A Happy New Year?

I was watching a fellow New Year's Eve being interviewed saying that he was more charged up this year than in past years.  They asked him why?  He responded, "because its 2011, baby!"  I thought, OKAY... what does that really mean?  Is there some magic happiness that we should expect to appear overnight because it is a new year?

Please don't misunderstand.  I pray that we all have a better year this year than in 2010.  Lord, you know that we need your deliverance in the land... that great evil has fallen upon the world the past few years and became obvious in 2010.  We need help.  We need a "better year".  Only a move of God will bring a Happy New Year.

I wish you all a happy new year, but I think that unless people start rending their hearts over their sin and repenting... turning back to God, that things will continue in their downward spiral toward judgment.  I honestly prefer grace over judgment any day, but people (even God's people in the church) act like that they can go and break God's commandments on and on without any penalty ever coming.  Be not deceived, God is NOT mocked.  Whatsoever we sow, we shall reap. 

 

2011 does not need more politics (I think we got an overdose of that in 2010 and we will be paying for that for another generation).  That isn't the real need.  2011 needs a REAL REVIVAL IN THE LAND.  So many have turned from God and it seems that much are falling headlong into that Last Days Apostasy that the Bible warned us against.  People have forgotten the warnings.  People are playing games with their own souls.

People talk about 2012 like it is the end of the world because of the Mayan Calendar.  The unusual things occurring with the Earth's Magnetic Field along with the mysterious deaths of birds and fish all over the southern USA and now South America has gotten people spooked.  But that is only a slight hint of what is coming.  It is going to be getting very intense and it does not have to wait until 2012 to come.  People are scared of 2012, and FOLKS... it might very well be a part of what is described in the book of Revelation as a part of the Tribulation.  It could be (I'm not predicting that it is though)... the solar activity... the signs in the heavens and earth.  

But understand that it has nothing to do with a Mayan Calendar ending, and everything to do with the condition of men's hearts and what God promised would come at the end of this age.  

WE NEED TO REPENT NOW!   

1 Thessalonians 5 tells us that we would know the season of the end of this age, and well, we are there!  We can see the season change and we are there in that season.

So, I invite you to join me in prayer and fasting for this coming year.  Pray for revival in the land and revival in our churches and revival in our homes before it is too late to even pray.  Let us Pray for the love, joy, and peace of God (the fruit of the Spirit) to revisit our lives again and for God to heal our land.  WE CAN HAVE REVIVAL DESPITE WHAT IS COMING ON THE LAND.  

We can have a move of God despite the probable disasters that are on the edge of coming (has anyone noticed FEMA's interest in the New Madrid Fault area lately?).  Look... instead of getting frightened at what's coming, let us instead look unto Jesus Christ and look up!  There is hope!  In this world where the love of many is growing cold, we can still have love and hope and power to overcome in this hour!

2 Chronicles 7:14 " If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. "

The Soul of the USA is under attack

Let me share this quickly...

My family has a habit of saying sometimes, "It's a free country"... but that is just not so... not in some time.  I think of the TSA's behavior as an "in your face" example, and the stripping of American Citizen's rights... it is something out of the Old Soviet Union or Nazi Germany... when do the Black-coated Goons start barging into our lives saying, "Papers please..." with a machine gun behind their request?  It can't be far away.  It is disturbing how much of our lives is recorded on video... and how its all networked and "who" has access... BIG BROTHER INDEED!  Our freedom is a joke, sadly.  It breaks my heart... but the country I grew up in is not what this has become.

There's a song I used to listen to in the 80's by KANSAS (one of my old favorites)... called, "The Sparks of the Tempest" (Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren wrote it... Kerry is quite an amazing fellow)... it just seemed almost prophetic:

The future is managed, and your freedom's a joke
You don't know the difference as you put on the yoke
The less that you know, more you fall into place
A cog in the wheel, there is no soul in your face

Run for the cover, Millennium's here
Bearing the standard of confusion and fear
Spreading like wildfire, fallin' like rain
Though they may promise, they only bring pain

Now...

Get ready... it is at the door.  We have talked about the time when our liberties are taken from us violently... at time when real Christians are hated and persecuted, imprisoned and probably martyred for their faith and their refusal to deny Jesus Christ.  We are on the brink.  When you see the blatant destruction of the fundamental rights of the basic U.S. Citizen publicly... they have become brazen in their confidence.  


