Saturday, October 30, 2010

Green for Governor the Smart Conservative Vote?

There are three candidates for Governor in Arkansas this year. What's the smart vote for a conservative? It's the Green Party candidate, super-liberal Jim Lindall. How can I say that? Here is my reasoning. There is nothing to be gained by voting for Jim Keet. He can't win, and a vote for him is a wasted vote. On the other hand, if Lindall gets over 3% of the vote this year, then the Green party gets automatic ballot access for 2012. That will either split the liberal vote in 2012, or pressure the legislature into doing the right thing and passing instant run-off voting into law.

Am I "endorsing" Jim Lindall? Nope. I'm suggesting a way of getting something positive out of this fiasco and gaming the system hoping to get a system one does not have to game.

Texas to Ignore New EPA Rules

Texas has so far defied new EPA rules that CO2 should be subject to permitting. The matter is due to come before a court, but so far Texas has made no effort to change its laws to comply with the Jan. 2nd deadline. The EPA thinks it has the power to halt all "industry and manufacturing construction" in the state via imposing $250,000 a day fines on contractors who build in the state anyway. I am sure they assume such power for themselves, but I have yet to lay my finger on the article of the Constitution which grants the federal government the power to halt all industry construction within a state.

Questions to Ask Mayors and Mayor Candidates

New Orleans police cooperated with the feds during the post-Katrina gun round-up.
*************************************

I expect there will be a run-off for (name of your city) Mayor. I’m mighty glad that we have some good men to vote for. I don’t feel that the choices are so good when you move up the ballot. That’s because these days our choices at the highest level are limited to those who have access to millions of dollars of political money. And that money comes, not so much from the citizens of Arkansas, but rather from a small elite, and global corporations with no special ties to our country.

Local government still serves the average citizen, but Washington doesn’t. Most federal politicians serve the people who provide them with the political money that they need to stay in the political game. That’s the big banks and global corporations. That’s why we can’t really get them to listen to us on bank bailouts, illegal immigration, controlling spending, so-called “free trade”, or any other issue where global business interests have a contrary opinion. Unlike local government, the big boys and girls now work for them, not us.

This is going to lead to a split. You’ve got local government that usually wants to serve the interests of the common citizen, and a federal government that has sold them out for the big money some time ago. Until now, local governments and the federal government have gotten along fairly well, but the underlying tension between them is going to increase. This is because the local governments will want to continue to act in the interests of the people, and the central government will continue to act in the interests of their paymasters. As the people grow restless, the feds will use increasingly unconstitutional and repressive measures to tamp down on growing dissent.

In the past, the feds have usually asked state and local governments to do their law-enforcement work for them, or at least provide a major assist. As long as most folks felt that the laws were just, that was not a problem. Soon, it may be. Once the laws become repressive, and unconstitutional, will the local governments continue to work with the feds, or will they refuse to help clamp chains on the locals? I’d like to know from our mayoral candidates what their answer is.

For example, if the feds decide to have a general round-up of firearms, like they did in New Orleans after Katrina, will the City assist them or refuse to assist them? If they decide that we can no longer have a certain type of gun, or more than a certain number of rounds of ammo, or we can no longer have a magazine that holds more than a certain number of rounds, will the city assist them in enforcement or refuse to assist? If the feds decide that citizens need to get a federal license, or permit or pay a tax or fee to possess guns or ammo, will the city assist them with enforcement or refuse to assist them?

What if they classify someone as a “domestic terrorist” just because they express opinions that the government does not like, or peacefully protest the actions of government officials? What if a preacher preaches what the Bible says about homosexual acts, and this free speech gets redefined as “hate speech?” Will the city of Pea Ridge assist the federal government in enforcing such laws, or will they refuse to assist them? I’d like to know the answers. If you would too, I’d hope you’d ask whoever makes the run-off what their position is, and let us know.

Friday, October 29, 2010

I'm Not Sure the Schools Up Here Voted

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels announced the results of the Student Mock Elections. It was announced as a K-12 state wide vote, but I can tell by the numbers that only about 10% of students participated.

The results? Democrats won them all, even US Senate and the 3rd district congressional race, except for Secretary of State, where Republican Mark Martin was the victor.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

POW Radio: The Ruling Class, Membership has its Privileges


37 minute audio netcast here.

Comparing pay and benefits of private sector workers with federal government civilian employees. Will Colorado have a Governor from an alternative party? And the Feds toxic assets may have just gotten a lot more toxic. What that means for the dollar.

O'Brien and DNC Birds of a Feather

It looks like the Democrat candidate for Secretary of State Pat O'Brien is only following in the footsteps of his party. You may recall that O'Brien appears to have taken a bank loan, but reported it as a loan from himself, and has refused to talk about it to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Well it now appears that the national Democrat party has gotten a massive loan from the Bank of America. Loans of this magnitude must be secured by something of equal value. The Democrats say their mailing lists are the collateral for the loan! The DNC got $32 million from the Bank of America. The lists have an estimated value of $13.7 million, but estimates of list value are hard to gauge. When Banksters are not out to maintain control over the government, that usually means they want the collateral to be farther in excess value over the loan amount. Plus, lists are a depreciating asset. They go stale in a hurry.

For example, I could not get a re-fi on my home because the bank would not loan me more than 95% of the assessed value of my home- and if I weren't a veteran they would not loan me more than 80%. I am in a black hole of foreclosures, and so my appraised value (for which I pay property taxes) is now 10K less than my assessed value. No loan for me, or for most of you. Meanwhile, the ruling class gets the banksters to loan them more than double the estimated value of a depreciating asset whose underlying value is hard to evaluate anyway. For law-abiding people, the system is broken.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Vote Fraud Caught on Tape

NJ NEA Official "How amny machines do you have? He said ""I have two machines."

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

GOP Leadership Want to Pick Insider Staff for New Outsider Congressmen

From "Roll Call"

In anticipation of major GOP gains in next week’s elections, House Republican leaders have put together a list of experienced Washington hands to help fill top staff positions for the surge of newly elected outsiders.

Leading the effort are Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The leaders have put together a list of about 75 to 80 potential chiefs of staff, including current and former Capitol Hill staffers and lobbyists who have been recommended or have inquired about working for an incoming Member, according to several Republicans familiar with the document.

“There will be a lot of new, energetic Republicans coming to town — some of whom will have staff, others who will begin to assemble their teams,” Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in an e-mail. “There’s a lot of important work to get done right out of the gate, so it’s important that newly elected Republicans have access to experienced, competent staff so that they can hit the ground running.”

