THE VERY HIGH COST OF IGNORANCE

COMING SOON!
What we don't know WILL hurt us!

200,000 isn't always 200,000

One can't help but be touched by the massive death toll in Haiti - 200,000 seems to be the latest estimate. The human suffering is hardly even imaginable. No matter what we have seen with the tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, floods, fire, and all, this one seems far more brutal. The media really seems to have been genuinely touched - Anderson Cooper among them.

However, this compassion and being touched by tragedy seems to be very selective. These folks don't even give a second thought to the million babies slaughtered in the United States every year by abortion - while none of the ways abortions happen are less than appalling, some are so violent that you would think reasonable people would recoil in alarm. This is FIVE Haiti's every year to the most defenseless little ones. Who could not be touched by the number of CHILDREN affected in Haiti? Why is there no groundswell here when these million deaths are ALL preventable? If we could have stopped the earthquake, we would have Yet we have a President, Congress, and Judicial System that refuse to intervene in the death of these little ones in the womb and who actually fight tooth and nail against those who wish to ensure their survival! Appalling.

There seems to be precious little sympathy as well for the children who through indoctrination experiment with perverted sexual activities, scarred for life. There is not even a shaking of the head of all the extremely occult and violent movies and video games coming out of Hollywood as a never ending stream, cursing God, defaming Jesus Christ, and glorifying violent, immoral, and sick behaviors.

There are also few tears shed for the massive economic violence done to so many Americans. The war against small business, against the elderly, and against workers is amazing. Unemployment figures of 10% are over double just two years ago, but those numbers are very deceptive. Millions have taken pay cuts, have had hours cut back, or have given up looking for work. Minorities have been the most affected with unemployment rates 50% higher and fewer assets to fall back on. Where is the outcry? Many small business persons are making a fraction of what they used to, and these huge losses show up on no statistics, only tumbling tax revenues. Probably 30% of Americans have been negatively affected in terms of income. Yet, like drunken sailors, the folks in Washington are seeking to further destabilize America financially with reckless spending and unprecedented corruption and favoritism. What started in earnest in 2007 has accelerated greatly since with one party controlling the executive AND legislative branches. Many have been weeping over how far they have fallen. Houses are in jeopardy, and lifestyles of the past are becoming a distant memory. It is hard enough to have an "act of God" take away your home as happened so tragically to so many millions in Haiti, New Orleans, along the MIssouri River in the upper midwest, in Andhra Pradesh in India, Bangladesh, and so many other places. It is arguably harder to deal with when many MORE millions of these tragic losses are at the hand of your own government leaders who are supposed to be advocating the GENERAL welfare, but who are committed instead to the welfare of those partisan hacks who meet in the dirty backrooms where political sin and corruption are rampant.

It is right to be sad and to weep for ALL human tragedy. Haiti is bringing tears to many, and rightly so. Perhaps Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, would be a day to weep for all the tragedies surrounding slavery including that in our own land, where families were torn asunder, people were removed from their homes and placed as property with no rights and who were fortunate not to die during the voyage as perhaps up to half did. The loss of human dignity and potential has still not be totally healed as social injustice stubbornly refuses to be banished forever, even in the church. We must never get hardened to human tragedy and we must never get to the point where suffering is routine. When we have mourned, then we can celebrate the progress we have made. When we have considered how far we have fallen short of the mark, we can renew our efforts to treat everyone with the evenness that Christ did.

Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead, but he still cried over him. Doubtless with massive aid from the United States and other countries, Haiti will come back, thogh it will take many years. In the meantime, contribute to reputable agencies, pray for those being looked for, and don't be afraid to weep for them and for all other victims of natural disasters and man-made physical, spiritual, and economic disasters.

We must not make pronouncements tying human suffering into all manner of things as one prominent Christian spokesman has. If that were the case, American would have been vaporized for all the evil we have committed against the Lord. Remember that Jesus rebuked those trying to blame a young man for his sickness. It is for the glory of God, and God will get his glory in Haiti before this is all over. Let us look with compassion on the suffering and seek to renew our efforts to bring them the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. None of us deserves the Lord! It is only by his mercy that we stand at all. God bless you!

HEROES OR VILLAINS?

So many famous and influential people let us down - many do deeds so dastardly we are stunned to find out little we really know about them. Tiger Woods is just the latest. He will not be the last. What can we learn from it?


Heroes are those we look up to.
We magnify their positives.
We minimize their negatives.
We see gifts in them we wish we had.
A ready smile.
A winning personality.
The ability to throw or hit a ball.
The masterful way with words
To have people eating out of their hands.

When they fall
We forget the positives.
We are glad we are not like them after all.
Their sordid private lives.
Their seeming ungratefulness for all the favor and love.
The sudden putting into perspective of how things that
Seemed so important then now mean nothing at all.
The deck is empty, their place of prominence forgotten.
We do not turn the TV on to see them with eager anticipation.
We wait for someone else to believe in.

Villains are those we love to hate.
We ignore any redeeming greatness.
We magnify their smallest faults.
We see evil in them we dare not do.
Not because we are more righteous,
But because we are afraid of the consequences.
Their willingness to take foolish risks
Their devil-may-care attitude.
We know it leads to destruction but we love to watch.

When they are defeated, we have catharsis.
The evil is over, the men in the white hats win.
But we are not changed.
Only when we realize we are the villains
Can we become heroes.
Only when we see the qualities of greatness
That God has wrought in us
Can we be people, just people,
Who can change the world.

PRAYING FOR OUR LEADERS

We are commanded to pray for our leaders. That does not mean we pray our politics. It was comical when Frank Rizzo ran against Thatcher Longstreth close to forty years ago. People were praying in opposite directions, both convinced they were right. The same is true today. There are people who believe that President Barack Obama is a fulfillment of prophecy to bring peace to the world and they pray against all his critics and refuse to even consider that there could be any flaws in his ideology or policy. There are others who oppose practically everything he has done and stop just short of praying something bad would happen to him. We need to pray God's way, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

Those of you who read me know that I believe there is only one set of truth. That is why denominations are intrinsically flawed. They teach opposite points of view that are simply not compatible. How can you be unified with someone who believes he opposite? You can't. The same is true of politics. Policies are either right or wrong. Protecting the pre-born and believing in abortion are inherently incompatible. Believing in God's design for marriage and promoting homosexuality are inherently incompatible. So are issues such as loyalty, proper and improper political alliances, economic systems, and freedom. You may wish to reference www.THEMANHATTANDECLARATION.ORG for three basic issues many Christians have agreed on. There are other issues that involve methodology where the Bible is not definitive. On those people can differ. However, most issues have Biblical roots, and it behooves all Christians to study to show themselves approved unto God.

