High School Football on Friday Night.  It’s something wholly American.  A rite of passage that unites families behind their son, nephew, cousin,  and/or neighbor, as they strive on the field of competition.

Here in DeSoto County, Mississippi, in America’s Heartland, last night held a special significance, as average Americans stood up on their hind legs, defying a bitter minority group seeking to limit their right of Religious Freedom.

A group from Wisconsin, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, several days ago, sent a letter to the Schools Superintendent, insisting that the pre-game prayer, spoken over the stadiums’ loudspeakers, a tradition held in DeSoto County as long as anyone can remember,  be silenced.

Who is the Freedom of Religious Foundation and why should they be concerned about prayer at high school football games in Mississippi?

According to their website:

The purposes of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., as stated in its bylaws, are to promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.

Incorporated in 1978 in Wisconsin, the Foundation is a national membership association of more than 17,000 freethinkers: atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree. The Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3). All dues and contributions are deductible for income tax purpose.

What Does the Foundation Do?

• Publishes the only freethought newspaper in the United States, Freethought Today

• Sponsors annual high school, college and grad student essay competitions with cash awards

• Conducts lively, annual national conventions, honoring state/church, student, and freethought activism

• Sponsors an online forum for members

• Bestows “The Emperor Has No Clothes” Award to public figures for “plain-speaking on religion”

• Promotes freedom from religion with educational books, literature, music CDs

• Provides speakers for events and debates

• Maintains a Web site at http://www.ffrf.org

• Broadcasts Freethought Radio

• Places freethought billboards and bus signs

…First Amendment violations are accelerating. The religious right is campaigning to raid the public till and advance religion at taxpayer expense, attacking our secular public schools, the rights of nonbelievers, and the Establishment Clause.

The Foundation recognizes that the United States was first among nations to adopt a secular Constitution. The founders who wrote the U.S. Constitution wanted citizens to be free to support the church of their choice, or no religion at all. Our Constitution was very purposefully written as a godless document, whose only references to religion are exclusionary.

It is vital to buttress the Jeffersonian “wall of separation between church and state” which has served our nation so well.

Funny.  Jefferson was a faithful attendant of Sunday Church that was held at the Capitol Building.  He once explained to a friend while they were walking to church together:

No nation has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example.

He also proclaimed

I have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make us better citizens.

But, I digress…

DeSoto County Schools went along with the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s request, despite the disappointment of many students and parents.

And that’s when Americans started organizing.

Y’see, teammates traditionally would take a knee after the game to thank the Lord for a good game and His blessings and to pray for those injured during the game.  And their parents were bound and determined that their young men were not going to have that freedom taken away from them.

So, last night, instead of the coach telling the team to take a knee, the quarterback did.

Earlier, on Friday morning, students and parents held a prayer walk outside DeSoto County Schools.

As the bright, blessed day gave way to the dark, sacred night in DeSoto County, parents and students began to pray.

According to student Paige Lewis:

If they’re saying that we can’t pray over a loudspeaker, then we’re going to pray alone.

Earlier in the week, The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a second letter to School Superintendent Milton Kuykendall.  They not only asked the district to stop praying before school events, but also demanded an apology for the comments the superintendent made in a letter sent out earlier this week.

Cheeky, huh?

These bitter whiners were upset that Kuykendall wrote:

In my opinion, most people do not realize that this organization out of Wisconsin doesn’t really care if we have prayer in our schools. They see an opportunity to try and accuse us of breaking the law and therefore give them a chance to sue our district and win a lawsuit and take millions of our funds. This is money that is needed to pay teachers and educate our students.

According to Professional Atheist, Annie Laurie Gaylor, of the Foundation:

It hurts our reputation to have a public official saying we just complained to make money, nonetheless millions. We never make any money on our litigation. That’s ridiculous.

What she was alluding to, is the fact that they have sued 50 American high schools, in their attempt to ban prayer from public events.

Well, your salary comes from somewhere, Wendy Whiner.

As her and her compatriots’ heads no doubt exploded, hundreds of parents and students spontaneously gathered to pray aloud before the opening kick-off of high school football games across DeSoto County Friday.

Per the local newspaper, the DeSoto Times Tribune:

At the Olive Branch game, spectators began to pray the Lord’s Prayer in unison around 7:15 p.m. just moments before the Olive Branch High School Conquistadors and Memphis Trezevant took to the field.

The same was the case at Hernando High School just prior to kickoff against Pontotoc.

The Rev. Mike Coker, pastor of the Refuge Church in Hernando led a prayer outside Tiger Stadium before the game and encouraged people in the crowd to pray.

After the singing of the national anthem, people in the stands recited the Lord’s Prayer.

A large group of Horn Lake High School and Lake Cormorant High School parents also joined in saying the Lord’s just prior to the Horn Lake – Lake Cormorant football game at Horn Lake.

The group prayer was not sponsored by the DeSoto County School system and was led by parents, not teachers or administrators.

At their meeting this past Monday, DeSoto County School Board members stood by their current policy which states that “school administrators, teachers and staff shall take a neutral approach regarding the promotion of prayer or other religious activities in schools or at school-sponsored events. They cannot interfere with students exercising their religious rights as permitted by law and they cannot tell or suggest to students that they should pray or participate in religious activities. Prayer over the intercom or at school-related activities shall not be allowed except as specifically stated above.”

