HMO's are out to Kill YOU

I admit I have seen far too many X-Files programs.   But, here's a conspiracy theory I hadn't thought of before.  A friend told me of it.  I did some research and found some disturbing information.

 

In states where Physician Assisted Suicide is legal, HMO's actively seek out doctors who will kill you so they make more money, that's just like the Sopranos.

 

In Europe where there is government financed health care the effort to save the taxpayer dollar is even more overt.  25% of deaths in nursing homes, hospice and hospitals were docs killing patients. 

 

That's what the Culture of Death has led us to.  Slippery that slope.

 

Here are some exerpts:

 Others fear that HMOs, motivated by their financial bottom line rather than compassion, will become dangerous advocates for PAS, forcing doctors and patients to make choices they wouldn't otherwise. In Oregon, for example, the assisted suicide law prohibits anyone to "coerce" or use "undue influence" to produce a request for assisted suicide. However, according to the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, "...there is absolutely nothing in the Oregon law to prevent HMOs, managed care companies, doctors or anyone else from suggesting, encouraging, offering, or bringing up assisted suicide with a patient who has not asked about it."

 

Since HMOs make money by cutting costs," he wrote, "and it could cost $40,000 (or more) to provide suicidal patients with proper care so that they don't want assisted suicide, the economic force of gravity is obvious."

 

 He went on to explain that in Oregon, Kaiser-Permanente, the largest not-for-profit HMO in the United States, sought out physicians who were willing to perform PAS. "Kaiser isn't merely permitting doctors to assist in patient suicides," he wrote, "it is actively soliciting its doctors to participate in the deadly practice."

 

Read the whole thing: http://www.kqed.org/topics/news/perspectives/youdecide/pop/suicide/2yes.html

 

 

They're out to KILL you, How far we have fallen.

Some months ago I published a fictional story about Timmy, a little boy who was misbehaving and his parents couldn't handle him, so they had him KILLED.

 

I had lots of people say I was way off on that, that it could never happen. 

 

Well, look at this story with these excerpts:

 

Wragg's 10-year-old son, Jacob, suffered from the degenerative disease of Hunter's syndrome and had multiple disabilities. On July 24, 2004, his father smothered Jacob, afterward calling the police to tell them he had killed his son, the BBC reported Dec. 12. She further noted that the judge justified the husband's decision to kill his son, even though he was not the primary caregiver; it was Wragg's wife who took the main strain of looking after Jacob. What the decision means, is that "our disabled children's lives are worth considerably less than the able-bodied."

 

Then, on Sept. 9, the Irish Examiner newspaper reported that a study carried out by researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam found that doctors are helping to hasten the deaths of sick children in a variety of ways, sometimes acting at the edges of the law.  The study was published in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. It looked at 64 deaths of sick children during a four-month period. Of those, 42 cases involved medical decisions that could hasten death.

There's also this story, you can be Killed in India for just being defective, like being a female.  About 10,000,000 have been terminated in the last 20 years after ultrasound because they were just not penile endowed.

So before you call me nuts once more, ask yourself the question, who's going to make the decision about you living or dying in the future?  This is a life and death issue, YOURS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For What it's Worth

I read the following this morning. I think it’s worth while. It has to do with the great divide and the fact that we (Right and Left) just aren’t talking anymore. I thought about the Buffalo Springfield Song:

There's something happening here.
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a gun over there,
Telling me I got to beware.
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down.

There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds,
Getting so much resistance from behind.
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down.

What a field day for the heat.
A thousand people in the street,
Singing songs and carrying signs,
Mostly say, “Hooray for our side.”
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down.

Paranoia strikes deep:
Into your life it will creep.
It starts when you're always afraid.
You step out of line, the man come and take you away.

I can tell you with confidence that both left and right wing thinkers feel that song is about them, as the one the man will come and take away. Both sides feel the the other side is the one with the GUN. How is that possible? How did we get here? Who generated that much hate? Where is all the venom coming from? This is a conversation conservative thinkers are engaged in right now. Here's a peek into that world.

The Anchoress asked this morning:

I wonder if we are not putting too much energy into negativism, whether it’s actually constructive or just mean-spirited. It doesn’t matter if the left does these things, compiles these lists; for conservatives, some of this just seems to not be the best use of our time or our minds.

