraq before they can defend themselves would ignite a genocidal bloodbath and virtually be giving their oil fields to our enemies. Not good for our economy.

3. Raising taxes on the rich to pay for healthcare for all. Where do I start??? The lowering of taxes on EVERYONE has given us the roaring economy that we now have. Reversing that will reverse our economic fortunes. And by the way, everyone on the planet has access to our healthcare system because there is a law that emergency rooms cannot turn anyone away, including non-citizens. How's that been for the health care industry in the southwest? Bad laws and regulations have hurt the healthcare system not any lack of accessability.

Liars continue to speak populist dogma and useful idiots line up to devour it.

Senseless murder - all dreams revoked...

The murders in Cheshire, CT this week have had a profound impact on me. What sense can be made?

You're sleeping in your home. Hours earlier you kissed your daughters goodnight as well as your wife. At 3 am, two scumbags break into your home and the next day you are in the hospital, your house is burned down, your wife has been strangled to death and your daughters have died of smoke inhalation. Yet the two scumbags are alive and sitting in a jail cell. You worked hard to get a medical degree. You have created a stable, two-parent home for your two girls. One of your girls just graduated from high school the month before and she was slated to go to your alma-mater next month. This was the last full month with your oldest before she was to go off to college. This made you melancholy but you were still excited for her. You and your wife adored your daughters.

At 3 AM you were in a deep sleep, planning to get up to go to work and meet with your patients. Now your wife and daughters are dead and your home burned. You are sitting in a hospital bed recovering from serious injuries you sustained from a beating. What do you do now?

I look at the picture above and see your arms around your daughters and the love you have for your daughters. I see the hope for their futures. I see the dream of dancing at their weddings with both of them. I see the joy of seeing your oldest graduate from your alma-mater. You are proud of your oldest daughter's tireless fundraising for multiple sclerosis. You dream of your daughter's kids calling you grampa. What do you do now?

When you finally go back to work what is your first thought when you see your pictures on your desk? The awkwardness that your patients feel - suddenly their issues are not as big. At the end of your day what do you look forward to doing? Where do you look forward to going? What do you do now?

Do you kill yourself? Do you live day to day until the pain wanes enough for you to actually live another day? Does God immediately put people in your life to sustain you? Will there actually come a day when this tragedy actually brings something positive in your life. I don't see how, especially now. Maybe we will know in 20 years, when you should be retired, enjoying your grandchildren. What do you do now?

"Now" is just a 24/7 emotional pain beyond anything any one man should be dealt.

I am praying for you sir.

Letter to my failing U.S. Senator

Senator Gregg,

You are seeking to become a political dog over what is right for our nation. Your inability to see long term beneficial action that requires patience, while instead placing more importance on pandering to liberals for fear of losing your job has forced me to withdraw what remaining respect I had for you.

"Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire told the same newspaper that efforts to quell the violence in Iraq by increasing US troop numbers “don’t seem to be making a lot of progress” and called for “a clear blueprint” to end the war."

You are a historical DUNCE. There is never a clear blueprint to end a war. WWII ended when we destroyed Japan and Germany. In this war we are not destroying any nations, we are trying to rebuild one. This takes time and patience. You are more concerned about keeping your rear end in Washington than doing what is right for our nation. WHY are you trying to
become more like Kennedy and Kerry??? WHY???? You are not going to get more votes. Trust me,. you will lose more votes than you will get. You are just trying to keep your job and you think that talking like the democrats will ensure that. You FOOL. You damned fool. You are a damned fool, Senator Gregg - totally isolated from the real world in your senate
chamber. Thank you for beginning to sell out. Ted Kennedy will be happy until he has you replaced!!!!

WRKO on suicide mission in attempt to self-satisfy

I have listened to WRKO since the late '80s. In the past year or two I have seen one foolish decision after another by WRKO. I get the sense that the people running Entercom are not happy with the fact that they need wall to wall center/right-of-center personalities to have a successful station. So damn the customers!

Let's grab the Red Sox and Celtics to we won't have to play Michael Savage every night.

Next, let's dump Scotto and put in a corrupt, liberal politician with no talk radio background. Great Idea!! Damn the customers, we need balance at all costs.