What the Foundation, Obama, and the other Progressives attempting to remove Our Creator from day-to-day American Life don’t seem to understand is: 

Salvation is an individual experience, not something that happens to a collective. 

And America, our sacred land,  was built upon individual freedom.

During a Vice-Presidential Debate in 1992, Ross Perot’s running mate, distinguished Admiral James Stockdale, uttered a phrase which many of us have asked since time in memorial:

Who am I?  Why am I here?

On the occasion of my 500th post on this blog that bears my name, I would like to reflect on those questions for a moment.

As my introductory page states, I am a 52 year old Christian American Conservative.  I was raised by members of The Greatest Generation.  My father landed at Normandy.  I love God and I love this Sacred Land that I was blessed to be born in.

I am the youngest of three children, growing up with a step-sister, who is gone now, and a sister, with whom I remain close.  I am a well-trained husband, and I  am the father of a special daughter, who has been a blessing to me over and over again during her 24 years.  I have helped to raise three step-sons, and am proud of all three of them, as I am equally proud of my two grown nephews and my niece.   And I plead guilty to spoiling my 3 and 1/2 year old grandson, Robert.

I am a son of the South, currently residing in the Northwest corner of Mississippi, after living the majority of my life in Memphis, Tennessee.

I love music, having sung in churches since I was 19, a legacy from my earthly father, who possessed a beautiful tenor voice.  I have also played rhythm guitar since that age.  I even got to see Elvis Presley in concert in the early 70s from the top row of the Mid-South Coliseum.  He was wearing a blue jumpsuit.

The majority of my generation had similar experiences, as I did, growing up.

We had basketball goals hanging on our carports.  We played football in our front yards.  We had black light and Farrah Fawcett posters in our rooms.  And we all ran out and bought Frampton Comes Alive double albums.

We said yes ma’am/sir and no ma’am/sir, when addressed by our parents or any adult, especially in the South.  And all the parents in our neighborhood treated us like we were their kids.

The origin of my web identity goes back to 2008, right before the national election.  I found a Conservative website named Hot Air, owned and managed by the phenomenal Conservative, Michelle Malkin.  I wanted to contribute comments, but I needed an anonymous handle.  I came up with the name kingsjester in homage to the King of Kings, and because of the fact that I bear the middle name of King, as did my father before me.

The  jester part of my handle came from the fact that, like my father before me, I love to laugh, and having been blessed by God with a quick wit, and a quicker mouth, well…it just seemed natural.

I am currently in my sixth year of reading God’s Word all the way through.  I read 4 chapters a morning, before I sit down to write this blog.  I view this not as a ritual, but a necessity.  He teaches me something new every day.

My Conservatism comes naturally, having been raised by my parents to love this country, and watching them exercise good old-fashioned American values in our home.  My political leanings were solidified for me in the 1980s, as I was privileged to spend my 20s during the presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan.

I suppose that is why I so fiercely oppose the presidency and actions of Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm).  Having seen and experienced so many great things that living in our country has to offer, it chapped my hindquarters to watch a sitting President of the United States go around the world, apologizing for the greatest country on God’s green Earth.

And then, later in this nightmare called a presidency, this Chamberlain wannabe, who is supposed to be defending our country from enemies foreign and domestic, held secret meetings with fanatic worshipers of the very ideology that was responsible for massacring 3,000 of our citizens on September 11, 2011.  Frankly, it made my blood boil.

And now, this bozo and his minions in the MSM, and on both sides of the aisle, are attacking the grassroots movement known as the Tea Party.  In fact,  syndicated columnist and hardcore Lib, Leonard Pitts, Jr, reports that:

…The noteworthy thing about the CNN/ORC poll, which was conducted Aug. 5-7, is not simply that it found 51 percent of Americans now regard the tea party unfavorably, up from 26 percent when they first started asking this question in January 2010. No, what’s telling is where the dislike is coming from. You see, the spike does not reflect a change of mind from the tea-party faithful. Approval numbers have remained relatively stable over the 19-month history of the survey, starting out at 33 percent, peaking to 38 percent twice, falling back to 31 percent this month. Once one drinks the tea, apparently, the tea stays drunk.

No, the fluctuation has come from those who previously knew nothing about the party. Twenty-four percent of Americans said in January of last year that they had never heard of it. Only 5 percent say that now.

As that number has fallen, tea party disfavor has risen.

To put that more simply: The more Americans learn about this movement, the more they dislike it.

Bull.  The Tea Party is America.  That oversampled CNN poll is nothing but a worthless Liberal propaganda tool.

So, tell me, Leonard…How do you explain the fact that, just yesterday, gallup .com reported that Obama’s job approval rating is now tanking at a new low of 39%, compared to Bush’s 60% at the same time in his presidency?

Thanks, everybody, for your support.  We’ve got a lot of work to do.  November 2, 2010 was just the opening act. It’s up to all of us. 

I know that I’ve got at least another 500 posts in me.  We’re just gettin’ started, y’all.  Let’s roll!

