Kurt Warner.
If you have email you have probably at one time or another received this touching tear jerking story. It's not accurate, but pretty soppy.
If you read on you will read the REAL story. Actually, the real version is just as good in my opinion.
The Arizona Newspaper today has an article about Brenda and Kurt.
A TRUE story.
They are people of faith who have overcome.
I can root for that.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Martin Luther’s prophetic word for 2009?
From Prophetic Reformation
Martin Luther has not stopped speaking, and he has a word for us in 2009!
I know that some of you are concerned about what we may face this year, and the security of your jobs or finances. I encourage you to keep looking to God and remember to remind yourself to be generous and kind to those who are going through difficult times.
I read this today in Luther’s catechism. I encourage everyone who is wanting to be used by God in Prophetic Ministry, to give themselves to serious biblical study and to read through some of the giants of the past, particularly the reformers.
Such study will enrich your ministry. In the midst of it all you will find gold.
Today I found a massive nugget of gold, and with a grateful heart to God I wish to share that same blessing with you.
Martin Luther has not stopped speaking. Here is his message from God for 2009;
“See to it that you let Me alone be your God, and never seek another,” ie. Whatever you lack of good things, expect it of Me, and look to Me for it, and whenever you suffer misfortune and distress, creep and cling to Me. I, yes, I, will give you enough and help you out of every need; only let not your heart cleave to or rest in any other.”
God bless you as we venture into 2009. Keep your heart pure, stay humble before God, and keep a warm heart open to the opportunity that the unexpected Jesus will help you in the most unpredictable way.
A question for those who think they are Atheist
A while back I upbraided a blogger by the name of John Shore. I don't know him. Other than what I read. There is much he has written that frustrates me. His blog is linked to and published as part of a website that speaks to pastors I care about. That's the rub. He writes to an evangelical audience who accepts and embraces him. That wouldn't always be me or the Pastors with which I am associated.
But like the blind squirrel that finds an acorn, he has written some pretty insightful stuff addressed to Atheists. I dropped him a note and gave him an attaboy. He deserved it for this good effort. I apologized for my anger towards him. I was over the top. I don't back off on the concern I have had over what he says sometimes. There is deep disagreement and he sometimes writes from a self erected pedestal. But, I wanted him to know that it's OK to disagree in unity. He said thanks. He's a pretty good writer and as an example this is a good article.
What he says is worth reading.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Atheists: To Whom (If Anyone) Are You Ultimately Grateful?
A while ago I posted An Honest Question: Atheists, How Do You Process Your Guilt?. The question I asked in that piece has been on my mind, because I've lately had occasion to feel truly overwhelming happiness as a result of some stuff happening in my personal life.
We often reference and feel the succor that God offers us in times of grief and pain, but I can honestly say that I'm as grateful for my belief in God when I'm experiencing extreme joy as when crippled by pain. And I mean really grateful, because if I didn't have a God to whom I could send up my gratitude that is so far beyond my ability to comprehend or grasp, I'm not sure I'd know what to do with the intensity of that emotion. It feels like I would just explode.
You know how that is. Your children form a tableau in which it's evident they're at perfect peace with the world. Or you're watching your spouse as he or she sleeps, and have that moment where it moves through you what a wonderful choice you made, what a superb man or woman you're spending your life with. Or you work really hard at something for a very long time, and it produces tangible results beyond anything you ever dared imagine it might.
All those sorts of moments, you know, where you feel that sheer, crazy, almost immobilizing joy.
And right then, when I feel that feeling, I am sooooo glad that I believe in God. Otherwise, I just can't imagine what I would do with that emotion---which, for me, so quickly turns into gratitude.
So atheists/agnostics! Tell me what you do with your extreme joy and happiness. Does joy of that turn for you into gratitude? I am truly and seriously wondering. I'm not trying to trap you, or any of that nonsense. I genuinely want to know. I'm Considerably Dense, but I'm not so slow that I think that only people who believe in God ever feel so joyful and grateful that crying is basically the only response to it.
And I know that when I feel grateful in that way, everything in me seems to naturally and spontaneously . . . pour skyward.
Anyway, if you see what I'm asking: When you feel the kind of joy and happiness that I'm here (so lamely) trying to articulate, what do you do with it? Does it fly upwards for you, too? Or does it stay inside you, and sort of ... I don't know ... bounce around in there, making your insides ring and light up like a pinball machine? Does joy of that sort become gratitude for you---and, if so, what do you do with it?
C'mon. We Christians are always telling you how you can experience Extreme Joy with God. Share with us, if you would, how you experience it without God.
Did the Prophet Jeremiah speak to OUR day?
Pastor’s Reflections
by Dr. Jeffrey E. Frantz
by Dr. Jeffrey E. Frantz
The bailout that is shaking our foundations. Growing up, my parents spoke often of the Great Depression which millions of their generation lived through back in the late 1920’s and 1930’s. The recent financial crisis that has sounded across our land is our worst such crisis since those depression years.
How can you say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us, when in fact, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie? The wise shall be put to shame, they shall be dismayed and taken; since they have rejected the Word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them? Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from the prophet to the priest, everyone deals falsely. (Jeremiah 8:8-10)
Consequences of the crisis will no doubt be with us for years. Everywhere people like me are concerned about our investments and hoped-for retirement. What is perhaps most amazing about this crisis is how uncertain everybody is about how best to respond. The truth seems to be—flat out—we’re not sure.
Hopefully, down the road, we’ll learn some critical lessons about all of this—like, how we got here to begin with and what we could’ve and should’ve done to avoid it. Still, as comprehensive bailout legislation is being glued together in the US Congress, one thing is abundantly clear: the underlying problem is greed. Greed, the impulses of which started in the 1980’s, and which has marched on, mostly unabated, down to the present time. To hear the experts tell it, there’s been greed pretty much at every level of the housing market.
The above reading from Jeremiah is a humble reminder that greed is, of course, nothing new. It is sin, rooted in the human spirit, that is timeless. In many ways it’s linked to the survivalist impulse to look out for number one. It’s the other side of doing for others what we would want them to do for us.
We Americans have become such an immediate gratification culture. Everything, it seems, is short-term perspective, short-term vision. It’s as if we don’t have enough trust in the future to tie our horse to the long-term of anything. Whatever happened to thinking through possible consequences? And anticipating the future?
As congress tries to lead us out of this financial disaster, everywhere, it seems, Americans are angry—fiery angry. And for that reason, those representing us in Congress are increasingly nervous about their political future. All over, politicians are skittish, not wanting to mess up or come down on the wrong side of whatever bailout package finally passes.
There’s nothing about this bailout that feels good. As one congressperson said, Nobody wants to support this bill. Later, another chimed in how everyone left the table unhappy. Whatever form the bill ultimately takes, it will be an orphan bill with no one claiming parentage.
What’s there to learn? In a word, lots. To begin with, our lives are not just about us; they’re about all of us—the person seeking the loan (mortgage), the person making and packaging the loan, the lending institution, the insurance people, all the agents involved at whatever levels, and certainly the hotshots manipulating the numbers and playing up the percentages at the top.
Whenever immediate gratification impulses take over our decision making—about anything—eventually there will be consequences. Lesson to be learned: there’s no free lunch. Second lesson to be learned: what goes around comes around. As the reading from the prophet Jeremiah suggests, whenever greed knocks us off balance in life, whenever it lures us into losing sight of the big picture of our lives, whenever our clamoring for profit and benefit runs amok, it becomes for us a lie, the antithesis of wisdom, a denial of God’s purposes. And again, always—however long it takes—there are consequences.
The ultimate remedy for our financial blues is nothing less than the rebuilding of our foundations—foundations which rest on the pillars of integrity, honor and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Not to Scare you, but we must be like the sons of Issachar
Hyperinflation is a possibility, say Morgan Stanley
That’s not in Zimbabwe by the way.
Morgan Stanley’s Jocahcim Fels and Spyros Andreopoulos look at the possibility of hyperinflation hitting the western shores of the UK, Europe and the US in their latest note. Their conclusion is a little scary (our emphasis).
One stark lesson from the ongoing financial and economic crisis is that so-called black swans — large-impact, hard-to-predict and seemingly rare events — can occur more frequently than generally believed.With policymakers around the world throwing massive conventional and unconventional monetary and fiscal stimuli at their economies, we think that it is worth exploring the black swan event of very high inflation or even hyperinflation.
While such an outcome is clearly not our main case, the risk of hyperinflation cannot be dismissed very easily any longer, in our view. We discuss the historical evidence, the conditions that can lead to very high or hyperinflation, and whether and how it might happen again.
So hypinflation is a black-swan event that, given all the other black-swan events of late, should not be dismissed.
As they remind, the classification of hyperinflation is: an episode where the inflation rate exceeds 
The root cause of hyperinflation is: ‘excessive money supply growth, usually caused by governments instructing their central banks to help finance expenditures through rapid money creation.’
Back to whether it could happen to Europe or the US? Morgan Stanley says possibly yes, under certain conditions.
Firstly, the rapid expansion of the monetary base by the Fed, ECB and BoE would have to continue and feed into a more rapid and sustained expansion of money in the hands of the general public.
Secondly, Morgan Stanley says governments would have to face difficulties financing their bailout packages and funding their debt.
Lastly, public confidence in the government’s ability to service debt without resorting to the printing press would have to disappear, as well as the government’s actual ability to withstand the pressure to do so in the first place.
And while all of the above is an extreme scenario, the Morgan Stanley analysts say:
…given the size of the current and prospective economic and financial problems, and given the size of the monetary and fiscal stimulus that central banks and governments are throwing at these problems, investors would be well advised not to ignore this tail risk, especially as markets are priced for the opposite outcome of lasting deflation in the next several years. Put differently, we believe that buying some insurance against the black swan event of high inflation or even hyperinflation makes sense and is relatively cheap currently.
Of course, when hyperinflation occurred in the eastern block countries towards the end of the communist era, most citizens hedged via significant purchases of black-market US dollars, the US dollar becoming the effective proxy store of value. This time round, that would not be an option.
The Coming Mega Inflation
Remember 20% interest rates? Remember 15% inflation. More than 1% per month?
Remember when you could buy a Coke for a dime and now it's a buck?
The ten dollar Coke is on the way. Then the Hundred Dollar Coke.
Don't worry about the national debt, we'll pay it back with funny money.
Glen Beck explains why, too much money following too few goods.
If this doesn't put the fear of God in you, you're dead.
Remember when you could buy a Coke for a dime and now it's a buck?
The ten dollar Coke is on the way. Then the Hundred Dollar Coke.
Don't worry about the national debt, we'll pay it back with funny money.
Glen Beck explains why, too much money following too few goods.
If this doesn't put the fear of God in you, you're dead.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
What's Going to Happen in the USA and in North Dakota
Here’s what’s about to happen:
Not until 2017 do we see things start to get well at all.
OH, and all that “Debt” the government is generating that people wonder how it’s going to get paid? Never mind, all major debt is monetized. That means that if you owe a billion, you print enough money until the billion is really fifty bucks, pay it off and viola, presto, gone.
I don’t know how you are going to deal with all this, but I thought you would want to know.
OH, and, This WILL be blamed on the Democrats by 2012. Obama better HOPE a bit of this works or he will duplicate Jimmy Carter’s term in office.
- Stimulus package passes.
- “We have to DO something” ism takes over
- Some peace takes place and the markets recover early this year
- Then inflation begins to steam up….$150 crude
- Driving the market down
- The world economy collapses and demand for commodities declines mid 2010 oil back to $35
- We end up in a deep hole, bad economy, low demand, commodity prices without demand, goodbye good times in North Dakota. Cheap wheat, cheap oil = broke state.
Not until 2017 do we see things start to get well at all.
