What would you do if you learned of potential bank runs across Europe and in the US?

Let’s just say that creditor nations get their way and insist that bank rescues must and will be funded at least in part by depositors.  That is what is in the process of happening to Cypress depositors.

Let’s also pretend that that Europeans became so skittish over what is occurring to depositors in Cypress that they think it may happen to their deposits.  Let’s say the concern becomes to real and imminent that a run on banks occur first in Greece, Italy, and Spain, and after a few days spread to Euro-nations with sounder economies throughout the “Zone” .

Suppose these runs result in failures of some of the largest banks in Europe.  And since the US banking system is tied to these large banks in many ways, fear spreads here in the US and folks begin withdrawing their funds from US banks in droves.

My question to you is this:  Is it worth it to you to withdraw all or a substantial portion of your funds from US banks?  Would you only leave enough to pay your bills each month, or would you take it all out?  If you took it all out, how would you pay your utilities, your mortgage and car payment, would you be able to purchase anything from Amazon or any other retailer further than a short drive from your house?  How would a “cash only” existence affect your day to day activities?

These are some of the things that are increasingly worth our while to consider.

Let’s go a bit further with these scenarios.  What impact would bank runs and bank failures have on the value of the dollar?  Would taking 10% from everyone’s bank account cause the dollar to be worth more, less, or will its value remain the same?  Theoretically, if money is taken out of circulation, the value of the dollar increases.  But are these dollars really taken out of circulation?  Or are they just taken out of our control and into the circulation of the government or bankers?

What affect would bank failures have on the value of the dollar?  Again, to the extent that money remains in failed closed banks, that money is at least temporarily taken out of circulation.  Of course there are FDIC guarantees, but the FDIC has only enough backing to cover a small minority of deposits in US banks.  Eventually the “good faith and credit” of the US government “may” supplement depleted FDIC funds.  What would that do?  That ADDS to the money supply which in turn reduces the value of the dollar, creating inflated prices for everything.

Any way you look at it, our use of money will be disrupted in some manner for some unknown period of time, whether it be days, weeks or months.  We need to be keeping our eyes out for these events that can overtake us in a matter of days or hours.  Or they may never occur.  We don’t know. 

What we DO know is that events in the banking realm are getting dicey.  We know that people often react to uncertainty and fear in irrational ways creating unanticipated consequences.  I’m just suggesting we think about these things and what we can do to position ourselves to minimize the emotional and financial trauma that is more likely to result if we ignore what is happening.

I would love to hear about the steps that some of you may be considering to help you cope with what may be increasingly likely scenarios.

Catholic decline; Islamic resurgence: Coincidence?

No truth and the consequences

Is it a coincidence that as the Catholic Church has descended into malfeasance, watered-down doctrine, and loss of faith and church attendance that Islam has come alive?  Or is there more to it?

There are several ways to look at this inverse relationship between these two belief systems:

1. Coincidence, which I don’t really believe in.
2. Islam is filling a void left by the Catholic Church
3. Islam senses a weakness in the devoutness and will of the West led by the troubles and decline of the Catholic Church
4. God enables evil to fill a void created by the unfaithfulness of the Catholic Church and Christians generally.

Focusing on the Catholic Church, the clear evidence of trouble has made the headlines over the last several decades.  In recent history, trouble began soon after the Second Vatican Council concluded in 1965.  Here are some of the faith destroying events that have occurred since the ‘60’s:

First, watering down of doctrine purportedly to be more “user friendly” to the liberalizing masses was accomplished by the Second Vatican Council.

The Second Vatican Council (Latin: Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum or informally known as Vatican II) addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. The council, through the Holy See, formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December 1965.  From Wikipedia

Examples of such “watering down” of Catholic doctrine are provided in the Lumen Gentium, a doctrinal statement created in 1964 contemporary with the Second Vatican Council.  Portions of this doctrinal statement declare a semi-universal salvation:  In so many words, many may be saved without knowledge of,  trust  in, or commitment to Christ.  The statement appears to minimize ANY threat of punishment or Hell for those who don’t know the Gospel, Christ, or even God of the Bible.  All of this is with the intention of being kinder and gentler to win adherents.  

More specifically, Section 16 deals with those who have not yet received the Gospel, or the evangelical/missionary message of “how to be saved” or “how to avoid hell” or “how to receive ‘eternal life’”, depending on your religious persuasion.  Section 16 is provided in its entirety at the end of this blog, but here is an important excerpt:

“But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator.  In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.”  (underline/italics added)

This statement literally shouts unadulterated ignorance of Islam and the nature of its pagan god.  The Islamic god had no son.  The Islamic god is not knowable.  The Islamic god does not express love.  In virtually every significant way, the Islamic god is different or opposite the Judeo-Christian God of Catholic doctrine.  Yet astoundingly, this statement declares Islam worships the same God. 