We on the right have tons of legitimate differences with folks on the left; on some issues our whole worldviews are utterly and absolutely at odds. There is more than enough to debate about, already, and too many subjects on which we may never be able to come together. We don’t really need to expend our time and energy on projects that simply come down to pointing a finger and saying, “ewwww…look at them” do we?

Isn’t that best left to the perpetual adolescents who live for it?

Negativity and cynicism are too easy to embrace. I know, because when back when I was a liberal, cynicism was the tool by which most of my opinions were shaped; it was simpler than thinking and always gave me a “moral” edge. And because I am human and sometimes inclined to laziness (and sometimes just eager to feel prideful and morally superior and “too smart to fall for” anything) I still find myself falling into cynicism (particularly about the fourth estate, for example) and going negative, because it IS so very easy to do.

Not all blogs embrace cynicism, of course, at least not habitually…but it’s worth thinking about: when does constructive criticism become negativity; when does healthy skepticism become cynicism, and do our better natures get buried under such easy weight?

Cynicism and negativity are like easy-to-make snacks, full of empty calories which fatten you up (and slow you down) while offering no nutrition. Feeding on them gives your body (and your mind) nothing on which to build, or grow, or heal.

I know, some will say that the left is incapable of extending a sentence of good-will toward the right, so why bother - President Bush tried changing the tone and got his extended hand smacked back - yeah, I know, I know. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Remember Atticus Finch, in To Kill A Mockingbird, who explained to his son (after losing a case and watching his unjustly accused black client fall victim to entrenched racism), “just because we’re licked a hundred times over is no reason not to try.” A positive act, upon being rebuffed, does nothing to injure the party offering it.

Clearly, I have work to do on myself. It’s worth thinking about, is alls I’m sayin’.

She had said earlier:

I was thinking about left and right, about how our political passions can overrun our humanity, sometimes, and make us behave in ways that seem quite outside of our instincts. I didn’t write it well, though, and I ticked off a few people.

From Sigmund:

In making the decision who best represents interests, consider this: Anyone who really wants to help his fellow man or represent the best interests of citizens, will not make the focus of their work speaking of human weaknesses, failures and hate. They will speak of man’s great potential and the possibility of participating in good works. More than anything, they will let their love for their fellow man and good works speak for them.

Mother Teresa rarely talked about her work. She went out and did what needed to be done. When she needed money to continue her good works, she demanded that we help- because that would tap into our higher and better selves. We too, could share in those works. She had no harsh words for those of different opinion.

Contrast that, for example, with Rachel Corrie and the ISM. Neither Corrie or the ISM were Mother Teresas, in any sense of the word. Despite noble statements to the contrary, their entire raison d’etre was and remains to promote and publicize an agenda of hate. Their website, and others like them, are filled not only with hate, but instructions on how best to hate.

Mother Teresa and her Order had no time to hate. There was too much work to be done. Rachel Corrie and her ilk had no time to get the job done. There was too much hate to spew.

We all of us do it, sometimes, let our passions get the better of us and spout off, and if we feed that, we find we are like little computers set for scorn, who cannot reboot - we get stuck on cynical, stuck on the sneer.

We might all do it, sometimes…but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to maintain a sense of just how far we are going, and know when we are out of control.

ME AGAIN:

So, how did we all get here, how do we get back. How do we stop the hate and venom from BOTH sides. I am somewhat fearful that even if my side or your side wins that the Buffalo Springfield song will come true once again as it did in the 70’s.

We must stop the hateful talk somehow, from BOTH SIDES.

Mark of the Beast, and you thought we were kidding

So many people think that all the prophecy about a mark in the hand and in the forehead as just so much baloney from religious right wingers.  OK.  How's this.

 

Get your mark right here.

Fire and Death in the Hole (Reflections on the West Virginia Mine Disaster)

My heart goes out to the folks who have suffered loss. I admire their faith and steadfastness (mostly).

Here’s my thoughts:

The media who jumped the gun on this should be ashamed of their behavior. They did no fact checking, no digging. When wildfire started, they fanned the flame. What ever happened to the journalistic maxim, "If your mother says I love you, check it out". And they blame the bloggers for being irresponsible. THEY broke the people’s hearts, not the company.

I was sure that at some point the liberals would figure out a way on how to blame Bush for all this. It didn’t take long. Thursday night on Primetime I see a reporter opine that lax mine inspections because of Bush policies are partially responsible for this disaster. Is there no end to their hatred of this President? They are shameful.

Mining is dangerous. Not as dangerous as farming. We lost people every year on the farm in various ways. Don’t want danger? Work at Wal-Mart. Pays less but very very safe (mostly).

