My Deep Thought for the Day:

I was listening to Pastor Levon Yuelle on the Radio this AM while getting ready for church and it occurred to me:

I wish liberals had as much concern for the Constitutional Separation of Powers as they do the mythical "Separation of Church and State".

Well, I haven't had my full regimen of coffee yet.

Wow! Just Wow!

Last Sunday, I asked, heck, I begged, for you guys to go to the
Your Voice Your Ad website and vote for my ad #408.

And you did it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I only heard last weekend that they would like the ad shortened to a minute from 80 seconds, but that they liked it.
You heard the 60 second version.
I have heard nothing back from them and there is no visible vote tabulation, so I had no idea how I was doing.

This morning I called in to the Bennett show about DHS Funding and Judgement at Nuremberg.

I think it's wrong that McConnell caved.
We could have held things up, stopped Obama's overreach and had ample evidence that the four democrats in the Senate who wouldn't vote for it were shutting down DHS.

Now McConnell caved, the House won't back down, so it looks like Republicans are intransigent!

So that's the gist of this segment of the show.
If you are low on time, jump to 3:40.

Later in the show, the Your Voice Your Ad guys were on and this is their segment of the show.
I'd really like you to listen to it.

And after that segment there were a couple of other ads that were good.

Thank you again.

Vote for me!

Seriously.
Go here.
Pretty Please.
It will look like this:

Listen (or not) and vote for me. That thumbs up on the far left would be a good choice.
I really would like your opinion, because I think it will be positive :)
This is important to me. The downside is I might become insufferable.
As you know, I listen to, and am on Bill Bennett's Morning in America frequently, and this activity is hosted on there.
It's an ongoing opportunity for normal people (and me) to create an ad that will get play on national outlets (and the NRC has been paying attention).
Some of the ads have already done that. Multistate.
Rachel's in particular.
Or Elbert Guillory's, who I'm sure you are aware of:


I was holding my granddaughter when this ad occurred to me.
I've already gotten positive feedback from the producers.
I had to shorten my original and hurry up what was left to get to 60 seconds.
Recording into my phone.
But if it's chosen, they'll clean it up.

And if you can do an ad, I encourage you to do one.
Next week. :)

Infamy

(Based on a comment I made at Z's.)

Imagine if on Dec 8, 1941, FDR had gotten on the radio and said something like:

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

“Yesterday at the White House, we welcomed community groups from the United States, and some from your countries, to focus on how we can empower communities to protect their families and friends and neighbors from violent ideologies and recruitment. 
And over the coming months, many of your countries will host summits to build on the work here and to prepare for the General Assembly. 
Today, I want to suggest some areas where I believe we can focus on as governments.”

Of course the second part is a quote from Obama.

War Powers

One thing I never hear about as a rationalization for "Police Actions" (Korea, Vietnam), is the effect of treaties and alliances on warfare.
Remember how WW1 started.
It was the result of "secret treaties" where a nation would declare war on one other country, not realizing it was declaring war on that country's allies, of which it was "unaware",

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the United States was brought into war with Germany because of it's alliance with Japan, which it chose to honor.

If we had declared war on North Korea or North Vietnam, we may have been exposed to inadvertently declaring war on China, or Russia, or both.

Maybe I never hear about this because I'm totally out in left field about it.

Nonetheless, as everybody knows, we've gotten in the habit of letting presidents wage war without declarations of such by congress. We do however have congressional "approvals".

Resident Sotero is seeking such funding for battling ISIS.

Like a guy who doesn't want to fight, yelling to his friends, "Hold me back!".
The terms he's asking for, as you probably know, are such that the funding runs out after he leaves office and restrains him from putting boots on the ground.
Except for Special Forces. Special Forces are allowed. Probably because they wear moccasins or sneakers or such. Or a footwear technically not boots (Special Warfare Footwear?).

If someone is going to ask for war authorization money you would think that first they have to act like we are at war.
And if we were at war then Congress must declare it.
And once that war begins, it must be prosecuted like war, with victory being the end game.
If we were to go to war with Isis, the goal should not be to control the land or to hold the towns and cities.
I keep hearing you need boots on the ground to hold the land.
That's occupation.
The goal is to destroy the enemy which is Isis, and then leave.
Just as Hiroshima, Dresden, Nagasaki, I don't care about collateral damage.
Just shattering the enemy's will to harm us.

We have an opportunity with Isis accumulating in one place a target rich environment in which to destroy those who wish to destroy us and our allies.
This was part of the rationale for fighting them over there instead of over here, multiplied.

