Memorial Day

Let the pictures speak...

Thank you.  God bless America.

Fire HGTV!

In recent weeks the media's been abuzz with the saga of the Benham brothers, real estate millionaires whose tv show, Flip it Forward, was dropped by HGTV from its fall lineup because of the brothers' pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, Christian beliefs .  In response to HGTV's smarmy and cowardly move, a petition, called Flip This Decision, was started on the pro-Christian website, Faith Driven Consumer, to pressure HGTV to restore the Benhams' show.  I understand the reason for the petition and I actually signed it, but I'm not sure it's the right response to the censorship and anti-Christian bigotry of the cable channel.  Here's why.

If HGTV restores Flip it Forward to its lineup it'll be a victory of sorts for traditionalists and religious freedom.  But I can't help asking, should traditionalists have anything to do with a channel like HGTV?  Think about it.  HGTV's rapid fire cancellation of the Benham brothers' show suggests that the network is run by ardent secular progressives vehemently opposed to traditional family values.  Therefore traditionalists--Christian and non-Christian--should not support HGTV.  It's monumentally unwise to support, aid, and abet that which is against you and everything you believe.  In a shooting war no general would fight like that.  We must stop fighting like that in the culture war.

So what, then, should traditionalists do about HGTV?  I believe the correct response is to fire HGTV.  Drop it from your cable or satellite lineup.  If you can't drop it, don't watch it.  Don't buy the HGTV magazine.  Have nothing to do with the network in any way.  Instead of begging to participate, we should "come out of her" and all other secular progressive cultural/economic structures and begin building a traditionalist counter culture/economy.  That sounds like a tall order and it is.  But I now believe it is absolutely vital to preserving and strengthening the moral values on which our most basic and cherished freedoms rest.

Freedom of association, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and economic freedom are all under assault in the name of tolerance and equality.  Partnering with the attackers will just fortify them.  They must be emasculated.  Fire dies when it's deprived of oxygen.  It's time to deprive the fire of the Left of the oxygen of our time, our money, our goodwill.  It's time to "come out of her".  Let's start by firing HGTV.

Fox News Isn't News Anymore

I haven't been watching a lot of TV lately.  There was a time when my day wasn't complete until I'd gotten my nightly dose of the news and commentary from The O'Reilly Factor, along with a couple of other Fox shows.  For about a year now, however, I haven't watched The O'Reilly Factor anywhere near as religiously as I used to.  So last night, after a two week stretch of no news shows at all (except for brief snippets I see during lunch time at work), I decided to check back in to The Factor to see how it was doing, and guess what I got.  Monica Lewinsky, as the lead story!

That's right.  Out of everything that's going on in the world--the Ukraine crisis, Benghazi, the Nigerian kidnapping, the Keystone pipeline, the ongoing saga of Obamacare--in spite of all that and more, a Fox News show chose to open its broadcast with Bill Clinton's former f**k buddy.  I mean, really?

Even if Lewinsky might've had something mildly interesting to say after over 15 years in the shadows, why make her reappearance the lead story?  Surely the Benghazi coverup or Putin's saber rattling are tad more important business than the narcissistic utterances of an erstwhile Clinton, ahem, protege.  That The O'Reilly Factor would treat such fluff as hard news is more than disappointing; it's disillusioning. 

I've felt for a while that Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and other Fox News regulars were losing their edge.  That's why I've been watching them less and less, and without any feeling that I was missing something.  Obviously, I'm NOT missing something.  Monica Lewinsky is not news.  And, it now appears, neither is Fox.

He is risen!

I hope everyone had a fun and blessed Easter.  Mine was good, quiet and peaceful.  A very nice day.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Happy birthday to me!  Today's my birthday.  I'm 50-years-old today and I can't believe it.  I've lived for half a century.  That definitely marks a milestone, and the other "milestone" marked today is this is the last day to sign up for Obamacare.  Yep, open enrollment ends on my birthday and no, I have not and will not sign up.