OH, and all that “Debt” the government is generating that people wonder how it’s going to get paid? Never mind, all major debt is monetized. That means that if you owe a billion, you print enough money until the billion is really fifty bucks, pay it off and viola, presto, gone.
I don’t know how you are going to deal with all this, but I thought you would want to know.
OH, and, This WILL be blamed on the Democrats by 2012. Obama better HOPE a bit of this works or he will duplicate Jimmy Carter’s term in office.
The Amazing Blago
I watched our governor on Larry King. I watched him on the View. I watched him on Glen Beck.
He's amazing. Never fazed. Without remorse. Steady.
Glen thought he had a shot at humiliating him. NOPE. The Gov stayed steady.
I will make a prediction right here and now. He will be removed from office but never go to jail.
He kept saying on Beck, "I have done nothing wrong". He's right. He hasn't. He's done a lot of things stupid. He's done a lot of things funny. He's talked pretty bad. But he has done nothing wrong.
I think Patrick Fitzgerald is about to have his rear handed to him.
That is just my opinion.
He's amazing. Never fazed. Without remorse. Steady.
Glen thought he had a shot at humiliating him. NOPE. The Gov stayed steady.
I will make a prediction right here and now. He will be removed from office but never go to jail.
He kept saying on Beck, "I have done nothing wrong". He's right. He hasn't. He's done a lot of things stupid. He's done a lot of things funny. He's talked pretty bad. But he has done nothing wrong.
I think Patrick Fitzgerald is about to have his rear handed to him.
That is just my opinion.
Sarah Palin Nominated for President along side Obama
From Politico:
And you think I'm kidding. She's the real deal.
In what could be a preview of the 2012 presidential race, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington, Politico has learned.
..............................
And aside from the real thing, club members always nominate a mock candidate for the highest office in the land. The “nominee” is then required to give an acceptance speech.
Should Palin be this year’s lucky nominee, she’ll be in good company: Three honorees have actually gone on to actually become president – Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Two Visions equal DI-Vision
I am a conservative. Unabashed. Not everything Rush Limbaugh does thrills me. I have been critical of him in the past. Here. Other places.
Right now we are as Conservatives fighting for our lives. We are batting at the wind. Then Pres Obama says something about Rush and Republicans tip over.
The story is here. You probably heard this. An update to all this is that the Conservatives and some Republicans have apologized and contacted Rush to make right. All is OK now.
BUT
This is an example of what is happening. We are a big tent coalition. Social Conservatives mixed with Social Liberals. Religious mixed with unbelievers. Believers in Darwin mixed with believers in the Biblical account of Creation. Fiscal conservatives and those who would spend money for the common good freely.
The problem is we know what we believe, whoever we are. Beating each other up over what we believe is counter productive. We can argue, but sometimes it goes beyond that.
I think the Rush experience has demonstrated that we need to behave and not let our President push us around. Or even each other.
What concerns me even more is the anti Intelligent Design pro Darwin wing in the Conservative tent that has somehow decided by itself that unless you believe as they do you can't be accepted. This won't work and is counter productive to the Nth degree to other causes we agree on.
That's not going to work. We will only insure that the Liberals stay in power forever.
This internal war can be settled. But it’s got to be settled with vision. One vision. Not two. Two Visions equal division.
It’s a vision that includes fiscal restraint, self reliance, libertarianism sprinkled in and a strong dose of social conservatism with faith in God as it’s core. I know that disturbs people who don’t believe in God, but 80% of conservative voters do. They may not always live that way but they believe.
So, if we are going to succeed we have to allow those who speak up informed by faith to have an opinion not being denigrated by those without.
In this year of Darwin Worship, that will have to include those of us (me) who do not buy the whole Evolution thing in spades. I’m not a young earth-er either. There were dinosaurs. They just weren’t my ancestors. Neither was any ape I know. I did have an uncle once....
I read the tirades against intelligent design on conservative blogs and all I see is people trying to destroy one thing that holds many of us together, A faith in a God we know is there. If you choose to not believe, that’s OK. We hope you do someday. But don’t denigrate those of us who do.
When the line in the sand is drawn over evolution or creationism you are asking a large portion of conservative Americans to abandon deeply held religious beliefs to be part of your club. We don’t deserve or expect ridicule. The operator of Pajamas Media who writes Little Green Footballs is one of the worst offenders in this. How does poking fun at me or trying to make me feel stupid help the cause? Here is his latest broadside attack.
We have bigger fish to fry than arguing about Darwin and his wacky theory. Cut it out.
Right now we are as Conservatives fighting for our lives. We are batting at the wind. Then Pres Obama says something about Rush and Republicans tip over.
The story is here. You probably heard this. An update to all this is that the Conservatives and some Republicans have apologized and contacted Rush to make right. All is OK now.
BUT
This is an example of what is happening. We are a big tent coalition. Social Conservatives mixed with Social Liberals. Religious mixed with unbelievers. Believers in Darwin mixed with believers in the Biblical account of Creation. Fiscal conservatives and those who would spend money for the common good freely.
The problem is we know what we believe, whoever we are. Beating each other up over what we believe is counter productive. We can argue, but sometimes it goes beyond that.
I think the Rush experience has demonstrated that we need to behave and not let our President push us around. Or even each other.
What concerns me even more is the anti Intelligent Design pro Darwin wing in the Conservative tent that has somehow decided by itself that unless you believe as they do you can't be accepted. This won't work and is counter productive to the Nth degree to other causes we agree on.
That's not going to work. We will only insure that the Liberals stay in power forever.
This internal war can be settled. But it’s got to be settled with vision. One vision. Not two. Two Visions equal division.
It’s a vision that includes fiscal restraint, self reliance, libertarianism sprinkled in and a strong dose of social conservatism with faith in God as it’s core. I know that disturbs people who don’t believe in God, but 80% of conservative voters do. They may not always live that way but they believe.
So, if we are going to succeed we have to allow those who speak up informed by faith to have an opinion not being denigrated by those without.
In this year of Darwin Worship, that will have to include those of us (me) who do not buy the whole Evolution thing in spades. I’m not a young earth-er either. There were dinosaurs. They just weren’t my ancestors. Neither was any ape I know. I did have an uncle once....
I read the tirades against intelligent design on conservative blogs and all I see is people trying to destroy one thing that holds many of us together, A faith in a God we know is there. If you choose to not believe, that’s OK. We hope you do someday. But don’t denigrate those of us who do.
When the line in the sand is drawn over evolution or creationism you are asking a large portion of conservative Americans to abandon deeply held religious beliefs to be part of your club. We don’t deserve or expect ridicule. The operator of Pajamas Media who writes Little Green Footballs is one of the worst offenders in this. How does poking fun at me or trying to make me feel stupid help the cause? Here is his latest broadside attack.
We have bigger fish to fry than arguing about Darwin and his wacky theory. Cut it out.
The 92 year old man that froze to death in his home
You probably read about this man from Michigan.
This is where the Church should be involved. A good Christian Church (or perhaps even a Mosque or Synagogue) would not let this happen. I’m talking smaller churches. Huge mega Churches may not keep track of this guy. My church would. Does. It’s makes that sharing all things in common thing work pretty well.
I don’t know if he was connected. Who did his wife’s funeral? Why wasn’t that pastor in touch with him or one of his friends? Or maybe it was a civil funeral. I don't know.
About the idea that he froze in agony. I doubt that. I have almost frozen to death. It’s not agony. Hypothermia and then you go to sleep. So, that part of the story isn’t true. Ask anyone who grew up in the frozen north. Freezing isn’t a bad way to go.
The Eskimos who set their elderly out on ice floes to freeze to death (when they ask to be let go) are doing a form of euthanasia, but at least one that is painless and worthwhile. I don't endorse it but they have concluded that freezing to death is a good way to go.
I told my wife that when that times comes dress me warm and drop me off in the woods. I’ll go till I can’t any more. Or up at the top of some windy butte. I was on one on a very cold winter’s day overlooking the Missouri River north of Bismarck once as the sun set. I thought about what it would be like to just sit and change worlds right there. I'm kidding, but I have always wanted to go like Moses. OR Enoch.
ON the other hand. This is a bad deal. Lots of blame to go around. Bureaucracies run wild. They'll cure this. With more Bureaucracy.
I wonder how much more of this there will be. I just heard of a local family who’s electricity and gas has been shut off. They are burning candles and kerosene lamps at night for light. Heat is a wood stove. Food is food pantry provided. Carrying water to drink from the neighbors. Melting snow to flush the toilet. All in all they are getting along OK without Comcast.
When we were first married we lived like that. No indoor toilet. Carried water. Burned wood. We did have electricity. So it can be done. I'd miss my high speed Internet. That's a God Given Right, isn't it?
Maybe it’s time to get back to the basics. Maybe we will all have to.
This is where the Church should be involved. A good Christian Church (or perhaps even a Mosque or Synagogue) would not let this happen. I’m talking smaller churches. Huge mega Churches may not keep track of this guy. My church would. Does. It’s makes that sharing all things in common thing work pretty well.
I don’t know if he was connected. Who did his wife’s funeral? Why wasn’t that pastor in touch with him or one of his friends? Or maybe it was a civil funeral. I don't know.
About the idea that he froze in agony. I doubt that. I have almost frozen to death. It’s not agony. Hypothermia and then you go to sleep. So, that part of the story isn’t true. Ask anyone who grew up in the frozen north. Freezing isn’t a bad way to go.
The Eskimos who set their elderly out on ice floes to freeze to death (when they ask to be let go) are doing a form of euthanasia, but at least one that is painless and worthwhile. I don't endorse it but they have concluded that freezing to death is a good way to go.
I told my wife that when that times comes dress me warm and drop me off in the woods. I’ll go till I can’t any more. Or up at the top of some windy butte. I was on one on a very cold winter’s day overlooking the Missouri River north of Bismarck once as the sun set. I thought about what it would be like to just sit and change worlds right there. I'm kidding, but I have always wanted to go like Moses. OR Enoch.
ON the other hand. This is a bad deal. Lots of blame to go around. Bureaucracies run wild. They'll cure this. With more Bureaucracy.
I wonder how much more of this there will be. I just heard of a local family who’s electricity and gas has been shut off. They are burning candles and kerosene lamps at night for light. Heat is a wood stove. Food is food pantry provided. Carrying water to drink from the neighbors. Melting snow to flush the toilet. All in all they are getting along OK without Comcast.
When we were first married we lived like that. No indoor toilet. Carried water. Burned wood. We did have electricity. So it can be done. I'd miss my high speed Internet. That's a God Given Right, isn't it?
Maybe it’s time to get back to the basics. Maybe we will all have to.
Not EVERYONE should go to College
From John Stossel
A college diploma is supposed to be the ticket to the good life. Colleges and politicians tell students, "Your life will be much better if you go to college. On average during your lifetime you will earn a million dollars more if you get a bachelor's degree." Barack Obama, stumping on the campaign trail, said, "We expect all our children not only to graduate high school, but to graduate college."
Rachele Percel heard the promises. She borrowed big to pay about $24,000 a year to attend Rivier College in New Hampshire. She got a degree in human development. "I was told just to take out the loans and get the degree because when you graduate you're going to be able to get that good job and pay them off no problem," she told me for last week's "20/20."
But for three years she failed to find a decent job. Now she holds a low-level desk job doing work she says she could have done straight out of high school. And she's still $85,000 in debt. This month she had to move out of her apartment because she couldn't pay the rent.
The promise about college? "I definitely feel like it was a scam," says Rachele.
Her college wrote us that that many of its graduates have launched successful careers. But Rachele's problem isn't uncommon. A recent survey asked thousands of students: Would you go to your college again? About 40 percent said no.
Read the whole thing............
