Tuesday, August 16, 2016

If your son dies in a war are you beyond reproach? Thomas Woods answers

And no, you are not morally beyond reproach because your son died in war." ~Thomas Woods

Taken from his August 16, 2016 email. Here's the link.

Here's the full context:

Tonight I was taking a glance at my Facebook feed, and I saw Thaddeus Russell had posted something I'd missed.

Remember Khizr Khan, the Muslim man who spoke at the Democratic Convention and whose son died in the Iraq war?

At the time, I remember finding him utterly odious. For the life of me I could not understand people who defended this man.

He exploits the memory of his fallen son on behalf of the Democratic Party, and on behalf of a woman who helped send his son into that ludicrous war?

He urges his son to fight an idiotic -- not to mention grotesquely unjust -- war against a Muslim population, and all the pro-Muslim people flock to him?

Insanity.

If I were ever to exploit the memory of one of my own children on behalf of the Democratic Party, I sure hope everyone reading this would punch me in the face.

If I'd had a chance to speak before the Democratic Party, I would have strayed from my prepared script and appealed to the Bernie supporters in the room by denouncing Hillary and her war.

At any rate, Thaddeus posted a news item I'd missed: Khan's hero is -- wait for it -- John McCain.

I knew my instincts were right about this guy.

"Senator McCain -- he's my hero," Khan told CNN in an interview. "The last book my son read that I sent him was Senator McCain's book about courage: Why Courage Matters. So for me to hear Donald Trump malign my hero -- my son's hero -- it is just mind-boggling."

Senator McCain, who never saw a war he didn't like, and whose foreign policy has spread radical Islam all over the place and caused untold human suffering, is Khan's hero.

Not a good guy.

And no, you are not morally beyond reproach because your son died in war. If anything, Khan is all the more to be condemned for cheering on such a morally depraved course of action.

On this, I can't and won't budge.

Now that that's off my chest: tomorrow on the show I'm discussing the myth of the success of Nordic socialism.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Radical Idea: Break up the military

I have an idea that will increase peace across the globe: Break up the U.S. military. Break it up! Break it up! Break it up ...

... into 50 something fractions.

That is, give each state a military (militia?) of it's own,  under the leadership of the Governor of each state.

Think about it: Every state already has a base of it's own.

Some states naturally will be better suited for some kinds of services (coastal states are bound to have Naval bases and Marines). The states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada, may have superior air power.

One thing is for certain: it would be extremely tough to go to war.

(Which is a good thing.)

States would actually have to think long about whether such and such foreign leader in power is a "threat" to "security" -- long before a troop is deployed for a tour ... before a fire is shot.

State senates, state congresses, and state houses would have to determine whether it makes sense to deploy X battalion and Y Squadron overseas.

I almost said "national security" -- but there would be no national security. Rather, they'd have to figure out if so-and-so leader (an Assad, a Putin, a Saddam) was a threat to "state security." 

State governments would have to debate military budgets.

The Pentagon would be no more...

... but all of the Pentagon's secrets and joint secrets with other agencies (such as the CIA) should be released to the public before it shutters its door, and made publicly available on a website (Wikileaks can't do everything).

The police and the military would be separate. The military, by law, should be prohibited from giving military equipment to the police before, during, or after the decentralization of the national military force.  This prevents the militarization of the police.

In the meantime, the military equipment that the police departments currently own should be taken away, in a separate process.

As for overseas bases, close them down permanently.

What about Guantanamo Naval Base? Shut it down, too. We don't even own Cuba but we have a military base there.

I actually thought of this a while ago -- but this week I saw a headline that reminded me of my own idea. So ... I'm posting this now to at least be one of the earliest voices (this is, of course, without doing any research to see if the idea has been put out there before).

I could be very late myself.

UPDATE: I found the piece I referred to above, which was published six days ago. I haven't read it yet it but it is called "Decentralize the Military: Why We Need Independent Militias" by Ryan McMaken. Perhaps McMaken will come to some similar conclusions and share the same line of arguments. 


A list of CNN (TV) Headlines, 8/4/16

This is not scientific in any way, shape or form. But it is an attempt to show what On-Air CNN Television personalities talk about.

