Starvation Through Socialism: The Death of Venezuela

On May 6, 2017May 6, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

Venezuela Tense As Unrest Over President Maduro's Government Continues

On a Sunday, in October of 2008, outside of Toledo, Ohio, Democratic Presidential Nominee Obama met a plumber named Joe Wurzelbacher. Joe, who owned his own plumbing company, dared to ask Obama about his proposed tax hikes. In fact, he told Obama that he did not want to pay higher taxes, he was already paying enough. Obama told him,

Now, I respect the disagreement. I just want you to be clear – it’s not that I want to punish your success – I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you – that they’ve got a chance at success too.”

…I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.

Obama was talking about the part of Marxist Theory known as “Socialism”.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Socialism is

any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

If you listen to Modern American Liberals, “Socialism” is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The problem is Socialism has never worked in any country which has installed it as a form of government.

For example, speaking of sliced bread, take the example of Venezuela, a country which has been “sharing the wealth” for decades.

WSJ.com posted the following story on their website…

Jean Pierre Planchart, a year old, has the drawn face of an old man and a cry that is little more than a whimper. His ribs show through his skin. He weighs just 11 pounds.His mother, Maria Planchart, tried to feed him what she could find combing through the trash—scraps of chicken or potato. She finally took him to a hospital in Caracas, where she prays a rice-milk concoction keeps her son alive.

“I watched him sleep and sleep, getting weaker, all the time losing weight,” said Ms. Planchart, 34 years old. “I never thought I’d see Venezuela like this.”

Her country was once Latin America’s richest, producing food for export. Venezuela now can’t grow enough to feed its own people in an economy hobbled by the nationalization of private farms, and price and currency controls.

Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation—estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 720% this year—making it nearly impossible for families to make ends meet. Since 2013, the economy has shrunk 27%, according to local investment bank Torino Capital; imports of food have plunged 70%.

Hordes of people, many with children in tow, rummage through garbage, an uncommon sight a year ago. People in the countryside pick farms clean at night, stealing everything from fruits hanging on trees to pumpkins on the ground, adding to the misery of farmers hurt by shortages of seed and fertilizer. Looters target food stores. Families padlock their refrigerators.

Three in four Venezuelans said they had lost weight last year, an average of 19 pounds, according to the National Poll of Living Conditions, an annual study by social scientists. People here, in a mix of rage and humor, call it the Maduro diet after President Nicolás Maduro.

For more than a month, Venezuelans have protested against the increasingly authoritarian government of Mr. Maduro; by Friday, more than 35 people had been reported killed in the unrest. The country’s Food Ministry, the president’s office, the Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry didn’t return calls or emails requesting comment for this article.

Of course they didn’t. You don’t expect them to admit that Socialism is destroying their county, do you?

Over the past couple of years Modern American Liberals have been making the outlandish claim that Jesus Christ was a Socialist, during their arguments on the Internet defending their attempts to install Socialism as America’s Form of Government.

In an opinion piece for ChristianPost.com, Christian Talk Show Host Julie Roys gave the following Five Reasons that Socialism itself is not based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

1. Socialism is Based on a Materialistic Worldview

According to socialists like Bernie Sanders, the greatest problem in the world is the unequal distribution of wealth.

His website declares: “The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time, and it is the great political issue of our time.”

This betrays a fundamentally materialistic worldview, which is the basis of socialism.

To socialists, all that really exists is the material world.

2. Socialism Punishes Virtue

Socialists want to distribute wealth to individuals according to their need, regardless of virtue.

As Karl Marx, famously said, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

However, whenever any institution provides aid, it runs the risk of removing God-designed rewards and consequences. It can punish those who are industrious by making them pay for those who are not. And, it can reward those who aren’t industrious by giving them the fruits of another man’s labor. This is precisely what socialism does.

Interestingly, Marx mooched off others his whole life, and failed to provide for his wife and children.

As Aristotle once noted, “Men start revolutionary changes for reasons connected with their private lives.”

The Bible teaches that aid should be tied to responsibility. First, anyone who refuses to work should be refused aid.

3. Socialism Endorses Stealing

Barack Obama once defended his socialist policies to a little girl by saying, “We’ve got to make sure that people who have more money help the people who have less money. If you had a whole pizza, and your friend had no pizza, would you give him a slice?”

That sounds pretty Christian, right? What Christian wouldn’t endorse sharing your abundance with someone who has nothing? However, Obama wasn’t endorsing people voluntarily sharing their wealth with others; he was endorsing the government forcibly taking a piece of the pie from one person and giving it to someone else. Put another way, that’s saying that if you have three cars and your neighbor has none, the government has a right to take your car and give it to your neighbor. That’s not Christian; that’s stealing!

But, socialists don’t believe in private property. And, some Christian socialists actually assert that the Bible doesn’t either. That’s preposterous.

Both the Old Testament and New Testament unequivocally affirm private property. We can’t even obey the eighth commandment to not steal, unless we accept the notion of private ownership. Nor, can we steward our money as the Bible commands if the state owns our money, not us.

4. Socialism Encourages Envy and Class Warfare

Socialists demonize the rich, blaming all of society’s problems on them.

Bernie Sanders once posted to his Facebook Page: “Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.”

Here, Sanders is mimicking Karl Marx, who viewed history as a series of class struggles between the rich and the poor — and advocated overthrowing the ruling class.

Scripture strongly warns the rich and powerful not to oppress the poor.

In fact, Proverbs 14:31 says, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for his maker . . .”

But, Sanders — and other Leftists, including Hillary Clinton — go far beyond decrying specific acts of injustice. They basically condemn an entire class of people simply for possessing wealth. And, they encourage those who are poor to overthrow them. In fact, Clinton once said the U.S. economy required a “toppling” of the wealthiest 1%.

The rich are not causing all the problems in American society. People like Bill Gates are not acquiring wealth by stealing from the masses. They’re creating great products, which produce wealth, and actually provide jobs for many people. But, even if they were exploiting the poor, nowhere does Scripture support the have-nots demanding money from the haves. Instead, it teaches that we should not covet (Exodus 20:17) and should be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11-13).

5. Socialism Seeks to Destroy Marriage & Family

A little known fact about socialism is that, from its beginning, it has sought to destroy marriage and family. Grove City Professor Paul Kengor explains this in detail in his book, Takedown: From Communists to Progressives, How the Left Has Sabotaged Marriage and Family. Essentially, what socialism seeks is for the state to replace the family. That way, it can indoctrinate children in its Leftist way of thinking, and remove from them any notions of God and religion.

Friedrich Engels, co-author with Marx of the “The Communist Manifesto,” once wrote that the society he envisioned would be one where “the single family ceases to be the economic unit of society. Private housekeeping is transformed into a social industry. The care and education of the children becomes a public affair.”

Similarly today, Bernie Sanders calls for a “revolution” in childcare and for the government to provide early childhood education beginning with children as young as six-weeks-old. And, he’s a proud supporter of gay marriage — what Kengor calls “communism’s Trojan Horse” to secure the final takedown of traditional marriage.

To socialists, what Bernie describes is a utopia. But, to Christians, it’s a dystopia. That’s because there’s nothing Christian about socialism — and there’s absolutely no way Jesus would ever support it.

America was not founded to be a Socialist Nation.

We are a Constitutional Republic.

I was sitting at my computer last night, trying to think of some pithy words and elegant phrases, with which to summarize our continuing battle against America’s wannabe Socialists, when I remembered what the late great American Movie Star and Outspoken Patriot, John Wayne, said about the subject, back in 1975. It could have just as easily have been yesterday.

