"If Christianity should happen to be true -- that is to say, if its God is the real God of the universe -- then defending it may mean talking about anything and everything. Things can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is false, but nothing can be irrelevant to the proposition that Christianity is true." -- G.K. Chesterton
Upcoming Posts
News to Know - Mondays
Dictum Diei - Tuesdays & Fridays
Verseday - Thursdays
Dictum Diei - Tuesdays & Fridays
Verseday - Thursdays
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
News to Know: Terrorist Founding Fathers? & 1 in 7 on foodstamps
Texas schools now teaching Boston Tea Party was an act of terrorism
School district cancels classes so teachers can protest 'right-to-work'
White House silent as Egypt's president grabs power, moves toward Shariah law
DHS website promoting government handouts to immigrants
Exclusive: Food stamp recipients outnumber populations of 24 states combined
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Saturday, 1 December 2012
News to Know: TSA unionized, Muslim Brotherhood pays rapists, schools tag & track kids
TSA Unionized - Americans Screwed
Union strike results in loss of 627 jobs
How the Alternative Minimum Tax could slam you
The 49ers: How Obamacare will keep unemployment high
Bill Kristol: Tea Partiers won't mind more taxes
According to survey, majority of Americans support online sales tax
Second Amendment - Gun rights:
Gun ban back on Obama's agenda - U.N. to trample 2nd amendment?
Democrat lawmaker pushes legislation to allow guns at work
Liberty & Media:
Schools' tracking devices cause controversy
Obama Administration does not allow Americans to practice Catholicism
Media freaks out of Rubio's remarks on age of the Earth
Obama in Burma: 'I wish I could...impose my will on congress'
Islam:
Muslim Brotherhood paying gangs to rape women (For links to more, see the news panel @ thereligionofpeace.)
Black Coral
As a fan of the Brothers Winn, I'm looking forward to the release of their first documentary. You may know them from their internet shorts. If you don't know them, you ought to.
Other videos by the Brothers Winn:
Other videos by the Brothers Winn:
Friday, 30 November 2012
Thursday, 29 November 2012
News to Know: Obama's secret, California's poverty, Islam's intolerance
Protesting in Europe |
White House secede petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation
Congressman: Greece-like 'day of reckoning' with 'riots' to hit America soon if country continues down the same path
Interior proposal would limit commercial oil shale development on federal lands
Report: Obama signed secret cyber directive in October
Cybersecurity bill suffers another defeat––Obama signs secret directive
22 signs that voter fraud is wildly out of control and the election was a sham
Christians may soon be jailed in U.S. over HHS mandate
MISCELLANEOUS:
Journalism student suspended for allowing critical remarks
California now leads poverty rankings
Business owner will add Obama taxes to restaurant bills
Kenya to outlaw homeschooling?
Nearly half of all U.S. Muslims believe criticism of Islam should be a crime
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Dictum Diei: Man's life as cheap as beast's
King Lear to Ragan:
O, reason not the need: our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous:
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s: thou art a lady;
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm.
– William Shakespeare, King Lear
O, reason not the need: our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous:
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life’s as cheap as beast’s: thou art a lady;
If only to go warm were gorgeous,
Why, nature needs not what thou gorgeous wear’st,
Which scarcely keeps thee warm.
– William Shakespeare, King Lear
Monday, 19 November 2012
News to Know: girls see naked man, wasted money, Judge Frodo
THE EXPECTED:
The most egregious ways taxpayer money is being squandered
Feds let Mexican cartel hit men kill in U.S.
New Obamacare taxform invades your privacy
Acting U.S. ambassador to Pakistan met with Code Pink, discussed 'classified' drone casualty counts
Video: College students chant for 'Karl Marx' and 'socialism' in front of White House at Obama victory rally
Judge Scalia, The Constitution's Frodo Baggins
Gun stocks surge after Obama's reelection
College officials cite 'non-discrimination law' to admit biological males into women's locker rooms on campus - Girls as young as six were exposed to a naked 45 year-old 'transgender' man
THE UNEXPECTED:
Vive la famille! The French rally against gay marriage
Report: Obama cut back substantially on 'economically significant' regulations in October
IRS Surrenders: Time for churches to get political
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Dictum Diei: Bacon on prejudice
"Men become attached to certain particular sciences and speculations, either because they fancy themselves the authors and inventors thereof, or because they have bestowed the greatest pains upon them and become most habituated to them. But men of this kind, if they betake themselves to philosophy and contemplations of a general character, distort and color them in obedience to their former fancies; a thing especially to be noticed in Aristotle, who made his natural philosophy a mere bond servant to his logic, thereby rendering it contentious and well nigh useless."