Now it's time to mess with the man who carries the station and allows the fools at Entercom to have nice weekly paychecks. Let's play games with Howie. BITE!

Entercom's non-customer focus is finally about to kill them. The good news for the fools running Entercom is that they can sleep better knowing they are not putting on wall to wall moderates/conservatives on their station any longer. To hell with the customers!

I am a talk radio consumer. I have not listened to WRKO in the morning since Scotto left. I guess I will soon not be listening to WRKO in the afternoon. Better keep my iPod charged for the drive home, come October.

We miss you Scotto. God bless.
~GARY

When the Sox weren't sellin' out

I was recently talking Red Sox with a friend and the topic came up about ticket prices and sellouts. Apparently Fenway Park always sells out and is always filled to capacity.

This made me recall a different day, not very long ago. My dad was a Boston Police Officer for 32 years. During that time he worked in the District where Fenway Park is located. Fenway Park needs to hire police details for every game. In the years 1979, 80, 81 the Sox were not selling out. As a matter of fact they probably filled half the park. My dad would take me and a buddy to the game with him. We would obviously get in free but then since the stands were only half full we would move our seats every inning. It was beyond cool for two 12 year old boys to be able to just move about the stands and take in a different perspective every inning.

It is an experience I will never forget and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity.

Natural byproducts

I am more convinced than ever that the greatest way to have sustained positive feelings about another person is to serve them. This is true moreso with someone that you don't particularly feel good about.

Serve those whom you are not happy with and see the changes in how you feel about that person begin to change.

Our greatest teacher even came here as our greatest example in service. "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matt 20:28

Recent Enlightened Bumper Sticker

During my commute to and from work I like to read bumper stickers and then get a look at the driver. Just some social/idealogical experimentations I like to do. For instance usually when I see pro union bumper stickers, it is usually on an american build truck or a severely beat up american car.

While driving in to work this morning I read the following bumper sticker: "Another Man Against - Violence Against Women". I said ok that is a good one but my first thought was 'what is the point'. Does he get brownie points from his feminist wife for having it on his pickup? How many people on the commute this morning are NOT against violence against women? I am not minimizing that there is violence against women and children where I live and where I drive to work. But I wasn't sure about his point. Was he hoping that someone who beat their girlfriend would read it and change his ways? Perhaps that is the point.

As I drove pass him I noticed he was a stereotypical tree hugging type with full beard and wimpy demeanor. I am going to go out on a limb but usually men who would have that on their truck are typically liberals or spineless moderates. Liberals are overwhelmingly pro-abortion. However I seriously doubt this lib would put "Another Man Against - Killing Unborn Babies".

Also I should point out that liberals in the climate of 2007 hate George W. Bush more than anything or anyone. They hate him more than they hate the terrorists around the world that hate us.

OK, try to follow my thinking. The most staunch liberals will do anything to promote civil rights and promote multiculturalism. Libs are also quite hostile to Christianity. They seem to be less offended by Islam than Christianity. This makes no sense to me but that is a blog for another day. Let's make note as to how the Taliban - who proclaimed to have sought an islamic utopia - treated women. Women covered from head to toe; women beaten in public; women basically property of their husbands. How is that not violence against women? Ironically liberals find it more offensive to restrict an american woman's access to abortion than a woman being stoned in Iran for adultery. How about this bumper sticker: "Another Man Against - State Sactioned Violence Against Women in Non-Christian Nations"? You may say who would be against that. Well you need to go on the internet and do some reading on how women have been treated throughout world history in non-Christian nations. I better get a bigger bumper.

American Idol, Vocal perfection and Charisma

In my opinion shows like American Idol which require a person to have an awe inspiring vocal range are doing more harm than good to the music industry. They are finding a face and a voice. Can this face and voice write songs that REALLY touch peoples hearts? I doubt it.

Charisma is not taught. True charisma in the entertainment industry is molded through a traumatic event or slowly created through many difficult times while growing up.