I want to accomplish two things with this post - first, to summarize what prayers for political leaders are found in the Bible, and second, qualifications that apply to political leaders.

Most familiar is the prayer that we are commanded to do in the public assembly. From I Timothy 2, "1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time." This prayer is essentially for our leaders to leave us alone so we can serve our God, but salvation is included as well. God wants EVERYONE saved. He is no willing that ANY should perish. I believe we should earnestly pray for the salvation of our leaders, and I do that. We must require the same degree of proof of faith we would require of anyone. All too many politicians in our country cynically drop "Christianeze" phrases to get votes and though they do nothing in accordance with the will of God, they get a pass. Don't be fooled. Most Americans aren't in relationship to Christ, and the same applies to leaders.

We must also pray for leaders regardless of party. Some who are Dems are enthusiastic about praying for their man but refused to pray for his predecessor and in fact slandered him at every opportunity. Those in the GOP have done much the same thing. This commandment supersedes political positions. Obviously, where positions are clearly at odds with God, prayer should go along those lines as well. We are never asked to park our convictions at the door - we must simply be sure be pray in accordance with the will of God.

There are many more prayers for leaders in the Bible, some of which may surprise you. Read Exodus 8 and 9 and see how many times the Pharoah asked Moses to pray specific things for him and how Moses responded. Check out Judges 16 and see how God answered Samson's prayer which resulted in the death of ALL the Philistine leaders.

Read I Kings 13 to see how King Jeroboam asked for prayer , "?Then the king said to the man of God, 'Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.' So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before." We are to include in our prayers what the king requests we pray for, as long as it is in the will of God.

In 2 Kings 19, Hezekiah prayed against the Assyrian King and his underlings who blasphemed God, and Isaiah prophesied against wicked ruler. It is thoroughly Biblical to pray against oppression and those who mock and afflict the people of God. Many prayed against Hitler, and God heard their cry.

We learn from I Chronicles 5:19-21 that we can pray for victory in war. God hears the cries of those with a righteous cause. If the cause is just, God is indeed on our side.

In 2 Chronicles chapters 6 and 7, we learn that if we have repented of our sin and evil, we can expect God to reverse the misfortune in our land. Keep in mind, though, that this promise was given to a theocracy, not a secular country. Nonetheless, as the Lord extended he life of Nineveh because the king repented at the teaching of Jonah, even pagan leaders who repent and heed the word of the Lord can bring blessing to their countries.

2 Chronicles 33:18 says, "The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel." There are people with prophetic ministry to political leaders. May God help them to prophesy the truth, and not simply "prophelie" what they know the leader wants to hear. We need men of God who will step up to the plate and tell the truth without counting the personal cost it will surely exact from them.

We have the right to pray for favor from the king, as Nehemiah did. God can bring great results even from a person not inclined to do anything for God's people. We also see that with Esther and Xerxes. God sometimes puts one who represents the interests of the people of God into a position of influence, Esther asked the people to fast for her, and it behooves those who are in the court of the king to rely upon God for favor and power, and not trust in their own cleverness.

And should the worst happen, and our country ever get taken over by another, heed the word of God to the Jews in exile in Jeremiah 29:7, "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Many know that there have been and are yet to come times when Christians are on the run. Obedience to authorities is no longer an option, as we simply try to escape the evil. Luke 21:35-37 says, "35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." Jesus himself prays for our protection from the evil one in John 17:14-16, "14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."

In Acts 12, the church prayed for Peter, who was in jail and slated for certain death. God does not ask us to simply acquiesce to evil - we must pray for mercy and for his deliverance to those ensnared by evil people. In situations where he wants us to testify as Stephen, Paul, and others have done to the point of death, he will so lead us, but that should not be our first assumption. In Ephesians 6, we are told we are not wrestling with flesh and blood, but principalities and powers and rules of the darkness of this world. It sounds to me like some pretty aggressive prayer is called for in terms of the evil propagated by earthly powers. 2 Thessalonians 3:2 gives us the right to pray against evil men, "And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."

In Philippians 4, we are commanded to pray for our anxieties. Many of our anxieties revolve around the Middle East, the economy, etc. We need to pray for these things in detail regularly.

Now second, let's briefly look at qualifications for political leadership. Many know that I Timothy 3 and other passages call for the leaders of the church to be above reproach, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, not dependent on alcohol, not greedy or two faced. While those who have read Romans 13 know that political leaders are ministers of God, it amazes me that they do not consider their qualifications in the same light. While we cannot insist that our leaders are all Christians, and in fact relatively few have been, we can insist that they submit to God because without God, there is no accountability. The ballot box voting events are spread too far apart. Without submission to God, we will have tyranny, and a quick survey of modern history is ample proof of the incredible scope of evil that can be wrought by atheistic or purely secular leaders in very short periods of time. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Amin are past examples. Leaders in North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela and similar men bear close watching, as they have the same characteristics of their evil forebears.

We also have to include in that group those who believe the doctrines of Demons, especially those who are militant such as Islamic fundamentalists, radical Hindus in Nepal and parts of India, violent Buddhists in Sri Lanka, and nominal Christians or cultists who cavort with them or seek to suppress the true gospel single-handedly. Demonic religions and their sympathizers seek to crush authentic Christian witness. We must be careful never to elect any leader who either belongs to one of these groups or who is deliberately or even unwittingly carrying out their agenda. Satan is the father of all lies, and he works in every country to bring forth his anti-Christ Agenda. We must know how to pray, how to vote, and how to do battle in the spirit world. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. So many today are fatalistic about evil. I'm so glad our forebears were not so fatalistic. The freedoms we enjoy today are here because God honored people who spoke up for truth and who put their own bodies on the line for it. That is why we have this country, and more importantly, that is why we have the Bible and that is why we have the true way of salvation preserved to this day. We must preserve these for future generations regardless of the cost. Amen? Amen.

COMPARE "DUMB" PALIN TO "SMART" OBAMA

A pundit said 71% of people will not buy Palin's book. Most people don't buy ANY book. However, If 29% do buy it, she will be rich enough to counter Obama's 750 billion slush fund euphemistically called a "stimulus" package that is for PURELY political purposes. 14% of it has been spent primarily on Acorn, Unions, and for all manner of political purposes and has done nothing for business but instead has raised the deficit. Unemployment is rising while clueless Congress spends like a drunken sailor.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that Sarah Palin did not escape criticism here, though the actions of McCain, Obama, and Biden called for more opposition in my view. My criticism was on strategy and other issues that perhaps in retrospect were more McCain's restraints on her than her own idea, though I believe she pulled far too many punches. The jury is out until we can evaluate what she does without any restraints.