What you see by the TSA is a "sign" that they are not going to hide their campaigning anymore.  One of the most intelligent blogs I read said something to the effect that since 9/11, the American Government has been attacking its own citizens with the premise of protecting them.  It has been an excuse to attack our basic Constitutional Rights.  It is an attack on the very SOUL of AMERICA.   The foundation of this country had to do with liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, and a seeking of God's face to keep us.  Read up on it (ignore the hype of some Anti-christian groups and read what the founding fathers actually said.  Even the deists in the bunch humbled before God at times of trouble).  

It is the basic liberties that are on the foundation level (our Constitution... the Bill of Rights) that are being attacked.  The TSA is an arm of a force that hates our liberties as we are being destroyed from within.

We had better be both praying and preparing.  This is not paranoia... we knew that perilous times would come before the End of this Age.  We knew that Jesus was returning soon.  We knew... why did we think that the USA would somehow be spared?  Why is it that so many were martyred for their faith in the last century and we thought we were somehow safe? 

Folks, we were attacked from the inside.  The country has weak or evil leadership and there is nothing to protect us from the darkness that is coming... except... GOD!  So, are we praying?  Are we ready?  Are you?

Be filled with the Spirit... be led of the Spirit... and prepare.

Know this... there is coming a showdown.  There are those within movements as the Tea Party who are trying to retake this country before it is too late.  I don't think though that most really recognize how far it has gone... how many U.N. soldiers are already on U.S. soil... how little it would take to fake a National Emergency and declare martial law... how they would come to round up all the weapons of the people by force (of course the Constitution would finally be wiped aside in this and all of the our few remaining liberties with it)... and then come to round up people who would by their very nature oppose such an oppressive, evil regime... Christians. 

If this country is spared at this time, it will be because that the people of the United States decide to pray and REPENT and turn back to God.  I don't see it happening... there is some sign of it, but most are growing more and more lukewarm.

Folks... it is at the door... get ready!  Get ready!  Don't bow before the spirit of Antichrist.  Don't deny your faith.  Pray... repent... and stand.

Try and not deceive yourselves... this is a very perilous time that we are entering.  It is not going to be easy.  But greater is HE that is within us that he that is in the world.  Being "in Christ" is the answer.  Sometime look up the writer of those lyrics... Kerry Livgren from the Progressive Rock Band Kansas.  Mr. Livgren became a born again Christian in the 1980's.  His lyrics were always spiritual and searching for a deeper truth than the normal carnal living of the average person (as Dust in the Wind shows).  They became very Christian after his conversion, and you will find both his testimony and a Bible study on the nature of Jesus' Divinity on his website.  I read where he did teach a bible group at Topeka Bible Church.  He had a stroke last year and I don't know if he is still doing that or not.  But, these lyrics are almost prophetic for this age... much more than they were in the early 80's when they were released.

One last quote from the song...

Big brother is watching and he likes what he sees
A world for the taking, when he's ready to squeeze
King and the Queen are gone, each piece is the same
The difference between us is a part of the game

If you are a Christian, then you are going to wind up with one of two choices... bow to Jesus or bow to a very evil power that is controlling things as they take away your liberty.  

But looking at this as an American (without the actual spiritual connotations), you need to "THINK" and decide if what is happening is Constitutional.   In other words... is what the government is doing to its own citizens legal or not?  Is an attack on our Constitution something we should just "allow" without any fuss or resistance?   Is this the same country that our fathers and mothers grew up in?  Is this still the United States of America or has it become something else?  Do you realize that many other nations have looked to us as a beacon of liberty?  Now, we are losing our soul as a nation.  Do we just let that happen?  Do we?

James Coldiron

What is wrong with this?

Just a quick observation.  Here on September 11, 2010... the anniversary of one of the most vicious sneak attacks against the American People in history, there is much unrest in and outside the country.  The contention that has arisen out of an Islamic Group with a leader known to be an enemy of the American People, and a friend to terrorist groups wishing to build a Mosque in the area of Ground Zero... where the World Trade Center was destroyed by Islamic Terrorists on September 11, 2001.  So, we have come to the ninth anniversary, and things have become weird.  There was a point nine years ago where the United States for a very short time became unified and a force to be reckoned with.  But it would seem that the understanding that we were given by those terrorists that there are a group of people in the world who have declared JIHAD on the West (that is us, folks) and are dedicated to our destruction has been forgotten in just a few short years.  That is a commentary on the "Sheeple Principle" that speaks volumes without me adding anything else to it.

