Moral Science Club

The Snowden Line - How a rogue agent divides the GOP

2013-06-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Edward Snowden is now very well known as the guy who exposed a secret government spying program called Prism. In his interview given while hiding in Hong Kong, he states that the extent of the spying - literally government peering into every corner - was far beyond the government's pay grade. "Government should not have the power I saw wielded." In other words, Mr. Snowden has uncovered a true "Big Brother" campaign. Orwell's long talked-about boogeyman has arrived during the administration of Barack Obama.

Democrats have roundly condemned Snowden for exposing their man. Of course, the party of the shifting winds would be expected to respond predictably. And, not surprisingly, the Republican establishment also roundly condemn Mr. Snowden. The John McCains, Lindsey Grahams, and John Boehners are calling Snowden a traitor for exposing the Big Brother campaign. Snowden may be helping clarify what has bothered liberty-minded Americans for years; that the liberals and Republican establishment agree upon a big government, and Big Brother, model.

We cannot fret about the over-reach of government and then go ballistic when a whistleblower reveals the secret extent of government over-reach. Our government has become similar to the Venezuelan politics prior to Chavez. There were two parties, one right of center, one left of center. Both would give lip service to their pet causes; nationalization for the Adecos, privatization for the Copeyanos. They'd go back and forth until finally the people realized both parties were part of the same power structure, a shared power structure. Chavez was able to manipulate popular frustration with the "two-party" system and rode his third party to power. While a far-left party here would do about as well as MSNBC does (not well), a Libertarian/conservative third party could very well surprise everyone. I would recommend they propose this new party as a new second party since the Democrats and GOP have apparently merged!

Sarah Palin and other leading anti-establishment Republicans have sensed this great divide. It is my hope that they explore it, even manipulate It because the differences between the establishment and the Tea Party are irreconcilable. The only solution is a divorce. Either the establishment folks must be booted from or greatly marginalized within the GOP or the Tea Party must become it's own party. There really is no way around it at this point. We can no longer believe that a McCain or a Graham or a Boehner can represent us.

The time has come to start a new second party, or send the anachronistic Republicans out to pasture.

The Gift - Father's Day 2013

2013-06-16T05:00:00.000-04:00

To My Daughter, Savannah

The Gift is moving

East moves to West,

South rushes North,

tearing me all

up inside, I look away.

I can't stay, I can't stay

I must drift away, Chevalier.

Standing for communion, I turn.

She is up ahead breaking bread,

Dipping it in grape juice, walking away.

A Gift sublime that can never

Be torn away, Gift forever

Long past the Last Day.

Chevalier broods, Why hast Thou

Forsaken Me?

It was for this;

The essence, the divine Gift

That neither moth nor rust could rot,

All sin impaled on a Cross,

That peace forever might come

to Father and daughter

Mother and son.

The Gift is moving away

Blending in with the young people.

I wipe a tear of joy,

Keep the others at bay.

The Gift is saved

Thank You, Chevalier

Kari Jobe - You're My Healer - Happy Sunday

2013-06-16T02:39:00.000-04:00

When I Die -Poetry

2013-06-16T00:28:00.001-04:00

When I die

Do not grieve.

If I am dead,

I am more than ever alive,

John 11 and 25.

If you are reading this

And you are grieving me,

Stop right now,

just stop!

You see, I've seen Heaven

In this life, I have tasted

And tested its wonders.

I have been to the mountaintop;

I am one of the lucky ones He chose.

I see the rolling hills of Heaven

Rich beyond words in greens and golds

No hi-res photo could imitate.

Time ebbs and flows eternal there

Where beauty glows a thousand-fold.

Mourn me by praising Him

Who holds the scepter of life,

For He holds me forever.

When I die, do not grieve,

But follow me to victory.

Rich Galen's Preposterous Column against Snowden in Townhall

2013-06-10T14:18:00.001-04:00

Writing in Townhall.com, Rich Galen condemns Edward Snowden for leaking the government's Big Brother

campaign. He titles it, What ever happened to just quitting? Here's a snippet of his argument.

There is a serious flaw in Edward Snowden's and Bradley Manning's (the U.S. soldier who copied and sent miles of secret messages to Wikileaks) claims that they were looking out for you and me.
As a taxpayer, I'm not paying you to look out after my Fourth Amendment rights. I'm paying you to do whatever job you were hired to do, and if you find that job too ethically distasteful, then you should quit.
But keep your mouth shut.
If everyone is allowed to decide for themselves what is legal and ethical and what is not, then society - not just American society - will collapse.

I stand amazed at this line of reasoning, so much so that I felt compelled to look at Mr. Galen's background to see what school of thought he comes from. Here's the first part of his self-description:

Rich Galen has been described as "what you get when you cross a political hack with a philosopher." Rich Galen's career includes work in and out of politics, in and out of the United States. Rich Galen did a tour of duty in Iraq where he went at the request of the White House. The assignment - which was to have lasted about eight weeks, stretched into six months. While there, Rich Galen was responsible for bringing the message of the positive aspects of what the coalition was doing in Iraq back to Middle America.