I refuse to take part in the Ponzi scheme that is Obamacare.  I'm not sure how I'll take care of my medical needs.  I'm thinking about joining one of the Christian health care sharing ministries, such as MediShare or Christian Healthcare Ministries.  In fact, I've already received an information packet from CHM.  I don't know if a health care sharing ministry will be the right choice for me but I DO know Obamacare is not the right choice for me.  Whew, what sobering issues to think about on what should be a carefree day!

Enough about Obamacare.  I'm going to get ready to attend my weekly Bible study and enjoy the remaining hours of my special day.  Fifty years ago today, I was born.  I think that's pretty neat!

Time To Leave "The Walking Dead"?

It's on.  The last episode of season 4 of The Walking Dead.  And for me this episode may be the last one, period.  Why?  Because of gay character Tara Chalmers.  Before you throw rocks at me, this isn't about being anti-gay, it's about being anti-propaganda.

When I started watching The Walking Dead three years ago I just wanted to watch a scary, suspenseful tale of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse; I didn't want to be "agendaized".  And Hollywood being what it is, you know a gay character was added to TWD only for propaganda purposes.  Gay is good!  Gays are normal!  I don't want that.

Don't misunderstand me.  If I go into a movie, book, or TV show knowing there's a message, that's one thing.  Then I can prepare myself for it and choose to overlook it if the story is good enough.  But if a show presents itself as one thing and then, later, slips "agenda stuff" in, that I don't like!  Especially when it's left-wing, secular progressive agenda stuff.  And that's what having a gay character on The Walking Dead is.

Think about it.  What does Tara Chalmers' lesbianism add to the show?  What makes it necessary?  Nothing, except its propaganda value.  Gay is good!  Gays are normal!  Gays are everywhere!

I'm a Bible-believing Christian.  I believe homosexual behavior is a sin.  I believe in traditional marriage.  Those are my convictions, and if I'm going to live by them I can't support anything that actively opposes or undermines them.  Is The Walking Dead doing that by adding lesbian Tara Chalmers to the cast?  Most likely, though I really, really hope not.  But if it is, goodbye The Walking Dead.

Conviction

A while back I read a Christian book titled The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do, by Mark Atteberry.  While reading it it struck me that some of the dumb things Atteberry says Christians do are done by conservatives, too.  The one dumb thing Atteberry detailed that I think really applies to conservatives is this one:  living below the level of their beliefs.

Living below the level of their beliefs.

Or, as I would say it for conservatives, living below the level of their convictions.  Conservatives do this habitually, almost unconsciously, and it's maddening.  It's another reason why I no longer call myself a conservative.  However, I can't be too indignant here because, as I look over my life, I see that I'm equally guilty of this failing.  But now I've been motivated to make a change.  Let me explain.

This year--at the end of this month, actually--I turn the big 5-0.  In late 2013, as I contemplated this milestone, I resolved to make some changes in and bring closure to certain parts of my life.  Specifically, I committed to attending a Cowboys' game in my father's honor.  It was a promise I'd made to my Dad after he died of cancer without being able to attend any of his favorite team's games.  This year, 2014, would mark nine years since I'd made that promise and I determined that I was finally going to keep it, money and other issues be damned.

Then the gay marriage controversy erupted again.

Specifically, national furor broke out over Arizona's proposed "anti-gay" law that would allow business owners to refrain from serving homosexual weddings based on their religious convictions.  Under intense pressure from many sectorsArizona's governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed the law.  One of the entities pressuring Brewer to do so was the NFL.  When I heard that the National Football League had stood up against religious freedom I decided I would no longer patronize that organization.  I wouldn't buy any NFL products.  I wouldn't watch any NFL games nor would I attend any.  I decided it was time to start living my convictions.  But what of my promise?

I'm going to keep it.  I'm going to attend one Cowboys' game for my father and then I'll be done with the NFL.   This may seem like a small step for my convictions, and it is.  I don't want to make some big commitment to reorder my entire life ALL AT ONCE according to my beliefs and then fail.  I'm making small moves that will be easier to sustain.  And as one small change becomes a way of life, I will add another.  One step at a time.  Bit by bit.  Here a little, there a little.

