A LESSON IN HISTORY
1) “We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”
A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above2) “It’s time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few…and to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity.”
A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above3) “(We)…can’t just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people.”
A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Jose f Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above4) “We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own…in order to create this common ground.”
A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above5) “I certainly think the free-market has failed.”
A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above6) “I think it’s time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched.”
A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the aboveAnswers:
(1) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) D. None of the above. Statement was made by Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005
Friday, October 12, 2007
Socialism
Paranoia = Peace?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Mailbag
Q: Here's my plan for my first kid. I have the entire 2004 Red Sox playoffs on DVD, as well as all the Patriots' Super Bowl DVD's. What if, instead of Dora and Barney, I prop my kid up in front of Tom and Papi? Hell, my kid may come into this world just before the NBA playoffs. What a way to start. This cannot fail; this will be revolutionary. All I need from you is a way to convince my wife this is a good idea.
--Bob, Pittsfield, Mass.SG: Convince you? I'm beating you to it. There's no rhyme or reason to any of the shows aimed for kids under 18 months old. They have only one goal: to juggle as many weird colors, sights and sounds as possible to keep the kids' attention and eventually give them ADD.
For instance, our daughter went through a huge "Teletubbies" phase that ended only when we sent her to a Teletubbies rehab center. What are the Teletubbies, you ask? Multicolored, androgynous, possibly homicidal Muppets with speech impediments and farting problems who pop out of the ground after getting instructions from a smiling baby whose face has been superimposed on the sun, then jump around, wobble into each other and giggle for no reason. Twice per show, they break away from the Teletubbies to show a group of English kids learning from a female teacher named Debbie who has scary Austin Powers-type teeth. Then the show ends with the Tubbies popping back into the ground as the smiling sun baby grins in approval. That's the whole show.
So here's my question: If I'm going to overload my impressionable child with a show that inundates him or her with colors, weird sounds, strange noises and inexplicable movements, wouldn't a baseball or basketball game make just as much sense? Would I rather have my little boy dreaming of hanging out with Tinky Winky and Dispy ... or KG and Big Papi? Bob from Pittsfield, it's you and me. Let's do this.
And I was also reminded of the stiff competition for my least favorite baseball announcer ever:
Q: After two weeks of TBS, I never thought I would long for Tim McCarver's voice. But I am almost there.
--Chris, Longmont, Colo.SG: I'm, uh, not almost there. I have a ways to go.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Announcers, Part 2
He stated that Derek Jeter was playing in his 49th postseason game — “No. 1 of all time.” Truth: it was his 49th division series game, out of 122 postseason games.This guy's horrible, and makes a great case as to why nepotism is not a good thing. His grandfather is the legendary Harry Caray, who I'm too young to remember being any good, but I'll trust those who knew him when he was "in his prime." (If announcers can have primes. I'm also reminded that Joe Buck's dad was a terrific announcer. Obviously good announcing doesn't get passed down the family tree.) His dad Skip has been an announcer on TBS for the Braves for a long time. I'm biased, but I think he's okay - generally doesn't get too excited or take the game too seriously, and is willing to make fun of himself. Chip, however, jumps out of his seat every time someone hits a pop fly, "Swung on and BELTED!" Yeah, Chip, swung on and belted into the glove of the center fielder.
He likened the “dynamic duo” of Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera to the Rivera-John Wetteland bullpen pairing in “those great early years of Joe Torre,” when they were dominating the World Series. Truth: Rivera and Wetteland were Yankee teammates for two seasons, and Torre managed them only in 1996.
He said the “Yankees led the world” in home runs this season with 201. He liked saying it so much he said it again. Truth: The Brewers led the majors with 231, followed by the Phillies with 213 and the Reds at 204. The Yankees and Marlins were tied at 201.
He extolled Alex Rodriguez’s “offensive heroics in the first two months of the season” for keeping the Yankees in the race. Truth: A-Rod had a sensational April, but he slumped in May to a .235 batting average with 5 home runs and 11 runs batted in.
He introduced Indians reliever Joe Borowski ... as having played for the Brewers and the Reds. Truth: He never played for Milwaukee, and while he once signed with the Reds, he never made it out of spring training. Caray also noted his hometown, Bayonne, N.J., but pronounced it as if it were part of the Louisiana bayou.
...
He also has an annoying air of certitude. With the bases loaded Sunday, and the Yankees leading, 5-3, thanks to Johnny Damon’s three-run homer, Caray said, “This is a spot where they have to score another run to win the game.” Does he also read palms?
That attitude led him on Sunday, after Rodriguez’s first hit of the series, to say, “And here come the Yankees!” A-Rod went back to the bench on Jorge Posada’s double play.
After Damon’s run-scoring single in the third, he said, “And here they come!”
No, they didn’t: Jeter promptly grounded into a double play.
Announcers
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Find Your Candidate
Umm...I just went to Glenn's website and found the following video posted. It's apparently from when Glenn worked in Baltimore in the early 90's. For any of you who listen to or watch much of Glenn, the guy on the right is his best friend and current Houston area talk show host, Pat Gray.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Quote Of The Day
Desiring God Conference
Joke Of The Day
One afternoon John Edwards was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.
He asked one man, “Why are you eating grass?
“We don’t have any money for food,” the poor man replied. “We have to eat grass.”
“Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I’ll feed you,” Edwards said.
“But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree.”
“Bring them along,” John Edwards replied.
Turning to the other poor man he stated, “You come with us, too.”
The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, “But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!”
“Bring them all, as well,” Edwards answered.
They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine.
Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to Edwards and said, “Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.”
Edwards replied, “Glad to do it. You’ll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high.”
Rush On Rush
One of them was Jesse MacBeth. Now, he was a "corporal," I say in quotes -- 23 years old.This is an example of a "phony soldier." Not someone who questions the war or the decisions of his superiors (that's another debate altogether). But someone who lies about his service and gets used by politicians to spread propaganda.
What made Jesse MacBeth a hero to the anti-war crowd wasn't his Purple Heart. It wasn't his being affiliated with post traumatic stress disorder from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, though. What made Jesse MacBeth, Army Ranger, a hero to the left was his courage in their view off the battlefield.
Without regard to consequences, he told the world the abuses he had witnessed in Iraq: American soldiers killing unarmed civilians, hundreds of men, women, even children. In one gruesome account translated into Arabic and spread widely across the internet, Army Ranger Jesse MacBeth describes the horrors this way:
'We would burn their bodies. We would hang their bodies from the rafters in the mosque.'
