Bachmann rightly concerned about national security threat of Muslim Brotherhood in our Federal Government

Others like Marco Rubio not so much…

Advisors in Obama’s Administration who have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood (and he has a few) are a threat to the security of the United States. Anyone who knows anything about the Brotherhood and Islam ought to understand this.

Michelle Bachman has rightly urged the powers that be (who are often clueless about such matters) to initiate an inquiry into the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in America. She was roundly condemned by the left and most media for having the audacity and insensitivity to write such a letter.

Criticism was was also blindly piled on by none other than the beloved Marco Rubio. See HERE. Speaking of “blindly”, Rubio is another example (beyond Obama) of how we are drawn to the style and rhetoric of an individual more than his policy substance. But that is for another blog.

Other conservative members of Congress have come to Bachmann’s defense as described by The Blaze HERE.

This all shows how ill-informed and divided our nation is about the truth of Islam and its front organizations. This shows how important it is for us to not only aggressively inform ourselves about Islam and the ignorant actions of our leaders toward it, but to aggressively inform others – our neighbors, educators, and leaders – about the insidious, deceptive, and supremacist nature of Islam.

The reality is that the ignorance of our leaders, the media, and our educators is a greater problem than Islam itself. We can defend against the enemy we know. We have little chance against the enemy we don’t know and refuse to know.

HERE is another good source of info on this topic.

Bingo, Texas Hold ‘Em, and Silent Auctions for a Night with a Hooker

I’m guessing that it has been determined by some powers more in tune with the universe than I that humans have a very limited capacity for useful activity.

I understand that fund raising in the church is an essential and noble endeavor.  All churches must place this activity high on their priorities list.  Since most members do not take the tithe literally (10% of our increase) or faithfully (every Sunday) , raising cash by other means is a must.

Is there is a gift of “fund raising creativity?”  I think so.   It is evident in every church/parish as evidenced by the wide variety of incentives to empty our wallets and have fun doing it.  However, I think we are totally devoid of the gift of discernment.  We have great difficulty with practicing or promoting this: 

“Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

What activity does the average Joe associate with Catholic fundraising? BINGO!  There is nothing wrong with Bingo.  It is a game.  A pastime.  It is also an addiction for many.  Ah, thank God for addictions.

But wait!  Now there is Poker.  One of the most notorious forms of addictive gambling that does not necessarily carry with it a reputation for sterling morality.  Here is a prominently displayed ad that regularly appears on the website and church bulletin of a local church:

Aug 4-20, 2012

Texas Hold 'Em

Join the fun: August 4th & 18th. This event starts at 7 PM in the Parish Hall get there early! St. Paul the First Hermit Knights of Columbus Council #14222 hosts Texas Hold ‘Em events to raise funds to support their many charities.

I guess it is true that desperate times call for desperate measures.

In the spirit of fund raising creativity I have one that I will not be surprised to see one day:

Silent Auction

Bid on a night with a hooker.

Join the fun in this creative silent auction on the third Wednesday of each month.   A wide selection of night fishing gear available.  All proceeds go to St. Boris Parrish.

Eat Mor Chikin…

What can I say, except I will be eating a lot more chicken at Chick Fil A over the next few weeks to show my support for being one of the few business that gives a damn.

Chicago leaders, Rahm Emmanuel and his  crony Alderman Joe Moreno are showing the worst of immorality-pandering political bigotry.  Their display of amorality is bad enough.  But to deny a permit to a business because of the moral beliefs of the business’s owner is something that is condemned by atheists and the ACLU.  THAT is saying something.

This Chicago-style bullshit is no surprise given that it is the home to one of the most immoral, corrupt city administrations in the nation, is the home of B. Hussein Obama, and houses the post-Christian, Muslim pandering, nation-hating racist church of Jeremiah Wright.

This is just the beginning of the morality-hating wave that will increasingly persecute Christians who hold to traditional Christian moral beliefs and standards.  I fully expect that Muslims will be treated better than traditional Christians under the laws of the land in the coming years.

Obama promotes Muslim Brotherhood in Syria

There are three ways things can go in Middle East nations in the midst of revolt.

1) Status quo dictatorship

2) Change to a very temporary “bus ride”* democracy

3) Capitulation to an overt Muslim-Brotherhood inspired and controlled Islamic Sharia state

The Obama administration prefers the latter under the guise of the Option 2, temporary democracy.

It happened in Egypt.  And it is in the works in Syria.