I am going to mention several artists from the history of Rock and Roll: Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Kurt Cobain, Tom Petty... None of these men has the pipes of anyone in the finals of American Idol but they all could write songs; songs that really touched and influenced people. They all had/have a charisma that cannot be quantified but you know it when you see it. None of these phenomenal talents could have a chance on today's American Idol but their gifts to the music industry are undeniable. I look at Kurt Cobain. Listen to his music and what do you notice. The man really could not sing very well. Ya he held his own in his genre but he was no Freddy Mercury. But his original music exuded a passion and a pain. He touched a cord with youth and charsimaticly (and involuntarily) led a movement. How about Mick Jagger? He can also hold his own vocally but boy did he and Keith know how to write songs. Then there is Bob Dylan. Let's be honest, this man would have made the "worst performers" compilation on American Idol. He couldn't really sing but he could write not just powerful songs but powerful anthems. Come on, he influenced the Beatles and countless other artists in the 60's.

That reminds me; sometime in the 90's, I think, several of the Jackson (Jackson 5 fame) kids recorded an album and I remember when listening to it and thinking 'somebody else wrote this song for them and they have no emotion when singing'. They sounded like a bunch of rich spoiled kids with no ambition that were given a project to do one day. Hey let's record an album! It kind of bothered me a bit. There is also a video on YouTube of Nancy Sinatra singing "These boots...". She comes across as a talentless, rich kid who finds cutting records as a hobby. You can tell if this individual was not Frank's daughter then she would not have a snowball's chance you know where to be where she was.

As I note the parade of "perfect" vocalists on American Idol that are singing other peoples songs I get a little saddened. I would rather see another kid without perfect pitch that can write and sing songs, which they wrote, that deeply touch me.

Teach your children not to fear failure

One of the greatest paralyzing forces in my youth was the fear of failure. This was especially true when it came to sports. I remember playing baseball as a youth. My worst fear was to drop a ball or to strike out and look in both cases look foolish. Well it happened and I felt foolish which caused me to continue to worry about it and either fear an at-bat or fear the ball coming my way.

This fear of failure made playing the sport absolute misery. I could not enjoy myself. No matter what endeavor I took on I feared failing. So either I failed and was relieved or I did not fail but worried about failing. There was no joy in my youth when it came to taking on new endeavors.

As I have said recently I am 39 and my maturity has given me a different outlook. I played whiffle ball last summer with a bunch of guys that really knew how to play including one guy who was actually unhittable. WHen it was my turn to be at bat or my turn to pitch yes I was nervous. I didn't want to look foolish and I didn't want to let my team down. However, I did not fear failure as I did as a youth.

My first time pitching the first 3 pitches resulted in 3 home runs. How's that? But instead of getting mad and/or quitting I continued to pitch and just accepted it as something to learn from. Well I settled down and got the next 3 guys out. The next inning I pitched I no longer feared the worst. I got a 1-2-3 inning. Yes I had good outings and bad outings but I never feared the bad outing. I just assumed it was a way to learn, make adjustments and have some good outings. By the end of the season I had a great curve ball that righties could never get a good amount of bat on and a killer change-up that made batters look and feel stupid. Most importantly I had fun and really enjoyed playing. I really wish I had that attitude when I was a teenager or even in my 20's. It would have made sports and many of my other endeavors in life far more enjoyable, even if I didn't do them perfectly.

My recommendation is to teach your children not to fear failing but to accept that failure is their best teacher. Also once they accept that they will fail sometimes then they will be freed up to enjoy what they are doing far more, which in turn may make them perform better at what they are doing.

I am not going to credit the car wash for cleaning my car

I refuse to credit the car wash for cleaning my car. My car was very dirty. Yes it was obvious. Yes if I didn't clean it then the salt would make it rust. Yes my car passed through the long tunnel that is a car wash. Yes when the car came out it was cleaner than when it went in. The car is obviously cleaner than when it went in . I insist though that I cleaned it. I now condemn the car wash. Car wash I don't believe in you! I believe I did this myself! I believe the car would be cleaned whether it went through the car wash or not!.

Why would I say this? It makes no sense. Do I sound a little insane?

I recently was looking back on my last 10 years. In 1997 my wife and I began going back to church and we quickly found a wonderful church family and home. Back in 1997 there were many demons in my life. Too many to list. There were demons in our marriage as well as demons in how I lived in the world ethically. I am not professing that when I started going to church that all the demons were gone. I am not saying that I became born again and my world changed overnight. That did not happen to me.