(Underlining is mine). I would classify Galen as a neo-conservative as I don't believe being a true conservative includes going to countries we are at peace with, blowing them to smithereens, presiding over their Islamic radicalization, and then going back home to (paraphrasing Galen) "bring the message of the positive aspects of what the coalition is doing in Iraq to Middle America".

So here's my first conclusion about this article and it's writer: government has a right to lie to its people through propaganda. By his own words, he boasts of being a propagandist. For this "conservative", this is a good thing, perhaps even a "patriotic" thing. So when the Obama administration expands on the same kind of BS the Bush administration was known for, they should get a pass.

Yes, Edward Snowden should "just quit and keep his mouth shut". "As a taxpayer, I'm not paying you to look out after my Fourth Amendment rights". Wow! Yes, that's the Fourth Amendment Reich's - I mean Rights' - Defense Division of the Government's responsibility, or something like that. This blows my mind. Galen is actually saying that it's a disservice to the people to have the government exposed for infringing on our rights. Who's responsible for exposing government malice? I am. You are. Everyone is.

May God bless Edward Snowden and protect him in the name of Jesus. Snowden is a hero, and if a large number of Republicans think like Galen, then we either have to boot you from our party or create one of our own. Snowden is the dividing line between knuckleheads like Rich Galen who are actually right-wing liberals and those who are true conservatives.

My question back to Galen is What ever happened to principles? You know, when the people rise up and tell the government to shut up, to leave us alone, to honor our freedoms or cease to exist.

Jeremy Riddle - You're Beautiful / Worthy Is the Lamb - Happy Sunday

2013-06-09T03:07:00.000-04:00

A Timeline Showing President Obama's Instigation of the IRS Crackdown on Conservative Groups

2013-06-08T13:41:00.003-04:00

Read "As Close to a Smoking Gun as You're Going to Get" from Flopping Aces

The Danger of an Opaque Government in a Transparent Society

2013-06-08T06:30:00.000-04:00

For a long time, our world has been moving toward a state of greater transparency. We can see things now that we never could ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. DNA testing has convicted murderers and rapists decades after the crime, and exonerated many of the accused. We can witness murders caught on camera, capture criminals using the video, and now even when our Sunpass card fails to trigger the toll payment, a letter demanding the payment shows up at our house a few days later. One scholar wrote that the transparent society was inevitable.

Instead, the battle shouldn't be against transparency itself but against selective use of the information. For example, the common man should also have access to the police videos, surveillance videos, and the like. The great danger of transparency is that powerful groups will use it to their advantage whilst hiding the data from their opponents or subjects. This point came to mind after I read the other day that the Obama administration has classified more data than any other, barring it from public view. They are currently trying to apprehend Julian Assange of Wikileaks for his part in disseminating information classified by the US Government. The Department of Justice even took action against Fox News correspondent James Rosen for disclosing some classified yet innocuous truth about North Korea being ornery. At this time when all our personal information is being collected, the government of Barack Obama is becoming more and more opaque. It is an ominous sign that our government is gobbling up all our information while hiding more and more of theirs. The ramifications of such an imbalance should be, well, transparently apparent. Knowledge is power, and the government is in an unique position to make sure power is one-sided.

If that doesn't make you nervous, then Obama's advice to young graduates recently might clarify your need for anxiety. Obama told the graduating class not to listen to those who warn that government can be tyrannical. Really? To a president who hides everything his people are doing, we owe neither transparency nor allegiance.

Yes, Chris Matthews, Obama is Evil (and that's not an ethnic slur)

2013-06-07T11:53:00.001-04:00

Chris Matthews just said that President Barack Obama has "never down anything wrong" and believes people think Obama's evil for "ethnic reasons"; codeword for racist. Well, Chris, here's a list of the president's evils.

Hatred of babies. "If my daughter gets pregnant at 16, I don't want her to be punished with a baby". I have despised this man ever since I heard that. He never deserved a single vote in my opinion. He can't be trusted. First, he's openly admitting that he would have his grandchild murdered if they were an inconvenience. Second, he's saying it as if it is his decision. "Prochoice" men always make the choices for their women. That no human should arbitrarily make the choice between life and death for another human is prohibited by the sixth commandment, of course, but Obama's "I" shows he wants to help make such a choice. That is sick. Third, his fervent defense of the right of an abortionist to murder a baby born alive, standing up and speaking it on record in the Illinois Senate, leaves no doubt that this man has a murderous apathy towards children. Yes, Matthews, Obama. Supports. Infanticide. And that is as evil as evil gets. It's already clear that Jesus Christ's unique place in history as the only sinless human ever born has need to consider Barack Obama. And yet, Chris, the is much more.