- Francis Bacon from The New Organon
- Francis Bacon from The New Organon
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Verseday Thursday: Milton
On His Blindness - John Milton (1608-1674)
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodge with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodge with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."
News to Know: White people are going to hell, Kill lists, & Injustice in Iran
OBAMA:
AMERICAN FREEDOM:
INTERNATIONAL:
Demand justice today.
MISCELLANEOUS:
- Within hours of reelection, Obama backs UN gun-grab treaty
- Obama's inauguration reverend: All whites are going to hell
- Video: Obama's kill list is constitutional, says Republican congressman
AMERICAN FREEDOM:
- Supreme Court skeptical of harm caused by warrantless wiretapping
- U.S. Slips in report's ranking of free economies
- Economic freedom in the U.S. plummets to an all-time low
- Federal Judge ban's firearms sales to those under 21 - (But you can join the army at 17. Go figure.)
INTERNATIONAL:
- Same-Sex Marriage Ten Years On: Lessons from Canada - Same-sex civil marriage in Canada has resulted in restriction on free speech rights, parental rights in education, and autonomy rights of religious institutions, along with a weakening of the marriage culture
Demand justice today.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Dictum Diei: A Virgin Mind
"It is preferable to have a virgin mind than a virgin body."
- St. Ambrose, Concerning Virgins, Book II.
Context: Ambrose recounts a case in which a virgin at Antioch, having refused to sacrifice to idols, was condemned to a brothel.
Monday, 12 November 2012
No Shave November: I'm out, but Shakespeare's in
I was planning on participating in "No Shave November," which to be fair, was in my case "No Trim November," since I don't exactly shave. Well, it's only the 12th of the month, and I've already disqualified myself. I broke down and trimmed half an inch off my mustache. The redeeming news, however, is that my mustache is still over an inch long. As you might guess, it was getting awfully difficult to eat neatly.
But for all those who are still in the beard race, I offer this sonnet from Shakespeare.
That time of year thou mayst on me behold
When yellow hairs, or red, or brown, do hang;
Upon these cheeks which shake not in the cold,
Beard covered flesh, where late the chill wind sang.
On me thou see'st the mustache of such size
That clearly points like compass east and west;
Which by and by may very well surprise
When it in glory lies untrimmed, unpressed.
On me thou see'st the growing of beard fire,
Bright reddish hairs, when in the sun they lie:
A deathbed whereon en'vious hearts expire,
Wishing they had beards in which to sigh.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy beard more strong,
To grow that well which thou must wear quite long.
Admittedly, it's not his best sonnet, but that's perhaps only because, for once, even his genius was no match for such an elevated topic.
But for all those who are still in the beard race, I offer this sonnet from Shakespeare.
That time of year thou mayst on me behold
When yellow hairs, or red, or brown, do hang;
Upon these cheeks which shake not in the cold,
Beard covered flesh, where late the chill wind sang.
On me thou see'st the mustache of such size
That clearly points like compass east and west;
Which by and by may very well surprise
When it in glory lies untrimmed, unpressed.
On me thou see'st the growing of beard fire,
Bright reddish hairs, when in the sun they lie:
A deathbed whereon en'vious hearts expire,
Wishing they had beards in which to sigh.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy beard more strong,
To grow that well which thou must wear quite long.
Admittedly, it's not his best sonnet, but that's perhaps only because, for once, even his genius was no match for such an elevated topic.
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Dictum Diei: Cheese
"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese."
- G. K. Chesterton
from his essay, "Cheese."
- G. K. Chesterton
from his essay, "Cheese."
- Someone took the trouble to type up the entire essay, which you can find here.
- Also, here's a column from The Columbia Daily Tribune: In an homage to fromage, poets break the silence on the subject of cheese.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
My car was broken into last night. Someone chucked a rock through the window and took my ancient iPod (it'll make a nice paperweight––it couldn't hold a charge anymore) and a handful of change. What gets me is that the thief left a perfectly good hymnal and road atlas in the back seat––items infinitely more interesting than dead iPods. It seems breaking into my car wasn't the only bad decision he made.
I will say this, though, in the thief's defense: The iPod was full of sermons, theology lectures, and classical music, which makes it, I admit, rather tempting.