Just as amazing, the statement places Muslims above all others among the unsaved for God’s mercy.  Why?  On what basis?  There are non-Muslim pagans all over the world subject to God’s grace.  What about the millions of Hindus, Buddhists, and Siks who may inwardly have a better understanding of God than unmaleable, malevolent Muslims?  How about the Jews who are at least in the same ball park of knowing the same God?  Why were Muslims proclaimed in “first place?”  What message did the Catholic hierarchy receive in the mid-60’s that caused that sort of nonsense?  Was it a result of Islamic intimidation?  Blackmail for as yet unrevealed sex acts by Catholic hierarchy?  A deal struck with the devil?  Middle East funding for remodeling the West Wing of the Vatican?  Centuries of wishful thinking?  A bout of extreme political correctness?  Nothing else would explain this insane statement.

In any case, here we have it.  Not only is knowing Christ and his character and ultimate sacrifice not required for salvation, but Muslims are first in line to receive His grace.

Then in the next decade we begin hearing rumblings about sex abuse and cover-up in the church involving Bishops and possibly Cardinals, becoming full bore headlines in the ‘80’s and 90’s.  The Church is still paying out millions.

Related but a clearly a separate and equally serious problem is the so called “gay mafia” within the Vatican hierarchy.  These individuals are likely the ultimate proponents of child molestation cover-ups.   They are most likely trying mightily to further erode Catholic Doctrine to promote gay marriage and to legitimize their gay lifestyle throughout the church.

Not only were the temporal punishments of the Medieval, Spanish and Roman inquisitions ceased for folks failing to convert to Catholicism removed from Catholic practice centuries ago, now even the consequence of eternal, spiritual punishments have been removed for non-belief.  Why bother with religion at all?

And the statistics show it.  The result?  A precipitous decline in membership, attendance, and faith over the past 50 years.

• The number of priests, graduate level seminaries and churches without a resident priest/pastor declined nearly 50% between 1965 and 2012
• A Gallop poll indicates the percentage of Catholics age 20-29 who attend church declined from 56% in 1963 to 30% in 2003.  This doesn’t include the likely decline in those claiming they are Catholic.
• Any modest growth the Church has enjoyed over the past decade is due to the huge influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal, from South of the border.  If only longer-term US citizens are considered, those counting themselves as an “active Catholic” would be in significant decline.

Contrast the above with the resurgence of historical orthodox Islam.  From Wikipedia:

Islamic revival (Arabic: الصحوة الإسلامية‎ aṣ-Ṣaḥwah l-ʾIslāmiyyah, "Islamic awakening") refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, speech and media censorship, and values by Muslims.^[1] One striking example of it is the increase in attendance at the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which grew from 90,000 in 1926 to 2 million in 1979.^[2]

From a Western perspective, two of the most important events that inspired the resurgence were the Arab oil embargo and subsequent quadrupling of the price of oil in the mid-1970s, and the 1979 Iranian Revolution that established an Islamic republic in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini. The first created a flow of many billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia to fund Islamic books, scholarships, fellowships, and mosques around the world; the second undermined the assumption that Westernization strengthened Muslim countries and was the irreversible trend of the future.

The “revival” or “resurgence” of Islam has emboldened Muslims around the globe to reassert their orthodox Islamic ideology.  Islam’s fundamental doctrines promote not only condemnation of and hatred toward everyone who does not convert to Islam, but requires conversion under threat of temporal death or subjugation.  These were maintained below the surface of most of the world’s awareness prior to the 1970’s.  And now they have erupted full bore.  So now, once again not only does Islam promise eternal punishment for failure to convert, but it metes out temporal punishment for failure to convert.  Contrast this with the declining state of spiritual urgency of Christians and especially Catholics.

The result:  A dramatic resurgence in Islamic activism, fervor, supremacism, and terror.

The Church is being dealt the consequences of their failure to promote the truths that were handed down to Her from the Apostles as well as ignoring the realities of Islam which are hell bent on washing over the Catholic/Christian millieu with their fascist, satanic ideology.

For an example of the damage that can be done to Christianity and westerm culture by careless, poorly articulated, or downright ignorant Christian pronouncements, see this article about the actions taken by one US Catholic Bishop against a noted Catholic Islamic expert HERE .(http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/03/spencers-treatment-at-the-hands-of-the-diocese-of-worcester-provides-some-insights-into-the-problems.html)

_____________________________

Excerpt of the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” known as Lumen Gentium:

16. Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in various ways to the people of God.(18*) In the first place we must recall the people to whom the testament and the promises were given and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh.(125) On account of their fathers this people remains most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts He makes nor of the calls He issues.(126) But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind. Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, for it is He who gives to all men life and breath and all things,(127) and as Saviour wills that all men be saved.(128) Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.(19*) Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel.(20*) She knows that it is given by Him who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life. But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator.(129) Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, "Preach the Gospel to every creature",(130) the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.

So what IS our responsibility before God?

Assuming a person believes “there is a God”, what is his responsibility to that God?

First, is He a personal, knowable God as in Judeo-Christian understanding?  Or is he an unknowable entity as in the Islamic system?  If He is unknowable, responsibility toward such god cannot be knowable, either.  So the question posed in the title must focus on our responsibility to a “knowable God.”