Some brain-dead folks like to bash Palin, but can anyone honestly think she wouldn't have been better than Obama has been so far had McCain won and had a heart attack on February 1?

1) She wouldn't have banned the term "War on Terror"
2) She wouldn't have alienated our best ally in the middle east from a 70% confidence rating in Israel to a 4% one.
3) She wouldn't have shown disdain for the Czechs and Poles by leaving them exposed to the awakening Russian bear.
4) She wouldn't have passed a $750 billion slush fund to be used for political favors.
5) She wouldn't have talked down our economy to throw it into depression (mammoth income reductions among the self-employed who can't get unemployment compensation and those who have given up finding work are NOT included in the 10% unemployment rate).
6) She wouldn't have started a war against small businesses.
7) She wouldn't have signed a phony "hate" crimes bill criminalizing free speech about deviant behaviors.
8) She wouldn't be giving the 9/11 mastermind the rights of a US Citizen.
9) She wouldn't have funded the corrupt Acorn.
10) She would have proposed reforms in health care that actually helped people rather than hurt them or create "death panels" where government ends up deciding who lives and who dies.
11) She wouldn't have produced videos of children lying about their parents having to sell their home to pay for a broken leg when they are already covered by S-Chip.
12) She wouldn't have nut-case radicals in the White House advising her who are admitted Maoists and Communists.
13) She wouldn't be criticizing Christians while exalting Islam.
14) She would have found a church in 10 months in office and actually gone to it and listened to the minister.
15) She would have taken in a stray dog instead of an exotic one worth the price of a small car.
16) She wouldn't take Todd on million dollar dates to NYC.
17) She would have reduced the deer-car accident rate by thinning the deer population.
18) She would have put the water back on to save the farmers in central California
19) Soldiers would be proud to call her Commander(ess)-in-Chief.
20) She wouldn't be ceding US sovereignty to the incompetent UN .
21) Instead of "Hopenhagen", she would be resisting a one-world government (she is not clueless about the Book of Revelation).
22) She would propose more drilling for oil and clean-coal technology instead of shooting ourselves in the foot with European style energy prices.
23) She would have thrown a stronger first pitch at the baseball game.
24) She would have included the other party in her legislative initiatives.
and
25) We would still have Saturns and Pontiacs.

And of course, he brain-dead media would have criticized all of he above.

The really dumb folks are the ones who idolize the man who has failed in all of the above and who is grossly unqualified
by experience AND lack of proven natural-born citizenship for office. Sarah knows her limitations, but those are far fewer than those of the man the press protects with such zeal to the destruction of America. Great leaders don't micro-manage - they pick people to run each sector and that is what Palin or any experienced executive would have done.

WHAT GENIUS, WHAT JUDGMENT

I’m not sure what makes me madder – the idiot lines uttered by John McCain who is as totally unpredictable as Joe Biden or the ingenious new ways Barack Obama has found to express hate of the country he is leading (does ANYONE believe it is HIS country? His mouth proves the “birthers” right. So while I held my nose voting for McCain in the general election after voting for Obama in the primary, and while I find a lot of Republicans almost as clueless as Democrats, the fact is that Mr. Obama won by waging a brilliant campaign unimpeded by any serious vetting by the mainstream media. I DID pay attention to those vetting him, and they turned out to be eerily prophetic and right on the mark. His cohorts, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid show how far down leadership has gone in the Congress. The GOP lost their way, but what is going on now is Twilight Zone material. We need to see from where we have fallen, be vigilant, make our voices heard, and cry out to God for mercy every day to give our nation another chance. We have sinned greatly - the judgment we are living through is even less that we deserve. So here is the genius that has led to the precipitous decline of our nation in mere months…

1) Teach Saul Alinsky, stay with Rev. Wright for two decades, launch your career with Bil Ayres, keep other radicals in hiding, and then criticize anyone who can put two and two together!

2) Encourage crossover in primaries to be sure the weakest possible GOP candidate is selected (McCain).

3) When unable to foresee the Palin wild-card selection, simply get an army of lawyers and media friends to tirelessly search and destroy and file meaningless “ethics violations” to frustrate her and keep the eyes off Obama’s multitudinous panoply of corrupt relationships in Chicago.

4) Refuse to show the birth certificate to test the people on the Constitution. Win this by using the Alinsky tactic of ridiculing the true assertions of the opposition, and from then on do what you feel like, Constitution or not. After all, who is going to impeach him? Pelosi? Ha, Ha, Ha.

5) Push really hard really fast for all the big money programs to cement power and loyalty to stay in office forever. Use the excuse of the economy, though the real reason it tanked as badly as it did was because Obama down-talked it ten times per week and people didn’t realize the motivation was power.

6) Accuse every cogent commentator and citizen of being radical while lying about the health care bill at every opportunity. Never debate specifics. Call them Nazis and thugs. Then rent real thugs from Unions and ACORN and pay them to adore your plans and keep out thinking citizens who can see through you. Tell the Town Hallers and Teabaggers to shut up but ignore the violent G-20 protestors.

7) Ridicule those who knew about the Death Panels in Waiting. Then quickly reinstate Clinton’s death manual to the VA.

8) Be absurdly optimistic on what things cost, and then make 2 trillion dollar corrections on late Friday when nobody cares as they change their clothes to party in Sodom and get high in Gomorrah.

9) Take over car companies and hope people don’t remember what happened to Britain when they did that. (And after blaming high health care and pension costs for their problems, take them over, pay-off your union financiers with stock they never earned, and shift their costs to the government – smooth!)

10) Buy into every looney idea such as anthrocentric global climate change but be sure to reward George Soros with $2 billion so he can drill in the Atlantic Ocean to benefit Brazil.

11) Scream about greedy corporate folks, but waste money at on unprecedented scale on yourself, on planes for political hacks and even on planes to take pictures of your empty plane and the Statue of Liberty, on big labor, on Wall Street, and everybody else except those who really need it.

12) Lie to Black folks about being Black when in fact you are more Arab than Black and ironically less Black than Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson. Hold none of the values most Blacks and especially most Black born-again Christians espouse, but appeal to racial pride and keep criticizing your opponents knowing the GOP is generally inept in defending itself or articulating any competing vision that resonates and is relevant to the everyday life of people. Offer NOTHING in exchange for votes other than some patronage positions, some empty rhetoric, and a larger government that may produce more jobs, albeit one that will rob from middle class Blacks who struggled mighty hard to get there. Avoid EVER speaking about the millions of Blacks who went into poverty under your insane policies that hurt the working man, factory worker, and small business employee worse than anyone.