What I am saying is that in the last 10 years there has been a gradual change in me. One that has been dictated by God's preeminent wisdom and sometimes not seen by my own eyes unless I go way back and see who I was many years ago. I don't think the way I did 10 years ago. I don't desire the things that I did 10 years ago. When I fall, I don't feel the same way I did 10 years ago. Despite the glaringly obvious 10 year "cleaning" I have undergone why would I for a moment entertain the idea that I would still be who I am today even if I didn't ask Jesus Christ into my life? But for a moment I did. It was my old self creeping in.

Then I thought to myself, that would be like denying that the car wash cleaned my car after it exited the wash. I was obviously unclean in how I thought. God cleaned my heart - with many setbacks and struggles - and I am a different person today whether I fully see it or not. We must always fight the tendency to take more credit than we deserve. God has a plan for your life and mine. The real test comes in accepting it.

Apathy and comfort are our worst enemies

In the history of the world no society has what we have in the US. Most other first world counries are no where close to the US (have you been to Europe?). This has put humans living in the US in uncharted territory. No society has ever owned so much stuff or has had so much comfort as well as security from outside attack. It has been this way for the entire lives of our population under the age of 20 and for the entire professional life of those workers under 40. Most people under 65 have not felt the threat of losing it all that was felt by the WWII and Depression generation. This has created a high percentage of comfortable people. Though many of those people do not take our freedom for granted it is normal that a high percentage have forgotten or don't know what it means to be under constant threat of losing everything. This manifests a society motivated to not want to rock the boat and lose their stuff and an unwillingness to fight for the societal environment that got them their stuff.

In generations past most people did not have a lot thus their was the clarity to know what was important and the desire to die for it. Today, peolpe have so many "things" and are so comfortable that the mentality is that is "preserving my stuff". They don't want to do anything to upset their comfort, thinking that if they just don't do things to make our enemies hate us then our enemies will not bother us thus preserving our comfort.

The truth of the matter is that our enemies still hate us and they still want to kil us. It doesn't matter if we give they everything they want or if we give them nothing. They still want to kill us and the want the US gone. The "preserve my comfort" thinking clouds most people's judgements which gives birth to the "let's not get them mad at us and let's show them we are nice people" attitudes.

Some politicians play on this and want us to do nothing in hopes that the threat will go away. Any brave leader that actually does something is vilified. So we slowly give them more and more of what we've got in hopes of getting them to see we are not bad people - of course this is motivated by our aforementinoned desire to not want our comfort to be interrupted.

If we choose this pacifest line of thinking then our enemies will take and take some more. They will get stronger and stronger and see us as a paper tiger. Their numbers will increase until suddenly there is more of them than us. Then they will take all our stuff away anyway despite our attempts to placate them in the name of comfort.

Our enemies are not going away and doing nothing out of apathy and to preserve our comfort is not a recipe for victory.

Main-stream media actually does their favorite party a disservice

You know how it goes; The parents favor Johnny and hold him to no standard while Billy has a high standard and it not allowed to fail. When Johnny and Billy grow up, Johnny is a ne'er do well and Billy is an upstanding and hardworking citizen.

I have observed in my lifetime that there is a pattern with the media that is progressively getting worse. It is a fact that 90% or more of the press are democrats and the the people at the top of the news organizations are liberal zealots. This creates a double standard where the Democrats can definately get away with normal human failures and the press even does what it can to make excuses for bad behavior by the Dems. However when the Republicans to the same things they are run out of town on a rail. It is to the point where the suspicion of a Republican doing something is enough to destroy them but some Democrats can commit felonies and the main-stream press will work hard to make excuses for them.

This double standard, I believe, has actually hurt the Democrats in the long run. For the most part only the most upstanding Republicans even get into the race because there is such a high standard for them. While at the same time Democrats are attracting moral reprobates for the most part because there is practically no standard with the press for the Dems.

Luckily the American people have different standard than the press. For those who seek their news outside of the NYTIMES, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, et al, there is a clearer view of the non-liberal side. The american people tend to know a moral reprobate when they see one and they know when they see a good person with normal flaws. There are still times when a relentless pounding by the press takes its toll on those the press does not favor but more often than not the american people see through it.