One former GOP staffer said leadership has been actively, but informally, seeking individuals to fill the chief of staff positions for new Members from tough districts. The goal is to help the freshmen navigate Washington and to guide them through future election cycles.

“Every election cycle, the NRCC offers to assist our new members by providing a résumé file of qualified staffers,” NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain said in an e-mail.

Several Republican lobbyists said it is important for GOP leadership to assist incoming lawmakers with filling senior-level staff positions, especially for those who could face tough re-election races in 2012.

“You want to be sure that the newbies, when they hit town, do not necessarily bring their campaign staff to run their Congressional offices, because in some cases they are totally ill-equipped,” one veteran Republican lobbyist said. “Winning an election is one thing, running a Congressional operation is another. A lot of these folks are really, really new to politics.”

A Republican strategist agreed, saying Members who come from swing districts benefit from having a staffer who already “knows the ropes” on the Hill to keep them from making mistakes.

The strategist said the leadership recommendations are less about controlling the new Member than about making sure “they don’t struggle for the first four or five months.”

Read the rest on "roll call".

Monday, October 25, 2010

Pipe Bombs Found in Springdale

Near USA drug store. May be connected to a burglary.

AR Congressional Candidate Chad Causey Linked to Islamic Radical

Fethullah Gulen has been called the most dangerous Islamist in the world and has been exiled from Turkey. So just why did Democrat candidate for US Representative Chad Causey post a glowing report on Gulen's website describing his $3,020.00 trip to Turkey that he took in 2008. Causey's trip was sponsored by the "Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialogue" and approved my Representative Marion Berry. Rumi Forum's website confirms that Fetuallh Gulen is Honorary President of the Rumi Forum.

Gulen is known for the schools he has established around the world and has been called by some a Turkish Khomeini. USA Today reported in an article covering the controversial aspects of Gulen that "Gulen was charged with trying to create an Islamic state in Turkey." Turkey's National Security Council condemned Gulen for "trying to undermine the country's secular institutions, concealing his methods behind a democratic and moderate image." Gulen fled Turkey in 1998 to avoid prosecution on these charges of trying to establish an Islamic government.

"According to Bayram Balci, a Turkish scholar, the Gulen schools that have been established throughout the world seek… to bring about a universal caliphate ruled by Islamic [Sharia] law. Fethullah Gülen trained and worked as a state imam from 1959 to 1981.

"Several countries have outlawed the establishment of Gulen Schools and communities within their borders—including Russia and Uzbekistan," and the Netherlands that embraces pluralism and tolerance has cut funding for the Gulen schools. Just why would Rumi Forum sponsor a $3,020.00 trip for Chad Causey as Chief of Staff for Marion Berry to go to Turkey? Obviously the intent of the Rumi Forum and Gulen was to feed Causey propaganda in an effort to gain favors of some sort and perhaps to seek Causey's help to establish some charter schools in Arkansas – of course under pretense of bringing Christians and Muslims together under "interfaith dialogue." Ninety of these charter schools have been established in the United States already and paid for by taxpayers.

But how many parents would send their children to Gulen-inspired schools if they knew what they were all about? They bring many Muslim teachers from Turkey to work in these charter schools.

And why would Causey go on the trip? Did he fail to investigate this organization and learn about Gulen's controversial techniques before going on the trip. And why did Causey''s glowing report on the trip show up on Gulen's website. On Rumi and Gulen's part, I am sure it was to enhance their standing among governmental officials.

Did Causey still fail to see through the Rumi Forum on "interfaith dialogue" even after he made the trip? Or does he hold the philosophy as many liberals do that all religions are equal and have the same root. Or does he have a soft spot for the Muslim nation as does the leader of his Democrat Party, President Obama?

Before any Arkansans consider voting for Causey to a position of great power in this country, they need to know the answers to these questions.

For 13 footnotes and documentation and to read this article online, go to this link:
http://www.wpaag.org/Causey%20linked%20to%20dangerous%20Islamist.htm

Martin Says O'Brien is Breaking Campaign Finance Law

Dear Friend,

The Sunday Arkansas Democrat-Gazette had an article showing that my opponent's campaign has borrowed over $100,000 to try and beat me. O'Brien "declined the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's request for an interview for this story." What is he hiding?

While his reports show the loans are from himself, the reports also show that his campaign is paying a bank for interest. He has yet to report the size of those loans from the bank. This is a clear violation of Arkansas's campaign finance laws.

Will you email my opponent and ask him to follow the law by reporting how much his bank loans are? If you click the link right below this paragraph, you can let him know that he needs to follow the law.

Tell O'Brien to Follow the Law

If you are really bold with your friends and want to help turn back the deceitful ads, would you ask them to support electing a conservative with a contribution? Would you contribute also?....

Rasmussen Poll: Opinions on Political Parties

Quote a few Americans say that neither party represents average Americans. The Political Class likes things pretty much the way they are, and Mainstream Americans don't. Here are the interesting details.

The pre-bailout

Congress is no longer waiting on a crisis to bail out the banks. The pre-bailout for the big six mortgage lenders is now SOP.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Demozette Hits Hard on Game and Fish FOIA End-Run

When the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and I agree on something, it normally means that.....well, it happens so seldom that there is no "normal" but I think it means that the issue is so common-sense that even folks who see the world from different premises can still agree.

It seems that newspapers don't like state agencies trying to write their own version of the Freedom of Information Act any more than bloggers do. "Game and Fish agency looks to bypass law" read the page one headline. That headline is loaded, but accurate. The AGFC's idea is that since they are a constitutionally independent agency, they are not subject to the legislature's version of the FOIA and get to craft their own. I can't agree. They are independent in the areas that amendment 35 grants them independence, and that is managing the state's wildlife. The other rules apply to all entities which get taxpayer funds.

The whole thing brings into question whether or not the SGFC has too much power under amendment 35. I believe that they do, and that the so-called "Right to Hunt" amendment only strengthens their hand, since it explicitly affirms their right to regulate hunting. If it passes and people later decide that they want to whittle down some of the commission's vast constitutional power, we will not have to overturn one constitutional amendment, but two.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Broadway, O'Brien, Martin, and "Expenses".