Not Just for NEW Pastors (my comments in RED)
Preparing for the Ministry
Dr. Ray Pritchard
Author, Speaker, President of Keep Believing Ministries
When you are asked the same question twice in the span of a few days, that does make you pay closer attention. So here are my thoughts, arranged in no particular order, to the question, “What advice would I give to a young person preparing for the ministry?"
1. Read widely.
In the years ahead we will need well-educated young men and women. So read widely, read from the bestseller list, read people you don’t agree with. It’s not a good sign if you’ve read 700 books and all of them support what you already believe. (be careful to read things that aren't going to pollute your spirit however, balance is important here)
2. Learn to speak well and write well.
All things being equal, the people who can speak with confidence and who can write clearly will rise to the top in any field. Take a few speech classes, join Toastmasters, take every speaking opportunity you can get until you feel at home on your feet. As for writing, technology gives this generation a huge advantage. My parents were raised on manual typewriters, I started with an IBM Selectric. The advent of the personal computer means that no one has an excuse for not writing well. Keep a blog. Write out your sermons in full. (AMEN TO THIS, learn to speak well)
3. Find out what you can do well.
This takes about ten years–or maybe a little longer. In the beginning, you naturally think you can do everything. You can’t. You’ll learn that the hard way. Find out what you do that God blesses–and keep on doing it.
4. Decide now to be flexible later.
Don’t get stuck in the trap of thinking that you have to be a pastor or a teacher or a missionary forever. We’re past the day when people stay in the same position for a lifetime. Your only call is to serve the Lord in whatever way he chooses to use you and wherever he wants to put you. Flexibility is a great blessing and inflexibility tends to be a career-ender. So stay loose.
5. Ask the Lord to put you in over your head.
He’ll probably do it anyway, but it’s more fun if you ask in advance. If you are so cool and so well-prepared and so competent that you can do it all, why do you need God? It’s a good thing to be thrown in the deep end where you don’t know what you’re doing and if God doesn’t help you, you’re sunk. That’s when you learn how to pray. (ask for help, God's still God, you aren't)
6. Beware of envy.
It’s a big time-waster. In the great game of life, we’re all constantly being compared to everyone else around us. We’re all being measured, quantified, and examined to see how well we’re doing versus those around us. And there is nothing we can do about it. Envy tends to be the sin of moderately successful people. Pray to be delivered from it because it destroys your joy and makes you a miserable person to be around. (find a few people you trust and have them help to sharpen you)
7. Learn to do a few things well and the rest just okay.
In the beginning you won’t be able to specialize so learn how to do it all. In my first church I folded the bulletins, printed them, opened the church, led the singing and preached. But I started my writing by doing a weekly column on the back of the bulletin and continued for 27 years. Do whatever needs to be done–and then learn to do a few things well. (Pastor Dan was NOTED for being wise, he was good at other things, but his wisdom was the core essential, I miss him)
Good News
Sarah Palin Unveils National 'SarahPAC' Organization
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:56 PM
By: David A. Patten
In a major step closer to a future run for national office, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Tuesday established SarahPAC, a political action committee expected to play a key role in financing upcoming political endeavors.
“SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of a historic renaissance that will build a better future for all,” the SarahPAC.com Web site announced Tuesday. “Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals.”
The site, which invites donations, calls energy independence “a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.”
NBC’s Norah O’Donnell characterized the creation of the fund-raising organization as “a sign Sarah Palin wants to continue to be a player on the national political stage.” O’Donnell added that the Virginia-based PAC “is modeled after HillPAC, Hillary Clinton’s former political committee. Palin’s committee allows her to raise money for other Republicans.”
The PAC Web site describes the organization as “Dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.”
The Alaska governor’s popularity remains undiminished since the election. O’Donnell reports Sen. John MCain’s running mate has over 465,300 supporters on Facebook.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:56 PM
By: David A. Patten
In a major step closer to a future run for national office, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Tuesday established SarahPAC, a political action committee expected to play a key role in financing upcoming political endeavors.
“SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of a historic renaissance that will build a better future for all,” the SarahPAC.com Web site announced Tuesday. “Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals.”
The site, which invites donations, calls energy independence “a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.”
NBC’s Norah O’Donnell characterized the creation of the fund-raising organization as “a sign Sarah Palin wants to continue to be a player on the national political stage.” O’Donnell added that the Virginia-based PAC “is modeled after HillPAC, Hillary Clinton’s former political committee. Palin’s committee allows her to raise money for other Republicans.”
The PAC Web site describes the organization as “Dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.”
The Alaska governor’s popularity remains undiminished since the election. O’Donnell reports Sen. John MCain’s running mate has over 465,300 supporters on Facebook.
Truth and Nihilism
Last night Peggy and I went to see Macbeth at the Shakespeare theater on Navy Pier in Chicago.
Blood and guts.
Lots of famous lines.
The soliloquy that Macbeth rehearses upon discovering Lady Macbeth dead is famous and oft quoted. It can be nihilistic. Yet, there is reality that is horrible for the unbeliever and comforting for the believer. Here's what he says:
People who don't know Jesus look at this soliloquy and say, "see....... even Shakespeare knew there is no god".
Except that God talks about the foolishness of life when it's not invested in Him. How we can lose our life because we waste it in vain pursuits. The devil wants us to perish. John 3:16 has less to do with heaven and much to do with life here and now. We have a Godly purpose. The devil wants to destroy it. To perish. Still alive but spiritually dead.
God speaks in his word things that seem to agree with Macbeth.
The reality is blind ambition, the killing that goes on in the name of being king in this play is futile....King of WHAT? Watch as kings of industry are taken down and humiliated. They are destroyed by ambition without God.
We were all made for something much greater. We were made for significance. We were made to fulfil our Godly purpose. It's only when we chase after shadows that our brief time on this earth is wasted. We perish. Without Hope. Signifying NOTHING.
So next time you see or hear someone pontificating about how important they are or what they are doing is, remember they are only amusing God:
He who seeks God finds him. And he finds life. He doesn't end as Macbeth does. Alone and hopeless. He will find himself like David:
Blood and guts.
Lots of famous lines.
Double trouble...
What is that I see before me....
Out Out damn'ed spot.....
The soliloquy that Macbeth rehearses upon discovering Lady Macbeth dead is famous and oft quoted. It can be nihilistic. Yet, there is reality that is horrible for the unbeliever and comforting for the believer. Here's what he says:
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,I placed the spaces as I heard Ben Carlson give them. The breaks.
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow,
a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale Told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying
nothing.
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28
People who don't know Jesus look at this soliloquy and say, "see....... even Shakespeare knew there is no god".
Except that God talks about the foolishness of life when it's not invested in Him. How we can lose our life because we waste it in vain pursuits. The devil wants us to perish. John 3:16 has less to do with heaven and much to do with life here and now. We have a Godly purpose. The devil wants to destroy it. To perish. Still alive but spiritually dead.
God speaks in his word things that seem to agree with Macbeth.
Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
"The one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business." Jam 1:10,11
Hebrews 9:27"Everyone must die once and after this comes judgment."BUT, there is hope in God -
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."1 John 2:17
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.1Peter 1:23-25
The reality is blind ambition, the killing that goes on in the name of being king in this play is futile....King of WHAT? Watch as kings of industry are taken down and humiliated. They are destroyed by ambition without God.
We were all made for something much greater. We were made for significance. We were made to fulfil our Godly purpose. It's only when we chase after shadows that our brief time on this earth is wasted. We perish. Without Hope. Signifying NOTHING.
So next time you see or hear someone pontificating about how important they are or what they are doing is, remember they are only amusing God:
Psalm 2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
He who seeks God finds him. And he finds life. He doesn't end as Macbeth does. Alone and hopeless. He will find himself like David:
Psalm 63
A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
6 I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Jimmy Carter's Quest for Respect
Jimmy Carter is still hoping to be ranked among the top 43 presidents of the USA.
Desperation #1
Desperation #2
Jimmy Carter is pathetic.
And for your reading entertainment, Google "jimmy carter is an idiot". Pages and pages and pages of stuff about Mr Peanut brain. I don't know any President so universally despised, not even George Bush. I have much to admire GWB about and nothing to admire about Carter. How could one man generate so much disdain. He ranks fully 44 out of 43 in Presidential ranking. I hope Obama does a little better. I fear he might be Carter round 2. Let's hope not.
Desperation #1
Desperation #2
Jimmy Carter is pathetic.
And for your reading entertainment, Google "jimmy carter is an idiot". Pages and pages and pages of stuff about Mr Peanut brain. I don't know any President so universally despised, not even George Bush. I have much to admire GWB about and nothing to admire about Carter. How could one man generate so much disdain. He ranks fully 44 out of 43 in Presidential ranking. I hope Obama does a little better. I fear he might be Carter round 2. Let's hope not.
Save The Planet - Ten Ideas
A Go-Green Guide for the Hollywood Community
More than ten years after the Kyoto accords, our planet continues to careen helplessly toward certain environmental destruction. The skies are choked with pollutants. Adorable helpless polar bears plunge through thinning ice caps. Ben Affleck still can’t find a decent comeback project.
The signs are ominous, but it’s not too late to do something. As a member of the entertainment community, you are uniquely qualified to save our planet from coming climate disaster. But it will take more than raising awareness — it will take action. Have your personal assistant add these 10 to-dos to your Blackberry, and let’s get the Earth on the road to recovery!
1. Reduce Water Consumption. One single dripping faucet or flushed bidet may not seem to be much of an environmental threat, but those numbers really add up when you’re hosting an NRDC fundraiser for Laurie David and all 10 of your bathrooms are in use. When possible, encourage guests to pee in the pool, and remind them that “if it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Unless you’re serving asparagus canapes.
2. “Green Begins At Home.” Whether you live in East Hampton or Topanga Canyon, there are dozens of little things you can do around your compound to reduce your carbon footprint. For instance, tell your groundskeeping crew to plant a tree. Save your leftover foie gras to grow your own homemade organic Botox. Turn off your energy wasting security cameras between 1 AM and 7 AM. If you own a vanity cattle ranch in Montana, email the trail boss and tell him/her to add Beano to your herd’s feed to reduce ozone-depleting methane emissions.
3. Upgrade To a New Gulfstream G550. Next time you take off for Cannes or Sundance or that big Environmental Defense Fund gala, stop and think how much fuel that clunky old G450 is using. Not only does the new G550 have real burled walnut and 10.8% better fuel efficiency, it has smoother ride — meaning 20% fewer annoying turbulence-related Cristal and cocaine spills. And with a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.885 you’ll never be late for the red carpet at the Palm d’Or!
4. Crush a Third World Economic Development Movement. One of the most pressing threats facing our environment is rising income in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A generation ago these proud little dark people were happily frolicking in the rain forest, foraging for organic foods amid the wonders of nature. Today, corrupted by wealth, they are demanding environmentally hazardous consumer goods like cars and air conditioning and malaria medicine. You can do your part to stop this dangerous consumerism trend by supporting environmentally progressive leaders like Hugo Chavez and Robert Mugabe, and their programs for sustainable low-impact ecolabor camps.
5. Don’t Reproduce. Many people are shocked when they learn that fewer than 25% of the Screen Actors Guild have been spayed or neutered. Sure, babies make great fashion accessories and it’s fun to give them awesome names, like Kumquat Wildebeest Paltrow and Toploader Enchilada Cage. But these miniature humans will eventually grow up and begin ravenously eating up the Earth’s depleted reserves of aux pairs and psychotherapists.
6. Use Alternative Fuel Motorcades. Let’s face it: whether you are on an international press junket or going to an awards banquet, limousine motorcades are a way of life. But this doesn’t mean you can’t make your red carpet entrance in an eco-friendly way. When possible, tell your publicity team to request a electric, hybrid, or E-85 stretch limo for you and your entourage. Later, when you are vomiting outside the Viper Club, encourage the paparazzi to share the photos to conserve high-energy-use camera flash pods.