The popular understanding of our responsibility toward God in Christian circles is 1) acknowledging that God exists, 2) understanding that Christ is His son, 3) believing that Christ’s mission was to forgive sin and thus provide us future eternal bliss.  Period.

Our role and responsibility in this Christian belief system is virtually non-existent.  Oh, some believe we should attend church at least occasionally and perform some “good works” now and then.  Beyond that, “once saved/always saved” becomes the believer’s “get out of hell free” card.  Our personal responsibilities toward God are rarely mentioned.  And then there is the “free gift” salvation pulled from Scripture which also infers we have no responsibility, no role whatsoever, in our eternal life.  In Catholicism we have the infinitely repetitious, perpetual, always forever and ever amen confession and forgiveness routine that comes to our rescue.  Think “Catholic mob hit man”.  We are saved as often as we express regret.  The sincerity of the regret and conscious, diligent, persevering effort to make amends and change our ways is rarely mentioned.

So, what does our knowable, personal God expect of us beyond what is most often expressed in the “feel good”, entertainment-driven, no personal responsibility, perpetually-ignoring-and-excusing-immorality churches?

Well, at least a balance between judgment and grace.  Grace is certainly a gift of God and a significant part of what God provides, but so is judgment.  Without judgment there could be no grace.  In 100 years the churches in this country have gone from all judgment, fire and brimstone to all grace, little morality, and inconsequential personal responsibility.

God expects our recognition of what is moral and immoral in His sight.  He expects us to make known to others around us what is moral and immoral in His sight.  He expects us to take His commandments and teaching seriously, for ourselves and for others.  He expects that there be temporal antipathy toward society’s  immorality, even though He offers eternal pardon.  Instead, churches admonish us not to judge and accept and defend every behavior.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.   These new-age concepts are based on unbalanced, out of context misrepresentations of historic Christian thought.   God expects us to respect and follow our own faith not so that we can believe every other belief system is just as good and acceptable, but so that we deeply believe and understand that our belief system is superior – the only one ordained and acceptable to the Creator of the Universe.  And that our actions follow these beliefs.

Today’s Christian faith appears to be “tolerate everything” – be critical of nothing.  There are people who more energetically believe the moon is made of crème cheese than the manner most Christians relate with their God.  And there is undeniably greater enthusiasm of Muslim leaders toward their ideology than the average Christian leader has toward his.  This contrast in energy and enthusiasm will not only spell the end of our Judeo-Christian-based culture in this country within a couple of decades but will ensure an emergence of a fascist ideology in the image of Islam.

More clueless Christians

I engaged in a conversation with a couple at dinner recently. In the course of conversation I learned that the husband was a former school teacher and is self-described as having been a well respected school disciplinarian. Learning this gave me the perfect opening to ask

1) his take on the state of student respect and behavior in the schools today compared to a couple of decades ago, and

2) what he thought the reasons were for the collapse of self-discipline and respect in the schools.

He readily confirmed the answer to my first open ended question: Public schools had become unteachable dens of disrespect. He admitted he was glad to be out of that profession due to that very fact. His answer to my second question took more prodding. His first attempt at an answer: The parents side with their disrespectfully disobedient little Timmy, not the teacher. "But why?", I probed. He seemed stymied. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. After I suggested a reason might be the consequences of an "anything goes" culture, hoping to hear the "no prayer/no God" answer, he revealed he was a deacon in a Catholic Church and spends dozens of hours preparing sermons to help the overworked Priest. A Deacon in a church who is clueless (or worse, knowing but silent) about the reasons for moral decline in our schools?  Red lights flashed in my head. "Clueless apostate deacon alert!!! Warning. Warning!" (That was the counter-cultural, judgmental side of my brain kicking in, thank God.)  Imagine that. A man who regularly gives sermons who cannot give a spiritually-based reason why kids have reverted to animal behavior in schools over the past 20 years. Clue: It has something to do with God, or rather the absence thereof.  But wait!  There’s more!

A bit later, the subject of Islam came up (Ok, I probably made some unflattering comment about that demonic ideology.) This perked up clueless' wife's' ears. She jumped to Islam's defense so quick it made my head spin. Clueless II insisted Islam is just another religion, no better, no worse than Catholicism, citing the Crusades, naturally (gee, a matched pair of cluelessness.)  Moral equivalency strikes again – and anachronistically in a different millennium.  I asked how she came to this conclusion.  She gave the same story most other ignorant defenders of Islam give: She knew a nice Muslim. She called him "a young boy." "And", she went on, "Islam is really all about peace." At that, the spaghetti I was eating was nearly snorted out of my nose. I mostly recovered and asked "how old was this 'young boy'". "Seventeen", she offered. I interjected "just old enough to practice taqiyya and kitmam" after which I explained the meaning of these terms as well as the Islamic doctrine of abrogation. I gave a two minute lecture to which she politely nodded and, I am quite sure quickly dismissed due to the total absence of follow-up questions or any further discussion of the topic.  These fools don’t really want any more information than what they already gullibly believe.  I really do need to learn how to engage clueless people a lot better.

This left me with a stark and disappointing confirmation of my experience with too many church leaders and those whose ignorance of our "tolerate everything/judge nothing" culture that causes them to be incredibly naive.