Democrat Shane Broadway is a State Senator from Bryant, a stone's throw from Little Rock. He is running against Republican Mark Darr for Lt. Governor. Pat O'Brien is the Clerk from Pulaski County who is running for Secretary of State. O'Brien was also the director for Barack Obama's Presidential campaign in Arkansas. He is running against Representative Mark Martin of Prairie Grove, way up in the northwest corner.

Democrat O'Brien has launched a series of attack ads against Martin, complaining about his reimbursements from the state. Democrat Broadway and others surely wish he would shut up. For example, blogger Jason Tolbert has pointed out that Broadway expenses his office just like Martin does. If Martin is doing it wrong, so is Broadway (and every member of the legislature from both parties). A Mark Darr supporter says Tolbert did not go far enough. Not only did Broadway get a big pile of state money to expense his business office as his legislative office, but unlike Martin the state actually provides Broadway with an office in the capitol! So the state was providing Broadway an office, and also reimbursing him for using his business office as a legislative office.

Now I am not saying that this is a crime, its the rules that the legislature- controlled by Democrats, has set up. I am just amazed at the Obama-like audacity of Democrat O'Brien to accuse Martin of running up expenses when the numbers show that if this is really a problem, then its mostly a Democrat problem. Loudly accusing the other side of what your side is guilty of seems to be a common tactic among Obamaites.

Heck, O'Brien himself is not such a bargain if one takes a dispassionate look at the numbers. Let's compare the numbers on him and Martin. Sure Martin ran up a lot of miles the year he was the Republican's House Whip, but according to the numbers I have on a spreadsheet, over his six years Martin only averaged $6600 in mileage reimbursements. Compare that to the $7,800 a year that O'Brien gets as an allowance for using his personal vehicle for official duties. So it's actually O'Brien whose costing the taxpayers the most in mileage. I find that frankly amazing since Martin lives 200 miles from Little Rock and all of O'Brien's duties are within a single county.

Add to that, O'Brien has the audacity (there is that Obama trait again from Obama's man in the Natural State) to declare he finds it troubling that Martin is mixing his campaign office with his legislative office, since both are at various times, Martin's home, his work office, and his vehicle. Never mind that these are not state offices Martin is using to do campaign work. It's his HOME and his CAR. What legislative candidate from either party does NOT use those for campaigning? For that matter, it's my guess that O'Brien himself uses his personal vehicle (that he gets an allowance for) for campaign purposes. In other words, Mr. Audacity is guilty of exactly what he is accusing Martin of. And that's OK, because there is nothing wrong with it for reasons I outline below. What's wrong is O'Brien's misrepresentation that it is some kind of scandal.

The key thing is, the car and the house are not state property. It WOULD be wrong if Martin or O'Brien were using state offices or cars for campaign purposes. In this case though, they are only using their own cars or homes that in one capacity have been contracted by the state for a particular use in another capacity for another use. If the state leases your car to get you to Little Rock and back, it does not mean you can never put a bumper sticker on it again or drive to vote in it. The state's hold on the item was released once it had been used for the purpose for which it had been contracted. That O'Brien is even making this an issue at all show what an audacious putz he is- one that makes even the Clinton Democrats in this state grit their teeth.

For Karen Baker over Tim Fox for Supreme Court

While I am grateful that we elect our judges in Arkansas, it is not really an informed choice because the so-called Code of Judicial Misconduct won't allow Judicial candidates to talk about the issues. It needs changing. Any advice I could give is tainted by that. Also, there is no candidate for judge that will go as far towards originalism as we need to. Still, based on all of the hints I have heard, Fox is a raging "progressive" and Baker may at least understand the correct basis for our rights. I am voting my hopes on this one, which is all you can do on judicial races until the law is changed.

The Hot Race

How does one judge what the hot race is? For me, its how close the race is, and how critical the office is.

On the basis of which race is close for an important office, I say the hot race in Arkansas is for Secretary of State. Only two other races fit the closeness criteria. First District Congress is close, but only includes one quarter of the state. Lt. Governor is close, but the duties of that office are limited. In most years, the duties of the Secretary of State are not as critical as Congress, but this is not most years. Redistricting is coming up, and the Secretary of State is one third of the formula. The decision made in redistricting will affect the political landscape of this state for years to come. The strategic race to push to your undecided friends is for Secretary of State.

Rep. Mark Martin is running against Pulaski Clerk Pat O'Brien (and head honcho for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Arkansas)for the office. Martin has a narrow lead, and O'Brien has responded with nasty attack ads. Martin has used his expense accounts exactly like every other member of the legislature has used them, but O'Brien's ads try to portray it as some sort of corruption. In a good article that skillfully impacts both of the close state races, blogger Jason Tolbert points out that even the Democratic Candidate for Lt. Governor (Broadway), right beside O'Brien on the ballot, expenses like Martin does. Heck, they all do. Those are the rules the Democrat legislature has set out.

While efforts to portray Martin's standard-practices use of expensing as some sort of scam, O'Brien has some questions of his own to answer about posting private voter information, including bank account and social security numbers, in online databases accessible to the public and to identity theives.

While Americans Have Famine, The Ruling Class Feasts

While America Hurts, the Ruling Class Stimulates Itself

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Green Stimulus Money for Foreign Companies

MSNBC has turned on Obama. This story focuses on how many of the "green jobs" Obama has taken credit for were actually created on Bush the Younger's watch. What caught my eye though, was how many foreign companies were cashing in on a "green stimulus" that is ostensibly meant to boost our domestic economy. Members of our jobless economy are going further into debt to purchase products from foreign firms. That is "stimulus" according to the globalists in the beltway.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Against All Ballot Amendments

I have already discussed why we should vote "no" on the falsely-named "right to hunt" amendment. I would like to also share with you why I am voting against the other two as well.

Amendment 2 purports to be about lifting interest rates in Arkansas. With inflation revving up again, that by itself might not be a bad idea. If we artificially cap interest rates, money and credit may leave the state like it did in 1980. The question then was "why would Arkansas bankers make a home loan in Arkansas for 10% when they could take that money to a bordering state and get 17%-21% for it?" Fact was they didn't. People just could not get home loans in the state until rates came down.

But that's not really what this bill is about. It's about doing an end-run around a vote of the people before the legislature can put them in debt. Most of the actual language of the bill is not even about removing caps on interest rates, its about allowing the legislature to issue a new class of debt based on energy efficiency without bothering to OK it with us first. For that reason, it must be opposed. Green Fascism has gone to far. Politicians love to buy goodies using the next generation's money. Thankfully, our constitution kept these impulses under control. Over time though, they are luring people into casting off those protections. I say its a mistake.