I will say this, though, in the thief's defense: The iPod was full of sermons, theology lectures, and classical music, which makes it, I admit, rather tempting.
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Dictum Diei: Election Day - Put not your trust in princes
The head of Constantine |
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
Sunday, 4 November 2012
God, Government, and "Gay Marriage": A thimbleful of thoughts
This morning, there was a man on the radio speaking about so-called "gay marriage." One of his remarks caught my attention.
He claimed that, by lobbying to be legally "married," he and the rest of the gay community wanted only to be true members of society.
Of course, he isn't the first to say that, and certainly won't be the last. But it occurred to me that his statement implies a great number of things.
Underlying this man's claim is the notion that gays are outcasts because their marriages aren't recognized by most states. By making the issue one of marriage, marriage becomes the door into social acceptance. This ridiculously implies that only married people belong. But nobody is excluding singles from being accepted members of society.
Of course, I doubt this fellow believes unmarried men and women are societal rejects by being single. Yet, it is this kind of language that makes me wonder whether there is a self-ostracizing attitude in gay activism, despite the victim-talk. There may not be, but I still wonder. (Perhaps you can answer that for me?)
More likely, the man on the radio was trying to say the ability to get married is the door to acceptance. If this is what he meant, he avoids the ridiculous implications I listed above, but runs into new difficulties.
First, it is not merely the ability to get married that gay activists are after. They want the ability to marry whomever they please, regardless of sex. Because only those who can marry whomever they please are true members of society, according to the reasoning. But nobody can marry whomever they please. You can only marry whomever you please if whomever-you-please is the right sort of person. For instance, there are laws against incestuous marriage, as well as age restrictions, and rightly so. But there aren't too many folks lobbying to legalize incestuous marriage. So it seems a bit silly to complain about not being able to marry whomever they please unless they can provide a rationale stronger than one based on emotion––even if that emotion is love.
Second, by framing the issue in terms of membership into society, the fellow on the radio revealed the simultaneous desire of gay activism to be bound by old institutions and to be freed from them. I hear ad nauseam claims that gay couples make families which are as legitimate and healthy as those of heterosexual couples. What's so strange is that gay activism rallies against the "traditional family" as a narrow and constricting institution, and then does its best to reproduce it in every respect except the sexes of the couple. I would have expected that they would reject the whole institution of family life and promote a new social unit based on "free love." But instead, it seems that gay activism is incapable of producing its own structures or its own air of legitimacy. Instead, it must borrow from an institution it fears: the traditional family.
At any rate, the debate on so-called "gay marriage" raises an interesting question about the role of government in marriage and family affairs. I'm not entirely sure what the government's role in marriage ought to be, but I'm inclined to believe it shouldn't have a role at all. Homosexuals can already find compliant religious organizations that will marry them, as can heterosexuals. What does the government add?
If I were to get married tomorrow, it wouldn't make a whit of difference to the legitimacy of my marriage whether the government approved or recognized it, because my vows would be performed before an omnipresent God. But if I had no such reverence for God, I would feel a need to have my vows recognized by someone––someone with the power to declare a marriage into being. And the only being beside God whose will is law is the government: god on earth. Thus, the real question seems to be one of legitimacy, which government sanction promises to provide.
He claimed that, by lobbying to be legally "married," he and the rest of the gay community wanted only to be true members of society.
Of course, he isn't the first to say that, and certainly won't be the last. But it occurred to me that his statement implies a great number of things.
Underlying this man's claim is the notion that gays are outcasts because their marriages aren't recognized by most states. By making the issue one of marriage, marriage becomes the door into social acceptance. This ridiculously implies that only married people belong. But nobody is excluding singles from being accepted members of society.
Of course, I doubt this fellow believes unmarried men and women are societal rejects by being single. Yet, it is this kind of language that makes me wonder whether there is a self-ostracizing attitude in gay activism, despite the victim-talk. There may not be, but I still wonder. (Perhaps you can answer that for me?)
More likely, the man on the radio was trying to say the ability to get married is the door to acceptance. If this is what he meant, he avoids the ridiculous implications I listed above, but runs into new difficulties.
First, it is not merely the ability to get married that gay activists are after. They want the ability to marry whomever they please, regardless of sex. Because only those who can marry whomever they please are true members of society, according to the reasoning. But nobody can marry whomever they please. You can only marry whomever you please if whomever-you-please is the right sort of person. For instance, there are laws against incestuous marriage, as well as age restrictions, and rightly so. But there aren't too many folks lobbying to legalize incestuous marriage. So it seems a bit silly to complain about not being able to marry whomever they please unless they can provide a rationale stronger than one based on emotion––even if that emotion is love.