Barack Obama uses talking points, and after the Benghazi massacre, we found out what "talking points" really are. They are lies, Chris. Not only did the president know he was lying about the attack in Benghazi, he went on lying for weeks. Why? He didn't want the nation to think that his emasculated foreign policy was allowing Al Qaeda to rebound prior to an election. Now the election is over, and millions of idiots returned Obama to office, there should be less need to cover things up, except the things that need to be covered up are vast in number. Government over reach has just hit warp drive. For weeks, we have had a scandal a day come to light. This is the fruit of Obama's first four years. You voted for this, Chris and the Obama Zombies.

So how then is it racist that to say Obama has not lived a sinless life? He supports infanticide, lies to the world, and has presided over the most corrupt administration since Richard Nixon. Obama has no sense of ethics. And ethnicity has nothing to do with it, Mr. Matthews.

The Godlessness of Islam

2013-06-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

The Godlessness of Islam

Islam is a godless religion. Anjem Choudary, a British resident radical, drove home this point when he proclaimed that the Flag of Islam would one day be flying over the White House. That is Islam's ultimate goal, to take over the governments and control people by force. Historically, that is exactly - perhaps ALL - Islam has done.

Islam is best described as a totalitarian political regime. It's god's personality is no different than the "Fuehrers" or the "Divine Leaders" of other autocratic governments past. Some propagandists promoted Islam as a religion of peace but the Qur'an clearly precludes such an idea. Even the "peaceful verses" like Surah 2:62 that appear to call for Muslims to live in peace with Christians and Jews have some caveat that defeats that purpose. In Ayah 62 in one of the translations, it clarifies that the statement applies to the time prior to Mohammed's revelation. The Sahih International version clarifies the statement as, "live in peace with those that WERE Jews or Christians or Sabeans (before Mohammed)." As a matter of fact, there really are no carrots for non-believers in the Qur'an, only sticks.

The fruit of Islam. Aside from its claims to be divinely inspired, the Qur'an reads more like a Maoist rule book than our Holy Bible. It's solutions are the same as Mao's; murder and suppression. "Allah u Akbar" is the shout one hears just before all Hell breaks loose. In a brazen Freudian slip, a Muslim radical warned Israel that their actions would cause the "gates of Hell to be opened." An astute pundit mused that, "Yep, open the gates of Hell so more Islamic terrorists can come out!"

Terrorism is the fruit of Islam. Why? The "religion of peace" would not be so even if those putatively peaceful verses weren't deceptively written. That is because the Koranic calls to violence are unmitigated. You want a guarantee of salvation? Die on the battlefield in the cause of Allah. How does a "moderate" Muslim counter that? Even if most of the Islamic world wants peace, there will always be a portion of them perpetually at war. Guess what that means. Islam is perpetually at war with others and with itself. If you don't believe me, read the shocking verses in Surah 9. Ayahs 29-30 make it clear how non-believers are to be treated; murder and/or oppression. Then it spends 50 verses condemning Muslims who don't follow the guidelines. While I want to encourage peaceful Muslims, the truth is that they can't have it both ways.

Jesus' condemnation of Islam in John 18:36. Christ stated to Pilate that His followers don't fight because He is a not a king of this world. He is "from another place". The Qur'an is interested in fighting to take over this world. Who is the Prince of this world? Satan. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus also prophesied that false prophets would "rise up" after Him. He described them as wolves in sheep's clothing. Wolves eventually devour their prey. Just like Islam.

The real God does not need people to blow themselves up at Sbarro restaurants in Jerusalem or to gun down innocent churchgoers in Iraq and Egypt to make him seem real. God does not need to prohibit books He does not agree with. His Book stands on its own merits. The Bible is always relevant and always the bestseller. The real God is not Osama bin Laden's god, nor Anjem Choudary's god. God does not fight to see that His flag is flying above the White House. The leaders of all the nations have always been subservient to Him.

Qur'an is a man. The real God is not male or female, but male and female. He speaks to both sexes alike. The Qur'an is written from a male point of view. It addresses women as the other. Mohammed and the Koranic authors have no woman-at-the-well moments where Mohammed bonds with a wayward woman. Surah 2:223 is any man's favorite verse; "your women are a tilth for you, approach them when or how ye will" (Yusuf Ali translation). Muslim apologists contend that tilth is used in a tender way, the way a farmer tends to his crops. But the visual analogy of the plow tilling the land along with the one-sided sexual domination points to a human author thinking human thoughts, not divine revelation. Women are not addressed as equals in the Qur'an. They are the "other" because the authors are all male and think like men.

