Author: kingsjester

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

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado: No Man is an Island

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

The huge smoke cloud obamamacdaddyAmericans are viewing in the Western Horizon is coming from the state of Colorado.

Time.com reports that

A few days into the experiment, the new world of legal recreational marijuana sales in Colorado appears to be a big success—so much so that pot shops are finding it impossible to keep up with demand.

According to the Denver Post, at least 37 stores in Colorado were licensed to sell recreational pot to anyone 21 or over as of New Year’s Day. The Associated Press and others reported long lines outside Denver pot shops, with some eager customers forced to wait three to five hours before getting a chance to go inside, step up to the counter, and make a purchase.

Prices have been steep—in some cases, stores were charging $50 or even $70 for one-eighth of an ounce of pot that cost medical marijuana users just $25 the day before—and taxes add on an extra 20% or so. Even so, sales have been brisk.

The two operational pot shops in Pueblo collectively sold $87,000 of marijuana on January 1, per the Pueblo Chieftain, and store owners say that if demand persists anywhere near the current high, they’ll be sold out in the very near future. Likewise, Toni Fox, owner of the 3D Cannabis Center in Denver, told the Colorado Springs Gazette that a sellout is imminent. “We are going to run out,” she said on Thursday, day 2 of legal recreational marijuana sales. “It’s insane. This weekend will be just as crazy. If there is a mad rush, we’ll be out by Monday.”

Another Associated Press story noted that some shops had to close early on Wednesday because they’d didn’t have enough marijuana on hand to oblige customers.

For more than a month, many have speculated that Colorado pot shops would not be able to meet demand due to the limited number of stores open in the state, as well as tough regulations regarding how marijuana is grown and distributed at the wholesale level. Of course, strong demand—especially from “smokebirds,” a.k.a. out-of-state tourists visiting Colorado for legal marijuana purchases—also plays a big role. By most accounts, since January 1 more than half of pot sales have gone to non-Coloradans.

Prices in legal pot shops have already risen to upwards of $400 an ounce. Once you factor in taxes, as well as the fact that it looks like shops may periodically be sold out for a while, and some are saying the situation is one that could push pot enthusiasts back to buying marijuana on the black market. “People will get real tired of paying the taxes real fast,” one street dealer in Pueblo named Tracy told the Chieftain. “When you can buy an ounce from me for $225 to $300, the state adds as much as $90 just for the tax.”

“So, choomers in Colorado are getting “Rocky Mountain High”, KJ. So what? Their actions do not affect anyone else!”

Let’s examine this harmless wonder drug, shall we?

What exactly do we know about marijuana and it’s effects?

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body.

THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the “high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentrating, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that, in chronic users, marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off.2 As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Research into the effects of long-term cannabis use on the structure of the brain has yielded inconsistent results. It may be that the effects are too subtle for reliable detection by current techniques. A similar challenge arises in studies of the effects of chronic marijuana use on brain function. Brain imaging studies in chronic users tend to show some consistent alterations, but their connection to impaired cognitive functioning is far from clear. This uncertainty may stem from confounding factors such as other drug use, residual drug effects, or withdrawal symptoms in long-term chronic users.

Addictive Potential

Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite the known harmful effects upon functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Estimates from research suggest that about 9 percent of users become addicted to marijuana; this number increases among those who start young (to about 17 percent) and among daily users (25-50 percent).

Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report withdrawal symptoms including: irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which can make it difficult to remain abstinent. These symptoms begin within about 1 day following abstinence, peak at 2-3 days, and subside within 1 or 2 weeks following drug cessation.

Marijuana and Mental Health

A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be an important risk factor, where early use is a marker of increased vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it is not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or reflects an attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence.

Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses – including addiction – stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. Currently, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders. High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.

About a year ago, I was watching the local news when they announced that a fellow I graduated high school with, had escaped from custody, after trying to commit suicide, because the authorities were about to commit him to the looney bin for long-term treatment.

Even back in ’76, this guy had hung out outside the school building in what was affectionately called “the smoke hall”. And, of course, it was well known that he liked to smoke pot.

Even as I type this, I hear thousands of potheads, young and old (picture Tommy Chong), yelling at their monitors, and, among the words I can repeat, are words describing me as a clueless out-of-touch Bible-thumping old man, who doesn’t know what the He@@ he is talking about.

They’re screaming that pot is harmless, non-addictive, and safer than alcohol.

And, they also probably voted for Ron Paul.

…so, their judgement is questionable.

What matters to me, is the fact that no man is an island. No man stands alone. (Hey. That could be a nifty song title. But…I digress.)

And, people struck and killed by a stoned driver, are just as dead as those killed by a drunk driver.

So, stop eating your Cheetos, slackers, and listen tight: Your actions affect others. You are responsible to others. You are not alone in this world.

So, get up out of your bean bag, turn off the TV, move out of Mom’s Basement, and get a job.

Useless, clueless, and stoned is no way to go through life, son.

…Unless, of course, you’re the president.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The War Against Christianity: Obama Vs. The Little Sisters of the Poor

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics5 Comments

American FreedomWhen I was a child, I was taught by my parents to respect others. Quite frankly, I was raised to be a Southern Gentleman.

Any slip in saying “Yes, ma’am” or “No, sir” was met by a swift correction by my mother.

That same respect went out to everyone, regardless of their religion. I suppose that it was because my folks were members of America’s Greatest Generation, as I have recorded before, who all pulled together in the dark days of the Depression, the terrifying days of Word War II, and the uncertain days of the Cold War, when there was a nuke hidden around every corner.

They had to work hard, and with one another, for everything they had, and, in doing so, they became determined that their children would be raised with American values, principles, and ethics.

A couple of examples that I remember of that “mutual respect”, centered around my Mother. When I was in Second Grade, around 1965, she came down with severe Diabetes. Her doctor was a wonderful, old Jewish gentleman, whom my Mother had worked the Front Desk for.  He made sure that she got the best of care in the hospital, because she was not only his past employee, but his friend, as well.

While I was visiting my Mother in St. Joseph Hospital, in Memphis, TN, in walked this big, Black man, wearing a suit, with a red liturgical shirt and collar. His name was Parker, and he worked the loading dock at the 20 story Sears Building in Midtown Memphis, where my folks worked. He was another friend of their’s.