It is now my life's work to live by my convictions, not beneath them.  I'm now dedicated to being AWARE of how I live, not just going on autopilot, and to being conscious of the impact of my choices.  And as I change myself I can change my country.  Restore America from the bottom up.  Live your convictions! That is what it means to be wise.  Join me.

That Commercial

I've heard about the commercial.

I didn't watch the Super Bowl so I haven't seen Coca-Cola's now infamous ad featuring America the Beautiful sung in different languages.  From what I've heard, though, the ad is an ode to multiculturalism, and the political right is quite riled up about it.  I understand their anger.  However, with all due respect to my friends on the right, I think they're overreacting just a bit.

There's a saying, taken from the title of a popular book, that is appropriate for this controversy:  don't sweat the small stuff.  And that commercial is small stuff.  Yes, I understand the implications of Coca-Cola pandering to multiculturalism and political correctness, and if the company had done that with The Star-Spangled Banner I'd be as upset as most conservatives.  Why?  Because The Star-Spangled Banner is our national anthem, the official hymn of our American identity.  America the Beautiful, while a poignantly patriotic song, is not. 

We have epic problems facing our country today.  We are 17 trillion dollars in debt.  We have an imperial president who ignores the Constitution.  We still have terrorists who want to kill us.  In the name of fighting "discrimination", gay activists are undermining our freedoms of association, speech, religion, and conscience.  Millions of Americans have lost their health insurance due to Obamacare and millions more will likely lose theirs in the near future.  Like I said, epic problems.  We can't afford to waste energy on small stuff.  We must stay focused on the real threats to America and a multi-lingual rendition of America the Beautiful isn't one of them.

"Why I'm A Black Republican"

I found this little gem while looking around on Pinterest.  This video presents Black Republicans/conservatives explaining why they are Republican/conservative.  For anyone who wants to understand, this vid is a short 'n' sweet intro into the "oxymoron" of being Black and Right.  You'll find it enlightening.

2014--Let The Games Begin!

I know it's a day late but I want to wish everyone happy new year! 2014 is going to be a crucial year for America.  It may very well decide what path our country will walk for the next generation.  So, as we work to make positive changes in our personal lives those of the Wise must also stay focused on the course of our nation and do what it takes to keep it going in the wise direction.  That is not going to be easy.  The Wise will have our work cut out for us, but with a little guidance I believe we can turn the great ship America around.  So let's take a deep breath, roll up our sleeves, and start moving mountains.  2014 can belong to us!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,
and may your New Year be blessed
with the warmth of His light!

Missed Opportunities?

Since the disastrous rollout of Obamacare that began on October 1 I haven't been impressed with the reactions of Barak Obama and his fellow Democrats.  However, I've been even less impressed with the reaction of  Republicans and conservatives. 

The embarrassingly trouble plagued beginnings of Obamacare afforded the GOP and conservatives a golden opportunity to stop Obamacare in its tracks...if they really wanted to do that.  For nearly three months now Americans' attention has been glued not only to Obamacare and its problems but to the broader issue of health care, health insurance, and how best to help those who have neither.  The American people have never been more primed for alternatives to Obamacare, but the GOP and conservatives have offered them nothing.

Republicans and conservatives could and should have spent the last two+ months hammering home their health care solutions to an eager-to-listen public.  Instead, the American people have been treated to a barrage of childish schadenfreude.

"Nah, nah, nah, boo boo!  Your website don't work!"

That's essentially what Republicans and conservatives have been saying since the botched rollout of Obamacare's website healthcare.gov.  CHILDISH!!!!!  As I listened to these rants I kept asking myself what Republicans and conservatives were going to do once the website started working better, as it appears to be doing.  What were they going to say then?  Didn't the 2012 presidential elections teach the GOP and conservatives that they can't win just by carping on liberals' failures?  Apparently not.

Conservatives, Republicans, you have to offer people something.  You have to give them solutions, a vision, hope.  That, not juvenile rants, is what the American public is hungering for.  If you can't deliver then you'll lose in 2014, 2016, and beyond.  And you'll deserve to.