Is the Catholic Church (and most of Christianity in the US) in trouble?  Yes indeed it is - on two fronts: Their leader’s refuse to grasp and address the reasons for the precipitous moral decline in this nation as well as their gross ignorance of and lack of concern about the Islamic threat to our nation and freedoms is an epidemic. 

Too many Christian leaders have watered down the basics of Christian doctrine to please and attract too many for the wrong reasons (e.g. for “the music” and entertainment, for “feel good” pandering, for perpetual/repetitious forgiveness for perpetual/repetitious personal moral failings, for its social life or business connections).  Many believe that Christ died to enable us to continue sinning without temporal or eternal consequences; that His purpose was to make us rich, happy and perpetually forgiven with little or no responsibility on our end.  Consequently many leaders and attendees have convinced themselves that their own “faith” is no better or worse than any other – even Islam.  That kind of faith truly is no better than any other product peddled by snake oil salesmen and fascist Islamists.  The doctrinal pendulum has swung from pure hell, fire, and brimstone to the other extreme of pure irresponsibility.  This has created a moral vacuum that is being filled by whatever militant tripe comes along.

My private, after-the-fact visceral reaction to this dinner conversation was "God. Help Us."

Use the correct words when discussing Muslims and Islam…

You’ve probably heard that the federal government now prohibits the use of the word “Islam” or “Muslim” when they refer to any violent act committed by Muslims in the name of Islam or Allah.   That is unacceptable deceit by our own government.  The purpose?  To avoid “offending” and maintain good relations with so-called “moderate Muslims” – those who always turn out to be not so moderate; who pretend moderation through their deceit.

Unfortunately, many “experts” and conservatives we rely on to understand and convey the truth about Islam also fail to use accurate terminology to describe Muslims and the Islamic ideology that promotes havoc in the world.

The likes of Hannity, Gabriel, Beck, Emerson, most media, and others continue to apply modifiers to Islam such as “radical”, “violent”, and “extremist” as if Islam itself is not inherently radical, violent and extreme.

Here is a question for those who may doubt my challenge to use more truthful terminology to describe those who promote the demise of the west in the name of Islam and Allah:

What ancient, named internationally famous ideology do you suppose informs and motivates the attitude and actions of those who claim to be Muslim and who declare their subversive or violent aggression in the name of Islam or Allah?

Why would you seek some other reason to explain the intolerant, violent behavior of Muslims when the explanation based on Islamic founders, current leaders, orthodox Islamic ideology and history is so clear to those who bother to research it?

So, in the interests of straightforward truth about the challenges we face from Islam, here is a BS-free style sheet of terminology pertaining to Muslims and Islam:

Words to avoid when describing conciliatory, moderate, violent or seditious  speech or actions by Muslims:

• Extremist (“Extremist” Muslims are not an aberration of historic Islamic practice; the “extremists” in Islam are the militant wing supported to varying degrees by various means by the other 90% of the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world.
• Violent (“Violent” Islam is NOT an aberration of Islam; Islam is violent; violence is an integral and essential component of orthodox Islam; Islam is peaceful when it serves its purpose; Islam is violent when it serves its purpose)
• Moderate  (most Muslim leaders are offended by the term “moderate Islam”; there is no such thing; Islam often appears moderate to achieve its radical purposes)
• Radical  (“Radical” Islam is NOT a distortion of Islamic orthodoxy; it is the core of orthodox Islam; the term “radical” erroneously presupposes there is a “non-radical Islam” which there is not)
• Nice (as in the “nice Muslim neighbor next door” who hides his Islamic prejudices to get along until Islam dominates) 
• Good (a “good Muslim” cannot be a good citizen of the West, except to appear as such through deceit to further Islam)

If a modifier to the word Muslim or Islam is required, use one or more of the following:

• Devout (the more devout, the more faithful to ideology, the more dangerous)
• Fundamentalist (faithful follower of Islamic ideology)
• Cultural (non-practicing, but will side with orthodox)
• Orthodox (strict adherence to historic ideology)
• Apostate (one who still calls oneself “Muslim” but who renounces orthodox Islam, e.g. Zudhi Jasser)
• Islamist (a practicing orthodox Muslim)
• Deceitful
• Taqiyya-inspired
• Tricky
• Raging
• Psychotic (the mental defect of many Muslims in the Middle East resulting from rampant inbreeding) 
• Paranoid
• Reactionary
• Intolerant
• Supremacist
• Muhammadan

And from a Christian perspective…

• Evil
• Satanic
• Anti-Christ

Of course, liberal neo-Christians will reject the above three modifiers not only because they reject the reality of evil, Satan, and the anti-Christ but also because they have bought into the cultures’ new highest value:  tolerance.  They will restrict free speech (i.e. be intolerant) to promote “tolerance.”  They will demonize those who speak out with the truth about Islam or any Biblical moral standard.  There is no absolute “right and wrong”; “good and evil” to distinguish between.   They have adopted the decadence of moral relativity – the “50 shades of gray” mentality .  They don’t have a belief system worthy of defending against evil.  The result is self evident in their defense of and partnerships with Islam as practiced by most mainline churches.

