For Reference Purposes - The Holy Spirit at Work

Friends, Maybe you already have seen this. thanks

FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *

THE BIG (UNTOLD) STORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Easter 2008 Update
(Washington, D.C., March 24, 2008) -- "I will build my church," Jesus said, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)

The lead story on Drudge over the weekend was the Pope baptizing a prominent Egyptian author who converted from Islam to Catholicism, and for good reason. It's a huge story in Italy and the Muslim world, especially coming as it did the week that Osama bin Laden accused the Pope of waging a "crusade" against Islam. But this particular baptism is just the tip of the iceberg.

Despite unprecedented press coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East since September 11, 2001, one big story is generally not being told by the mainstream media. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are converting to evangelical Christianity and will be celebrating their first Easter this year, even amidst widespread persecution and the very real threat of death.

I first began reporting this story in 2005 after interviewing some three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical Christian leaders in the U.S. and the Middle East. Over the last three years, however, I have had the privilege of traveling to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, Turkey, and Morocco. What's more, I have had the honor of meeting with and interviewing more than 200 Arab, Iranian, Kurdish, Sudanese and other pastors and Christian leaders. With more data, the trend lines are becoming even more clear and the story is even more exciting.

The God of the Bible is moving powerfully in the Middle East to draw men, women and children to His heart and adopt them into His family in record numbers. More Muslims have come to faith in Jesus Christ over the last thirty years -- and specifically over the last seven to ten years -- than at any other time in human history. There is a revival going on among the ancient Catholic, Coptic, and Chaldean churches. Today, the Church is being truly resurrected in the lands of its birth.

Consider the latest evidence:

* AFGHANISTAN -- In Afghanistan, for example, there were only 17 known evangelical Christians in the country before al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Today, there are well over 10,000 Afghan followers of Christ and the number is growing steadily. Church leaders say Afghan Muslims are open to hearing the gospel message like never before. Dozens of baptisms occur every week. People are snatching up Bibles and other Christian books as fast as they can be printed or brought into the country. The Jesus film, a two hour docudrama on the life of Christ based on the Gospel of Luke, was even shown on television in one city before police shut down the entire TV station."God is moving so fast in Afghanistan, we're just trying to keep up," one Afghan Christian worker told me, requesting anonymity. "The greatest need now is leadership development. We need to train pastors to care for all these new believers."

* UZBEKISTAN -- There were no known Muslim converts to Christ there in 1990. Now there are more than 30,000.

* IRAQ -- As I shared on Fox & Friends on Easter morning, in Iraq, there were only a handful of Muslim converts to Christianity back in 1979 when Saddam Hussein took full control of that country. Yet today, there are more than 70,000 Iraqi Muslim background believers in Jesus (MBBs), approximately 50,000 who came to Christ as refugees in Jordan after the first Gulf War in 1990-91, and another 20,000 who have come to Christ since the fall of Saddam Hussein. John Moser, the executive director of The Joshua Fund, and I just returned from nine days traveling through five provinces in Iraq. We met with 19 Iraqi evangelical Christian leaders. I had the privilege of preaching in a church of more than 100 MBBs from Baghdad -- a church that didn't even exist in 2002 before liberation. We also had the privilege of meeting and interviewing numerous former Islamic jihadist terrorist who have come to Christ and are now pastors and church planters.

* KAZAKHSTAN -- In Kazakhstan, there were only three known evangelical Christian believers before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Today there are more than 15,000 Kazakh Christians, and more than 100,000 Christians of all ethnicities.

* EGYPT -- More than 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so, report Egyptian church leaders. The Egyptian Bible Society told me they used to sell about 3,000 copies of the Jesus film a year in the early 1990s. But in 2005 they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. "Egyptians are increasingly hungry for God's Word," an Egyptian Christian leader told me. Last Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.

* IRAN -- In 1979 when the Ayatollah Khomeini led the Islamic Revolution, there were only about 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity. Today, interviews with two dozen Iranian pastors and church leaders reveals that there are well over 1 million Shia Muslim converts to Christianity.

* SUDAN -- Despite a ferocious civil war, genocide and widespread religious persecution, particularly in the Darfur region -- or perhaps because of such tragedies -- church leaders there tell me that more than 1 million Sudanese have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ just since 2001. Since the early 1990s, more than 5 million Sudanese have become followers of Jesus. Seminary classes to train desperately-needed new pastors are held mountain caves. Hundreds of churches have been planted, and thousands of small group Bible studies are being held in secret throughout the country.

In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity." Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."

One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims throughout the Middle East and even in the United States are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus. They are coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. This is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Joel told us that "in the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days....And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." (Joel 2:28-32)

In Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future, I devoted an entire chapter to these dramatic trend lines and why Muslims are converting in record numbers. I am currently working on a new non-fiction book and documentary film called Inside The Revolution, to be release during Easter 2009, with much more detail on this subject, including first person accounts of former Muslim terrorists who have become the new Apostle Pauls of our time -- murderous religious zealots who had visions of Jesus Christ and are now pastors, evangelists, church planters and powerful Christian leaders. Other books I would highly recommend on this subject are Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen; and Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe In Christ.

Is life easy for these Muslim converts? By no means. They face ostracism from their families. They face persecution from their communities. They face being fired by their employers. They face imprisonment by their governments. They face torture and even death at the hands of Muslim extremists. But they are coming to Christ anyway. They are becoming convinced that Jesus is, in fact, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father in heaven except through faith in Jesus' death on the cross and powerful resurrection from the dead.