…I always thought I was a liberal but I came up terribly surprised when I found I was a right wing conservative extremist…I have always listened to every human being I’ve ever met about how I should feel. But this so-called new liberal group… they never listen to your point of view and they make a decision as to what you think and they’re articulate enough and in control of enough of the press to force that image out for the average person. For some reason, maybe it’s these pictures, they have not been able to do that with me…it hasn’t affected my career in popularity in spite of the fact that they’ve tried to make them do it. There isn’t a hell of a lot we can do to change human behavior. We keep making laws to try to change human behavior but we can’t do it…You’re being conned into Keynesianism and socialism now but it isn’t going to stop the selfishness of human behavior. It isn’t going to stop the greed. If you take $20 and give a dollar to every son of a b!tch in the room, you come back a year later one of the b@st@rds will have most of the money. It’s just human nature. We’re never gonna whip it with a lot of laws.

As communication gets better and you make people conscious of somebody in trouble, starving or something like that, the average person will help…I think there are people who try to affect a thinking where they know more than some other son of a b!tch and try to pull a false impression on what human nature is. We’ve proven we go back to hope at the first opportunity…and bam they’re out there ready to grab it. So we are optimistic; we have to be optimistic. What else would we be if you lose optimism?”

The Duke was a prophet.

I believe that one of the main reasons that Liberals are continuing to show their collective as…err…backsides is they fact that they know, in their cold dark hearts, that Trump is going to succeed, as the newly released job numbers are showing, in bringing back jobs and, in turn, reviving America’s near-extinct Middle Class.

Because if capitalism is working the way it is supposed to, under the watchful eye of an AMERICAN President, who actually has some business acumen gained through Real World Expereience, the Left’s cry for “Socialism” is going to fall on deaf ears.

And, that is a good thing.

Because as Lady Margaret Thatcher once so famously quipped,

The trouble with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.

Until He Comes,

What If “Professional Sexter” Anthony Weiner Was Not the Only Relative Whom Huma Abedin Shared Clinton’s E-mails With?

On May 5, 2017May 4, 2017 By kingsjesterIn ChristianityLeave a comment

hillary-huma-bill-clinton-huma-perverts

Do you realize that if The Queen of Mean, Hillary Rodham Clinton, had won the election, that her BFF, Huma Abedin, would have played a key role in her Administration?

Please allow me to tell you why America dodged more than one bullet on November 8, 2016.

The New York Post reports that

Huma Abedin on Thursday refused to explain why she sent classified emails to her disgraced hubby Anthony Weiner when confronted by The Post.

Hillary Clinton’s top aide, wearing shades and a colorful scarf, ignored a reporter’s repeated questions after she left the subway station in Times Square — instead staring straight ahead with a smirk on her face.

“Do you have any comment on what James Comey said yesterday during the hearings?” a reporter asked, referring to the FBI director’s testimony Wednesday.

Comey had told a Senate panel that Abedin broke the law but was not charged because she was clueless that what she was doing was illegal.

Abedin’s smirk gave way to a clenched jaw when she was asked if she felt at least partially responsible for Clinton’s defeat since it was her misuse of the emails that prompted Comey to reopen the probe just days before the election.

Clinton earlier this week blamed Comey’s decision, among other factors, for her stunning loss to Donald Trump.

“Did you know that what you were doing was illegal? Mr. Comey said you weren’t aware of that,” The Post asked as Abedin walked away, heels clicking on the pavement.

She also declined to respond when asked why she would send classified emails to Weiner, who was forced to resign from Congress after the first of several sexting scandals was revealed.

She left her building at 1 Irving Place at roughly 10:15 a.m., ducked into the Union Square station and took a northbound N train to Times Square.

Comey said Wednesday that Abedin forwarded thousands of emails from Clinton to Weiner as a “matter of convenience” so he could print them out because her boss preferred reading information on paper.

“Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information,” Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “His then-spouse Huma Abedin appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him for him to print out for her so she could deliver them to the secretary of state.”

Comey confirmed the FBI investigated Abedin, but concluded she did nothing criminally wrong.

Now, I might be totally wrong, but I wonder if the “King of Selfies-That-No-One-Wanted-to-See” Anthony Weiner was the only member of Huma’s family seeing these classified e-mailed regarding America’s Foreign Policy?

For those of you who are not aware of Ms. Abedin’s troubling past and familial connections, here are some bullet points, courtesy of discoverthenetworks.org…

Huma Abedin was born in 1976 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

…From 1997 until sometime before early 1999, Abedin, while still interning at the White House, was an executive board member of George Washington University’s (GWU) Muslim Students Association (MSA), heading the organization’s “Social Committee.”

It is noteworthy that in 2001-02, soon after Abedin left that executive board, the chaplain and “spritual guide” of GWU’s MSA was Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda operative who ministered to some of the men who were among the 9/11 hijackers. Another chaplain at GWU’s MSA (from at least October 1999 through April 2002) was Mohamed Omeish, who headed the International Islamic Relief Organization, which has been tied to the funding of al Qaeda.

[As detailed in the previous article] From 1996-2008, Abedin was employed by the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs (IMMA) as the assistant editor of its in-house publication, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (JMMA).

****At least the first seven of those years overlapped with the al Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Omar Naseef’s active presence at IMMA. Abedin’s last six years at the Institute (2002-2008) were spent as a JMMA editorial board member; for one of those years, 2003, Naseef and Abedin served together on that board.****

Abedin went on maternity leave after giving birth to a baby boy in early December 2011. When she returned to work in June 2012, the State Department granted her an arrangement that allowed her to do outside consulting work as a “special government employee,” even as she remained a top advisor in the Department. Abedin did not disclose on her financial report either the arrangement or the$135,000 she earned from it, in violation of a law mandating that public officials disclose significant sources of income. Abedin’s outside clients included the U.S. State Department, Hillary Clinton, the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation, and Teneo (a firm co-founded by Doug Band, a former counselor for Bill Clinton). Good-government groups warned of the potential conflict-of-interest inherent in an arrangement where a government employee maintains private clients.

On February 1, 2013—Hillary Clinton’s final day as Secretary of State—Abedin resigned her post as Mrs. Clinton’s deputy chief of staff. Yet she would continue to serve as a close aide to Clinton.

On March 1, 2013, Abedin was tapped to run Clinton’s post-State Department transition team, comprised of a six-person “transition office” located in Washington.

Huma Abedin’s brother, Hassan Abedin, has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and is currently an associate editor with the JMMA. Hassan was once a fellow at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, at a time when the Center’s board included such Brotherhood-affiliated figures as Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Abdullah Omar Naseef.

Huma’s sister, Heba Abedin (formerly known as “Heba A. Khaled”), is an assistant editor with JMMA, where she served alongside Huma prior to the latter’s departure.

It is a measure of the height of willful ignorance on the part of President Barack Hussein Obama and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that during the time of Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, someone with direct ties to our sworn enemies, the Muslim Brotherhood, had access to the highest level of Top Secret Information contained in our State Department, being sent to her over Secretary Clinton’s own unsecured e-mail Server.

And, the thing is, she not only had access through her job as Assistant to Secretary of State Clinton, she also had access to government information through pillow talk with her husband, then-Congressman and “Professional Sexter” Anthony Weiner.

During the Primaries, Fox News reported that

Huma Abedin, the longtime confidant to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, took aim at Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States in an email with the subject line: “I’m a proud Muslim.”

“Donald Trump is leading in every national poll to be the Republican nominee for president. And earlier today, he released his latest policy proposal: to ban all Muslims from entering our country,” wrote Ms. Abedin, in an email Monday evening to Mrs. Clinton’s supporters. “I’m a proud Muslim — but you don’t have to share my faith to share my disgust.”