I remember his big old smile, and soft gentle demeanor, as his huge hands enveloped mine and my Mother’s, as he led us in a prayer for her recovery.

Not to beat a dead horse, but, please remember, this was Memphis, TN, in 1965.

Blows your Southern Stereotypes all to Hades, doesn’t it?

But, I digress…

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk in my office at work yesterday, when a Bing Update flashed across the top of my computer screen that President Barack Hussein Obama, still blowing $4,000,0000 OF OUR MONEY in Hawaii on his Family Vay-cay and his Administration, were urging the Supreme court to ignore Justice Sotomayor’s unexpected temporary injunction, stopping the Administration from forcing Catholic Institutions to provide free Birth Control, including abortiafacients, under Obamacare.

Politico.com summarizes the situation…

On New Year’s Eve, Sotomayor granted the Denver nursing home a last-minute, temporary reprieve from the health care law requirement that health coverage for employees include contraception. She will now have to decide whether to keep the temporary order in place, dissolve it, or take the issue to the other justices, who could decide to review the whole case in the coming months.

Justice Department lawyers in their response Friday said that the Little Sisters for the Poor Home for the Aged uses a Christian health insurer that is recognized as a church under U.S. employment law — and is already exempt from the Affordable Care Act contraception requirement.

“Applicants have no legal basis to … complain that it involves them in the process of providing contraceptive coverage,” government lawyers wrote to the court.“This case involves a church plan that is exempt from regulation” under a 1974 labor law that predates the president’s health care law.

The Little Sisters, in their reply to the government’s brief on Friday afternoon, said that signing a piece of paper allowing contraception — even if it doesn’t result in contraception being handed out —is itself a violation of their religious protections. That certification is part of the current legal process for religious non-profits that object to providing the contraception.

No matter which path Sotomayor takes, the central questions on contraception and religious nonprofits could eventually work their way through the legal system and return to the high court through this case or a different one.

The court has already agreed to take two separate challenges to the contraceptive requirement, but they involve religious owners of for-profit businesses, not religious nonprofits like this Denver nursing home. Dozens of religious-affiliated groups, dissatisfied with the Obama administration’s attempts to address their concerns, have petitioned federal courts to eliminate the requirement.

Anything the court does in the Little Sisters case could also affect nearly 500 religious non-profits that work with the Little Sisters and others on the lawsuit.

In all, more than 90 legal challenges have been filed around the country. A Supreme Court decision against the contraceptive rule would undercut but not cripple the health law. The birth control rule is a small piece of the overall law, but it’s been another source of ongoing political controversy for President Barack Obama’s signature law.

The Obama administration argues that employer health plans need to include contraception to ensure that women and their babies are healthy. Opponents of the policy — notably, the Catholic bishops — say that the administration is requiring some businesses to forgo religious beliefs against the use of contraception.

The case brought by the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged falls into an unexpected loophole in the ACA’s contraception coverage.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration tried through regulations to accommodate religious-affiliated nonprofits over contraception. It allowed groups like the Little Sisters to tell their insurance company or third-party administrator that they objected on religious grounds. The insurer or administrator would then have to provide contraceptives to the employees at no charge.

The premise was that an insurer or administrator would not have the same objection to providing such products. But the catch here is that the Little Sisters’ administrator — the Christian Brothers Employee Benefits Trust — is also run by a religious order.

The Christian Brothers, who joined the Little Sisters on the lawsuit, qualify as a church under employment law known as ERISA. And under that law, if they don’t want to provide contraception, the federal government has no recourse to force them to do so.

So, why is the Obama Administration so desperately trying to make Catholic Institutions provide services which are diametrically opposed tho the tenents of their faith?

I believe that it is all about respect for Americans’ Faith.

With this Administration, more so than any Administration which has gone before, the insensitivity and, downright blatant opposition to the role of Christianity in American Everyday Life, has led to the heretofore unthinkable situation of the Department of Justice and the American Court System being used as a bludgeon to keep us “uppity” Christians in line, so that we do not interfere with the plans of a Secular All-powerful State.

Sound familiar?

The Obama Administration’s ongoing war with the Catholic Church over providing these services is just one example of a deliberate movement to isolate Christianity from American’s Everyday Lives and regulate our relationship and following of Jesus Christ to a 2-hour window on Sunday Mornings.

However, try as it may, this Administration may have Pyrrhic Victories, but in the long run, it will not succeed.

Y’see….I know how this thing ends.  I’ve read The Book.

Until He Comes,

KJ 

More Than Half of Female Marine Recruits Can’t Pass Their Annual Physical Fitness Test

On By kingsjesterIn Politics8 Comments

bettyboopfatiguesThe subject of placing American Women in the military into combat roles has been a contentious issue, to say the least.

Beginning last year, the Administration decided that it would begin to place American Women into combat roles within our Armed Forces.

However, as with everything else that has been done to our American Culture, during the Obama Administration, is does not matter if the Administration’s Plan actually works. It only matters that they feel better about themselves for having implemented it.

On February 3rd, 2013, the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, gave a live interview before the Super Bowl, during which he discussed the subject of Women in Combat.

Thehill.com reported that

President Obama defended the Pentagon’s decision to lift the ban on women in combat roles, saying that he had no hesitation sending female troops into harm’s way.

“Women as a practical matter are now in combat,” Obama said during a live interview Sunday on CBS before the Super Bowl. “They may not get treated as if they are in combat, but when they are in theater, in Iraq or Afghanistan, they are vulnerable, they are wounded and they’ve been killed.

“They have carried out their jobs with extraordinary patriotism and distinction,” he added.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey last month lifted the ban on female servicemembers being in ground combat units, a move which could open up as many as 237,000 new positions to female troops.

The military services, though, have until 2016 to make the case for leaving some positions or occupations closed to women.

Obama said that female troops had shown that they could handle the rigors of military life. The president said there were already “extraordinary women in uniform who can do everything a man can.”

“One of my military aides is about 5-feet tall, probably weighs 100 pounds. You put a 50-pound pack on her and she can do things that you or me would keel over doing,” he added.

“The truth is that women are serving, they are taking great risks. What we should not do is somehow prevent them from advancing in an institution that we all revere,” said Obama.