Last, there is hope. The true God is neither asleep nor unwilling. My God is the power behind and within life itself. His glory hangs before every man and woman's eyes. He brings life from death. That's His ultimate goal; which is the exact opposite of Allah's goal. Christ was crucified for the deadly sin that was in us, and was raised as the one and only payment for the reconciliation of all men to God the Father.

Muslims, God doesn't love you because you can murder other people; that is Satan's work. God our Father loves you more than you will ever know because you were made in His image. That is why so many Muslims resist the submission to violence because you know, in the deepest corridors of your soul, that submission to violence and submission to the God whose image you were made in are incompatible.

The Jesus of the Qur'an is distorted because the sources for that character were flawed. The real Jesus of history is exactly who He said He was in the authentic Gospels and in the Old Testament prophecies. We are called to submit to Him whose language is not war but peace; not conflict but joy. Our God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is not a corruption of the truth. It could never be. Come home to Jesus, my friends.

Jeremy Riddle - This Is Amazing Grace - Happy Sunday

2013-06-02T02:57:00.002-04:00

More than Revelation 20 Points to the Millennial Kingdom

2013-06-01T13:48:00.001-04:00

http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2012/01/is-revelation-20-only-supporting-text.html#

The link is to an interesting article on Bible Prophecy Blog that cites not just Revelation 20 as the only teaching on the millennial kingdom but other verses in the OT; Isaiah, Psalms, Zechariah. It's an interesting read. I don't get too bogged down with End Times prophecy. I know Jesus is coming back and followers of Christ win in the end.

How I Left My Family's Liberal Plantation

2013-05-31T13:02:00.001-04:00

I must confess that I was born a liberal. My father was a government employee, an educator, and all his friends were from the same field. The first President I ever remembered was Richard Nixon. For the first nine years of my life I thought that Nixon and Satan were the same person. Maybe I'm exaggerating but, to be certain, Nixon was not popular among my father's friends.

I grew up reading liberal newspapers and watching liberal news on TV and listening to liberal opinions on just about everything. All seemed fine and sounded fairly good to my ears. But one day a sibling wrote an essay supporting abortion rights. I didn't know what abortion was so I looked it up.

Even though the encyclopedia described the "procedure" in the usual euphemistic terms of the Left, I couldn't get my mind past the reality that abortion is the stopping of a human life. That was the first crack in the liberal thought process I had grown up around.

Then there was the death penalty. It seemed reasonable to me that, if life is of the utmost importance, then the takers should fear punishment. The Ted Bundy's should be put to death. Granted, I am wary of the death penalty. It is the ultimate form of government action and should not be prescribed cavalierly. Many death row inmates have been exonerated by DNA evidence. The jury system is a poor method of determining facts. It suits a court system but a sentence of death has to be approached very carefully. Sentencing a Jodi Arias to death is unwise, in my opinion, while Dzhokar Tsarnaev is a no-brainer; he should be executed. That said, I began to take the pro-death penalty side in family debates in my late teens and early twenties. I was the dissenter on those two issues, being afterwards cast as the "conservative" in the family.

The political parties have seen a growing clarification of their stances. The Democrats have become more Leftist in the last 25 years; government solutions for everything, abortion "rights", multi-culturalist, sensitive approach to Islam, etc. I found myself voting just as much Republican as Democrat until 1994, when, like millions of disenchanted voters, I voted straight Republican.

Changing my party affiliation on September 16, 2002 was a long overdue afterthought. None of the major tenets of the party I was born into stood up to scrutiny. Big Government was the biggest threat and Democrats were and are blissfully unaware of it.

Long story short, the liberal standard of being pro-abortion began in me the doubts about the "party of the people". Like the flaw in the Hal 9000 computer began the deterioration of that mission, the flaw in liberals' defense of abortion started me on the path to reason.

I felt compelled to write my little story after reading about Lincoln Chafee's complaint that the Republican Party had turned on him. I'm glad they did, and other senators like John McCain and Lindsay Graham should be booted as well. The fact is that spineless nanny-state liberalism is destroying our nation. We should not be comfortable with it.

Last, Mitt Romney didn't win not because he ran as a conservative, but that he was not authentic. Democrats rightly crowed about how far-left he was the first 99% of his career. Every Republican wants to run as a Ronald Reagan conservative, but it only works if you ARE a Ronald Reagan conservative. America needs a better choice than between left-wing Big Government and right-wing Big Government.

Pakistani Actress Veena Malik puts a reactionary sheik in his place

2013-05-28T17:53:00.001-04:00

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=UAO8oc93UVQ

Veena Malik was being publicly rebuked by a meddling imam when she turns on him and exposes his grotesque stupidity

America - Land of the Fearful

2013-05-28T01:32:00.000-04:00

Daily Caller has a must-see interview with historian Diana West, whose recent book American Betrayal documents a history from American fear of the Soviet Union to our present-day fear of Islam. Our country has betrayed our values of freedom countless times due to an irrational fear of communism and now Islam. I would add that it is God who ultimately conquers evil in the world. It's a fascinating interview.