Being the “proud Muslim” that she has proclaimed herself to be, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that this information found its way to her “troubling Familial Affiliations”?

Which brings up a troubling question:

Considering her familial ties, how deeply was Ms. Abedin involved in “BenghaziGate”?

Just how many secrets did Ms. Abedin pass along to her family?

I believe that this is certainly a concern worth investigating by the Trump Administration.

The old axiom is true. We ARE judged by the company that we keep…and Hillary is no exception.

Ms. Abedin will certainly not be missed in our Federal Government.

She should never have been a part of it in the first place.

Until He Comes,

Trump To Sign EO Today to “Promote Religious Liberty” and “to Alleviate the Burden of the Johnson Amendment”

On May 4, 2017May 3, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics2 Comments

donald-and-melania-trump-arrive-at-church

Should Christian American Churches, like Christian American Conservative Bloggers, such as myself, have the right to express our concerns about the direction that America is taking, by framing it in the context of traditional Christian American Faith and Values?

Or, should Christian Americans keep our faith out of the Public Arena of Ideas, like the “Smartest People in the Room” keep insisting?

Well, they can keep on “insisting”.

Because, today, President Donald J. Trump is taking a stand for the First Amendment Rights of Christian Americans.

Foxnews.com reports that

The executive order President Trump is expected to sign Thursday will be focused on the Johnson Amendment and allow non-profit organizations to deny certain health coverage for religious reasons, administration sources told Fox News Wednesday.

The three main points of the executive order, according to a senior White House official, will declare “that it is the policy of the administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty,” direct the IRS “to exercise maxim enforcement of discretion to alleviate the burden of the Johnson Amendment,” and provide “regulatory relief for religious objectors to Obamacare’s burdensome preventive services mandate.”

The timing and contents of the order, which would come on the National Day of Prayer, are still “very fluid” and there are still several drafts, according to a senior administration official.

The Johnson Amendment, named for then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and enacted into law in 1954, essentially regulates tax-exempt organizations such as churches, and religious groups from being too politically involved.

Trump previously campaigned against the amendment, and in February said he would “destroy” the amendment that conservative groups claim restricted political speech by tax-exempt churches.

“I think how the president feels about Johnson amendment is that politicians and unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t have the power to shut up their critics just because they are church leaders or charities,” a senior White House official told Fox News.

In addition, sources tell Fox News the executive order will also allow non-profit organizations, hospitals, educational institutions, and businesses to deny certain health coverage for religious reasons,. That would entail protecting Christian groups like Little Sisters of the Poor from being forced to pay for abortion services.

An early draft of the order, leaked in February, would have established broad exemptions for people and groups to claim religious objections under strong language. Vice President Pence has been a proponent of the plan, and his office has been reportedly pushing for it for months.

While governor of Indiana, Pence signed a similar state law on religious liberty that stirred up controversy across the country, but was seen as a legislative win and rallying cry for social conservatives.

Progressive critics have argued the executive order would allow discrimination against the LGBT community at the federal level.

“The ACLU fights every day to defend religious freedom, but religious freedom does not mean the right to discriminate against or harm others,” Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement Wednesday. “If President Trump signs an executive order that attempts to provide a license to discriminate against women or LGBT people, we will see him in court.”

A senior White House official however pushed back on the criticism saying the order “is not about discrimination.”

‘We don’t have any plans to discriminate, we’re about not discriminating against religious organizations,” the official said.

“Everything that is legal stays legal, everything that is illegal stays illegal,” the official added.

Before I get started with my analysis, please allow me this disclaimer:

I am a member of a Contemporary Evangelical Church, which I attend regularly, before I go to work on Sunday.

My faith is not marginal. I stand on The Solid Rock, not shifting sands.

America is a Constitutional Republic, not a Theocracy. And, as such, Americans, including the 75% of us who declare that Jesus Christ is our Personal Savior, must each make our own individual choice as to whom would best represent us as the Leader of the Free World, based upon both logic and the Spiritual Gift of Discernment.

Logic dictates that I will support those running for public office who will keep my family, my friends, and my country safe, secure, prosperous, and free.

During the Republican Primary Season, I was called everything but “a Child of God”, simply because I wrote factual posts about Donald J. Trump and stated that I would pencil in the bubble beside his name as my choice to fill the Office of President of the United States of America.

According to some people at the time, you were not truly a Christian, if you were willing to make that choice.

However, I beg to differ.

Of course, the Liberal Trolls on the Internet still love to tell me and my fellow Christian Americans that we are not Christian if we do not believe as they do.

But, I digress…

That being said, Christianity, the faith of the overwhelming majority of Americans has played a part not only in the birth of our nation, but also the shaping of its Domestic and Foreign Policies.

To deny that fact is to attempt to rewrite history.

There is no such codicil in the Constitution of the United States of America as “The Separation of Church and State”.

Per the website, usconsitution.net,

One of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, is directly responsible for giving us this phrase. In his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, then-President Jefferson used the phrase — it was probably not the first time, but it is the most memorable one. He said:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, [the people, in the 1st Amendment,] declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.

Jefferson did not have a hand in the authoring of the Constitution, nor of the 1st Amendment, but he was an outspoken proponent of the separation of church and state, going back to his time as a legislator in Virginia. In 1785, Jefferson drafted a bill that was designed to quash an attempt by some to provide taxes for the purpose of furthering religious education. He wrote that such support for religion was counter to a natural right of man:

… no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

Jefferson’s act was passed, though not without some difficulty, in Virginia. Eyler Robert Coates wrote that the act was copied in the acts or constitutions of several states, either in words or in concepts. Jefferson himself was in France by the time word of the act reached Europe, and he wrote back to America that his act was well-thought of and admired.

However, unlike the tyranny in England that our Founding Fathers escaped from, no one in this presently free nation has ever been forced to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And, that fact is extremely evident in some of the comments one sees on Facebook Political Pages and Political Websites.

But, again, I digress…

In recent times, especially under the Previous President, Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), a concerted effort was to marginalize Christian Americans, putting us in a box if you will.

A lot of Liberals and “libertarians” seem to believe that Christianity Americans should only practice our faith on Sunday Mornings from 9 – 12, and be seen and not heard the rest of week.

To which I personally answer, with two quotes from the Bible,

So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. – Matthew 27:5 (NIV)

…”Go and do likewise.” – Luke 10:37 (NIV)

And, boys and girls, that is MY right as an American.

For decades, American churches, like the black congregations in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, have invited local politicians to speak from their pulpits. while Modern American Liberals have had conniption fits over white churches around the country doing the same thing, they have not said a mumblin’ word about the actions of a constituency which historically votes Democratic.

Imagine that.

The Johnson Amendment was a violation of Christian Americans’ Constitutional Rights to begin with, whose selective enforcement has been an intentional act of self-serving hypocrisy by the Democratic Party.

President Trump was exactly right in what he told that meeting of Evangelical Christians some nine months ago:

They took away the voice of people that want to see good things happen. It’s not like they took away a bad voice, an evil voice. They took away a voice.

Today, President Trump is giving Christian Americans our voice back.

Until He Comes,

He is Risen! Resurrection Day 2017

On April 16, 2017April 15, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

This morning, as I lay in bed, The Lord had me thinking about Him. These thoughts were about what today, a day that Christians around the world celebrate as the day that Jesus Christ rose victorious from the grave, must have been like.

Pretend for a moment, that you are an average citizen living at the time of Christ…

[For the past three years, you have seen this charismatic young man speak about the love and mercy of God, and how His Grace and Forgiveness is freely given, IF…

And, there’s the catch…

According to this carpenter’s son from Nazareth, you have to confess your sins, and ask the Great I am, for forgiveness.

