Author: kingsjester

64 year old Christian Conservative husband, father, and grandfather who has been writing since April 2010.

The War Against Christianity: God Bless You, Please, Mr. Robertson

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics4 Comments

Phil RobertsonOn this Sabbath day, before we celebrate the birth of the Savior, a country founded by Christians seeking to escape persecution for their religious beliefs, is witnessing and responding to the persecution of a Christian man

Unless you live under a rock, like those guys in the old Geico Commercial, by now you have heard about the suspension of Patriarch Phil Robertson from the cable television mega-hit “Duck Dynasty”, currently seen on the Arts & Entertainment Channel.

The  original report of the story, as detailed by Hollywood Reporter reads this way:

A&E has placed Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson on indefinite hiatus following anti-gay remarks he made in a recent profile in GQ.

“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty,” A&E said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”

The news comes after Robertson compared homosexuality to bestiality in an interview with the magazine. He’ll likely appear in season four, which bows Jan. 15, since production is largely wrapped.

“It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” Robertson says in the January issue of the men’s magazine. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

During a discussion about repentance and God, Robertson is asked what he finds sinful.

“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there,” he says. “Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.”

He goes on to paraphrase Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

GLAAD on Wednesday condemned his remarks as “some of the vilest and most extreme statements uttered against LGBT people in a mainstream publication” and said “his quote was littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.”

“Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe,” GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz said. “He clearly knows nothing about gay people or the majority of Louisianans — and Americans — who support legal recognition for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. Phil’s decision to push vile and extreme stereotypes is a stain on A&E and his sponsors, who now need to re-examine their ties to someone with such public disdain for LGBT people and families.”

Since then, Liberals have come to the defense of A & E, while the other 75% of Americans have swarmed their friendly neighborhood Walmarts, buying all the Duck Dynasty Products off the shelf, leaving them bare in their wake, in an unprecedented show of support for Phil Robertson and his family.

Meanwhile, Liberals Pundits have tried their best to attack Phil and the Robertson Clan as a bunch of “Inbred Southern Rednecks”. Of course, they leave out the fact that Phil is a self-made millionaire with a Master’s Degree from Louisiana Tech University. That little bit of information would not fit in with the stereotypical image of Conservative American Christians from the South, which they are attempting to reinforce through their unsubstantiated accusations of bigotry.

The other night, Pastor Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose-Drive Life” and “The Purpose-Driven Church” appeared on the Poster Boy from Liberal Idiots, Piers Morgan’s, Program on CNN. What his limited viewing audience witnessed was a total rebuke of the clueless talk show host, as shown in this transcript, courtesy of eaglerising.com…

MORGAN: You and I, we’ve debated this before about gay rights, gay marriage. Clearly, it’s a movement in America as it is around the world…

WARREN: Right.

MORGAN: … towards to a much more tolerant attitude to this. Have you in the last two years since I last I think debated this particular point with you — have you moved at all now? Are you recognizing that there is this seemingly unstoppable movement?

WARREN: Well, I don’t get to change what God says is right and what God says is wrong. And I think God is real clear that all sex outside of marriage is wrong. But the issue here is the issue of respect. While I may disagree with you on your views on sexuality, it does not give me a right to demean you, to demoralize you, to defame you, to turn you into a demon.

See tolerance, Piers, it used to mean we treat each other with mutual respect even if we have major disagreements. Today, tolerance has been changed to mean, all ideas are equally valid. Well, that’s non sense. OK? All ideas are not equally valid.

I mean, you could say the moon is made of cheese or I could say the moon is made of beans and so many ask me it mean wrong.

RickandPiersMORGAN: But do you believe in equality for all as your heart right? This is where I think I took issue with you before and I will again — how can you really as a Christian man…

WARREN: Yes.

MORGAN: … a great man — how can you espouse genuine equality…

WARREN: Yes.

MORGAN: … if you don’t allow gay people the same rights to get married…

WARREN: Yes.

MORGAN: … as straight people? That’s a question that many I think would love to hear the answer.

WARREN: I’d like to reposition it this way. I’m more against the redefinition of the term marriage than anything else. I don’t think other groups get an opportunity to redefine a term. For instance, if a Muslim says this is a term we use and also I’ll take that term and mean it for me. What? That’s not right.

And I think, historically around the world, the vast majority of people would say, “Marriage means one man and one woman in a commitment.” Don’t take a term and make it something different.

Well, we’ll talk about double speak where words mean the exact opposite of what they use to mean. I’m going — OK. In first place, it’s not against the law for you to love anybody, a man or a woman OK? It’s not criminal — at least shouldn’t be but when you start taking a term, then why are taking that term?

MORGAN: Do you think you’ll change? I mean, can you see — you’re a man on a — he has this incredible library, Rick Warren — literally, one of the great libraries I’ve ever seen in my life, kept beautifully. You have all these books by all these great scholars.

Many, many of them would have evolved their thought processes over things depending on how they see if the — can you see a time, when not just you but other Christian preachers…

… and indeed the Catholic church and others say, “You know, what actually real equality means everyone has the same right to get married — gay or right.”

WARREN: I cannot see that happening in my life. I fear the disapproval of God more than I fear your disapproval or the disapproval of society. And so, I can’t change what I think God has said. Now, I believe in the infallibility of Scripture. I do not believe in the infallibility of my interpretations. So, interpretations can be wrong — we know that that as true but I believe that what Scripture says is that sex is for a man and a woman in marriage

Americans my age and, perhaps younger, recognize that the title of today’s blog is a take-off from a mega-hit in the 1960s by Simon & Garfunkel. The song, “Mrs. Robinson” from the hit movie “the Graduate” was a not-so-gentle poke at America’s middle class “hang-ups” concerning the Birth Control Pill and the Sexual Revolution.

Just as that song was written by Paul Simon, a Liberal, to poke fun at average Conservative Americans, so was Duck Dynasty created by A&E, to poke fun at  the Robertsons, whom the Liberals who run that network viewed as “The Beverly Hillbillies” of our time…i.e., a bunch of Inbred Southerners who, like Jed Clampett,  just stumbled upon their wealth.

Soon after Duck Dynasty became a hit,  A&E found out that not only were the Robertsons’ steadfast and unyielding in the exercise of their Christian Faith, but they were also loved by Americans, who laughed with them, instead of at them. It was then that A&E realized that they had a problem…the joke was on them.

So, they started to try to figure out how to get out of their contract. 

While the GQ Interview was taking place, you had better believe that a representative from A&E was there. A& E knew about this interview when it happened. This was a set-up.