Gratitude

I'm grateful for my family.

I'm grateful for my mother, who always has my back even when I don't deserve it.

I'm grateful for my sister who's my best friend.

I'm grateful for my brother who always makes me laugh.

I'm grateful for my uncle who knows how to encourage me and strengthen my faith just when I need it.

I'm grateful for my niece who reminds me life is beautiful.

I'm grateful for my nephew who inspires me to write.

I'm grateful for my great-niece who keeps me young and whose innocence inspires me to fight for the preservation of our culture's time-honored values.

I'm grateful for my friends who are true lights in the darkness.

I'm grateful I live in a country where, for now, at least, I can speak my mind, practice my faith, and live my life as I choose with little fear of persecution, imprisonment, or death.

And finally, as a cancer survivor, I'm just grateful to be here, to see another holiday, to be alive. 

God is good!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Indeed!

The best description of Obamacare I've seen.  Short, sweet, and SPOT ON!!!!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I know this is a day late--late hours at work then Bible study kept me from getting online yesterday--but here's my sincerest shout out to all the veterans of this greatest nation on God's green earth:  THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE!  We are the land of the free because of the brave:  YOU!  God bless you all!  HOOAH!!!!

Outrage In Colorado

While the nation's attention has been riveted to the government shutdown and fight over Obamacare for the last couple of weeks, other things are happening across the USA that should anger Americans even more than the smarmy goings on of Washington politics.  One of those things was an outrageous incident that happened in Sterling, CO about two weeks ago.

The grieving family of Linda Baker, wife of Baptist pastor Mark Baker, were denied their request to have the ichthys--an early fish symbol of Christianity--with "Jesus" written inside it, placed on Mrs. Baker's headstone.  Shawn Rewoldt, manager of the public cemetery where Mrs. Baker was buried, refused the family's request on the grounds that the name "Jesus" might offend someone. Stunned, the family protested only to have Rewoldt compare the Jesus-in-the-ichthys symbol to the hooked cross of Nazi Germany.  "What if somebody wanted to put a swastika [on a headstone]?" Rewoldt reportedly told the Bakers to defend his decision.  Next, the family appealed to the city council for help but the council supported Rewoldt.  Only after being pressured by a Facebook campaign launched by the Bakers did Sterling city manager Joe Kiolbasa overrule Rewoldt.  Linda Baker will get to have the symbol she wanted put on her headstone after all, but her wish should never have been denied in the first place.

Yes, I know the cemetery in question was a public, city-owned cemetery, but the manager didn't use the separation of church and state ruse to block the Baker family's religious freedom.  Oh no.  He tried to stop Jesus's name from being seen on the grounds that its "Christian connotation" might offend.  If the Bakers had asked for the name "Allah" or "Mohammed" for their loved one's headstone you can bet your proverbial bottom dollar that neither of them would've been deemed potentially offensive.

This entire incident was despicable and outrageous!  Yet, as outrageous as it was I would've expected it in the big liberal cities on the east and left coasts.  Shockingly, this attack on Christianity occurred in the heartland in a town with less than 20,000 people.  The poison of political correctness and Christophobia is seeping into and corroding every nook and cranny of America.   All the budget and policy battles in Washington will be for nothing if we don't stop the march of the Left's cultural rot through America.  To paraphrase Jesus, what does it profit a nation to gain fiscal order yet lose its soul?

Try banning that, Sterling, Colorado.

Maximum Meaness

The Obama regime is despicable.

I'm sitting here watching Megyn Kelly's new show "The Kelly Files" on Fox News and I'm in a state of shock.  I've learned that the families of five of our warriors killed in Afghanistan will be denied death benefits.  Basically what that means is that the government won't pay for the warriors' funerals nor for flying the families to Dover Air Force Base to retrieve their fallen loved ones' bodies.  And this is being blamed on the government shut down.  Outrage doesn't begin to described my feelings on this.  This is the Obama regime's policy of maximum pain in action.  What is the policy of maximum pain?