One of the reasons my wife and I began The Joshua Fund was to educate the Church around the world at what God of the Bible is doing in the epicenter. We want to mobilize a global movement of Christians praying for these dear brothers and sisters. We want to find ways to encourage and strengthen them. We want to provide them with Bibles and Christian literature, and with humanitarian relief supplies so they can love their neighbors and their enemies, as Jesus tells us to do. Their stories are typically being told by the mainstream media, but they are important stories nonetheless. Theirs are testimonies of the greatness of our great God.

To visit Joel's WEBLOG with the latest on events in the Middle East and Russia, please click here.
EASTER PRAYER REQUESTS
* Please be praying for the family and friends of the Catholic bishop that was just murdered in Iraq. Father Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped after Mass in the city of Mosul several weeks ago. Pray for comfort, for courage, and for the Catholics in Iraq to be able to love their neighbors and their enemies as Christ gives them strength after this horrendous tragedy.

* Please pray that those responsible for this murder will be brought to earthly justice, and that they will seek and find eternal forgiveness from our Risen Savior.

* Please pray for all Iraqi Christians this Easter weekend, that the Lord would give them great courage and boldness to stand strong and to be seen a positive force for peace and reconciliation throughout all of their country.

* Please also pray for the family of Israeli pastor David Ortiz and his wife Leah in the town of Ariel. Their 15-year old son, Ami, was injured when a bomb was sent to their home yesterday, disguised as a Purim present. Please pray for complete healing and a speedy recovery. Pray for courage and strength for the family at this difficult time. Please also pray for the Lord to give strength and courage and His gentle favor on all of the pastors and believers in Israel this Easter weekend.

* Please continue to pray for those Israeli yeshiva students, their families and friends who were affected by the recent terrorist shooting in Jerusalem.

* Please pray for the 500,000 Israelis who live near the border of Gaza that continue to be hit with dozens of rockets and missiles every single day with no end in sight.

* Please also pray for the Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank and Gaza who will celebrate Easter this weekend at the risk of their lives. Pray for their courage and strength in the face of the radical Islamic jihadists who seek destroy Christians, Jews, as well as fellow Muslims who are not as radical as they.

* Please continue to pray for the poor and needy and the victims of war and terrorism in Israel and the Muslim world. For Jesus told us in Matthew 25:31-40, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'"

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To contribute to the on-going work of The Joshua Fund please make your check payable to "The Joshua Fund" and send to:

The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument, Colorado 80132-8009

Thanks so much and may the Lord richly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. May the Lord truly care for you and your family this Easter season.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to forward to others.

TO BOOK JOEL FOR AN INTERVIEW please contact Beverly Rykerd at 1-888-481-0405, (719) 481-0537, or (719) 440-2746 (cell), or brykerd@ix.netcom.com.

Dr.Samuel Naaman

Professor

Dept.of Missions

Moody Bible Institute

Chicago. IL

Tel. 312-329-4025

snaaman@moody.edu

Don't Invite Anyone to Church this Sunday

I thought this was good, quit trying to make the Church do what you should be doing:

Don't Wait for Church--you are the Church! I still hear comments such as, "We have invited them to church several times, but they will not come" or "If we can just get them to church, then the Lord will touch them, and they will get saved."

The gathering of the saints should be the gathering of the saints, and yes, we should welcome unbelievers to our gatherings, but better yet, lead them to Jesus first, then bring them to the gathering for equipping.

You Are The Temple

When we realize that we are the house of God, then God is everywhere we are. He is just as powerful in me, whether I am on a mountain top, by the sea, in a Mosque, or in an organized church meeting. There is no question there is magnified power and presence in Christ when two, three, or 30 gather in His name, but His power resides in you through the Holy Spirit--all the time. The Holy Spirit in God's people often has been dormant outside of Sunday, and outside of church meetings for much of Christian history. The Kingdom of God wants so much to impact every aspect of our lives: every day, every minute, every breath, every step, every territory, every person, and every system we engage with.

We need to have the mind of Christ, living out the life of Christ through us. Wherever Jesus walked, ministry happened. Whatever Jesus did, there was ministry. Whomever Jesus met, there was ministry. Whomever He touched, there was ministry. When He walked into the building, there was ministry, and when He walked out of the building, there was ministry. When He prayed, it was ministry; when He played, it was ministry. When He worshiped, it was ministry; when He loved unconditionally, it was ministry. His life was ministry from the time He woke, until the day was done, and so, likewise should our life be.

Expect God Moments Right Where You Are

A transformed Kingdom personality now is not bound by systems, because they are not of the system. They may be in a system, which takes the form of church organizations, families, corporations, governments, culture, etc. However, they are not only in the system, but of His Kingdom. Life or death, success or failure, take on whole new meanings in those that are consumed with Christ, impassioned, and empowered for His Kingdom glory.

When a business man or woman are "Kingdomized," they get up each day excited for what the Lord will have for them that day. They begin to walk and flow in His "now" presence all day long. They begin to hear what the Father hears. They begin to see what the Father sees, regardless of what they hear and see in the natural. When they go into a meeting, they expect His presence to break down walls while bringing divine insight. When they walk into a potential business deal, they expect divine favor. When they encounter hostility, they realize that this person is hurting and needs a healing word spoken--but mostly needs love.

When they drive through their neighborhood, they pray for their neighbors and ask the Lord for His desire and love to reach them. God begins to open opportunities to touch those around them. They desire relationship.

Go Therefore And Love

Our life is about loving God and loving others in everyday life--in your home, in your business, and in your corporate gatherings. Don't just wait for the corporate times to impact lives. You are a ready instrument now if the Holy Spirit is within you. He is always ready to impart His love and mercy through you. Be ready, be willing, and be obedient to deliver His love and His touch wherever you go. Speak from your heart, live the Gospel of love, and be the Gospel to the world. It must be authentic, and it must be birthed from His love.