Second, by framing the issue in terms of membership into society, the fellow on the radio revealed the simultaneous desire of gay activism to be bound by old institutions and to be freed from them. I hear ad nauseam claims that gay couples make families which are as legitimate and healthy as those of heterosexual couples. What's so strange is that gay activism rallies against the "traditional family" as a narrow and constricting institution, and then does its best to reproduce it in every respect except the sexes of the couple. I would have expected that they would reject the whole institution of family life and promote a new social unit based on "free love." But instead, it seems that gay activism is incapable of producing its own structures or its own air of legitimacy. Instead, it must borrow from an institution it fears: the traditional family.
At any rate, the debate on so-called "gay marriage" raises an interesting question about the role of government in marriage and family affairs. I'm not entirely sure what the government's role in marriage ought to be, but I'm inclined to believe it shouldn't have a role at all. Homosexuals can already find compliant religious organizations that will marry them, as can heterosexuals. What does the government add?
If I were to get married tomorrow, it wouldn't make a whit of difference to the legitimacy of my marriage whether the government approved or recognized it, because my vows would be performed before an omnipresent God. But if I had no such reverence for God, I would feel a need to have my vows recognized by someone––someone with the power to declare a marriage into being. And the only being beside God whose will is law is the government: god on earth. Thus, the real question seems to be one of legitimacy, which government sanction promises to provide.
Monday, 22 October 2012
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Makerbot & Jacuzzi Boat
I look forward to the day when desktop 3D printers are as cheap as toaster ovens.
Also, I can't decide whether this is a great idea or a remarkably bad idea. What do you think?
Also, I can't decide whether this is a great idea or a remarkably bad idea. What do you think?
Friday, 19 October 2012
News to Know: Federal court in favor of kidnapping citizens
Story here: Federal court rules in favor of indefinite detention of US citizens.
I'd play taps for the 4th and 6th amendments, but I don't own a bugle.
I'd play taps for the 4th and 6th amendments, but I don't own a bugle.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
News to Know: Paramilitary Raids on US Citizens on the Increase
One of many such stories: SWAT team leaves 12 year old burned & innocent family terrorized in raid
Here's a map produced by the Cato Institute, cataloging similar gross displays of police power: Botched Paramilitary Police Raids
Here's a map produced by the Cato Institute, cataloging similar gross displays of police power: Botched Paramilitary Police Raids
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Dictum Diei: Where you have envy
[W]here you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
–James 3:16
This is as true at the corner market as it is at the Capital. And you and I are as vulnerable to these vices as are the best of men.
–James 3:16
This is as true at the corner market as it is at the Capital. And you and I are as vulnerable to these vices as are the best of men.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Dictum Diei: When the World does not Like You
"When the world does not like you it takes its revenge on you; if it happens to like you, it takes its revenge still by corrupting you."
––A. G. Sertillanges
––A. G. Sertillanges
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Dictum Diei: Pride is the Enemy of Truth
Pride is the enemy of truth.
Therefore, suspect the judgements of the arrogant.
But do not wholly dismiss them in case they speak truth despite themselves.
Test everything; hold fast to that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
Therefore, suspect the judgements of the arrogant.
But do not wholly dismiss them in case they speak truth despite themselves.
Test everything; hold fast to that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Beautiful off-the-grid 12x12 house
As a closet fan of the rapidly expanding tiny house movement, I'm always watching videos on small houses or tweaking my own designs for a tiny library house (any house I live in will have to be a furnished library). But this video comes to mind more than any of the others I've seen. It is, perhaps, the least practical (especially for folks who need electricity), but certainly one of the most beautiful houses I've seen.
News to Know: Obama & Marxicrat Party
Here's a fun exercise you can do with the kids:
Go to the Communist Party USA's website (CPUSA) and every time you read the words "Reds" or "Communist" replace them with "Democrat." It's like playing mad-libs, but with the freedom of the western world at stake.
Although, to be fair, you could nearly do the same exercise with the word 'Republican' rather than 'Democrat,' which ought to say something about the state of American politics. The primary difference between the parties, it seems, is that many Democrats are outright Marxists, and many Republicans are Socialists in Capitalist clothing. And since Socialism is the pit-stop on the way to Communism (read "Fascism"), most Republicans are merely Democrats that haven't hit ideological puberty yet.