The idea our culture has of a “moderate Muslim” is often a result of self-deception and wishful thinking.  More often than not, the “moderate” turns out to be lying his ass off to promote Islam; saying one thing while in the US and another when in a Muslim-dominated part of the world.

The idea of a “Muslim extremist” or “radical Muslim” or “radical Islam” presupposes that Muslims who are not espousing or engaged in violence or sedition at the moment are somehow “moderate” and OK when we know darn well that the ideology that informs their mindset promotes supremacism through lying, deceit, hatred, violence, and terror – Zudhi Jasser included:  He has not yet given up being a follower of Muhammad, the chief architect of the Islamic ideology.

Too many Americans, and especially our leaders and media, blindly assume what they are told by Muslim propagandists.  Our naiveté is ruining our nation.

Bad behavior increasingly called a “medical condition” protected by law

Society creates its own “catch 22”

Shooting spitballs in class has a psychiatric medical term attached to it.  It is a “protected” behavior.

Sound outrageous?  Yes, it is.  And that is the making of a society that labels every anti-social, irresponsible bad behavior as a “psychiatric disorder.”  And psychiatric disorders are called “medical conditions.”

And what does our society do with these psychiatric “medical conditions?”  We protect them and keep them secret with the law – the law called HIPAA.  Here is the website that documents this connection:

http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/hipaa/phi_protection.html

The psychiatric profession has catalogued and named these bad and irresponsible behaviors.  Here are several listings of psychiatric medical conditions and disorders :

• http://www.psychone.net/psychological-disorders-list.php
• http://behavenet.com/apa-diagnostic-classification-dsm-iv-tr
• http://www.abess.com/glossary.html

There is a psychiatric medical term for every childish, mean, compulsive, vengeful, repetitive, obsessive, irresponsible, anti-social action anyone has ever been known to do.  I’m sure you’ll find “laziness” in there somewhere.

The great majority of these behaviors are now called “psychiatric disorders.”  And as medical conditions, they are sacredly private.

Now enter gun control proponents.  This group is proposing a mental health check as a means of controlling weapons.  They believe a mental health check may have prevented the Virginia Tech shooting.

So if I shot spitballs in school and was classified with a “psychiatric disorder” I may never be able to legally possess a firearm.  I certainly see second amendment abuse around THAT corner.

Problem number 1:  An out of control psychiatric profession that takes away the importance of self-control and self-discipline and replaces that concept with “psychiatric disorder.”  Personal responsibility?  Heck, what’s the need for that anymore?

Problem number 2:  A HIPAA law that classifies character and behavioral weaknesses and lapses (formerly known as “sin”) as “psychiatric disorders” and “medical conditions” making them both private and excusable .

Problems number 3:  An out of control federal government promoted by a bunch of scared progressives (by the way, progressivism is a psychiatric disorder!) acting like a bull in a china shop (if a bull in a china shop could “grasp at straws”, this one would) making up any way they can to keep people from owning guns.

Problem number 4:  A gullible media and electorate that are too damned lazy and self-absorbed (both psychiatric disorders) to care about the consequences of these actions.

HERE is the article about Joe Biden’s psychiatric disorder that is causing him to promote the use of mental health information to restrict gun sales. 

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/biden-mental-health-check-may-have-prevented-virginia-tech-shooting/

Churches seal their own fate…

…ignorantly facilitating Islam

Christian churches throughout our nation are ignorantly sealing their demise.

Here is the latest example:

A new mosque in Alexandria, Virginia, costing short of a $1,000,000 just opened.  While it was being built, Good Shepherd Catholic Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Aldersgate United Methodist Church allowed ICNA’s Northern Virginia chapter to worship in their facilities.

Isn’t that sweet.  Christians acting “Christian” and Muslims acting “Muslim.”  In other words, Christians blithely and bumbly feeding the wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Sure, witness to individual Muslims who show signs of sincerity.  But providing Christian facilities to entire packs of Islamists whose ideology vows to conquer infidel Christianity; who claim that Christ was nothing more than a prophet? Whose “god” is a “moon god?”  Insane!

It is criminal how little these Christian denominations know about the doctrine, teachings, and goals of Islam.  Little do they understand that Islamic tradition and present day strategy is to eliminate western civilization “and its miserable house” and replace it with supremacist, intolerant Islam and its sharia.

If these churches had just a bit of common sense, they would replace their pitifully ignorant kum-bey-yah blindness with an annual series of congregation-wide lessons on Islam.  Not the watered-down, all-is-peachy-keen-with-Islam version that John Esposito and Karen Armstrong promote that most main line churches embrace.  But the truth about Islam – what it REALLY is – what it REALLY does – what it REALLY promotes – what its goals REALLY are.

