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on: September 20, 2017, 03:45:43 PM
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The Patriot Post - Alexander's Column 9-20-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Monumental Ignorance — Dumbing Down America
By Mark Alexander · Sep. 20, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/alexander/51398
“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” —James Madison (1822)
In 2015, CNN published an analytical assessment by Dr. Stuart Manning, chairman of Cornell University’s Department of Classics. Manning’s report condemned Islamo-Fascists1 for destroying historic monuments2 in Iraq in order that history not impede its political objectives.
In that report, Manning noted, “Confucius said, ‘Study the past if you would define the future.’ ISIS, like so many iconoclastic extremist groups through history, seeks to destroy the record of the past. … The spectacle would be ridiculous and pathetic if it were not so tragic. [These acts of destruction] are brutal assaults on our collective human memory [and] dishonest and hypocritical.” Manning concludes, “Providing educational opportunities and empowering communities to learn more about their cultures and histories, and those of others, is one of the best ways to eradicate destructive hatred and violence.”
While the recorded history of Mesopotamia long predates the recorded history of North America, archeologists and historians have pieced together some of the inhabitant record of this continent over the last 1,000 years. Of course, we have very detailed history records of the continent since its colonization by Europeans, and those records are even more detailed since the founding of our nation.
Our nation’s relatively brief 241-year history is rich in both glory and tragedy, a mosaic of events that sprang from the spark of American Liberty3 in 1776 and have resulted in the most exceptional expression of republican government in world history.
But in recent months, there has been an aggressive campaign by a consortium of groups comprising the so-called “antifa movement4” — self-proclaimed “anti-fascist” fascists in collusion with the Democrat Party5 — to eradicate important chapters of our nation’s history.
The most recent and violent episode of that eradication effort was a confrontation in historic Charlottesville, Virginia, where antifa v. alt-right6 factions clashed. That confrontation was the direct result of Democrats’ favorite political playbook strategy: fomenting disunity7 to rally dependent constituencies.
The roots of the Charlottesville conflict began a year earlier when some of the University of Virginia’s privileged students registered their objection8 to the school’s founder, Thomas Jefferson. According to the snowflakes, “We would like for our administration to understand that although some members of this community may have come to this university because of Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, others of us came here in spite of it.” (Here I would note that nobody was or is holding any students captive at UVA.)
Although other campus cultural eradication protests9 around the nation were festering, the UVA exercise had yet to gain much traction.
So Charlottesville’s mayor, Mike Signer (driven by BIG political aspirations), and his uber-leftist city council voted to remove a historic statue of Robert E. Lee10, just as local Democrats had done in a purge a month earlier11 in Louisiana.
Signer calculated that his council’s measure would stir up the race-bait pot12 at UVA, and with the help of the Demo/MSM propaganda machine13 and its hate hustlers14. Indeed it did. The war on statues15 thus masqueraded as a fight against evil16 and boiled over in that quaint town.
Since the Charlottesville riots, junior Bolshevik brigades elsewhere have targeted other historical icons for erasure, including Christopher Columbus and even Francis Scott Key, suggesting that our National Anthem has ties to racists — which it most assuredly does not.
UVA appears unwilling to cede its status as ground zero for the social and cultural fascists.
Last week, student protesters desecrated and shrouded Jefferson’s statue at the University Rotunda.
But in the latest chapter of this grotesque absurdity, returning again to whitewash the university’s historical connection to our nation’s Civil War, the student malcontents succeeded in forcing a vote by its cowardly Board of Visitors to remove bronze tablets on the Rotunda17 that bear the names of UVA alumni who fought and died during the War Between the States.
Perhaps they should just raze the entire campus18 and go home.
(For the record, what these angry adolescents of all ages across the nation have most in common is not a hatred of our nation’s core principles and values. What they hate most, what they most loathe, is themselves. But that is a subject for a future “Pathology of the Left19” column, one that will focus on their captivity in a suspended state of arrested emotional development.)
A genuine statesman of the civil rights movement, former UN Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, one of Martin Luther King’s closest confidants, opposes tearing down Confederate memorials and monuments. “I think it’s too costly to refight the Civil War,” he said. “We have paid too great a price in trying to bring people together.” Obscene protesters notwithstanding, Young is joined in this sentiment by most Americans.