Saturday, 8 September 2012
News to Know: Cuba - The Enemy Within
I've been much too busy lately with my graduate studies to write or blog anything, but here's a post in hopes that I'll find time to return to a more regular blogging schedule.
For being so close to us, we are surprisingly oblivious to horrors committed by Cuba government.
Please tweet or reblog in the name of Religious Freedom.
CSW's "Cry Freedom" page HERE.
For being so close to us, we are surprisingly oblivious to horrors committed by Cuba government.
Please tweet or reblog in the name of Religious Freedom.
CSW's "Cry Freedom" page HERE.
Saturday, 28 July 2012
News to Know: DOJ will not guarantee freedom of speech
Department of Justice refuses to promise to protect free speech - Article HERE.
Also, here's a clever and humorous ad by the Faith Family Freedom Fund. Its tactfulness impressed me.
Also, here's a clever and humorous ad by the Faith Family Freedom Fund. Its tactfulness impressed me.
Friday, 27 July 2012
Thursday, 26 July 2012
News to Know: Grandma held as terrorist while buying car
Sandra Cortez, a 62-year-old grandmother and retired accountant, went to purchase a brand new silver Subaru back in 2005. What happened shocked and terrified her. The dealership staff threatened to call the FBI and have her hauled away as a suspected terrorist.
“I thought I would be driving my new car back to work after lunch,” said Cortez. “I couldn’t imagine what would happen next.”
Read more:
http://freedomoutpost.com/2012/07/grandma-held-as-terrorist-while-buying-car/#ixzz21kwCrBA6
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Saturday, 9 June 2012
News to Know: Fascism in America & Old News is Best
AMERICAN FASCISM:
My, that's depressing, isn't it? I'd like to leave you with something less depressing than political news. It's still news––old news––but hardly irrelevant.
- Obama violates 6th Amendment, appoints first ever assassination czar
- Moms threatened with criminal charges over milk
- Fed spent nearly $70 billion on 'climate change'
- House violates 14th Amendment, OKs indefinite detention
- Cops accused of stealing citizens' guns
- New Mexico court demands photographers to pay fines or deny religion
- Police state abolishes trial, making you a sitting duck
My, that's depressing, isn't it? I'd like to leave you with something less depressing than political news. It's still news––old news––but hardly irrelevant.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Demonstration of Nationalism: Criminal Offense to Criticize Obama?
A teacher in a North Carolina high school tells students that questioning the president is criticism and that such criticism (or "disrespect") is a criminal offense.
Story here.
Ah, Nationalism at its finest.
Story here.
Ah, Nationalism at its finest.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
Patriotism and Nationalism: Country and Government
I’ve noticed that amid all the political commentary and journalism that I read, both conservative and liberal, there is no genuine distinction made between Patriotism and Nationalism. While Nationalism seems to keep its bad reputation, it is far more prevalent than anyone seems willing to admit. There are Nationalists on the Right and Nationalists on the Left. The reason, perhaps, that Nationalism is hard to spot is because it often calls itself Patriotism.
The best way I know to describe the difference between the two is to place them in a neighborhood. A Nationalist is like a conceited property owner. He believes he owns the biggest and best house in the subdivision and lets everyone know it. He is satisfied with his house only because he is convinced that it stands above the others. If his edifice were not the grandest, he would do everything in his power to make it the grandest, or at least appear so. He cares only for what wins him bragging rights.
A Patriot, on the other hand, is like a property owner with the smallest house on the street. He loves his house, but he is under no delusion that it is the best or biggest. Yet he loves it all the same. He loves it because it is his house. He bought it with his own money, he fixed it with his own hands, and filled it with his own family. Size and grandeur matter little to a Patriot. The mere fact of possession and privacy provides for him enough romance to supply a thousand novels.
Because the Nationalist loves an empire and the Patriot loves a home, they are often in disagreement. Incidentally, many Nationalists are against the home, against privacy, and against the family. Those who are not against these are inconsistent thinkers, and in this case, are better for it. An empire has no room for a kitchen table, because a kitchen table creates an independent state loyal to mother first, and to motherland second. Empires hate winning second place.