God Bless America

The Fulfillment of Self-Denial

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me..." - Matthew 16:24

In my walk with Christ nothing has changed me more than the truth behind the fulfillment of self-denial. Huh? Isn't that the same thing as saying 'I like the warm feeling I get when jumping into a frozen lake?' It does seem somewhat paradoxical but this concept really established a new paradigm in my life.

It is the Lord that is transforming me from a selfish person to a self-sacrificing person and I am more thankful than anyone could ever know. This is because of the joy - the true joy - that is felt when you refuse yourself in order to please another. This is not an easy transition for most because in our society we are indoctrinated with the notion of looking out for number one will bring us fulfillment in life. Also, many people feel that they have been cheated in life either by a rotten childhood or other misfortunes as an adult, so they feel even more entitled to balance the scales to their side. This does not mean that these people are hopeless. In fact they have a more powerful gift in front of them than people do with fewer bumps in the road of life. The person who had fewer bumps or the person who saw selfless giving modeled at home might find it natural to become self-sacrificing. Though the reward of joy is just as meaningful they had fewer hurdles to achieve it. The person who had never seen selfless giving displayed to them growing up or were left to find joy on their own will find the whole concept completely foreign to them. Frankly, they may believe that the whole concept is just hogwash and the people who refuse themselves are suckers and easy pray in the rat race of life. Their greatest challenge in life is to let go of their worldly beliefs no matter how deeply rooted. They must recognize worldly tendencies and correct them.

But it is my contention that these people, more often than not, are successful in business and other worldly things, they are never truly happy. They never know true peace at the end of their 10-hour day. They expect people to do their fair share for them before they even consider giving anything up. You see their view of each day relies on their interactions with people or what they encountered during the day. This is a terrible mistake. To use an analogy, it is like a captain of a ship using another boat to guide him to shore. The other boat is in the water too and is at the whim of the waves - very unreliable. The word of the Lord is like the lighthouse. The ship captain must trust in something out of the water to keep him steady and safe. For anyone who has taken the leap of faith to be self-sacrificing instead of self-serving, has chosen to allow the Lord to be that lighthouse. They see the worldly person as completely transparent and in many cases truly feel for. The worldly person may know - or may think they know - some semblance of peace or happiness but the true peace and joy that I speak of can only be found through what the Lord commands.

You see I was very much a worldly person. Money was my god and I was sure that if I just made more money I would find contentment and joy. I also believed that others were put here to make me happy. I was absolutely convinced of this. Anything or anyone that negatively affected my dream was despised - obsessively. My dear wife took much heat for many years for not bringing in more money. I put undue pressure on her to make sure I was happy. I was also constantly upset with myself for not making more money. Each time either of us got raises I would soon realized I was not happy and thus it was necessary to bring in more money. Happiness was always another raise away - again.

The Lord has taught me many, many truths in the last few years. Concerning happiness the truth came in the late 90's during dot-com gold rush. During this time I was lucky enough to get stock options that were eventually worth several hundred thousand dollars. You would think that a level of comfort would finally set in. No. I was paranoid that the price of the stock would fall. 'Should I sell now or later?' 'Maybe if I don't sell it will be worth a million in two years'. These were my new obsessive thoughts. I also obsessed about certain people in the office that had more options than me and when would I get some more. If I sold now I would have instant security, right?? ... But the stock may go up... Should I sell? ... should I buy? AAAAAAhhhhh. The words "He who loves money never has enough" never spoke louder to me. Either well off or just scraping by, I had to change how I lived my life, my priorities in my life and with whom I would find joy and true prosperity.

We all know the story about the dot-coms. Well, I never sold and they are now worth $0. I know what you are saying, 'what a dope!' Frankly, it is nice to not have the anxiety and paranoia that all that 'potential' money brought to me. This turn of events also answered my theories on comfort and happiness. Actually, they were blown out of the water. I now knew that no matter how much money I have it will not bring true joy.

Does my testimony mean that everyone who seeks joy in life through money should have it then lose it? It may help some, as it did me, but others may not have the revelation that God gave me and they will continue to chase happiness through worldly things their entire lives. Most importantly, it's a leap of faith toward that which is inherently illogical to most people - that refusal of self will bring you an inner peace and joy that cannot be described - that many people are unable or unwilling to take.