This is a case of the cost of the 100% solution. 60% mine safety is cheap and unacceptable. 70% is more costly by half again and better. 80% is double the cost. Etc. 100% mine safety means 10 pounds of coal are mined annually at a cost of $50,000 per pound.

I got a micro picture of how it will be when the wrath of God comes. Most people believe that they will find God at the end on when trouble comes. It’s not true.

I remember black box tape recordings of people in a burning airplane in Manila in the 70s. They weren’t calling out to God, they were cursing him loudly. Vile evil things.

Then there was the plane that went down in Sioux Falls in the mid 80’s. After it crashed people leaped over each other without much consideration for anyone but themselves. I saw an unedited report that day. The man was cursing God out for the whole thing. I thought it would be better if he stayed away from Church for a while.

At the mine disaster I saw the service on TV when they thought everyone was safe and only one man had died. They were whooping it up. Bless God, Amazing Grace etc. The one man who died (they thought) family was there, the pastor asked if people would please come up and pray for them, there were about 140 people there, 3 came up and prayed.

Then, the bad news came, no more amazing grace how sweet the sound. The god they thought they loved had let them down. They begin to say things like, what good is god, there is no god, _ _ _ _ god. _ _ _ _ Jesus. Rough stuff. Angry stuff.

I didn’t lose anyone in that accident. I don’t have the right to judge. Maybe. I’'ve had crisis, loss, disaster, pain, suffering and shock in my life. I have sat and held the hand of many who were going thru things as hard as this and they didn't curse God. Their anchor held.

When I heard the report of what the people said I immediately thought of a passage from the Book of the Revelation: The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. (Revelation 16:10-11 NIV)

There will come a day when God will put all men in a place where none can look God in the eye and say, I never had a chance, I never knew, I wasn't aware. There will be no excuse. When God pours out his bowls in an attempt to cause people to come back to him, it will have in large part the opposite effect. They will curse God and die.

Sadly that’s exactly what happened to several when the small bowl was poured out on West Virginia. What will happen when the real woes begin?

It depends on who you are anchored to.

Proud to be a Republican or Democrat (are you?)

So you were waiting for me to tell you why this whole Abramhoff affair is going to taint but not bring down the Republican leadership in congress?

Why is this a non starter relative to the 2006 elections?

Here's why.  One brush paints the whole guilty bunch.  The list which I can't bear to publish is the one of the republican's who are just as guilty (only for bigger dollars, but then we are the party of the rich and we can't be bought with the puny contributions democrats apparently can).

So while this will cause great discourse it's without teeth. The relatively subdued tone and normal self-righteousness from the left has been muted.  And, NO, giving the money back (or to charity) doesn't make it OK that you are a slimebag (something my congressman Denny Hastert just did and so did Harry Reid).

Besides, this isn't the big one.  There's another shoe to drop.  Look out, that one WILL hurt.  I'm a little surprised Jack Abramhoff hasn't been killed and all his files disappeared.  No wait, that was only during the Clinton Administration. (for those of you historically challenged see Vince Foster)

40 Of The 45 Members Of The Senate Democrat Caucus:

• Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500
• Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500
• Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250
• Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000
• Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250
• Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765
• Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500
• Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950
• Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000
• Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500
• Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792
• Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300
• Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000
• Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000
• Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250
• Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750
• Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000
• Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000
• Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250
• Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300
• Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550
• Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000
• Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000
• Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000
• Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830
• Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891
• Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550
• Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991
• Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168
• Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200
• Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500
• Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300
• Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500
• Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941
• Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000
• Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500
• Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300
• Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550
• Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250
• Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250

 

Of Beer, Barley and Bio-Breweries

I got this from a friend of mine out west.  AJ Skurdahl.  It is one of those things that seem too good to be true, but I think it just might be.  At first I thought it was one of those "raise rats to feed the cats for fur" things you've all seen.  But It's a legit deal.  So read the exerpt, look at the website.  This is the kind of thing that just might help many of us do well by doing good.  I love the creative thought.

 

The web site is http://www.resurgence.org/resurgence/articles/pauli.htm

 

An excerpt:

"This is not just theory; it's what we've put in practice in three breweries: one in Fiji, one in Tanzania and one in Namibia. When you make beer you have solid waste, C02 waste, heat waste and liquid waste. In solid barley waste you have 70% fibre and 26% protein, plus a few other things.