Nine years later, you have these people who might be within their rights to build on the site of the attack, but certainly are not using one speck of wisdom or compassion in building there.  What most people do not realize is that Muslims have for centuries been building Mosques on top of sites of Islamic victories.  They like to build them on top of their enemy's holy sites, such as the Dome of the Rock on the site of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  They have a number of Mosques built upon sites that were once Christian Churches.  Building a huge Mosque on a site where thousands of people were murdered in the name of Allah in New York falls within normal Islamic behavior when you consider their own teachings and their history throughout the centuries.  We really should not be surprised.

The unrest brought up by certain Christian (and at least one pseudo-christian) Churches in their desire to burn Korans to show their belief that Islam is a false religion which serves a false god in retaliation to the desire to build at the site of the World Trade Center Murders is reaching dangerous proportions.  Of course, not much is said when Muslims burn crosses and Bibles (not to mention the odd American Flag which is different, but connected).  

Its like, we must have religious tolerance to allow them to step on the faith of Jesus Christ and upon the faith of Jews, no one must dare say anything about Allah or the Koran.  There is a very obvious double-standard in this, and our seemingly weak-kneed leaders in this country just falls in line with it.  NOTE:  I DO NOT THINK THAT CHURCHES NEED TO THROW STONES AT OTHER RELIGIONS.  NOBODY IS CONVERTED THAT WAY.  The Crusades only served to make both Jew and Muslim hate Christians.  Going and murdering them and taking their land in the name of Jesus did not make them love or accept Jesus. It amazes me the blasphemous things that have been done in the name of Jesus when His core teachings opposes hating or murdering any person.  

This in not what the church is supposed to be... period.  The church is to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ with love and power in an uncompromising way.  I understand that building a Mosque on the World Trade Center site is a pouring of salt into a wound in America.  It is.  It is wrong.  Just because an activity is backed by law does not necessarily make it the right thing to do.  BUT REACTING IN THE SAME KIND OF RAGE AS IS SHOWN TO US IS NOT RIGHT EITHER.  Two wrongs do not make a right (I know... it sounds corny, but it is totally true).  We are to OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD, and not more evil.  The Koran is a book of religious hate.  I have read through it.  It mixes a high level of religiosity with hatred of others who will not submit to Islam.  There is a historical reason for that, but I will not explore it today. 

There is great unrest in the world this September 11th.  There are fiery demonstrations against the USA and Christianity in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries today.  And although the original church that was going to burn the Koran has been convinced that it was causing the wrong effect and decided not to, several other churches have decided to pick up where they left off and are burning one today including the hate-filled Westboro Baptist Church... you know, the church that love to say that God hates America and protests the funerals of our fallen military.  They claim hate is the way of the Savior.  Their fruit of hate speaks for itself.  

Muslim groups are grouping to retaliate, even though they themselves are responsible for persecuting Christians abroad and burning Bibles and crosses (double standard again).

And if you add the PURE MESS our economy is in and the fact that there is coming a day when they will not be able to pay the interest due on the money and the banks will close to all of us as the dollar is destroyed... and it is coming...

WHAT ARE THE BIGGER INTERESTS OF THE DAY?  It amazes me how the news media these days seem to be trying to lull us to sleep and get our minds off of anything important!  I think it might be better to name them what they are... Propaganda Networks.  And what is the BIGGER INTEREST?

"Why did President Obama not have his wedding ring on during a news conference?"

Yes folks, that was the major buzz from the White House News Staff... what is going on with the Wedding Ring?  GASP!!!  Never mind that Mr. Obama was admitting that the Health Care Reform was actually going to increase the costs of health care (oh, I didn't mention that one, did I?).  He admitted that the costs are now up thanks to the new laws.  Never mind that the major leaders of business are not hiring or expanding because they think that the Obama Administration is Anti-business and from tax issues to the new health care costs, it isn't worth expanding while unemployment is skyrocketing.   They are trying to admit slowly that we are in a Recession, but what they are afraid to say is that we are on the brink of a Depression.

But the real concern is why is the president being seen without his wedding ring?

And the sheeple turn to one another and ask the profound question, "I wonder why he didn't wear his ring, honey?"

Then the news corps were given the explanation... "The wedding ring is being repaired"!  Whew!  I was concerned there.  I mean, what if he just deliberately did not wear it?  I mean, what would happen to his very image if that were to happen?