Oh, well.
Opportunities missed.
Elections have consequences,

President's Day

I spent my first weekend in the military (ok, U.S. Air Force, but we marched and drilled and shot rifles) on the first President's Day, having gone in on a Friday.
We were kind of confused, being young, and thinking it was Washington's Birthday, about this President's Day holiday.
We had to drill in civilian clothes (rainbows) and civilian haircuts on that holiday, as the quartermaster was closed.
A friend of mine there (Steve Cross, who had long red hair and was thus Red Cross), and I, cut each others hair short with sewing scissors for our own comfort.

Well, enough about me.
This is a great compilation of Presidential quotes on the place of God in our Nation.

Discernment

I wrote about some of this in an earlier post :Mark 8:11-25 Some insight we got in class Wednesday.
I'd like to continue with that topic, because I find it very interesting and I feel inspired.

I don't mind telling you that to many people, the verses in Mark 8 and 9 seem disjointed and disconnected, a series of events and no flow.
I assure you, nothing is farther from the truth, and once I realized that God wouldn't present us material in such a fashion, it was our class's and my obligation to seek Him for revelation on what He meant by it.

Mark Chapter 8 and 9.

1. Jesus gave the disciple authority and sent them out to do battle, and they came back thrilled with stories of having heeled the sick and casting out demons.
2. They saw huge crowds gather and Jesus miraculously feeding them (acting as if He expected them to handle it).
3. They got in a boat to come back, and in the boat realized they only had one loaf of bread.
   I imagine they said this in such a way that Jesus would hear and multiply it for them.
   Jesus instead says something "odd". "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod". But He doesn't explain it, and they think His remark has something to do with their want of bread. This however is the key verse that explains so much to follow.
4. He then chastises them for not understanding (eyes to see, ears to hear, etc.).
   It then seems he expected of them to either:
          a. Multiply the loaf themselves
                                or
          b. Not worry about it.
   But the fact that they do not understand is crucial and links back to the leaven comment.
5. Jesus heals the blind man. Not just his vision, but his perception. His understanding.
6. Jesus asks the boys who men say He is.
   He then asks who they say He is (testing their understanding).
   They think He is the Messiah or they wouldn't be following Him around.
   They also assume that they are His chosen lieutenants, if not generals, and bound for imminent glory as He takes His throne.
   Peter says He is the Christ for that reason.
   Jesus clearly points out that He is about to die, arise in three days, etc.
   Peter grabs Him and says "That's crazy talk!".
   Jesus tells Peter, Get thee behind me Satan. Why? Peter is telling Jesus that he is bound for a soon coming earthly kingdom, what Satan offered Him in the desert. Jesus hears Satan tempting Him again through Peter's words. I don't know why I never saw that before.
7. Jesus then talks about gaining the world and losing your soul. That is the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. Ruling the world without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will cost you your soul. This lesson is not easily learned.
8. Next is the Mount of Transfiguration.
   Moses and Elijah (the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament) appear and the guys want to build them houses, expecting that they'll stick around for the imminent Kingdom.
   The Father says instead, "This is My beloved Son: hear Him!". (Forget your pre-conceived notions of the coming kingdom).
9. Jesus tells them to keep it on the down low until He rises from the dead. He has told them a few times that He will die and rise from the dead. It's as if they never heard him. Not Understanding.
10. After the "Mountain Top Experience" they come down (literally and figuratively) to find the guys left behind can't cast a demon out of a boy. Jesus does it and says "These come out by much prayer and fasting.
    At least in the King James he does. Not the NIV. That's another discussion.
    What is fasting? In it's simplest definition, it is denying oneself of something. Typically food.
    Jesus may have been referring to His earlier comment about denying oneself.
    My pastor and I believe the disciples may have been guilty of grandstanding while attempting to cast the demon out, in essence, not denying themselves. 
11. Next, He plainly tells them what is to come, and they can't grasp it.:
    31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
    32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
12. Then he calls them out for an argument they didn't want Him to hear:
    34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.  The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.
    He answers them with "receive the children" which I interpret as "don't think you're too important to interact with the powerless".
13. They complain about someone doing works in Jesus name that isn't one of them.
    Someone is stealing their thunder. Jesus says in effect, "Get over it".
14. 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: Get rid of the leaven, it is a cancer.
    Another take on this is leaven based: No one goes Hollywood with a limb missing or an eye missing. Stop going Hollywood. Stop worrying about your glory. It could cost you your soul.
    Do not offend the powerless with your haughtiness. 
15. 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
    Can you eat one potato chip? (Scherie can, but I digress).
    Make yourself attractive and approachable to others so they'll come back for more, and quit vying for position.

Well, if you're still there, thanks for listening.

This is one of the most important posts I've ever done.
There have been other topics I've wanted to pursue, but we're doing a product launch at work with many twelve hour days.

If you think this has value, please inform your Christian friends of it.