But, what man meant for evil, God has, once again, turned into something good. There has been a overwhelming groundswell of support for Commander Phil and his family and a backlash against A&E, GLADD, and their Liberal Supporters.

The next target of this backlash will be the Cracker Barrel Restaurant Chain, which has taken Duck Dynasty Merchandise out of their Company Stores. Unfortunately for Cracker Barrel, the majority of their clients are average Christian Americans, living in the Heartland, who believe as Phil Robertson does.

Therefore, Cracker Barrel has just done great damage to their revenue stream. Not a very smart business move.

All of the paid and unpaid Liberal Pundits, who believe that they are Biblical Scholars, and have attempted to debunk what Commander Phil said, should not be surprised at this huge backlash by the American people.

If they had actually read the Bible, they would have found the following words of warning in Isaiah 54:17 (KJV):

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

And every tongue which rises against you in judgment

You shall condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

And their righteousness is from Me,”

Says the Lord.

The A&E Executives, GLAAD, and the misguided Liberal Pundits never stood a chance in this battle.

Commander Phil Robertson takes his orders from a Higher Authority.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The Rise of the Gay Mafia: Judicial Activism Vs. The Will of the American People

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

judicial activismFollowing on the heels of an Activist Judge’s Ruling, forcing a Christian Baker in Phoenix to bake a “Wedding Cake” for a Lesbian Couple, who could have gone to another baker, but, who were Gay Activists making a political point, once again, Activist Judges have circumvented the will of the American people, declaring as “unconstitutional”, laws against “gay marriage”, passed by the citizens of New Mexico and Utah.

According to the judges in the New Mexico Ruling, the law violated the Equal Protection Law, in their State Constitution,as Fox News reports…

“We hold that the State of New Mexico is constitutionally required to allow same-gender couples to marry and must extend to them the rights, protections and responsibilities that derive from civil marriage under New Mexico law,” Justice Edward L. Chavez wrote.

With that ruling, New Mexico joined 16 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay marriage either through legislation, court rulings or voter referendums in a trend that has dramatically shifted in just a few years nationally.

“At first, I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime,” Rand said. “But over the last few years you began noticing a change in public opinion and I thought…maybe.”

Before the ruling, eight of New Mexico’s 33 counties had already started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

County officials asked the high court to clarify the law and establish a uniform state policy on gay marriage. Historically, county clerks have denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples because state statutes include a marriage license application with sections for male and female applicants.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature repeatedly has turned down proposals for domestic partnerships for same-sex couples and a constitutional amendment that would have allowed voters to decide whether to legalize gay marriage. Measures to ban same-sex marriage also have failed.

Advocacy groups and supporters hailed the decision.

“I can’t get past happy, happy, happy at the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that rules in favor of freedom and equality for everyone to marry the person they love,” Santa Fe Mayor David Coss said in a statement.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights represented same-sex couples in the Supreme Court case. They contended gay marriage must be allowed because of constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law and a state constitutional prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Meanwhile groups like the Flora Vista-based Voices for Family Values vowed to fight on. The group said its members already are gathering signatures for petitions to present to lawmakers during the upcoming session in January.

“The Catholic Church respects and loves the gay and lesbian members of our community,” the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement. “We will continue to promote Catholic teaching of the Biblical definition of marriage to be that of one man and one woman.”

Under the ruling, clergy who disagree with same-sex marriage can decline to perform wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.

Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican and who has opposed same-sex marriage, said she would have preferred voters deciding the issue rather than the courts. But she urged New Mexicans to “respect one another in their discourse” and turn their focus onto other issues facing the state.

“As we move forward, I am hopeful that we will not be divided, as we must come together to tackle very pressing issues, like reforming education and growing our economy, in the weeks and months ahead,” Martinez said.

In the case of the Utah Ruling, it was a Federal Judge who struck down the law passed by the citizens of Utah. Per Fox News,

A federal judge struck down Utah’s same-sex marriage ban Friday in a decision that brings an increasing nationwide shift toward allowing gay marriage to a conservative state where the Mormon church has long been against it.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying Utah’s law passed by voters in 2004 violates gay and lesbian couples’ rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

Shelby said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any way.

“In the absence of such evidence, the State’s unsupported fears and speculations are insufficient to justify the State’s refusal to dignify the family relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens,” Shelby wrote.

Late Friday, the state filed both a notice of appeal of the ruling and a request for an emergency stay that would stop marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples. It’s unknown when the judge will make a decision on whether to grant the stay.

“It will probably take a little bit of time to get everything in place,” said Ryan Bruckman, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office. He said the judge told the attorney general’s office it would be a couple of days before any request for an emergency stay would be reviewed.

Gov. Gary Herbert vowed to “defend traditional marriage” in light of the ruling.

“I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah,” Herbert said in a statement. “I am working with my legal counsel and the acting attorney general to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah.”

The Salt Lake County clerk’s office started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Deputy Clerk Dahnelle Burton-Lee said the district attorney authorized her office to begin issuing the licenses but she couldn’t immediately say how many have been issued so far.

Utah’s lawsuit was brought by three gay and lesbian couples. One of the couples was legally married in Iowa and just wants that license recognized in Utah.

Regardless of what weighted polls, and opinion-makers in the Northeast and the Left Coast try to put forward as fact, the majority of Americans, living in America’s Heartland, oppose “gay marriage”.

Just look  at a map denoting the states who allow “gay marriage” and those who have voted against it.

And, in a related issue, ask Walmart if they have any Duck Dynasty Merchandise left on their shelves. Just sayin’…

The truth is, Gay Activists could not get their way by going to the American people, so now, they, and the Liberals who walk the Halls of Power in Washington, DC, are usurping the will of the people by using Activist Judges, on both the State and Federal level, to attempt to force a change in the cultural mores or America.

The brilliant Economist and Conservative Pundit, Dr. Thomas Sowell, wrote the following about Judicial Activism:

The ultimate issue between judicial activism and judicial restraint is the institutional locus of discretion, and no amount of insistence on the desirability of change or morality answers the question as to who is to decide what specific changes or what specific morality is needed. The institutional security of federal judges, appointed for life, may provide temptations for assuming this prerogative, without providing either moral or pragmatic justification. If no authorization is needed for judges to introduce “change,” neither is it needed for generals and admirals to do the same– as in fact happens in a number of countries. Judges can conduct limited coups d’etat surreptitiously, while a military coup is usually overt and sweeping. Nevertheless, the dangers to constitutional government are no less real in the long run from judicial activism– both because of the cumulative effect of small usurpations and because small usurpations both generate pressures and provide the precedents for larger usurpations by others with different social visions.