Whoa! Wait a minute. Who is this guy? A radical? Ask Yahweh for forgiveness. And, what’s that he said? You will then have a personal relationship with His Father?

How can that be? This is the Great I am. This is the Deity of Vengeance who destroyed those escaped slaves from Egypt for throwing a party, while Moses was up on a mountain, and building and worshiping a Golden Calf.

And, remember what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar? Daniel interpreted a dream for him, explaining that his kingdom would be ruled over by Gentiles until God sent His King. Ol’ Nebby got mad, because he couldn’t rule over the Israelites and over the whole world unless God allowed him to do so. He forgot that, and became very proud. He tried to make the people think that he was very wonderful, and that they should worship him. He didn’t trust God as some of the kings of the Israelites did, but had the very foolish idea that he could be a wise and wonderful king without any help from God.

So, what do you suppose occurred?

Why, the King had another dream, and when he found out what it meant it was really terrible. In this dream God told him that he would lose his mind and would go out in the field and eat grass just like the cattle for seven years. And Nebuchadnezzar actually did this, too. Can you imagine a mighty king, as he thought himself to be, crawling around on the ground eating grass? The Bible tells us that his hair grew long and coarse and looked like bird feathers, and his fingernails became like the claws of animals.

Finally, though, Nebuchadnezzar’s reason returned to him, and when he found out what he had done he was very much ashamed of himself. However, he learned by this experience that he was not as wise and powerful as he had thought. Learning this, he gave praise to God for allowing him to be the ruler.

This is the God that the guy from Nazareth is telling us that we can have a personal relationship with?

Strange indeed.

I have noticed that while he is hanging there the guards and some of the townspeople there are mocking Jesus, telling him that if he is the Son of God, to ”jump down off of that cross”. Meanwhile, some of the centurions are casting lots over his robe.

All except this one centurion, who is just watching Him, as if he is waiting for something to happen…]

And, then came the Glorious Morning…

[Wow. It’s really been amazing around here since they crucified Jesus. Did you feel that earthquake? The veil of the temple was torn in half! And did you hear? A bunch of people that had died years ago, were seen walking around the city! But that’s not all. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard?

Listen to this: He has risen! He arose from the dead and was seen by several people. It’s true! I know it sounds unbelievable. I can scarcely take it in myself. Mary Magdalene and Mary, James and Salome’s mother, went to the tomb to perform the anointing of His body and it wasn’t there! On top of that, there was this young guy there, dressed in a white robe. They said he must have been 9 feet tall. He said, “You are seeking Jesus of Nazareth. Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. See the place where you laid him.” So they went and told the disciples. But you know how Peter is. He just had to go run up there and see for himself.

Jesus even approached two of them on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t recognize him. He even broke bread with them that night. They realized who He was and He disappeared! They ran to tell the disciples and as they were telling them, Jesus appeared right in front of them! They were all starting to panic. Jesus said, “Peace to you.” But they couldn’t believe it was him, especially Thomas. So he had him touch him in the hole in his hand where they drove the nail and where the spear pierced his side.

Jesus ate with them and performed other signs and miracles in front of them and they understood scripture as never before. He also came to them at the Sea of Tiberius. Peter took the disciples fishing and they weren’t catching anything. Jesus told them from the bank to cast the net down on the right side. They did, and they could hardly bring it in the boat! When they got back to land, Jesus already had a fire going and some fish and bread ready to eat. He asked Peter three times if he loved Him, and each time He told him “Feed my sheep’. Hey, isn’t that the same number of times Peter Denied Him?

Anyway, He taught them many things before He left. They watched as He was taken straight up into heaven. Can you imagine?

The disciples are making plans now to go out and starting spreading the Good News about Jesus’ Resurrection. They are talking about going out in pairs. Man. Nothing is ever going to be the same again.]

The despair being felt by the average citizens of Rome, at the time, is not unlike the situation which we, as average Christian Americans, find ourselves in today.

We, too, are in the darkness before the dawn.

Our American Culture has been crumbling before our very eyes, as sin, depravity, and personal irresponsibility have been lauded by “the smartest people in the room” as normal, and values to be embraced…a Golden Calf to be worshiped by those who have turned their backs of the Almighty, because He will not give them the worldly gratification they seek…and because they erroneously believe that they are smarter than God, and can interpret and ignore God’s Holy Word in order to ignore and to rewrite to make it mean whatever they want to, in order to assuage their own consciousness, in an attempt to stifle that “Still Small Voice” within them, Who is reminding them of their sin and the consequences of it.

On April 2, 1983, United States President Ronald Wilson Reagan spoke the following words, as part of an Easter/Passover Address:

This week as American families draw together in worship, we join with millions upon millions of others around the world also celebrating the traditions of their faiths. During these days, at least, regardless of nationality, religion, or race, we are united by faith in God, and the barriers between us seem less significant.

Observing the rites of Passover and Easter, we’re linked in time to the ancient origins of our values and to the unborn generations who will still celebrate them long after we’re gone. As Paul explained in his Epistle to the Ephesians, “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. So then you were no longer strangers and aliens, but you were fellow citizens of God’s household.”

This is a time of hope and peace, when our spirits are filled and lifted. It’s a time when we give thanks for our blessings-chief among them, freedom, peace, and the promise of eternal life.

This week Jewish families and friends have been celebrating Passover, a tradition rich in symbolism and meaning. Its observance reminds all of us that the struggle for freedom and the battle against oppression waged by Jews since ancient times is one shared by people everywhere. And Christians have been commemorating the last momentous days leading to the crucifixion of Jesus 1,950 years ago. Tomorrow, as morning spreads around the planet, we’ll celebrate the triumph of life over death, the Resurrection of Jesus. Both observances tell of sacrifice and pain but also of hope and triumph.

As we look around us today, we still find human pain and suffering, but we also see it answered with individual courage and spirit, strengthened by faith. For example, the brave Polish people, despite the oppression of a godless tyranny, still cling to their faith and their belief in freedom. Shortly after Palm Sunday Mass this week, Lech Walesa faced a cheering crowd of workers outside a Gdansk church. He held his hand up in a sign of victory and predicted, “The time will come when we will win.”

This great AMERICAN PRESIDENT also once said,

We are never defeated unless we give up on God.

Fellow Christian Americans….my message to you on this Resurrection Day 2017 is

DO NOT GIVE UP ON GOD. DO NOT GIVE UP ON THE FOUNDING FATHERS’ HOPE, WHICH BECAME AMERICA.

As the old country Preacher’s wife always told him,

Hold on to your fork, Hon. Dessert is on it’s way.

The final chapter of the amazing story of our Blessed Land has not been written yet. It is up to each and every one of us to write it, strengthened by the Grace of God.

Until He Comes,

“For God so loved the word, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

He is risen indeed!

“Concern” About Trump’s Syrian Strike: Does America’s Compassion and Backbone End at Our Borders? (A KJ Saturday Morning Op Ed)

On April 8, 2017April 8, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

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To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last – but eat you he will. – President Ronald Reagan

D-Day, also called the Battle of Normandy, was fought on June 6, 1944, between the Allied nations and German forces occupying Western Europe. To this day, almost 73 years later, it still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history. Almost three million troops crossed the English Channel from England to Normandy to be used as human cannon fodder in an invasion of occupied France.

There has never been an exact count of the sacrifices made on D-Day. Although, it is estimated that more than 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded, or went missing during the battle. 209,000 of those who lost their lives were Allied forces. In addition to almost 200,000 German troops killed or wounded, the Allies also captured 200,000 soldiers. Captured Germans were sent to American prisoner-of-war camps at the rate of 30,000 per month, from D-Day until Christmas 1944. Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed during the battle.