13) Tell people you love your country even though you won’t wear a flag and love to fudge the pledge of allegiance. Then criticize your country to our enemies, violate the pledge of allegiance, and EXALT our arch-enemies. Drop cryptic lines that you are a Christian, bur don’t go to church, support God’s chosen people, or give even the faintest lip-service to the National Day of Prayer or anything Christian. Appoint “Czars” who are arch-enemies of the cross who want to remove all vestiges of Christian values that have somehow remained and indoctrinate kindergarteners how to be gay and demonize parents who still have some traditional values held by most people around the world. While at it, have advisors that believe in putting something in the water to sterilize people and appoint lawyers so animals can sue people. Listen to wackos who think old people are expendable and not worth paying to keep so people who are sexual idiots and get Aids can use that money instead even though there is no cure. Instead of giving even the traditional lip-service to Christianity that Clinton, Bush, and just about all his predecessors did, pontificate at every opportunity including lavish dinners in the White House for radical Muslims that Islam is the bastion of peace and progress in the world even though 90% of the persecution of Christians is either at the direction of or tolerated by the mullahs and practically no discovery of value has emanated from the Islamic World. Trash our best friend Israel, being silent while Ziggy B. proposes shooting down Israeli jets if they defend their country by taking out Iranian nukes, and then bask in the praise of Chavez, Castro, Mugabe, and Achmadinijad and of course captive brainwashed school children in Burlington, New Jersey, and who knows how many other places where they weren’t caught. That school was plastered with Obama posters promoting him just like the personality cult in Turkmenistan as they sang worshipful ditties to their new Lord, Barack Obama.

In short, as a former leftist, I know all the tricks, but you don’t need that background. 96% of Israelis per the Jerusalem Post have no confidence Obama will help them (and that was BEFORE the UN Speech). The majority of Americans don’t want his fingerprints on healthcare (where are the shouts of KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY BODY when you need them???) I know Obama is an empty shirt. I know many of the clueless ones who still support him are the useful idiots in his neo-fascist Statist dreams. I know he is a pathological liar, deceiver, homosexual-sympathizer (if not an actual participant), and New Age cultist in the mold of Eckhart Tolle and Oprah, but he is falling fast, because unlike folks at Harvard who major in subjects such as sexual minority studies and Advanced Marxism 501, enough Americans know history and can add and multiply and know who is telling them the truth and who are the selfish egotistical liars - lying incompetent, ignorant and dishonest hypocrites who think they are superior to Joe the Plumber Americans who, despite their issues and shortcomings, intuitively know 10x as much about the things that really matter.

It is time for a New American Revolution. Both parties have failed us. The authorization is in the Declaration of Independence. Our grievances are greater than the ones two hundred thirty seven years ago. Total change has to come, and the oppressors in office have to go. Ask God to do it – he is the one who helped the Jews against all odds even when they didn’t have any Second Amendment back then. The weapons of our warfare are NOT carnal and they are not physical – rather they are mighty in the Holy Spirit!

HEEDING THE FOREIGN PRESS ON HEALTH CARE

I like to see what other countries are saying about us. Remember during the campaign how Mr. Obama kept saying the rest of the world did not respect us because of the Bush policies and he would change all that? Well, some things have changed, but overall. they are not for the good.

88% of Israeli Jews believed President Goerge W. Bush was pro-Israel. According to the Jerusalem post, Obama now has sunk from a high of 31% last spring when everyone was trying to give him the benefit of any doubts to a current FOUR PER CENT. That means that a whopping 96% of Jews in Israel do not think Obama is pro-Israel. I say it is obvious from the disastrously uneven Cairo speech to Obama's attempts to muscle Benyamin Netanyahu while coddling Hamas. Yet most Americans do not understand the massive problem we now have with one of our very best allies, Israel.

One MILLION patients have been suffering in the United Kingdom. From giving birth in toilet rooms to long waiting lists turning readily treatable diseases into terminal ones to abusive "Nurse Ratchet" style cold, insensitive care, the problems are legion and they are now telling the world because he good old USA is seeking to emulate their broken system. They have the National Health Service, the world's third largest employer, and a different scandal is coming out every day. A population explosion of immigrant children is straining the system, lots of people are denied care, those who do get care are getting poor care, and Americans are leaving the country because of much higher taxes. Today detail has come out on the appalling conditions in the UK that patients in the United States would never tolerate. Most nations with socialized medicine have found it unwieldy and are seeking reform.

Why would our nation seek to ruin a system in favor of a failed model? It is all about POWER and government control seeking to dominate our lives. It is fascist in nature if you get into it. Other nations are quaking, because if we destroy our system, which is the end result of these policies and the stated goals of Obama (when in front of friendly audiences) and his honcho advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, there will be no place to go to pay for decent care. If you like to read Nazi literature to learn what not to do, you will enjoy Emmanuel's book HEALTHCARE GUARANTEED whose ideas are reminiscent of Hitler's - READ this book, and you will learn why a key Obama adviser on Healthcare thinks the big problem is that Doctors are following the Hippocratic oath instead of doing "what is best for society". "Reverend" Wright; Bill Ayres; Bernadette Dorne; Khalid Abdul Muhammad; Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel. These are the people who Barack Obama has looked to for over two decades. His policies are consistent with their take on the world and mirror their goals. Are his views of America and the world in the slightest consistent with yours?

Where will new drugs come from? The US is by far the leading source of new methods. With no profit, there will be no progress. This is pure left politics - it has nothing really to do with Healthcare. It is about centralizing power and bringing down American exceptionalism - making us just like the rest of the world and turning our back on the birthright we have been given, because before his Presidency, we actually honored God to some degree in America, and to the extent we did, he blessed us. Now there is far more praise for Islam and no praise for Christ or Christianity.

Now, it isn't just the UK. It is all over the world. How about Russia? Check out Dr. Boris A. Rozenfeld, Head of the Laboratory for Long-Term Development of the Social and Cultural Sphere at the Center for Demography and Human Ecology, Institute for Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences. Look what he says is the problem with healthcare in Russia.

The crisis in Russia's health care system has continued for a number of years. Despite the large number of hospitals and a huge army of medical doctors, they been unable to provide people with an acceptable level of health care services. This is mainly due to a continued lack of funds, medical and technical equipment and supplies, and, finally, to the ineffective organization of health care delivery services. As a result, the quality of services and their accessibility remains quite low.