If you are not sickened of being led down a rosy path as real nightmares are materializing around us by now, then I guess you will be totally shocked when you find yourself in bondage, with no income or food, and the enemy at your door with a gun or bomb while you are worrying about some trivia.  WAKE UP!  Do not listen to the droning of nothingness.  

It is hypnotic and empty of purpose, that is the point.  Who cares why he didn't wear his wedding ring!  I want to know why he sounded off on that Mosque in New York when he didn't have to elevating the conflict!  I want to know why he used every dirty trick to bring in a health care system that already can be seen as a disaster against the desires and cries of the majority of the citizens of this nation!  I want to know why he has put us in more debt than we will ever be able to deal with and acts like everything is getting better when it is exploding financially all around us!  I don't give a gnat's hair why he's not wearing his wedding ring or the occasions that Mrs. Obama did not wear hers!  Dear God, please help the news services actually report some real news!

Question: Does the Federal Government want rid of Arizona???

Does it seem to you that President Obama and others are out of touch on what is happening in Arizona and other border states in the South?

If you want to move any contraband into the USA, be it drugs or guns or bioweapons (for terrorists), then the Mexican Border is open enough to move anything that you want. Besides the open desert, there is an active tunnel system that the Drug Cartels control.
 
If a terrorist got their hands on a nuke, then the easiest and surest way to move it into the USA would be via Mexico and our unsecured border.

The borders of practically every major country in the world are secure, except the the U.S.A.'s. I wonder why we (the American people) are not worth protection from an invasion of drugs and drug cartels? It is a fact that the great majority of groups of illegals that cross the border (especially in Arizona) are carrying drugs or other contraband.  A lot of courts won't even seriously try an illegal if they are carrying a kilo of dope because of the ones who are bringing a lot over the border (that one blew my mind)... trying not to congest the system any worse than it already is. They kidnap and kill United States citizens. They attack the owners of ranches on the border when they investigate who is on their land. If the drug cartels cannot buy an official off, then that official's life expectancy drops radically on both sides of the border.

The border lands have become literal warzones. Arizona especially is fighting to keep from being taken over by Mexican drug lords who have already taken over a great portion of the Mexican side. I wonder why great sums of money can be created out of thin air (look at how they create money and the fact that money represents debt with the Federal Reserve sometime) to support a war on the other side of the world, and why our most precious commodity, our soldiers and airmen and sailors and marines can be risked on the other side of the world, and yet the federal government can only send 30 National Guardsmen to protect the Arizona border against major intrusions into our country by drug cartels. 

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that ARIZONA IS FIGHTING AGAINST A REAL INVASION FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER.

Arizona has passed new laws to help it fight the FLOOD of illegals and the drug trade, so the Federal Government has sued the State of Arizona over it. Arizona has asked for President Obama to do his job and help them secure the American Border in Arizona because very hostile forces are moving dope and other contraband with thousands of illegals into our country attacking the law and order of the land, and putting U.S. citizens at GREAT RISK. Their response has been to sue sheriffs who are trying to keep the drug cartels out.

Arizona has officially asked for National Guard help to keep these dangerous people out of the American side of the border... they asked for 3000 troops. The President promised the gradual incremental installation of National Guard, but so far he has sent a whole 30 guardsmen. 30! That's right! They asked for 3000, and the U.S. Government sent a whole 30 soldiers to help keep all the borderland of Arizona protected.
QUESTION: Does President Obama want to give Arizona to the Mexican Drug Cartels as a present?
Or, does the president want to feed the fires of discontent and civil unrest in the United States? 
Between selling out not only our future but our children and their children's future by giving us a debt that generations will have to work on paying off, and the fact that he seems more concerned about illegal aliens and the drug cartels that help them get across with their drugs than he does the citizens (and their safety) of the United States, one begins to wonder if he cares about the United States and her people at all. One wonders if this lawyer ever studied the Constitution and read about how this country actually started and how that he seems to be repeating many of the same mistakes as King George of England and the arrogant high-handed way that the English just plain did not care about the Colonies or their needs.

This government is trashing the people worse than it has ever been trashed since we have been the United States of America. The principles of the founding fathers and the Constitution are being trashed, and it is treated as if it is no big deal by our leaders. Do they think that they are above the law of the land?