Are they critical of the President? Or only of Trump? Is it critical of government? Or are the headlines mainly approving of government? Or -- are the headlines deflective of government malfeasance? Does it omit stories critical of those in power? Do the headlines tend to come from a liberal angle, conservative angle, a libertarian angle, a communist angle, or is it balanced? Are they critical of mostly Republicans? Or are they critical of mostly Democrats? Is the channel generally pro-religion or anti-religion? Pro-Christianity or anti-Christianity? Pro-Islam or anti-Islam? Pro-atheist or anti-atheist?

I want to know.

Given that I was creating this list while busy, I couldn't catch every single headline that flashed across the TV screen. However, I do think it is very representative as I probably looked at the television screen every other minute or so from about 12 PM to 4 PM.

What I found is that CNN focused on Trump at least 22 times; President Barack Obama 10 times; House Speaker Paul Ryan 10 times; and Hillary 2 times.

Now, as I said, this wasn't scientific. However, I did look at the screen a lot from that time. I did not keep my eyes glued to the screen....

...but I really don't think I missed Hillary Clinton that many times.

Looking at the headlines we see that....


  1. RYAN NOT READY TO PULL TRUMP ENDORSEMENT
  2. RUSSIA: WE BELIEVE 270 OF OUR ATHLETES CLEARED TO COMPETE
  3. NEW BATTLEGROUND STATE POLLS GIVE CLINTON THE EDGE
  4. CNN/ORC POLL SHOWS OBAMA WITH 54% JOB APPROVAL
  5. POLL: OBAMA APPROVAL RATING ON THE RISE
  6. NEW BATTLEGROUND STATE POLLS GIVE CLINTON THE EDGE
  7. NORTH CAROLINA MAN ACCUSED OF SUPPORTING ISIS
  8. TRUMP MEETS WITH FAMILIES OF 6 FALLEN SOLDIERS
  9. OP-ED: TRUMP SUPPORTING IS "INDEFENSIBLE"
  10. CLINT EASTWOOD TALKS RACISM AND TRUMP
  11. SOON: OBAMA FACES QUESTIONS ON $400 IRAN PAYMENT
  12. WHITE HOUSE: $400M CASH TO IR
  13. OBAMA GETS POST-CONVENTION BUMP IN POLLS
  14. CAN A RISING OBAMA HELP HILLARY CLINTON?
  15. EASTWOOD: 2012 "EMPTY CHAIR" STUNT "WAS SILLY"
  16. CLINT EASTWOOD APPLAUDS TRUMP'S RHETORIC
  17. PREGNANT WOMEN IN MIAMI RUSH TO GET ZIKA TESTS
  18. EXPECTANT MOTHERS IN MIAMI SCRAMBLE TO GET ZIKA TESTS
  19. SOON: DONALD TRUMP SPEAKS LIVE AT RALLY SOON (?)
  20. CHARLESTON CHURCH SUSPECT ASSAULTED IN JAIL
  21. YOUNG GYMNAST RETURNS TO SPORT AFTER LEUKEMIA
  22. GYMNAST CONTRACTS LEUKEMIA, FACES COMPLICATIONS
  23. ANY MOMENT: TRUMP SPEAKS AFTER RYAN RETURNS FIRE
  24. RYAN WON'T RULE OUT YANKING TRUMP ENDORSEMENT
  25. PAUL RYAN ON TRUMP: MY "DUTY" TO DEFEND GOP
  26. NEW POLL: CLINTON TOPS TRUMP IN 3 KEY STATES
  27. SOON: HILLARY CLINTON HOLDS RALLY IN LAS VEGAS ***
  28. CLINTON SLAMS TRUMP DURING TOUR IN LAS VEGAS
  29. NEW POLL: CLINTON TOPS TRUMP IN 3 KEY STATES
  30. RYAN WON'T RULE OUT YANKING TRUMP ENDORSEMENT
  31. POLLS: CLINTON TOPS TRUMP IN THREE KEY STATES
  32. ANY MOMENT: TRUMP SPEAKS AFTER RYAN RETURNS FIRE
  33. RYAN (AGAIN) USES “BEYOND THE PALE” REACTING TO TRUMP
  34. OBAMA GETS POST-CONVENTION BUMP IN POLLS
  35. SOON: TRUMP, CLINTON HOLD COMPETING EVENTS
  36. U.S. OFFICIALS: NO IRAN “ULTIMATUM” TO SEND $400M CASH
  37. TRUMP COMMENTS ON U.S. PAYMENT TO IRAN
  38. TRUMP AGAIN CLAIMS HE SAW VIDEO OF IRAN PAYMENT
  39. TRUMP SPEAKS AFTER RYAN SLAM POST-RNC CAMPAIGN
  40. TRUMP: “HOW STUPID ARE WE” TO PAY IRAN
  41. BRAZILIAN COUPLES DELAY PREGNANCY DUE TO ZIKA
  42. OBAMA: MY DAUGHTERS DESERVE A FEMINIST DAD
  43. CLINTON REPEATS FALSE CLAIM FBI DIRECTOR SAID SHE WAS “TRUTHFUL”
  44. OBAMA: IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT IS WORKING
  45. OBAMA: WE DO NOT PAY RANSOM FOR HOSTAGES
  46. OBAMA UPS ATTACK ON TRUMP AS APPROVAL RATING RISES