Among the reputable polls taken since the Charlottesville riots, an NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist University poll20 found that a substantial majority of Americans believe statues honoring Confederate leaders should stay. More notably, pluralities of black Americans21 also believe the monuments should remain.
Clearly, the number of Americans who understand the importance of our history is far greater than those who don’t.
Given that the monumental ignorance in Charlottesville began over a lack of appreciation for the historical standing of Robert E. Lee by a gaggle of loudmouth Demo-gogues and their cadres of useful idiots22 — those who embrace the notion that ignorance is virtuous — what follows are a few brief chapters of Lee’s history that none of them have ever read, and that none of them would want you to read now.
After his surrender at Appomattox, Gen. Lee wrote to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard: “I need not tell you that true patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them — the desire to do right — is precisely the same. The circumstances that govern their actions change, and their conduct must conform to the new order of things. History is full of illustrations of this: Washington himself is an example. At one time, he fought in the service of the King of Great Britain; at another, he fought with the French at Yorktown, under the orders of the Continental Congress of America, against him. He has not been branded by the world with reproach for this, but his course has been applauded.”
After the war, when Lee became president of Washington College (renamed Washington and Lee after his death), most of the funding to restore operations of the institution came from Lee’s Union admirers in New York and other northern states.
In fact, according to biographer Douglas Southall Freeman, a New York-based insurance company offered Lee $10,000 just to use his name — an offer few others would have refused at the time but which Lee did refuse:
“The repeated business offers that came to him seem to have awakened no yearnings. Nothing appears in his correspondence to show any desire on the part of any member of the family that he accept the post of supervisor of agencies of the Knickerbocker Life Insurance Company, a position pressed on him in the winter of 1868-69 at the then dazzling salary of $10,000. Not a flutter was aroused in the president’s house, so far as one may now judge, by rumors that he might be named president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.” |
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on: September 20, 2017, 03:43:49 PM
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The Patriot Post Digest 9-20-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Today, almost 400 years later, the United States has become an increasingly difficult place for a Christian to work, be educated, and to serve his or her country. This has happened despite the statement found in the First Amendment26 of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
In fact, First Liberty Institute’s 2017 report27 notes that in the past five years, documented attacks on religious freedom have increased 133%. In the past year, attacks have increased 15%. These attacks take place across broad sectors of the public arena — education, religious institutions and the U.S. military.
A case from the public arena, Barton v. Balch Springs, involved a Texas senior center in which city officials told the senior citizens that they could not pray before meals, listen to messages with religious content, or sing gospel music because public buildings do not allow religion. The senior citizens filed a lawsuit, and the government officials threatened to take away their meals if they won because praying over meals paid for by the government violated the “separation of church and state.”
In Pounds v. Katy I.S.D., a school district in the Houston area banned religious Christmas items and religiously themed Valentine’s Day cards. School officials told one student that she could not answer the question “What does Easter mean to you?” with “Jesus.” A federal court ultimately ruled against Katy I.S.D. for its hostility to religion and for violating the student’s constitutional rights.
In Sterling v. United States, Montifa Sterling, a Marine Corps lance corporal, placed three notes in her cubicle that referred to the Bible verse: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17). While her supervisor allowed the other service members to display personal items, he ordered Sterling to remove the notes. Sterling believed that her First Amendment rights protected her ability to post the notes, so when she found them in the trash the following day, she reposted them. As a result, Lance Corporal Sterling was court-martialed. The highest U.S. military court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, believed the note to be minor and thus unworthy of religious protection. First Liberty Institute is appealing the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
These examples, a small selection of more than 1,400 documented27 incidents, illustrate the direct assault on the constitutional rights of Americans. A combination of misinformation among the populous and lobbying efforts by atheist groups such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the American Humanist Association and the American Atheists have resulted in prayers being banned, Ten Commandments displays being made illegal and veterans memorials with crosses being torn down or moved.