The Kingdom of God is relational--supernaturally relational. So watch for the people the Lord joins you with. Most conversions come from relationships. Don't just invite them to church for ministry--you are also the ministry. First love them, be real, and watch love lead them to knowing who you know. Once Jesus has set them free, you can invite them to the gathering, training, and corporate worship centers to grow and relate with others. They will become part of your Kingdom family and now have the opportunity to extend the Kingdom way to their people.

His presence is within you wanting to impact every jurisdiction. Watch the gates of resistance come crashing down as you bring His presence and your faith to combustible kingdom influence. Expect revelation, expect impartation, and expect miracles whenever you show up. Vision and dreams will become regular realities of Kingdom life, and what was once possible, now becomes probable, all to the glory of our King.

What a glorious Kingdom, what a glorious God!

Robert Ricciardelli
Vision Advancement Strategies
Email: info@vision2advance.com

Comments on Comments

I don't get that many comments. More than some, far fewer than most. It's not because I'm right all the time.

I'm not. I'm Right WING.

To Timothy. I read your comment, I linked to the video. It was moving and very impressive. There is a problem however, the reason for the reformation is that things needed to be reformed. The problem is that pride cuts both ways. So, I'll stay pretty reformed. However, watching the video reinforces the no compromise face like flint commitment to certain things that Catholics believe.

The problem is, there are things that Catholics believe (or seem to as I listen to Catholic Radio) theologically that are way on the fringe for me. Marian Devotion is one. Mass centered worship is another. And, the one you mentioned, I'm a big believer in the Priesthood of all Believers. That was the reformation that was most needed. But, Timothy my brother, you and I have much in common, much. And I'll see in in Heaven I'm sure. I'll try to look you up. I know it shocks my Evangelical friends but I believe Catholics are Christians, not all of them but many. I Believe that many Assembly of God adherents, Lutherans, Baptists, and Dutch Reformed people are Christians. Not all but many.

Belonging to a denomination has nothing to do with who you are in Christ. It can help you get there, but it can also keep you from getting there. That is my argument with the Catholic Church. It seems to keep people from getting there. Anything that hinders love is not of Christ.

TO Ron, a man who I say and continue to say I respect. He is knowledgeable wise and when he says something to me I consider it very carefully. I may not, and many times do not agree with him. That doesn't damage love. It just means we don't agree. If I read the book of Acts (and Galatians) there were times when folks then didn't agree.

Regarding the argument that is basically an identity argument you make, I'm just like thus and so. I won't buy into that. I'm not, you're not just like anyone.

If I am a Prophet and I'll allow you to judge rightly or wrongly if I am or not, I have opinions. Not all opinions are prophetic in nature. But, they are at the core. I cannot have an opinion if I am a prophet to be counter to what God says. It cannot be one that goes directly against the Word of God.

The wisest man I know said that as a Prophet I am to Say what God says. I do.

I use ridicule and hyperbole to point out the things I am confident God is not pleased with. Abortion, lies from a Candidate for President to achieve her own ends, false worship of a candidate, exploitation of a Pastor of his flock and preaching a message contrary to the word of God, Fear and Cowardice (Jesus says that the cowardly will end up in the lake of fire Rev 21:8)

8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

God opposes an oppressive false religion that uses death and fear to accomplish it's ends, lies used to exploit and cause fear in people (like global warming), using a false pretext to cause guilt in people like racism and many others that in a brief review of the posts of the recent past I have written on. I believe that I am saying what God says. I know this, that Jesus came and said FEAR NOT every time he appeared. When the sea was riled he said Fear Not. When the centurion's Servant was sick, he said Fear Not. So when I see fear mongering with peak oil, or political candidates using identity politics to drive a wedge I say what God Says. Fear Not.

Don't misunderstand, prophet or not, I have a sense of Humor. I enjoy clever things. I post them when I do. I also suffer pain, anger, tears, humor, frustration. That's just me sometimes.

The main argument you post is that I am somehow blinded to the flaws of George Bush. Oh, I'm well aware of them. He has spent too much money. He hasn't led well. Much of the mess in the markets lies at his feet.

But, all that is small change when compared to the steel will he exhibits in fighting the fight of our generation. In the middle east, in our country, in the world. He is a man on a mission, a mission I support in the face of opposition from well meaning but misunderstandings of people who don't grasp the depth of the danger from radical Islam. This global struggle must be waged. I fear for western civilization should Obama get into power. His recklessness could cause a reversal that may not be undone for 200 years. Clinton and McCain are not as reckless. Both understand the gravity of the situation. My argument with Clinton is she is part of a Political Machine that has had too much power too long and does not bode well for the country.

All that said, lies and all, she would be a far superior POTUS to Obama.

So, my Friend Ron, as much as I admire your wisdom and as well as you write, on this issue we will remain separate. You may never see what I see. I am thankful every day for George Bush and his dedication to our country and to true justice. He could be polishing up his legacy right now, instead he is steadfast doing what God called him to do. I'm that strong in my support for him.

Look at the exposure of the evils of Islam in the world today. In fact, I will post this that came from Moody yesterday. The result of the last 6 years and 4000 deaths.

God bless George Bush.

He is a part of building the Kingdom of God on earth.

That is a prophetic truth that you will have to deal with even if you disagree with me, Bush, America, The War in Iraq and lots of other things happening here.

If the MAFIA ran the world - Guess What, It's Trying To

From a writer in New Orleans who has been a cop most of his life. His perspective on the cowardice and defeat of western civilization is right on the money. You Need to read this whole thing:

.....there wouldn’t have been the type of news coverage that told us all about the John Gotti trial and his history of extortion and murder. Freedom of the press would be a thing of the past. No gang wants the truth told about them.

There wouldn’t be the freedom to critisize the way they do things. Threats and intimidation and even murder would be the price you’d pay if you dared speak up.