Yes, Mr. President. Women are serving…and taking great risks. However, what happens if a woman is not physically able to lift the weaponry that she will be called upon to use in combat?

The Washington, DC Fox Affiliate reports that…

More than half of female Marines in boot camp can’t do three pullups, the minimum standard that was supposed to take effect with the new year, prompting the Marine Corps to delay the requirement, part of the process of equalizing physical standards to integrate women into combat jobs.

The delay rekindled sharp debate in the military on the question of whether women have the physical strength for some military jobs, as service branches move toward opening thousands of combat roles to them in 2016.

Although no new timetable has been set on the delayed physical requirement, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos wants training officials to “continue to gather data and ensure that female Marines are provided with the best opportunity to succeed,” Capt. Maureen Krebs, a Marine spokeswoman, said Thursday.

Starting with the new year, all female Marines were supposed to be able to do at least three pullups on their annual physical fitness test and eight for a perfect score. The requirement was tested in 2013 on female recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., but only 45 percent of women met the minimum, Krebs said.

The Marines had hoped to institute the pullups on the belief that pullups require the muscular strength necessary to perform common military tasks such as scaling a wall, climbing up a rope or lifting and carrying heavy munitions.

Officials felt there wasn’t a medical risk to putting the new standard into effect as planned across the service, but that the risk of losing recruits and hurting retention of women already in the service was unacceptably high, she said.

Because the change is being put off, women will be able to choose which test of upper-body strength they will be graded on in their annual physical fitness test. Their choices:

-Pullups, with three the minimum. Three is also the minimum for male Marines, but they need 20 for a perfect rating.

-A flexed-arm hang. The minimum is for 15 seconds; women get a perfect score if they last for 70 seconds. Men don’t do the hang in their test.

Officials said training for pullups can change a person’s strength, while training for the flex-arm hang does little to adapt muscular strength needed for military tasks.

The delay on the standard could be another wrinkle in the plan to begin allowing women to serve in jobs previously closed to them such as infantry, armor and artillery units.

The decision to suspend the scheduled pull-up requirement “is a clear indication” that plans to move women into direct ground combat fighting teams will not work, said Elaine Donnelly, president of the conservative Center for Military Readiness and a critic of allowing women into infantry jobs.

“When officials claim that men and women are being trained the same, they are referring to bare minimums, not maximum qualifications that most men can meet but women cannot,” Donnelly wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “Awarding gender-normed scores so that women can succeed lowers standards for all. Women will suffer more injuries and resentment they do not deserve, and men will be less prepared for the demands of direct ground combat.”

While, as human beings, men and women share biological similarities, the two sexes are most decidedly different…especially in the bodily strength department. That’s not just this Southern Gentleman’s opinion, it is a scientific fact.

From science.howstuffworks.com:

Women’s lower body strength tends to be more closely matched to men’s, while their upper body strength is often just half that of men’s upper body strength. In a 1993 study exploring gender differences in muscle makeup, female participants exhibited 52 percent of men’s upper body strength, which the researchers partially attributed to their smaller muscles and a higher concentration of fatty tissues in the top half of the female body. Another study published in 1999 similarly found women had 40 percent less upper body skeletal muscle. Even controlling for athletic aptitude doesn’t tip the upper body strength scales in favor of the female; an experiment comparing the hand grip strength of non-athletic male participants versus elite women athletes still revealed a muscle power disparity in favor of the menfolk.

Liberals, in their zeal to turn America’s Armed Forces into a Social Engineering Laboratory, have done both our nation and the American Women, who wish to serve in our military, a grave disservice. 

While American Women are most certainly bright, intelligent, and capable, they clearly do not possess the upper body strength to pass the same physical standards required for combat duty, that their male counterparts must pass.

And, in a combat situation, the difference in upper body strength between the sexes, could also mean the difference between life and death, not just for the female combatant, but for her fellow Americans in that combat situation, as well.

To lower the Physical Standards for the Marines,or any other branch of our Armed Forces, will cost lives.

No political point is worth that.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The “Big Apple” is Now the “Red Apple”

On By kingsjesterIn Politics9 Comments

de blasioThere is a new Politboro in New York City.

Politicker.com reports that

During the election season, Bill de Blasio was often painted by conservatives as a leftist radical. But at his inauguration today, it was not Mr. de Blasio who dropped the most aggressive lines, but the first two speakers at the event.

In particular, Rev. Fred Lucas Jr., who was among several chaplains representing the city’s uniformed workers, surprised many observers by comparing the five boroughs to a “plantation.”

“Let the plantation called New York City be the city of God, a city set upon the hill, a light shining in darkness,” he declared. “Elevate our valleys. Make low our mountains. Make our crooked places straight and our rough places smooth. Oh God, oh God, oh God, break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.”

Mr. Lucas had several additional references to slavery in his short address, citing shackles, bondage, auction blocks, the Emancipation Proclamation, Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

“Oh God, on this first day of January–the anniversary of the first Emancipation Proclamation–sound forth the trumpets of heaven proclaiming a new Emancipation Proclamation in New York City,” he invoked. “From your divine leadership, emancipate every New Yorker from the shackles of fear, futility and frustration …. Oh God, end the civil wars and usher in a new Reconstruction Era that builds upon the many successes and achievements of yesterday while proclaiming the beginning of a new beginning.”

The speaker before Mr. Lucas, civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, was also blunt as he discussed racial tensions and injustices cemented by government policies. (Mr. Belafonte, of course, is not known to be a bashful speaker; during the campaign, he caused controversy after comparing the billionaire Koch brothers to the KKK.)

“New York, alarmingly, plays a tragic role in the fact that our nation has the largest prison population in the world. Much of that problem stems from issues of race perpetuated by the depth of human indifference to poverty. Changing the stop-and-frisk law is … only the tip of the iceberg in fixing our deeply Dickensian justice system,” he argued, referencing the controversial police tactic Mr. de Blasio has vowed to overhaul.

But Mr. Belafonte, one of Mr. de Blasio’s endorsers in the campaign, said the new mayor was the right man to help undo these systemic injustices.

“We have seen America wrestle with her conscience. We have seen her struggle to become her better self. I think the solution to what most people want America to become resides here in New York. We can become America’s DNA for the future,” he said. ”Bill de Blasio gives New York another opportunity to open the door of possibilities.”