The recent economic crisis did not create the crisis in the health care system, but it did exacerbate it. The lag in health care in Russia has accumulated over many years. The health care system was distorted by a perception of it as a set of social services that may be provided in greater or smaller amounts in response to certain circumstances, but not linked to the real state of health in the population.

All previous attempts to reform Russia's health care system may be seen as various tactical approaches that did not affect the principal problems or the overall strategy in the field. Many of Russia's health care problems have been rooted in the accepted political model of state-paternalistic social system development. From this approach follows an inattentive government attitude to the problems of health care, a reliance on primitive investment in extensive growth of health care delivery facilities, manpower, and other resources and supplies, and a lack of attention to the quality of care or its effectiveness in improving people's health. One of the characteristics of the Soviet period was the complete absence of incentives for improvement of services in all kinds of medical institutions.

The paternalistic approach manifested itself in the slogan, "The State cares for the health of its citizens," which in many ways defined the very character of medical service organizations across the country, as well as people's attitudes toward this sphere of policy. According to such an approach, every person is under the umbrella of the State and its medical facilities, which undertake entire responsibility for his or her health. In this way, a health care system was created which found itself fully dependent on the state and its governing bodies.

Of course, any state should bear some responsibility for the health of its citizens. But the ideological interpretation of such a principle and the propagandistic character of it in the former USSR led to the development of priorities such that quantitative measures and indices were considered most important. Indices such as volumes of services provided were considered sufficient indicators of growing state activity in public health protection and care.

Paternalism had many different features. This included an irresponsible attitude adopted by many people toward their health combined with consumption regardless of cost. But the consumer was also deprived of his right to complain about services rendered (often touted as "higher than established norms"), and he delegated fully to the state his right to defining consumption limits and needs in individual health care. The state took into its hands all manner of decision-making in the field, together with all methods of evaluating the effectiveness of state actions and their results.

When changes in the health of the population occurred at times, the health care system did not react properly. Excessive reliance on ideology led to goal distortion and emphasis on activities that did not correspond to the medical problems at hand, the level of national socio-economic development, medical capabilities, or public demand.

Why on earth would we try to be more like Russia, when they tried it and failed? No statist solution such as that being advised to Mr. Obama by Pelosi, Frank, Dr. Emmanuel and others works. To try something that has never been tried before is one thing. To be trying what always fails and in the process bringing down that which works over 3/4 of the time is insane. I'm glad 85% of Americans now believe that, but we have some very stubborn leaders who could care less about the citizens. Ironically, under the single payer system which is Obama's admitted end-game, Teddy Kennedy would have died long ago. He would have been a victim of his own health care "reform". Oh, I forgot - our Legislators voted not to be covered, but to retain their Cadillac plans. What hypocrisy!

China is in the midst of reforming their system - they are running a PILOT program which included the changes. Makes a lot of sense, huh, particularly since the health care bill is for changes to be effective four years from now. It is the number one rule of business - try it on a small scale before committing the whole bank to something. But then, Mr. Obama never ran anything, not even a lemonade stand. The Bible warns about giving authority to a novice. We are bearing the bitter fruit of giving authority far beyond the constitution to a man who doesn't even regard it enough to simply produce his birth certificate.

The USA Press is largely corrupted and essentially a cheerleader for every whim of Mr. Obama. Read the press in places like Russia, China, the UK, Israel, and elsewhere who are not yet under his thumb if you want the news that is suppressed in the USA. And do it before the Obama goons filter the Internet and Radio to turn 90% favorable media into 100%. Mom, why can't we be like China and Venezuela? Save the "pretty please".

ELEPHANTS OR DONKEYS?

A lot of Christian put their hope in party or politicians. Many white Christians have trusted the GOP to stand for the right to life, for traditional moral values, lower taxes, a capitalist economy, and for maintaining certain constitutional freedoms. Many minority and white "progressive" Christians have trusted the Democrats to stand for general fairness, for worker rights, for less intervention on the world stage, and for what they perceive as a fairer distribution of wealth.

Has ANY of this trust been well-placed? I'll let the record speak for itself. We are going through a mind-blowing time when the GOP self-destructed with absurd contradictions and the Democrats are selling the country out both here and abroad. What is a serious Christian to do?

For the longest time, many Christians eschewed politics. They saw it as dirty and irrelevant to Christians seeking to live holy and win the world for Christ. Many Christians were not registered to vote. Politics was simply a dirty word. Then change came. First, shortly after he civil war, in the African American community, huge voting drives occurred, 90% of Blacks in the south voted, and obstacles were removed and Blacks were placed into office. Then a pushback occurred with various games at the polls, violence from the Klan, Jim Crow, and massive disenfranchisement. These gains laid in a comatose state until the 1950's and 1960's when voter activism was reignited.

Meanwhile, in the majority community, while the mainstream Christians voted, many in the more Fundamental churches did not. They saw politics as hopelessly corrupt and not productive, preferring to wait for Jesus to take them away from this mess. Coming into the sixties, they were disturbed by the final ban of official prayer and Bible reading in the public schools, though at the time of those decisions, only about half of schools were still honoring God that way. I was in school out west in the 1950’s and they did not have prayer and Bible reading in the schools. In fact, at least 40% of America's schools did not. Yet to make it a federal mandate went a step further, and many say they trace the fall of our culture to that decision.

The truth be known, God had not bee honored for years. In the 1950’s, there was the epitome of Christianity without the power – platitudes, but not life changing power. In the 1920’s there was loose living and materiality. Many forget that when television first came on the scene, vile content came early and often. That is why the decency rules were made – to solve a problem. Seminaries were going theologically liberal, and the Bible was mocked in many quarters. Harvard went Unitarian in the early 1800’s and Yale was considered hopeless spiritually even as our nation was founded. Princeton was derogatively called “Princeton Bible School” because of the sound preachers who went across the grain.

There was a reason Jonathan Edwards in themed 1700’s preached his famous “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” – the people were wicked and in need of a savior. If you back another hundered years, it was actually a crime to preach “The Gospel of Jesus Christ” in Virginia! Pastors who tried were put in jail. “Churchianity was the order of the day. What made true Christianity not only legal, but also preferred, what removed children from 14-hour-a-day sweatshops, and what freed the slaves and emancipated women was the moving of God through people who affected the political system and the status quo in a positive manner.