Yesterday morning, Texas Governor and possible Republican Candidate for President Rick Perry, did something that was labelled shameful and harmful in the eyes of many Liberals and so-called “Fiscal” Conservatives in our great nation:

He actually prayed (GASP!) at a Houston Prayer Breakfast, along with over 30,000 other Americans.

OH, THE HORROR!

Standing on a stage surrounded by thousands of fellow Christians, Gov. Perry called on Christ to bless and guide the nation’s military and political leaders and “those who cannot see the light in the midst of all the darkness.”

Gov. Perry prayed:

Lord, you are the source of every good thing. You are our only hope, and we stand before you today in awe of your power and in gratitude for your blessings, and humility for our sins. Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government, and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness.

Speaking for around 13 minutes, the Governor read several passages from the Bible (OH, NOES!) during the prayer rally he sponsored. Thousands of people stood or kneeled in the aisles or on the concrete floor in front of the stage, some wiping away tears and some shouting, “Amen!”

Governor Perry also asked those in the audience to pray for President Obama:

Father, we pray for our president, that you impart your wisdom upon him, that you would guard his family.

Those who refuse to accept the fact that this great nation was founded on a Judeo-Christian belief system, by actual Christians, or as they like to derisively call us, Christianists, are beside themselves over the fact that Gov. Perry unshakably proclaims Jesus Christ as his Savior.

For example, here’s the New York Times, attempting to retain a facade of neutrality, while obviously seething inside:

In many ways, the rally was unprecedented, even in Texas, where faith and politics have long intersected without much controversy — the governor, as both a private citizen and an elected leader, delivering a message to the Lord at a Christian prayer rally he created, while using his office’s prestige, letterhead, Web site and other resources to promote it. Mr. Perry said he wanted people of all faiths to attend, but Christianity dominated the service and the religious affiliations of the crowd. The prayers were given in Jesus Christ’s name, and the many musical performers sang of Christian themes of repentance and salvation.

Mr. Perry, a lifelong Methodist who regularly attends an evangelical megachurch near his home in West Austin, has been speaking and preaching in sanctuaries throughout Texas since he was state agricultural commissioner in the 1990s. Organizers for the event, called The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis, estimated that more than 30,000 people were at Reliant Stadium when Mr. Perry spoke…

The Times went on to mention that the seating capacity of the Event Center is 71,500, and pointed out all the empty seats in the upper deck, just for good measure.

The Prayer Breakfast was held nine days after a federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed against Governor Perry by a national group of atheists. Their flimsy argument was that his participation in the rally in his official capacity as governor violated the First Amendment’s requirement of separation of church and state.

Defeated in court, the miserable members and supporters of that group, the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, were among dozens of people protesting outside the stadium. Others miscreants included gay activists who criticized Mr. Perry for supporting the American Family Association, which organized and financed the rally. The association is a conservative evangelical group based in Mississippi that is listed as an antigay hate group by the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center.

Gov. Perry invited his fellow governors to join him, but only Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a Republican, attended. Gov. Rick Scott of Florida made a video statement that was played in the stadium.

Then, there’s this from yahoo.com:

On Thursday, a Fox News opinion website called Fox Nation aggregated a “Playbook” column by Politico’s Mike Allen about President Barack Obama’s 50th birthday bash, changing Allen’s typically long headline with this:

‘Obama’s Hip-Hop BBQ Didn’t Create Jobs’

The private party included dinner (“BBQ chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, salad”) in the Rose Garden was attended by Obama’s staff and celebrities including Al Sharpton, Jay-Z, Chris Rock, Charles Barkley, Steve Harvey, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. There were performances by Stevie Wonder, R&B singer Ledisi, jazz legend Herbie Hancock. A DJ “played Motown, hip-hop, and ’70s and ’80s R&B.”

“The president asked everyone to dance — and they did!”

The headline, not surprisingly, immediately sparked renewed charges of racism against the network. But Fox is standing by it.

Bill Shine, Fox executive vice president of programming in charge of the Fox Nation site, defended the decision in a statement to The Cutline: “We used the hip-hop reference per Politico’s Playbook story this morning which stated ‘Also present: Chicago pals, law-school friends, donors–and lots of kids of friends, who stole the show by doing dance routines to the hip-hop songs, in the center of the East Room.'”

The network has shut off further comments on the article, which were becoming incendiary.

“We found many of the comments to be offensive and inappropriate and they have been removed,” Shine said.

Previously, the Rapper/Poet/Actor known as Common performed a poetry reading at the White House on May 11, 2011.

His appearance was protested by the New Jersey State Police and their union.

The focus of their concern was the song “A Song For Assata” about a member of the Black Liberation Army named Assata Shakur, previously known as Joanne Chesimard, who was convicted in 1977 of the first degree murder of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster. Lyrics of “A Song For Assata” claim that Shakur was wrongly convicted.

Assata had been convicted of a murder she couldna done/Medical evidence shown she couldna shot the gun.

Reportedly, at another poetry reading, Common said, “flyers say ‘free Mumia’ on my freezer,” a reference to Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

Jay Carney, the White House Secretary,in speaking for President Obama said that the president does not support, but actually opposes, some of the kind of words and lyrics that have been written by Common and others. Even though the president does not support the lyrics in question, he believed that some reports were distorting what Mr. Lynn stands for more broadly.