7. Avoid Over-Packaged Products. Just look at all the wasteful packaging that goes into your DVDs and CDs: bulky plastic jewel cases, annoying and unnecessary anti-theft devices, price stickers. To reduce the use of petrochemicals, encourage your fans to download copies of your latest album or movie straight from the internet — for free! When they realize it sucks even worse than the reviews on BitTorrent, they can simply erase it from their hard drive instead of sending it to the landfill.
8. Go On a Random Killing Spree. The scientific debate is over: our current environmental mess is caused by an oversupply of human beings, and it’s high time we address these two-legged eco problems head on. Next time you’re on your way to a location shoot, do a little location shooting of your own - Biggie/Tupac style. Have the driver lower the tinted windows and pop a few caps on behalf of Mother Earth. Not only will you be doing the environment a good turn, it will earn you valuable youth market “street cred.”
9. Destroy The Entertainment Industry. Science shows that no single sector of the economy exemplifies America’s obscene energy waste more than show business. Witness the untold megatons of carbon released into the atmosphere every year by the production and consumption of entertainment, with no objective benefit to society. It all adds up to one gigantic, mindless, Earth-raping waste of time, and will take the commitment of progressive industry leaders like you to stop it. Before greenlighting any new project, make sure it contains at least 85% organic recycled preachy self-indulgence. By ridding your products of their dangerous popular appeal, you can keep the public where they belong — at home, with the TV off, playing eco-friendly board games like ‘Scrabble’ and ‘Mystery Date.’
10. Commit Suicide. As an eco-aware, planetary resource parasite, you will eventually want to kill yourself to spare the environment any further damage that your personal existence has already caused. However, it is important that you plan your suicide carefully as not to disturb the ecosystem’s delicate balance. Self immolation, while poignant, can release up to 50 kg of airborne fluorocarbons. Why not try the the hot new Malibu trend, ritual Japanese sepukku? it’s exotic, elegant, and your intact corpse will make a great compost pile addition!
More than ten years after the Kyoto accords, our planet continues to careen helplessly toward certain environmental destruction. The skies are choked with pollutants. Adorable helpless polar bears plunge through thinning ice caps. Ben Affleck still can’t find a decent comeback project.
The signs are ominous, but it’s not too late to do something. As a member of the entertainment community, you are uniquely qualified to save our planet from coming climate disaster. But it will take more than raising awareness — it will take action. Have your personal assistant add these 10 to-dos to your Blackberry, and let’s get the Earth on the road to recovery!
1. Reduce Water Consumption. One single dripping faucet or flushed bidet may not seem to be much of an environmental threat, but those numbers really add up when you’re hosting an NRDC fundraiser for Laurie David and all 10 of your bathrooms are in use. When possible, encourage guests to pee in the pool, and remind them that “if it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Unless you’re serving asparagus canapes.
2. “Green Begins At Home.” Whether you live in East Hampton or Topanga Canyon, there are dozens of little things you can do around your compound to reduce your carbon footprint. For instance, tell your groundskeeping crew to plant a tree. Save your leftover foie gras to grow your own homemade organic Botox. Turn off your energy wasting security cameras between 1 AM and 7 AM. If you own a vanity cattle ranch in Montana, email the trail boss and tell him/her to add Beano to your herd’s feed to reduce ozone-depleting methane emissions.
3. Upgrade To a New Gulfstream G550. Next time you take off for Cannes or Sundance or that big Environmental Defense Fund gala, stop and think how much fuel that clunky old G450 is using. Not only does the new G550 have real burled walnut and 10.8% better fuel efficiency, it has smoother ride — meaning 20% fewer annoying turbulence-related Cristal and cocaine spills. And with a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.885 you’ll never be late for the red carpet at the Palm d’Or!
4. Crush a Third World Economic Development Movement. One of the most pressing threats facing our environment is rising income in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A generation ago these proud little dark people were happily frolicking in the rain forest, foraging for organic foods amid the wonders of nature. Today, corrupted by wealth, they are demanding environmentally hazardous consumer goods like cars and air conditioning and malaria medicine. You can do your part to stop this dangerous consumerism trend by supporting environmentally progressive leaders like Hugo Chavez and Robert Mugabe, and their programs for sustainable low-impact ecolabor camps.
5. Don’t Reproduce. Many people are shocked when they learn that fewer than 25% of the Screen Actors Guild have been spayed or neutered. Sure, babies make great fashion accessories and it’s fun to give them awesome names, like Kumquat Wildebeest Paltrow and Toploader Enchilada Cage. But these miniature humans will eventually grow up and begin ravenously eating up the Earth’s depleted reserves of aux pairs and psychotherapists.
6. Use Alternative Fuel Motorcades. Let’s face it: whether you are on an international press junket or going to an awards banquet, limousine motorcades are a way of life. But this doesn’t mean you can’t make your red carpet entrance in an eco-friendly way. When possible, tell your publicity team to request a electric, hybrid, or E-85 stretch limo for you and your entourage. Later, when you are vomiting outside the Viper Club, encourage the paparazzi to share the photos to conserve high-energy-use camera flash pods.
7. Avoid Over-Packaged Products. Just look at all the wasteful packaging that goes into your DVDs and CDs: bulky plastic jewel cases, annoying and unnecessary anti-theft devices, price stickers. To reduce the use of petrochemicals, encourage your fans to download copies of your latest album or movie straight from the internet — for free! When they realize it sucks even worse than the reviews on BitTorrent, they can simply erase it from their hard drive instead of sending it to the landfill.
8. Go On a Random Killing Spree. The scientific debate is over: our current environmental mess is caused by an oversupply of human beings, and it’s high time we address these two-legged eco problems head on. Next time you’re on your way to a location shoot, do a little location shooting of your own - Biggie/Tupac style. Have the driver lower the tinted windows and pop a few caps on behalf of Mother Earth. Not only will you be doing the environment a good turn, it will earn you valuable youth market “street cred.”
9. Destroy The Entertainment Industry. Science shows that no single sector of the economy exemplifies America’s obscene energy waste more than show business. Witness the untold megatons of carbon released into the atmosphere every year by the production and consumption of entertainment, with no objective benefit to society. It all adds up to one gigantic, mindless, Earth-raping waste of time, and will take the commitment of progressive industry leaders like you to stop it. Before greenlighting any new project, make sure it contains at least 85% organic recycled preachy self-indulgence. By ridding your products of their dangerous popular appeal, you can keep the public where they belong — at home, with the TV off, playing eco-friendly board games like ‘Scrabble’ and ‘Mystery Date.’
10. Commit Suicide. As an eco-aware, planetary resource parasite, you will eventually want to kill yourself to spare the environment any further damage that your personal existence has already caused. However, it is important that you plan your suicide carefully as not to disturb the ecosystem’s delicate balance. Self immolation, while poignant, can release up to 50 kg of airborne fluorocarbons. Why not try the the hot new Malibu trend, ritual Japanese sepukku? it’s exotic, elegant, and your intact corpse will make a great compost pile addition!
How Soon can Sarah Palin become President?
Last night I watched and listened with admiration at the State of the State address by Governor Palin in Alaska. It was excellent. I hope that Tina Fey loving lefties get a chance to see it. All of the snarky left wing ideas they have about her would be destroyed. They will but they won't admit it. When you watch this video in full you will see why the left fears her so much. She's the real thing, informed, articulate, focused, determined and conservative. Exactly what we need today. They must destroy her.
I wish McCain had won so we could have had Sarah as President. (I would be hammering for Pres McCain to resign from day one. She will be a great one some day.
Here is a short News account (about 2 minutes) from the NBC station in Alaska:
Here's the whole half hour address. She is terrific. President Palin. Such a nice sound.
I wish McCain had won so we could have had Sarah as President. (I would be hammering for Pres McCain to resign from day one. She will be a great one some day.
Here is a short News account (about 2 minutes) from the NBC station in Alaska:
Here's the whole half hour address. She is terrific. President Palin. Such a nice sound.
I support President Barack Obama
It's some of his policies I am hoping will go down in flames of failure.
It's a lot like supporting our troops overseas but being against the war.
I'm a true patriot, just like the "supporting the troops against the war" left leaning types are.
I hope that's clear.
It's a lot like supporting our troops overseas but being against the war.
I'm a true patriot, just like the "supporting the troops against the war" left leaning types are.
I hope that's clear.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Scripture As It Is Really Lived - You have to see this!
Directly Stolen from Steve Scott at From the Pew - Thanks Steve.
I came across a blog devoted to the topic of ecclesiology, the study of the church. Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church has one series of posts where he takes familiar passages from Scripture and "re-mixes" them withstrikethroughsand red lettering to tell the story of how we really live out what the bible says. Humorously sad and sadly humorous. He's up to 38. Read them here.
I have seen the future, and it doesn't work
- "UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE": Socialized medicine that will cost billions and introduce unprecedented waste, incompetence, and malpractice to American hospitals.
- "ENVIRONMENTAL CARE": Climate-change hysteria and vastly expensive projects to conquer "global warming." You'll be made to feel anything less is un-American.
- "MULTICULTURALISM": An immigration policy based on the lie that not allowing anyone into the U.S. is racist and that open borders prove our love for multiculturalism.
- "SOCIAL JUSTICE": State-enforced "fairness" through policies that reward those who make no effort and punish the successful.
- "ETHICAL FOREIGN POLICY": A powerless national security policy created because the left refuses to believe the truth - that terrorists have a violent, and homicidal hatred for our culture and will do anything to wipe it off the Earth.
Does ANYONE on the planet believe in Man Caused Global Warming Any More??
My brother attended a Green Expo (horticultural) confab in Minneapolis. Minnesota is the center of liberalism. During the meeting a Meteorological Scientist spoke. He radically debunked the whole Global Warming caused by man theory. He said in effect, It's a scam.
What is even more amazing (remember this is Al Franken's Minnesota) is that almost no one objected.
I think the global warming scam has finally collapsed of it's own weight.
Anything founded on Bull Poop will sink to that level.
This article is like that. Does anyone anywhere (other than Obama Voters) believe this any more?
What is even more amazing (remember this is Al Franken's Minnesota) is that almost no one objected.
I think the global warming scam has finally collapsed of it's own weight.
Anything founded on Bull Poop will sink to that level.
This article is like that. Does anyone anywhere (other than Obama Voters) believe this any more?
By Jim Fedako
It’s easy to feel isolated from the mainstream, especially with the media crafting images of a collective mass blindly worshipping the state. While it may be true that the center of this mass has turned onto the road to serfdom, the mass itself is not as cohesive as the media leads us to believe. Recently, I became aware of fracture in the collective mass in an area where I thought a fracture could never exist.
Years ago, I started noting something a local TV weatherman mentioned each December. As soon as the temperature turned cold, he would tell viewers that he was installing a backyard skating rink. He even offered to provide installation advice to anyone who called him at the station.
Six years ago, with an approaching winter, I decided to build a rink for my kids’ enjoyment and to ward off my winter blues. I called the weatherman and got the necessary details, built the rink, and waited for the first real cold spell.
Now, a backyard skating rink in Ohio is an iffy proposition. Sure, the water will sit waiting for the cold, but the real cold may never come. While I have my good years and my bad years, this year has turned out to be exceptionally good. We are having a blast skating just about every evening.
Recently, in place of our evening skate, I took my older children to a meeting of the local chapter of the Campaign for Liberty. The topic was global warming and the guest speaker was none other than my local weatherman. As he and I chitchatted before the event, I thanked him for inspiring our backyard fun.
The meeting began and the weatherman rose and addressed the audience. Keep in mind that this gentleman has one of the most recognized faces and trusted names in Central Ohio. Sure, he occasionally gets his temperatures wrong, they all do. However, he is trusted as someone who tells the truth, as he knows it.