Where is the focus on the issues? A few comments.

#46 OBAMA UPS ATTACK ON TRUMP AS APPROVAL RATING RISES

First of all. I think this is a made-up connection here. I really don't think Obama is consciously taking advantage of this approval ratings here. But the headline gives the connection that he is.

# 42 OBAMA: MY DAUGHTERS DESERVE A FEMINIST DAD

Why is this national news? This doesn't belong on national television, but on niche sites, cultural sites. 

#14 CAN A RISING OBAMA HELP HILLARY CLINTON?

Can a discussion of the platforms that she and Donald Trump are running on help their campaigns. Can a substantial report on Donald Trump's sane position on Russia hurt Hillary Clinton? Can we discuss their ideas? Can we hold politicians accountable? Can we move away from "He said, She Said" stories? Can we #bringbackjournalism? 

I'm not going to go on. But I am biased towards stories that highlight government corruption, and I really don't like celebrity stories, or stories that advance the "conversation" in a destructive way.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The similarity between the youth of today and the youth of Ancient Israel

"The young do not know that they have lost their country because they are born into a time when the country is lost. To them that is normalcy." ~Paul Craig Roberts, "America Destroyed."

This is similar to the young people in ancient Israel when the temple was rebuilt. The newer temple was nothing like the old temple. The older people were at least disappointed, if not outright sobbing. I can't quite remember the reaction of the young people. I am going by my recollection of the biblical stories here.

Matt Drudge and I agree: Globalists freak out over Trump

Snapshot of the August 2, 2016 Drudge Report

President Obama is no revolutionary.

Rather he is of the status quo.

Today he played the role of gatekeeper of that status quo: Donald Trump absolutely cannot become president. He is unfit. Blah. Blah. Blah.

This morning when I saw the headlines about President Obama, referencing the above activity, I immediately thought that the globalists were freaking out.

This afternoon I went on the Drudge Report and I found agreement there.

Matt Drudge calls Obama out for his globalist gatekeeping on August 2, 2016.

Media is doing the World a Disservice by ignoring Trump's substantive issues

Courtesy of The Atlantic
Hat tip to Real Clear Politics who published an article called "Russian Expert Stephen Cohen: Trump Wants To Stop The New Cold War, But The American Media Just Doesn't Understand."

Stephen F. Cohen is a contributing editor at the progressive publication The Nation, which also ran the story.

The premise of the story is that Trump's substantive issues get totally ignored because the media focuses on Trump's more colorful sayings.

From the Real Clear Politics article:
Cohen says the media at large is doing a huge disservice to the American people by ignoring the substance of Trump's arguments about NATO and Russia, and buying the Clinton campaign's simplistic smear that Trump is a Russian "Manchurian candidate."
"That reckless branding of Trump as a Russian agent, most of it is coming from the Clinton campaign," Cohen said. "And they really need to stop."
"We're approaching a Cuban Missile Crisis level nuclear confrontation with Russia," he explained. "And there is absolutely no discussion, no debate, about this in the American media."
"Then along comes, unexpectedly, Donald Trump," he continued, "Who says he wants to end the New Cold War, and cooperate with Russia in various places... and --astonishingly-- the media is full of what only can be called neo-McCarthyite charges that he is a Russian agent, that he is a Manchurian candidate, and that he is Putin's client."

What Cohen is saying about the media is true.

For instance, as I sit here, less than an hour ago CNN ran a story on television on the fact that Donald Trump eats KFC with a knife and a fork. This is a story that shouldn't make the Food Network. But here we have a channel -- remember, a CNN executive declared that they are "no longer a news network" -- that spends most of the day covering political happenings talking about how Donald eats fast food in his private jet. This is ridiculous.