Now, recently, Jesse MacBeth, a poster boy for the anti-war left, had his day in court, and you know what? He was sentenced to five months in jail and three years probation for falsifying a Department of Veterans Affairs' claim and his Army discharge record.
He was in the Army. Jesse MacBeth was in the Army, folks, briefly -- 44-days before he washed out of boot camp. Jesse MacBeth isn't an Army Ranger. Never was. He isn't a corporal. Never was. He never won the Purple Heart and he was never in combat to witness the horrors he claimed to have seen."
Faith & Football
...
Kitna is a fanatic for Christ, there's no question. He often prays on his way to the line of scrimmage, to calm himself. But it's clear to teammates that he sees God as more than a lucky rabbit's foot, which is why, while the vast majority of Lions prefer to keep their beliefs private, Kitna's public pronouncements don't grate on them. Posers and prima donnas splinter far more locker rooms than religion. And Kitna walks his talk without sanctimony. He doesn't drink or cuss.
The worst anyone can recall him saying on the field is "fudge." He says he has tithed at least 10 percent of his salary his entire adult life. That includes the time he spent as a teacher after a record-setting career at Central Washington. The donations got bigger when the Seahawks signed him as a free agent in 1996, and they continued to grow after stops in Cincinnati (where he was the league's 2003 Comeback Player of the Year) and, now, Detroit. "It's about production on the field and consistency off it," Kitna says. "What guys really have a problem with is inconsistency -- people who say one thing and do another. Hypocrites. Chameleons. My teammates learn pretty quick that this is who I am, every day and in every situation."
And the tests come constantly. Walking into the Lions' locker room a few days before the Vikings game, Kitna was greeted by silence. The Lions have three iPod docks that plug into their speaker system. But when someone began blasting Christian music, a tense standoff ensued. It was noted, loudly, that a majority of people in the room didn't want to listen to God rock. And so the speakers remained mute until Kitna arrived. "Everyone's music should be heard," he said, "or no one's." The Christian rock was resurrected, followed by a heavy dose of hip-hop.
"Learning about each other, understanding each other, compromising for each other -- that's what it's like in a good locker room," says Lions wideout Roy Williams.
"That's some real s... that went down with the music and Jon's response. And that's the stuff we never had around here in years past. Is that religion? I don't know. Jon talks to everybody, I know that. And the last quarterback we had didn't do that."
Last November, during a long flight home after another defeat, Williams asked Kitna if his cussing during games was getting out of hand. Kitna said he wasn't one to judge, then explained in a whisper how he hadn't always been so pious. In 1993, Kitna was drinking himself to oblivion four nights a week, shoplifting, brawling, cussing constantly and sleeping with, he says, "all different kinds of women" behind Jennifer's back.
Eventually she caught him in bed with another woman, which is when he decided to go back to church. He believes God removed those vices from his life with a snap of His mighty fingers. Ten months later, Jon and Jennifer were married. "I didn't feel pressure or like he was judging me," Williams says of his talk with Kitna. "Jon just said, 'If you ever want to go deeper, I'm always here.' I'm young; I have questions about religion and faith. He's a good guy to ask."
...
Monday, October 01, 2007
Quote Of The Day
"We conclude that fallen man is still free to choose what he desires, but because his desires are only wicked he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. As long as he remains in the flesh, unregenerate, he will never choose Christ. He cannot choose Christ precisely because he cannot act against his own will. He has no desire for Christ. He cannot choose what he does not desire. His fall is great. It is so great that only the effectual grace of God working in his heart can bring him to faith." (p. 75)
I Wish This Was From The Onion...
(HT: Liberty Pundit)He’s now got a human name — Matthew Hiasl Pan — but he’s having trouble getting his day in court. Animal rights activists campaigning to get Pan, a 26-year-old chimpanzee, legally declared a person vowed Thursday to take their challenge to Austria’s Supreme Court after a lower court threw out their latest appeal.
A provincial judge in the city of Wiener Neustadt dismissed the case earlier this week, ruling that the Vienna-based Association Against Animal Factories had no legal standing to argue on the chimp’s behalf…
Group president Martin Balluch insists that Pan is “a being with interests” and accuses the Austrian judicial system of monkeying around.
“It is astounding how all the courts try to evade the question of personhood of a chimp as much as they can,” Balluch said.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sports Guy Links
I find the still-developing Mike Gundy story fantastic on a number of levels, including ...
1. Even if Gundy overreacted to a fairly written column that just happened to be a little mean spirited, who wouldn't want to play for a coach who stuck up for his players like that? That may have been the greatest recruiting video of all-time. "MY NAME IS MIKE GUNDY AND I HAVE YOUR BACK! COME TO OKLAHOMA STATE!"
2. As Jesse in San Jose, Calif., pointed out, "Gundy's classic rant (particularly the "COME AFTER ME! I'M A MAN! I'M 40!" portion) reminded me of this also-classic Will Ferrell sketch. I was waiting for Gundy to shout "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS! PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF ME!"
...
I loved this ongoing story about Matt Geiger battling with his neighbors because he wants to build a helipad on his mansion. When Matt Geiger has a $20 million mansion and a helipad, it's the best argument for capitalism maybe ever.
...
From Cam in Toronto: "WNBA humour rarely disappoints." I liked that he threw the "u" in "humour." Canadians are fun that way.
...
Casey in San Antonio: "The Helmet Project was a good link, but I think this guy's site is MUCH, MUCH better. Post this one as well!"
Transracial Adoption
4. Some people, for any number of reasons, are uncomfortable with the idea of transracial adoption. Other people, because of their views on race, are outright opposed to the idea of transracial adoption; they believe that adoption across ethnic lines should not be practiced. How might the Bible speak to these concerns?
Well, I think it depends on the nature of the discomfort or opposition. If the discomfort or opposition is grounded in some assumption that “races” are unequal or that “races” should remain segregated in family and social relationships, I think the Bible rebukes and corrects that kind of thinking in several ways. First, it’s clear that there is only one “race” of man, all descended from our original parents Adam and Eve (Gen. 2; Acts 17:26). There is no biblical basis for discomfort or opposition based on racial attitudes. Second, the alienation that sometimes stirs opposition to transracial adoption is really a spiritual problem. It’s a product of the Fall of man into sin. The cure for that problem is saving faith in Jesus Christ, wherein man is first reconciled to God and then reconciled to other men. So, for Christians in particular, those who are adopted into the family of God through faith in Christ, opposition to transracial adoption is tantamount to denying the work of Christ on the cross.