Mr. Obama and his other liberal thinking Congressmen puppets who have followed behind him (and not just the Democrats either), seem to be walking around as if they are awake and conscious(walking and talking), but are about as aware of the wishes and needs of the American Public and their own responsibilities under the Constitution as a comatose zombie might be. They also seem as aware of their own responsibilities to represent the people (the is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people) about as much a self-centered lemur might be. My point is, it would seem that they are totally unaware that the people of Arizona, and perhaps the people of the United States will not put up with this kind of high-handed narcissism by President Obama and other Congressional leaders. 

When the people are crying out for the federal government to do their jobs, and the government winds up opposing those people and making it harder for those who are trying to do their jobs to protect the people (such as the legislative and police forces of Arizona) and act like they are within their rights to do this... well, it sounds like some of our leaders have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

So, does the Federal Government, and more specifically President Obama, want rid of Arizona? He seems dead set on forcing them to be unprotected against an army of drug lords and the violence that has become a part of their lives. Does he want to make a present of Arizona to the Drug Lords?

This is indicative of an administration that is totally out of touch with the people of the United States. This is indicative of a narcissistic personality that has power, and does not care what his responsibility is supposed to be or what the people think at all. It is a shame that in our system of government, the American People could not call for a Vote of No Confidence for our president and certain members of Congress.

I read a commentary last night by someone who pointed out that the way that Mr. Obama keeps blaming President Bush is not fooling many people. In fact, a "lot" of people who voted for Mr. Obama in the nation has made it clear that they would rather have George W. Bush back in the office right now.  Funny how things are relative. Sometimes you listen to those in charge of the media complain so much that you get to believing them that someone is guilty of things that they couldn't possibly be... as it was with Mr. Bush. I understand that some of the problems we have now with the border were made worse with Mr. Bush's caving into the people who wanted him to pass NAFTA and be easy on illegal aliens. But, we never saw any indication that he was for helping the drug cartels, or would have backed the Mexicans over his own people. Things have degraded quickly. They were bound though to blame Mr. Bush for everything in the last election... even things that he had nothing to do with. Then, when the rubber meets the road later and you see what happens when the people get what they demand sometimes without checking out what the man really stands for... well, you realize that your complaining before is not that well-founded and you did not have it bad compared to your current situation. American could have made a much wiser choice.

See... America asked for this... sadly. They thought they knew what they wanted, and what they have put in power has turned around and bit them when it suited him. He is either unaware, or simply does not care.

Between the devastating debt and destruction of the U.S. Dollar, and the invasion of our borders by the drug cartels and the callous way that the current administration (hey, its the majority of congress, too) is supporting the drug lords over our people, the winds of change in the coming elections have become a uni-directional hurricane. It's too bad we can't call for that vote this week.



James Coldiron

Why my name is FireStorm in the Forums

In the mid to late 1980's, I was in an interesting position.  Basically, I was running from a call of God on my life.  It isn't that I didn't trust God, but I did not understand that it is through God that we can do anything and that it did not matter that I knew all my own weaknesses and problems.  God does it through us... and because I was not looking to Him, but thinking of my own weaknesses, I ran for a few years.

During this time, I would have a recurring dream 1-3 times each week.  This is not your standard dream.  Although there would be differences from time to time, the basics of the dream would always be the same.  I felt actually tormented in this time because the dreams would get more and more intense as time went on.  

The dreams followed this line... God had given me a mission... a message to get out to as many people on the Earth as possible.  I only had a certain amount of time, because a terrible storm was coming to the land.  I would speak to so many people in so many places and in so many ways.  Many times it would seem like the great crowds listened, but the message was to get into a certain place before the storm hit or you would be caught in the storm.  And it was not just any storm, but a "FIRE STORM"  I would ride or run or walk from place to place giving the warning given to me by God, and in those times, the power of God would be rising in me and around me as the storm clouds gathered as in a circle around us moving in.

At the end of each dream, all that had listened would be in the same place (I know that's a metaphor and not a literal location).  And I would see the sky catch on fire.  The clouds that had been dark and threatening, literally caught on fire and a tornado of fire would reach down out of the swirling clouds and lightning and start to consume the land... the land would catch on fire as the firestorm had started its work of judgment.  I would be at the door and would be looking for anyone else, for there was only a small fraction of those who had heard the message that had actually made it.  Only a fraction of the people that seemed to hear and receive was actually there when the time came.  And as the storm started to come, God would say step away from the door, and it would shut!  We who had listened would be safe and were about to be taken where we would be safe from the storm.  But everyone who had heard and not heeded was now locked outside, where the firestorm consumed.