His presentation was to the point: There is no proof that human activity is causing global warming. None. Coming from a member of the mainstream media, this statement had quite an impact – coming from this man, even more so.
Over the next 20 minutes, he captivated his audience by detailing the holes in the supposed science of global warming. He successfully indicted the government and its agents for being inept and for working an agenda.
That night, there was no talk of CO2 as a poisonous gas, slowly cooking the Earth’s atmosphere. Instead, my media hero stated the true science of weather: temperatures rise and fall with the number of sunspots, and it is all cyclical. More sunspots, higher temperatures. My skating rink is hard as ice because the sun currently has no spots. No spots, colder temperatures. That is easy science. That is real science.
According to this weatherman, most meteorologists do not support human-induced global warming. Therefore, it would appear that the science of weather is not on the side of human-induced global warming – sorry Al Gore.
The night did not end there. The speaker was more than just a skeptic of global warming; he was a friend of liberty. He presented his political views – views strongly shared by the audience. That is when I realized that we are not alone in our fight.
And it was the realization that sanity does exist – in places I would never expect to find it – that made the evening special. The collective herd is not running as one toward the cliff of socialism. There are the recalcitrant few who still believe in liberty. And these folks have the ability to save our future.
Of course, the audience that night was predisposed to liberty. Nevertheless, trusted voices like my weatherman can halt the herd and expose its agitators – revealing the lies and manipulations for all to see. If only the herd will listen.
Don’t bet that the world will race off the cliff. Many will question the prevailing nonsense if they hear the truth from a trusted voice. And, remember this: like water, most folks simply seek the path of least resistance, without bothering to look toward the horizon and impending doom. For them, politics and economics are best left to the supposed professionals. Yet, with a little coaxing, the right voice can open their eye and allow them to see the approaching cliff and to embrace life and liberty over socialism and chains.
The state’s hold on the collective mass is fractured, and, through each fracture, light shines. Support the efforts of organizations such as the Campaign for Liberty. Help get the trusted voices before the ears of the uniformed and misinformed. Those willing to face the raging herd need as much support as we can give. Liberty lost is liberty never regained.
January 26, 2009
Jim Fedako [send him mail] is a homeschooling father of five who lives in Lewis Center, OH, and maintains a blog: Anti-Positivist.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Muslim Mob Wild in the Street Cower Cops
This is really sad. Right in the streets of Old London. A Muslim crowd pushes around the police. They run.
This is coming to our country in the name of tolerance. This isn't tolerance, this is anarchy.
This is coming to our country in the name of tolerance. This isn't tolerance, this is anarchy.
Not a surprise, Ex Pres Carter is a rat fink
Outgoing President George W. Bush had a warning for President-elect Barack Obama when they gathered with three former presidents at the White House — be wary of “meddlesome” Jimmy Carter.
Bush, Obama, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Carter met for a photo op and lunch on Jan. 7, and W. told Obama the guy he has to watch out for is “James Earl Carter,” a source disclosed to news reporters who were there.
According to a source close to the Bush White House, Bush called Carter “extremely meddlesome” and “a real pain in the neck.” Interestingly, Bush also told Obama that Bill Clinton had been helpful and supportive dealing with foreign leaders.
Carter has irked Bush with his globe-trotting efforts over the years.
I am NOT surprised that Bill Clinton has been a great deal of help. Carter was such a jerk and remains one to this day. That's why the ex Presidents despise him so much. I'm guessing Jimmia won't be invited to the White House any time soon.
Bush, Obama, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Carter met for a photo op and lunch on Jan. 7, and W. told Obama the guy he has to watch out for is “James Earl Carter,” a source disclosed to news reporters who were there.
According to a source close to the Bush White House, Bush called Carter “extremely meddlesome” and “a real pain in the neck.” Interestingly, Bush also told Obama that Bill Clinton had been helpful and supportive dealing with foreign leaders.
Carter has irked Bush with his globe-trotting efforts over the years.
* In April 2008, Carter reportedly met in Syria with a leader of Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, and laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat.
* Carter met with Hamas leadership again last December.
* The former president has created controversy by equating Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories with apartheid.
* In May 2002, Carter visited Cuba and met with Fidel Castro. He has called for an end to the U.S. economic embargo of the island nation.
* Carter criticized the Iraq war as “unnecessary.”
* In June 2005, Carter urged the Bush administration to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
* In 1994, Carter had traveled to North Korea and brokered an agreement on that nation’s nuclear program. But the agreement collapsed in 2002 after Bush included North Korea in the “axis of evil.”
I am NOT surprised that Bill Clinton has been a great deal of help. Carter was such a jerk and remains one to this day. That's why the ex Presidents despise him so much. I'm guessing Jimmia won't be invited to the White House any time soon.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Obama’s triumphal entry: gentle, riding on donkey
In a never ending effort to poke fun at the worshippers of the Messiah now occupying the White House this is my next effort:
January 24, 2009 ·
By Drew Zahn
DES MOINES, Iowa – Amid the pomp, circumstance and celebration of welcoming a new president, an artist in Iowa created an inaugural parade sure to draw attention, even hundreds of miles from Washington, D.C.: Barack Obama, riding on a donkey, complete with waving palm fronds and “Secret Service” escort.
As WND reported, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan declared in October that when Obama talks, “the Messiah is absolutely speaking.” But artist Matthew J. Clark’s parade – marching Obama through the streets of Des Moines in similar fashion to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem – takes the messianic imagery even farther.
The Bible describes Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem in the 21st chapter of Matthew as the fulfillment of the prophet Zechariah’s words, “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,” or as the New International Version paraphrases, “gentle, and riding on a donkey.” As the celebrated Messiah entered the city, the Bible also tells of adorers spreading their cloaks at Jesus’ feet and waving palm fronds.
Charlotte Eby, columnist for Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, witnessed a strange sight earlier this week, as a sculpture of Obama marched down Des Moines’ Locust Street in similar fashion.
Eby continues, “A few men led the Donkey down the street and a woman made her way along the sidewalk, keeping up with the procession and handing out palm branches to the few perplexed onlookers who had gathered on the sidewalks to see what the fuss was about.”
Clark called the marching artwork “A Simulacrum of Hope: Simulation of the Triumphal Entry of the Christ.”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “simulacrum” as “an image or representation; or an unreal or vague semblance,” leaving the viewer to interpret whether Clark considers the parade a celebration of Obama or a mockery of Obama’s more adoring supporters.
Clark’s website describes the sculpture in equally vague terms.
“This project was inspired by my thoughts about ‘icons’ and religious symbols and whether they represent truth or merely represent,” the website reads. “The sculpture poses a question that relates to social conventions, metaphysics, and the collective response of society in reaction to fearful and uncertain times, but doesn’t impose an answer. For me, it has much more to do with the general public as followers than any leader granted power.”
According to a bio on his website, Clark is “a contemporary visual artist whose primary medium is sculpture.
The website also reports that since the parade has ended, the sculpture will be retired to sit upon a taxidermist-mounted donkey.
The Truth about STUPID WIND FARMS
From a HUGE advocate for stopping climate change, James Lovelock. I don't agree with him, but I do agree with this:
Most of the “green” stuff is verging on a gigantic scam. Carbon trading, with its huge government subsidies, is just what finance and industry wanted. It’s not going to do a thing about climate change, but it’ll make a lot of money for a lot of people and postpone the moment of reckoning. I am not against renewable energy, but to spoil all the decent countryside in the UK with wind farms is driving me mad. It’s absolutely unnecessary, and it takes 2500 square kilometres to produce a gigawatt - that’s an awful lot of countryside…
The Coming Great Depression?
As an amateur economist who gets the price of Oil right as well as other commodities more often than not, I want to offer some sound opinions on that has happened and what will happen in the economy over the next few years. As well as what has happened.
Some of this comes from books, some comes from a few decades of trading and chart study and some comes from a pretty good sense of the market.
HANG ON TO YOUR HATS. This is a public service.
First How did we get here. I just read a pretty good explanation of the whole process that lead us to this point. I would love to blame Liberals, really I would, but this is due to decades of false response to economic cycles.
WE GOT HERE THRU THIS SERIES OF EVENTS:
So, we know we are about to go into serious economic waters. Here are the hard truths we all need to understand. I will make a swipe at my liberal friends, Obama can’t solve this. Neither could George Bush. Reagan might have if he had been allowed to. Now the economy will right itself but it will take a long time.
Here’s what’s about to happen:
Money that has been poured in will splash around, by the first of April things will look pretty good. Then, while optimism reigns supream, things will turn south again, in September or October.
We will go into a long painful depression. It will last thru 2010 and most of 2011. Inflation will hit in commodities but not Gold. Oil will be expensive. Our currency will collapse. The dow is headed for 4-5000. This will seem like the end of the world. Most or all of the bailout money will have been lost. It will only have served to destroy our currency.
Then, a brief rebound because new opportunities will emerge in 2015-2017. Money will be made, markets recover. Mostly however on cheap money and natural resource sales. We will as a country be poorer, but not all. Great fortunes will be made during this time. Tremendous fortunes. They will not be in conventional ways.
After that last retraction of the economy that will last from the end of 2017-2021 then a new healthy and vibrant economy will emerge. It will not be US based. Europe will decline to an insular isolated enclave.
From 2022-2035 there will be a great global boom. We just won’t be driving it.
And, this is the economic reality that we must and will endure.
In 1994 I read a book called, “The Great Boom ahead” Harry S Dent. He described the following 20 years in that book exactly using demographics.
Now in his new book, The Great Depression Ahead, he describes in detail the why’s and wherefores of the economic probabilities for the NEXT 20 years. I wish I had paid attention to him the first time. I didn’t.
I may not be alive thru this next 20 or 30 years. I just thought you might want to know what’s about to happen.
OBAMA CAN’T FIX IT. He can make it worse. I hope he doesn’t. He can prolong it. I fear he will.
All these predictions may not hit the numbers, but they are indicators of the probable Cycle performance of the economy.
If I had paid attention, I would have been pretty wealthy. If I pay attention now, I might be less poor. There is one other caution. Lawlessness and government oppression will become much more rampant and intense as this goes on. Evil will be exposed and much of it will come from governance. Remember I live in IL.
You have been warned…. NOW WHAT?
Some of this comes from books, some comes from a few decades of trading and chart study and some comes from a pretty good sense of the market.
HANG ON TO YOUR HATS. This is a public service.
First How did we get here. I just read a pretty good explanation of the whole process that lead us to this point. I would love to blame Liberals, really I would, but this is due to decades of false response to economic cycles.
WE GOT HERE THRU THIS SERIES OF EVENTS:
1. Banks grant new loans on a massive scale and the interest rate drops.
2. Credit expansion drives malinvestments in projects far from consumption which were not profitable before the credit expansion..
3. Capital goods rise in price.
4. Prices climb on the stock market.
5. The capital structure is artificially lengthened.
6. Large accounting profits appear in the capital-goods sector.
7. The capital-goods sector demands more workers.
8. At some point the rate of growth in credit expansion ceases. The interest rate climbs. The stock market crashes.
9. Consumer goods prices grow faster than wages, in relative terms.
10. Accounting profits appear in the consumer sector (demand increases).
11. The capital-goods sector sustains heavy accounting losses.
12. Workers are laid off in capital-goods industries.
13. Bank defaults mount. Marginally less solvent banks face serious difficulties. Credit crunch.
The current situation is precisely this: we face a credit crunch stemming from the creation of bad debt by the banking system (based on hyperabundant money) and the central banks. The recession seems to be inevitable: malinvested assets will undergo a severe adjustment due to the sale or the repossession of assets on a massive scale, which is necessary to repay the debt. Read the source article for this.
