Tag: American Freedom

Thanksgiving 2022: Giving Thanks for Our American Freedom and the Average Americans Who Help Us Keep It

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

the_first_thanksgiving-8214-960x500

Thanksgiving Day.

Simply saying the words to myself brings back a flood of precious memories…memories of Thanksgivings past, as a child, surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, my sisters, and my Mother and Daddy…smells of sage dressing and oven-roasted turkey…followed by the feeling of having an over-stuffed stomach…all topped by the sounds of laughter and the sight of my aunts and uncles, all members of America’s Greatest Generation, being led in a penny-ante poker game after the Thanksgiving meal by my Daddy, the finest man I have ever known…all of them enjoying each other’s company as they reveled in the wonderful completeness of being a family.

Regardless of what the White House Staff posted yesterday, it is not about sharing a bunch of Talking Points about what a “great” job Dementia-riddled octogenarian Joe Biden is doing as President.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American Holiday…as unique as the nation which celebrates it.

In 1621, a small group of Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast celebrating the autumn harvest. This is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

However, Thanksgiving is much more than this.

Thanksgiving is a day when Americans thank their Creator for the blessings they have received during the year, while holding hope and expectation in their hearts for the blessings yet to come.

The Father of Our Country expressed his thankfulness concerning God and America, when he announced this holiday in 1789:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor – and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. – United States President George Washington.

On November 15, 1985, in the first year of his second term, President Ronald Reagan issued the following proclamation…

Although the time and date of the first American thanksgiving observance may be uncertain, there is no question but that this treasured custom derives from our Judeo-Christian heritage. “Unto Three, O God, do we give thanks,” the Psalmist sang, praising God not only for the “wondrous works” of His creation, but for loving guidance and deliverance from dangers.

A band of settlers arriving in Maine in 1607 held a service of thanks for their safe journey, and twelve years later settlers in Virginia set aside a day of thanksgiving for their survival. In 1621 Governor William Bradford created the most famous of all such observances at Plymouth Colony when a bounteous harvest prompted him to proclaim a special day “to render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings.” The Spaniards in California and the Dutch in New Amsterdam also held services to give public thanks to God.

In 1777, during our War of Independence, the Continental Congress set aside a day for thanksgiving and praise for our victory at the battle of Saratoga. It was the first time all the colonies took part in such an event on the same day. The following year, upon news that France was coming to our aid, George Washington at Valley Forge prescribed a special day of thanksgiving. Later, as our first President, he responded to a Congressional petition by declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789, the first Thanksgiving Day of the United States of America.

Although there were many state and national thanksgiving days proclaimed in the ensuing years, it was the tireless crusade of one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, that finally led to the establishment of this beautiful feast as an annual nationwide observance. Her editorials so touched the heart of Abraham Lincoln that in 1863 – even in the midst of the civil War – he enjoined his countrymen to be mindful of their many blessings, cautioning them not to forget “the source from which they come,” that they are “the gracious gifts of the Most High God…” Who ought to be thanked “with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

It is in that spirit that I now invite all Americans to take part again in this beautiful tradition with its roots deep in our history and deeper still in our hearts. We manifest our gratitude to God for the many blessings he has showered upon our land and upon its people.

In this season of Thanksgiving we are grateful for our abundant harvests and the productivity of our industries; for the discoveries of our laboratories; for the researches of our scientists and scholars; for the achievements of our artists, musicians, writers, clergy, teachers, physicians, businessmen, engineers, public servants, farmers, mechanics, artisans, and workers of every sort whose honest toil of mind and body in a free land rewards them and their families and enriches our entire Nation.

Let us thank God for our families, friends, and neighbors, and for the joy of this very festival we celebrate in His name. Let every house of worship in the land and every home and every heart be filled with the spirit of gratitude and praise and love on this Thanksgiving Day.

On this Thanksgiving Day 2022, I’m thankful for Americans who are still making a difference: “Average Americans” who still love God and country and stand on principle with their feet planted on a Solid Rock, and not on shifting sands.

The “Average American”, the 9 to 5′er, working himself into the grave to try to provide for his family.

It was this same “Average American”, who fired the shot heard around the world and began the War for American Independence, who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in World War II, who waded through rice paddies in Vietnam, and who swallowed sand in Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

The same “Average American” who, as a New York City Policeman or Fireman, ran up the stairs of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01, instead of running down them.

The same “Average American”, who simply wants things to be easier in this life for his children and grandchildren, than he had it.

It is this same “Average American”, who takes family and friends in, when they are in the midst of a life-altering tragedy.