This vision of judgment was so intense in me as a young man, that one time I had driven for hours up around Shelby County, KY to see my cousin Perry, and in front of me was a powerful storm, and I nearly turned around and went back to Southeastern Kentucky.  Why?  Because it was so electrical, that it looked like the clouds were on fire somewhat... enough to remind me of the dream I had just had the night before.  It took prayer and a lot of self-control to keep on the road to my destination seeing that approaching straight in front of me.

The funny thing is, that after I embraced who I am in the Lord and walked fully in to the ministry that God has called me to, I never again had one of those dreams.  They just stopped once I became obedient.  Now, I understand that God formed and called me from my mother's womb to be who and what I am in Christ.  I hate that I ever ran, because it wasn't just God I was running from.  I was running from who I really am.

I have been given the opportunity to sound the warning in a number of places, and in a number of ways by the Lord.  I now understand, that the numbers of who responds are not my responsibility.  My responsibility to God is to be faithful to deliver the message, and do it in love and power with passion, for the time of the firestorm is truly coming.  There is a storm coming to this land.  I believe that God is going to allow me to have one last big push (the 11th Hour) before the end of this work.  And while I work in local churches, I will continue on the Internet as FireStorm to bring the Word of God and the warning that Jesus Christ is soon to call His church out of this world... the end of this age is at hand, and we must make ourselves ready.  

I know that only a fraction who hears will actually be one of the 5 Wise Virgins (Matthew 25) that is ready when the Midnight Cry is made.  But, God has called me for this hour... for this time... to be faithful, and some will listen.  Some will hear this one that is sometimes called FireStorm.  I must be faithful to God, and I must sound the message that He has given.  Some will hear the Voice of the Watchman.  Will you?

James Coldiron

Can you Spot the NUT?

Can you Spot the Nut?

Now boys and girls, it is time to play once again, "Can you spot the Nut?"

To begin with, let us consider that all of the law in the United States is founded on the foundation of the U.S. Constitution.  And in our Constitution, there are 10 initial amendments called, The Bill of Rights.  They are the foundation of liberty in this country and the spirit of our founding fathers in giving liberty the protection of law.  The very First Amendment is one of the most important, and yet the one that seems to aggravate certain loonies who have weaseled their ways into our legal system.  As I did in my last BLOG, I will quote from the First Amendment:

QUOTE:  "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

It says that Congress will not make a state-run religion, and that they will not do anything to prohibit our free exercise of religion.  In other words, we have Freedom of Religion, and it is not the government's place to stick its nose into our faith and our faith practices at all... ever!  The so-called separation clause is not even in the Constitution, but in a letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists taken from  his understanding of the No Establishment and the free exercise clause from the First Amendment. He was telling them that they would keep their governmental and judicial noses out of their religious business.  The Supreme Court in the last century totally reversed the meaning of this letter to mean the opposite than its original intention.  Can you spot the Nut there?   Ahem... anyway, in a blatant abuse of the Judicial Branch's power in actually making U.S. Law and policy instead of judging a law's constitutionality, the court used this as an excuse for laws to be able to stifle the free exercise of religion in any venue where the government funded, such as schools, etc.  Thomas Jefferson would have been sickened if he knew his letter to comfort Baptists had been used to attack the church.

Slip back to today and PORT WENTWORTH, Georgia.  The Ed Young Senior Citizens Center at Port Wentworth (near Savannah) now tells its elderly residents that they CANNOT PRAY BEFORE THEIR MEALS because the federal government helps pick up the cost of their meals (besides a .55 cent copay).  Since the U.S. Government is helping to pay for their means, they are FORBIDDEN TO PRAY OVER THEIR MEALS at this SENIOR CITIZENS HOME.  

If this were the old Soviet Union or Communist China, this kind of religious persecution would be expected.  It is expected in Police States that the innocent is not allowed to practice their faith as in praying over their meals.  But this is the United States of America where the Constitution gives us the clear cut right to pray if we want to pray, and this nursing home has forbidden the praying over your meals.  I wonder what the penalty is if you dare to pray?  Are these older folks allowed to eat if they dare to pray?