But there may also be discomfort or opposition not based on racial attitudes but some prudential concerns. Some may wonder if they are sufficiently equipped to parent across culture and ethnicity. Others may worry about the tension or conflict they may experience. There we have to remember that we are not called to love only in the convenient places and situations. We’re called to a radical love, one that mirrors the love of God for broken sinners. And the end of such love is unspeakable joy. For the joy set before Him, Jesus Christ endured the inconvenient and uncomfortable agony of the cross to redeem a people who were hostile toward Him. Adoption across ethnic lines may be one of the best pictures of that radical Christ-like love we have available to us today. So, “prudential” concerns that awaken discomfort aren’t finally sufficient reason to refuse or oppose such adoptions.
5. More and more couples are considering adopting transracially. How would you counsel a couple that desires to adopt a child from another race (i.e. ethnicity)? How would you seek to educate them theologically? How should the gospel help shape their view of transracial adoption?
The first thing I would want to do is simply commend and encourage them. I’d want to commend this act of selflessness and love. And I’d want to encourage them to remember that God’s grace is sufficient for their every need. That’s true of parenting in general, and it’s true of the specific case of transracial adoption and parenting. So, first, be encouraged.
Second, I’d want to encourage them to jettison the idea of “race” as it has historically been defined. Drop it like the bad habit it is. Learn to read the Scripture for its accent on our common humanity. Hayes’ Biblical Theology of Race is very valuable in this regard. Think of the children, indeed all people, as essentially “same” rather than “other.”
But third, having acknowledged our common humanity, think and teach your children to think in terms of “the nations.” In other words, there’s a tremendous opportunity in multi-ethnic families to cultivate a deeper concern for missions and getting the gospel to all nations. Try to prevent conversations and cross-cultural education from terminating on man or your family; try to think of those conversations as opportunities for thinking great thoughts about God who wants to be known among all people. The Lord has purposed that His glory will be shown in the bowing of the nations to His name. Our reflection on ethnicity and culture is incomplete if it doesn’t have that goal in mind.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Defense Appropriations
From Liberty Pundit:
I don’t know how many of you have heard of NumbersUSA but they are a group that is leading the fight against Amnesty and trying to stop illegal immigration. Below is a copy of their latest email bulletin. It is important that we all act because something very sinister is happening. There are some measures being voted on in the Senate that would basically take all of the bad things about the amnesty bill that they couldn’t get passed in a “comprehensive” plan and instead they are now trying to sneak them by one by one. What’s worse is they are attaching them to a Defense Spending Bill. Here are the details and the email bulletin from NumbersUSA…
OPEN-BORDERS SENATORS PLAN END-RUN DREAM ACT AMNESTY
Friends, this is not a do-it-if-you-have-time request.
This is the most urgent kind of request for your action Friday – and again Monday.
Please send free faxes to your Members of Congress. You’ll see some faxes on your Action Buffet corkboard immediately. We’ll be sending you links to other new faxes during the day Friday.
In the middle of actions on Defense next week, the open-borders Senators are going to attempt to attach three proposals that would give amnesty to millions of illegal aliens and dramatically increase the importation of additional foreign labor for American jobs.
Many of the Senators who helped us kill the Comprehensive Amnesty in June are indicating they are in favor of these preferences for illegal foreign workers and new foreign workers over American workers.
We must keep them from attaching the Dream Act Amnesty to the Department of Defense authorization bill.
And we also must keep them from taking hundreds of thousands of our high tech jobs from American students and middle-age American workers and giving them to foreign workers.
Our NumbersUSA legislative department outlines these three threats in sections below.
THE QUICK MESSAGE YOU CAN GIVE TO SENATE OFFICE FRIDAY AND MONDAY
1. Call the Senate switchboard at:
202-224-31212. Ask for your Senator. (You can find the names of your Senators and all their contact info at: numbersusa.com/myMembers [or contact your Senators through the Senate's website.])
3. Tell the person who answers that you are calling to ask the Senator to vote NO next week on three measures that are being considered for the Defense Authorization bill.
a. Vote NO on Amendment 2237 that would attach the Dream Act Amnesty.
b. Vote NO on any measure to increase H-1B visas and permanent greencards for foreign workers to take jobs from skilled American workers and students.
c. Vote NO on any attempt to increase H-2B visas for seasonal foreign workers to take jobs from America’s most vulnerable workers.
…
* The DREAM Act (Amendment 2237 to the Defense Authorization bill) is a nightmare. It is a massive amnesty that extends to the millions of illegal aliens who entered the United States before the age of 16.
* There is no upper age limit. Any illegal alien can walk into a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office and declare that he is eligible. For example, a 45 year old can claim that he illegally entered the United States 30 years ago at the age of 15. There is no requirement that the alien prove that he entered the United States at the claimed time by providing particular documents. The DREAM Act’s Section 4(a) merely requires him to “demonstrate” that he is eligible-which in practice could mean simply making a sworn statement to that effect. Thus, it is an invitation for just about every illegal alien to fraudulently claim the amnesty.
* The alien then has six years to adjust his status from a conditional green card holder to a non-conditional one. To do so, he need only complete two years of study at an institution of higher education, including any vocational school. If the alien has already completed two years of study, he can convert to non-conditional status immediately (and use his green card as a platform to sponsor parents and other family members). As an alternative to two years of study, he can enlist in the U.S. military for two years. This provision allows Senator Durbin to claim that the DREAM Act is somehow germane to the defense authorization bill.
* An illegal alien who applies for the DREAM Act amnesty gets to count his years under “conditional” green card status toward the five years needed for citizenship. On top of that, the illegal alien could claim “retroactive benefits” and start the clock running the day that the DREAM Act is enacted. In combination, these two provisions put illegal aliens on a high-speed track to U.S. citizenship-moving from illegal alien to U.S. citizen in as little as five years. Lawfully present aliens, meanwhile, must follow a slower path to citizenship.
* It would be absurdly easy for just about any illegal alien-even one who does not qualify for the amnesty-to evade the law. According to Section 4(f) of the DREAM Act, once an alien files an application-any application, no matter how ridiculous-the federal government is prohibited from deporting him. Moreover, with few exceptions, federal officers are prohibited from either using information from the application to deport the alien or sharing that information with another federal agency, under threat of up to $10,000 fine. Thus, an alien’s admission that he has violated federal immigration law cannot be used against him-even if he never had any chance of qualifying for the DREAM Act amnesty in the first place.
* The DREAM Act also allows illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition rates at public universities, discriminating against U.S. citizens from out of state and law-abiding foreign students.