Basically, the invasion of Normandy was a success, due to sheer force of numbers. By July 1944, some one million Allied troops, mostly American, British, and Canadian, were entrenched in Normandy. During the great invasion, the Allies assembled nearly three million men and stored 16 million tons of arms, munitions, and supplies in Britain.

Among the young men who stepped off those boats, in a hail of gunfire, was a fellow named Edward, whom everyone called Ned, from the small town of Helena, Arkansas. Already in his young life, Ned had been forced to drop out of school in the sixth grade, in order to work at the local movie theatre to help support his mother, brother, and sister, faced with the ravages of the Great Depression.

He was a gentle man who loved to laugh and sing, having recorded several 78 rpm records in the do-it-yourself booths of the day. And now, he found himself, a Master Sergeant in an Army Engineering Unit, stepping off a boat into the unknown, watching his comrades being mercilessly gunned down around him.

Ned, along with the rest of his unit who survived the initial assault, would go on to assist in the cleaning out of the Concentration Camps, bearing witness to man’s inhumanity to man.

The horrors he saw had a profound effect on Ned. One which he would keep to himself for the remainder of his life. While his children knew that he served with an Engineering Unit in World War II, they did not know the full extent of his service, until they found his medal, honoring his participation in the Invasion of Normandy, while going through his belongings, after he passed away on December 29, 1997.

I know this story is true because Ned was my Daddy. His birthday was Sunday, April 2nd.

I retell his story because of some of the reactions that I received to my article yesterday about President Trump’s Surgical Strike on the Syrian Air Force Base.

According to some commenters, we should not have cared that Syrian President Assad was slaughtering his own people…men, women, children, and babies, through the means of chemical weapons, which Former President Barack Hussein Obama and Former Secretary of State John Kerry assured us that the Radical Islamic Madman did not possess.

The horrific images of those innocent little ones struggling to breathe their last breaths or simply lying there, already gone to meet the One Who Made Them, did not move these commenters at all.

Oh, no. They were much too politically astute for that.

It makes me wonder…what would have been their reaction to the boxcars full of European Jewish Families headed to Hitler’s Concentration Camps?

Would they have ignored what was happening to those around them?

Would they have waved as the trains went past?

And, don’t give me that usual bull that the United States of America does the same thing as Syria.

America is the most generous country on the face of God’s Green Earth.

The Faith of Our Father has imbued us with a Legacy of Courage and Caring.

…And a sense of right and wrong.

My parents and the other members of the Greatest Generation were a living testimony to my statement.

America cannot afford to be an isolated nation.

Trump fired a warning shot, reasserting our strength as a nation and our place as a World Leader.

Enough with the pearl-clutching.

Until He Comes,

The War on Christianity: America’s Past and Future: Nicholas Kristof Claims that Christ was a Social Justice Warror.

On April 2, 2017April 1, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

In their ongoing quest to rewrite history and remake this country into a Godless State, a small minority of pitiful, bitter, little creatures refuse to acknowledge the hand of “Our Creator” in the Birth of our Nation and the forging of our Constitutional Republic and the Precious Gift He gave us of our American Freedom.

For example, ChristianPost.com posted the following story back in Jnuary of 2015…

A national atheist organization is demanding that the chancellor of Troy University in Alabama apologize for sending a 98-second video to students that says Democracy works in America not because of government enforcement or because people believe they’re accountable to society, but because they know they’re “accountable to God.”

“Atheists are overwhelmingly ethical and upstanding people. It is not true that religion is necessary to keep people from becoming criminals,” wrote Americans Atheists’ President David Silverman in an open letter sent to Jack Hawkins Jr. on New Year’s Eve. “In fact, in the United States, in states with the highest percentages of atheists, the murder rate is lower than average. In the most-religious stateas, the murder rate is higher than average.”

Silverman, who disagrees with the opinions shared in Hawkins’ email and video that was sent to staff and students, has called for the chancellor to give “a public apology to the student, and other atheists whom you have disparaged with the video you included in your email.”

“American Atheists will be hosting its annual national convention the first weekend in April at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis,” continued Silverman. “We invite you to attend any or all of the events to experience for yourself what atheism and atheists are like. We believe that personal experience helps fight ignorance so we invite you to be our special guest.”

At the center of the controversy is the YouTube video about democracy, which was posted by the J. Reuben Clark Law Society on March 5, 2014.

In the 98-second video, Harvard Business School professor Clay Christensen states that American democracy works because of the strong religious component in American society.

Christensen cites remarks he received from a Chinese economist and Marxist whom he had befriended at Harvard.

“In your past most Americans attended a church or a synagogue every week and they were taught there by people who they respected,” said Christensen, quoting his unnamed friend.

“My friend went on to say that ‘Americans followed these rules because they had come to believe that they weren’t just accountable to society, they were accountable to God.’”

As of Friday, the video garnered over 484,000 views, more than 2,200 likes and 400 dislikes, as well as over 638 comments of varying opinions.

According to American Atheists, Hawkins’ email message to students and staff related to the video and provided a link to it.

“As we approach a new year I am reminded of the blessings we enjoy within a democracy which is the envy of the world,” wrote Hawkins. “For your pleasure — and as a reminder — I am sharing with you a 90 second video which speaks to America’s greatness and its vulnerability.”

Whether the American Atheists were actually serious in their ignorance back then, or they were simply trying to garner publicity for an upcoming convention in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, they couldn’t be more wrong, as to the role our Creator played and plays in this Grand Experiment, known as the United States of America.

From adherents.com:

There were 95 Senators and Representatives in the First Federal Congress. If one combines the total number of signatures on the Declaration, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution with the non-signing Constitutional Convention delegates, and then adds to that sum the number of congressmen in the First Federal Congress, one obtains a total of 238 “slots” or “positions” in these groups which one can classify as “Founding Fathers” of the United States. Because 40 individuals had multiple roles (they signed multiple documents and/or also served in the First Federal Congress), there are 204 unique individuals in this group of “Founding Fathers.” These are the people who did one or more of the following:

– signed the Declaration of Independence
– signed the Articles of Confederation
– attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787
– signed the Constitution of the United States of America
– served as Senators in the First Federal Congress (1789-1791)
– served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress

The religious affiliations of these individuals are summarized below. Obviously this is a very restrictive set of names, and does not include everyone who could be considered an “American Founding Father.” But most of the major figures that people generally think of in this context are included using these criteria, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and more.

Religious Affiliation
of U.S. Founding Fathers # of
Founding
Fathers % of
Founding
Fathers

Episcopalian/Anglican 88 54.7%

Presbyterian 30 18.6%

Congregationalist 27 16.8%

Quaker 7 4.3%

Dutch Reformed/German Reformed 6 3.7%

Lutheran 5 3.1%

Catholic 3 1.9%

Huguenot 3 1.9%

Unitarian 3 1.9%

Methodist 2 1.2%

Calvinist 1 0.6%

unknown 43 %

TOTAL 204

Religious Affiliation of U.S. Founding Fathers	# of Founding Fathers	% of Founding Fathers
Episcopalian/Anglican	88	54.7%
Presbyterian	30	18.6%
Congregationalist	27	16.8%
Quaker	7	4.3%
Dutch Reformed/German Reformed	6	3.7%
Lutheran	5	3.1%
Catholic	3	1.9%
Huguenot	3	1.9%
Unitarian	3	1.9%
Methodist	2	1.2%
Calvinist	1	0.6%
unknown	43	%
TOTAL	204

Here are some quotes about God and Christianity from 3 Presidents of the United States, whom you might recognize:

John Quincy Adams

My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ and I cannot cavil or quibble away [evade or object to]. . . . the whole tenor of His conduct by which He sometimes positively asserted and at others countenances [permits] His disciples in asserting that He was God.