Of course, that leads me to oppose amendment 3 as well. While they got permission to indebt us without a vote for big projects, they did not get permission to do so for the more numerous smaller projects. That is well. I am in favor of a government which produces a generally friendly climate for the businesses that we already have over one who taxes those businesses in order to subsidize a newcomer to the state. The out of state money pits states against each other, and so the politicians who get the project are the ones who overpaid the most for it.

If these were conservative amendments, I should think that the courts would ban two of them for deceptive titles. Since liberal bills don't seem to get the same amount of scrutiny, its up to us to inform each other.

Patriots on Watch Net Radio: The Lies Newsweek Tells


Listen here.
The global corporate media continues to demonize dissidents from the left and the right in their super-charged effort to dumb down the average voter. Here is a specific example as Mark calls out Newsweek for their recent article on the Tea Party and the Constitution.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Scripture Basis for some Articles of the Constitution:

Scripture Basis for some Articles of the Constitution:


Over a 10 year period, over 15,000 writings were analyzed as well as 3154 quotations and sources. The Bible was the most quoted source by the Founders.


Separation of Powers – Jeremiah 17:9 (the subject of many sermons during
founding era).


Uniform Immigration Laws – Article I, Section 8 – Leviticus 19:34


President must be natural born citizen – Article II, Section 1 – Deut. 17:15

Witnesses and capital punishment – Article III, Section 3 – Deut. 17:6

Provision against attainder – Article III, Section 3 – Ezekiel 18:20


Three Branches of Government – Isaiah 33:22

Tax exemptions for churches – Ezra 7:24


Republicanism (elections at local, county, state, and federal levels) – Article IV,

Section 4 – Exodus 18:21


Noah Webster personally responsible for Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 8 cited

Exodus 18:21

John Jay and George Washington – stated religious basis for elections of American leaders.

John Adams declared nearly 4 decades after the American Revolution, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity. Now I will avow and I then believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

John Duggar for Tontitown Alderman

One of the Duggar family will be on the ballot on November 2nd. John David Duggar, the 2nd oldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, is running for an Alderman position in Tontitown. That's the small, heavily Catholic community in Northwest Arkansas where the Duggars live.

The back of the card, which I will scan and put up if enough of you care to see it, says he is a small business owner. He runs "Duggar Towing". Come to think of it, the first time I met the then 20-something Jim Bob Duggar, HE had a towing service. Knowing them, its probably the same truck!

Josh Duggar said he was trying to stay out of politics these days, but he did lend his graphic arts skills to his brother's campaign- it was Josh who designed this card.

Can You Believe AR Republicans Voted For These Bills?

This email is sent not to criticize or condemn the Republicans but because we think there is a way we can help prevent these types of votes in the future. I am not excusing some Republican votes, but I know many Republican legislators are just not informed enough on certain topics, and it is a full time job trying to stay ahead of liberals' sneaky language and tactics. Liberals market their radical environmental agenda as energy savings and economic development but hide what they' re really doing. Eleven energy bills to implement Obama and Al Gore's global warming agenda were passed in 2009 in Arkansas. Now in Arkansas, "Energy use in all existing state buildings must be reduced by 20 percent of 2008 levels by 2014 and 30 percent by 2017."

After reading the list of votes, be sure to see the information on a meeting that could prevent more votes like this in the future. Be sure to read What You Can Do below.

1. HB2460 of 2007 - "To Establish The Governor's Commission On Global Warming" - "To Establish A Global Warming Pollutant Reduction Goal and Comprehensive Strategic Plan And For Other Purposes." Sponsored by most liberal legislator in the Legislature, Kathy Webb, the first self self-avowed lesbian in the Arkansas legislature who was given the highest score by a liberal organization.

Only 3 senators and 4 representatives voted against this bill. There are 8 Republican Senators out of 35 and 28 Republican Representatives out of 100 in Arkansas. See this list of all AR Senators and Representatives. The Republicans are marked with an (R) http://www.wpaag.org/AddressesArSenate.htm

Link to bill: ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/bills/2007/public/HB2460.pdf

Results from HB2460 the Global Warming Commission: On October 30, 2008, the Arkansas Governor’s Commission on Global Warming (GCGW) released its final report. Beebe's Global Warming Commission (Beebe appointed 17 of the 21 members) recommended 54 specific policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Just 29 of the recommendations would cost Arkansas $3.7 BILLION for the next few years; and critics say that amount is far lower than the real costs. To put that number in perspective, Arkansas' state budget for 2010 is $4.4 billion. For detailed account of this information, see the five links given below. For information on cost of recommendations, see this link: http://arkansasnews.com/2009/01/14/member-criticizes-global-warming-commission/

The Arkansas Department of Energy touts eleven AR bills in 2009 that are global warming related, the most critical ones being sponsored and co-sponsored by Senator Broadway (Dem candidate for Lt. Governor) and Kathy Webb (the most liberal legislator in Arkansas).

The Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming also adopted a recommendation that no new coal plants be built in the state until carbon sequestration technology is ready. A electricity producing clean coal plant [Hempstead] being built in Arkansas has already been blocked from providing electricity to Arkansans. Obama said, "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket ...Because I'm capping [rationing] greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it." http://hotair.com/archives/2008/11/02/obama-ill-make-energy-prices-skyrocket/ Forty-eight percent of our electricity is produced by coal. States that have mandates on coal have electricity prices 40% higher than those states without such mandates.

To see the voting record on this bill and the following bills see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Global%20Warming%20Bills%20Voting%20Records.htm
To see the rest of the article on several more bills, click on Tuesday below or go to this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Global%20Warming%20-%20Can%20U%20Believe%20AR%20GOP's%20voted%20for%20these%20bills.htm
What You Can Do
There is more but this should be sufficient to get the picture. The states are putting climate change, global warming, Cap & Trade bills in our states faster than they can get it done in Washington, in little old Arkansas. If this type of voting continues among the Republicans our country is still headed for economic disaster regardless of who wins in November. To prevent this, we must educate ourselves and help our Republicans understand the hidden agenda behind these types of bills. Below is an invitation for legislators and candidates to hear a conservative national expert on global warming legislation, sustainable development, and the 21st UN agenda this Thursday, Oct. 21. There is an invitation for the public to a similar meeting on Friday, the 22nd.