I found this very heartbreaking and insane article at http://www.wsbtv.com/news/23495797/detail.html , and it reports that the Vice President of Senior Citizens, Inc. said, "We can't scoff at their rules,.. It's a part of the operational guidelines."  Okay folks, its to to play, "CAN YOU SPOT THE NUT?"

First of all, it is unconstitutional for a government to tell any one of its citizens that it cannot pray no matter where they are at the time.  They now have to have a moment of silence, and nobody can vocally pray out loud at their meals.  I suppose if you wanted to pray out loud, you would not get to eat at their nursing homes.  The First Amendment makes it clear that the government cannot do anything that will prohibit the free exercise of religion.  YET, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS DOING!  Is the NUT in this case the government, or the black robed justices that have reversed the meaning of the Constitution?  Is the NUT the nursing home administrator that is either so fearful of the government that he is forcing some of the most defenseless people in the world to not be able to exercise their Constitutional Rights?  Who is the Nut, because somebody is!  This is a lunatic kind of ruling.  

Either this is a lunatic loss of sanity in giving into an unconstitutional law out of fear, or this is a more plain evil hatred of faith and using the current direction of court as an excuse to keep the elderly from praying  Either way, it is a sad day that we have come to this in the United States.

James

Have you ever wondered, "What are they really saying?"

Just a quick note this Sunday on the "oddness of things" and what leaders say and what it seems to really mean.  Today, I read that President Obama (reported by the AFP) was speaking at Hampton University in Hampton, VA.  And in his speech, he was complaining about the age of free information and the technology of the day.  He put iPads in with Xboxes and iPods and spoke about how in the light of these technologies (which he says that he does not know how to use), that we are living when information is more for entertainment than for education.  He went on to complain how people who really do not know what they are talking about are able to share their erroneous views with the public, and many times they catch on even though they are not true.  He thought that this was a threat to democracy.  Okay... this struck me as being very odd.

One wonders if he is trying to be the 'CHAMPION OF TRUTH', lifting a standard against those who would dare to lie to us!  This is coming from a politician that used every trick known in his Chicago-brand politics to pass a Health Care Bill that the vast majority of the country screamed not to pass.  This comes from a man who makes jokes about the laws in Arizona, not taking into consideration the common-place murders, kidnappings (316 in Phoenix alone in 2009 connected to over the border drug trafficking) and mayhem that the drug trade coming over the border is causing there (to the point that until 2009, suspects with less than 500 pounds of narcotics were not prosecuted due to the high amounts of illegals caught).  As the Governor of Arizona shared with a video to President Obama, nobody in Arizona is laughing.  The Obama Administration is not coming across really as the champions of truth over the lies of others... harrumph... we shall let that one lie where it is, and go on.

Mr. Obama seems to be concerned that information is shared too freely, and that people that the powers that be deem irresponsible are able to actually share their ideas with the world.  Uh... this reminds me of something.  It was in that "Constitution thing"... the Bill of Rights or something... what was it now?  Uh... uh.... Freedom of Speech?!?  Oh yeah, that's it!  

To Quote the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:  'The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.' 

But honestly, it would seem that freedom of speech is not the only part of the First Amendment that gives some of the "Powers that Be" some concern... but that is the one being addressed today by our president today at Hampton University.  Could it be that blogs like this one might not be appreciated by some?  Could it be that the real problem is a "lack of control" by the government?  Could it be that the free access of information that is not controlled or shaped by the government would help people make a more informed and unbiased judgment on the condition of their world and what is really going on?

I remember when President George W. Bush was president.  I need to preface this by saying that I am not overjoyed by the Iraq War myself.  I think I have a different take on it than a lot of people, but it grieves me that any way at any time becomes necessary.  And it is even more grievous when there might have been a way around war and it is not taken.  But that is another topic...

on this one, I noticed this.  The press only covered parts of what was happening.  And the press told us to hate Mr. Bush.  The press told us that even when it was the act of others, it was still Mr. Bush's fault.  The press told us that GWB was the root of all evil on Planet Earth and that if he could only be removed, peace and prosperity would come to the planet and the environment would be fixed.  Uh... even though I am not exactly a "fan" of Mr. Bush, I found myself defending him at times because people seemed insane in their hatred of him.  People blamed him for things that could not possibly be his fault, and it became irrational.  I would find myself defending him because their hatred for him was on the insane level, and he could not have possibly been guilty of what they were saying (even though as I said, I was not exactly a fan myself).  I recognized that the PROPAGANDA MACHINE was at work shaping the common sheeple's mind into thinking that he was evil... just accept what is offered on the other side when the time comes.