Maximum pain is the Obama regime's strategy to rout the GOP by using the shutdown to cause as much hurt to Americans as possible and then blaming Republicans.  It's pure political warfare being waged on the backs of the American people.  Private businesses have been closed by the Parks Service.  Park rangers have been told to make things as difficult for the public as possible.  And now this outrage of denying death benefits to the families of our fallen heroes.  Corrupt!  Corrupt!  Maximum pain is corrupt.  The Obama regime is corrupt, headed by a Dear Leader wannabe utterly contemptuous of the limits on his power.

Obama must be made to know that he's no Dear Leader.  He's the president of a free, representative republic with a loyal opposition legally and morally entitled to block policies they don't like.  That's how America works.  If Obama and his Democrats don't like that then they need a BIG dose of their own medicine.  Maximum pain for Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.  YEAH!!!!

He's the Man!

Go Ted Cruz!

Ted Cruz, freshman senator from Texas is, as I write, conducting a filibuster on the Senate floor to stop Obamacare in the Senate as Republicans in the House voted to do this past Friday.  I'm proud to say I voted for Ted Cruz and the more he conducts himself as a senator, boldly and fearlessly standing up for conservative principles, the happier I am that I cast my ballot for him. 

Yes, I've complained about conservatives relying too much on politics to solve problems and defeat the left.  However, there are times when political action is needed, and when those times come we on the right need a leader like Ted Cruz is emerging to be.  In order to stand up for what he believes is right, Senator Cruz is having to stand against many in his own party--shame on them!--as well as those on the left, and he has the cojones to do it.

This is just what I wanted and needed to see.  When politics is called for conservatives have had a pronounced tendency to cower, hem and haw, and eventually cave in to the left.  Not tonight.  Tonight, one conservative is standing Texas strong for the principles he believes in, principles he promised voters he'd stand for.  That conservative is Ted Cruz, a total breath of bold and fearless fresh air.  Ted Cruz, my senator.  He's the man!!!!

Twelve Years Ago Today

9-11-2001

REMEMBER.

My Revolutionary Act

A couple of weeks ago I did a revolutionary act.

What did I do?

I planted veggies!

That's right.  I planted five vegetable seeds--two lettuce, two bell pepper, and one tomato--in recycled toilet paper roll "pots", an idea I got from Pinterest.  Aside from the tomato, this was my first time starting vegetables from seeds.  So far, one of the lettuce seeds has germinated and two little precious green leaves are now poking through the potting soil.  The other lettuce seed was trying to grow but I accidently uprooted it when I moved a hunk of potting soil that was laying on it.  The tomato and bell pepper seeds turned out to be duds.  I planted new lettuce, bell pepper, and tomato seeds this past Saturday.  Hopefully, these will take; and when all five seedlings come of age, so to speak, I'll transplant them into containers.  Yes, I'm a container vegetable gardener.

This is actually my third attempt at container veggie gardening.  In 2009 and 2011 I grew bell peppers and cherry tomatoes--not from seeds--in flower pots on my front porch.  They turned out pretty well.  My mother enjoyed the tomatoes in her salads (I grew them for her; I can't stand tomatoes).  The bell peppers were about half the size of the ones in stores and the flavor was a bit too mild for my taste, but it was downright awesome cooking with my own homegrown vegetables.  Oh, the feeling of achievement and independence!  Sweet!

Achievement.  Independence.

That is what makes planting those seeds 15 days ago a revolutionary act.  It was an act of self-reliance.  It was, however small, a declaration of independence from and resistance to the increasingly entrenched and poisonous entitlement mentality that twice put Obama into power.  And we need more of this bottom up resistance; much, much more!

Leftism, currently personified in Barack Obama, won't be defeated from the top down, as so many conservatives foolishly believe.  Rather, it will be defeated from the bottom up by a lifestyle revolution in which people reject the statist behemoth, reclaim personal responsibility and liberty, and provide as much for themselves as they can.  And it doesn't have to be done in one fell swoop.  Individuals can start this revolution by taking one or two small steps, mastering them, and then moving on into greater and greater self-reliance.

My revolutionary act was planting five seeds.  If I can do that, you can too.

Time to start the revolution.