Start off with defining cultural, moderate, devout, and radical Muslims.  Discover that even the most benign, the “cultural” Muslims, identify with Muhammad, what he taught, as well as the aspirations and methods of Jihadists.  Discover that even “moderates” like Zudhi Jasser distort the reality of what Islam really is by a naïve and foolish attempt to make Islam something it never was and never can become.  Discover that the more devout Muslims become, the more they tend to follow in Muhammad's violent, treacherous, deceitful, intolerant, and supremacist footsteps.  Discover that “radical” Muslims are merely the militant arm of the Islamic ideology.

Next, understand the numerous misrepresentations made by our political, academic and military leaders.  Is Islam a “religion of peace” as pronounced by our last two leaders as well as recent Popes?  Is Islam’s “god” the same as the Judeo-Christian God as pronounced by most mainline Christian denominations?  Is Jihad a harmless “inner struggle” for self discipline and cleansing as Islamic promoters proclaim?  Is Sharia just a personal representation of Islamic culture?  Are mosques just like churches, mere harmless houses of worship?  Is the Qur’an just like the Bible because it mentions Abraham and Jesus?  Is the morality of Islam really equal to or superior to that of Christianity?

Next, understand the roots of Islam and its history of slaughter and conquest.  Understand the numerous areas of totally opposite morality promoted and mandated by Islam.

And finally, understand that there is no “moderate” or “radical” Islam.  All the violence and bloodshed and terror being committed by Muslims in the world today is a direct result of belief in the teachings and emulation of Muhammad.

Understand that Islam is no friend of the Church or Synagogue or Temple.  Neither should these institutions facilitate the growth of the fascist ideology that should be understood as Islam.  Islam’s goal is to destroy these infidel religions.  Islam is the ideological manifestation of the anti-Christ.

On pendulums, human nature, and Biblical morality

There are many hopeful souls among conservatives who believe the pendulum will always swing and will eventually swing back to their direction.

The reality is there is no more pendulum.  It stopped swinging with the last election.  It had swung so far left and with such force that it is lodged into brains of the majority of Americans who are devoid of information, thinking skills, and initiative.

There is no rational reason any more why the pendulum will swing to the right within the next several presidential elections if not the next century.  Yes, it is possible for a republican – one like Chuck Hagel, an Israel-hating socialist to the left of most Democrats – to be elected.  But most conservatives agree that there is little difference between the Democrat and Republican parties.

It is human nature to be self-centered, egotistical, greedy, lazy and selfish.  A prevailing spirit of personal responsibility that propelled our nation to success and prosperity during its first two centuries has been replaced with a spirit of entitlement. 

Most Americans have discovered “push ups.”  Instead of providing for themselves or being responsible for their own problems, they now expect someone else to do it.  So they “push up” their former personal responsibilities to the next level – to the city, the county, the state or to the federal government.  Too many individuals lack motivation.  Too many families are broken.  The individual is the smallest, most local level of governance – self governance; personal discipline.  And next is the family.  Self governance and self-discipline have all but withered.  They are in shambles.  So next higher levels take the brunt:  neighborhood, than the town, county, state, then federal, then world government (United Nations) being the “ultimate.”  Every one of these levels of governance, from the individual through the state and federal, have assumed the panacea of “pushing up” responsibilities to the next higher level.  Bigger and higher levels of government  have become the solution of choice for the majority – not just the majorities of individuals and families, but of a growing number of local, county and state governments.  They are all seeking a handout or a bailout from the next higher level of government – the city from the county; the county from the state; the state from the feds.

With every push up, individual liberties are eroded – liberties are exchanged for someone else doing the hard stuff.  But doing the “hard stuff” doesn’t come cheap.  There come higher, unsustainable expenses, higher taxes, more regulations and controls and fewer freedoms, and an oppressive environment that stifles creativity, motivation, and productivity.  Collapse of society WILL result.

The safeguard against unchecked negative tendencies of human behavior has been a universally agreed upon morality.  Our nation came close to that universally agreed upon morality, although not perfectly, in the decades leading up to its founding and extending 150 years thereafter.  That common morality was based on Biblical principles as promoted by a strong church comprised of dozens of faithful and mostly orthodox denominations.

It is no secret that belief in the Bible and in the Biblical morality our nation’s successful governance relied upon has all but disappeared from our laws, court rulings, and habit and preference of our electorate over the last several decades.  When once “unity” was seen as a positive and esteemed value, we have now embraced “diversity”, the opposite of unity.  That promotes an attitude of “tolerate everything” – no value is better or worse than another.  We have become a nation of amoralists – those who see no need for traditional morality.  Expression of such morality is now seen as hateful, bigoted, intolerant or mean spirited.  Our “natural” human nature has been unleashed to do whatever it damned well pleases.  And what it damned well pleases has led us to where we are today.

This is a megatrend that will take more than a minority conservative party to reverse.  The momentum of our public education system, the university system, and the entitlement “let government do it” attitude of a majority of our population will ensure that this megatrend  continues well into the distant future.

What will eventually reverse this megatrend?  Economic collapse, intolerable repression, and eventually, revolution.  Occupation by a foreign power will become increasingly likely as our nation weakens under the weight of our immorality, dependency and loss of our work ethic.