Mr. Belafonte concluded, “We New Yorkers must not let him fail.”

At the same time, the new “Hizzoner” was being portrayed as a “Populist” and “Man of the People”…

Mr. de Blasio, looking confident between indecipherable small talk and endless photos–chugging a can of Limoncello to keep fresh in his dark suit and red tie–was feted as the sudden hero of progressives and good-government advocates across the city.

But the inauguration, which was touted before-hand as “one of the most open and accessible swearing-in events in New York City history,” also provided a window into how the new administration will handle the new crush of attention, with Mr. de Blasio–a former political operative known to be image-conscious–keping certain aspects of the event tightly controlled.

Along with Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Cuomo and the other stars who graced the inauguration stage, various non-political New Yorkers were asked to join them, lending the event an even more populist tinge. Hours before the speeches began, those New Yorkers sat quietly on folding chairs in the City Hall rotunda. But when Politicker approached a man to ask him about how it felt to take part in the inauguration, security quickly circled and demanded the interview end.

Later, when reporters tried to approach volunteers at the event, staffers quickly swooped in, saying the volunteers were barred from talking to the press.

And after Mr. de Blasio’s speech, reporters gathered inside on a carpet awaiting the Clintons were ordered by security guards off the carpet and behind columns where several refused to go. When asked who was inside, a de Blasio aide guarding the entrance was terse.

“Keep wondering,” he offered.

Okay, so we have a leader who is building his power through preaching class and race war, while restricting press coverage of his opulent lifestyle and the inner workings of his Political Machine. Sound familiar?

To say that de Blasio is a Radical Leftist, is an understatement.

Rush Limbaugh explains…

…in 1983, when he was still at NYU, De Blasio “toured parts of the communist Soviet Union and at one time served as an organizer with the anti-nuclear, anti-American organization called physicians for social responsibility, was hired to work as a political organizer bay Maryland-based Catholic social justice organization.” That was Marxist. “In ’88 he was an ardent supporter of the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and he joined a number of his Maryland-based Catholic social justice organization colleagues on a 10-day trip to Nicaragua to help distribute food and medicine.”

No wonder Obama called him up! Obama’s saying, “I had to support this chump McAuliffe, but this de Blasio? Now, there’s my guy! There’s my guy.” When de Blasio got home from Nicaragua, he joined the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, which was an organization that held meetings and fundraisers on behalf of the Sandinista communists. He subscribed to the Sandinista party newspaper, Barricada, and he speaks admirably of the Sandinistas to this day.

He’s a communist.

Additionally, he and his wife honeymooned in Cuba in 1991.

De Blasio has big plans for the Big Apple. 

He has already said that he is going to do away with horse-drawn carriages, calling them “inhumane”.

He is against “income inequality”.

In other words,

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

Wherever Marxism has been tried, it has failed. New York City will be no different.

Until He Comes,

KJ

New Years Day 2014: Once Again, “A Time For Choosing”

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics13 Comments

happynewyear20141As I sat down this morning to write something to summarize 2013, while looking forward to 2014, I was greeted on drudgereport.com by such headlines as

MSNBC host apologies after mocking Romneys’ black grandchild…

NBC’s Chief Medical Editor Forced Kids to Sign Up for Obamacare as ‘Patriotic Duty’…

Denver Warns Against Public Celebrations Over Legalized Pot…

ESPN Host: ‘N-word’ 2013 ‘Sports Person of Year’…

Court overturns pedophile conviction because girl, 11, was ‘in love’…

And I wondered how the “Shining City on a Hill”, which the greatest American President in ouor generation, Ronald Wilson Reagan, so wonderfully described, has fallen so far, into a morass of relative morality and situational ethics.

In 1964, in his famous stump speech, “A Time for Choosing”, The Great Communicator said,

It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, “We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self government.”

This idea — that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power — is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream–the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order — or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, “The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.”

The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.

So, is our present state of unrest and strife which we are experiencing in America, simply a matter of choice?

I believe that it is…one of individual freedom or subjugation to “princes and principalities”.

Here is a a radio message which the late, great American News Commentator Paul Harvey delivered on April 3, 1965:

If I were the devil, I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree—Thee. So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first—I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” “Do as you please.” To the young, I would whisper, “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square”. And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to pray after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…’ 

And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors on how to lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. 

If I were the devil I’d soon have families that war with themselves, churches that war that themselves, and nations that war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flame. If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, and neglect to discipline emotions—just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography—soon I could evict God from the courthouse, and then the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.If I were the devil I’d take from those, and who have, and give to those wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. What do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich? I would question against extremes and hard work, and Patriotism, and moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be. And thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were to devil I’d keep on doing on what he’s doing.

Paul Harvey, good day.

So, are we doomed as a nation to continue to slide down this slippery slope we are traveling on? In the conclusion of “A Time for Choosing, Ronald Reagan reminded us that the choice was ours to make…

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.

As a Christian American Conservative, I believe that there is a divine spark withing each one of us.

It is up to us , whether we choose to listen to that still, small voice, as He guides us through our choices we make everyday.

I also believe that this nation was forged by Christian Men, who were led by their Creator to seek the FREEDOM to worship him as they chose.

In 2014, we have an opportunity in 2014 to begin the journey back to reclaim the vision of our Forefathers.

It is, once again, “A TIME FOR CHOOSING”.

Happy New Year!

Until He Comes,

KJ

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics…Munich Revisited?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

Sochi OlympicsAs we approach the start of the Winter Olympics, Russian Officials have their hands full, dealing with with Muslim Terrorists.

USAToday reports that

The deaths of at least 16 people in a suicide bombing in southern Russia on Sunday fit a pattern of recent terror attacks and increased the focus on already-heavy security for the Sochi Olympics in six weeks, U.S. scholars of Russia say.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Volgograd, but it came several months after Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov called for attacks against civilian targets in Russia, including the Sochi Games. Umarov, the self-proclaimed emir of a terrorist group that calls itself the Caucasus Emirate, has called on Muslims to prevent the Olympics from occurring.

“An open question is how much authority he really has over these different groups,” said Jeffrey Mankoff, deputy director and fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Russia and Eurasia Program. “A lot of the attacks seem to be inspired by Umarov but may not be directly controlled by him.”