If he does not support those lyrics, why was Common allowed in the White House, and, furthermore, why was Hip Hop played at Obama’s 50th Birthday Party?

And yet…the media focuses on a Texas Governor, who dares to proclaim Christ as his  Personal Savior.

Yesterday, on Father’s day 2011, NBC utilized their impeccable taste and creative skills to put together what they perceived as an electrifying, patriotic opening for the United States Open Golf Championship.

The opening featured a reading of the Pledge of Allegiance by a group of children in a classroom.

That would have been enough to stir the patriotic soul of even the most callous observer, right?

Wrong!

It stirred up Americans’ sense of Patriotism, alright. The idiots at NBC edited out the phrase UNDER GOD!

This is what viewers of the golf tournament heard:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, with liberty and justice for all.

And once was not enough for NBC. They did it twice!

The kids actually recited the pledge two times.  NBC edited the second version to not only leave out UNDER GOD, but ONE NATION, as well.

To say that Americans got stirred up is probably an understatement. Immediately, viewers took to Twitter and internet comment boards, calling NBC “scumbugs” and pledging to boycott the network.

Of course, once they realized that the overwhelming majority of America’s did not appreciate their selective editing,  NBC tried to feebly apologize.

From washingtonpost.com:

NBC apologized for cutting the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance in its leadup to coverage to the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.

The move quickly drew criticism Dan Hicks said, during the broadcast of Open action:

We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.

Once is an accident.  Twice is deliberate.

So,  how did the phrase UNDER GOD come to be in the Pledge of Allegiance?

According to associatedcontent.com:

In 1953, Representative Louis Rabaut, a Democrat from Michigan, introduced the first bill in the U.S. Congress that would officially add “under God” to the Pledge. Rabaut’s effort was not immediately successful. It was, however, passed by Congress the following year, 1954. The Presbyterian Reverend George M. Docherty, who counted then-President Eisenhower among his congregation, was seen as influential in pushing the change.

In 1954, there were actually two bills introduced into Congress seeking to modify the Pledge of Allegiance by adding “under God.” The Senate passed one such bill. Congressman Rabaut, however, blocked efforts to pass that bill in the Congress, insisting that his bill be passed instead. On June 7, 1954, Congress did pass the Rabaut version, and the Senate passed the same bill on June 8, 1954.

The decision of Congress to add “under God” to the Pledge was, at least in part, a reaction to the Cold War with Soviet Russia. One of the differentiating factors between Soviet Communism and American

Democracy was that the Soviets officially advocated atheism. The phrase “under God” was seen, therefore, to reaffirm an important distinction between the two competing worldviews.

On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed the bill officially adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The President remarked that, “millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town … the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty.”

NBC isn’t alone in the zeal to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance.  Harry Reid did it on April 12th, 2011, while citing the Pledge on the floor of the Senate:

Liberals have been pursuing their quest for years. In 2002, Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum left the phrase UNDER GOD out of the Pledge, while leading it on the House Floor:

What is it about the phrase UNDER GOD, being in the Pledge of Allegiance, that causes Liberals to react like vampires in the shadow of the Cross?

On December 1st, 2008, in an article titled “It’s Time to Update the Pledge”, posted on newsweek.washingtonpost.com, Sally Quinn wrote:

Today, pluralistic America is engaged in mortal combat against anti-modern, fundamentalist, religionized humanity.

It isn’t our belief in God that makes us different. It’s our belief in the liberties (religious and other) enshrined in the Constitution. The American creed is faith in liberty for all, not the religion of most.

Evidently, Ms. Quinn, Rep. McCollum, Sen. Reid, and their fellow Liberals at NBC have failed to heed the words of United States President John Adams who penned:

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Isn’t it funny how those who claim to be the most tolerant Americans, are actually the least tolerant of all?

NBC and their Liberal brethren would be well-served to watch and learn from this explanation of our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance, given by America’s Clown Prince of Comedy, Mr. Richard “Red” Skelton, who, coincidentally, ended his long and storied career in network television with a half-hour series on NBC in 1971.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the incomparable Mr. Red Skelton:

Why do Liberals hate Israel?  And why are the majority of American Jews Liberal?

This is a paradox that has perplexed Christian Conservative Americans, such as myself, for a long time.  What is it about the existence of the state of israel that vexes the minds of Liberals and Progressives so?

David Mamet, a former Liberal turned Conservative author is  in the process of publicizing his new book, The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, which studies in depth the themes he announced in his 2008 op-ed for the Village Voice, “Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal.’

Yesterday, June 11th, 2011, americanthinker.com’s Rick Richman posted an article, reviewing Mamet’s new book. In this article, the author touches upon the subject of Liberal Anti-Semitism:

In a chapter entitled “The Intelligent Person’s Guide to Socialism and Anti-Semitism,” he first argues that “social justice” is a sort of Sunday religion that does not carry over to the pressures of the workweek, and he illustrates his thought as follows:

One may bemoan the plight of the Palestinians, who have elected a government of terrorists and daily bomb their neighbor to the West, but we realize that any support past the sentimental is elective: we do not want to live there, nor to go there, and we blink at the knowledge that monies spent in their support may be diverted to the support of terror, and of organizations pledged not only to kill all the Jews, but to kill Americans and Westerners of all faiths.