As I visit Yahoo minutes ago, there the editors published a story called "Trump at rally: ‘Get the baby out of here’" -- and it's the top story when you first get on the page.

It took three words for the mainstream media to use a buzzword to try to scare voters away from Trump. It begins: "In a bizarre..." -- there's really no need to finish the rest of the article, because it focuses on the least serious part of the speech, which I listened to most of, if not its entirety. The Yahoo News article doesn't even focus on any thing else said in the speech.

One hundred and fifty words wasted...

...one hundred and fifty words-sized bullet to try to take down Trump.

Yahoo News leading story. This is serious journalism, folks.
Here's a more serious part of the August 2, 2016 speech in Ashburn, Virginia, that aligns with the topic at hand:

TRUMP:  I want to get along with China. By the way wouldn't it be great if we got along with Russia? Wouldn't that be great?
(APPLAUSE)
If we actually had a relationship with Russia, instead of all the fighting and money and the problems and if we could get Russia and others to partner up and go and knock the hell out of ISIS, wouldn't that be a good thing? Wouldn't that be a good thing?
Now, I don't think we should even be getting involved with ISIS in that way. But here we have Donald Trump saying that he wants to get along with China and he wants to restore relations with Russia. "Wouldn't that be great?"

At the August 2 rally in Ashburn, Virginia, Trump also said of Hillary Clinton:
Hillary Clinton will be worse. She'll be worse. OK? Hillary Clinton will be worse.
She has bad relationships with people like Putin. I'll give you an example. She has terrible relationships with Putin. This is a nuclear country we're talking about. Russia, strong nuclear country.
And so are we. But their stuff is newer. Their stuff is newer. So she's looking at -- they have more -- I don't even want to say it -- they have a lot more, OK? So you know, she wants to play the tough one. She's not tough. She's not tough.
I know tough people, she's not tough. I mean she's -- she's just -- she's doing the handlers, they push her from place to place that's all it is. You saw her speech the other night. 
I mean they talk about presidential, do you think she looks presidential? I don't think so.
I don't think so. So -- so you know, she wants to play the role of the tough guy against Putin and Russia and she wants to play not tough, not tough. She should be tough on trade, OK?

Meanwhile, can you guess which Democrat said this about Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump last week at the 2016 Democratic National Convention?

"We cannot elect a man who belittles our closest allies while embracing dictators like Vladimir Putin."

Look who's shooting from the hip now: the man one spot away from the presidency, the #2 man in the Obama administration, Joe Biden, is here recklessly calling "world leaders" dictators, even though his administration won't confirm that designation. Again, if Hillary Clinton is going to "continue Obama's agenda," then we can expect more "fool rush in" status quo foreign policy from Hillary Clinton.

As Donald says in many rallies, the media is totally corrupt. He said it today in Ashburn, Virginia.

I agree with Cohen. As I wrote to a friend recently:

That said, Trump definitely says a lot of interesting and agreeable things on foreign policy. He raises very serious questions about our priorities that gets drowned out because of the media. The media is good at shutting off serious debate whenever they find something disagreeable about him...and there is a lot to disagree.

Additionally, I wrote:

I like the idea of an "America first" foreign policy because we haven't had an America first foreign policy for about 50 years, even though it was our policy at least 150 years, according to one expert .
I meant 60 years, per Ivan Eland's numbers.


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

On concealed weapons and the Orlando shooter

I don't believe for a second that someone with a concealed weapon would have stopped the shooting had he not known of his presence. But I do think that if someone was alerted to the gunman's presence taking him down would have been more likely. It would have been unlikely that there would have been a three hour killing spree.

I do believe that one person with a concealed weapon would have minimized the loss of lives; not that he had some kind of spidey sense to prevent the unthinkable.

But if the timelines are accurate, and a hostage situation actually did occur, I think it would have been possible for a concealed weapon carrier to shoot the guy at some opportune time.

At the core of modern liberalism

Modern liberalism pats itself on the back for having good intentions even if the policies modern liberals pursue obviously don't work.

So whether it's stripping U.S. citizens of their right to work for whatever wage they want (via the minimum wage law), or stripping U.S. citizens of the right to defend themselves (via gun control), what matters most to the liberal mindset is that their "good intentions" were revealed to all.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Video in Link: America's Counter Revolution: The Constitution Revisited

Watch it. It's on Sheldon Richman's new book. Click the link below.