"In our three breweries we're growing mushrooms on the fibres. In collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Hong Kong Chinese University, we've developed a system to grow mushrooms on the spent grain. You can have up to five harvests of mushrooms in one batch of spent grain, and we've even succeeded in producing high-priced mushroom delicacies like shiitake and miyatake.

"None of the mushroom experts around the world ever thought of growing them on beer. As a systems thinker; I asked: what can we do with the fibres? We discovered that fibre is a mushroom feed, and so we use our fibre as mushroom feed.

"Now, with the 26% protein waste, we're cultivating earthworms. Earthworms like hot, sticky, wet environments, in which they convert vegetable proteins into animal proteins. To give you a figure, a middle-sized brewery with an annual production of 100,000 litres of beer will give you 10 tons of solid waste a day. 70% of that you can use to grow mushrooms.

"But what I found even more interesting is that with one ton of solid waste, you can produce about 130 kilos of earthworms. Therefore, a mid-sized brewery will produce about 1.3 tons of earthworms a day. That's a lot of earthworms. We feed them to chickens. So now we also have a chicken farm linked to our brewery.

"What this means is that there's no need to have any aid programmes for food in Tanzania. Just convert the sixteen breweries into chicken farms, and mushroom farms. You can create massive amounts of food. On top of it, the food is extremely healthy.

"In addition, the mushrooms convert lignin cellulose into carbohydrates. These carbohydrates, the waste from the mushroom farm, are given to the cattle. The cattle used to get food that had only 2% carbohydrates; now their food has 45% carbohydrates, thanks to the good work done by the mushrooms. So now we have a 45% carbohydrate feed stock for cattle, which is high quality feed.

"The cattle and the chicken produce much less methane with this type of feed, but they still do produce a lot. We catch all their droppings in a digester, which then generates steam. The largest digester we have is in Beijing, in a brewery that produces 800,000 litres of beer a year. It's one of the largest breweries in China. All the steam they need in the brewery comes from the digester; from the waste of the chickens and cattle. It's a very efficient process.

"So our chickens and cattle become a source of energy. We are not used to looking at a chicken as a source of energy; we look at it as the source of eggs and food. But a chicken is also one of the most efficient methane generators in the world. With three chickens and one cow, you can have electric light all evening in your home.

"Now, the digester also generates waste, called slurry, which has a very high BOD (biological oxygen demand). This is considered a problem by environmentalists, because of the large amount of oxygen that has to be added. The Chinese and the Vietnamese have worked with very high BOO slurries before.

"They put them into fish ponds on which they have floating gardens, so the roots of the flowers and ryes and tomatoes extract all the food. It's like floating hydroponics. Within twenty- four hours, the BOO of 1,000 (which is what our digesters give us) is broken down to a BOO of 25, without adding oxygen. So we have floating gardens and seven kinds of fish are bred in the ponds, which is the traditional Chinese way of dealing with slurries. This is nothing new; it's what the Chinese have been doing for thousands of years. We are now applying this at our industrial site which means that we have six or seven ponds the size of a hectare, one next to another, and we treat all our slurry that way.

"So, I'm asking my beer brewers, "In which business are you? Are you in the hydroponics business, the fishpond business, the chicken-farming business, or the mushroom business, while you happen to make some beer on the side?" From a systems point of view, it doesn't really matter. Nobody tries to maximize anything here; this is all optimization. That's the beauty of industrial clustering. The principle of the natural cycle is applied here as an industrial cycle. No more linear thinking.

"Let me summarize our results. First of all, in terms of output of nutrients, of fertilizer and of energy, we're doing seven times more than a brewery. This is the second Green revolution! We're producing seven times more food, fuel, and fertilizer. This means we've completely changed the economics of a brewery. It is also important to realize that you can't do this with a two-million-litre- a-year brewery. You can only do it with a small brewery.

"The second result is that we generate four times more jobs than in a normal brewery. We have four times more people employed, because all that clustering requires workers. However; every single component of the cluster is tested against the market. Our great advantage is that every resource comes free, because it is what was considered waste. From the brewery's point of view, everything is waste. Our additional expense is on the infrastructure, all of which is located around the brewery. That means we have eliminated transportation costs completely, which is a major advantage. The brewery is always located close to a consumption centre, which means the mushrooms are sold, the chickens are sold and the fish are sold locally. ~"

 

Of course, to work in the Dakotas water would have to be piped in from the Arctic or Great Lakes.

--
AJ

Right Place Wrong Guy

I have heard more than once from journalists and politicians that what Iraq needs is a “George Washington” to lead the country to independence. 