The claim that judicial activism is necessary to rescue us from bondage to the past– from having the writers of the Constitution “rule us from the grave”– defies both logic and history. There is no contest between the living and the dead. The contest is between those living individuals who wish to see control of change in judicial hands and those who wish to see it in other hands. There has been no argument that either statutory or constitutional laws are not to change. The only meaningful question is: Who is to change them? The reiterated emphasis on change, like the reiterated emphasis on morality, argues what is not at issue and glides over what is crucially at issue: Why are judges the authorized instrument? The original cognitive meaning of laws– constitutional or statutory– is important, not out of deference to the dead, but because that is the agreed‑upon meaning among the living, until they choose to make an open and explicit change– not have one foisted on them by the verbal sleight-of‑hand of judges.

Existing social philosophies and political alignments cannot be presupposed in discussions of long-run questions, such as constitutional interpretation. Even within the judiciary, differences in “substantive values” have been drastic over time, and by no means negligible even at a given time. The belief that a constitutional structure can be maintained while jurists with radically different visions make “substantive choices” within it seems dangerously similar to a belief that one can slide half-way down a slippery slope. The argument for judicial activism must stand or fall in general and enduring terms, not simply on whether some current political or social creed is considered so superior to competing creeds as to justify judges’ decisions in its favor. It is ultimately not a question of the relative merits of particular political or social creeds but of the long-run consequences of opening the floodgates to the generic principle of constitutional decisions based on “substantive values.” Once you have opened the floodgates, you cannot tell the water where to go.

It’s those “long-run consequences” that’ll get you every time.

Just ask the citizens of the Roman Empire.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Duck Dynasty, Pajama Boy, and America’s Self-Righteous Liberal Elite: The New Pharisees

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics3 Comments

PhilandpajamaboyYesterday, America’s Cultural War, which the Liberals walking the Halls of Power in DC, have been insisting does not exist, burst forth in brilliant Technicolor and stark reality as the Arts & Entertainment Channel “indefinitely suspended” Commander Phil Robertson, the Patriarch of their biggest program, Duck Dynasty, a favorite of 14 million American viewers.

To say that something hit the rotary oscillator would be putting it mildly. Facebook literally exploded, with pages in support of Commander receiving hundreds of thousands of likes.

Radio and Television News Talk Shows led with the story, with Liberal Pundits feverishly trying to come up with ways to demean and insult Commander Phil, who dared to disagree with their Cult of Ambivalent Morality and Situational Ethics, standing up instead for his Christian Faith.

The Liberals appeared positively apoplectic because he paraphrased the Holy Bible, recalling scripture from 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10.

If A &E was pompous enough to believe that they could keep the rest of the Robertson Clan in line and under their thumb, after “suspending” Commander Phil, they received a reality check, as Thursday was drawing to a close.

Last night, the Robertson Family released the following statement:

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E’s decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate.We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right.We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.

A & E now faces a choice: realize that they jumped the shark and plead with the Robertsons to stay, or lose their highest-rated program because they were too pompous to think beyond their own narrow Liberal Belief System and recognize their over-estimation of their own piousness and intelligence.

For example…

By now, everyone in America has heard of “Pajama Boy”, an apparent 20-something Liberal wuss, clad in his pajama “onesies”, cradling what can only be a cup of Hot Cocoa his Mommy made for him, in an ad, created by Organizing For America, designed to convince the young and dumb to purchase overpriced Health Insurance through the Obamacare Exchanges.

Well, we found out yesterday that this metrosexual is named Ethan Krupp, and, of course, he is a member of Obama’s Propaganda Arm, the before-mentioned Organizing For America.

The Ad, which the Liberal Brain Trust thought was so “cool” and “with it” has turned out to be a laughingstock…water cooler fodder…and the object of unprecedented Twitter ridicule, by the same target audience Obama and his supporters were trying to reach.

During his program yesterday, Rush Limbaugh made the following observation, regarding “Pajama Boy” and Liberal thought processes in general. What he said, applies to the Duck Dynasty Story as well:

This ad, the Julia cartoon ad, and the Pajama Boy ad, you have to understand, that is who the Regime is. This administration is filled with guys who used to be Pajama Boy. They think they are America. Snerdley, not one of them has worked in the private sector, not one of them. They’re all academicians, theorists, professors. They’re all people that congregated at the academy. They sit around and theorize, and they’re filled with resentment for everybody that actually does something.

They’re smarter than everybody else. If only they had a chance to run it, they would show everybody. They could do health care better than the people doing it. They can run the car companies better than the people doing it, run energy better than the people in the oil business. They could run drugs better. They could do everything better! They’re smarter than everybody, but nobody would ever hire ’em ’cause they’ve never done anything.

So they congregate in universities and the faculty lounge and they end up getting to know each other, and they have all these networks where they congregate and become like-minded people. I guarantee you they run that ad, and they think they are mass marketing. They are arrogant enough to believe that they are America. I mean, there should be no question about it. When somebody in the media goes to Texas or anywhere in flyover country, they look out of place. They don’t understand.

By now, you are probably wondering why I would call America’s Liberal Elite “Pharisees”. 

Any American who attended Sunday School or Vacation Bible School as a child, knows who the Pharisees were. During the days when Jesus Christ walked the Earth as one of us, the Pharisees, a party of self-proclaimed, pious “religious leaders”, showed themselves to be bitter and persistent enemies of Christ. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.

Their belief in themselves as “the smartest people in the room” and the belief in their own infallible righteousness, blinded them to the Son of God’s message of Perfect Peace and Unconditional Love through personal repentance of sin  and individual salvation, received through the Grace of God.

Sound familiar?

Until He Comes,

KJ

Duck Dynasty, A & E, and Liberal Hypocrisy

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics3 Comments

duck dynastyThe Leader of the hottest Reality Show in America, a self-made millionaire, has been, at least temporarily, taken off of the show he helped build into a ratings Dynamo. His crime?He identified homosexuality as a sin.

The Hollywood Reporter has the story:

A&E has placed Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson on indefinite hiatus following anti-gay remarks he made in a recent profile in GQ.

“We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty,” A&E said in a statement. “His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community. The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely.”

The news comes after Robertson compared homosexuality to bestiality in an interview with the magazine. He’ll likely appear in season four, which bows Jan. 15, since production is largely wrapped.

“It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” Robertson says in the January issue of the men’s magazine. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

During a discussion about repentance and God, Robertson is asked what he finds sinful.

“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there,” he says. “Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.”