The so-called “Arab Spring” is a deceptive code for a full bore Brotherhood takeover.  This is what Obama wants.  This is what he’s getting.  And the wishful thinking Pollyanna media and progressives embrace it.

You weren’t yet aware of the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in the Syrian uprising?  Think again.  Read about it HERE.

For Western Judeo-Christian sensitivities, a Brotherhood takeover will make the dictatorships, Assad's and others, seem like the First Thanksgiving. 

Beyond Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood proposes the overthrow of Gulf States.

Oh oh.  Houston we have a problem – Romney’s proposed policies are little different than Obama’s.  Per Romney’s official website, he, too, proposes to do the same thing Obama is doing in Syria:  Isolate the Assad regime so that the opposition can peaceably take over – and we (the US) will promise to support whatever factions take power.  Can we all say “Muslim Brotherhood.”   This continues our ignorance and gullibility of the methods and intent of Islamists in the Middle East.  Here is Romney’s complete statement quoted from his official website:

Syria

The United States must recognize Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad for what he is: an unscrupulous dictator, a killer, and a proxy for Iran. For far too long, the Obama administration held out hope that it could negotiate with Assad to stop his violent crackdown on pro-democracy protestors. It even labeled him a “reformer” while he was turning heavy weapons on his own people. Mitt Romney holds no illusions about Assad’s character or about Iran’s interest in maintaining a client regime in Damascus.

Mitt Romney believes the United States should pursue a strategy of isolating and pressuring the Assad regime to increase the likelihood of a peaceful transition to a legitimate government. We should redouble our push for the U.N. Security Council to live up to its responsibilities and impose sanctions that cut off funding sources that serve to maintain the regime’s grip on power. We should work with Saudi Arabia and Turkey to call on Syria’s military to protect civilians rather than attack them. This effort would aim to drive a wedge between Assad and his military, minimize violence, and increase the possibility that the ruling minority Alawites will be able to reconcile with the majority Sunni population in a post-Assad Syria. And we should make clear that the United States and our allies will support the Syrian opposition when the time comes for them to forge a post-Assad government.

______________________

* Bus-ride democracy:  Taken from Islamist Turkey Premier Erdogan’s description of the purpose of a democracy.  “Democracy is like a bus:  You get on and then you get off once you reach your destination.”  In the case of Mulsim-populated nations, the destination is Sharia governance promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tradition overpowers reality…

The Catholic Church and Tradition are like Fish and Gills.  The Church lives and breaths its Tradition.

Tradition is the Catholic version of the Protestants God-breathed word of God.  Actually I was taken aback by the Catholic accusation that conservative Protestants place too much credence in their belief that the Bible is the infallible Word of God.  They assert that the Bible resulted from “Tradition.”  Catholics also have lesser traditions, below the status of dogma, that distinguish themselves as uniquely Catholic, such as the sign of the cross, meatless Fridays, the Rosary, and dozens of other rituals that are intended to be physical reminders of their spiritual faith.  These are helpful to many faithful Catholics.

However, in taking an on-line class on basic Catholic beliefs and faith formation, I have also experienced a problem shared by other denominations but which is uniquely Catholic because of their traditions.

Those who are concerned  about the moral decline of our society and also aware of our collective obliviousness to the threat of Islam to our faith and freedoms realize that the Churches in America are part of the problem.  Most churches maintain an inward focus with their academic and arcane approach to Scriptural study and application.  They are further from being “salt and light” in our culture than I ever recall in my 60+ year life.  So much so that they remain oblivious to the real threats to not just our faith and freedom but to our very existence as a nation.

The highest values among both Christians and secularists has become non-judgmentalism and tolerance – go along to get along is the mantra.  There is little distinction between Christians and secularists in this regard.

While Protestants lead Catholics in the liberalizing of their denominations in the United States by dismissing or spiritualizing major chunks of traditional Biblical teaching, Catholics remain oblivious in a number of different ways.  The course I have been taking enlightened me to the extent Catholics are immersed in what they refer to as their little “t” traditions, their rituals and their physical objects of faith.  So much so that these rituals have become so habitual that they have become mind-numbing meaningless motion to many – how many I don’t know – I suspect many many.  The purpose of their tradition is supposed to remind them of the truth of their core beliefs as enunciated in the Nicene or Apostles Creed at every Saturday or Sunday Mass.  Perhaps the rituals still have the desired effect for many, but I suspect that for the majority, such “tradition” and ritual has become as detached from meaningful faith as paper roses are from expressing true love.