The lament has been that there is no such person on the horizon. 

 

I’m not convinced.  I watched 6 hours of a history of the crusades on the History Channel. I also saw a good movie, “Kingdom of Heaven”.  Also about the crusades.  My relatives according to ancient family trees were Germans who were part of the crusades into the Holy Land.  Since then I have done some reading.

 

Iraq doesn’t need a George Washington, Iraq needs a Saladin.  He is still a hero in the Muslim world.  What’s interesting is he wasn’t an Arab.  He was a Kurd.  Or if you like a Meade.

 

If you look at those links you will soon figure out why even today Muslims honor his name and revere his victories.

 

I would love to see a Saladin rise up.  I wonder if Saddam saw himself as a Saladin since Saladin was (like Saddam) born in Tikrit in Iraq. 

 

But, lets look for a new Saladin.  What is interesting is that the current prime minister is from Kurdistan, a Meade. 

 

Symbolism is everything in Islam.  Keep your eyes peeled.

 

An Endorsement of a Store I Love

I own no stock.  I have no axe to grind. Peggy and I just came from a visit to one of our favorite grocery stores. 

 

We live within 5 miles of Jewel, Dominick's, Sams Club, Trader Joes, Super Wal-Mart, Super Target and Meijers.  All ok stores except for the antichrist factor at Wal-Mart and Sams.

 

The one I really enjoy simply for the adventure factor is ALDI. 

 

When we lived in Germany we didn't shop much at Aldi.  Tengelman, Z Markt, and others.  Then there were a few super stores in Heilbronn.  I liked the small form market the best.  Too many choices drove me nuts.  Besides the Hefefleks were the best.  An oat cereal kind of like cheerios except better.

 

When we came back we started shopping Aldi.  I won't kid you at the beginning it was for the price.  Then I started discovering a little secret you won't learn except by shopping there often.  They will go out into the market and buy super premium product and sell it as a loss leader.  Anything.  Computers, TV's anything.

 

Here are some of my favorite products:  The Coffee.  The German Coffee is excellent,  Nearly anything with the Grandessa private label is excellent.  The frozen individual pizzas are excellent.  I particularly like the roasted vegetable.  Sugar wafers, excellent stuff.  The honey graham crackers are better than anything you can buy at mainstream stores.  And, a recent find.  Blueberry muffin mix.  Kind of semi sweet and very good.

 

It's not that I need the food but I enjoy Aldi.  In season you can buy excellent stolon. 

 

It's just plain a good place that's full of surprises every time.  But you have to look and you have to try.

 

 

 

I don’t believe everything I read or hear

In the last week a barrage of news stories has come out of South Korea about the scientist who cloned gene specific stem cells. At first I was only mildly interested. But then, as the story got more and more involved I became suspicious.

You see, I have watched just too darn many (all of them) X-Files episodes to allow me to buy what we are fed by government or in particular the media.

I think we will now discover there is more here than meets the eye. If he isn’t assassinated by large corporate government conspirators who are trying hard to keep a lid on this breakthrough because it might halt the global plan of oppression…….. Wait, that’s another X-File plot.

But, don’t buy everything you see. This doesn’t pass the smell test. Something’s up.

2006 Prediction Post

I have been accused of having a prophetic bent.  So:

 

These are my predictions for 2006.  At the end of last year and during the year I have made other predictions.  They are linked or listed at the bottom of this post. I don’t know for sure what will or won’t happen but I know that several of these will happen for sure. 

 

So have a great 2006, It looks like it could be a great year.

 

There will be at least 2 earthquakes of significant magnitude 6+ in California.  There will be one more somewhere else in America.  There will be others on the planet but these 3 are in America.

 

The year will be one of extremes in weather.  Record hot, cold, wind, rain, storm, snow and drought.  Just one major hurricane will occur on US soil in 2006.  It will be a cat 3.

 

There will be an outbreak of bird flu that will cause significant death but it will be restricted to the Asian countries.  Even when it arrives on other shores it will be far less virulent than first predicted by many.  Fear will be great.

 

An educational implosion will begin.  The whole system will begin to dissemble.  It will not stop in 2006.

 

The inner cities in America will begin to regentrify.  Cities will begin to see resergence as people move back.  Don’t give up on Detroit.

 

The major media figures who were dishonored and disgraced in 2005 will be multiplied in 2006.  This will continue until media types start to behave.