The same “Average American”, who volunteers on a soup line or at a Senior Citizens Home, or, who begins a successful business in his basement.

They are the reason we remain, in spite of all that has befallen us as a nation, the Greatest Country on the Face of the Earth, despite what those who are presently trying to take away our right as Americans to live and raise our children and grandchildren as we see fit.

They are also the reason that we will “Make America Great Again”.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until He Comes,

KJ

There is Always Hope

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

Today is Holy Saturday, the day before the Greatest Event in Human History.

The world back then was a very different place but in some ways very similar to what we’re experiencing now.

People were having their freedoms being taken away by an oppressive government who did not care what the people wanted and were only interested in the acquisition of political power and prestige.

Oppressive laws were put in place and people who were already suffering were being taxed to the point of starvation.

They dare not speak out against the government for fear of retribution and being labeled as heretics and revolutionaries or being jailed or killed for speaking out.

So, common folks tried to live their lives as best they could, providing for their families, while looking for some glimmer of hope… Someone to tell them that they were loved and appreciated.

And then, Someone did appear…a Carpenter’s Son from Nazareth, who spoke about the love of His Father and unfathomable joy, grace, and forgiveness.

The professional politicians in charge of the oppressive government saw the fear of those whom they controlled slipping away as a result of the Good News being spread by the Man From Galilee.

So, with the help of one of his own followers who betrayed him, they framed him, tried him, and crucified him.

And, they thought that they had won.

But, they had overestimated themselves and underestimated the Power of God’s Love.

Today, America finds itself facing a new form of oppression. Average Americans are being told that they are ignorant, uncaring, or revolutionaries because they hold on to traditional faith and values,while objecting to their individual freedoms being taken away, because the majority in this country are still guided by the Divine Spark which that Carpenter’s Son left in each of us.

So, I’m going to going to end my thoughts for this Saturday before Resurrection Sunday by telling you that man’s evil political machinations will not triumph.

There is always hope.

Joy comes in the morning.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Oregon Health Authority to Propose a Permanent Indoor Mask Mandate…”Individual Freedom? What’s That?”

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

Masks Required

FoxNews.com reports that

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) assembled a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) earlier this week to address a permanent indoor mask mandate in the state. Oregon is one of a few states that still retain one nearly two years into the pandemic.

The committee included several community stakeholders, including representatives from the hospitality industry, the business sector, and faith communities, according to local ABC affiliate KATU.

Dr. Paul Cieslak, the medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations with OHA, explained to KATU that OHA’s potential “permanent” indoor mask mandate is not necessarily permanent because it can be repealed.

“Permanent means indefinite. It doesn’t necessarily mean permanent,” Cieslak said. “We can repeal it as well, but we are only allowed to have a temporary rule for 180 days, and anything that goes beyond 180 days, we cannot extend it.”

The RAC reportedly met with OHA for approximately two hours.

The public will be permitted to offer comment when OHA proposes the indoor mask rule formally, the date of which has yet to be announced.

The OHA repealed the outdoor mask mandate in November, but kept it in place indoors.

“We continue to see a concerning pattern of COVID-19 spread throughout the state, with the heaviest concentrations found in counties with lagging vaccination rates,” OHA Director Pat Allen said at the time.

Other health experts, such as Johns Hopkins Professor Marty Makary, have spoken against indefinite mask mandates.

“We may have a baseline rate of COVID cases hovering around where they are now in the Southeast forever,” Makary said in a November interview. “We are entering an endemic phase and the question we need to ask as a society is, do we want a perpetual society with people masked?”

Makary added: “And the marginal benefit of masking is diminishing as the prevalence declines. Also, in many instances we’re requiring masks of people at the absolute lowest risk and by insisting on throwing the kitchen sink at virus transmission we will have to pay the piper somehow. That may come in the form of a loss of human connection, more increased mental health problems, and in children a series of problems including issues in development and speech development and other downsides.”

Americans have been told that the purpose of wearing a mask in public it to prevent others from spreading the disease to you.

Oregon’s proposed permanent indoor mask mandate is not medicinal.

It is political.

It is about controlling something, alright…but it is not the Chinese Coronavirus which the Democratic  Oregon State Politicians and Bureaucrats want to control.

It is the lives of Oregon’s citizens.

If Americans were forced to wear masks from coast to coast, every day, in every situation, individual isolation and non-communication would be even more prevalent than it is now.

There were grandparents who did not seen their “children” or their grandchildren in the entire time that our Sovereign Nation was placed in a lockdown.

Some businesses have still not reopened.