Yet Christians in the 1960’s were convinced Christ was coming soon, believed a simplistic version of American History when things simply were going downhill from bad to worse, and all this was just another sign of the end. The truth of the cycles in American History that mirrored her spirituality was largely a lost truth. There was quite a bit of fatalism - remember "The Red Menace" and other prescient warnings of the time? There was a similar film shown in our church. The world slowly turned Red, country by country. America was he last to fall, with the whole world against her. (Hmmm - maybe I'll watch that again if I can find it!) We were waiting for Jesus to rapture us out of his mess.

Meanwhile, God was a Republican. After all, Little Rock was integrated because of Ike's action, the civil rights legislation of 1964 was passed because of Republican votes, with the most virulent racists being Democrats. Bull Connor, Lester Maddox - dogs and fire hoses - all wielded by Democrats. One could feel pretty good about being a Republican and not at all feel guilty about sitting in all-white churches because after all, we were doing good by everyone, and after all, didn't Black people really prefer worshipping by themselves anyway? I remember my mother saying that southern whites were good folks. They simply had this thing about race. My mom knew the Word well, but somehow that inconvenient truth in the book of James escaped her – the passage that dealt with partiality, and that if you transgressed in one area, you transgressed in all. So even if you avoided adultery and all those other nasty sins, if you were partial, you were guilty of all of it. And of course, northern whites had almost as many issues themselves. I am thankful my mom was loyal first to Jesus, because as she worked in the welfare department and interacted with our neighbors (we lived in a very integrated neighborhood in Plainfield, NJ), we came to the point she could hear God tell her not to fight him when I decided I wanted to marry a Black woman. It is only God, not politically correct education that changes anyone, Southerner or Northerner.

So I lived among Black people most of my life, saw an interracial family that lived across the street, belonged to an integrated boys organization, and went to a highly integrated an diverse high school, but as the cliché goes, 11am on Sundays is the most segregated hour in America. I remember the rehearsed response that was to be given to any Black person visiting the church - "Wouldn't you feel more comfortable" with a list of good Black churches right at hand. That bothered me a lot and I have done my best to avoid purposefully segregated churches since. Problem is - most still essentially ARE SEGREGATED. White churches by their flavor, music, etc. generally attract only minorities who actually prefer the more laid back style, with the minority of the churches (often Pentecostal) who do wear their emotions on their sleeves tending to have more diversity, even while their speech is often the least sensitive or politically correct. Black churches talk a lot about diversity and all, but the worship style, open political discourse, and "we-them" thinking often enforce segregation just about as much in practical terms as those rehearsed condescending speeches did.

Lyndon Johnson was elected in a landslide and the "Great Society was born". The observers remained observers. What brought change to the most conservative Christians in the majority community was the emergence of Roe v. Wade in the early 1970's. All of a sudden Christians saw a major change coming which attacked life itself. In the lead-up to that fateful and constitutionally flawed decision, Christians voted for Nixon even with misgivings about his other positions. This was the cause celebre in the conservative churches. All manner of Christian-based political organizations were formed and a whole lot of Christians became involved in the movement. Unfortunately, though minorities said they shared in opposing abortion, a coaliion was not forthcoming. The minority community was still prioritizing "social justice" issues that the white community saw as either being solved already or else going too far "in the other direction". If each could have supported the other, a voting block that would forever have to be dealt with would have been formed. Instead, white churches were for the most part content to be white churches and Black churches were content to be Black churches and so it is to this day, the eternal rhetoric about diversity and coming together notwithstanding.

Whites were enthralled when Reagan was elected. Though he never made more than perfunctory comments about God, not uttering the magic "born again” phrase, he did believe in his country. "God and Country". 1 1/2 out of 2 ain't bad. He seemed to have no racial agenda, and by and large, once the missteps of the Carter years worked there way out of the system, everybody prospered more. The Christians saw a lot of growth numerically, and were determined not to slip back. Unfortunately, Reagan, like so many Republicans, took a gentlemanly approach to politics. He was bamboozled and appointed two poor Supreme Court Nominees. He also had a Vice President with whom he shared little in common. Nonetheless, despite withering criticism from some quarters, a small but influential number of very intellectual and prospering Blacks were also drawn to his message, and at last there were people who regardless of color stood for life, moral standards, hard work, and a gentle leadership here while being tough abroad. From then on, divisions became more political than racial in many quarters. It wasn’t the color of your skin, but the color of your politics – Red or Blue. However, as the 17% of Blacks who voted against Bill Clinton dropped to only 5% who voted against Barack Obama,, rightfully or wrongfully, too many people saw Red as white and Blue as Black, though that was not nearly that simple.

From Roe v. Wade on, though, Republicans knew what to say to white Christians to get their vote, but they seldom followed through with the social agenda in any powerful way. While to his credit, Bush did what he could to put some roadblocks in the way of unbridled abortion, and built on Bill Clinton’s Defense of Marriage Act, the GOP Congress elected in 1994 fell far short of its potential to put a firewall against the encroaching gross immorality that was building in the country. While gaining ever larger numbers of Black Conservatives because of unprecedented high level appointments of Blacks to positions with high international exposure instead of the traditional backwater domestic agenda jobs that were the grist of Democratic appointments, a dogged "race-neutral" posture developed that caused many conservatives to openly admire Blacks who agreed with their agenda, and it also appealed to Black business people who had come up the hard way and seen success. Nonetheless, because Republicans are generally inept at politics as opposed to the well-oiled Democratic machine, and because most of the media belittled them like the proverbial bully, they failed to connect with the masses. Much of this had nothing to do with policy, but perception. The most sweeping economic progress for Blacks came in the 1950's and the 1980's, and in the late 1990’s when Clinton went fiscally conservative with the GOP Congress, but with much slippage now due to high unemployment. High unemployment has hurt many Blacks worst than whites because of lower assets and reserves, so it is no picnic right now. Simply put, more conservative fiscal policy benefits Blacks because of the number of jobs and general business expansion.

So, Elephants and Donkeys. Which first? We'll flip a coin. Heads it is! Elephants have the biggest heads by far, so we'll start there.