* The DREAM Act also makes the illegal aliens eligible for federal student loans and federal work-study programs-another benefit that law-abiding foreign students cannot receive-all at taxpayer expense.
* A consistent theme emerges: Illegal aliens are treated much more favorably than aliens who follow the law. There is no penalty for illegal behavior.
Friday, September 14, 2007
"Perfect Day" Part 4
From the email:
A Note from Glenn:
If this is the first special report you're reading, please take a minute to review the ones from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday first so that you have a better understanding of exactly what "The Perfect Day" is.
Today's report is all about preparation, not panic. Our report, from Kenneth Trump, one of the country's foremost school security experts, has many great tips-but there is a lot more you need to know (especially when it comes to terror scenarios) so please be sure to also take a look at his website, which is included at the end of the article.
Also, as I've been telling you all week, we've obtained a video that allegedly shows terrorists in Afghanistan training for a school takeover scenario and barking out commands in English. Although there were at least eight hours of footage captured by our military, we were asked by our source to only release a very short clip for security reasons and we are honoring that request. Click here to see the video.
AWARE AND PREPARED, NOT SCARED!
By Kenneth Trump
Fear is reduced by education, communication, and preparation-not by sticking our heads in the sand.
Before we can talk about specific steps to prepare kids, families, and educators, we first have to prepare ourselves mentally by acknowledging (in a non-alarmist, pragmatic manner) that a terror attack on an American school is not an unrealistic possibility.
We cannot change the climate if we do not change the conversation. Most public officials inside the D.C. Beltway have publicly taken a "downplay, deny, and deflect" position about this threat for fear of creating panic, but how can we prepare for something if no one will talk about it?
Below is some practical advice, directed to three distinct groups: parents, children, and school officials. Following these steps will put your family and your school way ahead of the pack when it comes to preparedness.
Tips for Parents
1. Create a family plan. Simple steps can make a difference: Identify a long distance family member for everyone to call if the family is separated. Identify neighborhood and distant family reunification locations and create a "code word" known only to your family members.
2. Have age and developmentally-appropriate communications with your kids. Be honest and open. Focus on facts and context. Reassure them of measures that adults have taken to keep them safe. Reduce fear of the unknown by teaching kids what to do.
3. Ask your kids where they see weaknesses and how they would improve security at their schools.
4. Talk with school leaders to make sure they have active crisis plans, not just plans sitting on shelves collecting dust. Ask probing questions to make sure they are implementing best practices in school emergency planning, including those listed below.
5. Support school administrators in their safety efforts. Follow security procedures set by schools-the rules apply to everyone. Volunteer for safety and crisis committees. Help put together parent awareness presentations on school security and emergency preparedness. Support principals and boards that do the right thing.
Tips for Children
1. Know your family plan.
2. Know what school officials need you to do in a crisis to keep you safe.
3. Take your school's drills, such as lockdowns and evacuations, and your family's crisis plans seriously.
4. If you have questions, ask them. If you have ideas and suggestions, share them!
Tips for Schools
1. Have an active, updated emergency plan. Most schools have crisis plans and crisis teams on paper, but fewer schools involve first responders in developing the plan contents, updating their plans at least annually, and requiring crisis teams to meet regularly. Make school emergency planning and safety a part of your school's culture.
2. Practice drills such as lockdowns and evacuations. Participate in tabletop exercises with hypothetical scenarios with first responders and other community partners to make sure school crisis plans written on paper may work in a real emergency.
3. Train teachers and support staff on crime prevention, security, and emergency preparedness best practices, and on their school's specific crisis guidelines.
4. Improve physical security measures and crime prevention policies. Have security assessments conducted by specialists knowledgeable in professional security best practices.
5. Conduct thorough background checks for all school employees. Most schools do the minimal criminal history checks of select employees required by their state laws. Fewer do comprehensive background investigations that include criminal history checks along with examinations of work histories and validation of educational credentials.
6. Work closely with public safety officials. Meet at least annually to review and update school plans. Make sure police and fire officials have updated floor plans of the school. Invite police to use school facilities after-hours or on weekends to train for active shooter and other tactical operations.
Our public officials need to know that we, as Americans, recognize how serious the potential threat of terrorism in our schools really is. Take just 10 minutes today or tomorrow to call your Congressman and Senators' offices to let them know that you want federal homeland security policy and funding to better include our nation's schools. Our elected officials need to know that they will be held accountable if something happens while they continue to deny the threat and fail to include our schools on the list of potential terror targets.
Kenneth S. Trump, M.P.A. is President of the National School Safety and Security Services. For additional information and resources, visit www.schoolsecurity.org.
"Perfect Day" Part 3
From the email:
A Note from Glenn:
If this is the first special report you're reading, please take a minute to review the ones from earlier in the week (Tuesday, Wednesday) so that you have a better understanding of exactly what "The Perfect Day" is.
Tonight's reports focus on both the practical and emotional impact an attack like this would have on America. Bernard Kerik, former New York City Police Commissioner writes about Al Qaeda's new definition of "spectacular" and focuses on what life in America might look like in the aftermath of something so horrific. Meanwhile, Dr. Zhudi Jasser looks at "The Perfect Day" from the radical's perspective and tells us why a backlash against Muslims and Islam is exactly what they want from us. And why we must not give that to them.
And don't forget, tomorrow's newsletter will feature practical tips for parents and will also include a link to a video clip of terrorists in Afghanistan practicing a school takeover. Their commands, not surprisingly, are in English.
Can We Win?
By Bernard Kerik
In a recent video message, Osama bin Laden, is heard calling for a caravan of martyrs to follow in the footsteps of the 9/11 suicide hijackers-which proves that he still dreams of spectacular attacks against the west and the American people.
Fortunately, many of the lessons we learned from 9/11 have helped prevent similar attacks on U.S. soil so far, but the bad news is that I strongly believe that Bin Laden's definition of "spectacular" has changed; it doesn't have to mean jumbo jets into skyscrapers, a nuclear device at a port of entry or multiple oil refinery explosions anymore. The attacks we've seen in London, Madrid, Glasgow and Denmark, along with the foiled attacks against western targets around the world demonstrate that. They've all focused on easier, softer targets and that's lead many Americans to believe that "spectacular" attacks are no longer what they crave.
But that is wrong...dead wrong.