SECURE ARKANSAS PRESENTS
MICHAEL SHAW
Founder and President of Freedom Advocates
IN A
LEGISLATIVE SUMMIT
FOR STATE, COUNTY AND CITY OFFICIALS
AND CANDIDATES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

AND A

UN AGENDA CONFERENCE
FOR THE PUBLIC AND PRESS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 10 A.M. TO 2 P.M.
Hilton Little Rock Metro Center
925 South University Avenue, Little Rock

The Thursday legislative summit is designed just for the Arkansas legislators, candidates, state, county and city officials and will not be open to the press or the public. We will take a look at some of the bills that will be coming up. This will give you an edge in the next session. If you are a candidate or legislator, please set aside this day for the constituents in your district. Lunch will be provided for everyone in attendance.

The meeting on the following day, October 22, will be open to the press and public.

Michael Shaw is this nation's leading expert on UN Agenda 21 and your participation is vital. Secure Arkansas has gone to a lot of expense to fly this attorney in from California.
Mark the date on your calendar so that this does not conflict with your busy schedules.
Please RSVP to SecureArkansas@gmail.com.

Against the Falsely Named Hunting Amendment

I suspect the so-called "right to hunt" amendment is a trap. I will be voting against it because I believe a close look at the text reveals it to be a limitation on the right to hunt. This is a trick very similar to the one in Arkansas's so-called "Pro-Life" amendment.
That amendment says basically that we will be pro-life- subject to the limitations of the federal courts. That is to say, not pro-life at all. And since it is now in the state constitution, even if the state legislature wanted to challenge the injustice of federal abortion laws they are more limited in their ability to do so. Putting something in the constitution means taking it out of the hands of the legislature, and even the majority of the people. One had better be sure what one votes in their is really protecting an endangered fundamental right instead of something with a feel-good name whose practical effect will let liberal judges further restrict your freedoms.

Arkansans already have the right to hunt, and no one in state government is threatening to take that right away. The only reason this is needed, besides needless political grandstanding, is to get the legislators off the hook when environmentalists start chipping away at your freedoms. Call it agenda 21, call it sustainability, call it global climate change. They will call it whatever they have to so long as the result is more of your earnings and freedom are transferred to them.

This section of the amendment leaves the regulators a loophole they can drive a truck through "The right to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife shall be
subject only to regulations that promote sound wildlife conservation and
management and are consistent with Amendment 35 of the Arkansas Constitution."

The amendment clearly places your RIGHTS as subservient to REGULATIONS. Regulations are made by bureaucrats. This amendment gives them a blank check to regulate away your rights to hunt and fish while taking the matter out of the hands of the legislature. I urge my fellow citizens to vote against this deceitful measure.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

O'Brien Attack Add Highly Selective in it's Outrage


The spittle practically leaps forth from the screen in Pat O'Brien's latest attack ad. O'brien is the Pulaski County Clerk (and Campaign Director of Obama's Arkansas effort) who is running for Secretary of State against State Representative (and House Minority Whip) Mark Martin of Prairie Grove. To the knowledgeable observer however, the selectivity of O'Brien's outrage is more offensive than anything he would like us to get outraged about.

He practically makes it seem like Martin is stealing from the taxpayers when he complains that Martin billed the state for using his home as an office. My guess is that the Democrats in the legislature are not going to appreciate Hot Dog for beating on this drum, since to my knowledge every last one of them bills the state in the same way for either their home or for an office that they would have to pay for anyway. If there is even one legislator from either party who does it differently, then I'd like someone to tell me who they are. If this expense reimbursement policy is somehow wrong, O'Brien should direct his hissy-fit in the direction of the legislators in his own party who control 3/4ths of the ledge and make these and all other rules by which it is run.

In the same way, I call B.S. on his efforts to cast Martin's mileage reimbursements as some kind of shady deal. He is House Minority Whip and he lives a long way from Little Rock. A dutiful Whip is going to show up at the important committee hearings, even if he is not on the committee. The job of the Whip is to make sure all members of the party, in all committees, stick to the party line. Again, this is the system that the Democrats set up. And it is the Democrats who ultimately get to decide committee assignments. If members can't get reimbursed for attending committee meetings that they are not a member of, then the average GOP legislator can get stuck on the Paper Clip Committee and have to pay out of his own pocket for travel to the Education Committee meetings. All but a few favored sons would be all but shut out of important state business.

Come to think of it, when they had the Ed. Committee meeting in Fayetteville on the eve of a Razorback game, a couple of Democrat legislators who were not members of that Committee showed up. I wonder if O'Brien is going to turn his sights on them?

I am not offering an "everybody does it" defense of Martin's actions. What I am saying is that there is nothing wrong with the actions. There is nothing wrong with legislators getting an expense account for an office, or in having that office in the home. In the computer age, they will probably get more work done if their office is a room in their own home. In the same way, there is nothing wrong with getting reimbursed for mileage to committee meetings, even those you don't sit on, as long as you are serving a legitimate public purpose at those meetings. Mark Martin live-blogged most of those meetings, and put the results up on his blog for the world to see. He spilled so many beans that the Dems tried to shut him down for a while. Now O'Brien is carrying on like the whole thing was just a scam. If its a scam, go after the people who designed the scam and are mostly profiting from it- the Democrats who run the legislature.

Pat O'Brien did a fine job of straightening out a real mess at the Pulaski County Clerk's office. He is to be commended for that, but his competence there does not undo his dishonesty here. The use of selective outrage by distorting the legitimate use of public funds is going to earn him a lot of enemies even among Democrats. And the idea that the guy who ran Obama's campaign in Arkansas in 08 is really this upset about how well $71,000 of taxpayer money was spent is ludicrous. His guy just gave us our second $1.3 TRILLION dollar deficit.

Constitution Party Candidate for Colorado Governor Within Margin of Error

You won't hear much about it from the lamestream establishment media, but there is a titantic story brewing in the Colorado Governor's race. Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo is the Constitution Party candidate for Governor, and the latest Rasmussen poll shows him with 38% of the vote compared to 42% for the Democrat, John Hickenlooper. The problem is the deeply flawed Republican candidate Dan Maes, who is splitting the conservative vote with 12%.