Aside from its empire-lust, Nationalism is dangerous because it is a blind devotion, not to an ideal, cause, or dogma, but to a government, and this for glory and power. Blind supporters provide their idols with tremendous power, and tremendous power is always abused when it falls into human hands. Thus, Nationalists, despite their good intentions, fertilize the political field for tyranny. The 20th century saw Nationalism at work in Nazi Germany. The good people of Germany, after being humiliated at the close of World War I, were all too eager to elect a man who would restore Germany’s former glory. The empire Hitler built tickled Nationalist egos, but it was paid for by genocide and a second World War.
Another reason we should be careful to distinguish between Nationalism and Patriotism is that it is easy to confuse Nationalism with Patriotism and Patriotism with betrayal. For instance, supporting a war is not necessarily patriotic, nor is opposing it necessarily unpatriotic. In fact, if I support a war merely because my country is in it, I am guilty of Nationalism. If, on the other hand, I support a war out of a genuine conviction that it is a just and necessary war, I act with Patriotism.
As another example, we sometimes are told that supporting particular government policies is the patriotic thing to do. This is a clever way to discourage criticism of the government and to encourage Nationalism in all its blind naiveté. Often, a Patriot feels forced to criticize his government for the good of his country.
Because the Patriot loves the country he possesses, his love for it drives him to seek its good. As a good man maintains his house, not primarily for his own sake, but for the sake of his family, so a Patriot seeks the good of his nation, not primarily for his own sake, but for the sake of his country. Patriotism is not merely dedication to one’s country, but to truth and goodness because love desires the best for others.
Just like acting wickedly is harmful to one’s soul, countries and governments are harmed by doing evil. Thus, he is no Patriot who perverts justice for the sake of his country. Opposing evil and tyranny wherever it appears is the height of Patriotism. And it is the support of evil, knowingly or not, which is the betrayal, not only of one’s country, but of all men.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Be careful what you say; even phones have ears.
I have always been opposed to cell phones, although not for privacy reasons. Like the internet, like genetic experimentation, like so many new technologies, we haven't spent any time thinking about what they do to us, rather than what they do for us. As Neil Postman wrote in the 80s, technology is not neutral but always has a particular bias. In the case of television, for instance, the bias is toward entertainment. It doesn't matter what content you're presenting, if you present it via television, it will inevitably be squeezed into the mold of entertainment. Incidentally, this is one of the reasons that televangelism is so bad. Televangelists are entertainers above all else--and they have to be. If they weren't primarily presenting religious entertainment, their shows would be canceled for being bad (and boring) television.
Likewise, I've always been hesitant about technological "improvements"--not because technology is bad, but because we humans are bad and bound to abuse it. Case in point, the US government has vastly expanded its spying on its own citizens. They embrace every new technology (video surveillance, internet hacking, social media tracking, cell phone tapping, etc.) without making real (or any, for that matter) provisions to protect us, the people, from government abuse. Every unchecked power will be abused, regardless of legality.
In addition to real and potential abuse of government power, we ought to be aware of how we are creating opportunities for people (and unscrupulous government agencies) to violate and erase our privacy.
For instance, you probably know that nearly anyone can hack our computers and watch and listen to us through built-in mics and webcams. But did you know that your cell phone is perhaps an even worse offender?
In fact, cell phones are so dangerous to privacy that according to above article,
I doubt anyone will change their habits as these sorts of stories become more common, but I do hope that we will at least begin to ask ourselves is newer is always better.
VIDEO: News story on cell phone tapping.
Likewise, I've always been hesitant about technological "improvements"--not because technology is bad, but because we humans are bad and bound to abuse it. Case in point, the US government has vastly expanded its spying on its own citizens. They embrace every new technology (video surveillance, internet hacking, social media tracking, cell phone tapping, etc.) without making real (or any, for that matter) provisions to protect us, the people, from government abuse. Every unchecked power will be abused, regardless of legality.
In addition to real and potential abuse of government power, we ought to be aware of how we are creating opportunities for people (and unscrupulous government agencies) to violate and erase our privacy.
For instance, you probably know that nearly anyone can hack our computers and watch and listen to us through built-in mics and webcams. But did you know that your cell phone is perhaps an even worse offender?
In fact, cell phones are so dangerous to privacy that according to above article,
Christians in Iran have learned that they must take the batteries entirely out of their cell phones before they gather for home church meetings. If they don't take the batteries out of their cell phones, there is a good chance that the secret police will show up and drag them off to prison.
I doubt anyone will change their habits as these sorts of stories become more common, but I do hope that we will at least begin to ask ourselves is newer is always better.