There would be no compromise. You’d have to follow in rigid lockstep with their dogma or accept a status as a second or third class citizen. If you wouldn’t or couldn’t become a “made man” you’d have to pay the vig, a tax just to live.

Your women would become property. Crime syndicates are notoriously male oriented, often to the point of mysogyny. A woman’s place is to do what she’s told when she’s told to do it. It can pretty rough on her if she doesn’t.

The world wouldn’t put up with any of that if it were the mafia trying to take over, so I’m wondering just how it is that Islam, with its blatant thuggery and downright viciousness, is being allowed to bully its way into the lives of so, so many.

The Fitna film is just one of the latest examples. There is not a thing in that film that is not the absolute truth . Nobody made up those pictures of them standing there with those signs, nobody made up the horrid, inhuman beheading it showed, nobody made up the hateful preaching of their mullahs in the film. It’s THEM. It even quotes their own holy book that they use to justify their barbarism and yet in their usual way they’ve threatened to harm (meaning kill) the staff of Live Leak, one of the first to host it over here, if they don’t take it off their site. So they took it down.

And that’s my point: If an organized crime syndicate did the same thing the entire might of U.S. and European law enforcement would come down on them like a ton of bricks. Will the threats against the Live Leak staff get the same treatment? Probably not. Islam gets a pass. I don’t get it.

This is an incredible thing we’re watching develop right before our very eyes. Western civilization is being openly threatened by what is basically a murderous cult. They don’t even hide or attempt to hide their intention to destroy our way of life and to use murder, even mass murder, to do it. And. We. Do. Nothing. In fact, we do worse than nothing. We invite them into our countries, we offer them a standard of living - and freedoms - that would never be allowed in their home nations. And they unabashedly use those freedoms to preach their hatred of us. And we let them.

We’re allowing an organized crime syndicate to dictate policy all through Western society.

The Islamists have discovered that their tactics work. Frighten people and they’ll do what you want. The train bombings in Spain are a great example of that. Spain immediately tucked tail and ran from Iraq. The Islamists won through mass murder. If Spain’s reaction had been just the opposite and they had sent divisions of troops to Iraq in response instead of running away the use of this type of intimidation may not be as effective as it is. And ANY nation that is similarly attacked or threatened with attack should do the same. Punch a bully in the nose and he quickly learns to leave you alone.

Every website out there should host the Fitna film. And every country that is threatened should respond aggressively, forcefully, and with the clear message that if you don’t want to live here by our rules go back to those hell holes we’ve allowed you to escape from.

They’re afraid of the truth and things like the Fitna film is telling the truth.

And in their world telling the truth is enough to get you killed.

I did.

Cowardly Kittens in Europe (no Lions allowed)

To think we sent brave men and women 66 years ago to save this continent from oppression and now they roll over and surrender without a fight.

The blood of our patriots is on their hands.

Shame on the lot of them.

Common Sense on Racism Black and White

Pat Buchanan Nails it Again

In his Philadelphia address on race, Sen. Obama identified as a root cause of white resentment affirmative action -- the punishing of white working- and middle-class folks for sins they did not commit:

"Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race," said Barack. "As far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything. ... So when they ... hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed ... resentment builds over time."

On this issue, Barack seemed to have nailed it.

But then he revealed the distorting lens through which he and his fellow liberals see the world. To them, black rage is grounded in real grievances, while white resentments are exaggerated and exploited.

White resentments, said Barack, "have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. ... Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism."

What Barack is saying here is that the resentment of black America is justified, but the resentment of white America is a myth manufactured and manipulated by the conservative commentariat. Barack is attempting to de-legitimize the other side of the argument.

Yet, who is he to claim the moral high ground?

Where does this child of privilege who went to two Ivy League schools, then spent 20 years in a church where racist rants were routine, come off preaching to anyone? What are Barack's moral credentials to instruct white folks on what they must do, when he failed to do what any decent father should have done: Take his wife and daughters out of a church where hate had a home in the pulpit?

Barack needs to reread the Lord's admonition in the Sermon on the Mount: "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"

Longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer once wrote that all great movements eventually become a business, then degenerate into a racket.

That is certainly true of the civil rights movement. Begun with just demands for an end to state-mandated discrimination based on race, it ends with unjust demands for state-mandated preferences, based on race.

Under affirmative action, white men are passed over for jobs and promotions in business and government, and denied admission to colleges and universities to which their grades and merits entitle them, because of their gender and race.

Paradoxically, America's greatest warrior for equal justice under law and an end to reverse racism is, like Barack, a man of mixed ancestry. He is Ward Connerly. And his life's mission is to drive through reverse discrimination the same stake America drove through segregation.

And when one considers that the GOP establishment has often fled Connerly's cause and campaigns, his record of achievement is remarkable.

Connerly was chief engineer of CCRI, the 1996 California Civil Rights Initiative, Proposition 209, which outlawed affirmative action based on ethnicity, race or gender in all public institutions of America's most populous state. Two years later, Connerly racked up a second victory in Washington.

In 2006, Connerly went to Michigan to overturn an affirmative action policy that kept Jennifer Gratz out of the University of Michigan, though she had superior grades and performance records than many minority students admitted. The Michigan proposition also carried and has been upheld by the courts.

One U.S. senator, however, taped an ad denouncing Connerly's Proposition 2 in Michigan and endorsed affirmative action for minorities and women. That senator was Barack Obama.

Comes now the big test. Connerly is gathering signatures to place on the ballots in Nebraska, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado and Missouri -- the latter two crucial swing states -- propositions to outlaw all racial, gender and ethnic preferences. Voting would be the same day as the presidential election.

"Race preferences are on the way out," declares Connerly.