 

General Motors will face bankruptcy.  While a shock, it’s impact will be minimal on the economy.  Less than Katrina.

 

Employment in America will remain about the same.

Nearly a 25% decrease in housing starts slows the economy a little.

Inflation concerns and tighter credit contribute to the slowing.

 

Oil prices will begin the year at $60 crude. An attempt to manipulate the market some time in 2006 crude will cause crude to breach $100.  This manipulation will fail and the price will fall to $45. 

 

A major scare in the stock market causing a significant retrenchment.  It won’t hold.  The economy will do OK in spite of it all.

 

Judge Alito will be confirmed.  There will be one more vacancy in 2006. 

 

There will be several departures from the Presidents administration.  Rove, Cheney and Rumsfeld. Condelesa Rice will become Vice President when Cheney resigns after the fall elections.

 

The fall elections will be of little consequence.  Very little change in the balance of power.  The Republicans will actually pick up a seat in the Senate.

 

Scandals in government you see are just the beginning.  The ones that will hurt are bipartisan.  This is going to shake some who have been most self righteous and pontificate the most.  They will have to learn to eat bitter words.

 

Watch these things in political events:

Patriot act – Passes but with modifications

Social Security – no change in 2006

Health Care Reform – serious talk begins

Tax Reform – will continue but still not enough

 

The long questioned WMD issue will be settled in the first quarter of 2006.  It will silence the critics.

 

Iraq will settle down.  Leaders will emerge to bring it into better days. 

soldiers in Iraq will be nearly half what they were at their peak by years end.  About 80.000.  But they won’t all come home.  Some will be in Afghanistan, Kwait and a couple other countries. Afghanistan will require new interventions by US troops in 2006.  After the fall election even the critics will have to admit Iraq is a succes.

 

An alliance of Iran and Russia’s Putin will cause great concern as it should.  Putin will distance himself from America.

 

Osama bin Laden will finally be revealed as dead. 

 

There will be an attempt to detonate a dirty bomb in New York City.  It will fail but cause panic.

 

China will undergo a great natural disaster. 

 

In Russia 2 disasters of proportions not yet seen will take place in 2006. 

 

Israel will experience a quiet time of peace.

 

Persecution of those of faith will accelerate. 

 

5 major leaders of the Church will be lost.

 

Pray for our President.

 

Links to last year’s predictions:

 

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_northerngleaner_archive.html

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2005/09/economic-fallout-from-9-11-andor.html

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2005/07/if-you-got-guts-they-got-money.html

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2005/06/short-takes.html

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2005/10/hardhearted-republicans-put-money-over.html

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2005/09/send-money-but-send-it-to-right.html

 

After the Tsunami I said:

People’s response to incredible tragedy of this nature is predictable. Find someone to blame. This will mean the political landscape of the most devastated countries will change. Some not for the better.

 

There will be significant efforts to install a response and warning system for any future such events. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig. It makes you feel better but it doesn’t really change things. In the USA everyone at top levels is convinced that somewhere sometime in a major metro area a nuclear device will be detonated for maximum neutronic pollution. (dirty bomb) Pop quiz. If you live in or near any of these areas what is your civil defense plan for this predicted event? About the same as Siri Lanka’s I’ll wager.

 

Then there will be the money thrown at the effort and no one will have done enough. It’s already begun. Much of that money will be wasted, siphoned off, graft, theft and lost. Good intentioned people will give to good intentioned NGO’s and it will be stolen. If you give, give to organizations that have the fear of God as part of their charter. Theft is less there.

 

People will ponder the if-onlys. It is delusion to live in a world that believes that things will get better if only. If only I had more money, if only I had a better job, if only I were (or weren’t) married, if only, if only, if only. Things on balance never do get better. They only change. All change is perceived as loss. ALL CHANGE!

http://northerngleaner.blogspot.com/2004/12/christmas-jesus-tsunami.html

 

 

I have a long version of this set of predictions as was given in a Church on January 1, 2006.  If you would like a copy emailed to you send me a messge with the subject line FULL TEXT 2006 and I will return it promptly.  Send that to generedlin@hotmail.com

 

 

 

Terror Alerts {humor line}

I know that you my worldly readers have already seen this.  But I just did and in the off chance that you might NOT have here it is.  I was amused.





The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and have  raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."  Soon, though,  security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit  Cross." Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.  Terrorists have been re-categorized from  "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

Also, the French government announced yesterday that it has raised its  terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide."  The only two higher levels in  France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate."  The rise was precipitated by a  recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.