Prochoice Talking Points

2013-05-25T12:41:00.001-04:00

I had another conversation with a Twitter liberal, @genyliberal, who's not a mean-spirited person, which makes it easier to have a conversation. But still there is his problem of replying with the same talking points. "Men have no say with what a woman does with her body!" "History shows abortions will always be performed, so it's better in a hospital than with a coat hanger in a back alley."

I'm amazed at how persistent these two points are as thy are easily debunked. First, the baby in the womb is a unique body apart from the mother. Obviously, we did not begin as a second uterus or some such then "became" a baby when 1. Mom decided she wanted us or 2. When we were born. Of course neither of those are acceptable. The idea that the unborn are a mother's body part is silly. An unborn baby is no more a mother's body part then I am a part of my bed because I'm sitting up in bed writing this. Silly as it is, people make the argument over and over. For those wanting to quote the corresponding logical fallacy that this idea represents, it is false premise in that "Because a baby is a woman's body part, she can do what she wants with it." Except, oops, a baby is not a body part but a body.

And that abortions have historically occurred therefore they should be made "safer" is another idiotic notion. Let's name some other historically occurring actions. How about....murder? It's occurred since the beginning of time. Let's make it safe. You want to kill somebody? Have them meet you on the 7th floor of Holy Cross Hospital so Dr. Lazarus can assist. Of course, that's ridiculous, as is the concept of accommodating something evil because it's happened throughout history.

And, the comparison is apposite. Abortion, too, is murder.

Memorial Day Weekend Tribute to Christ Our Lord Who Died For All - Kunitz on Hopkins

2013-05-25T03:06:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Riddle - Worthy is the Lamb that was Slain...For Me

2013-05-25T02:22:00.001-04:00

On the Tragic Tornado in Oklahoma

2013-05-22T02:30:00.003-04:00

Where the twister trundled and tore,
Stands a tall tree whittled of its bark,

Sheet metal wrapped around like a scarf.

Can you see the tragedy?

Follow the base, pan down, more

Pandemonium, a bedpost and steel rod

spiked into the earth, debris as far

as the eye can see, but where's the tragedy?

Voices travel over the inchoate wasteland;

An old woman is reunited with her dog;

a young couple searches for their child.

The sun begins its descent - a tragedy grows.

News comes that more school children have died.

Sadness like a heart's hollow ventricle explodes

as twilight deepens and the rubble sinks

into a chasm of mystical hopelessness.

The will of millions hugs the land

trampled by the tornado. Help arrives

from far and near, but tragedy only deepens

as the new day confirms the very worst fears.

It would be so much easier to swallow

if there was someone to blame, someone

to chase into a cave and kill to quell

a community's angst over such a cold calamity.

The May 20th tornado was a crime,

yet there was no criminal,

lest the guilty party be man himself,

or God, seated on His throne, forsaking us.

The vastness of the devastation

renders us silent, turns us inward

to grieving for the lost children,

the sons and daughters - the future.

The tornado suggests there is something

above right and wrong, something so sublime

there is no human equivalent - above the world

yet involved in it, overcoming it.

And overcome they will, the people of Moore,

burying the debris beneath the tree that always lives,

as they have done before, then they move on,

like Jacob's clan, to Bethel in the Promised Land.

Only Bethel for those baptised by tornadoes

is in their rebuilt homes, dedicated to their

lost children and kin. Their Bethel is the future

right here. Right here. Right. Here.

Why Liberalism is Driven By Agenda, Not Truth

2013-05-20T18:51:00.000-04:00

I once stomached fifteen minutes of Chris Matthews' god-awful show Hardball on MSNBC. The left-wing apologist was interviewing a Constitutionalist, one who believes the original intent of the Constitution's provisions must be carefully observed. Matthews kept asking the man why he thought slavery should be legal and the guest corrected him three times, pointing out that the 13th Amendment outlawed slavery. Matthews kept saying that, if you believe in original intent you must believe in original amendments. It was such an appallingly stupid and plainly false argument (Straw Man) that I was amazed they let it air. But that's MSNBC's message day after day. If you believe in the Constitution, you support slavery. If you question homosexuality, you support slavery. If you oppose abortion, you want to keep women enslaved.

It worries me that people embrace obvious logical fallacies and outright lies to promote liberal causes and silence their critics. While logical fallacies can snare both sides of the political aisle, liberals don't seem to care at all about the veracity of their arguments. In their group-think, they have decided they are right and that's the end of that. But liberals should understand that, if their positions are true, then they would be better served by true arguments than blatantly false ones. Unless they know their positions are false.