And, instead of helping them to reopen and helping average Americans, Congress ran away from Washington D.C., leaving as fast as a bunch of barflies trying to avoid paying their tab at closing time.

But, I digress…

So, why do those who are in power in the state of Oregon want to put a Permanent Mask Mandate in place?

This is not about concern for Oregonians.

This is a ploy to gain complete and utter control of their daily lives.

Democrats have our American Freedom.

The reason?

Americans’ Freedom is not a group thing.

America was founded on the concept of “liberty and freedom for all”.

Liberty is freedom …with responsibility…individual responsibility…for our lives and that of our family.

Yes, we care about our friends. However, they are free in this country to make their own decisions as to what is right for them and their family.

If those in power in the state of Oregon actually believe that they are going to force Americans to wear masks indoors for the rest of their lives they have a huge surprise ahead of them.

Americans have had enough of their personal liberty being taken away from them by National, State, and Municipal Democrat Politicians.

The overwhelming majority of Americans are not going to comply with any more “flattening the curve” restrictions.

The mortality rate of COVID-19 has shrunk tremendously and it time to live as Americans again.

And, if you Democrats crave a Totalitarian Socialist Government that much, Cuba is just 90 miles away.

Until He Comes,

KJ

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Memorial Day 2021: Liberty is Freedom With Responsibility

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

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Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it. – Pete Hegseth

Today is a day of solemn remembrance, during which we honor our fallen heroes.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Last night, as I sat down to write today’s post, I tried to think about something pithy to write. Then, I realized that today is not a day for witticisms and sarcasm.

I thought about all of the American lives, all of the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives out of love and devotion for our Sovereign Nation and their fellow Americans, both their comrades and their families back home.

The unselfish devotion shown by these brave Americans is made fun of and remains the source of derision by many devotees of the anti-American political philosophy who consider themselves to be the “smartest people in the room”.

These same “enlightened” individuals consider “patriotism” to be a bad word.

They have replaced it words like “nationalism” and “jingoism”.

The devotees of this political philosophy do not believe in American Exceptionalism.

They believe that America is “just another country”, certainly not worthy of sacrificing their lives for.

These people just don’t get it.

Freedom is not free.

That is why brave men and women of the past and the present age have fought and died while wearing the uniforms of our Armed Forces.

When they went into battle, they did not just represent their hometowns…they represented all of us.

From the germ of an idea to the greatest country on the face of God’s green Earth, this country has stood strong because of resolute men and women who were willing to “pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to protect “The Shining City Upon a Hill”.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13-17 

May God bless and comfort the families of our Fallen Heroes and may their memories and our American Freedom endure.

Until He Comes,

KJ

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Trump Says That He Won’t Allow an “Angry Mob” to Tear Down Statues, “Indoctrinate Our Children” or “Trample” Freedoms…He’s Back!!!

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

20200705-usa-independence-day-rtr-s

“Today, we thank God for the gift of LIFE and the blessing of LIBERTY. We honor the LEGENDS of our history, the GLORIES of our Founding, the GIANTS of the past, and the HEROES of today who keep us Safe, Strong, Proud & FREE! Once again, Happy July Fourth to All!“ – President Donald J. Trump, July 4, 2020

FoxNews.com reports that.

President Trump evoked the history of American patriots who defeated Nazis, toppled communists and chased down terrorists, but warned of another threat now in today’s political climate — the “radical left.”

In a Fourth of July speech at the White House in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest, Trump made a full-throated defense of America’s past and said he won’t allow an “angry mob” to tear down statues, “indoctrinate our children” or “trample” freedoms.

“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left,” Trump said to hundreds at the White House lawn Independence Day celebration. “The Marxists. The anarchists. The agitators. The looters, and people who in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”

Trump, who has railed against the “cancel culture,” refused to let the coronavirus pandemic close down a grand Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., despite objections from local officials over rising infection rates.

Four flyovers over East Coast cities, a D.C. military air show, music and fireworks took place as part of the “Salute to America” celebration to honor America’s 244th birthday Saturday.

“Thanks to the courage of those patriots on July 4, 1776, the American Republic stands today as the greatest, most exceptional and most virtuous nation in the history of the world,” Trump said.

Trump praised the ingenuity of American workers and lauded American heroes who defeated Nazis and dethroned fascists. But as Black Lives Matter protesters have taken to the streets in the wake of George Floyd’s death to demand racial justice — with some activists taking down Confederate statues and other relics — Trump warned of a new front that America must overcome: left-wing radicals seeking to destroy history.

Trump accused the media of “slander” for sowing racial divisions and said the press dishonors the memory of soldiers “by insisting they fought for racism.” He said the country’s heritage belongs to citizens of every background, regardless of race.