Now that our national conversation is underway, Barack should be asked to explain why discrimination against whites is good public policy, while discrimination against blacks explains the rants of the Rev. Wright.

America is headed for a day, a few decades off, when there will be no racial majority, only a collection of minorities. When that day arrives, if some races and ethnic groups may be preferred because of where their ancestors came from, while others can be held back because their ancestors came from Europe, America will become the Balkans writ large.

Folks need to be able to separate the true friends of racial justice from the phonies who believe with the pigs on Orwell's Animal Farm -- that "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

Stupid Overhyped Scares of all time or Why I Don't Buy Fearmonger Gore's Story

3 Mile Island
Artificial Sweeteners
Contaminated Cranberries
Asbestos Remediation
DDT Panic

Despotism Pays Off Big

Jeremiah Wright Retires in the God Damn KKK of America in a $1,600,000 house

I Guess Canada was Full. Let's See, I live in a house that if I was lucky might get 10% of what Jeremiah Wright is about to move into if I sold all I have. Feeding the poor and clothing the naked pays better than I thought it did.

Jesus is so proud.

What Really Happened In Bosnia with Hillary Clinton - an Eyewitness Report

"Actually Mrs. Clinton was too modest. I was there and saw it all.

When Mrs. Clinton got off the plane the tarmac came under mortar and machine gun fire. I was blown off my tank and exposed to enemy fire.

Mrs. Clinton without regard to her own safety dragged me to safety, jumped on the tank and opened fire, killing 50 of the enemy."

Soon a suicide bomber appeared, but Mrs. Clinton stopped the guards from opening fire. "She talked to the man in his own language and got him [to] surrender. She found that he had suffered terribly as a result of policies of George Bush. She defused the bomb vest herself." Then she turned to his wounds.

"She stopped my bleeding and saved my life. Chelsea donated the blood."

From Peggy Noonan

Abortion ONE DAY before Delivery

LaShawn Barber gives a pretty good analysis of baby killing in America. The National Education Association in America has George Tiller the Baby Killer, Master of the late term abortion show up to speak and get a standing ovation. He says he is supporting the Democrat Presidential Candidate.

He aborted a baby ONE DAY before it was to be born alive. Here are pictures of women going into the Planned Parenthood Abortion Mill. They look pretty late term to me.

Here is a part of the video that raised such a firestorm. Read about it before you watch it.

Al Gore appears on 60 Minutes this weekend to try to convince us of the myth of Human Caused Global Warming foolishness

There's an enormous inconsistency in the way that global warming is argued that Al Gore's latest comments are right in line with,

Self-avowed "P.R. agent for the planet" Al Gore says those who still doubt that global warming is caused by man - among them, Vice President Dick Cheney - are acting like the fringe groups who think the 1969 moon landing never really happened, or who once believed the world is flat.

...Confronted by Stahl with the fact some prominent people, including the nation’s vice president, are not convinced that global warming is man-made, Gore responds: "You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat,” says Gore. "That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off," he tells Stahl.

If you'll notice, global warming alarmists like Al Gore always seem to accuse their opponents of being on the fringes or anti-science.

However, if you'll notice, when there's an actual debate about global warming, it's the people who say that they don't think it's caused by man who actually seem to primarily base their case on scientific arguments.

Meanwhile, at best, Al Gore and company tend to make wildly exaggerated claims about global warming and at worst, they simply claim that the debate is over.

However, the reality is that large segments of the population don't buy into manmade global warming, there is no "consensus" among scientists on the topic, and the most recent evidence strongly suggests that mankind isn't the cause of global warming.

The reason people like Al Gore keep trying to convince people that there's nothing left to discuss is because the scientific evidence is not on their side.

Faith based on nothing less than Obama

Jesus said “blessed are those who grieve.”

Obama is a blessing to the habitually aggrieved.

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Jesus made bread and fishes to feed the masses.

Obama made lots of bread from some big fish.

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With Jesus, one’s guilt will washed as white as snow.

With Obama, the white guilt will be washed with one vote.

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Jesus brought hope to the blind and lame by healing them.

Barack lamely sells hope to the blindly loyal.

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Jesus showed friendship with Tax Collectors.

Barack made friends by collecting taxes.

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Jesus turned the other cheek to His enemies.

Barack cheekily agreed to sit down with America’s enemies.

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Jesus’ arrival was proclaimed by a lone voice in the wilderness.

Obama’s arrival was proclaimed by a loud voice in the Midwest.

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Many of Jesus’ followers speak in unintelligible “tongues”.

Many of Obama’s followers speak in unintelligible “tongues”.

Taking a Stand at the Gates of Vienna

The man who produced this video is under threat for his life from the Muslims. It shows pretty clearly what the situation in Europe and great Britain is today. It is also a picture of what could be in the USA if nothing changes. It is graphic and disturbing.

But you need to watch this. Here's the truth, these precious Muslim people are lost and headed for an eternal hell. They are deceived beyond belief by a demon from the pit. They need Jesus. I hope to be counted as one who helps them answer the Holy Spirit's tug on their lives. God's will is that none of these should perish.

If this Islamic fundamentalism seems evil, it is. Not the people, not the religion, the demonic influence behind it is the evil. This is A 15 minute film that should set your face like flint. It's worth all the sacrifice anyone has to make to save the world from the influence of this evil deception. God's Spirit is moving on these people who are so lost. Islam is crumbling from the inside out. But, we must be vigilant and determined to not give up in bringing the truth to them.

Western Civilization is on the line. If we don't take a stand here, we will never stand.

Why I'm such a Happy Camper

In an article written by Arthur Brooks and economist from Syracuse University has written a book just released called "Gross National Happiness". From this Article these quotes:

In 2004 Americans who called themselves “conservative” or “very conservative” were nearly twice as likely to tell pollsters they were “very happy” as those who considered themselves “liberal” or “very liberal” (44% versus 25%). One might think this was because liberals were made wretched by George Bush. But the data show that American conservatives have been consistently happier than liberals for at least 35 years.