So, we know we are about to go into serious economic waters. Here are the hard truths we all need to understand. I will make a swipe at my liberal friends, Obama can’t solve this. Neither could George Bush. Reagan might have if he had been allowed to. Now the economy will right itself but it will take a long time.
Here’s what’s about to happen:
Money that has been poured in will splash around, by the first of April things will look pretty good. Then, while optimism reigns supream, things will turn south again, in September or October.
We will go into a long painful depression. It will last thru 2010 and most of 2011. Inflation will hit in commodities but not Gold. Oil will be expensive. Our currency will collapse. The dow is headed for 4-5000. This will seem like the end of the world. Most or all of the bailout money will have been lost. It will only have served to destroy our currency.
Then, a brief rebound because new opportunities will emerge in 2015-2017. Money will be made, markets recover. Mostly however on cheap money and natural resource sales. We will as a country be poorer, but not all. Great fortunes will be made during this time. Tremendous fortunes. They will not be in conventional ways.
After that last retraction of the economy that will last from the end of 2017-2021 then a new healthy and vibrant economy will emerge. It will not be US based. Europe will decline to an insular isolated enclave.
From 2022-2035 there will be a great global boom. We just won’t be driving it.
And, this is the economic reality that we must and will endure.
In 1994 I read a book called, “The Great Boom ahead” Harry S Dent. He described the following 20 years in that book exactly using demographics.
Now in his new book, The Great Depression Ahead, he describes in detail the why’s and wherefores of the economic probabilities for the NEXT 20 years. I wish I had paid attention to him the first time. I didn’t.
I may not be alive thru this next 20 or 30 years. I just thought you might want to know what’s about to happen.
OBAMA CAN’T FIX IT. He can make it worse. I hope he doesn’t. He can prolong it. I fear he will.
All these predictions may not hit the numbers, but they are indicators of the probable Cycle performance of the economy.
If I had paid attention, I would have been pretty wealthy. If I pay attention now, I might be less poor. There is one other caution. Lawlessness and government oppression will become much more rampant and intense as this goes on. Evil will be exposed and much of it will come from governance. Remember I live in IL.
You have been warned…. NOW WHAT?
Chatter from the Atlantic Monthly
Always interested in what smart people say about money and having a few theories of my own, This chatter from Meg McCardle's article in the Atlantic Monthly and the comments give a person a chance to think about things:
Money is Debt, if there is no capacity for Debt, there is no money. Haiti has no Debt, you can't borrow any money there. Therefore there is no money:
Money is debt. Before money was debt, when money was hard, based at least in theory on gold or silver, debt deflation periodically swept economic systems. And it was bad.
Now we are in debt deflation when all money in all places in all ways is based on debt. (If you don't understand this concept go study) The results are going to be horrific to a degree few can imagine.
In old fashioned debt panics, collapses, deflations; the money just went and hid. Now it is disappearing. Poof. Not only is there not enough money to pay off the debt there isn't enough money to pay all the regular bills, by a long shot.
Warren Buffet as a supporter of bad economic policy:
Warren Buffet is a great business man but an economic policy idiot. He has no faith in the market economy though he has great personal success operating within it.
Warren Buffet’s quote is hysterical, a quote from a frighten man, a man with much to lose and clueless as to how to save himself.
We are not standing around doing nothing so why his gratuitous statement? What are the “Hoover like” policies he references: Hoover’s higher taxes, protectionism or denigrating the employer/business man”? And since Obama advocates all three, at least in his campaign why did Buffet support Obama?
“… we don't know how effective in the short run we don't know how effective this will be and how quickly things will right themselves.” An incredibly idiotic statement for advocating policies that will cost $Trillions to heal the ailing economy (think of the economy as your sick child and your doctor making this statement about the surgical procedures he is about to perform); does Buffet make investment decisions in this manner?
Not surprisingly Warren Buffet can afford to be hysterical and idiotic. If the kitchen sink policies he wants us to implement make the economy worse, he can say “Sorry About That ... Never Mind” and still sip his favorite drink while the rest of us live in tents and eat at soup kitchens.
“We do know over time the American machine works wonderfully and it will work wonderfully again.” Wrong Warren, we can do permanent damage to the economy. Argentina under Juan Peron is the example of a vibrant American type economy destroyed by government leader who had no idea or did not care what he was doing as long as his supporters received benefits.
About the flaws inherent in John Maynard Keynes (Obama's favorite theoretical Economist)
Keynesian theory has no basis in microeconomics and is why policies based on it have never generated any economic benefits. Why then is the theory so popular among the current political establishment? Keynesian theory is an intellectual cover to justify coercive political power to take wealth from one part of society and give it to another. To a Keynesian, taxes on individuals do not matter, how individuals create goods and services does not matter and given the idea of the multiplier some in society are more worthy to consume the goods and services produced then others. Keynesian theory is a way to justify socialism, the modern form of slavery.
The stimulus package as currently proposed and widely advocated by Buffet will crush the economy; a worse replay of Hoover/FDR’s 1930s. A deficit must be funded by future taxes. Now who receives the current deficit spending benefits? Obama and his Democratic cronies certainly do not want the people who pay 50% if not the people who pay 95% of federal taxes to receive the benefits. So the people who drive the economy, the people who receive income from producing goods and services will today pay taxes, tomorrow pay taxes and tomorrow pay the tax surcharge that pays for today’s deficit spending.
The Obama stimulus policy is a massive tax increase with no offsetting benefits on the incomes of the people who could rebuild the economy (and no trickle down theory nonsense). Microeconomic theory points to the effects of changes in marginal costs. Taxes are a cost in producing goods and services. With a massive increase in future taxes due to today's stimulus deficit spending the marginal cost of producing goods and services in the future is rising by $Trillions. The massive spending today paid by the shifting of tax burdens will reduce the total quantity of goods and services produced today and the future.
NOT just complaining, but an answer:
There is a stimulative measure that could work. Create the deficit by not changing spending and create a tax holiday. At least the taxpayers, the people who produce goods and services do not have their taxes increased but just postponed. They would have an incentive to move production to today and stimulate the today’s economy at the cost of future production. Obama will never follow this policy. Democrats today have a very powerful incentive to recreate the “I am helping you through bad times policy” of FDR, bad times kept FDR in power. What worked once will work again.
“…not that long ago we had a lot of pretty good theories from very smart economists about how this sort of financial crisis couldn't really happen again in the first place.” Responsible economists and politician saw our crisis coming but the crony capitalism that (another implication of Keynesian theory) created FNMA and FHLMC in the 1930s sowed the seeds of the current crisis. And the more recent crony capitalism of Barney Franks, Christopher Dodd and rest of the Democrats prevented the Bush administration from taking crisis preventive measures in 2006. The current economic theories easily predicted what happen, we’ve been waiting for FNMA & FHLMC to fail for years and they set the example for private mortgage lending quality.
Now I will sound hysterical. Obama’s policies are destroying the American economy. We are on the path of becoming a third world country, Argentina the example. Obama’s economic policies are the horror stories of medieval medicine with our living standards the patient. The government must allow the people in this country who make the goods and services keep the value of their efforts in larger quantities now more then ever.
The wealth is gone and we need policies to recreate that wealth; a simple fact. Politically though the wealth creating class is despised, marked for punishment the fruits being an economy worse then 1930s.
Obama policies in this crisis is the end of the American Dream.
About Money Supply:
Setting aside that M1 is not the money measure to consider when talking about the monetary expansion engendered by fractional reserve banking the bigger question is how the worlds money supply approximately doubled since 2000. Fractional reserve banking does not provide that kind of monetary expansion.
So far the deflation has been almost exclusively in the price of assets. Commodity deflation has taken hold yes, after the huge bubble last year ending in July. That deflation is assets is justified and proper, since they were inflated terribly. The inflation of assets, stocks, real estate, rock star memorabilia, became the be all and end of of the economy.
It's crucial to understand that the rise in asset prices was never called inflation. It was always called increasing value. When stocks doubled and doubled again in the 90's Greenspan reliably went before congress and told how inflation was low.
Then when stocks crashed in 01 Greenspan's hair started blazing as he warned deeply of deflation. Funny thing that. He cut interest rates in a rush to 1%. That time it worked. For the last time. The chart above tells the tale.
Every dollar borrowed engendered less and less real growth.
Inflation is the increase in the amount of money vs economic output. World money supply possibly doubled from 2000 to 2008.
CPI inflation was moderate during most of the period except for the huge spike last year in commodities. What inflated was the price of financial assets, particularly newly minted debt paper and their derivatives, and real estate.
This is deflation and depression
It is verbotten to say price increases of assets are inflation. Home "values" rose. Stock "values" rose. Absolutely crummy securitizations were priced for perfection.
It is the price of assets which is deflating now. Without question the largest bout of deflation since the Great Depression. Deflation is the name for our current predicament. Truth be told the financial and monetary system cannot exist with deflation. Inflation is our friend. It is the grease which makes it move smoothly. Absent inflation the system seizes.
What your leaders are doing:
Bernanke and all the worlds central bankers and governments are madly attempting to reflate. A trillion here a trillion there. Yet the banks continue to collapse. Friedman, and Bernanke agreed, theorized that the Great Depression was caused by the Fed not flooding the system with liquidity and credit after the crash. Handily they ignore the cause of the crash. An unsound expansion of credit. They just propose papering it over with more money and credit. (Milt is headed for histories dust bin)
The cure here has amounted to the Treasury borrowing money and pouring it into the banks, which is a net wash. Not increasing systematic new credit or money. The Treasury has also issued guarantees on old debt which actually has no real backing. To make good on the guarantees they will have to ask congress to appropriate it and then borrow it. The entire exercise is a con game meant to restore "confidence".
The next step is to print money. The Fed has started doing this to the tune of $500 billion, this year it says, to buy up private not GSE mortgage backed securities. Some other printing may be going on as well in the alphabet soup of new Fed programs and facilities. It's possible this printing will stem the deflation in the financial sector but the amounts needed run to the trillions. None of which flows to the day to day real economy. (an imprecise label but valid I believe) I think this printing will fail. Others hope otherwise.
What can anyone do?
The dust up over the StimPak is driven by two things. First, libertarians and Austrian Schoolers think such things are simply evil and often think they won't work. Conservatives cannot accept giving money to people. Giving it to banks is bad enough, for some semi honest ones, but giving money to people is the last straw. Unacceptable. Give money to people and they will just buy beer and sit on the porch all day drinking it. They won't 'invest' it. Like our elites did with the $3 trillion Bush tax cut, into hedge funds. Which worked out so well.
Politics will surely demand money printing on vast scale. Probably some things will inflate to a degree of for a period as a result. When and what are unknowable. Will it be stocks or oil or CDO's or corn or houses. This cannot be predicted.
I think we need to think this thing thru Mr President. I don't expect that many liberals will grasp all this. If they did they wouldn't be liberals. The two (understanding economics and Liberalism) are diametrically opposed. Inversly proportional. Sorry if that sounds insulting, but it's true. Sheep to the slaughter. That's why Bernie Madoff was so successful with so many liberals. They believe in myths. The Bible even talks of this weakness:
Suckers are born every minute, but they don't have to stay that way. Don't. Get real.
Money is Debt, if there is no capacity for Debt, there is no money. Haiti has no Debt, you can't borrow any money there. Therefore there is no money:
Money is debt. Before money was debt, when money was hard, based at least in theory on gold or silver, debt deflation periodically swept economic systems. And it was bad.
Now we are in debt deflation when all money in all places in all ways is based on debt. (If you don't understand this concept go study) The results are going to be horrific to a degree few can imagine.
In old fashioned debt panics, collapses, deflations; the money just went and hid. Now it is disappearing. Poof. Not only is there not enough money to pay off the debt there isn't enough money to pay all the regular bills, by a long shot.
Warren Buffet as a supporter of bad economic policy:
Warren Buffet is a great business man but an economic policy idiot. He has no faith in the market economy though he has great personal success operating within it.