How long will it be before this reversal occurs?  Many commentators give us a decade or two to reach a point of collapse.   A “black swan” event could easily push us over to collapse and anarchy well before that.  It could take another generation or two beyond that to recover our former national spirit, if ever.

If we couldn’t recover our nation during the last election when there was no excuse for the level of ignorance our electorate exhibited, then the rocky shoals of an oppressive, manipulative government and anarchy provides little hope for reestablishing our former glory.

Faithful Christians see this scenario as God lifting His hedge of protection from our nation as a consequence of our unfaithfulness.  Others see it as “fate”; still others see it as “progress.”

Is our nation’s transformation complete?

Is it reversible?

There are now more takers than givers.  There are now more who will vote for those promising government handouts than there are who will vote for personal responsibility.  There are more who live off our tax dollars than those who generate tax dollars.  There are more who rely on government for a variety of handouts than those who prize and practice their self-sufficiency.  There are more who want government to get bigger and more invasive than those who want government to get smaller and promote individual liberty.  There are more who believe in socialism and communism (although most will not admit it) than those who believe in a free republic.

There are more  who believe in a further erosion of our second amendment rights and who forgot the purpose behind them than those who will work hard to defend them.  There are more who see no problem in disarming ourselves and instead rely on police and the federal government to save us than those who believe in the need to defend themselves.  There are more of us who believe that peace, tranquility and prosperity are infinitely perpetual than there are who believe things can drastically change for the worse.  There are more of us who do not mind being subject to a world government than those who see the tragedy of it.

I have been awakened to the fact that  there are so-called “conservatives” who promote the limitation of the type of firearms we are allowed to own.  They feel a handgun or a shotgun will provide an adequate defense under all eventualities.  These misguided folks seem to believe that things will remain as they always were – as far back as they can recall, which isn’t very far. 

The third amendment to the Bill of Rights, which is relevant to the second and puts the second it context, prohibits in peacetime or wartime, the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent.  Whether it is our own troops or those of an occupying force, this is not a far fetched scenario given our divisive and weakening nation.  The second amendment is closely related to the havoc wreaked by an occupying force - be it England of the 1700’s, or the United Nations, National Guard, Islamist thugs, roving gangs, or a Chinese “trading partner” out to collect what we can’t pay. 

The liberal media has brainwashed most of us into the bogeyman referred to as “assault weapons.”  That is a scare word given to the most effective fire arms.  But any weapon used for defensive purpose can be demonized as an assault weapon.  A baseball bat, a knife, a fist can be called an “assault weapon” if used for such purpose.  The intent, not the instrument, should be the focus.  The intent should be demonized, not the instrument that is legally used for self defense, not “assault.”

Shame on the journalists and others who are too caught up in the emotional hype to recognize this distinction.  They, too, are part of the new majority that has turned the tide on the viability of this nation continuing as a free and prosperous republic.

Is this transformation reversible?  Anything is possible, but not everything is likely.  The momentum of demographics, political and social trends, educational institutions, and human nature make a turnaround highly unlikely.  We will continue on our downward spiral away from being an exceptional nation with an independent and creative spirit toward becoming a nation of castrated and dependent souls becoming equal to the wards of third world dictatorships.

Islamist-dominated UN approves Palestinian terror state

…an action the US would have vetoed in its saner days

What else can we expect from a Muslim-inspired president and federal administration?  And from a State Department and Ambassador to the UN who places fear of offending Muslims ahead of our freedom of speech; who will hide the facts to defend Islamists over defending the Americans they killed.

The so-called two-state solution is a nonsensical excuse for kowtowing to Islamists in the Middle East.  We already have a 10+ state “solution” over there:

• Iran
• Iraq
• Syria
• Lebanon
• Egypt
• Saudi Arabia
• Turkey
• Jordan
• Qatar
• Pakistan

Each of these nations is already 90% plus Muslim; most 99%+.  Each one has a higher percentage of Muslims than the one Jewish state, Israel, has Jews.  Now isn’t that amazing.  Further, Israel not only tolerates Muslims in its midst, but provides a higher standard of living than they would have in most Islamist nations.

What do Jews and Christians in Islamic nations face?  Burning churches, bombed synagogues, persecution, torture, killing – general gross intolerance mandated by the mainstream doctrine of Islam – not by the “radicals” that deceived dhimmis portray.

What group of idiots would fall for this two-state “solution.”  Using the word “solution” sounds painfully close to the use of the words “final solution” used by the Nazi’s.  Islamists have the same objective in mind.

And we have a Muslim-inspired administration that is going along with this. 

Very pitiful of our ignorant and lost nation. 

Here are two pathetic examples of US policy in the Middle East. 

In the first, note the portrait in the background with whom Hillary chose to pose (Courtesy www.Breitbart.com).  Apparently posing merely with Islamist terrorist leader Mahmoud Abbas doesn’t show enough empathy for the cause:

Hillary: Israel Lacks 'Empathy,' 'Generosity' Toward Palestinians

“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has never been a friend to Israel. Today, speaking at the 2012 Saban Forum on US-Israel Relations, a liberal organization, she railed against Israel for supposed insensitivity, lack of empathy, and lack of generosity with regard to the Palestinians – even as the Palestinians unilaterally violated all agreements with Israel and attempted to declare statehood, and within days of Hamas firing rockets on Israeli population centers and Palestinian terrorists bombing a bus.”