This is not because they are richer; they are not. Mr Brooks thinks three factors are important. Conservatives are twice as likely as liberals to be married and twice as likely to attend church every week. Married, religious people are more likely than secular singles to be happy. They are also more likely to have children, which makes Mr Brooks confident that the next generation will be at least as happy as the current one.

When religious and political differences are combined, the results are striking. Secular liberals are as likely to say they are “not too happy” as to say they are very happy (22% to 22%). Religious conservatives are ten times more likely to report being very happy than not too happy (50% to 5%). Religious liberals are about as happy as secular conservatives.
..................................................
So much for right versus left. Mr Brooks also finds that extremists of both sides are happier than moderates. Some 35% of those who call themselves “extremely liberal” say they are very happy, against only 22% of ordinary liberals. For conservatives, the gap is smaller: 48% to 43%. Extremists are happy, Mr Brooks reckons, because they are certain they are right. Alas, this often leads them to conclude that the other side is not merely wrong, but evil. Some two-thirds of America's far left and half of the far right say they dislike not only the other side's ideas, but also the people who hold them.

I don't know about you, but I'm happier knowing I'm happy. If you're happy and you know it clap your hands........

Oh and the red Highlight above is ME. Just thought you would want to know.

Newt Gingrich Answers Obama

Earlier on C-SPAN 2 a talk by Newt Gingrich was given today. It was classic Newt and Should be the platform for the Republican Party if we had any courage.

It won't be. We got McCain. Listening to this made me long for the days of Contract with America. Newt's remedy for many of the ills in our country particularly among African Americans is clearly identified as a failure in culture. Go Newtie.

It's almost 50 minutes long, you can watch it on line if you have real play.

Click Here to Watch.

Current Issue of Charisma Magazine

A couple days ago I received my copy of Charisma Magazine.  Sometimes it's better than others.  This issue is unique because I know many of the people talked about in the magazine, personally. 

 

A big topic (not the cover story) is the emergence of Prophetic Worship in the land.  Misty Edwards, Jason Upton, Julie Meyers and the Merchant Band.  All people who have been part of the House of Prayer movement out of Kansas City.  I love this stuff, it speaks to me and I believe that it represents what God is doing in the land.

 

And the Obit of John Jimenez.  A guy I didn't know well except on the edges.

 

I bring this up because I have some good friends who I love very much who are evangelical.  When we get together and we talk about people of God we know they know almost none of the people I revere and I know almost none of the people they revere.   Our discussions are limited by a lack of foundational understandings between us.  It is like people from two different countries who only read literature from their own land.  Germans who only revere Goethe and Japanese who only revere Itoh.  They can talk but without basic assumptions or understandings.

 

How did we achieve such a complete divide?  What blindness exists both ways for us?  Worse, many of us are devoted to leaders those of the other ilk do not respect.  I hardly ever listen to WMBI radio in Chicago.  I find many of the teachers on there faithless and in error.  So quoting or referring to them makes what they say suspect.

 

Then I see something like this about people I hold in reverence.  I know that saws both ways.

 

How did it come to this?  How did we become so separate?  How is it that both of these veins of solid Christianity rise up without any recognition from the other side?

 

J I Packer might be the exception.  But other than that there is a great divide between mainstream evangelicalism and Pentecostalism.  I am working with these people on a marvelous project seeking to change the world for Jesus.  I hope our non parallel world views don't collide.  I'm doing all I can to try to not let it happen.  I believe the Devil is behind this divide.  He knows that if we ever came together it would be powerful.  The solid foundations they have with combined with the freedom of the Spirit in Holy Ghost and Power.  That would be something.  I'm all for getting the sound foundation, there seems to be resistance to their coming fully into the things of the Spirit.  The devil has lied to them.

 

Some years ago a prophet I respect prophesied that the day would come when all of true Christianity would look exactly the same.  There would be no more difference.  I assumed that meant that all graduates of Wheaton would speak in Tongues.  Holy Ghost programs would be on WMBI. 

I suspect that isn't how the Lord will do this.  I can't believe that he will water down the truth of Pentecost.  I don't know what will break the back of this religious separation that exists.

 

I have said it before, I sometimes have more in common with Catholics than I do with many Evangelicals.  I am trying to bridge the gap but it is wider than I first thought.

 

Pray for me.  Pray for them. Pray for US!

I've come to realize

Despite my efforts to "Educate" people on the evils of Obama those who are for him won't change their mind (Bob) and those who are against him only nod their heads. 

 

So all my ranting and raving about what a danger he is to western civilization falls on deaf ears both ways.

 

So, I'll back off for now.

 

A guy I know just bought a huge radio station in Fargo Moorhead's market.  50,000 watt.  He's gonna make it a talker.  It's good because in liberal Fargo Moorhead there is very little conservative talk radio.  People vote stupid in ND. Dorgan, Pomeroy and Konrad all liberal Dems (but for Bush in the General Election).  WHAT?  They think they are a Red state but because they are on welfare (ag subsidies) they are pink or purple. 

 

They need to get their bearings.  I hope Scott helps them.

 

What makes this poignant is there is a friend of mine who had a shot at getting a talk radio gig in Fargo but made another decision.  Life turns on right decisions.  He took the apparently less risky path which now turns out was a far more risky path.

 

He has made life's decisions that will forever sentence him to live in mediocrity. 

 

I'm sad for him and his family.  Oh, he'll do OK. He'll make a living.  His family won't starve.  But, he missed the chance of a lifetime by a stupid stupid decision that will haunt him till he dies.