OK, this is all well and good and the Bible says it true but let's say you have no idea how to put this into practice. Simply put, in any situation where your needs or desires meet someone else's, put your needs or desires aside for the other person. It is really that simple. You married folks may say 'what if my spouse does not return in kind?' or 'Am I doing this all in vain?'. Those questions tell me that you are now back in the world again and you are thinking like people of the world. Remember the world expects you to look out for yourself and make sure that your needs are met first. Children of God seek to please others first and do not expect anything in return. That is the difference and the key to doing it God's way. Because it is pleasing to the Lord is your reward. Stories I love to hear typically involve a hero that saves a drowning child or something like that and then disappears into the crowd. No one knows him or her and there are no accolades bestowed upon that person - except by the Lord. Jesus promised that if your deeds are done in secret, or without seeking rewards from the world, then your Father will reward you.

Let's look at some practical examples. Let's say there is one cookie left and you want it but your spouse, who has had five cookies already, wants it too. Give it to your spouse. If your spouse's back hurts and you are really too tired and just want to sleep, then massage his or her back anyway. The greater the sacrifice the greater the joy. Even if your spouse is not in need, ask if you can make them coffee or ask is they would like a shoulder rub or just give them a hug - something you know that would make them happy. You will be surprised that you will feel joy too. In another sense, if your spouse or friend or co-worker treats you in a less than respectful way, do not return the disrespect in kind. Instead, serve them and treat them with kindness. Do not be drawn in to the world.

In my opinion the closest thing to a perfect Christian marriage is one where both spouses seek to live a relationship of sacrificial love because an attitude of selflessness will override bad moods and good moods, bad days and good days, bad luck and good luck, etc. If one spouse does not have the desire to provide selfless giving then the other spouse must maintain the giving and pray for the worldly spouse. As in marriage an attitude of service and refusal of self is the foundation any strong relationship and anyone can do it. God created us with free will and he built in us this source of true joy if we only seek to practice it.

This reminds me of this past Thanksgiving holiday. Our family went to Sherri's folks and stayed overnight. During the night Alicia was crying so we took her to bed with us. Around 7am she slid out of bed. Amongst other things she got hold of a 'baby-wipe' from the diaper bag. She then proceeded to wash Sherri's feet and then my feet. It tickled but it was absolutely adorable. Although she really didn't know the historical and biblical significance of what she was doing, in a sense it reflected the natural tendency to serve selflessly that we are born with. Though the world may do it's best to teach us otherwise we must remain steadfast to sew the seeds of self-sacrifice and reap the true joy that is elusive in that which is worldly.

1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.' 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, - Romans 15:1-5

[Originally written on Tuesday, December 18, 2001]

Women are Not objects

Just because there is your favorite candy on the counter and you know how much you would love the taste, it doesn't mean that you need to eat it.

There is an epidemic in our society today. Young women by the millions, most of whom have a poor or no relationship with their dads, are sitting on the counter and giving themselves away to all takers. Ok, the young horny man may say "All right!" I was one of those young men who would have reacted that way. But as I close in on 40 years of age I know different now. Women are humans, not objects. That may seem like an obvious statement to many but those who have learned about sex via the porn industry, believe different.

Just because these lost women asked to be treated like trash or like a piece of meat doesn't mean we men should do it. Any woman that want that, for money or not, is a woman who needs you to taker her in your arms and tell her that she is worth so much more than she thinks.

This is not a normal human instinct, especially from me. This requires you to turn your life over to the Lord and to pray for His strenght and pray for His wisdom to say the right words and do the right thing when it comes to lost women who sell their bodies and souls for ca$h.

Women in porn are not objects - though they are treated as such. They are girls who just wanted to play tea with their daddies or be loved and protected by their daddies. They are in need of men of God to tell them they don't need to sell themselves. They are children of God and very special. Men, step up to the plate and stop patronizing these porn sites and porn shops and do what is right.