“If you are a terrorist group in the Caucasus, the Sochi Olympics are going to be a very inviting target,” said Steven Pifer, director of the Brookings Institution’s Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative. “I think you’re going to see at the Sochi Olympics a very heavy security presence.”

The government has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, police and other security personnel to protect the Games.

Some Muslim terrorists view the Olympics as a provocation, Mankoff said. Sochi, like other cities in the region, was conquered militarily in the middle of the 19th century. “They view it as a provocation on territory they consider stolen from Muslims in the 19th century,” he said.

“It’s a very tense environment,” Mankoff said, noting that Muslim insurgency in the region began around 1990 in Chechnya. “Chechnya has been relatively pacified, but the insurgency has spread out to surrounding areas,” he said.

Russian Officials, and every nati0n attending, including the USA, have every right to be worried.

The XXth Olympic Games took place in Munich, Germany in September of 1972.

The few few days went off without a hitch.

A little after 4 a.m. on September 5, as the Israeli athletes were asleep in their rooms, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, climbed over a six-foot high fence and entered the Olympic Village.

The barbarians headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli team was staying. the terrorists entered the building entered the building around 4:30 a.m. They immediately attacked the occupants of apartment 1 and then apartment 3. Several of the Israelis fought back; two of them were killed. A couple of others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage.

By 5:10 a.m., the police had found out about it and news of the attack had begun to spread around the world. The terrorists then dropped a list of their demands out the window: they wanted 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m.

Through negotiations the deadline the Muslim Terrorists set was delayed to noon, then 1 p.m., then 3 p.m., then 5 p.m. However, the terrorists would not forego their demands and Israel refused to release the prisoners.

Things were going to get bad…and, in short fashion.

At 5 p.m., the terrorists asked for two planes to fly both the terrorists and the hostages to Cairo, Egypt, hoping that they would have more leverage in another Middle Eastern country. The Germans agreed, but knew that they could not let the terrorists leave Germany. In a last-ditch bid to end the international situation, the Germans came up with Operation Sunshine, a plan to storm the apartment building.

Unfortunately, the terrorists found out about the plan by watching television. The Germans then modify their plans to attack the terrorists on their way to the airport, but again the terrorists found out their plans.

Around 10:30 p.m., the terrorists and hostages were taken to the Fürstenfeldbruck airport by helicopter. The Germans had snipers waiting for them there. Once on the ground, the terrorists realized, too late. that there was a trap. Snipers started shooting at them and they shot back. Two terrorists and one policeman were killed. Then a stalemate developed. The Germans called for armored cars and waited for over an hour for them to arrive on the scene.

When the armored cars arrived, The Muslim Terrorists knew that it was over, so they became suicidal. One of the terrorists jumped into a helicopter and shot four of the hostages, then threw in a grenade. Another terrorist hopped into the other helicopter and used his machine gun to kill the remaining five hostages. The snipers and armored cars killed three more terrorists in this second round of gunfire. Three terrorists survived the attack and were taken into custody.

Less than two months later, the three surviving terrorists were released by the German government after two other Black September members hijacked a plane and threatened to blow it up unless the three were released.

Following the massacre, the Israeli government organized a retaliation against Black September, called Operation Wrath of God.

For those of us who are old enough to remember the Munich Massacre, the horrible description of it, as given by the late, great ABC Sports Announcer and former newspaper reporter, Jim McKay, haunts us to this day:

They’re all gone.

I pray that we do not hear similar words at Sochi.

Because, as Iran is proving, by continuing their Uranium Enrichment, after playing Secretary of State John Kerry and President Barack Hussein Obama for suckers, the sponsors of Islamic Terrorism have no respect for the United States of America. We remain, despite the Administration’s flagrant courtship of these barbarians, “The Great Satan”.

And, Muslim Terrorists, such as the ones who killed Israel’s Olympic Team in 1972, whether they are Chechen or Palestinian, if given the opportunity, will not hesitate to kill Russia’s, Israel’s, or America’s Olympians, gay or straight, in 2014.

Until He Comes,

KJ

“Gay Marriage” to be Performed on Float in Rose Parade.

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics6 Comments

gay marriageNew Year’s Day, before all of the great College Football Bowl Games begin, Americans will be gathering in front of their televisions to watch an Annual American Tradition, The Tournament of Roses Parade.

This year, as with everything else, Liberals have decided to turn a parade meant for entertainment, into a political message.

LATimes.com reports that

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s float, “Living the Dream: Love Is the Best Protection,” was created to celebrate victories in 2013 for gay marriage advocates, including Supreme Court decisions upholding the repeal of California’s Proposition 8 and striking down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea said the organization supports legally sanctioning same-sex marriage because it encourages more stable relationships among gay men as well as behavior that will prevent the spread of HIV.

“We believe that marriage saves lives,” he said.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses has received complaints from people opposing the wedding. Some took to the organization’s Facebook page to voice their anger.

“I am a 79 year old Los Angeles native and have not missed a parade since I was about 4 years old. I have watched my LAST one due to your decision to allow this unbiblical, gay marriage to take place on one of your floats,” one man wrote.

Others expressed concern about the event not being suited for families that may tune in to watch the annual New Year’s Day celebration. The popular float parade is watched by people around the world.

“2 gay men in a ‘wedding’ ceremony is highly offensive to me and millions of Americans,” one wrote. “I can’t think of many things LESS appropriate for families and especially children. It’s completely the wrong venue for a stunt like this.”

A separate Facebook page has also been started called “Boycott the 2014 Rose Parade,” with more than 1,600 “likes” as of Sunday. A post reads: “Gay ‘marriage’ is still illegal in over 30 states. Why would the Tournament of Roses promote something illegal like that?”

In a statement released to the Los Angeles Times, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses said it is “pleased” to have the foundation participate in this year’s event.

“It is the organization’s third entry in three years tied to their mission of delivering medical services and advocacy in fighting AIDS worldwide,” says the statement.

“Like all of our sponsors and float designers, AHF continues to help make the Rose Parade a premier event through original and creative expressions that connect to parade themes — as this float does.”

Kenslea said he thinks the wedding is the perfect way to honor the parade’s theme of “Dreams Come True,” by showing the dream of lesbians and gay men realized. He said that the couple was chosen from 15 others who wanted the chance to wed on the float.