Tancredo served as a Republican Congressman in Colorado for years, but ran afoul of the GOP establishment for his firm stance against illegal immigration when Bush II was pushing for amnesty-by-another-name. Bush operative Karl Rove once told Tancredo he would "never darken the door of the White House again". Tancredo ran for the Republican nomination for President in 08, but in a year when Ron Paul captured a big chunk of the outsider vote Tancredo's campaign never got off the ground. During that campaign a flurry of media criticism was sent his way when he suggested that nuking Mecca was a proper response to a nuclear Islamicist attack on New York city.

When Tancrdo first decided to run for Governor under the banner of the Constitution Party, there were cries from the ruling class and their media that he was going to only serve as a spoiler, and that he should get out of the race so as to avoid splitting the vote and electing the Democrat. Now that it is clear that it is the Republican who is the spoiler, those voices are silent- except to continue to spew bile at Tancredo.

The real solution to "splitting the vote" problems is instant run-off voting. Mark my words, there is going to be more problems with "vote splitting" in the future whether the establishment parties like it or not. As increasing slices of the electorate get fed up with the two-party-no-choice system that the ruling class is trying to herd them into, they will continue to seek elected officials who will represent their interests rather than those of party HQ in the beltway.

Friday, October 15, 2010

New Spin on a Classic Flag


Have you seen any of these around yet?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Guest Columnist Connects Some Dots

From guest Columnist Allen Merritt.

When I became fascinated with Biblical creation and prophecy, I became aware of the clash of competing worldviews. Not just the war between terrorists and civilization or Obama vs. conservatives, but of inner conflicts we all face. In the opening of my favorite Ozark book, Shepherd Of The Hills, The Old Shepherd refers to the two opposing world views this way: “This, my story, is a very old story. In the hills of life, there are two trails. One lies along the higher sunlit fields where those who journey see afar, and the light lingers even when the sun is down; and one leads to the lower ground, where those who travel, as they go, look always over their shoulders with eyes of dread, and gloomy shadows gather long before the day is done...In life it has all happened many times, in many places before. The two trails lead afar. The story, so very old, is still in the telling.”

Don Wildmon, of American Family Association/American Family Radio describes the two trails this way, “We are in the midst of a spiritual war, not only in our country but in western civilization. This spiritual struggle is between opposite and competing views of the world and humankind. One view is what we can best describe as the Christian view of man… that God is God and man is man; that God loved man so much that He gave His only son to suffer and die for man’s rebellion; that we are created in the image of God; that our worth is based on the fact that we are God’s children and not on anything that we have done to deserve God’s love.

“The other view of the world and humankind has several names --- secularism, materialism, or humanism --- but it says in essence that the God of the Christian perspective doesn’t exist, and if He does exist, He doesn’t matter. Simply put, this other view says that man is his own god, and no other god if there is one, makes any difference.”

continued on the jump.....

The Foreclosure Mess Explained

...profanely but otherwise well by Gonzalo Lia.

This is a potentially titanic story unless the Congress passes some law that lets the banks get away with all of the other laws they broke getting into this mess.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Rand Paul Demonstrates How to Deal With Bill Clinton

Elliot Sends Taxpayer Money to Fund Program in Gay Bar?

Jason Tolbert over at the Tolbert Report is onto an outrageous story. It seems that State Senator Joyce Elliot, who is running for Congress against Rovian Hack Tim Griffin, sent taxpayer money for a program to distribute condoms at a gay bar. Most of the money in the "program" is for salaries of two employees who may also work at the club. If you have the stomach for it, Tolbert provides details. I don't think much of Griffin, but Elliot is crazy bad. I don't make fun of people's appearance when they are trying to fit in, but Elliot is not trying to fit in. That's why I don't think it ungentlemanly to mention that Elliot reminds me of a cross between Grace Jones and a space alien.

Have the Fed's Toxic Assets Just Gotten A Lot More Toxic?

By now many of you have heard the story of how a lot of foreclosures were done illegally. Many of the big banks have suspended foreclosures in the 23 states where they actually have to show evidence to a judge that they followed the law before they take people's homes away.

The big banks are in a panic. They no longer make money loaning money to businesses, they make it trading speculative securities back and forth to one another. When those instruments blow up, whichever of the banks is holding them takes them to the Federal Reserve Discount Window in exchange for T-bills. Are the instruments heavily discounted to reflect their loss of value? We don't know. The fed won't tell Congress and there has never been a full audit of the institution that controls the nation's money supply.

At the end of a few months they are supposed to swap the Tbills and the assets back, but I suspect a lot of banks have just walked away from the deal, kept the bonds, and stuck the fed with the bad paper. Since the people that run the big banks and the people who run the fed are the same people, they all go along with this arrangement which eventually shifts all of their bad bets onto the backs of the taxpayers.

Many of those instruments are backed by bundles of mortgages. When people don't pay the mortgages, they are supposed to be backed by repossessing the homes. Except with a lot of these deals the property has been transferred and sliced and diced so much that no one can tell who really holds the mortgages anymore. Its a disaster. The toxic debt was toxic because once the mortgage holders quit paying there was nothing backing the paper except the real estate which had lost much of its value. Now it turns out that not even devalued real estate may back that paper. It is not clear that what the holders of those instruments bought was title to the properties.

That means a couple of things. One, the toxic assets on the Feds books that are based on real estate is now even more toxic, and they can't even think about unloading them anytime soon. Two, if the Fed keeps allowing the banksters to use the Fed discount window as a place where they can redeem all of their losing bets for face (fantasy) value, then their is going to be a mad rush bu the favored banks to trade their trash for treasure (Tbills). Of course, if too much trash is on the fed's books, it will speed the day when the dollar itself becomes trash. It's Fed paper that bakcs our paper currency, and the quality of that paper is getting rather toxic.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Jaguar El Camino


Not something you see everyday.

Resignation Letter Says Politics Has Hi-Jacked Science

Dr. Harold Lewis has resigned from the American Physical Society . His claim, government money has suppressed true science and corrupted the organization. In fact, he calls global warming "the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud of my life." Kinda' reminds me of our own little Arkansas Task Force on Climate Change. You may recall that little group skipped out completely on its mandate to evaluate the threat of global warming to the state in favor of assuming it's true and proposing expensive non-solutions to the non-problem. Please visit the link. It's a great read.

My only trifling disagreement with the good doctor is that macro-evolution is bigger pseudoscientific fraud, albeit one harder to resolve in a single lifetime.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Wal-Mart Ends Profit Sharing

What think you? Good thing or bad thing?