VIDEO: News story on cell phone tapping.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
News to Know: Obama Lawyer admits forgery, IRS tries to lock you up
- The IRS may soon be able to revoke your travel plans at will. A new bill will allow the IRS to keep you from leaving the country by merely alleging you owe unpaid taxes. Land of the free, huh? And home of the brazen abuse of power.
- Obama's Lawyer admits his birth certificate is forged.
- It's old news for most of us, but in case you didn't know, Obama is Marxist radical Saul Alinsky's best student.
- New $2B spy center in Utah -- do you believe they aren't spying on you? How can one believe an organization with no accountability to keep its word? If there's one thing politics ought to teach us is that the less transparent departments, politicians, panels, etc. are, the more likely it is that they're corrupted beyond imperial Rome.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
News to Know: Animal Farm IRL, Obama flag
- Executive Order Panic: Martial Law in the US? --Maybe not.
- Big Pharma pushes drug to "cure racism" --While racism is evil, do we really want to fight bad ideas with pills rather than Reason?
- Gaystapo: Arrest British Vicars for "hate crime" of disagreement --Freedom of speech is on its deathbed in the UK. Whatever position you take on the morality of homosexual behavior, we ought to agree that freedom of speech and freedom of thought are the hallmarks of a free society. If you lose your intellectual freedoms, no other freedom matters, nor can it be preserved.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
News to Know: Obama claims "right" to assassinate U.S. citizens at will
In Soviet America, president assassinate YOU.
FBI Director: I have to check to see if Obama has the right to assassinate Americans on U.S. soil.
"President Obama has just stated a policy that he can have any American citizen killed without any charge, without any review, except his own. If he’s satisfied that you are a terrorist, he says that he can kill you anywhere in the world including in the United States. . .You’ve now got a president who says that he can kill you on his own discretion. He can jail you indefinitely on his own discretion."
Whatever happened to the fifth amendment? (And amendments IV and VI, for that matter.)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. - Amendment V
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Protesting soon to be illegal in the U.S.?
Goodbye, First Amendment: 'Trespass Bill' will make protest illegal.
A governments which makes laws to protect itself from its citizens is a government which is not governing, but tyrannizing. Bad governments, like criminals, invariably suffer the paranoia of being challenged by good men.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
News to Know: Your body is now an FDA regulated drug/ FBI on Twitter/ Wolfman hunted
AMERICAN TOTALITARIANISM:
AMERICAN PERSECUTION:
BRITISH TOTALITARIANISM:
STAND FOR LIBERTY - Read and sign the Manhattan Declaration HERE.
- You can also sign their petition against the Obama administration's overt attack on religious freedom HERE.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Persecution Update 10 Feb 2012
VOM-USA Prayer Update for February 10, 2012
Laos--Village Leaders Retract DemandsSource: VOM Contacts
Proverbs 15:1-2
A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
A pastor's wise words turned away the demands of a village leader in Laos recently. On Nov. 21, 2011, seven village officials demanded that a pastor and his church members sign documents promising they would stop witnessing. The church members refused to sign, explaining that to do so would be a betrayal of God's teachings. The village head continued to pressure them, saying, "Christians are not good people. They do not drink, smoke or participate in the important [village] occasions." The pastor finally agreed to sign the documents under the condition that he receive copies to show Lao Communist party officials, the governor and leaders of his church denomination. The village leaders then immediately backed off of their demands. Our VOM contact wrote, "The Christians in this village are poor and uneducated people, but the Holy Spirit puts the words in their hearts to say!" Thank God for these faithful villagers, and pray that they will remain strong in the face of harassment from local officials.
Pakistan--Evangelist Faces Harassment and Spiritual Attack
Sources: VOM Contacts
Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
A VOM-supported evangelist in the Afghan-Pakistan border region reports that he is being harassed by a local Muslim leader and is also under attack by spiritual forces. After a recent Christmas service that was attended by a few Muslims, the evangelist received a letter warning him that his congregation was not respecting the Muslim call to prayer. Police have monitored the evangelist's activities, and the local mullah has told his audience that Christian activities "must be stopped." The evangelist says the region historically has been difficult for mission workers and that he is affected spiritually when he goes on prayer walks. Pray that God will grant supernatural strength to this brother and his church.