Imagine this: it's the morning of September 11, 2001. The 19 hijackers split up into four groups just as they did, except this time they don't board four jetliners bound for California. Instead, each group travels to a different part of the country-perhaps small towns in Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado and California. They each enter an elementary school or junior high school and they simultaneously begin a murderous rampage just as Islamic fundamentalists did in Beslan on September 1, 2004 (a massacre that ended with 330 dead, including at least 170 children).
Or, imagine that instead of schools the groups strap themselves with explosives and take over four movie theaters, as they did in Moscow in October, 2002 (a siege that ended with 129 civilians murdered). Or what if it were four tourist locations around the country?
Although far from the enormity of the 9/11 attacks, these attacks would certainly be "spectacular" in their own right. Tourism would come to a stand still, the airline industry would suffer, the stock markets would tank and the economical and emotional damage could be far greater than we suffered in 2001.
Would parents really send their children to school in the days and weeks following an attack (whether or not it even occurred in their town), not knowing where and when the next one might occur? What would happen to employment as at least one parent stays home with the children for weeks or months?
Thanks largely to the Bush administration, we are much better off today than we were on September 10, 2001—but until our political leadership unites, we will never defeat the enemy we face. Unfortunately, as our politicians battle and bicker in Washington, Al Qaeda and radical Islam continues its mission.
It's only a matter of time until victory is achieved. The real question is, by whom?
Bernard Kerik is Chairman of the Kerik Group and was the Police Commissioner of New York City during the 9/11 attacks.
The Ends Islamist Terrorists Seek
By M. Zuhdi Jasser, MD
The entire goal of Al Qaeda-type monsters is to provoke a reaction from mainstream America by pursuing evil against those who stand in the way of imposing theocracy. These fascists have no value for life other than that it's simply a means to their end of a totalitarian theocratic state. It is their ideology. In their warped view of religion they are God.
These are not the actions of psychopaths. Instead, they are the calculated actions of those seeking power and those afraid of freedom. They know that liberty's greatest weakness is its wide exposure to attacks against noncombatants (i.e., you and me) and the way in which protections against those attacks alter the very liberties we all seek to protect.
The biggest threat to the Islamists gaining power is the free world, especially the Muslims who believe in, practice, and advocate universal religious freedom and secular democracies. In fact, a Muslim manifestation of liberty is the greatest antidote to global jihad and political Islam.
What better way for radical Islamists to destroy their most potent enemy (moderate pro-freedom Muslims) than to sow chaos in the belly of America and stimulate a visceral reaction like no other? The Islamists know that their ideas are oppressive and far less appealing to Muslims and non-Muslims alike than things like freedom and liberty. Thus, their strategy is to put moderates on the defensive so that their rational ideas are lost in the din of terror.
An attack on our schools would do just that. The more barbaric and grizzly the attack, and the more they can get Americans to associate it with Muslims and Islam, the more possible it is that they fuel a hateful response from some Americans. That would leave moderate Muslims' quest to defeat political Islam lost in the chaos of a divided America.
We witnessed just such a visceral hate crime here in Phoenix after 9/11 when a Sikh man, Balbir Singh, was murdered for appearing to be Muslim. And that's why this very discussion is so vital; if we know that the primary goal of our enemy is to enrage our citizenry against Muslims and Islam then we can inoculate ourselves against it. Al Qaeda's aim is to enrage and get non-Muslims to do their dirty work of targeting moderate Muslims for them-and we must not give that to them.
If American Muslims declare open war against Al Qaeda, Americans will rush to defend our mosques rather than allow them to be burned. Otherwise, with rage and vengeance, the freedoms so protected by our Constitution will quickly dissipate into a nation gripped by fear and hate of the "other." And that is the ultimate goal of such horrific acts: to create a reaction which ultimately destroys the very fabric of our nation-the trust of one another, under God, under our Constitution. The children they would kill in schools on this "Perfect Day" would be a utilitarian mechanism (ends justifying the means) to achieve the destruction of the "American" way of life.
It is vitally important for Americans to see that, for most Muslims, being Muslim is not about preserving our mosques and our own rights; it is first about preserving the rights and freedoms of all Americans against the jihadists. But the longer Muslims stay silent against jihadism the greater chance the next incident like this Perfect Day scenario will have the impact the militants actually seek.
M. Zuhdi Jasser is the founder and Chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy based in Phoenix Arizona. He is a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, a physician in private practice, and a community activist.
"Perfect Day" Part 2
From the email:
A Note from Glenn:
It's the day that Americans are killed on an unprecedented scale. It's the day that no one, not even our children sitting in their classrooms at school, are safe. It's the day that seemingly isolated incidents all converge into the greatest threat this country has ever experienced or imagined. It's the day that the Islamist jihad against the West begins in earnest. It's "The Perfect Day" - and it's only perfect if you're a terrorist.
All this week on Headline News we are focusing on one part of The Perfect Day theory: the threat of massive, coordinated attacks against our schools and school buses. On last night's show, John Giduck, author of Terror at Beslantold us the real story about what actually happened in that middle school over a three day period in 2004. It was a horrible, gruesome, unimaginable account of human depravity - but it was also exactly what some experts believe could happen here. Brad Thor, author of The First Commandment
and a former war-gamer for the Dept. of Homeland Security was also on hand to talk about how terrorists might use the lessons they learned at Beslan to pull off an attack here.
I asked John Giduck to write an article summarizing his thoughts and including anything that we didn't get a chance to cover on television. It appears below, along with some video footage from the aftermath in Beslan that, to our knowledge, has not been shown in the media before.
Day 2: The Beslan Massacre - Lessons for America
WARNING: This video contains raw images of violence and suffering that may [probably] be disturbing to [most] people. It was shot outside the middle school in Beslan, Russia while terrorists staged a three day siege of a middle school. 330 people were killed in the attack, including 172 children. To our knowledge, these clips have never been shown on American television.
Lessons from Beslan
By John Giduck
America is a nation at war, and some of the battles in that war will be fought on American soil. Thus, it is incumbent upon every American to not only educate themselves, but prepare for the types of attacks we are likely to see. But it's difficult to prepare when one of the most likely targets is hardly ever talked about publicly.
There are two basic categories of terror attacks: the first, called "Decimation Assaults," is where terrorists plant bombs or use suicide-homicide bombers. Because these are so easy to execute, they are the more frequently used type of attack - but their impact is minimal because the body counts and are usually pretty low.
The more preferred, but more difficult to accomplish, attack is the "Mass Hostage Siege." Terrorists know that when they take hundreds of innocent people hostage and hold them for days they are really holding an entire nation hostage. By doing that they attract the attention of the news media, which helps them to accomplish their real goal, which is to spread terror as far and as wide as possible. It's the psychological impact that's most important, and nothing is better at promoting that than a Mass Hostage Siege, especially one that involves innocent children.