Duggar Children Campaign For Maddox


Speaking of Kurt Maddox (candidate for Mayor of Rogers), I just got word that the Duggar children were in Rogers today knocking on doors for his campaign. Pictured are Josiah Duggar, Joy-Anna Duggar, and Justin Duggar. Photo from Stephanie Buhalja.

More Proof the Banks Own the Government

The idea that this charade of alternating between two DC-based political gangs every other year will give us our Republic back is patently absurd to a truly informed citizen. The big banks own the government. If any more proof was needed, here it is.

Notice that FOX News coverage of the mortgage fiasco does not mention this potentially titantic story. Nor was it on the MSNBC site that I could find. I guess it got bumped by the story about the riot at a "gay pride" parade in Serbia!

Should Pro-Life Endorsements Matter in Local Races?

Arkansas Right to Life has endorsed several candidates for non-partisan judicial races, including above-pictured Kurt Maddox in the five man race for the Mayor of Rogers. Should such endorsements matter in city races?

I say yes, with a caveat. The issue of Life is fundamental. Even if they will never make a decision on the Right-to-Life issue directly, it tells you the voter what their orientation is on ALL issues related to your rights. If a politician is indifferent to, or willing to trade away, the rights of the innocent unborn for political advantage, then there is zero, and I mean zero, chance that they will stand up for yours when the doors are closed and the deals are cut.

That paragraph above was written for the average citizen, not the power players. They are counting on their "pull" to protect their interests. Little do they realize that when they need idealists in government is not when they are strong, but when they are weak. That's when we need leaders who will support our rights even when it is not convenient.

Of course, there are those who will say they are "Pro-Life" while having no intention of doing anything about it. We know that we can't count on every politico who claims they are pro-Life. My point is that we can't count on any of them who WON'T say it. And if we have a choice between one who has said it long enough and loud enough to get the ARTL endorsement, then that ought to mean something. On intentions at least, we can trust them.

Another issue is whether or not the groups making these endorsements are really trying to work themselves out of a job. I have long told you that the NRA Arkansas has sold out gun owners and that their ratings are not a reliable indicator of who will best protect your gun rights.

Patriots on Watch Net Radio: Who Controls What You See and Hear?


Catch the 30 minute audio program here.

What are the consequences to self-government in a nation when most of its citizens are informed almost solely by six global corporations? Mark goes down the line up, and the consequences. Can a Republic survive mass media concentrated in few hands? We have no history to guide us. We DO have history to guide us on how the quality of religion in a society contributes to self-government.

Loss of Legitimacy in the Judiciary

Judge Myron Thompson who said in the Roy Moore 10 Commandment's Ruling "The state cannot acknowledge God."
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I have often said here that I am in favor of a strong judicial branch, at least strong enough to stand up to an Executive that is increasingly pushing aside the Constitution. That is just one reason why I object to rogue judges who issue lawless rulings without regard to original intent. This includes the tyrants who ruled "don't ask, don't tell" unconstitutional, the ones in California who threw out the results of the marriage amendment, the Lawrence v. Texas decision where the Court over-ruled themselves from only 17 years earlier, and of course, Roe v. Wade.

At some point, if we are to be a free people, the judiciary is going to have to stand up to the Executive Branch. Who the people have confidence in will be the tie-breaker in this test of wills. My fear is that these federal judges have no intention of keeping their oaths, and even if they someday want to they will not be able to because they have throw away their legitimacy in the eyes of the population.

Myron Thompson is a perfect example of a crooked leftist judge who is squandering the credibility of the judiciary. He was the one who said "the state CANNOT acknowledge God." Of course, the Declaration of Independence state clearly that are rights come from God, so a state that cannot acknowledge God cannot acknowledge the source of your rights either. Such a government, which views itself as the ultimate power accountable to no one, will become progressively tyrannical over time, as ours is becoming.

Thompson is at it again. Tyrant judges don't just make flawed rulings on "social issues." They tend to be unjust on ALL issues, because it reflects their very nature. Read this account of Thompson's latest oppression and see for yourself.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Patriots On Watch Net Radio- The Sinless Gospel


35 minute audio here.

God orders genocide on the Canaanites. Mark takes on the tough questions and demonstrates the morality of that decision. Plus, Thomas Jefferson on the two natural Parties of Man. And, the sinless gospel fails to protect the next generation.

Titans of Media

Six giant corporations control almost all you see and hear from the news and entertainment world. Here are the lineups.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

A Good Time To Waste Your Vote, But Then Let's Talk

There are not very many candidates on the horizon this year that one can truly vote for. In most races one can, at best, hold ones nose and vote for the cretin who have dealt treacherously with us the least, and whose mad policies will sink us a little bit slower than the "other'. The only thing it is a good year for is a protest vote. I've done it before, and I will likely do it again in November. Still, once this farce of an electoral "choice" is over, we need to have a talk.

We need to have a talk about what we are going to do, starting right after the election, to keep ourselves from being back in this exact same spot two years from now, as we were two years ago. And each cycle, it seems our choices get worse.

The system for all offices above the county level is set up, or perhaps "rigged" is the more appropriate term, to be a two-party system. Offering another choice outside of the two D.C. controlled, internationally financed political gangs that has looted this nation to economic ruin simply splits the vote. Yet rising too high up within either of those deeply corrupt institutions virtually requires selling out on some level. This system has been imposed on us by the ruling class, it is not a part of the U.S. Constitution, and failure to unrig the process will soon result in said Constitution's utter destruction.

The rules we should run our elections by is the system called "Instant Run Off Voting". Simply changing the rigged rules of our elections will result in freeing the entire population to vote their conscience again rather that hold their nose and vote for "the lessor of two evils".

I invite you to join me in advocating a change of election law wherever possible to a system of Instant Runoff Voting. Those who think the current system is serving us well, go right on about your business.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Sinless Gospel Fails to Protect the Next Generation

I have noticed a disturbing trend even here, where good parents who are church going folks fail to transmit their values to the next generation. I believe a part of the problem is that churches are too fearful of “condemning” people to preach the Bible.

Scripture itself shows us that there is a difference between telling someone that their behavior is sinful and condemning them for that behavior. I am sure you recall the incident with the woman caught in the very act of adultery. The mob wanted her to be stoned, but Jesus shamed them away. Notice what He told her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” In that short passage of scripture we see that Jesus did not consider telling someone that they were sinning to be the same thing as “condemning” them for that behavior.