Common sense, Iraq and WMDs

Ok. Let's say I am a college aged druggy and I keep a stash in my dorm room. It is clear that I have the stash of drugs because I have been seen by all selling them. The local authorities tell me that I they have a request of me. They would like to let someone in my dorm room to verify I have no drugs. Ok. So they send their local nit-wit, spineless type to look over my dorm room. I hide the stash under my pillow. The local nit-wit comes in to my room. He clearly does not want a confrontation with me. I let him look in my closet and that is it. He looks in my closet and leaves. He tells the local authorities that I do not have drugs. I then begin to sell again. They again tell me the nit-wit is coming. I put the drugs under my pillow and the nit-wit checks my closet. He then says that he wants to check my bed. I tell him no and show him out the door. I say no more inspections of my dorm room. I then begin to sell drugs again. People around me are tired of my dealing and want it stopped before I do more damage to more people in my dorm.

I continue to defy the local authorities on campus and they continue to send me letters telling me to stop. I do not stop. Then finally some small-time dealer sells drugs to a cop's son and the son dies. Now the big boys are mad and they tell the local authorties to tell me to stop. I continue to sell my drugs. Eventually the big boys say they are going to take matters in to their own hands. This worries me. Everyone knows I sell drugs but now the big boys are thinking about coming in and they will find my stash.

The big boys then keep telling me they are coming via letters they are sending me. I kinda think they are serious so I take my stash and bring it to my buddy's room in another dorm. I then scrub my room and make it clean as a whistle.

The big boys then break into my room and expel me from school based on my history of selling drugs and plans to sell more. However they find no drugs in my room. All their warnings gave me more than ample time to get all the drugs to my friend's room.

The big boys are then excoriated by the local press because they found no drugs! HA HA HA HA HA The big boys are then voted out of office and replaced by people who only want to send more letters asking me to stop. HA HA HA HA

Have I got a great deal for your kids!

What if I told you that there was a treat that looked good and tasted yummy? However, this same treat could produce rage, temper tantrums, OCD, ODD, ADHD and uncontrollable crying in some children. But before you say you don't want any, let me tell you that I have another pill that will subdue your child and the symptoms of ADHD, OCD, etc will magically go away (at least temporarily)! Are you sold yet? Do you think I am nuts? Well, this is what we are doing to our children.

Have you ever heard of red dye #40 or simply known as red 40? It is coloring additive (or dye) was approved in 1971 based on tests conducted by Allied Chemicals. Ironically its creator and manufacturer is .... you guessed it, Allied Chemicals.

Red dye 40 is found almost everything that your kids eat. It appears that making things pretty colors makes kids want to eat them. I don't disagree with that. However in my research I found it in pop-tarts, fruit snacks, cereals, cough medicine, iced-tea, red candies, and so on.

Children are most often the ones who have sensitivity to red 40, whether or not their parents have realized it or not. Reactions include temper tantrums, hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, uncontrollable crying and screaming, kicking, nervousness, dizziness, inability to concentrate and sit still among other findings. Physically you may get frequent headaches or migraines, upset stomach and feel ill after ingesting this additive. Often when Red 40 is eliminated from the child's diet a remarkable change is noticed immediately. 1

Though evidence is anecdotal, there is such an abundance of it that it warrants a serious and impartial look by the FDA. The red dye was not in our food supply until the 1980 and isn't it ironic that diagnoses of ADHD gone up 600% since 1990? The quick fix for doctors and parents has been to feed our children Ritalin.

Let's step back... If you read my blog you will see that I am conservative as the next guy but I wonder about this whole concept of feed them one thing that makes they wild then feed them another thing that calms them down. How about just not feeding them that which makes them wild in the first place??? But if we did that then Honeywell (who owns the patent to red 40) and Novartis Pharmaceuticals (manufacturer of Ritalin) would have fewer customers. Think about it.

I am not saying that there is a conspiracy with these corporations. I am just observing an irony and stating that there is really no incentive for anyone to remove red 40 from foods

We as parents are obligated to learn more about what we are feeding our kids and where it comes from. Our son has a severe allergy to red 40 which makes him a raging madman. Eliminating it from his diet has made him the compassionate, loving boy he really is. Ironically he looked like the perfect candidate for Ritalin. Praise God that my wife dove deeper and learned more and then encouraged me to research this red dye stuff for myself.

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1. Taken from: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/131963/is_the_red_40_food_dye_additive_having.html

My favorite blog entry on this topic: http://fourtimesthefun.blogspot.com/2007/02/feeding-our-children-petroleum-food-dye.html

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