You would have thought that the Rose Parade Officials would have been paying attention during the A&E/Duck Dynasty Dust-up. Evidently, they didn’t.

Ralph E. Shaffer, a professor emeritus of history at Cal Poly Pomona, disagreed, saying the wedding is an “in your face” act that might make people angrier toward gays. Shaffer, noting there will be several kisses between LeClair and his intended, Aubrey loots, added, “The problem is going to be the wedding kiss … I don’t know what the response is going to be.” he said.

AHF President Michael Weinstein said there was no political statement intended, and protesters should respect “the law of the land”:

There are as many opinions in the world as there are people, but our motivation is to validate the love that exists between same-sex couples and what we believe is the importance of validating these relationships in terms of protecting, particularly gay men from HIV and other STDs. We think the more we promote stable, long-term relationships, the better it will be.

Tournament of Roses officials stated, “Like all of our sponsors and float designers, AHF continues to help make the Rose Parade a premier event through original and creative expressions that connect to parade themes — as this float does.”

Oh, bull. A float sponsored by Kellogg’s featuring animated birdies, made out of rose petals, singing, “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” is an “original and creative expression”. Two men french kissing in a sham of a sacred ceremony on top of a float in the Rose Parade, while Grandma, Bubba, and little 5 year old Cindy Lou, are watching them on television in Tyler, Texas, is a POLITICAL STATEMENT.

Within the past year, Americans have watched as Activist Judges have overthrown referendums against “Gay Marriage”, which were passed in the overwhelming majority of states by popular vote, in an exercise of the will of the people.

While comparing the plight of homosexuals who wish their sexual preference to be treated as “normal” through the use of the word “marriage” to the horrible abuse which Black Americans suffered in their struggle for Civil Rights, these Activist Judges have set out to change American culture through legislative fiat in the name of “Equality”.

However, just as A&E found out, the American public has their own ideas as to what is morally right and just.

And, by making itself no longer “family viewing” for average Americans out here in the Heartland, Rose Parade Officials are shooting themselves in their own foot, in order to make a POLITICAL STATEMENT.

Until He Comes,

KJ

It Has Been Quite a Week for Christian American Conservatives

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics6 Comments

WashingtonPrayingIt has been quite a week for Christian Americans. We celebrated the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, amid a national controversy, created by one humble, self-made millionaire from Louisiana, who dared to paraphrase 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11, in an attempt to explain his feelings regarding the sin known as homosexuality.

He wound up having to remind those who do not understand, that, as Christians, we love the sinner, but, hate the sin.

And, even though, Commander Phil Robertson was “un-suspended” and will be back with “Duck Dynasty” on A&E, when it resumes taping in Spring of 2014, an uneasiness about America’s Culture War remains.

Average Americans are asking themselves:

What in the name of all that’s holy, is going on in this country?

We’ve got babies having babies…when they don’t yank them from their wombs and kill them.

We’ve got Gays serving openly in our Armed Forces, and marching in uniform, in order to make a political point in a parade.

We’ve got black-on-black homocide climbing at an alarming rate in Detroit and Memphis, but no one seems to want to talk about it. That would be RAAACIIIST.

Just the other day, 600 “yutes” rioted, tearing up a mall in Brooklyn, because they heard a rapper would perform there.

We’ve got gangs recruiting in our schools…but, again,  no one seems to want to talk about it. It might upset little Jimmy.

We’ve got a president who says that we don’t have the intestinal fortitude or the intelligence to achieve success on our own, and whow embraces our enemies and alienates our allies.

We’ve got a First Lady who, while watching police and firefighters fold Old Glory at a ceremony honoring and remembering our fallen on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, said, “all this just for a flag”, while her husband nodded in agreement.

Now, more than ever, we need to return to the values that made this country the greatest on the face of the Earth.

During internet “discussions” this week over the Phil Robertson Controversy, Liberals have made attacked and made fun of my Faith and Values.

I’ve been asked what the phrase “Christian American Conservative” means.  Please allow me to explain.

First word:  Christian – A follower of Jesus Christ.

I was raised as a Christian by my parents and accepted Christ as my personal Savior many years ago.

Here are some interesting things about Christianity to consider, written by Dr. Ray Pritchard and posted on christianity.com:

1) The name “Christian” was not invented by early Christians. It was a name given to them by others.
2) Christians called themselves by different names—disciples, believers, brethren, saints, the elect, etc.
3) The term apparently had a negative meaning in the beginning: “those belonging to the Christ party.”
4) It was a term of contempt or derision.
5) We can get a flavor for it if we take the word “Christ” and keep that pronunciation. You “Christ-ians.”
6) It literally means “Christ-followers.”
7) Over time a derogatory term became a positive designation.
8) Occasionally you will hear someone spit the term out in the same way it was used in the beginning. “You Christians think you’re the only ones going to heaven.”
9) There was a sense of suffering and reproach attached to the word in the New Testament.

In working my way toward an answer to “What is a Christian?” I decided to check out the dictionary. I found these two definitions:

1. One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 2. One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.”

That’s actually quite helpful because it gives some content to the word. To be a Christian means that you . . .

Believe Something
Follow Something
Live Something
A Fully Devoted Follower To borrow a contemporary phrase, we could simply say that a Christian is a “fully devoted follower of Jesus.” As I think about that, two insights come to mind.

1) It doesn’t happen by accident. You are not “born” a Christian nor are you a Christian because of your family heritage. Being a Christian is not like being Irish. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian family.
2) It requires conversion of the heart. By using the term “conversion,” I simply mean what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple meant to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). The heart itself must be changed so that you become a follower of the Lord.

Second word: American – A citizen of the United States of America.

Stephen M. Warchawsky, wrote the following in an article foramericanthinker.org:

So what, then, does it mean to be an American? I suspect that most of us believe, like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in describing pornography, that we “know it when we see it.” For example, John Wayne, Amelia Earhart, and Bill Cosby definitely are Americans. The day laborers standing on the street corner probably are not. But how do we put this inner understanding into words? It’s not easy. Unlike most other nations on Earth, the American nation is not strictly defined in terms of race or ethnicity or ancestry or religion. George Washington may be the Father of Our Country (in my opinion, the greatest American who ever lived), but there have been in the past, and are today, many millions of patriotic, hardworking, upstanding Americans who are not Caucasian, or Christian, or of Western European ancestry. Yet they are undeniably as American as you or I (by the way, I am Jewish of predominantly Eastern European ancestry). Any definition of “American” that excludes such folks — let alone one that excludes me! — cannot be right.