He goes on to paraphrase Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

GLAAD on Wednesday condemned his remarks as “some of the vilest and most extreme statements uttered against LGBT people in a mainstream publication” and said “his quote was littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.”

“Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe,” GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz said. “He clearly knows nothing about gay people or the majority of Louisianans — and Americans — who support legal recognition for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. Phil’s decision to push vile and extreme stereotypes is a stain on A&E and his sponsors, who now need to re-examine their ties to someone with such public disdain for LGBT people and families.”

Let’s examine exactly what Commander Phil said. He called homosexuality a sin…because it is.

Concerning the quote from the Bible that Commander Phil was paraphrasing, it reads the following way, in the original King James Version:

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. – 1 Corinthians 6: 9 – 10

He spoke his mind…based on the tenets of his faith.

Of course, Commander Phil’s remarks offended the always politically-correct Liberals, otherwise known as the Gay Mafia, who went whining like a bunch of little wussies to the Arts & Entertainment Channel, who then immediately decided that having Commander Phil continue to appear on his own show, would cause them to lose whatever Liberal viewers are watching “Duck Dynasty”, who are probably watching the program just to make fun of us “Inbred Southerners”.

A&E had approached Commander Phil before, concerned that the Robertsons’ Christianity, and their active Prayer Life would “offend” viewers.

They were looking for an excuse.

Evidently, these arbitrators of what is offensive to Americans have never watched “Blue Bloods”, the excellent, high-rated drama starring Conservative Tom Selleck as the New York City Police Commissioner, whose dad is a retired Police Commissioner, and whose two sons are cops and his daughter, an Assistant District Attorney. On every show, the family, including the grandchildren, gather after Mass on Sunday afternoon, for a family dinner, where, before they eat, the pray, or, as we refer to it in the Real World, here in America’s Heartland, they ” Say Grace”.

I am positive that the Liberal idiots at CBS continue to raise you-know-what about that, also.

On a related subject, it knocked me off the couch Tuesday night, when the characters said “Merry Christmas” several times during “NCIS” and “NCIS:LA”. CBS did not allow them to do that last year. They could only say “Happy Holidays”.

But, I digress…

It amazes me how completely over-run by the Liberal mantra of ambivalent morality and situational ethics the “Blue Areas” (the NE Corridor and the Left Coast) of our nation have become.

Their thought processes (and, I’m being kind) are polar opposites to those of Americans here in the Heartland, or, as they have always pompously referred to us, “Flyover Country”.

The reason Commander Phil and his family have been so overwhelmingly popular with Americans, is because they are self-made millionaires, who act like normal, everyday, Working Class Americans.

As I mentioned earlier, Liberals look down on them. I believe that A&E launched the show with the idea of the Robertsons being a “sideshow” for “the smartest people in the room” to point and laugh at.

It turned out that the joke was on them, because…

1. The Robinsons became loved, and laughed with, not at.

2. They, in fact, turned out to be “the smartest people in the room”

Oh yeah, about this “homophobia” you accuse me and other Christian American Conservatives of having…

1. We love the sinner. We hate the sin.

2. Tell that to the Liberal who described me as a “B@ll S#cking  Tea Bagger” in response to my posting of yesterday’s Blog on Ted Cruz’s Facebook Page.

A & E, like the rest of America’s Liberals, who ignore their own hypocrisy, should remember the old maxim concerning glass houses.

As demonstrated by the implosion of their fallen messiah’s Presidency, their “house” is already beginning to crumble around them.

And, this, too, shall pass…

Until He Comes,

KJ

Senate Democrats Vote to Cut Military Pensions Benefits…Keep IRS Credit for Illegal Immigrants.

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

veterans marchIf you ask any average American, out here in the Real World, which we refer to as the Heartland of America, if they think that Pension Benefits to our Military Veterans who have defended our freedom, should be cut, in order to keep an IRS Credit for Illegal Immigrants, they would look at you as if you were wearing your underwear on top of your head and their answer to your question would not just be “no”, but H@ll, no!

Evidently, Senate Democrats prefer to protect “benefits” for those who have entered our country illegally, instead of taking care of  those who have fought to protect and defend our freedom.

Foxnews.com reports that

A final effort by Senate Republicans to halt cuts to pensions of military retirees failed late Tuesday, after Democrats blocked an amendment to the controversial budget bill.

The two-year budget agreement, which cleared a key test vote earlier in the day, was expected to get a final vote no later than Wednesday.

Ahead of the final vote, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., tried unsuccessfully to use a parliamentary tactic to force a vote on the amendment, which he wrote to undo the cuts for military retirees.

A provision in the already House-passed bill would cut retirement benefits for military retirees by $6 billion over 10 years.

Sessions wanted to instead eliminate an estimated $4.2 billion in annual spending by reining in an IRS credit that illegal immigrants have claimed.

He and fellow senators argued the bill unfairly sticks veterans and other military retirees with the cost of new spending.

“It’s not correct, and it should not happen,” Sessions said on the floor.

“By blocking my amendment, they voted to cut pensions for wounded warriors,” he said afterwards. “Senators in this chamber have many valid ideas for replacing these pension cuts, including my proposal to close the tax welfare loophole for illegal filers, and all deserved a fair and open hearing. But they were denied.”

Sessions’ office claimed the vote Tuesday to block the amendment was a vote to “cut military pensions instead of cutting welfare for illegal immigrants.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash.,who brokered the budget deal with House counterpart Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., argued the GOP effort was really an attempt to kill the entire bill.

The Republican-led House passed the bill last week in an effort to avoid another stalemate leading to a potential government shutdown, like the one in October that polls showed was largely unpopular with voters.

Where was the GOP Leadership in the Senate? You know, The Sunshine Boys, McCain and McConnell? Why weren’t they supporting Sen. Sessions?

After the House passed the Budget “Compromise” last week, Rush Limbaugh made the following astute observation:

The Republicans are scared to death to say anything critical of Obama and the Democrats. And they’ll do anything to avoid a government shutdown, including giving Obama what he wants, which we just saw.

Back on October 20th, Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin wrote these words in an Op Ed, posted on Breitbart.com. They fit what is happening, regarding the Budget Issue, perfectly:

…GOP politicians claim they’re against Obamacare and promise to repeal it. But when it came time to stand up and use the Constitutional tools they have – the power of the purse strings – to finally halt the implementation, they balked, waved the white flag, and joined the lapdog media in trashing the good guys who fought for us.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, these same politicians are covertly pushing through amnesty despite evidence that the 33 million newly legalized voters will overwhelmingly lean Democrat! Obviously this makes the likelihood of a GOP hat trick electoral victory, and hence the repeal of socialized healthcare, even more improbable.