Free Association: Jeff Tucker Interviews Me about "America's Counter...

Joel McDurmon on Max Lucado's Wimpy Entrance in Politics


The final façade of decency has now fallen, and Evangelical titans are startled. Leaders like Max Lucado have now taken...
Posted by Joel McDurmon on Tuesday, March 1, 2016

A thought on voting

I almost said that unbound delegates receiving threats is what turns me off about politics.

But then I backed up and thought about it.

Politics is one huge threat of violence against the individual. Voting is a reflection of that.

This is not a original reflection at all.

Search "Lew Rockwell" plus "Voting" plus "Violence" and you will find numerous articles arguing for my above point.

But the news of uncommitted delegates receiving threatening phone calls reminded me of how ugly politics can be.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Sermon: Surveying the Text | Job (Job 19:25-27)





After 28:00, Pastor Douglas Wilson says something remarkable: Sometimes we go through struggles because God was bragging about us to the Devil. Reminds me of my friend who just finished chemotherapy and is completely healed of her Stage 2 breast cancer.

Sermon: Mission, Vocation, and Body Life (1 Cor. 12:17-20)





I've never come across an unhelpful Christ Church – Moscow sermon.

Sermon: The Gospel First and Last (1 Cor. 15:1-11)



His refutation of Gnosticism at 28:00 is genius.

Seminary Snatch #3

Preparation for Northwest Theological Seminary

The following is a short list of recommended readings to help students orient
themselves to the theological direction of Northwest Theological Seminary
prior to enrollment. If you have questions concerning readings beyond
this list, please contact the Academic Dean, James T. Dennison, Jr.

Many sermons and articles on the Kerux website (kerux.com)
Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments
Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology
James T. Dennison, The Letters of Geerhardus Vos
Richard B. Gaffin, By Faith, Not By Sight
Richard B. Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption
James T. Dennison, "Building the Biblical-theological Sermon,"
Parts 1 and 2 (on the kerux.com website)
Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom
J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism
Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith

Sermon: The Mystery of the One Body | Ephesians 3:1-3

This sermon on Hell did not end the way I thought it would





I'm serious. Scot McKnight, author of The Jesus Creed, sketches the predominant views of Hell (eternal punishment) today and then preaches on the parable of the rich man in Hades (Luke 16:14-31) and comes to his own conclusion. He distinguishes between the NT Greek terms Hades and Gehenna.



Watch it from beginning to end.

Seminary Snatch #1

SPRING 2016 TEXTBOOK LIST*

CH 641 Reformation Chuch History
Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations
Carter Lindberg, The Reformation Theologians (selections)
John Calvin, The Bondage and Liberation of the Will
Martin Luther, Lectures on Romans (skim)
U. Zwingli, An Exposition of the Faith
H. Bullinger, A Brief Exposition of the One and Eternal Testament or Covenant of God
John von Rohr, The Covenant of Grace in Puritan Thought

NT 611 Acts and Paul
R. Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption
J. Harvey, Listening to the Text
G. Kennedy, NT Interpretation through Rhetorical Criticism
H. Klauck, Ancient Letters and the New Testament
H. Klauck, Magic and Paganism in Early Christianity
W. Meeks, The First Urban Christians
C. Talbert, Reading Acts
R. Tannehill, Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts (Vol. 2)
N.T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God

NT 710 Greek Reading
Any edition of a Reader’s Greek New Testament (UBS Greek New Testament Reader’s Edition with Textual Notes recommended)
Either of the two following critical editions of the Greek New Testament:
Novum Testamentum Graece: Nestle Aland (Greek Edition) (Either NA26, NA27, or NA28)
Kurt Aland, ed., The Greek New Testament, 4th Revised Edition
Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Ancient Greek Edition)

OT 604 Historical Books
C. Exum, The Historical Books
V. Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books
S. Bar Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible
J.P. Fokkelman, Reading Biblical Narrative
K.A. Kitchen, Reliability of the Old Testament

School: Northwest Theological Seminary, which is closing.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Confirmed: Ted Cruz surrounds himself with neocons

Back in February, I shared my concerns with readers about GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

Recently, my suspicions were confirmed: Ted Cruz really surrounds himself with neoconservative foreign policy advisers. ThinkProgress has the story.