Warren Buffet’s quote is hysterical, a quote from a frighten man, a man with much to lose and clueless as to how to save himself.
We are not standing around doing nothing so why his gratuitous statement? What are the “Hoover like” policies he references: Hoover’s higher taxes, protectionism or denigrating the employer/business man”? And since Obama advocates all three, at least in his campaign why did Buffet support Obama?
“… we don't know how effective in the short run we don't know how effective this will be and how quickly things will right themselves.” An incredibly idiotic statement for advocating policies that will cost $Trillions to heal the ailing economy (think of the economy as your sick child and your doctor making this statement about the surgical procedures he is about to perform); does Buffet make investment decisions in this manner?
Not surprisingly Warren Buffet can afford to be hysterical and idiotic. If the kitchen sink policies he wants us to implement make the economy worse, he can say “Sorry About That ... Never Mind” and still sip his favorite drink while the rest of us live in tents and eat at soup kitchens.
“We do know over time the American machine works wonderfully and it will work wonderfully again.” Wrong Warren, we can do permanent damage to the economy. Argentina under Juan Peron is the example of a vibrant American type economy destroyed by government leader who had no idea or did not care what he was doing as long as his supporters received benefits.
About the flaws inherent in John Maynard Keynes (Obama's favorite theoretical Economist)
Keynesian theory has no basis in microeconomics and is why policies based on it have never generated any economic benefits. Why then is the theory so popular among the current political establishment? Keynesian theory is an intellectual cover to justify coercive political power to take wealth from one part of society and give it to another. To a Keynesian, taxes on individuals do not matter, how individuals create goods and services does not matter and given the idea of the multiplier some in society are more worthy to consume the goods and services produced then others. Keynesian theory is a way to justify socialism, the modern form of slavery.
The stimulus package as currently proposed and widely advocated by Buffet will crush the economy; a worse replay of Hoover/FDR’s 1930s. A deficit must be funded by future taxes. Now who receives the current deficit spending benefits? Obama and his Democratic cronies certainly do not want the people who pay 50% if not the people who pay 95% of federal taxes to receive the benefits. So the people who drive the economy, the people who receive income from producing goods and services will today pay taxes, tomorrow pay taxes and tomorrow pay the tax surcharge that pays for today’s deficit spending.
The Obama stimulus policy is a massive tax increase with no offsetting benefits on the incomes of the people who could rebuild the economy (and no trickle down theory nonsense). Microeconomic theory points to the effects of changes in marginal costs. Taxes are a cost in producing goods and services. With a massive increase in future taxes due to today's stimulus deficit spending the marginal cost of producing goods and services in the future is rising by $Trillions. The massive spending today paid by the shifting of tax burdens will reduce the total quantity of goods and services produced today and the future.
NOT just complaining, but an answer:
There is a stimulative measure that could work. Create the deficit by not changing spending and create a tax holiday. At least the taxpayers, the people who produce goods and services do not have their taxes increased but just postponed. They would have an incentive to move production to today and stimulate the today’s economy at the cost of future production. Obama will never follow this policy. Democrats today have a very powerful incentive to recreate the “I am helping you through bad times policy” of FDR, bad times kept FDR in power. What worked once will work again.
“…not that long ago we had a lot of pretty good theories from very smart economists about how this sort of financial crisis couldn't really happen again in the first place.” Responsible economists and politician saw our crisis coming but the crony capitalism that (another implication of Keynesian theory) created FNMA and FHLMC in the 1930s sowed the seeds of the current crisis. And the more recent crony capitalism of Barney Franks, Christopher Dodd and rest of the Democrats prevented the Bush administration from taking crisis preventive measures in 2006. The current economic theories easily predicted what happen, we’ve been waiting for FNMA & FHLMC to fail for years and they set the example for private mortgage lending quality.
Now I will sound hysterical. Obama’s policies are destroying the American economy. We are on the path of becoming a third world country, Argentina the example. Obama’s economic policies are the horror stories of medieval medicine with our living standards the patient. The government must allow the people in this country who make the goods and services keep the value of their efforts in larger quantities now more then ever.
The wealth is gone and we need policies to recreate that wealth; a simple fact. Politically though the wealth creating class is despised, marked for punishment the fruits being an economy worse then 1930s.
Obama policies in this crisis is the end of the American Dream.
About Money Supply:
Setting aside that M1 is not the money measure to consider when talking about the monetary expansion engendered by fractional reserve banking the bigger question is how the worlds money supply approximately doubled since 2000. Fractional reserve banking does not provide that kind of monetary expansion.
So far the deflation has been almost exclusively in the price of assets. Commodity deflation has taken hold yes, after the huge bubble last year ending in July. That deflation is assets is justified and proper, since they were inflated terribly. The inflation of assets, stocks, real estate, rock star memorabilia, became the be all and end of of the economy.
It's crucial to understand that the rise in asset prices was never called inflation. It was always called increasing value. When stocks doubled and doubled again in the 90's Greenspan reliably went before congress and told how inflation was low.
Then when stocks crashed in 01 Greenspan's hair started blazing as he warned deeply of deflation. Funny thing that. He cut interest rates in a rush to 1%. That time it worked. For the last time. The chart above tells the tale.
Every dollar borrowed engendered less and less real growth.
Inflation is the increase in the amount of money vs economic output. World money supply possibly doubled from 2000 to 2008.
CPI inflation was moderate during most of the period except for the huge spike last year in commodities. What inflated was the price of financial assets, particularly newly minted debt paper and their derivatives, and real estate.
This is deflation and depression
It is verbotten to say price increases of assets are inflation. Home "values" rose. Stock "values" rose. Absolutely crummy securitizations were priced for perfection.
It is the price of assets which is deflating now. Without question the largest bout of deflation since the Great Depression. Deflation is the name for our current predicament. Truth be told the financial and monetary system cannot exist with deflation. Inflation is our friend. It is the grease which makes it move smoothly. Absent inflation the system seizes.
What your leaders are doing:
Bernanke and all the worlds central bankers and governments are madly attempting to reflate. A trillion here a trillion there. Yet the banks continue to collapse. Friedman, and Bernanke agreed, theorized that the Great Depression was caused by the Fed not flooding the system with liquidity and credit after the crash. Handily they ignore the cause of the crash. An unsound expansion of credit. They just propose papering it over with more money and credit. (Milt is headed for histories dust bin)
The cure here has amounted to the Treasury borrowing money and pouring it into the banks, which is a net wash. Not increasing systematic new credit or money. The Treasury has also issued guarantees on old debt which actually has no real backing. To make good on the guarantees they will have to ask congress to appropriate it and then borrow it. The entire exercise is a con game meant to restore "confidence".
The next step is to print money. The Fed has started doing this to the tune of $500 billion, this year it says, to buy up private not GSE mortgage backed securities. Some other printing may be going on as well in the alphabet soup of new Fed programs and facilities. It's possible this printing will stem the deflation in the financial sector but the amounts needed run to the trillions. None of which flows to the day to day real economy. (an imprecise label but valid I believe) I think this printing will fail. Others hope otherwise.
What can anyone do?
The dust up over the StimPak is driven by two things. First, libertarians and Austrian Schoolers think such things are simply evil and often think they won't work. Conservatives cannot accept giving money to people. Giving it to banks is bad enough, for some semi honest ones, but giving money to people is the last straw. Unacceptable. Give money to people and they will just buy beer and sit on the porch all day drinking it. They won't 'invest' it. Like our elites did with the $3 trillion Bush tax cut, into hedge funds. Which worked out so well.
Politics will surely demand money printing on vast scale. Probably some things will inflate to a degree of for a period as a result. When and what are unknowable. Will it be stocks or oil or CDO's or corn or houses. This cannot be predicted.
I think we need to think this thing thru Mr President. I don't expect that many liberals will grasp all this. If they did they wouldn't be liberals. The two (understanding economics and Liberalism) are diametrically opposed. Inversly proportional. Sorry if that sounds insulting, but it's true. Sheep to the slaughter. That's why Bernie Madoff was so successful with so many liberals. They believe in myths. The Bible even talks of this weakness:
But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 1 Timothy 4:7
AND
1 Timothy 1:4
4Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
Suckers are born every minute, but they don't have to stay that way. Don't. Get real.
Sobering Stuff
I have been on a quest to undestand why there is such a huge vaccum in Christian Leadership. Even among some Pastors. It comes down to this, You can't impart what you don't possess and you can't lead people somewhere you have never been.
For many spiritual leaders there is a sense that they understand technically, they understand the theory, they even may be skilled. But theory and practice do not go hand in hand.
If I read every tour book on Istanbul there is, if I could watch every DVD, if I even knew people from Istanbul, I would not be as effective in leading someone around the streets and avoiding the potholes of Istanbul as one who lives there, or even spends a lot of time there.
Yet, in the Istanbul of the Kingdom of God we have a lot of leaders and even some pastors who just don't know the territory. Yet they try to lead. They lead people into a ditch.
Here is what Rich Rogers just said about this (It's pretty good):
Read the whole thing.
For many spiritual leaders there is a sense that they understand technically, they understand the theory, they even may be skilled. But theory and practice do not go hand in hand.
If I read every tour book on Istanbul there is, if I could watch every DVD, if I even knew people from Istanbul, I would not be as effective in leading someone around the streets and avoiding the potholes of Istanbul as one who lives there, or even spends a lot of time there.
Yet, in the Istanbul of the Kingdom of God we have a lot of leaders and even some pastors who just don't know the territory. Yet they try to lead. They lead people into a ditch.
Here is what Rich Rogers just said about this (It's pretty good):
In his book Waking the Dead Christian author John Eldredge wrote: "We are at war. The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death. You were born into a world at war, and you will live out all your days in the midst of the great battle, involving all the forces of heaven and hell and played out here on earth."Indeed, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan are at war in our society today, and sometimes it's hard to know which side even some Christians are on. Many of them think and act just like people in the world. Why? Because they don't truly know God, and their minds have not been renewed.
It is possible for a person to love God with all his heart, serve Him every week and feel His presence in worship, yet not know Him. Some armchair theologians out there may disagree, but thousands of pastors and lay leaders in the U.S. and around the world would confirm that this is true.
Let me state it another way. A person can love God and serve Him regularly but not have His mind on many of the critical issues of our day. To not have His mind on the issues of the day, secular and spiritual, places the rank-and-file Christian in a dangerously precarious position both inside and outside the walls of the church, in a world that is increasingly hostile to anything and everything "evangelical."
Henry Blackaby, co-author of the best-selling book and workbook Experiencing God, was once asked, "What do you see as the future for the United States?" Blackaby replied: "If you put the U.S. up against the Scriptures, we're in trouble. I think we're very close to the judgment of God. The problem of America is not the unbelieving world. The problem of America is the people of God.
Read the whole thing.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
How the Very Elect will be Decieved by the Anti Christ
I have let the whole changing of the guard settle in my spirit. One prophetic implication of the whole event is clarity on how easily the very elect will be deceived. That deception is not going to come simply because the Antichrist figure of prophecy will be so wonderful, but that he will hold a promise that seems to resonate with the whole of the world.
It will come at crisis. The world will look terrible. People in crisis will be looking for a Christ. It's just that the anti Christ is the one they will settle on. WHY. Because it will be so healing, so unifying, so inclusive, so singular in it's focus. People will swoon and men and women will shed tears. Christian leaders will say, how can we deny that this man is sent from GOD?
Christian leaders who will be deceived most easily will be those who are motivated by a pastoral gift. I am saddened and sometimes even shocked by good Christian Leaders who are so easily misled and lack in any solid discernment. Prophets and Apostles are less subject to being deceived than are Pastors and Evangelists. A good teacher will not be easily deceived.