The media wants you to believe that the partial government shutdown “fractured” the Republican machine from grassroots commonsense conservatives who go by the acronym TEA Party (that stands for “Taxed Enough Already”). No, Tea Party patriots rose up because the Republican machine “fractured” itself years ago by marginalizing its conservative base. The recent “slimdown” didn’t cause the fracture. It happened because of the fracture – because wayward Republicans have refused for years to stand up and fight for economic freedom and limited government, despite campaigning on those principles every election cycle. That’s how we got into this debt-ridden mess in the first place. They campaigned one way, but governed another.

It’s the establishment’s choice whether this fracture remains unfixed because the conservative grassroots will never give up the fight for freedom. Never. Never. Generations of our sons and daughters sent off to war to protect our freedom have paid too high a price for us to ever give up the fight.

As the Republican Establishment continues to propagate its “Live to fight another day” theme in all of its cave-ins to the wishes of Congressional Democrats, they would be wise to remember the words of the Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan, who said,

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

It is time for the Vichy Republicans to put down their pacifiers and MAN UP.

…If they want to keep their jobs.

Until He Comes,

KJ

NSA Wiretapping Ruled Unconstitutional. Congressional “Caine Mutiny” Hearing to Follow?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

obamabigbroRemember all of Obama’s Domestic Scandals, beside Obamacare? Well, regarding the one involving the NSA, it is possible that, to paraphrase Obama’s Former Pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright,

Obama’s chickennns…are coming home…to roost!

Yesterday, wsj.com reported that…

President Barack Obama, facing growing pressure from Silicon Valley, will meet Tuesday with executives from Google Inc. Facebook Inc. and other technology and telecommunications giants to discuss their concerns about America’s surveillance operations.

According to the White House, Mr. Obama will also meet with the executives to talk about progress with the troubled online federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, and ways the government and technology industry can partner to boost economic growth.

The meeting comes a week after a group of technology companies jointly penned a letter to lash out at the Obama administration for collecting information on Americans. The companies said they wanted to see greater oversight of the government’s surveillance operations and limits on the government’s authority to compel companies to disclose data about their customers.

The letter followed a wave of disclosures about U.S. spying operations by Edward Snowden, a former government contractor now in Russia. The president will also talk about the national security concerns prompted by the leaks and their effect on the economy.

The administration has been reviewing U.S. spying operations and considering steps to protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans. Last week, a presidential task force submitted to the White House more than 40 recommendations to overhaul the National Security Agency. Mr. Obama’s chief spokesman, Jay Carney, said the White House was reviewing the report and would make public the full report in January.

This news comes on the heels of a ruling by a Federal Court Judge that telephone surveillance of Americans that has been conducted ad infinitum by the NSA, violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution…

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program appears to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. He also said the Justice Department had failed to demonstrate that collecting the information had helped to head off terrorist attacks.

Acting on a lawsuit brought by conservative legal activist Larry Klayman, Leon issued a preliminary injunction barring the NSA from collecting so-called metadata pertaining to the Verizon accounts of Klayman and one of his clients. However, the judge stayed the order to allow for an appeal.

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” wrote Leon, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

The preliminary injunction Leon granted Monday does not require him to make a definitive ruling on the constitutional questions in the case, but does take account of which side he believes is more likely to prevail.

Leon’s 68-page opinion is the first significant legal setback for the NSA’s surveillance program since it was disclosed in June in news stories based on leaks from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. For seven years, the metadata program has been approved repeatedly by numerous judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and found constitutional by at least one judge sitting in a criminal case.

The very fact that the  National Security Agency (NSA) even existed, was not revealed for more than two decades after its establishment in 1952.

Of all the US intelligence services, it is has,for a long time, been the best hidden, and has prided itself on having the fewest leaks – at least until Edward Snowden came along.

When Harry Truman set up the NSA, its mission was to monitor communications abroad. However, what politicians and civil rights organizations have know, since the Senate unveiled it in 1975, is to what extent its ferocious appetite for data has encompassed American citizens.

As technology has evolved, so has the NSA’s capacity to intercept Americans’ communications. Satellites intercept calls and emails in the ether and beam the information back to earthbound receiving stations. One estimate suggests that each of these bases hoovers up roughly one billion emails, phone calls and other forms of correspondence every day, and the agency has up to 20 bases.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution reads as follows…

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The actions of the NSA, are, of course, nothing new. as far back as Prohibition, government authorities have tapped American’s phones, if they felt that they were involved in “suspicious activities. However, those incidences of “wiretapping” were always done under the Rule of Law, with those doing the tapping have a warrant from a judge in their hand.

What we are dealing with here is nothing less than a usurpation of power, am old Soviet Union-style spying on one’s own countrymen, by an out-of-control NSA, whose petulant, didactic Commander-in-Chief, in his zeal to wield the power of the Oval Office, has pushed our Constitutional Republic in the direction of a Socialist Police State.

Through his use of such Government Agencies such as the NSA and the IRS to intimidate and harass his political opponents, President Barack Hussein Obama has exhibited a fearful paranoia that makes President Richard Milhous Nxon’s Watergate Scandal appear as inconsequential as a deck chair on the Titanic, and Obama as unstable a leader as Captain Queeg, so brilliantly played by the late, great Humphrey Bogart in “The Caine Mutiny”.

If Obama is ever brought before Congress to testify on his scandals, his prevarication and eventual meltdown will make Captain Queeg’s unraveling pale in comparison.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

Secretary of State John Kerry Visits Vietnam to Talk…About Climate Change. This is “Smart Power?”

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

johnkerrycartoonSecretary of State John F. Kerry has returned to Vietnam. No, it’s not to negotiate or leverage some sort of accords which would strengthen the defense of our country. Oh, no. It’s much more important than that. Sec. Kerry has returned to the scene of his “heroism” to address the “problem of Climate Change”.

Yahoo News reports that

It is the first time that Kerry has returned to the Mekong since 1968 when he served as a young U.S. naval officer in Vietnam battling Viet Cong guerillas in a conflict that earned him three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.

“It is obviously amazing for me to be here today,” Kerry told students gathered on the banks of the Cai Nuoc river. “Decades ago, on these very waters, I was one of many who witnessed the difficult period in our shared history,” he said.

“Today on these waters I am bearing witness to how far our nations have come together and we are talking about the future. That is the way it ought to be,” he said. “As our shared journey continues, our eyes are firmly fixed on the future and not on the past.”

Dressed in casual khaki-green trousers, a blue-checked shirt and wearing sunglasses, Kerry is surrounded by aides and other officials on the boat but he is mostly quiet and introspective.