“Our past is not a burden to be cast away,” Trump said. “… This incredible story of American progress is the story of each generation picking up where the last one finished.”

Trump paid tribute to the military and those who founded America 244 years ago, and talked of his plans to create a “national garden” of American heroes.

“We will not throw away our heroes. We will honor them, and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice,” Trump said.

Trump acknowledged the struggles of the coronavirus pandemic, which “goes out in one area and rears back its ugly face in another area.” He touted advancements on testing, producing ventilators, and said the U.S. will likely have a vaccine or therapeutic solution before the end of the year. He blamed China for a “cover-up” about the virus’s origin and said the country must be held accountable for spreading a global pandemic.

Trump had already kicked off the Independence Day weekend with a defiant speech at Mount Rushmore Friday where he stood up to the “cancel culture” of racial justice activists and those who are trying to wipe out American history, tear down statues and defame heroes.

In the last two days, President Trump has given two of the greatest speeches of his presidency, precisely at the moment when average Americans needed to hear them.

For the last month, Americans witnessed a bunch of ungrateful snot-nosed brats attempt to erase American History, while Democrat state and municipal leaders did absolutely nothing to stop them

The anger and frustration of millions of patriotic Americans had reached its zenith when President Trump took to the podium on Friday night, speaking words of reassurance that average Americans living between the coasts had elected the right man to be 45th President of the United States of America.

What Americans desperately needed to see right now is the decisive leader whom we saw on Friday and Saturday nights, promising to stop Antifa and BLM from turning our Constitutional Republican into an anarchistic Marxist nation.

The Main Stream Media, which now, to some degree, includes the Fox News Channel, have exaggerated the size and strength of the Antifa and BLM, the two Far Left entities bent on radically changing America into something that it was never meant to be.

Actually, those snot-nosed wannabe anarchists are a minority.

The Silent Majority is alive and well and, buoyed by President Trump’s inspiring speeches, are ready to defend the America we know and love.

Our Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor to fight for our American Freedom against the strongest empire in the known world at that time.

It is up to us, as Americans, to take a stand against this present day “tyranny of the minority”, in order to, once again, preserve our American Freedom for future generations.

Antifa, BLM, and the rest of the “useful idiots” need to return to their parents’ basements.

We reject their Marxism and we cherish our American Heritage.

A heritage which they have no right to destroy.

I am standing with President Trump.

Who’s with me?

Until He Comes,

KJ                                                                   

 

 

 

Memorial Day 2019: Liberty is Freedom With Responsibility

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

memorial-day-true-meaning-ftr (2)

Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it. – Pete Hegseth

Today is a day of solemn remembrance, during which we honor our fallen heroes.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

Last night, as I sat down to write today’s post, I tried to think about something pithy to write. Then, I realized that today is not a day for witticisms and sarcasm.

I thought about all of the American lives, all of the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives out of love and devotion for our Sovereign Nation and their fellow Americans, both their comrades and their families back home.

The unselfish devotion shown by these brave Americans is made fun of and remains the source of derision by many devotees of the anti-American political philosophy who consider themselves to be the “smartest people in the room”.

These same “enlightened” individuals consider “patriotism” to be a bad word.

They have replaced it words like “nationalism” and “jingoism”.

The devotees of this political philosophy do not believe in American Exceptionalism.

They believe that America is “just another country”, certainly not worthy of sacrificing their lives for.

These people just don’t get it.

Freedom is not free.

That is why brave men and women of the past and the present age have fought and died while wearing the uniforms of our Armed Forces.

When they went into battle, they did not just represent their hometowns…they represented all of us.

From the germ of an idea to the greatest country on the face of God’s green Earth, this country has stood strong because of resolute men and women who were willing to “pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to protect “The Shining City Upon a Hill”.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13-17 

May God bless and comfort the families of our Fallen Heroes and may their memories and our American Freedom endure.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

 

 

 

My 2,500 Post: Freedom, Responsibility, and Setting the Stage for the Return of American Exceptionalism 

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

On this, the occasion of my 2500 post, as I have done every day since April of 2010, I would like to share a few of my thoughts. But first, please allow me to run some numbers by you.