Liberal attack on the Constitution. The liberal consensus is that the Constitution is obsolete, written by 18th Century slaveholders. A relative of mine, a liberal former history teacher, states that the Constitution is a "flawed document", and that seems the best sentiment I've heard from a liberal on the Constitution. But this is wrong-headed because the Constitution is still being written. There are 27 Amendments and some amendments are very recent. We can change the Constitution if we feel that the law of the land needs to be changed. And we are not slaveholders or irrelevant ghosts from the 1700s. We write the Constitutional amendments of our time. So liberals are without excuse in their rejection of the Constitution. Why then do they reject having a law of the land? In my opinion, it is that they are setting up a lawlessness that will benefit the rapid and mandatory acceptance of their causes.

"Leveling the playing field" for women, gays, and blacks. Liberals point to an historic privileged white America and rage against it, convinced that white folks have taken advantage of and abused women and minorities. While white folks have done bad things in the past, levelling the playing field has gone beyond mere equality to raising women and minorities, African Americans, and gays to protected status through abortion "rights", welfare, Affirmative Action, and limiting criticism of homosexuality. While it's understandable that liberals would seek to defend historically underprivileged groups, their reforms have had the opposite effect on the groups they hoped to help. Abortion has hurt American women more than any other atrocity against women. Abortion is the murder of an innocent child and every post-abortive woman lives with that guilt daily. Welfare destroyed the family units of African Americans and poor whites. Affirmative Action and other racial reforms have encouraged a culture of under-achievement and entitlement in the black community. Same-sex marriage threatens free speech, calling for action against citizens and groups who don't believe that a union between two members of the same sex can be called marriage. One would think that achieving legal recognition of same-sex marriage would be enough, but liberals are over-reaching by categorizing dissent as "hate speech". Such bullying will eventually backfire - at least in the US - and gays will not be better off.

If liberalism was pure and true, it wouldn't need logical fallacies and bullying tactics to win arguments and elections. My concern is that manipulators like Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, and the mean Myka woman from MSNBC are satisfied with propaganda and bullying. The ends justify the means, in their view. And, no, I do not see that as a Straw Man. Dan Rather exemplified this type of thinking when he admitted the documents he used to damage George W. Bush's military record were false but the content was true. Rather gained national attention after the Kennedy assassination when he reported that students in a Texas classroom cheered when they heard the Democrat President has been assassinated. That story was also untrue; the school had announced the students could go home early - without saying why - so they cheered.

I know. I haven't finished answering "Why Liberalism is Driven By Agenda, Not Truth". You see, the power of liberalism is the power of the mass-minded people of the world; the ebb and flow of culture's spineless mob - the slow and disjointed march of relativism. Pope Benedict XVI cited it in describing Judas Iscariot's egregious stupidity in betraying Jesus.

“Judas is neither a master of evil nor the figure of a demoniacal power of darkness but rather a sycophant who bows down before the anonymous power of changing moods and current fashion. But it is precisely this anonymous power that crucified Jesus, for it was anonymous voices that cried, ‘Away with him! Crucify him!’”

The only reason you would crucify Truth is to save an agenda, and that is precisely what we see with Political Correctness and the hapless history of liberal social engineering today. Save the agenda. To Hell with truth.

Thoughts on 10,000 Page Views for 33 Consecutive Months

2013-05-19T14:14:00.003-04:00

May, 2013 is the 33rd straight month that Moral Science Club blogs has seen 10,000 or more page views. BUT, as my wife likes to remind me, MSC has not made a single dollar.
My response? She's right (as always), but if this blog helped one person on their way to knowing Jesus Christ then it will all have been worth it.

Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons - Happy Sunday

Mona Charen column "Fight The Power"

2013-05-17T11:58:00.001-04:00

Mona Charen records words from a speech by President Obama on the benevolence of government. It's a direct logical fallacy. Apparently, this president never met a logical fallacy he didn't like. Here he uses generalizations about his opponent's arguments and adds a Straw Man argument, that criticism of government is equal to an attack on self-rule itself.

For a great read, click on the link.

Obamacare looks like an Economic Obamageddon

2013-05-14T11:03:00.005-04:00

This article in Forbes magazine explains the roll-out of Obamacare. If fully enforced, Obamacare could have a devastating effect on the economy, beginning by sending prices and unemployment skyrocketing.

Excerpt from The Cruel Things Obama Is Doing To The Labor Market by John Goodman

With respect to the new health law, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of the minimum benefit package that everyone will be required to have will be $4,750 for individuals and $12,250 for families. That translates into a minimum health benefit of $2.28 an hour for full-time single workers and about $3 an hour for someone working 30 hours a week. For family coverage the cost is $5.89 an hour for a 40-hour-a-week employee and $7.85 an hour for a 30-hour-a-week employee.

Be sure to read the whole article. My suspicion is that the Obama administration will pull back from some of the law's requirements.