In the second,  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland  said the US is still trying to release $495 million in pending funds for fiscal year 2012 that were held up following the Palestinians' failed effort last year to become a full member of the U.N.  From Nuland:

“We will also continue to try to support the Palestinian Authority, because this money supports their ... ability to administer the territories, provide security, and take care of the needs of the Palestinian people, who we continue to believe need our support, need the international community's support.”

These State Department ignorami have not yet grasped the concept that Palestinian leaders we are funding are the very same ones who promote the eradication of Israel, the ongoing rocket attacks against Israel, the killing of Jews, and the abolition of our freedoms in the West in favor of Sharia-enforced dark ages morality.  That is the mandate of mainstream, orthodox Islam.  And our government is protecting and promoting it.

Let the Dems “cave”…

For the past several days we have been hearing talk of fiscally conservative Republicans “caving” to the progressive/socialist cries to increase taxes to “avoid the fiscal cliff.”

They have been sugar-coating their “caving” by calling their proposed compromise “closing tax loopholes.”  I’ve got news.  One man’s loophole is another man’s exemption.  How would you like to see your home mortgage interest “exemption” called a “loophole” and eliminated?  How would you like to see the exemption for your children called a “loophole” and eliminated?

That is apparently what many in Congress are all about – proposing the elimination of “loopholes.”  I call it tax increases disguised through a shell game.

Oh, and the reason given for “closing the loopholes” is “tax reform.”  That is the drip drip drip water torture version of “tax reform.”  That kind of tax reform is just another excuse for raising taxes.

Not one penny of tax increase – for the middle class or for the rich - through closing “loopholes” or in the name of “tax reform” should be tolerated unless there is a comprehensive – a comprehensive -  tax reform package.  And not any increase, not even as a result of comprehensive tax reform, until the unemployment rate is below 5%.

Raising a billion here and a billion there by closing loopholes  - read “eliminating exemptions” - will cause much more harm to the producers and job creators of this country than it will benefit any budget shortfall.  That doesn’t even begin to touch the magnitude of the deficit.

Cut spending.  Cut government.  Eliminate czars.  Eliminate Departments and Bureaus.  Eliminate programs.  Eliminate funding abortions.  Eliminate funding obscene “art” and insane environmental and green energy boondoggles  and free-flowing food stamps and excessively lengthy unemployment benefits.  These all waste money and unnecessarily inhibit business, job growth and personal initiative.  

Our demand needs to be:  Cut  government, don’t tax its subjects more.  And don’t pretend that “eliminating loopholes” isn’t raising taxes. 

Reduce government.  Don’t tax more to grow more government.   Don’t encourage people to be dependent on government.  Encourage people to be independent and self-sufficient produces.  That’s how our country grew strong.  Not by its people being takers dependent on government but by its people being producers independent of government.

To mock the sickening words of our first “lady”, for the first time in my adult life I am ashamed of my country for electing leaders who insist on taking us down the path of dependency, bigger government, higher taxes, and ultimately, loss of our freedoms.

Too many Catholics poop in their own nest…

I attended a social event the other night where there happened to be eight people who claimed to be Catholic sitting at our table.

My wife mentioned how pleased she was that the Priest at our church had no problem being outspoken about abortion and moral values generally.  She rightly believed that mention of this topic would be safe among fellow “Catholics.”  She may have been right 50 years ago.

Four or five of the other alleged Catholics jumped on her opinion as if she had two heads.  One proclaimed that the Priests opinions aren’t worth diddly and basically that everyone’s situation is different and they ought to be able to do what feels right to them.  I thought to myself in that instant that this reinforces my opinion about Catholics – that of the minority of them who do attend Mass regularly, most appear to attend for the ritual and out of habit rather than out of any love of the church or sense of allowing Catholic doctrine to permeate and influence their lifestyle or morals.  The fact that 50% of Catholics voted for Obama despite his violation of Catholic religious freedoms and doctrine flashed through my mind.  This tells me how much half the Catholics care about Catholic doctrine – very little.

But it got worse.  Two or three of these “Catholic” apostates went on a rant about the past sins of priests and a number of other complaints about the Church.  This was very old news, but still stuck in their craw.   It got to the point that I mentioned to the woman next to me, “this discussion is motivating me to write a blog about how a group of Catholics can be so opposed to their own Church.” 

It is one thing to understand the moral decline of our nation by doing extensive reading about it.  It is quite another, and much more disconcerting, to experience a table full of alleged Catholic Christians poo-pooing the idea of moral absolutes right in front of my eyes.  This experience represented one microcosm of why this nation is in moral, spiritual, and economic decline.

The room we were in was noisy, and conversation was not easy without getting loud ourselves.  My wife and I had to bite our tongues  because there was a lot we would have liked to have said to these others if the environment was conducive.   So we left a bit early.  Were were getting “tired”, not sleepy tired so much as tired of the bullshit.