The American Atheists28 claim to not be a religion, yet require equal representation of their “non-religion” at interfaith events and councils. Additionally, college campuses routinely list humanists, secularist, free-thinkers and agnostics among other religious groups. They claim to believe in nothing, but in fact believe in a lack of belief and have faith in a lack of faith.
Atheists claim that Christians force their religion on others. Yet atheistic secularism has been forcing students, military personnel, ministers and workers to adhere to their lack of belief standards or suffer the consequences. Far from learning to “coexist,” as many bumper stickers advertise, atheist lobby groups seek nothing less than to persecute and destroy all religions except their own lack of one. Their rejection of religion is their religion and their unrelenting desire to “convert” the rest of us is unconstitutional, intolerant and wrong.
In terms of the quest to totally eradicate religion, the Soviet Union at least communicated its objectives honestly: to destroy religion and establish an atheist, secular state. A state church or a state “non-church” both qualify as an establishment of a religious state. Are atheist lobbyists, then, not the greatest offenders of their own unconstitutional demands of others?
The Pilgrims came here for religious freedom, not freedom from religion imposed on them by atheist lobby groups. The right to “not be offended” does not outweigh the right to practice one’s religion. Ironically, people rarely ask Christians if it offends them to have their child told he cannot pray. Christians have a right to believe in God, just as much as atheists have a right to believe in nothing. The assault on religious liberty only gains victory if people of faith choose fear over courage. As Ronald Reagan stated, “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.” While courage may cost social standing, job mobility or favor among others, ultimately standing tall in the face of evil gives others courage and reminds us of our purpose: to do the right thing, despite the consequences.
If you are experiencing religious persecution and need legal representation, contact these non-profit law firms:
Alliance Defending Freedom29
First Liberty Institute30
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty31
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Will Clinton Challenge the Election Results?32 — She’s lied to herself and others so often, she seems to believe she really was robbed.
Spokane Sheriff: Guns Didn’t Change, Society Did33 — He pinpoints the problem of youth violence.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Jonah Goldberg: Only One of Two New Health Care Proposals Qualifies as ‘Extreme’34
Ed Feulner: Salary Suspicions35
Gary Bauer: Trump Addresses the UN36
For more, visit Right Opinion37.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Jonah Goldberg: “With 52 GOP senators, Graham-Cassidy can only pass if at least 50 of them vote for it, and they must do so before Sept. 30, when the arcane budget window known as ‘reconciliation’ closes. … Heritage Action for America has grumbled, rightly, that Graham-Cassidy doesn’t repeal all of the Obamacare taxes. But the choice for Republicans isn’t between this and a better reform. It’s between this or letting Obamacare continue intact, violating all of those repeal-and-replace promises entirely. That’s what’s so silly about the claim that Graham-Cassidy is as ‘extreme’ as Sanders’ radical and shoddily written proposal (the bill is totally silent on how to pay for any of it). Graham-Cassidy is very close to the kind of legislation we would have ended up with if Republicans had an idea of what they wanted from the get-go and the Democrats were interested in compromise. But we live in a time when extremism is defined as not getting everything you want.”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.” —William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
Upright: “A first-trimester fetus has moral value because whether you consider it a potential human life or a full-on human life, it has more value than just a cluster of cells. … There are people who are adults who are alive because of a pacemaker. They need some sort of outside force generating their heartbeat. … The problem is, any time you draw any line other than the inception of the child, you end up drawing a false line that can also be applied to people who are adults. So, either human life has intrinsic value or it doesn’t.” —Ben Shapiro
Non Compos Mentis: “The words ‘totally destroying’ a nation of 25 million people, that borders on the threat of committing a war crime.” —ABC’s Terry Moran (“So do little Kim Jong’s threats to NUKE America count as a war crime too?” —Katie Pavlich)
Non sequitur: “If you ask yourself, ‘What would I do if I was a gentile in 1941 [and] my Jewish neighbors were under attack by the Nazis — would I give them sanctuary?’ you might be about to find what you’d do. Will you pass that moral test, or will you fail it?” —Rep. Keith Ellison on DACA
Double standards: “The EPA has been run by Democrats, by Republicans, but has never … been run by someone who seems to be determined to do the one thing that could destroy its credibility, which is not making it transparent.” —former Obama EPA head Lisa Jackson (“Jackson resigned from the EPA amid accusations that her department was deliberately attempting to circumvent open-records laws.” —Daily Wire’s Aaron Bandler)
Village Idiots: “I thought [Trump’s UN speech] was very dark [and] dangerous, not the kind of message that the leader of the greatest nation in the world should be delivering.” —Hillary Clinton (You know what else is dark and dangerous? Hillary’s Benghazi coverup.)