To understand how credible the threat is, we need only to look at the achievements of so many terror groups. In the first six months of 2006, 204 schools were attacked in Afghanistan. Three of them were attacked in two days in the first week of July 2007. Between 1984 and 1994 more than 300 schools were attacked in Turkey.
The number of school attacks are rising in places like Pakistan, Iraq, Indonesia and Thailand as well. A new girls' school in Iraq was found to have dozens of bombs hidden in the floor and walls and, just two weeks ago, a school was targeted in Great Britain. I also bet you never heard that the backup plan for the Madrid train bombers was a school attack.
But, despite all of these incidents, Beslan was the terrorists' best case scenario - which means that it is our worst case scenario. So what is the likelihood of it happening here? Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders have publicly stated that before this jihad is over they will see to the deaths of 4 million Americans, including 2 million American children. After several attacks involving children in Russia he said that what he was doing in Russia he would do to America. The head of the Chechen terrorists, Shamil Basayev, made a similar pledge before his death at the hands of Russian Special Forces. Afghan terror camp training tapes depict jihadists attacking students in a school, issuing instructions in English.
In addition, emergency response plans of numerous schools have been found in the hands of people who should not have them and intelligence gathering of schools and school facilities has been occurring in places like Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Florida, Virginia and California for some time now. People with no affiliation to any school have been crossing the border from Canada attempting to buy school buses, and buses in other locations, like Houston, have been stolen.
These are but a very few of the incidents occurring in America today, yet the schools, parents and citizens of our country refuse to acknowledge the threat, or to allow those we turn to for protection - our police - to be properly equipped, armed, informed, and trained for such an event.
There is a Kliebold and Harris in every single school who has at least planned to outdo Columbine. There is a Cho at every college who would love to get the same kind of publicity. There are even the Morrisons and Robertses from the Bailey, CO and Nickel Mines, PA attacks who are just waiting to exact their own revenge. And in every state across this country there are al Qaeda related groups that are, at a minimum, putting together information and plans to attack a school. No matter what the threat, the defenders of those schools are all the same: American police departments.
If Beslan is the worst thing that could possibly happen to our children, then it is incumbent upon our nation to be prepared for it. If we're fortunate enough that Beslan does not ever come to pass, our preparation will not have been in vein as we will be so much better prepared to respond to any other threat to our children and the supposedly safe places they happily trundle off to every day.
John Giduck is the author of Terror at Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America's Schools
"Perfect Day" Part 1
The following is from Glenn's free email newsletter (sign up at GlennBeck.com if interested):
A Note from Glenn:
It's the day that Americans are killed on an unprecedented scale. It's the day that no one, not even our children sitting in their classrooms at school, are safe. It's the day that seemingly isolated incidents all converge into the greatest threat this country has ever experienced or imagined. It's the day that the Islamist jihad against the West begins in earnest. It's "The Perfect Day" - and it's only perfect if you're a terrorist.
All this week on Headline News we are focusing on one part of The Perfect Day theory: the threat of massive, coordinated attacks against our schools and school buses. Last night on television, Lt. Col. Joe Ruffini, a counterterrorism expert, told us about some of the evidence and suspicious incidents that have occurred recently - both overseas and right here in America. Former FBI Special Agent Don Clark lent his credibility and experience to the threat and helped explain the fine line that government officials must walk between panic and preparation.
I've asked both Lt. Colonel Ruffini and Agent Clark to write about any thoughts on this threat that we didn't get to cover on television, and their reports are included in this newsletter. In tonight's episode, we'll reveal what really happened during the Beslan school siege and tomorrow's newsletter report, from John Giduck, author of Terror at Beslan
Americans Can Handle the Truth
By Lieutenant Colonel Joe Ruffini, U.S. Army (Ret)
Glenn Beck is right on the money: America must acknowledge, prepare for, and, most importantly, work together to prevent Al Qaeda attacks against our schools.
Knowledge is power - power to be a more informed citizen, power to be a more enlightened voter, and power to protect our communities and our schools. Sometimes the information is hard to swallow, and sometimes it's downright frightening -but how can we be prepared without it?
We can't. That's why it's so important that federal and state officials start figuring out a way to keep this nation adequately informed. In their (often times noble) efforts to keep us from becoming alarmed, they are encouraging complacency. But we cannot allow that to happen; we must remain vigilant.
Based on my years of experience in conducting terror awareness seminars for communities, law enforcement agencies, and school officials, I can assure you that everyday Americans CAN handle the truth. I give it to my audiences straight, and they keep asking for more. In fact, the two comments I hear back the most are, "Why aren't we hearing this information from our officials?" and "Where can I learn more?"
Remember, denial has never and will never be a strategy for victory.
Lt. Col. Ruffini is a counterterrorism expert and the author of When Terror Comes to Main Street: A Citizens' Guide to Terror Awareness, Preparedness, and Prevention. He's also the President and Founder of JPR & Associates, LLC.
Our Schools: The Ultimate Soft Target
By Fmr. FBI Special Agent Don Clark
Terrorist don't just target big buildings, airports, refineries or ship channels. They also target something very near and dear to our hearts and souls: our children.
Most of us understand that terrorists' primary objective is to instill fear in each and every one of us. Fear makes everything else possible. What better way to achieve that goal than to attack our schools and murder our children?
A plot that shocking would, without question, strike fear into all of our hearts. No one, from the farmer in Wisconsin to the banker in Manhattan would feel safe anymore.
Remember Columbine? That was kids killing kids, yet the entire nation was truly stunned and saddened. Can you imagine how we would feel if that attack had been carried out by a terrorist organization? The rage and bloodlust would be palpable.
No one, including me, wants to think about that, but to help minimize the chance of it ever happening we need to ensure that we treat schools with the same level of caution that we treat more obvious targets, like airports and cargo ports. We also need to start employing top priority screening of employees at all levels, from professors to grounds keepers.
There are also other practical things we can do to make terrorists think twice about choosing our community. All school facilities should be secured with cameras and other technical equipment to alert authorities immediately in case of an attack. School districts should also institute TIP LINES to seek leads and information.
Finally, one of the most important things that local school districts can do is ensure that their police departments are connected with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security so that they continuously receive the latest information relating to any school threats.
Don't leave it up to others to make sure that your town is ready; the burden for preparing lies with each and every one of us. And remember: simply refusing to believe that schools are a terrorist target does not make it so.