Consequently, it is just not good enough to say, as some immigration restrictionists do, that this is a “white-majority, Western country.” Yes, it is. But so are, for example, Ireland and Sweden and Portugal. Clearly, this level of abstraction does not take us very far towards understanding what it means to be “an American.” Nor is it all that helpful to say that this is an English-speaking, predominately Christian country. While I think these features get us closer to the answer, there are millions of English-speaking (and non-English-speaking) Christians in the world who are not Americans, and millions of non-Christians who are. Certainly, these fundamental historical characteristics are important elements in determining who we are as a nation. Like other restrictionists, I am opposed to public policies that seek, by design or by default, to significantly alter the nation’s “demographic profile.” Still, it must be recognized that demography alone does not, and cannot, explain what it means to be an American.

So where does that leave us? I think the answer to our question, ultimately, must be found in the realms of ideology and culture. What distinguishes the United States from other nations, and what unites the disparate peoples who make up our country, are our unique political, economic, and social values, beliefs, and institutions. Not race, or religion, or ancestry.

Third word: Conservative -A person who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

J. Matt Barber wrote in the Washington Times that

Ronald Reagan often spoke of a “three-legged stool” that undergirds true conservatism. The legs are represented by a strong defense, strong free-market economic policies and strong social values. For the stool to remain upright, it must be supported by all three legs. If you snap off even one leg, the stool collapses under its own weight.

A Republican, for instance, who is conservative on social and national defense issues but liberal on fiscal issues is not a Reagan conservative. He is a quasi-conservative socialist.

A Republican who is conservative on fiscal and social issues but liberal on national defense issues is not a Reagan conservative. He is a quasi-conservative dove.

By the same token, a Republican who is conservative on fiscal and national defense issues but liberal on social issues – such as abortion, so-called gay rights or the Second Amendment – is not a Reagan conservative. He is a socio-liberal libertarian.

Put another way: A Republican who is one part William F. Buckley Jr., one part Oliver North and one part Rachel Maddow is no true conservative. He is – well, I’m not exactly sure what he is, but it ain’t pretty.

Even the Brits understand what American Conservatism is.

Per blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

Conservatism is thriving in America today because liberty, freedom and individual responsibility are at the heart of its ideology, one that rejects the foolish notion that government knows best. And its strength owes a great debt to the conviction and ideals of Ronald Reagan, who always believed that America’s best days are ahead of her, and for whom the notion of decline was unacceptable. As the Gipper famously put it, in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in 1988:

Those who underestimate the conservative movement are the same people who always underestimate the American people.

In conclusion, I, a Christian American Conservative, am a follower of Jesus Christ and a citizen of the United States of America (by the Grace of God), who holds to traditional values and attitudes.

I pray that you, the reader, are able to glean that from my blogs.  Because, as Matthew 6:21 tells us:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

My hope is that, during these troubled times, your heart is held by Him.

May God bless you and yours,

KJ

The A&E “Un-Suspension” of Phil Robertson Announcement…With a Translation for Average Americans

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics5 Comments

PhilRobertsonCartoonPROLOGUE: As you have no doubt heard by now, late yesterday afternoon, the Arts and Entertainment Channel “un-suspended” the Patriarch of its hit show, “Duck Dynasty”,  “Duck Commander” Phil Robertson.

For those average Americans, like myself, who do not live in the land of Libs and Vichy Republicans (but, I repeat myself), known as the Northeast Corridor, or the East Coast, I, a lowly Christian American Conservative, located in Dixie, like the Robertsons, offer the following translation of A&E’s Press Release, announcing Commander Phil’s “return”.

As a global media content company, A+E Networks’ core values are centered around creativity, inclusion and mutual respect. We believe it is a privilege for our brands to be invited into people’s homes, and we operate with a strong sense of integrity and deep commitment to these principles.

TRANSLATION: We had no freakin’ clue that all of you ignorant rednecks in Flyover Country knew how to write or send E-mails. Color us surprised. We thought that we were going to get away with suspending this “Christianist” Hick, who dared to stand up to us about that whole Praying thing that we told him to leave off the show. When we found this interview, which was actually done in 2010, we thought we had our opportunity to be rid of him.

That is why we reacted so quickly and strongly to a recent interview with Phil Robertson. While Phil’s comments made in the interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the “coarse language” he used and the misinterpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would “never incite or encourage hate.” We at A+E Networks expressed our disappointment with his statements in the article and reiterate that they are not views we hold.

TRANSLATION: We realize that he was paraphrasing the Bible, citing 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11, but being the sheltered, snotty Liberals that we are, we had no idea that Christians would actually stand up for one of their own. We thought that all of you guys would simply turn the other cheek and let us do what we want. Of course, we fully intend to camouflage our own stupidity and intolerance of Christian American Conservatives, by continuing to refer to the Robertsons as “coarse”, while we curse at the top of our lungs in our everyday conversations in our corporate offices.

Of course, they are not the views we hold. Phil Robertson is a Christian Southern American self-made millionaire, who holds a Masters Degree from Louisiana Tech, who still says “Yes, Ma’am” and “No, Sir” and believes that a marriage is comprised of one man and one woman.

But Duck Dynasty is not a show about one man’s views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family … a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about.

TRANSLATION: We recruited these yokels for this show, because we thought it was going to be the Reality Show-Version of “The Beverly Hillbillies”. Imagine our shock and disbelief when we figured out that America was laughing with the Robertsons and not at them. Then, imagine our incredulity when, after we suspended Commander Phil, the family told us that they would not do the show without him.

So, now we’re scrambling to save face, as you can see, by the fact that we are now claiming to approve of their praying, which we tried to take off the show. Hypocritical? You betcha.

So after discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming Duck Dynasty later this spring with the entire Robertson family.

TRANSLATION: After the ratings for our Christmas “Duck Dynasty” Marathon went into the porcelain receptacle, we had to do something. We had no choice. “Duck Dynasty” brings in millions of dollars to us.