Azerbaijan--New Laws Further Restrict Religious Freedom
Sources: Forum 18 News, VOM Canada
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Under new amendments to Azerbaijan's Criminal and Administrative Codes, anyone who distributes religious materials that haven't been through state censorship may be imprisoned for two to five years or fined the equivalent of nine years' salary. President Ilham Aliyev signed the amendments into law on Dec. 12, 2011, the latest in a series of increasingly restrictive legislative actions by the government. In July 2011, amendments introduced new controls on religious education among other restrictions. In December 2010, fines for illegal religious activity under the Administrative Code were greatly increased, and in 2009, the Religion Law was twice amended to restrict rights and freedoms related to religion. Pray that President Aliyev will stop enacting laws that restrict the religious freedoms of his people, and pray that believers in Azerbaijan will continue to be bold in sharing their faith.
Page borrowed from the VOM.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Shyness and Grieving are Mental Illnesses?
Fox released this story today, which says that under the new revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a large number of things never thought to be mental illnesses will be classified as such. For instance, shyness and even grief may be considered mental illnesses. Perhaps what is more dangerous is the fact that it will "medicalize criminality," which means that rather than being treated as bad people, criminals will be considered mentally ill. In other words, criminals will not be able to be held accountable for their actions--human responsibility will be removed. Therefore, evil behavior is not due to any moral corruption, but to physiological malfunction. If we make mental illness the rule rather than the exception in explaining crime, we fling open wide a door to allow any unpopular behavior to be classified as evidence of mental illness. As the article explains,
"At the other end of the spectrum, the new DSM, due out next year, could give medical diagnoses for serial rapists and sex abusers - under labels like "paraphilic coercive disorder" - and may allow offenders to escape prison by providing what could be seen as an excuse for their behavior, they added."
Consider the political benefits of redefining certain behaviors and attitudes. With a tweak of definition, whole sectors of society could easily be marginalized and discredited. Those who raise moral challenges become blank-phobic (pick your poison) or suffer from a Diversity Resistance Disorder (or how about Ego-Moral Monochromatic Obsessivism? That has a nice ring to it). Those who challenge pet government policies suffer from an anti-social defiant disorder or from a kind of religious mania.
In any case, as usual, G.K. Chesterton saw this danger at the start of the 20th century. In fact, his novel, The Ball and the Cross (written in 1906, I believe), is built upon this very theme of madness as a means to power. In The Ball and the Cross, two Scotsmen, a staunch Atheist and a staunch Roman Catholic, want nothing more than to settle their religious differences. The establishment (both the medical and political), however, considers their behavior to be an expression of a religious mania. By the end of the novel, both the Atheist and the Roman Catholic find themselves in an asylum simply because they take religion seriously--the Atheist thinks it a serious error, and the Catholic a serious truth. In any case, Chesterton does demonstrate, however unlikely his story may be, that whoever controls the definition of madness controls the whole of society. (Put the book on your summer reading list; it's worth reading several times.)
If ideas are worth fighting for, so are the words we use to express ideas. And if words are worth a battle, so are their definitions. This battle is one that I hope the revised DSM loses, and loses badly.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
News to Know: Cancer drug 'too expensive for NHS', Beheading Plot, Bible School Bombed
- Cancer Drug 'too expensive for NHS' - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/02/cancer-drug-too-expensive-nhs
- Bible School Bombed by Sudanese Air Force - http://global.christianpost.com/news/samaritans-purse-bible-college-allegedly-bombed-by-sudanese-air-force-68523/ (CNN's report on the bombing - http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/02/world/africa/sudan-bombing/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn) More pictures of the bombing HERE.
- N.C. Teacher accused of being in a plot to behead witnesses - http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/02/justice/north-carolina-alleged-beheading-plot/index.html?iref=allsearch
Monday, 9 January 2012
News to Know: Obama vs. Constitution, Dream House Shot Down, & Ron Paul
POLITICS / CONSTITUTIONALITY:
- Obama Sidesteps Senate, Could End Senate Role - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/us/politics/experts-say-obamas-recess-appointments-could-signify-end-to-a-senate-role.html
- Bucking Senate, Obama Appoints Consumer Chief - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/us/politics/richard-cordray-named-consumer-chief-in-recess-appointment.html
- EPA Stops Homeowners from Building on Their Own Land, Threatens Fines - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/09/supreme-court-hears-case-dream-house-stopped-by-epa/
- National Debt Surpasses Economic Output - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/09/republican-blasts-obama-after-national-debt-surpasses-economic-output/
2012 REPUBLICAN DEBATE:
Ron Paul Highlights
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