Throughout the volume of The Book we see that God’s people had the prophetic role of speaking unwelcome truth to power. This was so for Samuel. It was so for Elijah, and Jeremiah. It was so for John the Baptist when he told the wife-stealing King Herod right out in public, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And of course, it was so for Christ as he told the religious leaders of His day that they were whitewashed tombs. In the same way Paul spoke unwelcome truth, which caused him to be lashed three times and stoned twice. These things did not come about because Paul preached to the multitudes only that God loved them, for no one persecutes a preacher for saying that. Rather, these things came on him because Paul preached that He loved them so much that He wished to make known His will on what sort of men they ought to be.

I fear that much of the post-Bible church has forsaken the role of speaking truth to power. Indeed, they tremble with fear to speak God’s standards for human conduct to the least of the people, how much more do they fear to speak it to the mighty! Yet Christ Himself commanded His disciples to shout from the housetops even what they hear whispered in their ears. This can only mean that we are to boldly and even loudly proclaim God’s truth, including His truth about right and wrong conduct. And how much better off a soul is once they hear and obey it. But “how will they hear without a preacher?”

I really see a need for older people who know better to, against the grain of the popular culture, confront youth who are making mistakes that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Some churches are willing to help people pick up the pieces of their broken lives, but would to God that they be just as willing to preach God’s truth about human conduct so that some of those lives would never be broken to begin with!

What does it mean to preach “the full Gospel?” I submit to you that no church preaches “the full Gospel” unless it preaches repentance from sin. Sadly, we live in a culture where people do not understand that there is anything that they need to repent of. Hebrews lists “repentance from dead works” as the milk of the Word- as one of the basics for baby Christians. The message of grace is built on a foundation of understanding that man has sinned. Without that foundation, the “full Gospel” cannot be preached, for if there is no acknowledgement of sin there cannot be any need for mercy.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

The Two Natural Parties of Man


“Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties: 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise, depository of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves. Call them, therefore, ...Whigs and Tories, Republicans and Federalists, Aristocrats and Democrats, or by whatever name you please, they are the same parties still, and pursue the same object.” – Thomas Jefferson

There is little doubt that Jefferson is right about the divisions of men into political parties. Jefferson was one who believed that if people were well informed, they could rule themselves. Hamilton thought they could not be counted on to keep themselves well informed, and would not rule wisely even if they were. So who was right?

I say at different times and in different circumstances, they both were. Republican government is not possible without virtue. We are entering a time in which the average person does not posses the virtue required for self government. They would use access to the public treasury to loot it for themselves and their friends. Their personal lives are a wreck, the idea of them ruling the nation is beyond the pale. They know, and care to know, next to nothing of economics or geopolitics, but are well acquainted with which pop tart just got out of rehab. They are not the “well informed” populace that Jefferson envisioned. They may think they are informed because they get spoon-fed a steady diet of mis-information and distraction from media controlled by global corporations who have no interest in keeping Americans truly well informed, but thinking one is well informed when they are not is worse than regular ignorance.

On the other hand, power corrupts, and the ruling class have had practical power for a long time. They are deeply corrupt, and irredeemable in a way that ruling elites before them have rarely experienced. Once our ruling elites shared a world view that even the lives of peasants was sacred because they were created in the image of God. Ever since Darwinsim came along, a new and diabolical mind set has taken over as the world view of the ruling class. They now can believe that there is nothing sacred about human life, and that a soft conscience toward the lower classes, far from being a sign of godliness, is instead a sign of weakness. That conscience is just an artifact left over from some earlier stage of evolution that is holding man back from his next “great leap forward.” Think of what madness people who think like that could (and I believe are) unleashing on the world.

When the lower classes are corrupted, they may be better off for a short while with a ruling class. But the ruling class itself will not be better off with this situation for very long, for power corrupts. Too much power held in too few hands for too long a time will corrupt even the best among us. The only king to be beyond the corrupting influence of this sort of power was Christ, and He refused it in favor of a kingdom based on the free will submission of its subjects rather than a worldly kingdom which used compulsion to enforce its edicts.

The only sure antidote to the corrupting influence of power over others is its dispersal. That is why I, along with the greater part of the Founders, favor a central government that is extremely limited in scope and in reach. Let the state governments have authority in more spheres, and the local governments have authority in yet more. But let none of them have overmuch control. Rather, let those men and women who have demonstrated their capacity for self-rule have great latitude in their actions. And fashion laws so that those who lack capacity for self-government might attach themselves to someone of means in the former group as a servant.

It may be that after spending some years in the service of those who understand the attitudes, values, and disciplines required to rule one’s self, that the servants will one day become masters. But even if they never do, they are much better off with their own choice of patriarch than with the state’s choice of case worker. They are better off living on the estate of a great man than living in a project with no view of life on the other side and no means to get there.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

God Orders Slaughter of Canaanites: Discussion with a Scoffer

Scoffer: What about all the children that were murdered at God's command during Joshua and Gideon's conquest of Palestine? I can't wait to read what kind of situational morality or half-assed theology justifies that.

Me: Your difficulty is that you put God in your shoes and then judge Him through your eyes. You can't get a just answer that way. You have to, as best as creatures locked in time and possibilities are able, to step over into His shoes and look through His eyes. A hint is when he told Abraham that He was not turning over Canaan to him yet because "the iniquity of the Canaanites was not yet complete."

Because He is not locked into time like we are, He could see a point at which that people was so given over to wickedness that not a single one of those children would grow up to be anything but wicked. He saw what they would do if born before they were ever born. And at that point, He ordered their destruction.

The precursor to this was Sodom. Remember in that scenario Lot kept asking God "you would not destroy the righteous with the wicked would you?" And God said, "far be it from me." Lot talked God down, until if there were but 10 righteous in the whole city then He would spare the city for the sake of the 10. Of course, they were not found.

Scoffer: Nice moral gymnastics. A+

Thank you. Sometimes you have to move around a bit to find the truth rather than sit in one place and assume that the center of the moral universe is your own belly button. Actually, since God is the real moral center of the universe, all of our moral gymnastics that are any good are precisly what has been done here. The very essence of finding moral reality consists of getting ourselves into a place where we see it through God's perspective rather than our own. Those "gymnastics" as you put it, are not a one-time trick, but rather something that must be done every time.

Scoffer: Mark, I agree. Anyone who maintains a belief in God into adulthood has to be very proficient at mental gymnastics.

...if one defines being able to evaluate moral claims from any perspective outside of your own as "mental gymnastics".