Where does sympathy stop, and where may it not become sanctimony and hypocrisy?

And then he answers his own question with a mini-drama:

Our American plane has been forced to land at some foreign airport, by the outbreak of World War III. It will not be allowed to depart. Two planes are leaving the airport; we must choose which we want to board. One plane is flying to Israel and one to Syria, and we must choose.

That’s where the sympathy stops.

No one reading this book would get on the plane to Syria. Why? It is a despotism, opposed to the West, to women, to gays, to Jews, to free speech. … And yet one may gain status or a feeling of solidarity by embracing the “Arab cause.”

Mamet’s mini-drama works even if you believe Israel is not a “laudable precious democracy” but “guilty of all the horrors” alleged against it:

I assert that you would still fight with every force and argument at your command to get on the Israeli plane, you and every hard Leftist and every head-shaking misinformed One Worlder and anti-Semite up to and including Jimmy Carter and Noam Chomsky, would, if the issue were his life, suspend his most cherished convictions of Israeli perfidy, and plead for the protection of that state you would then not only acknowledge but assert to be your ally …

There is nothing any reader of this book would not say or do to get himself and his family on the Israeli plane.

Per the americanthinker.com article, one of Mamet’s own previous books: The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred, and the Jews, which is basically an extended letter to his fellow Jews, has a Foreword to the book which ends with this striking paragraph:

To the Jews who, in the sixties, envied the Black Power Movement; who, in the nineties, envied the Palestinians; who weep at Exodus but jeer at the Israel Defense Forces; who nod when Tevye praises tradition but fidget through the seder; … whose favorite Jew is Anne Frank and whose second-favorite does not exist; who are humble in their desire to learn about Kwanzaa and proud of their ignorance of Tu Bi’Shvat; … who bow the head reverently at a baptism and have never attended a bris – to you, who find your religion and race repulsive, your ignorance of your history a satisfaction, here is a book from your brother.

Also, per the article, in his new book, The Secret Knowledge, Mamet asks the following pertinent and poignant question:

Why would any American Jew wish to become a “citizen of the world”? This fantasy is akin to one who believes in the benevolence of Nature. Anyone ever lost in the wild knows that Nature wants you dead. Enjoy the benefits of liberty and defend them as an American, rather than posing as a “citizen of the world.”

In an earlier article, posted on June 2, 2011, on americanthinker.com, Why Does the Left Hate Israel,  Richard Baehr attempts to answer David Mamet’s question:

…I have been to several of the left wing Israel hate fests. They are scary. There is real passion in the air. There is something about Israel that gets the juices going. Anti—Semitism is a part of it. There are a lot of people who are envious of Jews, on the left as well as the right. Patrick Buchanan thinks Jews have hijacked the conservative movement. But on the left, particularly in the academy, and in journalism, I am certain there is professional envy of the many Jewish faces and what better way to get even, and get back for sometimes losing the competitive battle, than by picking on the Jewish state as a surrogate. Leftist Jews sometimes lead the assault against Israel in these venues, thereby giving the attacks, whatever their reason, greater moral authority. Few Jews will stand up for Israel in these environments, because of the great pressure on the left to conform to the group think in the institutions they control.

…The evidence I believe is clear today that Israel faces far greater threats from the left than the right. The left is reflexively anti—Israel and has established important beachheads in significant American institutions— academia, the media, and the old line Protestant ‘high’ churches, as well as in the very seats of government power in many Western European countries, and their intelligentsia. It is not surprising that Israel seems unable to get a fair shake from college professors, the BBC, Reuters, NPR, or liberal churches. Being anti—Israel has become part of their religion.

As a Christian American, I know who I support in the Middle Eastern Conflict:  God’s Chosen People. 

You see, I’ve read The Book.  I know the ending.  Hallelujah!

In the meantime, pajamasmedia.com’s Andrew Klaven presents the following solution to the problem of Israel, with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

As he himself says:

Now, why didn’t somebody think of this before?

 

 

 

According to officials with our government, President Barack Hussein Obama (peace be upon him) and his Administration are ramping up a covert war already in progress, striking at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets.

The Administration is trying to take advantage of internal conflicts in Yemen that has threatened the stability of the small country’s government in Sana, a United States ally. Yemeni government troops had been battling militants linked to Al Qaeda in the southnbut they have now retreated back to the capital. According to our government, the strikes are one of the few options to keep the militants from consolidating power.

Meanwhile, in Iran, where any mention of an Iranian nuclear weapon is taboo, its brutal government continues to swear that its nuclear program is entirely for peaceful, civil purposes.

Yeah, right.

An article appeared on the Gerdab website, run by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, on April 24th, looking forward to the day after Iran’s first test of a nuclear warhead. The following is a translation of the text:

The day after Iran’s first nuclear test is a normal day.

The day after Islamic Republic of Iran’s first nuclear test will be an ordinary day for us Iranians but in the eyes of some of us there will be a new sparkle.

It’s a good day. It’s seven in the morning. The sun is not fully up yet but everywhere is bright. In the northern hemisphere many countries are beginning the day…

The day before, probably in central deserts of Iran, where once Americans and some other Western countries wanted to bury their nuclear waste, an underground nuclear explosion has taken place. The strength of the explosion was not so great as to cause severe damage to the region nor so weak that Iranian scientists face any problems in running their tests.