In a new poll by Rasmussenreports.com, it was revealed that

Most voters share the views of the president and the party coming to power, but Republicans identify a lot more with Donald Trump than with the GOP Congress.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 53% of all Likely U.S. Voters identify with the GOP team: 37% feel Trump’s views are closest to their own when it comes to the major issues facing the country, while another 16% feel most closely in sync with the average Republican member of Congress. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say the views of the average Democratic member of Congress are closest to their own. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Among Republicans, however, 63% say that Trump’s views are closest to their own when it comes to the major issues, while only 27% say that of the views of the average Republican member of Congress. Among Democrats, 72% identify with the average Congress member from their party, while just 16% think Trump’s views are closest to theirs.

Just a month before Election Day, 51% of GOP voters still felt that their party’s leaders didn’t want Trump to be president, although that was down from 66% four months earlier.

…The survey of 1,000 likely Voters was conducted on January 3-4, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

More than half of all voters feel comfortable with the prospect of one party controlling both the Executive and Legislative branches of government, as Republicans will do when Trump enters the White House on January 20.

Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 34% say their views most closely match Trump’s, while 16% are more aligned with the average GOP representative. Only 29% feel closer to the average Democrat in Congress, but 20% of these voters are undecided.

The Republican team of Trump and Congress earn majority support in most demographic categories, but the president-elect is the one voters are most likely to agree with.

Women, middle-aged voters and blacks lean more heavily than the others in the direction of the average Democrat in Congress.

Among voters who Strongly Disapprove of the job President Obama is doing, 76% say Trump’s views are closest to their own, compared to only 18% who say the same of the average GOP member of Congress.

Voters aren’t sure if the new Congress will be an improvement on the last one, but most want Congress to cooperate with Trump as much as possible.  Fifty-four percent (54%) think major legislation to improve the country is likely to be passed during Trump’s first 100 days in office.

But only 48% of voters are confident that Trump and Congress will work together to do what’s bestfor the American people.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has gone from publicly criticizing Trump when he was the GOP’s presidential nominee to enthusiastically embracing him as president-elect. Following the election, Ryan is much more popular with his fellow Republicans and is better liked by all voters than any other congressional leader of either major party.

Last August, 47% of GOP voters sad their party should be more like Trump than Ryan. Thirty-six percent (36%) felt it should be more like Ryan.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of GOP voters told Rasmussen Reports last March that Republicans in Congress have lost touch with their party’s base. That’s consistent with Republican voter attitudes for years but was the highest finding since we first asked this question just after Election Day in November 2008.  Democrats have always been much more enthusiastic about their congressional representatives.

What the survey shows is that after 8 years of the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, America is a divided nation.

Of course , this is no surprise to anyone who has lived through it and who has been paying attention.

However, what the survey also shows is that more people are thinking for themselves and as I have written in the past, Americans are fed up with the Washingtonian Status Quo.

There is an Old English curse that wishes,

May you live in interesting times.

Well, that is where America finds itself today.

The turbulence which we have experienced as Americans these past eight years, has, in part, been caused by the apathy of some of our population.

When the Founding Fathers established this country, they meant for Americans to be free, and to experience the blessings of Liberty.

In today’s American Popular Culture it has become apparent to this Christian American Conservative that there seems to be a pretty large segment of our population who, during the last 8 years, leading up to last November 8th, did not understand what the Founding Fathers meant by the word “Liberty”.

Liberty is freedom with responsibility.

Nowadays, it is quite evident that a lot of Americans are not willing to accept responsibility for their own actions. They feel like they can do what they want regardless of the emotional or physical harm that they may do to others. They believe that that is one of their rights as an American citizen.

These selfish individuals have no concept of the price which generations before them have paid for the American Freedom which they are now enjoying…and abusing.

There are others who shirk responsibility because they feel like their level of intellect frees them from that “burden”.

That is what we are experiencing right now as a nation.

Modern American Liberals are still in shock from the victory of Donald J. Trump in last November’s presidential election. Their overblown egos and undersized medulla oblongatas will not allow them to accept responsibility for their overestimation of the popularity of both a lousy candidate and their political ideology among the American populace.

Here’s the thing: not only did Liberals underestimate the intelligence and the American Individualism of voters…they underestimated the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, who put the Electoral College in place to prevent exactly what they attempted to do.

The Presidential Election of 2016 was not decided in the isolated Metropolitan Areas on the East and West Coasts from which the Liberals have looked down from their lofty heights upon us “ignorant rubes” in America’s Heartland for the last 8 years.

Trump won because he spoke directly to the American people through bypassing the Liberal Propaganda Arm known as the Main Stream Media via the use of a modern technology available to all of us: the Social Media.

As I dictate my thoughts into my Samsung Galaxy S7 cellphone, it has been announced that President elect Donald J. Trump has succeeded in convincing the owner of the Alibaba Corporation, Jack Ma, into bringing 1 million jobs to America.