The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made “bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” [Isaiah 52:10].

In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.

Thomas Jefferson

The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.

I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.

I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.

George Washington

You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.

The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.

I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.

Gallup Polls continue to show that a little less than 3/4 of Americans proclaim Jesus Christ as their Personal Savior and half of Americans attend Religious Services on a regular basis.

Recently, Nicholas Kristof of the failing New York Times wrote an article in which he suggested that Jesus Christ was a Social Justice Warrior, and would have been a supporter of Obamacare.

In an article found on thecollegeconservative.com, Christine Rosselle writes

Jesus performing a miracle was not an act of the government and therefore cannot be an act of socialism, even if the result of the miracle bears a resemblance in passing to the goals of a socialized state. Jesus may have healed various people for “free,” but this cannot be considered “socialized medicine.” In actuality, the act was the effective use of a private charity (Jesus himself), the polar opposite of socialism.

In a perfectly socialized state, the government would provide for the needs of the people, whether it is healthcare, food, schooling, etc. There would be collective ownership of everything. Jesus did not advocate this. On the contrary, the Bible advocates strong individual charity and charity via the church—not the government forcibly collecting large sums of taxes and confiscating private property in order to aid the poor. Had a socialized government been the one distributing the five loaves and two fishes to the crowd that day, it is certainly plausible that many people would have gone home hungry.

Jesus Christ was many things, but he definitely was not a socialist.

Wasn’t it just back in 2012 that the Democratic National Convention took any references to God out of their Party Platform and were booed long and loud by those attending their convention which they tried to put God back in there?

For them to declare that God is on their side in the Obamacare argument proves that thy really don’t known Him at all.

Until He Comes,

Massachusetts State Representative Warns Illegals About ICE Raid. Isn’t That “Aiding and Abetting”?

On March 30, 2017March 29, 2017 By kingsjesterIn ChristianityLeave a comment

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When you help a criminal remain hidden from the law, isn’t that “aiding and abetting”?

Foxnews.com reports that

A Massachusetts sheriff who has called for the arrest of public officials who support sanctuary cities Wednesday slammed a state lawmaker who posted a Facebook warning about a rumored federal raid.

“I can’t think of anything more irresponsible and more underhanded and undermining to law enforcement and to the people of that community than what this state representative did,” Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson told Fox News’ “Your World With Neil Cavuto.” “She ought to be ashamed of herself [and] the state legislature ought to be looking at her for, at a minimum ethics violations.”

The lawmaker, Democratic State Rep. Michelle DuBois, later deleted the post referencing a rumored ICE raid in Brockton, Mass. Her message read, “If you are undocumented, don’t go out on the street. If there is a knock on the door of your house and you don’t know who it is, don’t open the door. I ask you to be careful.”

“She doesn’t have any idea [of] the people she’s warning or what their backgrounds are,” Hodgson told host Neil Cavuto. “They could be gang members involved in transnational gangs, the sex trafficking that’s going on – and our officers … sometimes need the element of surprise to make sure that somebody’s not building an arsenal waiting for us or having some heads-up where one of our officers is going to get seriously injured or killed.”

Hodgson said that President Trump has focused on the deportation of “criminal illegal aliens and wants us focusing on them.”

“These are people that we have information about, that we’re looking for and [are] a danger to our society,” the sheriff said. “This is exactly what you would hope every elected official would be working with and helping our federal and state and local partners do.”

America’s State, County, and Municipal Law Enforcement Officials are locked in a daily struggle to keep Americans safe from those who have no legal right to be here in the first place.

Concerning the MS-13 and 18th Street Gangs tha have illegally infiltrated our Sovereign Nation, Trump’s Campaign Platform states that, as President, he will

Cooperate with local gang task forces. ICE officers should accompany local police departments conducting raids of violent street gangs like MS-13 and the 18th street gang, which have terrorized the country. All illegal aliens in gangs should be apprehended and deported. Again, quoting Chris Crane: “ICE Officers and Agents are forced to apply the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Directive, not to children in schools, but to adult inmates in jails. If an illegal-alien inmate simply claims eligibility, ICE is forced to release the alien back into the community. This includes serious criminals who have committed felonies, who have assaulted officers, and who prey on children…ICE officers should be required to place detainers on every illegal alien they encounter in jails and prisons, since these aliens not only violated immigration laws, but then went on to engage in activities that led to their arrest by police; ICE officers should be required to issue Notices to Appear to all illegal aliens with criminal convictions, DUI convictions, or a gang affiliation; ICE should be working with any state or local drug or gang task force that asks for such assistance.”

Even as I write this post, President Trump is trying his best to make good on that promise.

However, Far Left Democrats like the idiot in Massachusetts, have no respect for our laws, or our President, who is trying to enforce them,

Believe or not, a legendary Democrat Leader agreed with Trump on what should be done with those who have broken our laws by entering our Sovereign Nation illegally.

The last bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform happened during President ill “Bubba” Clinton’s tenure. Bubba appointed former congresswoman and Democratic icon Barbara Jordan as its chair. Jordan came from humble beginnings to become a lawyer and the first Southern black woman elected to the House of Representatives. A DEMOCRAT, she was a leader in the civil rights movement, a professor of ethics, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a world-class orator (two of her speeches are considered among the greatest of the 20th century). Her appointment gave the commission instant credibility. According to Jordan, she believed her responsibility as the head of the commission was to restore credibility to the U.S. immigration system. On the issue of illegal immigration, Jordan was very clear and succinct:

Unlawful immigration is unacceptable. Those who should not be here will be required to leave.

Liberals, on both sides of the Political Aisle, have continuously masked their true intentions for the political usefulness, in granting amnesty to illegal aliens, by swathing it in the noble rhetoric of “Civil Rights” and “Social Justice”.

In reality, is the fact that these Professional Politicians could care less about the well-being of illegal aliens. They are simply recruiting new Democrat Voters.

Please indulge me by allowing me the opportunity to wrap up today’s blog with an answer I gave on May 19. 2010, to “Benito”, who submitted a rather lengthy comment filled with this same camouflage of noble intentions:

Benito, I approved your comment to ask you a few questions. First, you write very well. Next, a few questions. What part of the word “illegal” do you not understand? What makes the current influx of illegal immigrants exempt from the rules and regulations that every other generation of immigrants to this country had to abide by in order to become legal citizens of the greatest nation in the world? By being here illegally, you are not entitled to the same rights as natural-born or naturalized American citizens. You are no better than someone who breaks into someone’s home, does their dishes, cuts their yard, cleans their house, and then helps themselves to their food and drives their car without asking. This is in no way a human rights issue. Freedom is God-given. And with freedom comes responsibility. With citizenship comes responsibility, like paying taxes and making your own way. Illegal immigration reminds me of the amorous boyfriend who wants everything a young woman will give him, but will leave her at the first mention of marriage. I wish you no ill, amigo, but understand this: This is not a civil rights issue. Illegals do not have the same rights as American Citizens. With our rights, come the responsibilities of being an American citizen. The Mexican flag, by protocol, will always be flown in a subordinate position to the American Flag in this country. And, the American Dialect of the English language is the language spoken in this country.

I understand that people want a better life for themselves and their children. We are all immigrants in this land, except for American Indians, and they got here by crossing the Bering Straight. But there is a huge difference between immigrating here legally and sneaking in illegally, between assimilating into an existing culture, and insisting on replacing a country’s existing culture with that of the country you left.

I’m all for assisting anyone in becoming a legal citizen of the United States, if that is their wish. But, it must be done the right way, and they must accept responsibility for their illegal entry, show a willingness to learn our language, and embrace our American way of life, including respecting the American Flag.