The New American, an old paleo-conservative publication, ran a story in late 2015 called Ted Cruz's Closest Counselors Are Neocons.

Believing at first that the journalism was shaky, I wrote just two months ago:

It goes on to mention Chad Sweet, Victoria Coates, James Woolsey, and Elliot Abrams (although I think that Abrams is no longer on the campaign, if he ever was; in fact, RedState called him a Rubio mentor), all of which have neocon bona fides. Daily Caller has a story saying Cruz consulted Abrams, but this doesn't mean he was on the campaign.
Abrams doesn't appear to be an adviser in any official capacity, or ever have been. But there is reporting that says Cruz has consulted him. Part of me believes he's a Rand Paul 2.0 just trying to ride the waves of whatever will gain him support.
This is journalism that stretches the facts.

But according to the ThinkProgress story, Elliot Abrams is absolutely is on Ted Cruz's foreign policy team -- and he has two more alarming people on the team.

The Nation has an excellent story about Ted Cruz's dangerous foreign policy views in more detail. Peep the headline and subheadline:



Tuesday, March 1, 2016

One of the best Youtube comments about Lauryn Hill

I am a huge Lauryn Hill fan.

I consider her one of the best rappers/MCs of all time. Based on her live performance in DC in 2013, which I attended, I consider her one of the best performers of all time. I also based my opinion off of this video from Philadelphia in 2012, which shows it wasn't an one-off event, but an over-the-years kind of consistency. More on that in another post.



On another note, which is the purpose of this post, I saw a comment about Ms. Hill that I really wish I wrote myself. It has so much poetic quality to it:
She has the flow of a thug and the voice of an angel and she goes from one to the other with such ease...there will never be another like her.
The comment was left under the above video on Youtube.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Potemkin-style democracy

A lot of what goes on in government seems designed to give the appearance of democracy. Potemkin institutions and procedures put in place to give the veneer of choice, but not really.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Nina Simone didn't get it -- or at least her interpreters don't



Nina Simone didn't get it -- or at least the people interpreting her. Let's go with the latter. I feel better not insulting a legend who was hip to so many issues.

"An artist's duty, as far as I am concerned, is to reflect the times."

The problem is people read in "being conscious" here. But not everybody is "woke" or wants to be, and our music and media reflects that, even from people who call themselves "artists."

Plus, "woke" is a relative term.

One can be "woke" to all kinds of things and dead to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example, and his now-Kingship, his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, and the life-changing Holy Spirit which helps us walk in that love.

Bernie Sanders' disappointing pro-war record

Recall that over the 8 years of Clinton Time, Iraq was bombed an average of once every four days.
Even though Sanders markets himself as an “independent socialist,” in fact, he has rarely dissented against the Democratic Party orthodoxy, especially when it comes to military intervention. That should permanently settle the notion of whether Bernie is a real Democrat. With the blood of 500,000 Iraqi children on his hands, surely Sanders has already won the “Humanitarian Warrior Seal of Approval,” which leaves us with only one haunting question: Was it worth it, Senator Sanders?

Jeffrey St. Clair, Blood Traces: Bernie’s Iraq War Hypocrisy

J. Gresham Machen: The True Christian Church is 'Radically Ethical'

In the third place, a true Christian church will be radically ethical...it will be ethical in the sense that it will cherish the hope of true goodness in the other world, and that even here and now it will exhibit the beginnings of a new life which is the gift of God.
That new life will express itself in love. Love will overflow, without questions, without calculation, to all men whether they be Christians or not; but it will be far too intense a passion ever to be satisfied with mere philanthropy. It will offer men simple benefits; it will never pass coldly by on the other side when a man is in bodily need. But it will never be content to satisfy men's bodily needs; it will never seek to make men content with creature comforts or with the coldness of a vague natural religion. Rather will it seek to bring all men everywhere, without exception, high and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, compatriot and alien, into the full warmth and joy of the household of faith.
J. Gresham Machen, "The Responsibility of the Church in Our New Age," found in Fighting the Good Fight: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church 

Friday, February 12, 2016

A comment on Th3 Saga vs. Chilla Jones

I'm listening to Th3 Saga battle Chilla Jones right now, and Th3 Saga and I wrote nearly the same Final Fantasy 7 line.

The same thing happened with Church Clothes 3: I wrote a similar Harriet Tubman line as Lecrae did on "Freedom." Same with Jackie Hill Perry on "Misconceptions Part 3."