And, Trump’s  Inauguration as President of the United States of America is still 11 days away.

My wonderful wife tells me that I always see the best in people. Well, boys and girls, it’s hard not to see the good work that Trump and Vice–President-elect, Mike Pence, have done since they won the election.

I can’t wait to see what they going to accomplish in office.

So, for those of you still looking for a scapegoat or some kind of excuse as to why Donald J. Trump was elected President, get over it.

As the poll showed, the majority of Americans want him to succeed as President.

Am I optimistic? Sure I am.

As John Wayne once said,

…we have to be optimistic.  What else would we be if you lose optimism?”

A Modern American Liberal?

*** For all of you who have read my posts all these years, thank you so very much. Your support means more to me than I can ever express. May God bless you all abundantly.***

Until He Comes, 

KJ 

Obama Vs. Fox News: Government-Controlled Media Vs. Freedom of Information

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

obamabillofrightsObama, through the recent powers granted to the Federal Communication Commission, is already trying to seize control of the Internet.

Now, he wants to seize control of Fox News.

According to Fox News,

At the Georgetown University discussion on Tuesday, Obama lamented how, sometimes, the poor are cast as “sponges” who don’t want to work. 

“I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant menu — they will find folks who make me mad,” Obama said. “I don’t know where they find them. They’re like, I don’t want to work, I just want a free Obama phone or whatever. … And very rarely do you hear an interview of a waitress — which is much more typical — who’s raising a couple of kids and is doing everything right but still can’t pay the bills.” 

Obama went on to call for a change in not only how GOP leaders in Congress “think” — but how the news media cover these issues: 

“We’re going to have to change how our body politic thinks, which means we’re going to have to change how the media reports on these issues and how people’s impressions of what it’s like to struggle in this economy looks like, and how budgets connect to that. And that’s a hard process because that requires a much broader conversation than typically we have on the nightly news.” 

The remark, while perhaps an off-the-cuff moment, only revived concerns about the federal government taking an uncomfortable interest in how the media reports. 

“No matter what bias you feel exists in any news outlet, the president, nor any other elected official should feel they have the right or ability to censor the media,” said Joseph Desilets, Republican strategist and managing partner at the D.C.-based political consulting firm 21st & Main. 

“Had George W. Bush made the same assertion, it would have been considered tyranny. The president doesn’t get to tell the media how to do its job. That’s outrageous,” said Tim Graham, director of the conservative Media Research Center and executive editor at NewsBusters. 

Only a year ago, the Federal Communications Commission scrapped plans to pursue a controversial study of American newsrooms. 

The study as originally proposed would have sent researchers into American newsrooms across the country to ask what critics called intrusive questions about editorial judgment and practices. The FCC eventually acknowledged some of those questions “overstepped the bounds of what is required,” and shelved a pilot study. The initial proposal for the study called for looking into issues like “perceived station bias” and “perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.” 

Graham, referring to Obama’s comments Tuesday, also said, “Obama can go after Fox because other news outlets don’t see it as an attack on them.”

For years, the Main Stream Media has been in bed with politicians and business moguls. While, touting objectivity, they have often fallen way short of that goal.

The Media really came into its own during the 80’s, with the advent of Cable Television, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, and the ascension and election of President Ronald Wilson Reagan. Their advocacy of all things Liberal became very apparent, as they attacked the greatest president of this generation, mercilessly, giving no quarter.

I believe that Reagan’s election was a wake up call to the MSM. They realized that, if let to their own devices, the American Public would elect a Conservative as president, every time. And, they just couldn’t have that. They were already in too deep to their Democratic, Progressive Masters.

So, America’s Media forsook their objectivity, choosing to help to shape current events, instead of just reporting on them, in an effort to produce outcomes which would be most beneficial to the Progressive Cause.

Now, in 2015, after propping up Barack Hussein Obama and getting him re-elected, their own hubris has given them an exaggerated sense of self-importance, as to their role in our society.

Their Achilles’ Heel , the before-mentioned hubris, blinded them to the potential of the upstart Fox News Channel, and that has been their undoing, much to Obama’s consternation.

Every night of the week, the Fox News Channel beats the mainstream outlets in popularity. There is a reason for that.

Fox News is exactly what it claims to be: fair and balanced. The mainstream news channels are so far up Obama’s backside that they wouldn’t know the truth if it French-kissed them.

Just as it was during the Russian Revolution, when Vladimir Leninn seized control of Russia from the Czar, and just as it was during the era of the National Socialist Party in Germany, when a former altar boy and house painter named Adolf Hitler took over, the first thing that totalitarian governments do is to take control of media, for propaganda purposes.