It's not only the English and French that are on a heightened level of alert.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing."  Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs."  They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

 

The Invasion of the Website SLOBS

I am sick and tired of poorly designed websites that have too much junk on them, take too long to load, are too cumbersome to navigate and frankly look like some amateur created them.

So, how do you spot them? They have the "look what I can do" factor in them. Lots of fancy smancy flashing things, lots of downloaded junk that does nothing except take time.

I use a dialup ISP. It’s 52.000 bps. If your website takes longer than 30 seconds to load, I’ll never see it. It’s not worth the wait.

The home page of the ISP I use, C-Faith.com takes over a minute and a half to load. I’ll never enjoy all the benefits of it. It used to take 30 seconds.

The other day a friend of mine asked me to look at his website. He had a “Professional” design it. That professional is an slob. He built a bloated website with so much gobbledygook on it they are impossible to see.

When I finally consented to look at it I waited nearly 3 (Three) minutes for this “work of art to load”. And what was it? Basically a brochure which was not made better by all the downloads.

So, if anyone anywhere who is reading this has anything at all to do with web design, do all of us a huge favor. Dial up once, see how long it takes to load with nothing in the cache. If it’s more than 30 seconds it’s TOO DARN BIG!

New Religion

I have been on a Theological tear for a while for some reason. Maybe we should all just join this fellows religion. Sounds like fun till you are arrested for nudity and hitting an officer with a trumpet.



Bizarre incident results in 6 charges
Teacher accused of attacking police
Thursday, December 29, 2005

BY REGGIE SHEFFIELD
Of The Patriot-News

A Central Dauphin School District teacher faces charges of assaulting a Lower Paxton Twp. police officer and possession of illegal drugs after being arrested earlier this month while standing naked in the snow outside of his home, police said.

Curtis Lofton, 23, of Springford Terraces, Lower Paxton Twp., was arrested early in the evening of Dec. 10 after a neighbor called police to report a disturbance, court documents say.

Lower Paxton Twp. police said that when they arrived to investigate the disturbance, they found Lofton standing stark naked in the snow.

Lofton was charged with aggravated assault involving a police officer, resisting arrest, open lewdness, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of the prescription drug oxycodone.

According to court papers, when Lofton was asked if he was okay, he responded, "No, I am ... crazy, and I need a menthol cigarette."

When asked where he lived and why he was naked, Lofton is alleged to have said that he was "Jesus Christ" and that the officer must be "God," court papers say.

A scuffle broke out between the two men during which Lofton is alleged to have hit the officer over the head with a long plastic toy trumpet which he scooped up from nearby.

The officer used his pepper spray on Lofton, at first to no avail. Then a cursing Lofton advised the officer that "'Jesus' is now blind," court papers say.

Central Dauphin School District spokeswoman Shannon Spencer said that the school would have no comment on Lofton, a second-year French teacher, and his troubles with the law.

"No comment. That's something we won't be releasing," Spencer said.

Lofton's attorney, Terrence J. McGowan, said that the school district had scheduled a meeting to discuss Lofton's future. Lofton taught in Central Dauphin High School.

"Basically, he had some mental health issues that hopefully are in remission. I don't think it affects his ability to be a French teacher and it wasn't school-related, so we're hoping we can get him back to work," McGowan said.

McGowan said that his defense of his client was somewhat complicated in that his client did not recall any of the events of Dec. 10.

McGowan said that Lofton's performance reviews have been "excellent" and that he had an "impeccable" record as a teacher.

"At this point, I don't know what the school's intentions are," he said.

Lofton is currently undergoing a psychiatric examination and has been released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

rsheffield@patriot-news.com

Why in the world would they do this?

A major trend in media is the decline of Broadcast media. Cable is kicking butt. 

So, some dimbulb decides, yeah, this would be a great idea.  Let's feature homosexual republicans.  That'll be our salvation.

NBC, you guys are the absolute pits.

 

Read this:

NBC is promoting the network’s mid-season replacement series “The Book of Daniel” with language that implies it is a serious drama about Christian people and Christian faith. The main character is Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest whose wife depends heavily on her mid-day martinis.

Webster regularly sees and talks with a very unconventional white-robed, bearded Jesus. The Webster family is rounded out by a 23-year-old homosexual Republican son, a 16-year-old daughter who is a drug dealer, and a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop’s daughter.