Late-night humor: “Here in New York City, everyone is at the UN. That’s right, the UN General Assembly kicked off … and I read that 193 countries will be attending. They’re all committed to one goal: making New York City traffic a total nightmare.” —Jimmy Fallon
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. |
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on: September 20, 2017, 03:42:36 PM
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The Patriot Post Digest 9-20-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
________________________________________
The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Sep. 20, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/51395
IN TODAY’S EDITION
“We didn’t know if we were listening to President Reagan in 1982 or President Trump in 2017.”
A big news flash: Climate models are only as good as their input allows.
Religious liberty is under greater assault than ever.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“I am persuaded that a firm union is as necessary to perpetuate our liberties as it is to make us respectable.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788.)
IN BRIEF
Trump’s Reaganesque UN Speech1
Donald Trump didn’t pull any punches when he addressed the United Nations2 on Tuesday. He was honest and straightforward about the nature of the threats the world faces from tyrannical regimes seeking nuclear weapons. He was even unintentionally complimented by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, who likened his speech to that of Ronald Reagan. “For a moment, we didn’t know if we were listening to President Reagan in 1982 or President Trump in 2017,” Arreaza complained. He was right, but not as he intended.
While Trump’s message was indeed Reaganesque, his delivery was classic Trump, typified by his referencing North Korean despot Kim Jong-un3 as “rocket man.” Trump warned that the U.S. has been patient with the rogue nation, but that we would “have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” if are forced to defend ourselves. Trump pointedly continued, “Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully, this will not be necessary.”
Trump encouraged all the nations of the UN to stand together in pressuring North Korea to end its missile and nuclear weapons programs. Trump stated, “No one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the well-being of their own people than the depraved regime in North Korea. It is responsible for the starvation deaths of millions of North Koreans, and for the imprisonment, torture, killing and oppression of countless more.”
The president also thanked both China and Russia for joining the unanimous vote4 of the United Nations Security Council to adopt “hard-hitting resolutions against North Korea.” Trump further encouraged UN unity, stating, “It is time for all nations to work together to isolate the Kim regime until it ceases its hostile behavior.”
He also targeted Iran, calling its government “a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy.” He called on Iran to stop supporting terrorists. He demanded that Iran release the Americans it currently has detained. He also sent the strongest signal yet that he intends to pull out of Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal5, insisting, “The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States and I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it, believe me.”
Trump was critical of globalism and its advocating of socialism in world politics. Using Venezuela6 as an example, Trump declared, “The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented.” This was Trump’s most Reaganesque moment and the highlight of his speech. No wonder Arreaza was upset.
In short, Trump said what needed to be said. His message was direct and clear in his typical brash style. He didn’t shy away from calling out other member states by name. Nor did he flinch from applying unequivocally moral language, saying, “If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. When decent people and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power and strength.” While several world leaders seemed not to know how to respond to the speech, it clearly impressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tweeted that it had been more than 30 years since he’d heard a UN speech as brave and sharp. That would be about the time of … Ronald Reagan.
Climate Models Stink7
Climate alarmists and “settled science” extortionists have a rather incredulous response to a new study8 appearing in Nature Geoscience. The study takes a fresh look at the “carbon budget,” or how much emissions the earth can take and still maintain endurable temperatures. According to the study, compiled by a consortium of scientists from all over the world, the doomsday clock remains, but it’s been extended by quite some time.