If they do not wish to become n American Citizen, then they should be escorted back to where their national loyalties lie.

And the idiotic Massachusetts Democrat who warned illegal immigrants in her state of an upcoming ICE Raid, should be escorted to the nearest jail cell.

Until He Comes,

“A House Divided Against Itself” (A KJ Sunday Morning Op Ed)

On March 26, 2017March 26, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics1 Comment

bible-american-flag1

And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand – Mark 3:25 (ESV)

As I sit down to write this, I am struggling with mixed emotions over the purposefully “divided house” that is the United States of America.

The National Temper Tantrum by Modern American Liberals, which commenced after the Presidential Election was called for Donald J. Trump on the night of November 8, 2016, shows no signs of stopping.

And, I firmly believe that there are social, political, and economic reasons for their never-ending obsessive whining.

Social – Quite frankly, we are witnessing the arrested development of a generation of spoiled brats and the facilitation of their National Temper Tantrum by the generation (s) who spoiled them. Black Comedian D.L. Hughley, a flaming Liberal in his own right, is famous for telling hecklers in his audiences that “they need Jesus”, in a condescending attempt to be funny and to shut them up. The reality is, these individuals who are throwing a temper tantrum over result of the 2016 Presidential Election have none of the grace nor the maturity that previous generations who were “raised right” had. This bunch is seemingly incapable of accepting the results of a fair election and to allow the winner, President Donald J. Trump, to govern and to attempt to make things better for all of us. They also seem to believe that if you disrespect and shout Americans down, whose opinions are different from yours, then you are somehow “enlightened”. These individuals have rewritten scripture. Instead of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, these people believe that you should “Do unto others anything that you want to and then pat yourself on the back for it afterwards.”
Political – Make no mistake about it, the election of Donald J. Trump to the Presidency of the United States of American, shook the pillars of the Halls of Power in Washington, D.C. to their very foundation. As we are witnessing, there are professional politicians on both sides of the Political aisle who are as upset about the outcome of the election as the millennials who are acting like a herd of jackasses on college campuses across America. Whether intentional or unintentional, Friday’s Fiasco involving Paul Ryan, the Vichy Republicans, and their “friends across the aisle” exposed a raw nerve for the whole world to see. Capitol Hill is so addicted to the perks of the Washingtonian Status Quo, that they would even harm their own political party to force its return…even at the expense of their Congressional Majority and a sitting President of their own party.
Economic – There is money to be made in politics. How do you think that Barack and Michelle Obama left the White House as millionaires? Why do you think that Congressmen, like Harold Ford, Sr., become Lobbyists? It is certainly not because of their altruistic natures. Trump’s desire to “Drain the Swamp” threatens the livelihoods of Lobbyists, Bureaucrats, and members of Congress. The Washingtonian Status Quo guaranteed that a lot of people left “public Service” living the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Ramous”. These Wealthy Washingtonians are very aware of what the American People sent President Trump to Washington to accomplish economically, both within the Federal Government and on behalf of working Americans. And, they do not like it.

The garbage which began during the 8 long years of the Obama Administration, even now, after average Americans stood up on our hind legs and elected Donald J. Trump as President, still threatens to tear our Sovereign Nation asunder.

The Democrats, as a result of their own regional bias toward the major metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts, which has been obvious to average Americans for the last several decades, effectively divorced themselves from the people whom they claimed in every previous election cycle to “love”…Average Working Class Americans.

To put it in Marital Terms, Average Working Class Americans and the Democratic Party are no longer “evenly yoked”.

The Democrats became the party of the “Upper Crust” and Special Interest Groups, who look down their noses at Americans who live here in “Flyover Country”.

The Democrats assumed, after reading their own press clippings, that all Americans wanted the Progressive/Marxist Political Ideology and style of governance which Barack Hussein Obama practiced during his time as President.

Well, we all know what assuming does, don’t we, boys and girls?

The American People overthrew the “Tyranny of the Minority”, which we have suffered under for the last 8 years on November 8th.

While the French long ago used “Madame Guillotine” to make a drastic change in their government, Americans used voting booths.

Now, it’s time to come together as a nation, not to purposefully further the division between us.

America has no need for a “Shadow Government”, run by Former President Barack Hussein Obama. We do not need a Former Nazi Sympathizer and Stool Pigeon financing protests and parades designed to undermine the president and to undo the votes which average Americans cast on November 8th.

That kind of garbage is designed to further divide us as a nation.

On this Sunday Morning, America needs a “Come to Jesus Meeting” among ourselves.

Even though D.L. Hughley meant it as a putdown, America DOES need Jesus.

So, come…let us reason together.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

Until He Comes,

March Madness and the Story of a Basketball Player Who United a City

On March 19, 2017March 19, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, EntertainmentLeave a comment

1973_ncaa_semifinal_3531203_ver1.0_640_480

Here we are, in the middle of the NCAA College Basketball Tournament., that time of year, which has been dubbed “March Madness”.

This time of year, I always think about a man who made a difference in my life and that of many others.

HIs name was Larry O. Finch.

You may or may not have heard of him.

The following is a post which I wrote 6 years ago, upon hearing of his death in 2011.

I am reposting this because, in this age of superficial spoiled brat professional athletes, it is a story about a man whose life was not only filled with a love of the game, but with love for his fellow man.

And, it being a Sabbath Morning, there is no better time to relate this story.

The year is 1972. A skinny, undersized asthmatic kid, new to Wooddale Junior High, is about to be annihilated in a game called Bombardment, a rather sadistic game thought up by the 9th grade P.E. coach for his personal amusement. Resembling the movie “Dodgeball” on steroids, two teams (usually the delinquents on one side and their victims on the other), would line up against both sides of the bleachers waiting for the coach’s whistle. Then the massacre would ensue.

Sure that I was about to breathe my last, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and a kind voice telling me to stand beside him. I looked up to see the smiling face of Larry Finch, Senior shooting guard on the Memphis State University Tigers Basketball Team. He had just taken an Internship at my school!

Of course, that was the year that they lost the NCAA Championship to Bill Walton and the UCLA Bruins. I don’t think that anyone in the nation hollered at their television set louder that night than I did.

Over the semester, we became friends. I became a Tiger fan for life, eventually receiving my degree there in 1980 in Radio, TV, and Film. While there, I had the privilege of calling radio play-by-play for the Women’s Basketball and Men’s Baseball teams.

Larry is also the reason that I went on to play and coach basketball, a 4th grade team and a church team, respectively. My coaching record is 25 – 4.

But, I digress…

Anyway, I’m writing this story because my friend, the Memphis Legend, Coach Larry O. Finch, has passed away at the age of 60.

From the Commercial Appeal:

Finch, the University of Memphis’ winningest basketball coach with 220 victories, had been in poor health since suffering the first of multiple strokes in 2001. He was 60. He had also had a heart attack.

Finch is perhaps the most beloved figure in the history of Memphis’ basketball program, leading the 1973 team to the national championship game and coaching the Tigers from 1986 to 1997.

Larry was born in the Orange Mound section of Memphis and went on to play for Melrose High School. He and his fellow high school teammate, 6’9″ “Big Cat” Ronnie Robinson, decided to play for Coach Gene Bartow at Memphis State University.

This was during the height of racial unrest in Memphis. Larry had been advised not to go to Memphis State, but he loved his hometown and his hometown university. He and Ronnie turned out to be 2 of the finest bridge builders Memphis has ever seen. He graduated as the all-time leading scorer in school history and is presently still in second place on that list.