 

I don't know why I am blogging on this except to say, life's big doors of opportunity turn on little bitty hinges.

 

His slammed shut - Permanently!

 

Why Black People in New Orleans Believed Katrina's Aftermath was a Racist Conspiracy

What Follows is an Essay that in reading I endorse fully. Obama and his black liberation theology propagates lies and undercurrents that keep liberal voting black people in Chains. If you have a tendency to try to understand and dialogue with his Pastor's views, consider how damaging they really are. I do not understand and dialogue with people who stand in the pulpit and take the name of the Lord in Vain. By using the word of God to keep people in bondage is taking the name of the Lord in Vain. Rev Wright will be held to account in a higher court than the one of public opinion. I fear for his eternal soul. "Depart from me, I never Knew You" may be the judgement that finally brings him to his knees.

Obama Encourages Black Victimhood

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 7:40 AM

By: Ronald Kessler

If there is anything more disturbing than watching the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s paranoid denunciations of whites and America, it’s seeing the reactions of many well-educated blacks who agree with him or find ways to justify his hate-filled comments.

“I am so proud of Reverand Wright, who speaks with unreserved passion, who accepts no quarter and gives no quarter,” said former civil rights leader Lawrence Guyot of Barack Obama’s speech addressing his longtime minister’s claims that America started the AIDS virus, trains professional killers, imports drugs, and has created a racist society to keep blacks down.

Culture of Conspiracy

While some of Wright’s language is “offensive,” the “reality out of which he speaks is that black people have suffered in America and continue to suffer because of the unfairness of the system,” said professor Cheryl Sanders of the Howard University School of Divinity. The black church “has always had prophetic preachers,” she said. “Prophetic voice goes all the way back to the days of slavery, when people were protesting being in bondage. And so protest is just kind of a part of how we do ministry.”

While saying he does not believe that the government created the AIDS virus to kill blacks, as Wright has said, professor R. L’Heureux Lewis of the City College of New York gave credence to the conspiracy theory by saying that he does “respect the right of some people to question the unfettered arrival of AIDS and HIV to the community and the ravishing effects it’s had.”

Responding to my Newsmax stories about Obama and Wright going back to Jan. 7, many blacks said whites could not understand what it means to be black.

“It is not a secret that black people were slaves and that we are still victims and suffering from slavery, a black woman from Inglewood, Calif., wrote. “The pastor is just expressing a reality that we black people are going through.”

In his speech on race, Obama implicitly condoned this backward-looking perspective.

“For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years,” Obama said. "While the anger is not always productive," Obama continued, "[it is] real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.”

Yet while Wright, 66, no doubt had brushes with discrimination growing up in Philadelphia, it was nothing compared with what Condoleezza Rice faced — or, for that matter, what six million Jews who were slaughtered by Adolf Hitler faced.

In contrast to Wright, who attended an integrated school, Rice grew up in segregated Birmingham, Ala. Denise McNair, one of Rice’s friends and classmates, was one of the four girls who was killed in the Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Rice's Unbridled Courage

Rice had to sit at the back of buses. When more whites got on, the driver would move a “Colored” sign farther back in the bus, making less room for blacks. Rice could not eat at the same restaurants as whites unless the restaurant had a separate room with a separate entrance for blacks.

She was not allowed to use the same drinking fountains or public restrooms as whites. But Condi

Instead of teaching Rice to carry a chip on her shoulder, as she has told me, Rice’s parents amplified those positive values, giving her a strong sense of self-worth.

Rice’s father, the Rev. John W. Rice Jr., instilled in his daughter the faith that she brought with her into the White House and the State Department.

While Rice is comfortable with her own heritage and often speaks before black groups, she does not dwell on the racism she experienced growing up. Above all, Rice is proud of America and the opportunities that everyone now has. Witness the fact that she is secretary of state.

What a contrast to the poisonous atmosphere at the church that Obama has chosen to attend for more than two decades and the demagoguery of the man he calls his friend, sounding board, and mentor.

Encouraging Failure

As my friend Fox News contributor Juan Williams told me after publication of his book “Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America,” many black leaders orchestrate support for themselves by promoting victimhood, creating a black “culture of failure.”

That self-defeating attitude tells blacks, “You can’t help yourself; you can’t help your family; and therefore, all you can do is wait for the government to do something for you,” Williams says. “I think it is a message of weakness and ineffectual thinking that is absolutely crippling the poor and especially minorities in the United States.”

Sounding a similar theme in his book “Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America,” black author John McWhorter calls the culture of victimhood “therapeutic alienation,” a form of self-medication that is “disconnected from current reality” and continues to hold blacks back.

To be sure, most largely black churches preach an uplifting message.

“As a pastor of a bi-racial church, I cannot accept that Wright’s way is the right way to do ‘black church,’ the Rev. Wally Shifflett, a minister from Charlotte, N.C., wrote to me. “Sen. Obama has been wrongly accused of being a Muslim — and why should that matter? We can hardly disqualify a candidate, offhandedly, because of his or her religion. But the senator’s continued participation in a church stoked with such anti-American rhetoric should no more be acceptable than if he openly supported one of the Islamic-extremist’s madrasses that teach their young to hate Americans. Is there any difference?”

The answer, of course, is no.

Both Islamic extremism and the black cult of victimhood generate support by conjuring up largely imaginary grievances and exploiting them.

The Rev. Otis Moss III, who recently took over from Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ, continued that theme on Sunday. Referring to the media’s belated exposure of Wright’s hate sermons. Moss said the church had been the victim of a “lynching.”

In contrast to the message of Obama’s church and its award to Louis Farrakhan for lifetime achievement, as one of its core values, Shifflett’s church adheres to inclusiveness: “Convinced that all people ever to be born have one common ancestor; and that God’s love for all people caused him to send the one Savior into the world to seek and save all people; we believe that he has reconciled all people to himself, and to one another.”
If Barack Obama were the unifier he claims to be, that is the kind of church he would attend and support with $22,500 in donations over a two-year period.