Mother's Day Poem 2013 - Her Hymn

2013-05-11T03:04:00.000-04:00

I've been in the habit of writing a Mothers' Day poem for the past ten years or so. I think a lot of people can identify with the importance of those moments with their Mom; playing the piano to distract us frightened little kids from a bad thunderstorm, the endless parade of meals she made for us, the unconditional love that helped shape us, etc. The photo is of my Mom with her first grand-daughter, who now celebrates Mother's Day with two of her own. Mom did give up the choir this year, unfortunately, but she will never stop singing.

HER HYMN

After seventy years
Of hellos,

goodbyes,

solo soprano highs,
Standing then sitting,
pushing and shoving,
Robe room jokes

and Scripture quotes,
Mom gave up the choir,
But she keeps on singing.

God gave us Mom
And everything she has cooked for us;
Green beans, roast beef, collards,
Mac n cheese, potato bread, peach cobbler,
Countless holiday buffets, a gorge
Of unrequited kindnesses,
But she keeps on cooking.

Her song is love,
That deep-down, selfless

wisdom,
Long-suffering,

kind, carefully kindled
Over time

while the world rules
With its pepper spray smarts,
Mom quietly

loves us all,
And she keeps on loving.

The storms of life
have come and gone.
When we were babes
and afraid,
Mom played Bach
through the thunder

and driving rain
On her magical piano
rendering lightning to mere crescendo,
Rattling windows into cymbals.
Trials' embers cooled
to the soft soulful voice
above the keys,
The storms have passed;
But Mom keeps on playing.

Seventy-five years ago,

harmonizing
With her best friend Claire
On Glenmount Elementary hill,
They decided

they'd join the choir,
Sing carols on Christmas,
Handel's Messiah on Easter,
Dressed
in the robes of redemption.

And after seven decades
Mom's voice still sounds

the same.
A choir of angels awaits her,
Celestial sopranos wrap around
Her echo,

singing
What has become her song,

For Mom's song
has become her;
Her skill,

her wisdom,
and her love,
on loan
to us
From the Almighty; this is

Her hymn.

And she will keep on singing
Long past

this universe
of dust and sin.

Memories of a Saint - The Passing of Pastor Dave Ginter

2013-05-07T14:31:00.003-04:00

Pastor Dave Ginter served as pastor at my church home when I stayed in Guatemala in 2010. He was an amazing man who exuded the joy and love of God. In retrospect, Pastor Dave was the best teacher of the gospel I've ever been blessed to encounter in the flesh. He happened to be teaching the same chapters of John that I was studying in Bible Study when I left on my month-long business trip. His teaching on the man born blind blew me away. I've used the understanding I gleaned from it countless times since then. I wrote a letter thanking him and Union Church here. The letter is also visible at the bottom of this post along with an email report back to my Bible Study crew. There is a lot more to write but right now I'm going to pray.

Dear Saints,
We are deeply saddened to communicate that this past Saturday morning it was discovered that Pastor Dave Ginter was murdered in his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There is more unknown than know by us at this time, but our Lord knows all, so please pray that our Savior will comfort Sheryl and the boys.
If you do contact Sheryl, please simply offer your prayers and condolences. Please do not ask her for details. She has many unanswered questions and does not need to rehearse the few she does know – so please be very sensitive.
Sheryl was in her homeland of Australia and the boys were in Seattle, WA so Dave was alone. He was discovered by a neighbor who searched when Sheryl did not have her calls to Dave answered. The car and credit cards were taken so robbery is a possible motive.
Dave had just recently written a blog entry about tragedies in response to the Boston Marathon bombing entitled: Knowing God: Why Does God Allow Tragedy? You can read it at: http://www.pastordave.info/pastor-daves-blog.html As you will note in reading, the thoughts and truths are more appropriate than he himself probably realized.
We know the promises of God to his people regarding our entry through death into our Lord's presence – we are finally home, with Him. That is now our friend's experience. And we know that the grief of Sheryl, the boys and all of us his friends is real and overwhelming, even though tempered by the hope-filled promises of our ultimate reunion.
Please give thanks to God for Dave's faithful ministry to our Savior and his impact in so many lives for Jesus and please pray for the family. May we all follow Pastor Dave's loving example of sacrificial, bold, humble service with zeal for our Lord Jesus – the Savior.
The Union Church of Guatemala will be holding a Memorial Service for Pastor Dave this coming Sunday evening, May 12. It will be held during The Worship Experience at 6:00PM which was the service begun by Pastor Dave and one of his favorites. Please join us and please come prepared to share with us how Pastor Dave impacted your life.
Also if you would like to help Sheryl and the boys with the inevitable expenses involved in the funeral and repatriation arrangements you my contribute to them through the Union Church of Guatemala, or for US tax deductible gifts through International Church Ministries. You may connect to: http://www.unionchurchguatemala.com/ and give through the "Support UCG" tab or by bringing your gifts to the church's office. Please be sure to label them for the Ginter family.
Yours – For Jesus' Sake,
John Conner

[Pastor Dave graciously received my letter in his email at his new position across the world at a church in Southeast Asia. He promised he would pass along the letter.]