Today is a normal day like any other. Like 90% of the year, there is news about Iran, and these are the headlines which can be seen on foreign news sites:

Reuters: Iran detonated its nuclear bomb

CNN: Iran detonated nuclear bomb

Al-Jazeera: The second Islamic nuclear bomb was tested0

Al-Arabia: The Shia nuclear bomb was tested

Yahoo! News: Nuclear explosion in Iran

Jerusalem Post: Mullahs obtained nuclear weapon

Washington Post: Nuclear explosion in Iran, Shock and despair in Tel Aviv

Meanwhile, the domestic media will offer many congratulations to the Hidden Imam and the Supreme Leader:

Keyhan: Iran’s first nuclear bomb was tested

Jomhoori-e-eslami: Iran successfully carried out a nuclear test

Iran: By order of the president, Iran’s 100% homemade nuclear bomb was tested

Ettela’at: Iran’s much anticipated nuclear bomb exploded

The news commotion will not knock life in Iran off balance. Civil servants will punch in at work on time as always, while some will be late as always. …The day after the Islamic Republic of Iran’s first nuclear test will be an ordinary day for us Iranians but in the eyes of some of us there will be a new sparkle. A sparkle of national pride and strength.

Don’t worry , Gentle Reader, with our involvement in  now 4 wars and all the  turmoil in the Middle East, President Obama has come up with a solution to bring peace among the warring Arab nations and make them allies of America:  split Israel in half.

There’s just one problem with Obama’s brilliant display of Smart Power!

Israel Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu told our boy Scooter:

No way.  No how.

From my article  Obama Gets Schooled, posted May 21st:

The day after Obama spoke to the American people from the State Department, with an audience of 12 sycophants, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, commanding the nation of Israel to give up half of their nation to the Palestinions, including a number of Christian holy places, he had a scheduled face-to-face meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu.

To say that it did not go well for Obama, is like saying that General Custer had a minor disagreement with the Indians.

In a magnificent display of leadership, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Obama what he could do with his command that Israel return to its 1967 boundaries.

Their meeting ran over by two hours, cancelling their luncheon plans.

While the two leaders agreed that there must be ironclad Israeli security alongside a Palestinian nation, no progress whatsoever was made on the issue of where the borders should be.

In response to Thursday’s speech by Obama, Netanyahu said:

While Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines. These lines are indefensible.

As they sat together on a couch in front of the cameras after their private meeting, an uncomfortable looking Obama tried his best to spin their meeting into a positive thing. The president said:

Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulatons and language. That’s going to happen between friends.

Looking toward Netanyahu, he added:

What we are in complete accord about is that a true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats, and that Israel’s security will remain paramount in U.S. evaluation of any prospective deal.

The  following video from The Jerusalem Center, explains exactly why Israel’s security is dependent upon keeping her borders just as they are.

Zechariah 12:3

3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.

Richard Glover is an Australian Broadcaster and Sydney Morning Herald Op Ed Columnist.  The following statements are from a piece that the newspaper published by him, yesterday morning:

Surely it’s time for climate-change deniers to have their opinions forcibly tattooed on their bodies.

Not necessarily on the forehead; I’m a reasonable man. Just something along their arm or across their chest so their grandchildren could say, ”Really? You were one of the ones who tried to stop the world doing something? And why exactly was that, granddad?”

On second thoughts, maybe the tattooing along the arm is a bit Nazi-creepy. So how about they are forced to buy property on low-lying islands, the sort of property that will become worthless with a few more centimeters of ocean rise, so they are bankrupted by their own bloody-mindedness? Or what about their signed agreement to stand, in the year 2040, lashed to a pole at a certain point in the shallows off Manly? If they are right and the world is cooling – ”climate change stopped in the year 1998” is one of their more boneheaded beliefs – their mouths will be above water. If not …

OK, maybe the desire to see the painful, thrashing death of one’s opponents is not ideal. But, my God, these people are frustrating. You just know that in 20 years’ time, when the costs of our inaction are clear, the climate deniers will become climate-denial-deniers. ”Who me? Oh, no, I always believed in it. Yes, it’s hard to understand why people back then were so daft. It’s so much more costly to stop it now.”

That’s why the tattoo has its appeal.

The Mark of the Beast?

Leonard Weinstein, ScD, published an article on 4/25/2009 titled Disproving The Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) Problem. 

Here are some excerpts:

A hypothesis has been proposed that human activity over about the last 150 years has caused a significant rise in Earth’s average temperature.

…In order to support a hypothesis, specific predictions need to be made that are based on the claims of the hypothesis, and the predictions then need to either happen or be falsified. While the occurrence of the predicted events is not proof positive of a hypothesis, they increase the believability of the claims. However, if the predictions are not observed, this tends to indicate the hypothesis is flawed or even wrong. Some predictions are absolute in nature. Einstein’s prediction of the bending of light by the Sun is such a case. It either would or would not bend, and this was considered a critical test of the validity of his hypothesis of general relativity. It did bend the predicted amount, and helped raise the concept to the status of theory.