After all, like every other Liberal in a position of power, our public self-righteousness always loses to our private unabashed avarice.

We will also use this moment to launch a national public service campaign (PSA) promoting unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people, a message that supports our core values as a company and the values found in Duck Dynasty. These PSAs will air across our entire portfolio.

TRANSLATION: “Unity, tolerance and acceptance”, except for you meddling “Christianists”. Your standing strong for your Faith is the reason we couldn’t get rid of these “Backwoods Baptisers” and now, we’ve been exposed for the intolerant Liberals that we are. So, we are forced to hide that intolerance , by producing Liberal PSA’s.

EPILOGUE: I remember my Daddy (Southern colloquialism for the male parental unit) telling me that character is how you act when no one is watching.

A&E revealed their character, when they thought that no one was watching them.

Unfortunately for them, America was watching them…and we did not like what we saw.

And now, this convoluted “apology” will not do a doggone thing to “polish up” their now-tarnished image in the minds of average Americans.

So, they had better treat the Robertsons right. They are all that is keeping A&E from becoming just another Notheast Regional Cable Network…like MSNBC. 

Until He Comes,

KJ

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Sees Cameras…Smells Money….and Gets Involved in the Duck Dynasty Dust-Up

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics6 Comments

jessejacksonphilrobertsonThe Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. has decided to once again insert himself into a national headline-making story.

I know…you’re shocked.

FoxNews.com summarizes the situation…

Reverend Jesse Jackson has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Duck Dynasty, comparing Phil Robertson to the driver who had ordered Rosa Parks to sit in the back of the bus.

The 67-year-old Robertson family patriarch and star of the mega-hit A&E reality show has unleashed a firestorm earlier this month after making anti-gay remarks in a interview with GQ.

In the wake of the scandal, A&E had suspended Robertson from the show and Cracker Barrel restaurants briefly pulled some of his merchandise from their country stores.

But less than 48 hours after that decision was made, the chain of restaurants was met with flurry of negative comments from customers and has since decided to restock Robertson’s products.

For Reverend Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, as well as for the LGBT organization GLAAD, these attempts at damage control have been insufficient.

‘These statements uttered by Robertson are more offensive than the bus driver in Montgomery, Alabama, more than 59 years ago,’ Jackson said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

‘At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law.

‘Robertson’s statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was “white privilege.”’

In his statement, the 72-year-old civil rights leader demanded to meet within 72 hours with A&E executives and Cracker Barrel’s CEO to discuss the future of Duck Dynasty memorabilia.

Jackson also urged the network to uphold Robertson’s indefinite suspension from the popular program.

Rev’ruuund Jacksuuun (as Rush refers to him) made his name in the 1960’s as a “Civil Rights Advocate” who was often seen in the company of  Drs. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph Abernathy. However, as is always the case with ol’ Jesse, things weren’t quite what he made them out to be, as discoverthenetworks.org reports…

…Jesse Jackson Sr. clashed with Martin Luther King Jr. on a number of occasions during the Sixties, and he has often overstated the closeness of his relationship to King—even claiming to have been the last person King spoke to after he had been mortally wounded by an assassin’s bullet on April 4, 1968. Specifically, Jackson claimed that he was on the balcony with King immediately after the latter had been shot, and that he had cradled the dying civil-rights leader in his arms as he took his final breaths. But in fact, at the moment King was shot, Jackson was actually in a nearby parking lot talking to a group of musicians. [A fact also testified to by Dr. Abernathy on the Phil Donahue Show.] Kenneth Timmerman describes what happened next:

“When the shots rang out, he [Jackson] fled and hid behind the swimming pool area and reappeared 20-30 minutes later when the television cameras arrived on the scene. That’s when Jesse Jackson told other Southern Christian Leadership Conference staffers, ‘Don’t you talk to the press, whatever you do.’ … Nobody had given him that job. He took that job. Call it ‘entrepreneurial instinct’ if you wish, but on the spot he realized that he had an opportunity to spin the events to create his own persona and create a possibility for him to become a leader in the black movement. He had no prospects at that point.”

The next morning, Jackson flew to Chicago to make a guest appearance on the NBC Today Show. In the few hours that had passed between the King assassination and Jackson’s flight to the Windy City, Jackson had already hired a public-relations agent to accompany him as he was transported from interview to interview in a chauffeur-driven car. Before a national television audience on the Today Show, Jackson donned a shirt that he claimed was smeared with the dying Dr. King’s blood. “He died in my arms,” Jackson lied.

…SCLC [The Southern Christian Leadership Conference] appointed King’s close associate, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, to succeed the slain leader as head of the organization. This move angered Jackson, who had hoped to be the heir to King’s civil-rights mantle. Soon thereafter, a black Chicago Tribune reporter named Angela Parker discovered that, Jackson, in the aftermath of King’s assassination, had embezzled money from Operation Breadbasket. Parker went to Atlanta and presented the evidence to Abernathy, who publicly confronted Jackson with the charges. Abernathy suspended Jackson for sixty days beginning on December 6, 1971, and SCLC board chairman Joseph Lowery charged Jackson with “administrative improprieties and repeated acts of violation of organizational policies.”

As one half of the “Justice Brothers” [with Rev. Al Sharpton], Jackson has become a legend for being able to weasel his way in front of a camera, even if there is just a hint of some perceived racial intolerance…and, even if there is not any racial element to the newsworthy situation, Jackson will make one up.

In the case of the A&E Vs. Duck Dynasty Saga, Jackson’s cries will, hopefully, fall on deaf ears. As Cracker Barrel found out, to their chagrin, the overwhelming majority of average Americans support Phil Robertson, and stand by his right to speak his mind. Heck, even Joe Perry of the Legendary Rock Band, Aerosmith, came out yesterday in support of Commander Phil.

Jackson’s unwelcome intrusion, if it is entertained by the Liberal idiots at A&E, will only succeed in further alienating the cable channel from the American viewing audience, which has sent Duck Dynasty’s ratings through the roof, making A&E tons of money in the process.

I don’t believe that A&E will play the Rev’ruund’s well-practiced game of extortion.

Because, if there is one thing that always trumps Liberals’ hypocritical public self-righteousness, it’s their unabashed private avarice.

Until He Comes,

KJ