The Washington Post calls the finding “a potential whiplash moment” that “was published by a number of researchers who have been deeply involved in studying the concept, making it all the more unexpected.” According to the study, contrary to previous disquisitions, it is possible to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), or what most scientists concur is a critical —but largely out-of-reach — global warming threshold. “It had been widely assumed that this stringent target would prove unachievable,” the Post reports, “but the new study would appear to give us much more time to get our act together if we want to stay below it.”
The Post says that, based on new calculations, “We have more than 700 billion tons left to emit to keep warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a two-thirds probability of success.” According to co-author Richard Millar, “That’s about 20 years at present-day emissions.” The hope is that this buys enough time to more robustly mitigate global warming’s effects. Predictably, however, the study is already being downplayed. But it’s important to understand why the researchers came to this conclusion. For us so-called climate skeptics, it’s not surprising in the least.
According to researcher Joeri Rogelj, “The most complex Earth system models that provided input to [the IPCC] tend to slightly overestimate historical warming, and at the same time underestimate compatible historical CO2 emissions. These two small discrepancies accumulate over time and lead to an [sic] slight underestimation of the remaining carbon budget.” Rogelj’s colleague Pierre Friedlingstein echoed this point: “The models end up with a warming which is larger than the observed warming for the current emissions. … So, therefore, they derive a budget which is much lower.” In other words, the models were too rambunctious.
The problem of overly ambitious global warming projections is well known. Climatologists like Dr. Roy Spencer9 and John Christy10 have found that climate models are grossly exaggerating future warming. What’s interesting is that some mainstream scientists are finally — perhaps because the facts leave them with no alternative — addressing this reality. How the rest of their peers are likely to respond is less encouraging. It’s also worth repeating that the true effects of global warming are still unknown and probably excessively dramatized. But at least this study tries to incorporate some authenticity.
Top Headlines11
Senate Republicans close to pushing through ObamaCare repeal (The Washington Times12)
States need $645 billion to pay full health care costs (Paywall — The Wall Street Journal13)
Report: Cutting $2.3 trillion of government waste would balance the budget in three years (The Washington Free Beacon14)
Mexico earthquake death toll surpasses 200 (Fox News15)
Maria slams ashore in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane (Bloomberg16)
Right-to-work scores a major win in Wisconsin (Hot Air17)
Gun-control activists to pour another million dollars into Virginia state elections (The Washington Free Beacon18.)
The Coast Guard has set a new record for cocaine seizures at sea for the second consecutive year (The Washington Post19)
San Diego State University students get extra credit for calculating their “white privilege” (The Daily Wire20)
Venezuelan price controls lead to predictable shortages (Reason21)
Policy: Defanging identity fraud by verifying identities (American Enterprise Institute22)
Policy: Finally, some common sense Western fire policies (Heartland Institute23)
For more, visit Patriot Headline Report24.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Atheist Hypocrisy and the Assault on Religious Liberty25
By Caroline Camden Lewis
Knowing the perils of disease, shipwreck and discomfort, the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower in search of one thing: religious liberty. While many died on the voyage, and half of those who made it here died in the first winter, they knew that their lives were but “stepping stones” for the next generation’s freedom to practice Christianity. Their journey had taken them from an underground church in Scrooby, England, to an escape in Holland. However, as Holland’s secular society began corroding the hearts and minds of their children, they realized that a voyage to the New World was worth the risk. The Plymouth landing in 1620 stands as one of the earliest pieces of our country’s quest for religious liberty. |
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24
on: September 20, 2017, 09:36:22 AM
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The House of the Lord
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
The theme of the house of God is prominent in the book of Psalms. The phrase “the house of the LORD” occurs seven times, plus once each for “the LORD’s house” and “the house of the LORD our God.” There are three references to “the house of God,” one to “the house of my God,” and one to “the house of our God.” Then, “thy house” is mentioned 11 times, making a total of at least 25 explicit references to the house of the Lord in the book of Psalms alone.
Many of these passages refer, of course, to the actual temple in Jerusalem. On the other hand, since it was in the temple’s holy place that the Shekinah glory dwelled and where the high priest met once each year with God on behalf of the people, there naturally follows a personal metaphorical application with the house of the Lord referring to the spiritual presence of the Lord in the life of each believer.