Former FBI Special Agent Don Clark led the investigation after the first World Trade Center attack. He recommends the website www.counterterrorismblog.org as a great resource for staying up to date with the threats that veteran intelligence officials are most concerned about.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Sports Guy Links
See if this doesn't pull at your heart strings, even if you're a Yankees fan. The Red Sox were hosting a Disability Awareness day, and this autistic guy sang the national anthem:
Here's a pretty cool site where you can check out football helmets for just about any college/professional team you can think of, including my favorites:
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You can see video from near where Barry Bonds' home run #756 landed.
Go to about the 5:45 mark to watch the greatest American Gladiators Eliminator ever. This was evidently in 1992, and I still remember watching this live.
Read about the attendance (around 5000, including 4000 free tickets) at Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
Sports Guy's NBA Classics
Good news for NBA junkies: Leading up to the 2007-08 season, ESPN Classic asked me to pick games for a limited seven-week run on Wednesday nights. So, I steered away from staples like the Bird-Dominique shootout and the MJ Flu Game and picked seven games that slipped through the cracks over the past two decades. If you love the NBA, watch these games so the ratings are good, and they'll keep letting me pick more of them. No, seriously. Do it for me.
Here's the schedule:
Sept. 12: Cleveland at Boston, Game 3, 1992
... this was a great series and none of the games ever get shown -- you had the Garden on its last legs, Mark Price and Reggie Lewis at their peaks, and a number of entertaining guys on both teams. ...
Sept. 19: Seattle at Phoenix, Game 5, 1993
... anyone who thinks the NBA hasn't been diluted by expansion needs to check out the talent in this game: Barkley, KJ, Kemp, Payton, Majerle, Danny Ainge, Tom Chambers, Sam Perkins, Eddie Johnson, Ricky Pierce, Derrick McKey, Ced Ceballos, Nate McMillan, Dana Barros, Oliver Miller during his one skinny year, Richard Dumas during one of his drugs-free years ...
Sept. 26: Golden State at L.A. Lakers, Game 2, 1991
... check out a pre-ACL injury Tim Hardaway when he literally couldn't be guarded ... and especially, how unstoppable Magic was in this game. Remember, this was his 13th NBA season and nobody could guard him. How long could he have been great if not for the HIV diagnosis?
Oct. 3: Chicago at New York, Game 3, 1996
... Charles Oakley acts like a crazed bar bouncer in this game -- it's like his goal was to make Scottie Pippen cry. Meanwhile, MJ plays out of his mind and singlehandedly drags the Bulls into OT ... this was one of their three playoff defeats that year, but anyone who thinks LeBron James (or anyone else) compares to MJ in his prime needs to sit down and watch this game. ...
Oct. 10: Chicago at Detroit, Game 3, 1991
The Bulls break the Pistons to take a commanding 3-0 lead and control of the Eastern Conference for the rest of the decade. I haven't seen this game since it happened but remember it being inhumanly intense. These teams hated each other. Don't you miss the days when teams hated each other?
Oct. 17: Boston at Milwaukee, Game 4, 1986
... I haven't seen this game since it happened but specifically remember Bird ripping Milwaukee's hearts out with four 3s in the final quarter, including one last 3-pointer after the game had been decided just to make sure they were dead. ...
Oct. 24: Orlando at Chicago, Game 6, 1995
... this was the only time from 1991 to 1998 that MJ walked off the floor as a loser in a deciding playoff game ... although it happened with an asterisk because he was still in baseball shape, but still. ...
For My Sister
TAG RULES:I'm too lazy to come up with eight random facts about myself, so I'll take 8 of the 12 (?) my sister used. And instead of "tagging" anybody at the end, I'll let any reader tag themselves if they so choose - just leave a comment with a link to your blog if you want to participate. (I don't want to make anyone think I'm chasing them and trying to cause conflicts, yet I don't think I need to follow the precedent of the Colorado Springs elementary school that banned tag recently.)
1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose five people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog .
1. How's your weather today?
Currently 70 degrees, with fairly clear, calm skies.
2. What steals your joy?
Pride, anger, and lust. Yeah, I think that about sums it up.
3. What is your favorite Scripture passage?
It's kind of a long one - Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. If I had to choose one, right now it would probably be:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.4. Who in the Bible do you think you are most like?
- Galatians 4:4-5 (ESV)
Probably sometimes like some of the Pharisees that Jesus spoke against. I often identify with Paul in Romans 7.
5. The passage of Scripture you read last was:
Deuteronomy 19 - speaks mostly of cities of refuge. I don't understand why these were instituted. All I can think of is as a picture of sinners running to Christ for refuge from the just condemnation for their sins.
6. If you were making a greeting card for God, what would you say?
I think the angels in Isaiah's vision of the Lord said it well: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." - Isaiah 6:3b (NIV)
7. What is the best miracle God has performed in your life, or what is your favorite answered prayer?
You mean besides God making me alive with Christ when I was dead in my sins? How about the birth and adoption of my son, who was scheduled to be aborted on three separate occasions?
8. What is the most fun thing you've done lately?
Hearing my son say "dada" today. Sure it's just baby gibberish and he doesn't mean anything by it, but it's still fun.
Huckabee vs. Paul
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bumper Sticker
Have you forgotten about Jesus? Isn't it about time you did?Just when I start to ask myself why people are so offended by Jesus Christ, I remember Paul's words to the Corinthians:
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,Lord, thank you for opening the eyes of a fool like me, for removing my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh.
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, ESV
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. - Jude 24-25
Thursday, August 23, 2007
What Is Arugula?
Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - On a sunlit Friday afternoon in July, Barack Obama stopped by Beverly Van Fossen's farm in Adel, Iowa, to speak about "rural issues." It was standard Hawkeye State stumping—until the senator took a stab at sympathizing with farmers whose crop prices have stagnated. "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" he asked. Unfortunately, Adel isn't exactly arugula country. "Someone near me whispered, 'What's arugula?' " says Van Fossen, 74. " 'You can't find that in Iowa'." Same goes for Whole Foods. The closest locations, reported The New York Times that evening, are in Omaha, Neb.; Kansas City, Kans., and Minneapolis. Whoops.