Larry went on to play professionally with the Memphis TAMs, the Memphis Sounds, the Baltimore Hustlers, and the Baltimore Claws.

Per biographicon.com:

In the 1980s, Finch was an assistant coach for Dana Kirk at Memphis State. Kirk was forced to leave Memphis State after violating NCAA regulations, and Finch was made head coach in 1986 in order to restore order to the program. Finch was head coach from 1986 until 1997.

Finch’s tenure at Memphis State/University of Memphis was successful. He posted 10 out of 11 winning seasons, and seven 20+ win seasons. He recruited and developed such players as Elliot Perry, Penny Hardaway, and Lorenzen Wright. His 1991-92 team led by Hardaway and David Vaughn went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

As a player, Finch was known for his shooting prowess, and his skills remained intact throughout his coaching days; he would routinely win games of H-O-R-S-E against his players (including the great Keith Lee, among others) and against assistant coaches in long distance shooting contests after road game practices.

In the company of such renowned coaches as Gene Bartow and John Calipari, Larry Finch remains in second-place for all-time wins in University of Memphis history (behind only Calipari).

In 2002, Larry suffered a stroke, which left him paralyzed and affected his speech. Later that year, at halftime of the Memphis Grizzlies’ annual Martin Luther King Day game, NBA Legend Bill Russell grabbed the handles of Larry Finch’s wheelchair and wheeled him across a spotlight-lit basketball court.

The entire arena cheered and cried at the same time.

And now, this Memphis Legend is gone.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, how can you consider yourself a friend of Larry Finch? You only knew him for a short time.

In the early 80s, while Larry was an Assistant Coach under Dana Kirk, I was working at Memphis Cablevision. I was passing through a front office packed with customers, there to pay their bill. All of the sudden, I heard a familiar voice shouting my last name at the top of his lungs. It was Coach Finch!

He grinned that big ol’ grin at me, and hugged me until I thought my ribs would bust. Then he asked me how I was doing, eager to hear about my life, and we talked as if there was no one else in that lobby.

And now, almost 30 years later, I’m sitting here, trying to write this post with tears in my eyes.

That’s how I know.

Until He Comes,

Requiem for a Bad Dog: John McCormack 1955-2011 (Six Year Anniversary Edition)

On March 11, 2017March 10, 2017 By kingsjesterIn Christianity, EntertainmentLeave a comment

Yesterday marked the 6- Year Anniversary of the death of a legend known throughout Memphis and the entire Mid-South, larger-than-life Radio Personality John “Bad Dog” McCormack. Here is a tribute which I wrote, upon hearing of his passing on March 10, 2010. He is still truly missed.

If, when we’re standing before God, the amount of good we do with our lives, and the amount of joy and happiness that we are able to bring to this world of pain is brought up, then, Thursday afternoon, the Pearly Gates shook with the infectious laughter of one giant of a man.

John “Bad Dog” McCormack lost his long battle with AML late Thursday Afternoon at Methodist University Hospital in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Bad Dog was an on-air personality for 22 years at WEGR Rock 103, a Classic Rock Station.

Bad Dog began as a part of the Wake-up Crew with Tim Spencer and Bev Hart. Dog was basically a 14-year-old kid in a man’s body. He was a natural-born prankster, and became known for his creation of “The Twilight Phone”, an anonymous prank call he would make to unsuspecting citizens.

In one memorable call, he impersonated an Apartment Manager, calling a guy who dumped his fiance’s dead pet Piranhas into the apartment lake, claiming that they came back to life and the poor sap had to reimburse the apartment $2,800 for draining and restocking the lake. And then, there was Bad Dog”s possibly most famous call, where he talked to an older gentleman named Mr. Lannum, impersonating a collector attempting to collect on a past-due cable bill. Mr. Lannum went ballistic, cussing a blue streak that is still talked of in hushed tones to this day, 20 years later:

When he finally clued the individuals in to whom they had been talking to, each one of them eventually forgave him, because, after all, it was Bad Dog.

Another routine that Bad Dog came up with, was remarkable. In a city known for racial polarization, he came up with the idea of numbering their show’s Black listeners, thinking that actual black listeners would be few and far between. Well, Bad Dog received a big surprise.

The routine became very popular among Memphis’ Black Community, as people called in to talk to Bad Dog. He would make up a hilarious “oath” for the listener to say, and from then on, whenever this individual would call in to talk about the subject of the day, they would self-identify as Black Listener Number So-and-So. Everyone loved Bad Dog.

However, the most incredible thing that this man accomplished during his time with us started when he, Spencer, and Hart decided to begin a yearly Radiothon in support of St. Jude Hospital’s Ronald McDonald House.

Over the last 20 years, Bad Dog and his co-workers have raised over $7 million dollars to help build and maintain the refuge for cancer-stricken kids and their families, so they could have some semblance of normal life while they undergo treatment at St. Jude.

Bad Dog McCormack was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in late October 2009. He was still working mornings, though his new partner was Ric Chetter. Clear Channel Communications, in their infinite wisdom, had split up the popular Wake Up Crew in November of 2006, firing Newsperson Bev Hart, and, eventually moving Rock 103 Program Director Tim Spencer to mid-days.

Bad Dog continued to work as he underwent treatment, as he felt that this was the best medicine for him and was what God had called him to do. His courage in the face of his own mortality was an inspiration to the entire Mid-South, as his barrel-house laugh continued to reverberate through the car speakers of the Mid-South every morning. He also continued to work the annual Rock103 Radiothon, letting nothing stand in his way of helping the kids.

Bad Dog underwent a bone marrow transplant in November of 2010. He seemed to be doing better, and, in December, an online poll of Memphians voted him The Most Noteworthy Memphian of the Year.

On February 10-11th, Bad Dog was at the mic, around the clock, for the 20th Annual Rock103 Radiothon. When it was over, he announced that more Leukemia had been found. He remained upbeat, and said that this was just par for the course.

Meanwhile, Clear Channel Communications, again in its infinite wisdom, fired Ric Chetter, and moved Bad Dog and Tim Spencer to afternoons, while bringing in a morning show named Free Beer and Hot Wings, 5 guys syndicated out of the Great White North, whose humor about hockey games is about as relevant to the Mid-South as hunting moose. [The program bombed miserably.]

Bad Dog took this change in his usual good-natured stride, happy to be back with his old partner-in-crime, Tim.

Then, last Thursday, Bad Dog took a turn for the worse. He was rushed to Methodist University Hospital in Downtown Memphis, where he passed away from an aneurysm, brought about by his Leukemia.

In an interview with the Commercial Appeal, Bad Dog made this comment about his battle against Leukemia and his love for the kids at St. Jude:

When I see what they are going through, I have no reason to complain. They are so young and have so much pain. I’ve lived a blessed life. If I died tomorrow, I’d go with a smile on my face.

He also, in his usual big-hearted, gentle way, left a statement to be released after his death:

I have gone to be with God and he is holding me tightly and I am surrounded by many of the Ronald McDonald’s House kids. Do not say you have lost a friend… One is only lost when you don’t know where they are… you know where I am. I thank each and every one of you for your support and prayers. I love all of you and that will never go away. When you are having a bad day… think of my laugh or a Twilight phone or the time we met. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, make every day great, be the spiritual leader of your family. May peace be with you. Your friend, Bad Dog.

John”Bad Dog” McCormack, 55, leaves behind his two sons, Buck and Tucker, a huge family, and thousands of fans.

As one of those fans, please allow me to say thank you, Bad Dog, for brightening up a lot of dreary mornings.

A sign currently [now 6 years ago] on display outside a local jewelry store says it all:

BAD DOG MADE MEMPHIS A BETTER PLACE.

Until He Comes,

Kingsjester's Blog

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