In our text, the psalmist expresses as his highest desire that of continually dwelling in God’s presence all the days of his life. A number of the other references express the same holy desire, and the New Testament response is that, indeed, “ye are the temple of God, and . . . the Spirit of God dwelleth in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
It is wonderful to “dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,” but that is not all we can look forward to. The glorious concluding assurance of the 23rd Psalm is even greater. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (Psalm 23:6). HMM
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25
on: September 19, 2017, 11:51:42 PM
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Two Minutes With The Bible
From The Berean Bible Society
Free Email Subscription
For Questions Or Comments: berean@execpc.com
_______________________________________________
Maker Of The Universe
by F. W. Pitt
The Maker of the universe
as Man, for man, was made a curse.
The claims of Law which He had made,
unto the uttermost He paid.
His holy fingers made the bough,
which grew the thorns that crowned His brow.
The nails that pierced His hands were mined
in secret places He designed.
He made the forest whence there sprung
the tree on which His body hung.
He died upon a cross of wood,
yet made the hill on which it stood.
The sky that darkened o’er His head,
by Him above the earth was spread.
The sun that hid from Him its face
by His decree was poised in space.
The spear which spilled His precious blood
was tempered in the fires of God.
The grave in which His form was laid
was hewn in rocks His hands had made.
The throne on which He now appears
was His for everlasting years.
But a new glory crowns His brow
and every knee to Him shall bow. |
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26
on: September 19, 2017, 11:49:56 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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From Grace Gems:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
Everything is FREE and Public Domain.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
___________________________________________ All that we need drops from His palm!
(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)
"The eyes of all look to You--and You give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand, and satisfy the desires of every living thing." Psalm 145:15-16
All our supplies come from God, therefore our dependence should be on Him, and our expectations from Him. Creatures act towards us in kindness and sympathy--according to His direction.
The eyes of all creation are upon the Lord, and all the tribes of His creatures are fed by His hand. How much more, then, should His children look to Him, seek from Him, and expect to be supplied by Him!
Whatever God does--He does wisely and seasonably; and whatever He gives--is in season. When our needs are felt, and our cry is heard--then our supply is certain. It is but for God to open His hand--and all that we need drops from His palm! When God's hand opens--our desires will soon be satisfied. Every temporal mercy, every spiritual gift, and all the supplies needed by our souls--lie in the hand of God for us. He loves for us to fix our eyes on Him, to lift up our voice to Him, and seek every blessing from Him.
Merciful Lord, You have fed us this day. Your loving heart and open hand have supplied all our needs. We gratefully acknowledge Your wondrous goodness, and bless You for Your suitable supplies. And now, O Lord, close up the day with us in mercy--give us a sense of Your forgiving love, and faith in Your protecting care. Help us to cast every care on You, and to fall asleep tonight as on a parent's bosom. Let Your peace pervade us, and inspire us with strong confidence in Your providential protection.
"Behold, as the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress--so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He shows us His mercy." Psalm 123:2 |
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on: September 19, 2017, 11:48:30 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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From Grace Gems:
Very Old - But Beautiful and Timeless Treasures.
Everything is FREE and Public Domain.
http://www.gracegems.org/19/literature.htm
___________________________________________ If chastisement were not necessary
(James Smith, "The Evening Sacrifice; Or, A Help to Devotion" 1859)
"No chastening seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11
Afflictions are always painful--and days of affliction are often gloomy. But as we are training for eternity, as we are maturing for Heaven, and as afflictions are necessary discipline--we must be afflicted. If chastisement were not necessary--then our loving Father would never use the rod. But as every one of us needs correction--He chastens every son whom He receives. God's chastisements are intended for our instruction--they are designed to teach us . . .
the evil of sin,
our need of grace,
the holiness of God,
the preciousness of Jesus,
the emptiness of the world,
and the blessedness of Heaven.
These are lessons of the deepest importance to us--lessons that we are slow to learn; and therefore we must have line upon line, and stroke upon stroke.