“It hasn’t changed all that much,” Kerry remarks at one point during the tour. The familiar smell of burning firewood in the air coming from villages takes him back to his time on the river.

At the small riverside community of Kien Vang, translated roughly as “the golden ant”, Kerry stops to take a walk, visiting a small convenience store where he buys candy for the local children. There he pets a dog and is reminded of a mutt he adopted while serving in Vietnam he named “VC” – short for Viet Cong.

Here he also inquires from Dang Kieu Nhan, deputy director of the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute, about water levels and how possible changes in water flows on the river will affect villagers.

His concern is not only the effects of climate change on the Mekong but also plans by China to build four more dams along the Mekong to generate power for its rising economy, projects that will have a disastrous downstream impact on Cambodia and Vietnam, according to environmental specialists.

In addition Laos is also proposing to build hydropower plants on the Mekong, while Cambodia has plants for two dams on the river.

Across the canal, Kerry addresses these developments in a speech to the students, while also pledging $17 million to a program to address the impact from potential climate changes.

“No one country has the right to deprive another country of the livelihood and eco-system and its capacity for life itself that comes with that river,” Kerry says.

“That river is a global asset, a treasure that belongs to the region, and so it is vital that we avoid dramatic changes in the water flow and sediment levels. Already we are seeing fisheries are experiencing threats to the fish stocks as a consequence of the changes taking place,” he adds.

Kerry says he will raise the issue when he next visits China “so that we can work together on it in an effective way.”

While the Main Stream Media and the rest of the Liberals are portraying Sec. Kerry as some sore of conquering hero returning to the scene of his past triumphs, there is a part of Kerry’s “Vietnam Experience” that they avoid talking about. And for good reason.

On September 19, 2005, Fox News  reported

John Kerry’s opposition to the Vietnam War led him to many places, including Paris, where he met with the North Vietnamese in 1970. Kerry said then, and says now, that the meeting was a part of an effort to learn more about U.S. POWs. But some question the propriety of a commissioned Naval officer meeting with the enemy at a time of war.

When Kerry testified before the Senate in 1971, he pushed for an immediate, unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces. If that happened, he said he knew the North Vietnamese would return all U.S. POWs.

“I have been to Paris. I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks, that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government,” Kerry said.

Kerry referred to an eight-point withdrawal plan that was offered to the U.S. by Madame Nguyen Thi Binh, then-foreign minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government. While on his honeymoon in Paris with his first wife Julia Thorne, Kerry met with Madame Binh at a meeting that included members of both delegations to the peace talks, according to Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan.

Explaining Kerry’s trip, Meehan said in a statement, “Senator Kerry had no role whatsoever in the Paris peace talks or negotiations. He did not engage in any negotiations and did not attend any session of the talks. Prior to his Senate testimony, he went to Paris on a private trip, where he had one brief meeting with Madame Binh and others. In an effort to find facts, he learned the status of the peace talks from their point of view and about any progress in resolving the conflict, particularly as it related to the fate of the POWs.”

Kerry’s meeting with Binh occurred while he remained a commissioned officer with the U.S. Navy. Kerry was, by then, a member of the Navy Reserve and not on active duty.

“We’ve had presidents who have served in the military. We’ve had presidents who have never served in the military. But we’ve never had an American president who met with the enemy in a time of war while a naval officer in reserve status. Inconceivable,” said John O’Neill, a key member of the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (search).

Some critics have suggested Kerry’s meeting might have violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (search), which prohibits members of the armed services from meeting with the enemy at a time of war. Meehan told FOX News the code of military justice did not apply to inactive reserve officers and that Kerry “did nothing wrong.” Meehan also said that Kerry met with the North Vietnamese only once.

But historian Gerald Nicosia has written that Kerry met with the North Vietnamese twice.

Citing redacted FBI files, Nicosia said, “The files record that Kerry made a second trip to Paris that summer to learn how the North Vietnamese might release prisoners.”

Nicosia told FOX News that the FBI files contained a newspaper clipping about a speech Kerry gave in August 1971 saying that he had just returned from a Paris meeting with the North Vietnamese. Nicosia told FOX he discussed the article with Kerry’s authorized biographer, Douglas Brinkley, who told him that Kerry had confirmed he’d met with the Vietnamese in 1970 and 1971.

How Obama and Congress could have put this Lightweight in such a powerful position, boggles the mind. Of course, this same bunch thought that an ex-First Lady, with no Foreign Policy experience, in the form of Hillary Clinton, would make an excellent Secretary of State, too.

With a track record behind both of them consisting of Arab Spring, Benghazigate, the Syria Fiasco, and now, the Internationally -panned Iranian Agreement, as far as the position of Secretary of State is concerned, we’ve gone from Tokyo Rose to a combination of Benedict Arnold and Pee Wee Herman.

Kerry didn’t return to the scene of his war victories, He just went there to visit his “buds”.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Charitable Giving in America: Liberals Talk the Talk. Christian Conservatives Walk the Walk.

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics4 Comments

American Freedom

This time of year, Americans’ thoughts and hearts turn toward helping those who are less fortunate.

We are reminded of the plight of others every time we pass by a volunteer at a Salvation Army Kettle,

And, that got me to thinking, Who actual gives more to charity, the Vocal Minority, America’s Liberals…or the Silent Majority, Christiam American Conservatives?

I have noticed over the years, that when a Christian American Conservative, such a myself, writes a Blog concerning Christianity in America, Liberals jump up on their hind legs and start complaining that Conservatives ARE the problem with Christianity in America, and, that Christian Conservatives are the least charitable, least caring of Americans.

A pretty silly statement, when you think about it. One that is so blatantly false, it’s laughable.

Realclearpolitics.com posted the following article by George Wills on March 27, 2008,  featuring information gathered by Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University, who published “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism”…

— Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

— Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

— Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.

— Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

— In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.

— People who reject the idea that “government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality” give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition.

Brooks demonstrates a correlation between charitable behavior and “the values that lie beneath” liberal and conservative labels. Two influences on charitable behavior are religion and attitudes about the proper role of government.

The single biggest predictor of someone’s altruism, Willett says, is religion. It increasingly correlates with conservative political affiliations because, as Brooks’ book says, “the percentage of self-described Democrats who say they have ‘no religion’ has more than quadrupled since the early 1970s.” America is largely divided between religious givers and secular nongivers, and the former are disproportionately conservative. One demonstration that religion is a strong determinant of charitable behavior is that the least charitable cohort is a relatively small one — secular conservatives.