Many willingly drank the kool aid of the Obama Inauguration as something ultra historical. It was unique, but not more historical than any other Inauguration. It was accurately historical in it's uniqueness. President Obama is NOT the Anti Christ of which I speak. He's just a man. But he represents a fore shadow in the adulation and worship of the man of peace to come.
This whole thing, the number of evangelicals who supported Obama, the number of undiscerning Christians who were caught up in all this shows me how easily the Anti Christ Spirit will be able to deceive the elect. I can see them standing and endorsing the "man of peace".
Sometimes our poets speak more clearly to this than I can:
Real Leadership is being driven by desired results, not desirable methods. Results are sometimes hard to come and not popular.
I prophetically call on all leaders to reaffirm their position on life in the light of God's word. It doesn't work any more to say, I'm personally against abortion but I'm pro choice. That's like saying, I'm against child abuse, but if you want to abuse your children, who am I to say you shouldn't.
This division is the judgement of God on us all. False unity is an anti christ spirit. It is already among us.
It will come at crisis. The world will look terrible. People in crisis will be looking for a Christ. It's just that the anti Christ is the one they will settle on. WHY. Because it will be so healing, so unifying, so inclusive, so singular in it's focus. People will swoon and men and women will shed tears. Christian leaders will say, how can we deny that this man is sent from GOD?
Christian leaders who will be deceived most easily will be those who are motivated by a pastoral gift. I am saddened and sometimes even shocked by good Christian Leaders who are so easily misled and lack in any solid discernment. Prophets and Apostles are less subject to being deceived than are Pastors and Evangelists. A good teacher will not be easily deceived.
Many willingly drank the kool aid of the Obama Inauguration as something ultra historical. It was unique, but not more historical than any other Inauguration. It was accurately historical in it's uniqueness. President Obama is NOT the Anti Christ of which I speak. He's just a man. But he represents a fore shadow in the adulation and worship of the man of peace to come.
This whole thing, the number of evangelicals who supported Obama, the number of undiscerning Christians who were caught up in all this shows me how easily the Anti Christ Spirit will be able to deceive the elect. I can see them standing and endorsing the "man of peace".
Sometimes our poets speak more clearly to this than I can:
Look out your window, baby, there's a scene you'd like to catchI write this in response to the many voices who believe that issues of Righteousness and Justice matter less than Unity. Today January 22 is the anniversary of Roe V Wade. The judgement of God is on Christian Leaders who supported Obama ignoring his positions in favor of peace.
The band is playing "Dixie", a man got his hand outstretched
Could be the Fuhrer
Could be the local priest
You know sometimes Satan, you know he comes as a man of peace.
He got a sweet gift of gab, he got a harmonious tongue
He knows every song of love that ever has been sung
Good intentions can be evil
Both hands can be full of grease
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
Well, first he's in the background, and then he's in the front
Both eyes are looking like they're on a rabbit hunt
Nobody can see through him
No, not even the Chief of Police
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
Well, he catch you when you're hoping for a glimpse of the sun
Catch you when your troubles feel like they weigh a ton
He could be standing next to you
The person that you'd notice least
I hear that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
Well, he can be fascinating, he can be dull
He can ride down Niagara Falls in the barrels of your skull
I can smell something cooking
I can tell there's going to be a feast
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
He's a great humanitarian, he's great philanthropist
He knows just where to touch you honey, and how you like to be kissed
He'll put both his arms around you
You can feel the tender touch of the beast
You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace.
Man of Peace
Bob Dylan
Real Leadership is being driven by desired results, not desirable methods. Results are sometimes hard to come and not popular.
I prophetically call on all leaders to reaffirm their position on life in the light of God's word. It doesn't work any more to say, I'm personally against abortion but I'm pro choice. That's like saying, I'm against child abuse, but if you want to abuse your children, who am I to say you shouldn't.
This division is the judgement of God on us all. False unity is an anti christ spirit. It is already among us.
Lincoln's View of Obama's Inauguration
Posted 01/20/2009 ET
With the 20-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln gazing from the Lincoln Memorial across the National Mall, I wondered, what would the Civil War president think about Barack Obama being sworn in as America's 44th president? Lincoln is obviously Obama's favorite president. But would America's 16th president return the same sentiment?
There's no doubt these two presidents from Illinois share some similarities. As Australia's Herald Sun noted, "Both were derided as too young and inexperienced to be President; both wrote best-selling books before running for the White House; both were lawyers and extraordinarily gifted orators; both came to power during a national crisis; and both were tall, lanky, self-made men determined to maintain contact with the citizens they served."
Read the whole thing............
Judge Obama on performance alone? Why would America do that? He wasn't elected based upon his performance.” — Tim Kunkel, responding to "Judge Obama on Performance Alone."
The Challenge President Obama Faces
It will not be easy for President Obama. More than half the country voted for him, and yet our newspapers are brimming with snippy remarks at every little aspect of his inauguration.
Here's a small sampling of the churlishness in just The New York Times:
Boy, talk about raining on somebody's parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981.
Obama's inaugural address tracked much of Reagan's first inaugural address -- minus the substance -- the main difference being that Obama did not invoke God as stoutly or frequently, restricting his heavenly references to a few liberal focus-grouped phrases, such as "God-given" and "God's grace."
Obama was also not as fulsome in his praise of his predecessor as Reagan was. To appreciate how remarkable this is, recall that Reagan's predecessor was Jimmy Carter.
Under Carter, more than 50 Americans were held hostage by a two-bit terrorist Iranian regime for 444 days -- released the day of Reagan's inauguration. Under Bush, there has not been another terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001.
But I gather that if Obama had uttered anything more than the briefest allusion to Bush, that would have provoked yet more booing from the Hope-and-Change crowd, which moments earlier had showered Bush with boos when he walked onto the stage. That must be the new tone we've been hearing so much about.
So maybe liberals can stop acting as if the entire nation could at last come together in a "unity of purpose" if only conservatives would stop fomenting "conflict and discord" -- as Obama suggested in his inaugural address. We're not the ones who booed a departing president.
It is a liberal trope to insult conservatives by asking them meaningless questions, such as the one repeatedly asked of Bush throughout his presidency about whether he had made any mistakes. All humans make mistakes -- what is the point of that question other than to give insult?
When will the first reporter ask President Obama to admit that he has made mistakes? Try: Never.
No, that question will disappear for the next four years. It will be replaced by the new question for conservatives on every liberal's lips these days: Do you want Obama to succeed as president?
Answer: Of course we do. We live here, too.
But merely to ask the question is to imply that the 60 million Americans who did not vote for Obama are being unpatriotic if they do not wholeheartedly endorse his liberal agenda.
I guess it depends on the meaning of "succeed." If Obama "succeeds" in pushing through big-government, terrorist-appeasing policies, he will not have "succeeded" at being a good president. If we didn't think conservative principles of small government and strong national defense weren't better for the country, we wouldn't be conservatives.
And why was that question never asked of liberals producing assassination books and movies about President Bush for the last eight years?
Say, did liberals want Pastor Rick Warren to succeed delivering a meaningful invocation at the inaugural?
The way I remember it, the Hope-and-Change crowd viciously denounced the Christian pastor, stamped their feet and demanded that Obama withdraw the invitation -- all because Rick Warren agrees with Obama's stated position on gay marriage, which also happens to be the position of a vast majority of Americans every time they have been allowed to vote on the matter.
Liberals always have to play the victim, acting as if they merely want to bring the nation together in hope and unity in the face of petulant, stick-in-the-mud conservatives. Meanwhile, they are the ones booing, heckling and publicly fantasizing about the assassination of those who disagree with them on policy matters.
Hope and unity, apparently, can only be achieved if conservatives would just go away -- and perhaps have the decency to kill themselves.
Republicans are not the ones who need to be told that "the time has come to set aside childish things" -- as Obama said of his own assumption of the presidency. Remember? We're the ones who managed to gaze upon Carter at the conclusion of his abomination of a presidency without booing.
Mystery Question - Who Wrote This?
And, I agree with THIS PERSON wholeheartedly on this issue.
Here's a small sampling of the churlishness in just The New York Times:
-- The American public is bemused by the tasteless show-biz extravaganza surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration today.
-- There is something to be said for some showiness in an inauguration. But one felt discomfited all the same.
-- This is an inauguration, not a coronation.
-- Is there a parallel between Mrs. Obama's jewel-toned outfit and somebody else's glass slippers? Why limousines and not shank's mare?
-- It is still unclear whether we are supposed to shout "Whoopee!" or "Shame!" about the new elegance the Obamas are bringing to Washington.
Boy, talk about raining on somebody's parade! These were not, of course, comments about the inauguration of the angel Obama; they are (slightly edited) comments about the inauguration of another historic president, Ronald Reagan, in January 1981.
Obama's inaugural address tracked much of Reagan's first inaugural address -- minus the substance -- the main difference being that Obama did not invoke God as stoutly or frequently, restricting his heavenly references to a few liberal focus-grouped phrases, such as "God-given" and "God's grace."
Obama was also not as fulsome in his praise of his predecessor as Reagan was. To appreciate how remarkable this is, recall that Reagan's predecessor was Jimmy Carter.
Under Carter, more than 50 Americans were held hostage by a two-bit terrorist Iranian regime for 444 days -- released the day of Reagan's inauguration. Under Bush, there has not been another terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001.
But I gather that if Obama had uttered anything more than the briefest allusion to Bush, that would have provoked yet more booing from the Hope-and-Change crowd, which moments earlier had showered Bush with boos when he walked onto the stage. That must be the new tone we've been hearing so much about.
So maybe liberals can stop acting as if the entire nation could at last come together in a "unity of purpose" if only conservatives would stop fomenting "conflict and discord" -- as Obama suggested in his inaugural address. We're not the ones who booed a departing president.
It is a liberal trope to insult conservatives by asking them meaningless questions, such as the one repeatedly asked of Bush throughout his presidency about whether he had made any mistakes. All humans make mistakes -- what is the point of that question other than to give insult?
When will the first reporter ask President Obama to admit that he has made mistakes? Try: Never.
No, that question will disappear for the next four years. It will be replaced by the new question for conservatives on every liberal's lips these days: Do you want Obama to succeed as president?
Answer: Of course we do. We live here, too.
But merely to ask the question is to imply that the 60 million Americans who did not vote for Obama are being unpatriotic if they do not wholeheartedly endorse his liberal agenda.
I guess it depends on the meaning of "succeed." If Obama "succeeds" in pushing through big-government, terrorist-appeasing policies, he will not have "succeeded" at being a good president. If we didn't think conservative principles of small government and strong national defense weren't better for the country, we wouldn't be conservatives.
And why was that question never asked of liberals producing assassination books and movies about President Bush for the last eight years?
Say, did liberals want Pastor Rick Warren to succeed delivering a meaningful invocation at the inaugural?
The way I remember it, the Hope-and-Change crowd viciously denounced the Christian pastor, stamped their feet and demanded that Obama withdraw the invitation -- all because Rick Warren agrees with Obama's stated position on gay marriage, which also happens to be the position of a vast majority of Americans every time they have been allowed to vote on the matter.
Liberals always have to play the victim, acting as if they merely want to bring the nation together in hope and unity in the face of petulant, stick-in-the-mud conservatives. Meanwhile, they are the ones booing, heckling and publicly fantasizing about the assassination of those who disagree with them on policy matters.
Hope and unity, apparently, can only be achieved if conservatives would just go away -- and perhaps have the decency to kill themselves.
Republicans are not the ones who need to be told that "the time has come to set aside childish things" -- as Obama said of his own assumption of the presidency. Remember? We're the ones who managed to gaze upon Carter at the conclusion of his abomination of a presidency without booing.
Mystery Question - Who Wrote This?
And, I agree with THIS PERSON wholeheartedly on this issue.
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