Heavenly Father, help us to bow to Your sovereign will, to bear with patience every stroke of Your rod, and to learn the holy and important lessons which You intend to teach us. May we not only submit to Your discipline--but, seeing the love which ordains it, and the need there is for it--even acquiesce in it. Keep us from fretting at pain, repining at losses, or giving way to too much grief at bereavements--knowing that all these things come from You, and that You design them for our good. Help us to understand that every trial and every trouble is a blessing--and will end in eternal glory. Sweet thought!
O for grace to yield ourselves to You--and to sweetly acquiesce in all Your paternal dealings!
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects--so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." Job 5:17 |
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28
on: September 19, 2017, 11:45:41 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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The Patriot Post Digest 9-19-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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From 2007 through 2016, the working class was dramatically impacted through a recession that began as a subprime mortgage crisis caused by Democrat policies33, with home values tumbling 28% — a drop not seen since the Great Depression of 1929. The widespread foreclosures and the tremendous impact to lending institutions due to bad debt began sinking those whose biggest investment was their home. And, as we all remember, the beginning of massive government spending kicked in with Barack Obama’s “stimulus” of almost $1 trillion and bailouts to rescue companies.
And who bailed out the working class? What “stimulus” made its way into the family budgets of middle America, not just financiers and investment institutions? The unemployment rate spiked to 10% in October 2010 due to six million jobs being eliminated in the previous 12 months, testifying to the fact that the middle class was hurt disproportionately in the recession of 2007-2008.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) review34 of newly published Census data, real median household income dropped during the Obama presidency with an increase in measurable poverty. Households earned $55,683 in 2009, which tumbled to $54,398 in 2014. Food stamp participation in 2007 was 26.3 million recipients, and that number almost doubled by 2013 with more than 47.6 million Americans enrolled.
Middle-class households are only now seeing their income eclipse 1999-2000 levels. According to a Washington Post analysis35 on the same Census data, the income of black workers still remains lower than the high reached in the Bill Clinton/George W. Bush years — then it was $41,000, now it’s $39,490. All median household income rose to $59,039 from $54,105 when comparing earnings from two decades ago, 1996 to 2016. In 20 years, an average family had a $5,000 raise during a window of time that energy prices soared, the cost of health care and education exploded, and the value of one’s home was reduced by about a third. Oh, and don’t forget that mandatory government-run health insurance program that was supposed to save each family $2,500 each year but, instead, drove deductibles so high that no one can afford their “affordable” health care.
Compare that $5,000 earnings increase over almost 20 years to a six-year window during the era of President Ronald Reagan: From 1982 to 1988, poverty dropped 2.4% with an increase in real household income of $4,905.
So, when Trump spoke about the need to improve America’s economy after the Obama years with hopes to renegotiate trade deals, prioritize the American worker above illegals, and to repeal and replace ObamaCare, he won. Trump is president today not because of his polished campaign machine or eloquent rhetoric. He inspired workers to see hope down the economic road. He echoed the plans and policies from the Reagan administration.
And, indeed, the U.S. economy, according to Census data, tracked along with the launching of presidential campaign activity beginning in 2015 — perhaps a signal to all of America that the Obama economy would soon meet its end. Furthermore, reforms to food stamp programs permitted by the Republican-controlled Congress freed the hands of states to tie work requirements to benefits, and it clearly worked.
Between 2015 and 2016, according to the WSJ, median income for blacks and Hispanics climbed 5.7% and 4.3%, respectively, with 2.5 million Americans lifted out of poverty by work. The 99 weeks of unemployment benefits came to an end in 2014 with 3.4 million dropping from the program. Social Security Disability rolls also deflated by about 25,000 in 2015 and full-time, year-round workers increased by 2.2 million as many people moved out of part-time jobs between 2015 and 2016.
Americans are indeed “getting richer,” as the WSJ declared in its editorial headline. A recent Gallup poll shows that 64% of Americans think their “standard of living” is improving, the highest percentage since 2007.
Mercatus Center researcher Dan Griswold notes that, in real 2016 dollars, the percentage of Americans earning less than $35,000 has fallen to 30.2% while those earning more than $100,000 has almost tripled to 27.7%.