Reviewing Brooks’ book in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, Justice Willett notes that Austin — it voted 56 percent for Kerry while he was getting just 38 percent statewide — is ranked by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 48th out of America’s 50 largest cities in per capita charitable giving. Brooks’ data about disparities between liberals’ and conservatives’ charitable giving fit these facts: Democrats represent a majority of the wealthiest congressional districts, and half of America’s richest households live in states where both senators are Democrats.

While conservatives tend to regard giving as a personal rather than governmental responsibility, some liberals consider private charity a retrograde phenomenon — a poor palliative for an inadequate welfare state, and a distraction from achieving adequacy by force, by increasing taxes. Ralph Nader, running for president in 2000, said: “A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.” Brooks, however, warns: “If support for a policy that does not exist … substitutes for private charity, the needy are left worse off than before. It is one of the bitterest ironies of liberal politics today that political opinions are apparently taking the place of help for others.”

In 2000, brows were furrowed in perplexity because Vice President Al Gore’s charitable contributions, as a percentage of his income, were below the national average: He gave 0.2 percent of his family income, one-seventh of the average for donating households. But Gore “gave at the office.” By using public office to give other peoples’ money to government programs, he was being charitable, as liberals increasingly, and conveniently, understand that word.

Last Friday, The Christian Post published the following article about a very familiar Christian American Conservative, a man who is carrying on his father’s legacy of touching people all over the world in the name of Jesus Christ and who, coincidentally, has been banned by President Obama and His Administration from speaking to our Armed Forces at Christmas.

Franklin Graham, president of nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, joined project organizers, local families and survivors of Hurricane Sandy at one of New York City’s major airports this week to personally send off more than 60,000 gifts to some of Typhoon Haiyan’s most vulnerable victims in the Philippines.

“Do you know what these gifts are going to mean to these kids? It means that somebody loves them, it means they haven’t been forgotten. It will mean everything in the world. It will give these little kids hope,” Graham told more than 300 attendees at Thursday’s event.

The evangelist and son of the Rev. Billy Graham was flanked by young singers of the Christian Heritage Academy and a loaded Boeing 747 over his shoulder as he thanked participants during the send-off ceremony at Hangar 19 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

“It’s about letting the children of the world to know that God loves them and God hasn’t forgotten them,” Graham added in his interview with The Christian Post. His Samaritan’s Purse international relief organization has been delivering emergency aid to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan forced more than 3.9 million residents to flee their homes. The powerful Nov. 8 typhoon has killed at least 6,000 people and injured more than 27,000 others.

The organization’s annual Operation Christmas Child outreach will be delivering shoe boxes stuffed with goodies and essentials to thousands of Filipino children to let them know that Christians on the other side of the world are praying for them and contributing to their needs.

The other day, at Mandela’s Funeral, I noticed that, when former President George W. Bush got up to speak, Mandela’s faithful booed, and gave him a poor reception, after greeting President Obama as “a true son of Africa”. Very curious. 

Per CNN, in the four years following the unprecedented creation in 2004 of the funding mechanism known as PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), Bush sent some $19 billion to Africa and other hard-hit parts of the world.

On the other hand,last year,the Obama Administration unveiled a budget that reduces AIDS funding globally by roughly $214 million, the first time an American president has reduced the U.S. commitment to fighting the epidemic since it broke out in the 1980s during the Reagan administration.

Illuminating, isn’t it?

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: Why This “Unholy Crusade” Against Christianity in American and Why Don’t Atheists Attack Muslims?

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics3 Comments

charlie brown ChristmasAs we approach the celebration of the Nativity, you have probably been seeing on television and the Internet, and hearing on the radio, about all the attacks by the Progressives and Atheists (But, I repeat myself…) in our country against the 78% of our population who still identify themselves as followers of Jesus Christ.

Within the last several months, we’ve seen those in charge of our nation’s Brightest and best, start taking references to Christianity on uniforms, taking out any reference to “God” from the solemn Oath that Air Force Cadets pledge upon joining, and even disciplining those who fight and die for us, for sharing their Christian Faith.

And, on top of that, there is a movement to install Atheist “Chaplains” in the United States Armed Forces!

So much for Atheists insisting that their belief system is not a religion.

And, if that’s not enough…check out this assault against Christianity, as reported by breitbart.com:

After 24 years of litigation, a federal court revealed in an emotional hearing that it has ordered the famous Mount Soledad Cross removed from a veterans memorial, holding it is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Since 1913, a cross has stood as the centerpiece of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, surrounded by nearly 3,000 granite plaques, individually honoring war heroes from every American war, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The structure is a 29-foot Latin cross, which was erected in 1954. For much of this time, it was in a city park in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego. Then, in 1989, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, arguing that allowing a cross on government land violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. This memorial has been embroiled in litigation ever since.

In 2004, Congress passed a law making this city-owned display a “national memorial honoring veterans of the United States Armed Forces,” dedicated as a tribute to those service members “who sacrificed their lives in the defense of the United States.” Congress officially found that the “patriotic and inspirational symbolism of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial provides solace to the families and comrades of the veterans it memorializes.” Although the Latin cross is identifiably a Christian symbol, Congress noted that the memorial is also “replete with secular symbols” and symbols of other faiths, such as 18 Stars of David. In this pluralistic context, the cross plays the role of commemorating veterans’ service and death.

That law sparked the latest round of litigation in federal court. In 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed its prior decision on this display, holding that because of the cross, the memorial “primarily conveys a message of endorsement of religion.” Specifically, it “projects a government endorsement of Christianity.”

The United States Supreme Court denied review in 2012 but sent a written message noting that the lower courts were still considering whether the memorial could be modified in a way that preserves its character. In a statement by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court signaled that it would seriously consider taking the case if these additional efforts did not produce a positive outcome.

After almost two years of additional proceedings, on Dec. 12 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California reluctantly held that under controlling precedent from the Ninth Circuit, the district judge still had no choice but to declare the cross an endorsement of Christianity. He has ordered it removed within 90 days.

Judge Larry Alan Burns read the order from the bench in court and appeared to choke up as he ordered the memorial’s destruction, observers told Breitbart News. Burns then issued a stay of his decision to give the memorial cross’s lawyers time to appeal back to the Ninth Circuit and, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court.

Originally, the U.S. Justice Department defended the cross memorial. However, when President Barack Obama was elected, the government’s defense of the memorial under Attorney General Eric Holder seemed to become lackluster, and the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial Association stepped in to bolster the defense.

So, it’s not just the Military who are being attacked. It is Christianity in Everyday American Life. Otherwise, why would you attack a cross at a war memorial on a mountaintop, which has stood there since 1913?