Many predictions however are less easily supported. For example, weather forecasting often does a good job in the very short term but over increasing time does a poor job. This is due to the complexity of the numerous nonlinear components. This complexity has been described in chaos theory by what is called the butterfly effect. Any effect that depends on numerous factors, some of which are nonlinear in effect, is nearly impossible to use to make long-range predictions.

However, for some reason, the present predictions of “Climate Change” are considered by the AGW supporters to be more reliable than even short-term weather forecasting. While some overall trends can be reasonably made based on looking at past historical trends, and some computational models can suggest some trends due to specific forcing factors, like any respectable hypothesis, specific predictions need to be made, and then shown to happen, before the AGW models can have any claim to being reasonably valid.

The AGW computational models do make several specific predictions. Since the time scale for checking the result of the predictions is small, and since local weather can vary enough on the short time scale to confuse the longer time scale prediction, allowances for these shorter lasting events have to be made when examining data that is supposed to be supporting the predictions. Nevertheless, if the actual data results do not significantly support the stated predictions, the AGW hypothesis must be reconsidered or even rejected as it stands.

…The final question is what prediction has the AGW hypothesis made that has been demonstrated, and that strongly supports the hypothesis. It appears that there is NO real supporting evidence and much falsifying evidence for the AGW hypothesis as proposed. That is not to say there is no effect from Human activity. Clearly human pollution (not greenhouse gases) is a problem. There is also very likely some contribution to the present temperature variations from the increase in CO2 and CH4, but it is almost certainly a small effect and not a driver of future climate.

Any reasonable scientific analysis must conclude the basic AGW hypothesis fails.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney disagreed with Professor Weinstein, just last Friday:

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney broke with Republican orthodoxy on Friday by saying he believes that humans are responsible, at least to some extent, for climate change.

“I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that,” he told a crowd of about 200 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“It’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors.”…

In addressing climate change and energy policy, Romney called on the United States to break its dependence on foreign oil, and expand alternative energies including solar, wind, nuclear and clean coal.

Man-caused Global Warming has been revealed as nothing more that a con game, designed to make money for its investors and to bring power and prestige to its prophets.

Al Gore has turned out to be the P.T. Barnum of our time.  And, for Mitt Romney to make a statement like this, does nothing but illuminate a dangerous naivete and questionable judgement.

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging out on Conservative websites, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: an intentional redefinition of Conservatism.

Pundits and posters who have a socially Liberal agenda, or, are quite often just plain Liberal, have tried to corrupt old fashioned Conservatism and mutate it into whatever they want it to be:  from Libertarianism to  Progressivism.

In Washington, D.C. on Friday, there was convention held by the Faith and Values Coalition.

The Coalition is headed by Ralph Reed, who made his name as the political strategist for the Christian Coalition in the 1990s. It was founded by Reverend Jerry Falwell in November of 2004.

As I wrote yesterday, faith plays a very important role in Americans’ lives, as does the concept of family values. 92 % of Americans believe in God. 75 % of Americans self-identify as Christians.

The GOP faces a problem. The only insider giving lip service to matters of faith and values, Mike Huckabee, has announced that he isn’t running.

The only other potential candidate who is unafraid to proclaim their Christianity is former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, whom the GOP Elite seems to be ignoring as long as they can.

So, how can the GOP Elite try to convince Christian Conservatives that they’re one of them?

In their minds, the answer was, by showing up at a two-day convention in Washington, DC, to brag on how strong and traditional their faith and values are, in order to try to solicit Christians’ votes.

At Friday’s session, the candidates and potential candidates spoke about religious/social issues and low-tax crusades, in an attempt to bridge the gap between Fiscal Conservatives (Moderates) and Reagan Conservatives (SoCons).

If the GOP power structure can’t accomplish this feat, they will lose the upcoming National Election, because even the Gallup polls show that there are far more Conservatives in this country than there are Moderates.

Speaking of Moderates, Moderate  Jon Huntsman told the crowd:

I do not believe the Republican Party should focus solely on our economic life to the neglect of our human life. If Republicans ignore life, the deficit we will face is one that is much more destructive. It will be a deficit of the heart and of the soul.

Flip-floppin’ Moderate and former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, proclaimed that it’s “a moral tragedy for us to pile up more and more debt” that is passed on to younger generations.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (yawn) was there. Pawlenty was raised Catholic but became an evangelical while dating his future wife, Mary. Pawlenty began and ended his speech to the convention on Friday with biblical quotes. He said the nation must turn toward God, protect the unborn, support traditional marriage and keep Americans secure.

Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who is slowly moving toward beginning a presidential campaign, reminded the crowd that she home-schooled her five biological children and served as foster mother to 23 others. She also reminded the audience that “marriage is under siege” in America, and then, closed with a prayer.

Perennial presidential candidate,Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, struck his familiar libertarian themes, and quoted from the Bible’s first book of Samuel.

Rick Santorum and Herman Cain were scheduled to speak yesterday, with former Godfather’s CEO Cain  giving the keynote speech of the convention.

Cain delivered a barn burner of a stump speech, per thehill.com:

“We have become a nation of crises,” he said. “And we have a severe deficiency of leadership crisis in the White House.”