Well, the sheeple did, and what they accepted was a man who has clear Socialist Politics (that was not particularly hidden), and had the most liberal voting record at the time (also a matter of record if you cared to look).  People who called themselves moderates and many conservatives voted for him (though they are complaining the loudest right now as he has had record low poll points) because they had been manipulated by the media machine into thinking that this was the way.  Mr. Obama is the new messiah (in fact, there was scary connections to the idea of him being some kind of messiah).  He has not however, led anyone to any kind of Promised Land.  

I think its kind of odd that he would put the iPad (which is basically the future of computers and information connectivity) and the Xbox (which is just a gaming system) together as if they represent the same thing.  I suppose they both represent electronics and networking, but the similarities kind of die out after that.  And considering Mr. Obama's use of his own Blackberry, I don't think that he is that ignorant of electronic devices.  This is not a stupid man.  I don't know about his wisdom, but he isn't stupid.  I find it difficult that he does not know any better or know how to use them.  Oh well, maybe... but I still find it hard to swallow.

What I truly hope is not really being said (and I mean that... I hope this is not what he is really saying) is something like this, 

"I am uncomfortable with today's Internet-connected devices that allow people who are not part of our controlled information machine the ability to influence others with their ideas and data that we have not sanctioned."

I most seriously hope that this is not the real message, but it feels a little like it to me.  Understand that I am not saying that this was the actual meaning of his speech.  I am not saying that I know the man's hidden thoughts or his heart.  But it does seem likely that this is the thrust of what is behind his speech.  It would seem that he either is thinking this way, or he does not understand what he is really saying, because it does not compute.  But I have to wonder sometimes if this isn't the undertone to many of our leaders when they say things like this.  I keep reading of those who want to clamp down on the Internet and the ability of people to blog freely and share ideas.  It is an attack on Freedom of Speech.  

I know that there are "crazies" out there that really are dangerous and promote dangerous things.   But there are intelligent, thinking people out there as well.  We need to read and learn so that we can discern the difference.  Because there is a lot of shaped, non-factual information that is passed off to us as "the news" sometimes, which does not have a lot to do with what is really going on.  When news agencies have to shape and reshape what has happened in order to give a particular slant on something, this is not journalism.  It is propaganda.  

I remember back in the 1990's, we were watching a satellite news feed from a "certain news agency" in Israel.  It was the news feed back to their home base in the USA and had raw video on it before it had been edited (back before they were doing more encryption... we were able to pick it up).  They literally paid these teenage Palestinian boys to set a car on fire and act like they were angry for the cameras.  The sad thing is that the cameras were on them when they paid them.  We watched this and then we watched on the network it was shown on, the edited product.  And IT IS A PRODUCT, TOO.  They reported it as more Palestinian violence as the conditions worsened for them from the "oppressive Israeli government."  The truth is that it was a set up drama that was a result of this news agency creating news.  I and some cousins of mine witnessed that.  That is propaganda, and not news.

I find that I can find benefits from reading many opinions and viewpoints that are far away from my own.  I learn from other points of view.  It helps me to understand why people believe what they do, even when I do not agree with them.  According to the article, Mr. Obama "bemoaned" the pressures that these people who are able to distribute their views as a threat to democracy.  I think that there is some shaping of opinions of the crowd against those who would dissent there.  But as far as democracy goes, the First Amendment gives us the right to actually complain when we believe things are not right.  That really is our right.  This is democracy actually.  Promoting Free Speech does promote democracy.  It isn't a threat to it.  That one line is what prompted me to write this.  

The Internet and the current electronic age and even blogs and vlogs have open the doors for new points of view to be distributed.  YES, we need to use caution in what we believe, and weigh it against the truth that we already have.  We need to use self-control and wisdom in distributing our own views to the world, or people will not listen.  We need to exercise self-control in our freedom and not use it for an excuse to just hurt others.  I understand that balance.  But the availability of information via the Internet today has added to mankind's knowledge vastly.  It has allowed us to see more of the truth of things if we take the time to look at the sources and weigh them in the balance, rather than just taking the prefabricated version spit out at us at times.  

More information allows us to have a more balanced education, and not just a pre-programmed one that tend to make clone-like people who think and speak just alike.  We are individuals, and we can learn to grow and enhance our lives through one another.  

Oh well... 'nuff said on this one.

Jim