Through threats, coercion, and promises of reward, that is exactly what Obama did when he took office.

Of course, he did not have to try very hard. The Main Stream Media were already Obama Fanboys, their staff being made up of a majority of Liberals.

Heck, they were posting fictitious propaganda about Barack Hussein Obama, before he was even elected president.

The election of Barack Hussein Obama is the best thing that ever happened to the Fox News Channel. It has solidified their position as the Leader in Cable News.

And, the thing about it, is the fact that Fox News is not the only source by which Americans can obtain the truth about Obama and his administration. The New Media, the Internet, has proven to be an invaluable source for dissemination of information.

Principled reporters, such as the late Andrew Breitbart and Michelle Malkin, turned up the heat on both Obama and the MSM, by providing an alternative source through which Americans can receive news, unfiltered by those in the Halls of Power.

For the president of United States to engage in a personal battle against those who provide information which is detrimental to his plans, is not only petty, but totalitarian in nature.

Just as Barack Hussein Obama’s wife’s mask slipped off recently to reveal the racist underneath, during these last couple of years of his Presidency, Obama’s own mask of Political Moderation, has completely fallen off to reveal a Far Left Socialist, intent on changing America from an exceptional Constitutional Republic to just another Democratic Socialist Country, where all of our American Freedoms, including the Freedom of Information, will be sacrificed for the good of the State.

Until He Comes.

KJ

America and Foreign Policy: We’ve Gone From “Ronnie Raygun” to “Steve Urkel”

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

Obama Urkel 2We all remember the first time we went into a voting booth and got to pull the lever for the candidate of our choice.

I was especially blessed as a 22 year old college senior. My very first vote, in any sort of election, was when I got to pull the lever for Ronald Wilson Reagan.

In 1974, at the very first Conservative Political Action Conference, the future President of the United States said the following:

Somehow America has bred a kindliness into our people unmatched anywhere, as has been pointed out in that best-selling record by a Canadian journalist. We are not a sick society. A sick society could not produce the men that set foot on the moon, or who are now circling the earth above us in the Skylab. A sick society bereft of morality and courage did not produce the men who went through those years of torture and captivity in Vietnam. Where did we find such men? They are typical of this land as the Founding Fathers were typical. We found them in our streets, in the offices, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms.

We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, “The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.

We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.

And when Reagan became president, he did everything within his power to uphold these lofty words.

I suppose that is why I hold Barack Hussein Obama in such disdain. As a young man just starting my new life in the business world, I was able to watch the economy start to turn around under the greatest president in our lifetime. There was a confidence in our strength as an American people that I had never seen before.

You could see it in people’s faces as you walked past them on the street… or at the gas station, as we all watched the price of a gallon of gas finally go down after the pain at the pump that we experienced during the Carter Presidency.

People who had been out of work and suffering along with their families were beginning to be hired again. And, young Americans who had no confidence in the previous commander in chief, were once again going to military recruiters asking to sign up to serve our country.

Yes, indeed. Once again, it was “Morning in America”.

However, the popularity of our president was not just limited to the boundaries of our nation. Reagan was admired the world over. The things that he accomplished, along with his friends, Prime Minister of Britain Margaret Thatcher, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II, have caused the decade of the 1980s to be recorded as a seminal moment in world history.

I remember watching President Reagan speak at the Berlin Wall. When he said, “Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall!”, I was never prouder to be an American and of an American president, than at that moment.

The Liberal Democrats lost their collective minds.

For you see, Liberal Democrats, just as they do now, hate it when Marxism gives way to Freedom.

Nothing bothers them more than when a strong American President is at the forefront of a conquering moment, when a strong foreign policy based on the reality that negotiating from a position of strength is always more effective than negotiating from a position of weakness.

Fast forward to the present, where an ineffective President Barack Hussein Obama is looking like a fool to a world who used to look to America as a bastion of strength and freedom, not weakness and political expediencies.

President Barack Hussein Obama has placed us in untenable position with his weak and vacillating Smart Power Foreign Policy.

Those who used to cringe in their desert tents, while calling us the Great Satan, now laugh in our faces as they walk across our southern borders with the rest of the illegal immigrants.

That is, if Obama simply does not invite them to the White House and meet with them, as he has the Muslim Brotherhood.

My sympathies go out to the people of Ukraine. I wish we had a president who would man up and negotiate. From a position of strength with the Soviets, so that they would back off from there planned invasion of your country.

Unfortunately though my friends, Americans are stuck with Steve Urkel in the White House… when we need Lieutenant Colonel Allen West or a man equally as strong un conviction and patriotism.