And these are my 2 most recent poems.

Well, at least my pen is moving in the right direction.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Obama Proposes $0.24 Gas Tax Last Year in Office


What every American will be doing if this nonsense passes.
Per this press release from the Institute for Energy Research:

Obama Proposes a New Tax on Every American Driver



 WASHINGTON – Institute for Energy Research President Thomas Pyle issued the following statement about the Obama administration’s plan to propose a $10/barrel tax on oil:

"The president is proposing a nearly 24 cent per gallon tax on the very energy source that keeps Americans and our economy moving. This is a tax on every American driver, and it would have the harshest impact on those who can least afford it. For a president who claims to care about helping the poor, he sure doesn't show it in his policies. Fortunately, this proposal is dead on arrival in Congress. However, the president is clearly trying to lay the groundwork for a future carbon tax.

"The administration is claiming the purpose of this tax is to raise revenue for some grand transportation plan, but it’s really about taxing the energy they don’t like to make President Obama’s favored energy sources and companies more profitable. The revenue generated from a new energy tax is peanuts compared to the revenue, jobs, wages, and economic activity that could be created by simply opening federal lands to energy development. Now that he has nothing to lose politically, the president is showing us his true stripes by trying to impose an energy tax on American families."

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Ted Cruz vs. Bernie Sanders

Ted Cruz vs. Bernie Sanders would be a nice showdown in November.

It would be the most conservative member of the U.S. Senate (Cruz) versus the furthest left Senator (Sanders). The American people would get a chance to vote for two diametrically opposed people -- not two sides of the same coin.

Ted Cruz would rhetorically smack Sanders down.

This is almost as good as Rand Paul vs. Bernie Sanders -- the match-up I hoped would transpire.

I'm still very concerned about Cruz's foreign policy, and the foreign policy advisers he may appoint in his cabinet, but on economic policy he is great....Ending the IRS...Ending the Department of Education...Sound Money...and more.

The opposite is the case for Sanders: I am cool with his foreign policy, but his economic policy is atrocious.

Honest thoughts on Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz looks undeniably good on paper, especially from a libertarian perspective.

He wants to shut down the IRS and 4 other federal agencies, all of which were created in the 20th century.

Ironically, I agree with a lot of his platform except for his foreign policy -- which is exactly what a lot of conservatives said about Ron Paul in 2012.

What concerns me the most is that he surrounds himself, or did surround himself, with the neocons.

As The New American reported in October 2015:
Recently, Infogram published brief but illuminating biographies of several of Cruz’s key foreign policy advisors. The information disclosed in these revelations could trouble many constitutionalists otherwise keen on the senator and who rely on him to restore the rule of law to the White House.
It goes on to mention Chad Sweet, Victoria Coates, James Woolsey, and Elliot Abrams (although I think that Abrams is no longer on the campaign, if he ever was; in fact, RedState called him a Rubio mentor), all of which have neocon bona fides. Daily Caller has a story saying Cruz consulted Abrams, but this doesn't mean he was on the campaign.

Abrams doesn't appear to be an adviser in any official capacity, or ever have been. But there is reporting that says Cruz has consulted him. Part of me believes he's a Rand Paul 2.0 just trying to ride the waves of whatever will gain him support.

This is journalism that stretches the facts.

My problem is this:  I know how the deep state works, or at least read about it, and I don't want him to be systematically presented with bad information. A former Reagan official recently wrote about the deep state:
"Many Americans regard the White House as the lair of a powerful being who can snap his fingers and make things happen. The fact of the matter is that presidents have little idea of what is transpiring in the vast cabinet departments and federal agencies that constitute “their” administration. 
Many parts of government are empires unto themselves. The “Deep State,” about which Mike Lofgren, formerly a senior member of the Congressional staff has written, is unaccountable to anyone. But even the accountable part of the government isn’t. For example, the information flows from the cabinet departments, such as defense, state, and treasury, are reported to Assistant Secretaries, who control the flow of information to the Secretaries, who inform the President. The civil service professionals can massage the information one way, the Assistant Secretaries another, and the Secretaries yet another. If the Secretaries report the information to the White House Chief of Staff, the information can be massaged yet again." ~Paul Craig Roberts || Presidential Crimes Then and Now
This is why the very presence of the neocons in a Cruz administration is so dangerous to liberty.