What is worse is the Catholic defense of these traditions at the expense of applying their faith to our cultural challenges and threats.  As part of my Catholic course, I responded to the topic of tradition by expressing my observation that tradition and ritual preoccupy Catholic faith and practice so completely that it separates their faith from many real life challenges – challenges that threaten their very ability to freely practice their faith.  The tradition leaves little room for Catholics to engage the culture as salt and light.  It is a closed society, shielded from the world by its preoccupation with tradition.  There is not even enough room to accept the concept of the Catholic version of a “sermon”, the “homily”, of having any significane in the Mass.  I was roundly reminded that the Eucharist IS THE MASS.  Everything else must maintain a low profile to maintain the centrality of the Eucharist.  That explained to me why Catholic homilies are typically shallow, trite, emotionless, and boring.  Catholics who attend church don’t have any benefit of even 15 or 20 minutes of relevant teaching of how they need to intereact in our culture.  They can’t even expect two tenths of one percent of their waking hours to be devoted to any effective counter-cultural message.

And for that observation, the moderator of the class warned me about my “anti-Catholic” attitude.   She and other Catholic leaders appear to be blind to the need to educate their flock about what the hell is going on in the world and about how their faith needs to be invoked to challenge our culture.  But that won’t happen with that attitude.  Defense of tradition that creates a wall of isolation from reality will eventually create self-extermination of their faith.

What I have learned so far from the class is Catholics, along with liberal Protestants, are part of our problem of declining faith and relevance in this culture of corruption, although in slightly different ways.

Degrees of consciousness–when are we aware enough to act intelligently?

Too many of us are still in la la land.  And too few of us are aware, acting, or leading.  The fact that most Americans are in la la land, or lands very nearby, is a reason why our sustainable existence as a viable and prosperous nation is failing and currently in doubt.

Our spiritual degeneracy, our fiscal irresponsibility, and our gullibility about Islam are among our nation’s greatest threats.  Yet the majority of us are not aware and don’t care that they are not aware.  Our highest priority activities are entertainment (TV/movies), sports, cruises, and gossip.  Our personal god is “self” via self-absorption in trivia.  Our highest virtue is tolerance of just about anything because we really don’t have any significant personal values worth defending.

So, thinking about these things, I am going to take a stab at what proportion of the US population is in various stages of  “awareness” or “obliviousness” to the extent that they either don’t know and don’t care, all the way to the other extreme of being fully aware, informed, and actively engaged in warning others or finding solutions.  I will classify this on a continuum from zero to ten, with zero representing ignorance as in Zero in Beetle Bailey, and ten representing motivating action as in Bo Dereck of Ten.  Here goes:

0: The  10%  who are too ignorant or incapable of knowing or caring about anything beyond their next meal or drug induced stupor.

1-2:  The 15% who have the potential capacity to know or care, but who lack motivation to learn, not to mention understand what is going on.

3-4:  The 20% who have some motivation to learn what is going on to the extent that they are personally benefitted, but fail to expend enough personal energy to understand what is going on.

5-6:  The 30% who have a good idea what is going on and make some effort to understand what is going on, but fail to act on it beyond occasional grumbling.

7-8:  The 15% who know what is going on and understand the implications of it and gripe about it via emails, blogs and general conversation, but who fail to devote much of their time for constructive solutions.

9-10:  The 10% who are not only aware of the problems and understand their implications, but who are actively engaged in writing, organizing, motivating, and bringing along others to join in promoting and achieving constructive solutions.

These guesstimates are by no means based on any scientific surveys.  They are an elaboration of the well worn 80/20 rule of an organization where 80% benefit from the work of 20% of the members.

Running throughout most of theses categories, especially 1 through 6, are the folks who are only interested in how they will benefit in the short term especially through government assistance or entitlements at the expense of others. 

The middle categories of 5 through 8 are populated by those whose highest value is “tolerance.”  They are aware of the problems of our nation, and understand some of the implications, but fail to take meaningful action because they are so devoid of any solid value system or faith themselves that they accept any other set of values as OK, worthy of their uncritical tolerance.  This form of ignorance has fostered unabridged amorality, growth of acceptance and protections of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and related perverted behavious in our media, schools and society at large.  It has also led to our culture’s ignorant acceptance of Islam as “just like any other religion” when in fact it is a fascist, intolerant political ideology at its core that intends to transform our nation into subservient dhimmi’s or Islamic converts.

If you think this will never happen, read up on your European history, especially the first and second Jihad.  The third Jihad is in progress in a city near you.