Mark Teixeira
Here are the lyrics:
(HT: Tim Ellsworth)Four and a half games back and I don’t Te-care-a
You know why we got Mark Teixeira
Got a new Braves jersey that I’m gonna wear-a
And written on the back is Mark Teixeira
The Mets are scared cause their lead’s gonna narr-a
They’re lookin’ over their shoulder at Mark TeixeiraChorus:
We got Fred McGriff back in ‘93
Hampton’s out cause of injury
Schuerholz smiles cause he is happy
And Bobby says, “Let’s go Mark T.”The National League it just ain’t fair-a
The Atlanta Braves got Mark Teixeira
Chipper and Andruw make a mighty nice pair-a
Let’s make it a trio add Mark Teixeira
A side effect is mild hysteria
The medical reason is Mark TeixeiraChorus
Bridge:
Scott Thorman stinks and Julio was old
What did Shuerholz do? Must’ve sold his SooouuulllPitchers beware cause he’s gonna scare ya
Throw him a strike now if you dare-a
He could probably steal on Yogi Berra
Biggest thing in Georgia since Scarlet O’Hara
If I were a woman I’d probably marry ya.And that’s not gay cause its Mark Teixeira.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Sovereign Grace Messages
Keith Plummer points out that "Sovereign Grace Ministries is giving an invaluable gift to the body of Christ by making their store's entire collection of MP3 messages available for free download. Audios are sorted by topic, event, and speaker." Here are some of the speakers:
Randy Alcorn
Mark Altrogge
Mike Bullmore
Mark Dever
Ligon Duncan
Wayne Grudem
Joshua Harris
C. J. Mahaney
John MacArthur
Carolyn McCulley
Albert Mohler
John Piper
David Powlison
Ken Sande
R.C. Sproul
Bruce Ware
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Question
What happens to Christians who die with unconfessed sin?The answers were interesting, and the discussion on the show that followed was tremendous. Go to oneplace.com to play or download the show or subscribe to the podcast. And while you're here, leave a comment with your answer, along with why you believe that to be true.
Sanctuary?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Relocation
Free Online Books
Monday, August 13, 2007
Iowa Straw Poll
1: Mitt Romney - 4516 votes - 31.6%Huckabee's finish was impressive considering his fundraising thus far ranks #8. While Mitt Romney has already raised more than $44 million, Huckabee's fundraising stood at $1.3 million. I hope this gives him a boost, because from what I've seen/heard/read so far, I like him and would love to see him in the picture for the Republican nomination.
2: Mike Huckabee - 2587 votes - 18.1%
3: Sam Brownback - 2192 votes - 15.3%
4: Tom Tancredo - 1961 votes - 13.7%
5: Ron Paul - 1305 votes - 9.1%
6: Tommy Thompson - 1,009 votes - 7.3% (Tommy Thompson dropped out of race)
7: Fred Thompson - 203 votes - 1.4% (Fred Thompson has not official declared his candidacy)
8: Rudy Giuliani - 183 votes - 1.3%
9: Duncan Hunter - 174 votes - 1.2%
10: John McCain - 101 votes - 0.7%
11: John Cox - 41 votes - 0.3%
Friday, August 10, 2007
Ralph Erskine
A Legal Strain of Doctrine Discovered and Discarded.
No wonder Paul the legal spirit curse,
Of fatal errors such a feeding nurse.
He, in JEHOVAH's great tremendous name,
Condemns perverters of the gospel-scheme.
He damn'd the sophist rude, the babbling priest
Would venture to corrupt it in the least;
Yea, curst the heav'nly angel down to hell,
That daring would another gospel tell.
Which crime is charg'd on these that dare dispense
The self-same gospel in another sense.
Christ is not preach'd in truth, but in disguise,
If his bright glory half absconded lies.
When gospel-soldiers, that divide the word,
Scarce brandish any but the legal sword.
While Christ the author of the law they press,
More than the end of it for righteousness;
Christ as a seeker of our service trace,
More than a giver of enabling grace.
The king commanding holiness they show,
More than the Prince exalted to bestow;
Yea, more on Christ the sin-revenger dwell,
Than Christ Redeemer both from sin and hell.
With legal spade the gospel-field he delves,
Who thus drives sinners in unto themselves;
Halving the truth that should be all reveal'd,
The sweetest part of Christ is oft conceal'd.
We bid men turn from sin, but seldom say,
Behold the Lamb that takes all sin away!
Christ, by the gospel rightly understood,
Not only treats a peace but makes it good.
Those suitors therefore of the bride, who hope
By force to drag her with the legal rope,
Nor use the drawing cord of conqu'ring grace,
Pursue with flaming zeal a fruitless chase;
In vain lame doings urge, with solemn awe,
To bribe the fury of the fiery law:
With equal success to the fool that aims
By paper walls to bound devouring flames.
The law's but mock'd by their most graceful deed,
That wed not first the law-fulfilling Head;
It values neither how they wrought nor wept,
That slight the ark wherein alone 'tis kept.
Yet legalists, DO, DO, with ardour press,
And with prepost'rous zeal and warm address,
Would seem the greatest friends to holiness:
But vainly (could such opposites accord)
Respect the law, and yet reject the Lord.
They shew not Jesus as the way to bliss,
But Judas-like betray him with a kiss
Of boasted works, or mere profession puft,
Law-boasters proving but law-breakers oft.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Huckabee
- Story from the Weekly Standard
- Interview with Brain at the IowaVoice
- Mike Huckabee Campaign Website (check out the "Issues" link)
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Video from the Collapsed Bridge
See our video team's footage of the scene yesterday and listen to John Piper talk about why there is suffering in the world.
The audio is from the message "Where Is God."
Piper on the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
...Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
Jesus implies that those who brought him this news thought he would say that those who died, deserved to die, and that those who didn’t die did not deserve to die. That is not what he said. He said, everyone deserves to die. And if you and I don’t repent, we too will perish. This is a stunning response. It only makes sense from a view of reality that is radically oriented on God.
All of us have sinned against God, not just against man. This is an outrage ten thousand times worse than the collapse of the 35W bridge. That any human is breathing at this minute on this planet is sheer mercy from God. God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on those who do not treasure him above all else. He causes the heart to beat and the lungs to work for millions of people who deserve his wrath. This is a view of reality that desperately needs to be taught in our churches, so that we are prepared for the calamities of the world.
The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.
...
Sports Guy on Vick
It's been strangely entertaining to see so many people express shock and outrage that he could have done something so horrible. Um, he has the same DNA as Marcus Vick! That's like being shocked in 2012 when Lindsay Lohan's little sister gets her first DUI. Plus, Vick could have been accused of murdering a stripper, blowing up a shopping mall or funneling his Nike money to Al Qaeda, and people wouldn't have been even 1% as outraged as they are about the dogfighting allegations. You can get away with just about anything these days; just don't tick off dog lovers.