Republicans have a long history, and by their very name, exalt the idea of a REPUBLIC. A republic is not a democracy per se, but an entity based upon having leaders that are chosen for their integrity and willingness to make decisions consistent with the founders written ideas codified in our Constitution and the thinking behind them. The idea of a pure democracy is pooh-poohed, since mob rule is not productive, and people can be stirred up to lean one way based upon the flimsiest of arguments. Remember the crowds that were so artfully manipulated in Bible days? Or in the 2,000 years since for that matter? A look at the crowd in Libya celebrating the Lockerbe bomber or the much larger assemblies in Palestine celebrating the collapse of the Twin Towers as seen in the movie OBSESSION show how crowds can get ginned up. The wildly fluctuating polls in our own country show the ease with which the masses can be manipulated. Almost as extreme as the change in public opinion during Passion Week. The Electoral College was formed precisely because of the finicky nature of public opinion. Representative democracy is meant to even out those hills and valleys, and Republican leaders by and large do what they think best and get either praise or condemnation for it. They are not driven by polls, and do little to defend themselves when attacked.

Lincoln freed he slaves, 90% of southern Blacks voted after the civil war, and Black and White Republicans had their blood shed because of this rapid progress. While the gains of reconstruction were short -lived, Blacks were loyal to the Republicans until FDR. Truman cemented the switchover by integrating the Federal Service. While Ike acted on Little Rock and the GOP provided the votes needed for the Civil Rights bill while openly racist southern Democrats opposed it, by and large Blacks voted Blue. Many do not know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican until Kennedy, historically a fairly reluctant man on civil rights, helped King out. Actually, Ike received 40 of the Black vote in 1956, a number never to be repeated. Later on, Clinton managed 83% and 84% in his elections, meaning only one out of six Blacks did not vote Blue. The number dropped to 1 in 20 in 2008, where many voted based upon race to finally have an openly minority president (we actually had several others, who were not open about it).

In the case of President Bush, he was stalwart on the Iraq war, but bent on other issues, which gained him no blue votes, but huge losses in his own Party. McCain learned nothing from that, and tried to be more flexible on his beliefs, which gave him tepid support at best and a lost election despite a massive experience advantage. I couldn’t stand the guy. Obama was much more likable, but a Presidential Election should be more than a popularity contest. The obvious friction between his "soft democrat" style and Palin's more traditional Republican "black and white" way of looking at things will likely be the fodder of some new book to come.

So even though McCain was selected by Democrats in many quarters during the primaries, and anointed by so many as one who would move the Party left a bit, the sad fact for the GOP was that even Colin Powell, whose politics were a pretty close mirror to McCain’s, abandoned him for Barack Obama. Liberal Republicans keep trying to get the party to drop its opposition to abortion and deviant “marriage”, but that is insane. Most Americans oppose both. Those in favor or who believe no one can effectively deal with those issues vote Democratic. Why would anyone vote for a Democrat wannabe? And where would those whose belief is Biblical and not simply political go? They would sit on their hands or go third party.

Meanwhile, though the party has high loyalty by small business, which feels the brunt of wasteful spending and useless regulation more than anyone, the party is perceived as the pawn of BIIG business. Ironically, BIG business has actually worked hard to mirror government goals and profits the most from government programs. The recent money given to banks was gladly accepted, some to be used within days to buy other banks, as PNC did. If banks were in such trouble, who would want another one?

To be sure, tax policy was seen to benefit the rich. Well, there is no denying it did. While it is true that the rich pay the preponderance of taxes, mot people do not see why those over one million should get any breaks. Actually, it was the GOP tax cuts that took so many off the tax rolls that they built a coalition against them. Why would people envy themselves anything if someone else is paying for it? The GOP has never figured out how to build up small business while keeping everyone invested in the system and no real or perceived favoritism to the rich. God says we are not to show favoritism to the rich OR the poor, but simply be fair. While many believe the rich are paying more than their fair share, it is uneven. Perhaps if they all paid according to the rates it would be one thing, but a trip to Bermuda or other havens will show that the rich are resourceful in greatly reducing their tax burden. The people most effected right now, and where the opposition is trying to milk the most whether in raising or eliminating the social security cap or outright tax increases are the small business people. They provide the most jobs and are the backbone of so many local communities. They have felt current policies more than anyone and flock to the GOP simply to survive.

So often, the GOP has not been forceful. Bush let himself get trashed daily and kept the “bully pulpit” in mothballs. When making statements, too many GOP people still trust the media not to edit what they say to make hem look like fools. Time and time again they are not politically smart. They are often their own worst enemy

Are the Donkey’s any better? Well, I am a Donkey – officially that is. Back in 1970 it was practically unheard of for any college kid with half a brain to register GOP. We were taking over buildings, protesting the war, and in general looking for a better and more just society. Democrats have always been inspirational on that score. Mario Cuomo’s soaring rhetoric. Barack Obama’s 2004 speech. However, is anyone better because of Cuomo’s speech? Was it more than words? Words are what Democrats like – “just” sounding words, “fairness” sounding words, “hope” sounding words, They seek to control speech to filter out what they find offensive. Is the motive bad? No, of course not. It I GOOD! Words do hurt. Insensitivity does matter. I cringe when I hear what some folks say. I strive to be sensitive and caring and race neutral in what comes out of my mouth. Do words actually mean someone is right, though? Of course not! Some of the most racist insensitive people I know are the most hair-trigger about anything they perceive as not politically correct. A change of heart in the most important, and all the words in the world without action men nothing. When it comes to action, Democrats, like Republicans, have taken unpopular stands and suffered for them. They have stuck their neck out and unselfishly tried to make the world a better place.

I certainly was one who voluntarily served my country in VISTA seeking to give people a voice and to stand up for the poor and disenfranchised. I was a conscientious objector and did not and still do not believe that Christians should be fighting in wars. I was trained by the Quaker Project in non-violent passive resistance. I worked in the most liberal atmospheres imaginable, while still be stalwart about LIFE, about MORALITY, and about all the rest of the social issues. The liberals who worked with me sometimes looked at me askance, but the people I served loved me. It was great to hear a rather nationalistic young lady tell me, “I forgot you were white!” The fact is, what was perceived was that I was doing what I was doing from my heart, not for any ulterior motive. I was serving Christ by serving the people, and was sharing some of the skills God had given to me to supplement the skills God had given to the people so all could advance.

For a while, there was some tolerance for people like me in the Democratic Party. People like me were “Caseycrats”, in the mold of Pennsylvania’s late governor Bob Casey – popular then, despised by the current leadership now because he did not tow the line on issues of conscience where he let his faith govern. While Carter seemed not totally satisfying on the issues, he did claim to be born again, and a whole lot of people, even my Republican family, voted for him, figuring any born again person would do right in the end. Carter rapidly proved himself unsuited to the job – with the disaster in Iran sapping his strength, and extremely poor judgment in selecting people to surround him resulting in him changing drastically in office. Eventually, he wrote in his book that Jesus was no longer the only way, and today he is one of Israel’s worst enemies in the irresponsible things he says. One now wonders how our country survived his presidency. Carter was put out on a rail, and from then on, the Democratic base became far more openly left. With that, came the dogmatic “holier than thou” attitudes of sixties radicals. Hey, I felt that way! We honestly believed that other people simply did not get it and that our ideas were superior in every way. We actually very often WERE right, but the pride of those days continued when the agenda went south.