Instead of saying he understands where Wright and his “God damn America” are coming from and refusing to sever ties with him, if he really wanted to help blacks and further racial progress, he would denounce Wright’s message of hatred and the culture of victimhood that continues to undermine black society.

And if Obama were a leader who genuinely had the interests of all the country’s citizens at heart, he would be citing Condoleezza Rice as an example of what blacks can achieve in America. Rice, a descendant of slaves and white slave owners, had something else going for her: Her middle-class black neighborhood had developed a culture separate from the rest of the city, one that shut out the racism all around and taught children they had to be “twice as good” to pull even with whites.

If this wasn't so funny it'd be sad and, OK, I'll ask, Do you think this might have been an Obama Supporter?

True Story:

A man wanders into a muffler shop in Chicago yesterday. He brandishes a gun. Tells them he wants all the money in the safe. They tell him the boss isn't in yet so they can't give him any money. Thief says, all right then, here's my cell phone number. Call me just as soon as the boss comes in and I'll come back and rob you. Boss shows up, dials the cops. They stake the place out. Call the dude on his cell phone. He shows up. Cops tell him to drop the gun. He doesn't. They shoot him in the leg. He goes to the hospital. Apparently if they had shot him in the head there would have been no actual injury.

We have some very stupid people in Chicago. We as a community vote overwhelmingly Democrat. In the Primary Obama won huge in IL. He's from IL. I'm going to take a wild guess and say of this fellow, he's a "Real Robber of Genius", here's your Bud Lite. Certainly he is representative of the kind of voters we have here. I laughed out loud when I heard this story today and then thought, maybe a test to vote for doofeses like this wouldn't be so bad.

Nothing I have just said is racist. He could be white, Hispanic, polish, Italian, Korean, who knows. It doesn't say in the story. I don't know that he did or did not vote for Obama if he voted. I'm going to take a wild guess and say he didn't vote for Huckabee.

Overdoing a GOOD thing

I won't name the company.  Yet.  I did some business with a supply house for biz supplies.  They made some good offers and they did a good job.  Good value.

It was not my first foray into doing business with them. They had treated me well in the past.

So, it was overall a good deal.  They stay on the radar and I will use them again.

But THEN - my phone rings.  It's them.  Some person named "Amy" with a really bad Indian Accent reads me questions, "Was I happy with my Order, Would I use them again, Did I know of the latest "Deal" They have cooking". 

I was nice to "Amy".  Yes, I knew all about them.  But, if Amy, Timmy, Billy, Tanya, or Nathan didn't stop calling me I would splash all over Cyberspace the idiocy of their telemarketing campaign, never use them again, and disreccomend them to all 3 of my friends.

I told them to keep me on their Email Spam list.  I'll look things over.  But till the next order don't call me again. Got it? So far they got the message.  I want them to stay in contact with me, but don't call me. 

Isn't it strange that all those people in India have names Like Amy and Nathan?

(Large Smile)

Exhaustion Gap

The last week I ran much harder than I should have. I spent the day trying to recover.

Too much is sometimes too much.

When I'm tired I get Grumpy.

I was grumpy today.

I'm going to see Eugene Onegin tonite. Opera. I'm looking forward to it. It's one of the first operas I ever saw in a real opera theater. In Vienna.

That was long and hundreds of operas ago.

I need to let my brain clean out. A good sun story about lost love otta do it.

Knowing too Much About a Person is a Problem OR Why no Man is a Porphet in his Own Home Town

I tend not to be much impressed with people. There are few who really ever bowled me over.  The problem I have is, I see them exactly as I am.  One leg at a time pants putter-on-er's. 

 

Once in a Psychological Test I took the analyst said, "WOW, you are really low on the Yellow in your Child".  I said, "great, what does that mean"?

 

He went on to explain that I am not much impressed by status, position, celebrity, importance or elected position.  In me (I'm not much of a status seeker) or in others.

 

I guess it's true.  I don't drop many names although I sure could.  IF the President was across the street I might or might not make the effort to go see him.  I like him, but why?  If Obama was at my front door I probably wouldn't shake his hand.

 

I'm not easily impressed.  And, I don't care if people are impressed with me.  It's who I am.  Low status appreciation. 

 

That's a strength and weakness.  See earlier post about hinges to see what strengths and weakness looks like to me and to others.  I might see this as a strength and you might see it as a weakness.

 

What brings this up is I have several friends who are pretty big stuff to most of the world. They are authors.  They are media types. Public persona's that won't quit.  People who many think are "Really Something".

 

All good I guess.  But, I know them.  I know them well.  Really well.  For that reason I suspect, I am not that impressed. 

 

There have been books written by people I didn't know who are perhaps just as humanly flawed as the ones I do.  But, because I know them I read their books with sufficient awe and respect. 

 

This is silly.  I should look past the person and look towards the wisdom of which they wrote.  But it's hard.  I like Shakespeare a great deal, but what if I had hung out with him?  Would I still stand in awe of his marvelous prose?

 

I think Jared Diamond does a great job, but what if.

 

I won't name my friends who are writers and media types.  It's not important.  I will only say this.  Sometimes when people know me personally and have a hard time understanding or appreciating something I write or publish I guess I understand.  Turnabout ends up being fair play.

 

I'll go a little spiritual on you.  The one who the better I get to know the more in awe of I am is Jesus and HIS book.  Honestly.  I'm amazed.

 

I wish I could get past the person and grasp the purpose by which they write.  No man is a prophet in Gene's home town either.

 

I think for that we are all poorer.  Pity.