I'm not sure how many times Senator Paul can filibuster the commander-in-chief's foreign policy. Hopefully, the presence of the neocons awaken the sleeping Democrat Anti-war movement, which was really the anti-Bush war movement, as they've been quiet about Obama's illegal use of force. But maybe it's a dead movement, in which Cruz may have to resurrect it?

But other than that Ted Cruz, on paper, would probably be my #2 preference. I couldn't vote for him because of his carpet bombing comments.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Professing Jesus Christ isn't enough in politics

Professing Jesus Christ isn't enough in politics.

It's too low a bar to hop over, no matter how authentic the statement.

Pro-life politics aren't enough either.

What's needed is a full-orbed Christian philosophy: one that understands foreign policy, monetary policy, welfare (not welfare statism), the role of the government, the role of churches (and private organizations), and the role of individuals and families, for starters, from a Christian perspective.

(The candidate who has the most of this is Rand Paul, by the way)

Rubio, Trump, Cruz, et al. have a full-orbed something...it just ain't Christian.

Same goes for Hillary and Bernie.

I write this mainly because I saw a few Christians get excited about Marco Rubio, who, quite winsomely, confessed Christ while speaking to an atheist concerned about Rubio running for "Pastor in Chief." I was very convinced of Rubio's authentic love for the Lord.

But Rubio's hegemonic foreign policy -- his neoconservatism -- is in direct conflict with the claims and aims of the gospel. And remember, the president is Commander-in-Chief. It's one of the few explicit presidential duties delineated in the U.S. Constitution. Who he believes should be bombed is a big deal.

One day the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and Rubio's vision veers away from that tremendously.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Say No to Rubio and the "New American Century"

The first thing I noticed back in April when Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio announced his run was the banner with the words "New American Century" in the background.

This is code word for a defunct think-tank by the same name which provided the intellectual ammunition for George W. Bush's disastrous Iraq foreign policy.

One writer describes the defunct Project for the New American Century as desiring and demanding "one thing: the establishment of a global American Empire to bend the will of all nations."

I agree.

The Project for the New American Century was a place warmongers turned to hear the intellectual justifications for their warmongering and hawkish foreign policy. This organization was started by neoconservative William Kristol, who is currently an editor of the neocon Weakly Standard.

Dick Cheney, Vice President under Bush II, is a founding member.

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is a founding member.

Not that Rubio is hiding hawkish views, as you might see in the debates, but his selection of "New American Century" is very telegraphic of the kind of people he would place in his administration.

The next thing I noticed was that Mitt Romney's former aides embraced him.

This should tell you all you need to know.

We don't need a Latino George Bush. Say no to Rubio.

Vote Rand Paul.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

What the elite are doing that you are not

The elite -- or the successful -- are constantly doing one thing that you are not:

They keep making goals after achieving old goals.

As soon as they accomplish one goal, they are on to setting another goal.

On and on this process goes.



Thursday, January 7, 2016

A Prayer for Purity

Proverbs 16:3 says,
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Father,

I have broken covenant with you. I have played the whore and have gone after other gods. I have not left the door to sin left cracked open; rather, I stood, in darkness, on the opposite side of a cracked door allowing just a little bit of your light to shine in; I wanted to be in sin, in darkness, and pretended that I really wanted you.

Ever Holy Lord, I am sorry.

Please forgive me.

Restore to me your holiness, through your Holy Spirit. Do not leave me barren. Naked. Ashamed. Clothe me in your righteousness. Make me right before you. Make me more like your divine Son who was made righteousness for me. Bring to my remembrance the cross he had to bear, his vicious execution, and his resurrection, which gives me hope over the power of sin and death. Help me remember that I am too called to carry my cross, crucify my fleshly desires, and overcome by the power of Christ’s Holy blood and Your wondrous spirit.

Through enthusiastic love of You, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, and consequent discipleship, help me attain purity, holiness.

Increase my knowledge of you, O Lord, and of your ways.

Help me glory in your law and nature!

Help me praise you like Jesus!

Help me praise you like the Psalmists!

Help me fear you!

Help me…because I not only can’t do this by myself, I can’t do this at all through my human strength.

I need you Lord.

Love,

Christopher

1-7-2016

WCF Chapter One "Of Holy Scripture" Sunday School (Sept.-Oct. 2021)

Our text for Sunday School (also "The Confession of Faith and Catechisms") Biblical Theology Bites What is "Biblical Theology...