School Administrators  have been attempting to block Christmas Songs which reference Christianity and the Triune God in any way from school programs.

Retail stores, who, in years past, joyfully wished customer a “Merry Christmas”, now instead, air commercials, which sing “That’s my kind of holiday.” and greet you in their stores with “Happy Holidays!”

So, why this full-blown attack on the Faith which our Founding Fathers wrote so eloquently about, and which has sustained this “shining city on a hill” through times of internal and external strife?

In other words, why are activist Atheists (and Progressives) so intent to either limit or completely eliminate Christianity’s influence on everyday American Life?

Why don’t they attack the political/religious ideology of Islam with the same fervor?

The answer to this question is simple:  Cowards will always tell you whom they are afraid of. They will avoid them, like one avoids a child with Chicken Pox.

Additionally, they expect Christians to allow them to take control by “turning the other cheek.” Evidently, they never read the scriptures which describe Jesus running the “money lenders” out of the temple, overturning tables and expressing his righteous indignation in a way in which no one con mistake it for anything else.

Or, perhaps, it’s the overwhelming overestimation in their own intelligence, which results from ignoring the influence of the God of Abraham in their life.

So, what drives them in this “Unholy Crusade”?

Bitterness, emptiness, and an unfulfilled hungering in their soul which they cannot put a finger on, is the only explanation.

Otherwise, why would you fight so hard against the influence of and worship of Someone you don’t personally believe in?

Until He Comes,

KJ

Reaction to the House Budget Bill: Sarah…Plain [Spoken] and [Standing] Tall

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

pailinbiggulp2Yesterday afternoon, the Vichy Republican-led House of Representatives passed the “Bi-partisan” Budget Proposal, co-authored by Democrat Patti Murray and Former Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate, Paul Ryan.

By passing the bill the House Republicans turned their backs on the Conservative Base, which gave them control of the House through their votes during the Political Massacre known as Mid-Term Elections of 2010.

This current wave of attacks by Progressives, in both political partie,s is not some sort of new phenomena. They have been attempting to stifle Conservatism in American for quite some time now.

The following excerpt is taken from Ronald Reagan Speech titled “A Time For Choosing”.

This speech was given as a stump speech, at speaking engagements, and on a memorable night in 1964 in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign.

Almost 50 years later, The Great Communicators’ words ring as true now, as when they were first spoken.

We need true tax reform that will at least make a start toward restoring for our children the American Dream that wealth is denied to no one, that each individual has the right to fly as high as his strength and ability will take him…. But we cannot have such reform while our tax policy is engineered by people who view the tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure….

Have we the courage and the will to face up to the immorality and discrimination of the progressive tax, and demand a return to traditional proportionate taxation? . . . Today in our country the tax collector’s share is 37 cents of every dollar earned. Freedom has never been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp.

Are you willing to spend time studying the issues, making yourself aware, and then conveying that information to family and friends? Will you resist the temptation to get a government handout for your community? Realize that the doctor’s fight against socialized medicine is your fight. We can’t socialize the doctors without socializing the patients. Recognize that government invasion of public power is eventually an assault upon your own business. If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he’ll eat you last.

If all of this seems like a great deal of trouble, think what’s at stake. We are faced with the most evil enemy mankind has known in his long climb from the swamp to the stars. There can be no security anywhere in the free world if there is no fiscal and economic stability within the United States. Those who ask us to trade our freedom for the soup kitchen of the welfare state are architects of a policy of accommodation.

They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong. There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. Winston Churchill said that “the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits–not animals.” And he said, “There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.”

You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.

Reagan gave Progressive Politicians Hissy Fits with his Optimistic Conservatism and his ability to deliver powerful speeches in a way that average Americans could clearly understand and relate to.

Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin remains popular in the Heartland of America and unpopular in the Northeast Corridor and on the Left Coast, for a that very same  reason:  She says out loud what average Americans are thinking.

For example, here is an article she has written for breitbart.com…

No one can argue with the fact that Paul Ryan’s compromise budget bill raises taxes and increases spending. Show me one Republican who got elected on that platform. Spare America the Orwellian word games. If the government is taking money out of your pocket to fund its growing Big Brother operations, it’s a tax. Whether money is taken from you via your phone bill, your airline ticket, or your income, it’s a tax. If politicians can’t be honest about this, it’s time to go home.

The TEA Party’s very acronym stands for “Taxed Enough Already.” We sent these politicians to Congress in an historic landslide election in 2010 with a mandate to stop the runaway spending train bankrupting our nation, not to wave to it from the station or – heaven forbid – increase its speed. And yet, here we are still pretending that there are no real world consequences to running up near trillion dollar deficits year after year with no end in sight.

So, where does this leave us? We can sit back and accept the increased spending “Compromised Plan” with increases in taxes and spending, or we can charge ahead to at least preserve the very modest Sequester cuts American workers already fought for. If we go with the first option, we simply kick the can down the road yet again and wait for the inevitable real world consequences of bankruptcy (see Detroit for an example of what’s in store). Or we can go with the second option and probably get clobbered by the media (so what’s new?!).

The Political Establishment will no doubt tell us that a budget battle will distract us from the fight against Obamacare. But that excuse is just the latest variation in the Establishment’s old canard that they’re keeping their powder dry for the next big battle which never seems to materialize because they’re always too busy waving the white flag and following the path of least resistance until election day.

Enough is enough!

Here’s the deal, folks. The media will clobber us no matter what. We do not want more taxes. We want Congress to rein in spending and live within its means. (What’s so radical about that?!) Americans have gotten quite an education recently in wasteful government spending as we’ve all seen how the federal government can blow a billion dollars on a website that doesn’t work.

Do these members of Congress really think they can justify every tax dollar they spend and still demand more from hard working Americans by increasing our taxes?

2014 is just around the corner. If any member of Congress thinks raising taxes and increasing wasteful spending is a winning strategy to run on, then by all means they should vote for the Ryan budget. We’ll be watching.

Just as Reagan used the Bully Pulpit of the Presidency to bypass the Progressive Politicians and Main Stream Media of his time, and talked directly to the American People, so does Sarah Palin use today’s New Media very effectively.

The Arctic Fox is refreshing and Honest…and, she drives Progressives like John Boehner, Harry Reid, and President Barack Hussein Obama. Plus, she is not a private citizen, unencumbered by the Political Straight Jacket that her own partner placed upn her in the 2008 Elections.

Don’t like her? Too bad.

This is Sarah…Plain [spoken] and [standing] Tall.

Until He Comes,

KJ