Rest assured that Americans are praying for you my Ukrainian friends… and we ask that you return the favor.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The Obama Administration Wants YOUR Internet Passwords.

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

obamabigbroYesterday, I  wrote a post about the Prevaricator-in-Chief’s first of a series of speeches on the horrible economy he has delivered to us. In the speech, he assured Americans that all the scandals hanging over his head were “phoney”.

He lied…again…additionally, here comes another one…and it’s a doozy. First though, a little warm-up pitch…

During a U.S. House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann defended the government’s recently disclosed surveillance programs and called the man who revealed them a traitor.

The director of the National Security Agency, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, testified that the programs – which collect U.S. phone records and track the use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to terrorism – are critical to national security.

Bachmann agreed and blasted the actions of Edward Snowden, a former government contractor, who leaked information on the programs to news agencies. Snowden had worked for a year in an information technology job at the NSA office in Hawaii.

“It seems to be that the problem here is that an individual who worked within the system … broke laws and chose to declassify highly sensitive classified information,” Bachmann said.

“It seems to me that’s where our focus should be on how there could be a betrayal of trust and how a traitor could do something like this to the American people. It seems to me that’s where our focus must be and how we can prevent something like that from ever happening again.”

Through her votes to extend the Patriot Act in 2011 and the Foreign Service Intelligence Act in 2012, Bachmann has voted to preserve the government’s power to collect private data, presumably to prevent terrorist attacks. She asked Alexander if Snowden’s disclosures put the United States at risk and aided the country’s enemies.

Alexander answered in the affirmative, saying the leaks caused “irreversible and significant damage to this nation.”

Now…here comes the fastball…right down “Broadway”…

The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users’ stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed.

If the government is able to determine a person’s password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.

“I’ve certainly seen them ask for passwords,” said one Internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We push back.”

A second person who has worked at a large Silicon Valley company confirmed that it received legal requests from the federal government for stored passwords. Companies “really heavily scrutinize” these requests, the person said. “There’s a lot of ‘over my dead body.'”

Some of the government orders demand not only a user’s password but also the encryption algorithm and the so-called salt, according to a person familiar with the requests. A salt is a random string of letters or numbers used to make it more difficult to reverse the encryption process and determine the original password. Other orders demand the secret question codes often associated with user accounts.

We should have known what Obama was going to throw at us, based on his past “pitching starts”…

Back in January of 2011, pcmag.com reported the following…

The Obama administration is planning to place authority for developing an Internet ID for Americans in the Commerce Department.

The news came at an event at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke spoke.

Details on the plans are essentially nonexistent, but Locke and others said a lot about what the IDs would not be: “We are not talking about a national ID card,” Locke said. It also won’t be government controlled. The goal is “…enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities.”

White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt, who also spoke at the event, said that the ID, which they refer to as “trusted identities,” would not become mandatory. Anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. There will be no central database and private industry will take the lead in implementation.

A vague outline for the program was released in June entitled the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). That document was as vague as this week’s event; trusted identities will do good things and avoid doing bad things.

It’s not surprising that details are scarce. Designing an identity that is robust, affordable, secure, easy to use, and all the other things you’d want it to be, is not easy. In fact, many of the design goals operate at cross purposes with the others. Don’t be surprised if this program takes a long time to come to a deliverable, or if the deliverable is irrelevant by the time it’s here.

After some “pre-season games” during his first term, Obama and the rest of his team have decided to go full Marxist, and wear their Mao Uniforms with pride.

Because, God knows, it’s dangerous for us Americans to express our thoughts and feelings to other Americans on the Internet. I mean, something awful might happen…like …umm…Freedom of Speech, or something. And, when American Freedom is in the way, it is very difficult for our “benevolent despot” to follow through with his plans to “radically change” America into a Socialist Paradise.

As an incurable Internet Surfer, who hangs out on Conservative Websites and Facebook Pages, and follows Conservatives on Twitter, I can testify to the fact that millions of Americans have found a commonality in their thoughts about, ideas concerning, and wishes for, the future of this great nation.

It is wonderfully reassuring to know that good, old-fashioned American Patriotism…love of God and Country, is not passe, as Obama and all his minions would want us to believe.

And, that is why this Administration is moving so rapidly to suppress it.

 American Individualism and Exceptionalism stands between the Obama Administration and their Socialist Utopia.

And, Patriotic Americans scare the mess of these weasels. So, stay strong Americans.

Stay vigilant. Stay FREE.

Until He Comes.

KJ