My Experience at Union Church - Guatemala City

This is a letter I'm sending to my church home away from home in Guatemala City, where I spent the month of February this year. The wonderful lady who prepared my breakfast suggested I check out Union Church, an English-language church within walking distance. I balked at that at first thinking I'd gone all the way to Guatemala to train for a new job and, being fluent in Spanish, it seemed a cop-out to go to an English-only church. So I did, or, actually, I didn't get my act together to hit the earlier Spanish services and that was the only walking distance church starting late enough for me to attend. I was expecting a dead, out of touch church. I found the opposite. Here's my experience:

UNION CHURCH OF GUATEMALA
12 calle 7-37, zone 9, Plaza España, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Office: +502-2361-2037, 2361-2027, 2331-6904
Fax: +502-2362-3961
Cell: +502-5366-1345
E-mail: unionchurchguatemala@gmail.com

Dear Pastor Dave Ginter,

I just wanted to let you know how much of blessing you and your congregation were to me this past February. Being proud of my fluency in Spanish, going to an English language church was out of the question when the lady at my hotel, Casa de Antano, suggested it to me. As fate would have it, my plans to go to the Spanish language church in Plaza Espana were thwarted because of the problem of airplane noise at the hotel. 747s and Embraer 170s flew by my window every few minutes. I overslept, so I went to your church.

On the way in to the sanctuary, my phone tapped automatically into your wi-fi system and I got a shocking text message; a 40-year-old friend of mine had just dropped dead. Boy was I in the right place to hear that news! Each person I met seconds later gave me a wonderful Christian welcome and, although I was anxious to find out how my old friend had died, I felt that reassurance, that peace that goes beyond all understanding that always comes easily amidst the presence of true believers. If God could give a hug through mere mortals, He's perfected it at your church.

I took a four week absence from my role as a Bible Study teacher in Bible Study Fellowship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to go to Guatemala. We were in the middle of a study of the Gospel of John. And what gospel was Pastor Dave preaching on? The Gospel of John. The lesson was brilliant, true to the Word, and I knew I had found my church home in this place that was far from home.

And here was the truly shocking thing; to many there at Union Church, this is not your ultimate home. I remember in talking to you that roughly 40% of the congregation had moved away. I remember the prayers at those services I attended calling for peace and calm when the motorcyclists surround your car at the traffic lights, usually indicating a robbery was imminent. I know what it's like to be a foreigner in that troubled land, and that many of you face great stress on a daily basis.

I'm sending this letter to encourage you because you have encouraged me beyond words. That last Sunday I was there, a deep longing captured me when you chose to sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness", the most oft-heard song in the history of my BSF. It stirred in my an indescribable desire to get back home. My tears were only held back by my awareness that here your congregation was, not in the free and easy confines of Fort Lauderdale, but in the difficult circumstances of Guatemala City, making a home for the Word of God to flourish.

Thanks to you, I have a much deeper understanding of what it means to be a citizen not of this world, but of Heaven. And something more, something I first read about during the study of Romans, chapter 8, verse 39:
"Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Indeed, there is a union among Christians that cannot be broken. I tasted that union at your church.

Even though the business that I was opening for Guatemalan investors has failed to thrive here in the States, I receive with close fondness all the emails and updates daily from Union Church, where the light of Christ shines through the Word of God that is taught and lived. You have a new life-long friend in South Florida.

Thank you so much for your blessings,

In Christ's love,

Jim Jordan - Ft Lauderdale, FL

[Here is my email back to my Bible study colleagues from Feb. 22, 2010. ]

Hi there,
I'm down to my last week here. I'm just working on getting all the spreadsheets for inventories and P+L's as well as preparing a food spec sheet for the purveyors for the new restaurant. I'm coming back on March 3rd in the morning and will be at Leaders' on Friday the 5th. I printed up my questions from BSF Groups already for that lesson.

I found a great church here (Union Church of Guatemala) with a great Bible-teaching pastor, Dave Ginter. It's the only English-language church in Guatemala City. Pastor Dave told me he knows BSF well but they do not have enough English speakers to start a class. Violence in general has escalated dramatically in the last 2-3 years, he said, and 40% of the congregation has moved back to England or the States. I've been lucky thus far, I guess, not having seen any crimes committed (knock on wood). My work team of assistant manager and kitchen manager are finally here in training. I'll be going ahead of them and it looks like I'll have a lot more of the construction and design to deal with when I get back. The restaurant is not as far along as expected (no surprise really).

I'll send my Bible intro paragraph and notes again for this Friday. I can't wait to get back. I can't remember what the USA looks like!
God bless,
Hermano en Cristo,
Jim