At the office, his lesbian secretary is sleeping with his sister-in-law.

Network hype – and the mainstream media – call it “edgy,” “challenging” and “courageous.” The hour-long limited drama series will debut January 6 with back-to-back episodes and will air on Friday nights. The writer for the series is a practicing homosexual.

The homosexual son will be network prime-time’s only regular male homosexual character in a drama series.

Those at NBC responsible for this program consider it a good, religiously oriented show typical of Christian families. Like your's right?  Bull Poop@!*#Q(&_)__)&Q

Let NBC Chairman Bob Wright know what you think.

 

Evangelists of Unbelief and the Fear and Loathing of Faith

20 days ago I listened to an hour with an apostate theologian by the name of Dr. Bart Ehrman. 10 days ago I heard an interview on Radio with some of the Jesus Seminar people who are from Loyola and other educational institutions. Often Martin Marty and Robert Funk and their disciples are on the radio spouting their version of the Godless Gospel. These are people who have reasoned their way out of faith in God.

They do their level best in these interviews to cast doubt and unbelief in the hearts of weak badly taught believers and of those who do not yet believe. It’s straightforward anti-Christ evangelism. Dr. Ehrman admits he is an agnostic (happily he says). He attended 2 conservative Christian institutions in Chicagoland, Moody Bible institute for 3 years and Wheaton College for 3 years. Somewhere the whole thing just triggered one day and he fell off the track.

He is now the head of the Religion department at North Carolina State. It appears that hiring people who oppose the Gospel is policy at secular educational institutions. Now Scientific American has a full page ad promoting his anti Christian teachings.

This was the case also of Paul Meilke who used to be the head of the Religion Department at Kansas University. I say used to because he became discredited and was forced to resign after taking an aggressive stand against creation teaching and filing a questionable police report about abuse.

Living in Chicagoland we have a wide breadth of religious expression. Black Churches, Hindu, Bahia, Moslem, of course Catholic, Jewish, and out in the country a few miles from me is a Buddhist Temple. So I am familiar with all expressions. We also have many of the largest Churches in America in Chicagoland. On the other hand, statistically Chicagoland is one of the least Christian cities in America. How is this possible? Read on.

The whole issue is, how do some agnostic theologians make decisions of faith and truth without the light of the Holy Spirit residing in them. The answer is, they are blind and deceived. This isn’t a surprise: "... if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
"For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God...." 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

The agenda these men try to avoid is the one that calls them to account about who they are. They sucker in intelligent men and women who like to see themselves as open minded. What they don't realize is they become victims of doctrines of demons. These attempts to discredit the Bible are a great deal like the recent court case around the Intelligent Design debate.

If one expresses a doubt about the religion of evolution the atheistic inquisitors come out of their caves and either become discounters of the questioner thru ridicule or try to pass laws or lawsuits to stop the questioning. This is pure and simple persecution of those who do not follow the prescribed dogma of faithless evolution. Secularists are so frightened of any expression of faith in schools that even the simple statement that was “"Some people do not agree with the theory of evolution" ” was to be feared and struck from all textbooks. Isn’t that sad?

There are two unintended consequences of the atheist inquisition Court in Pennsylvania and it's outcome.

First it is causing people to question what all the fuss is about. The unintended consequence is a perpetuation of the debate. An intensification of the debate will heat up as people look into the whole conflict and realize what side they are on. It’s not on the side of the atheistic elite.

The other unintended consequence is increasingly overt animosity by people of faith against public education. People of faith now see public education as and agenda of schools and educators to rob precious children of their faith in God.

Home schooling has expanded widely, now the result of this onslaught will be organized efforts to aggressively take back control of schools and their boards nationwide or abolish them altogether in favor of private schools.

It’s bad enough that good people are deluded into believing what apostate theologians have decided. It’s worse when it’s foisted on our children.

I for one will be happy when Public Education is either dissolved or reformed so that the godless agendas now taught are replaced with free exploration of thought.

I’m not against teaching evolution as I am not against teaching quantum physics. If we say, we don’t know, here is what some think, here is what others think.

To teach as if the atheist dogma is the only acceptable dogma reeks of how the Catholic Church came against Galileo or Copernicus when they began to ask questions.

The world is too quick to embrace empty theological theories or empty evolutionary theories without the capacity to ask, “"What if they aren’t right”." We still teach people to question authority don’t we? Or maybe that’s what these acedemics are most guilty of: Fear and Loathing of Faith.