Speaking to the largely evangelical crowd, Cain invoked Scripture from the beginning and related spiritual experiences when explaining what inspired him to run for the White House. He cited his desire to “make this world a better world” for his grandchildren, as well as his struggle with cancer five years ago.

When asked in a brief interview with The Hill if he considers himself a social or fiscal conservative candidate, he said that “those are just labels.” He cited his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion and emphasized his business credentials, asserting that he was both.

Cain, who has never held elected office, addressed questions of his lack of foreign policy experience by claiming that Obama lacked those credentials, too.

“Reporters like to ding me that I don’t have any foreign policy experience,” Cain said. “Uh, does the current president have any?”

He criticized the Obama administration for having a “foggy foreign policy” and said that his position on Israel would be straightforward.

“The Cain doctrine would be real simple when it comes to Israel: You mess with Israel, you mess with the United States of America,” he said to a long standing ovation.

Now, there’s a man who gets it.

Americans long for a return to genuine Conservatism.  Reagan Conservatism.  We are not Europe.  We are not some Third World Barrio. This is America.  We are Americans…and we are exceptional.

 

An Australian group, going by the name of Mypeace, has launched a blasphemous, ill-informed “public awareness campaign in that country’s largest city of Sydney. It’s tagline:

Mypeace says that the purpose of the campaign is

to inform, not offend.

Uh huh.

One Catholic bishop has called the campaign

a direct assault on Christian beliefs.

Billboards in the metropolitan Sydney area sport one of four simple slogans:

• Jesus: A Prophet of Islam
• Holy Qur’an: The Final Testament
• Muhammad: Mercy to Mankind
• Islam: Got Questions? Get Answers.

According to Islamic doctrine, the 7th century Arabian Mohammed was the last in a long line of prophets of Islam stretching back to Adam, and including Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist – and Jesus. The “Got Questions?” ad in Sydney also describes Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed as “prophets of Islam”.

Every billboard invites Australians to get in touch with mypeace by phone or online, for literature and a free copy of the Qur’an. According to the Muslim organization, the ads will stay up for one month.

Later in 2011, the slogans will be seen on numerous public buses in the city.

One of the billboards calling Jesus a Muslim was vandalized a day after it was put up.

According to Mypeace, it is attempting to

address the many misconceptions on Islam, to educate fellow Australians on Islam, invite them to ask any questions that they may have.

On its website, Mypeace states that

“Islām” is an Arabic word which means peaceful, willing submission – submission to the code of conduct ordained by God. So Islam is a religion, but it is also a complete way of life based upon a voluntary relationship between an individual and his Creator. It is the way of life ordained by God which was taught by each of His prophets and messengers, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them). What distinguishes Islam from other religions is that it refuses to accept any form of creation, whatsoever, as a deity worthy of worship. Instead, it emphasizes the exclusive worship of the one God who created the entire universe and to whom all creation will eventually return.

Monotheism is the foundation of Islam and its most important concept which cannot be compromised in any way. Not only is God acknowledged as the sole creator and sustainer of everything in existence, but Islam declares that He is the only true deity and He alone is worthy to be worshipped. Further, it recognizes that the attributes of God are nothing like those of His creation and cannot be compared to it; He is absolute, perfect and unique. By following God’s guidance as revealed in the Quran, an individual can obtain meaning and purpose in this live and eternal paradise in the hereafter. [‘Permission from ‘Saheeh International’]

“peaceful, willing submission”…Daniel Pearl remains unavailable for comment.

Julian Porteous, auxiliary bishop at the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, fought back in an article, writing:

In Australia with its Christian heritage a billboard carrying the statement ‘Jesus A prophet of Islam’ is provocative and offensive to Christians.

Central to Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ is more than a prophet. He is the Son of God. He is acclaimed Lord and Savior of humanity. This statement is a direct assault on Christian beliefs.

According to the Bishop, religions should not

set out to antagonize those with differing beliefs.

Dialogue between the religions can only take place when it is founded in mutual respect. It is not fostered by provocative statements.

Porteous urged Mypeace to withdraw the ads.

In a related story, gallup.com posted a poll on Friday whose results showed that 92 % of Americans still believe in GOD.  This result is only 4 % lower than the 96% figure that Gallup pollsters found when they asked the question in 1944.

Among to those polled, belief in God drops below 90% among younger Americans, liberals, those living in the East, those with postgraduate educations, and political independents. However, belief in God is nearly universal among Republicans and conservatives and, to a slightly lesser degree, in the South.

How many of these American believers in God are Muslim?

Per adherents.com:

According to an academic review of available survey-based data in 2001, informed by information provided by Muslim organizations and mosques, the highest reasonable total number of Muslims in the United States is 2.8 million.

A more realistic number, supported by statistically significant survey data comparable to what has been used to to calculate the sizes of other religious groups, is less than 2 million Muslims in the United States, or about 0.5% of the total population.

Estimates of the U.S. Muslim population of 6 million, 8 million, 10 million or more may indeed be correct, but are not supported by empirical data. Such numbers may best be understood as “spiritual” numbers, rather than actual numbers.

However, according to the American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, 75 % of Americans identify themselves as Christian.

The vast difference in numbers probably explains why we haven’t seen Mypeace’s “public awareness” campaign in America…yet.