I mean, who could argue with peace, justice, and brotherhood? Particularly if you were also a “Jesus Freak”? As Christians, we eschewed drugs, promiscuity, and the other sinful behaviors which eventually captivated so many from that generation who are now in charge. Radical environmentalism, non-biblical variants of feminism, and eventually homosexuality became mantras of a movement that lost touch with the significant numbers of Christians that were part of it (except the compromisers who now take their cue from it instead of from God) and became openly hostile to the sensibilities of many never in that movement. That brought some serious consequences to bear.

Historically, Democrats like to think of themselves as the party of the people. They want their leaders to be responsive to polls. That leads to a lot of discontinuities. It is a trap to follow popular opinion when there is far more to leadership than popular opinion. Democrats feel uncomfortable about waging war, though they often found themselves doing so, often with less than satisfactory results. Hesitation greatly increased WWII casualties, and a certain naiveté about the nature of evil continues to this day.

Like all parties, they respond to lobbyists, which often work at odds to public opinion. There is huge influence by Big Labor, particularly with the Card Check legislation, Planned Parenthood, Trial Lawyers who often keep the lion’s share of any settlements, and more recently, Wall Street, who is creative about finding opportunities to profit. When you combine this with extremely wealthy backers such as George Soros and Hollywood Elites, a fawning media, control of the educational system, cutting off debate, AND the aforementioned self-righteousness that places their ideas as supreme and other ideas as unworthy, trouble brews.

This confluence brought about the so-called “Stimulus” bill that was largely payback of political favors that most people oppose. Then the Health Care “Reform” which was trotted out quickly and with huge flaws and unfundable mandates. Again the people were opposed, just as they are to Card Check. However, the superiority complex at work in the Party is making them tone deaf to the people, which is never a good idea before an election year. It is probable that the Democrats will tank in 2010 if they do not relent on an agenda that is not the agenda of the people. If in fact they go back to the drawing board and act in ways more in line with their heritage, they could enjoy a long stay in power.

After all, the vote in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was left in its permissive and even advocacy-based attitude toward ordaining homosexuals. People are leaving in droves, just as hey did the Episcopal Church. The ivory tower attitude of the left is out of touch and really damaging to the church and the country.

There is a pride that refuses to learn. After all, The UK coddled labor until they were brought to their knees with ill-considered strikes. The government took over the car companies, which quickly became non-competitive and a joke in terms of their cars’ lack of reliability. Big government lead to stifled enterprise and initiative, and a bloated National Health Service, the world’s THIRD largest employer in a country far smaller than our own, has brought cries of reform. Yet Democratic leadership thinks they can do better than the UK and every other country that has tried Socialistic ideas. Even the Russian media is mocking us for trying a bondage that took them decades to free themselves from. Tanzania is trying to recover from a disastrous socialistic experiment.

It is on the cultural issues that the lines are most drawn in the modern Democrat party. The big backers generally are either hostile to anything Christian, whether is comes to funding obscene art by the NEA, open religious expression. right to life, the rights of parents to raise their children according to the dictates of their conscience, the exaltation of heterosexual marriage, following traditional morality, having the right to work without joining a union, having their children educated without being proselytized by those insisting evolution and man-made global warming are indisputable facts when in fact the opposite is the case, slimy TV and movies with crass profanity and hatred of people of faith, and those who want a fair media that does not interpret everything from one point of view and ignore all evil from their own side. While many Democrats may believe all these things, in practice they refuse to take a stand or demand their party recognize them. They give their votes without asking ANYTHING in return. If someone doesn't listen to me, I don't vote for them!

I was driving by Gary Barbera's dealership, which like many others had lots of "clunkers" on the sidewalk with tons of signs.
This really bothered me. People got $3,500 for vehicle getting only TWO miles per gallon more than what they were buying.
These vehicles had acid poured in their engines and were hopelessly defaced. It looked chilling. I have printed out the so called Death Manual instituted by Clinton with the VA, withdrawn by Bush, and now reinstated by Obama. Before you dismiss Sarah Palin's mocked-at comments, READ this thing. When you look at bills in Congress, you have to look at the total perspective of the sponsor to see where it will take us, since endless regulations and interpretations use the bill simply as a starting point. Dr. Emmanuel, who is a close adviser, is deeply into who lives and dies and prioritizing life. I am a German, and I don't need an interpretation on this. Social engineering is back - it starts with abortion and moves to Euthanasia and other places I really don't want to look, but HAVE to.

Beyond that, we need to look at smaller venues before committing to changes in the larger one. When one looks at the most troubled large cities, the one thing they hold in common is long-term single party rule - in this case Democrat. They have massive problems and corruption, and there is little hope there. While the GOP had its share of corrupt regimes in the past. those machines are almost entirely gone. When one looks at the current corruption in Washington and in the biggest support groups, it certainly gives one pause - faithful in little, faithful in much. If not faithful with little, keep the much from them!

So where do we go? Obviously, neither party has all the answers, and they never will. That is what the Kingdom of God is about. Sinful people corrupt any party or any system. That said, we need to earnestly review the platforms of each party and the character of each candidate as we select those who we feel can BEST approximate the ideals we would like to see in our nation.

It always troubles me when I hear party loyalists demonize each other. I also troubles me to hear messianic pronouncements on individuals who hold positions that are in absolute enmity with God and his word. I have heard these pronouncements from both GOP and Dem folks, and that is not helpful. Only Christ is the Messiah, and anyone who works against the principles of the kingdom of God should be seen exactly for what they are – a worker of iniquity. We honor those who lead us per Romans 13 and other Biblical mandates, but disagreement with the person in power is no reason to make movies about his assassination as they did with the vile movie on George W. Bush, or the caricatures made of Barack Obama. We should be better people than that.

We should make our arguments in civil discourse, and most of all know that every four years, the parties come around saying what they will change, but the rhetoric may as well have been recorded from the last election, because the problems never seem to go away. Incremental change for the better is always to be celebrated, but remember that Christ would not have had to come and die for us if any political party could bring us salvation. Let us put our primary effort into God’s kingdom and not be deceived by the wiles of the devil, whether spoken through Elephants or Donkeys.