Now, at a 16-year low in unemployment due to 2.2 million jobs added to the economy, with unquestionable consumer sentiment driving a more favorable economy, any continued growth will come with serious policy changes such as tax reform. That could drive wages even higher.
These figures don’t lie. Americans express more confidence when they’re employed and have hope for more opportunity. With the responsiveness witnessed over the last 24 months to a reduction in government programs and regulations, Congress must act on its promise to restructure the U.S. tax code to incentivize work, savings and investment that creates jobs.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Erasing America’s History36 — Removing the names of Confederate soldiers is the next step in the Left’s cultural revolution.
Forest Stewardship vs. Environmental Fanaticism37 — Trump addresses the growing problem of western forest fires via the promotion of responsible logging practices.
Israel, Syria, Iran and the Middle East Chess Match38 — With recent airstrikes against Syrian weapons facilities, Israel fires a shot across the bow of Iran too.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Tony Perkins: GOP Gets With the Pro-Graham on Health Care 39
Cal Thomas: Ignorant Nation40
Rich Lowry: 'Handmaid’s Tale’ Lunacy41
For more, visit Right Opinion42.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Tony Perkins: “Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) think they have the answer to the $3 trillion failure that’s destroying lives, spiking costs, and crushing freedom. Under their measure, which relies heavily on block grants, states would have the autonomy to design their own health care plans. ‘One of the most interesting reforms in Graham-Cassidy,’ Forbes explains, ‘is that, over time, it ends a significant bias in the Medicaid program toward wealthy states like California, Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and the states; on average, Washington foots about 60 percent of the bill. In theory, the federal government is supposed to foot higher proportions of the bill for poorer states; but because the minimum match is set to 50 percent, a number of very wealthy states receive a lot more money than they should.’ It would scrap Obamacare’s individual (and unconstitutional) insurance mandate, a lot of its burdensome taxes, and, most importantly, a major funding stream to Planned Parenthood. … With just two weeks to cycle the bill through the House and Senate, the GOP’s biggest enemy may be the calendar. … Did the American people elect leaders who keep their word — or politicians who make empty promises to win? In 11 days, we’ll know.”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Nations and peoples who forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms.” —Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988.)
The Democrats’ conundrum: “In some ways, Hollywood’s hatred of Trump is his ace in the hole. The more the left-wing elites despise the president, the more Middle America loves him.” —Gary Bauer
For the record: “We know Iran has already violated parts of the [nuclear] agreement. … They’re not just walking up to the line on the agreement. They’re crossing the line at times.” —National Security Adviser H.R. McCaster
Tit for tat: “I think when the president worked for NBC at ‘The Apprentice,’ and he said that Barack Obama was not born here, and he called Barack Obama a racist, if he apologizes for that, then maybe ESPN should apologize.” —CNN’s Don Lemon
Braying Jenny: “To Jeff Sessions, how does it feel to be dragged & humiliated [by Trump]? Now you know how the African Americans you disrespected feel.” —Maxine Waters
A vast right-wing conspiracy: “The optics [of the Bill Clinton-Loretta Lynch tarmac meeting] were not good. I admit that. … [But] the investigation was getting nowhere. There was nothing to find. And [James Comey] was in a position of having to accept the evidence that there was no case.” —Hillary Clinton
Demo-gogues: “I think Catholicism is a great religion. I have great respect for it. I’ve known many of the archbishops who have been in our community. We’ve had dinner together, we’ve spoken together over many, many decades, and I’ve tried to be helpful to the church whenever I could.” —Sen. Dianne Feinstein fumbling her justification for her religious litmus tests43
And last… “By posting that golf ball video, Trump is now on par with some of history’s worst leaders: Hitler, Stalin, and Moe from The 3 Stooges.” —Frank Fleming
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. |
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on: September 19, 2017, 11:44:32 PM
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Started by nChrist - Last post by nChrist
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The Patriot Post Digest 9-19-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Sep. 19, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/51369
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Leftmedia outlets drop another dud “bombshell” on the Russia investigation.
Trump may not totally exit the Paris climate deal.
After eight long years, things are finally looking up for the middle class.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.
THE FOUNDATION
“If by the liberty of the press were understood merely the liberty of discussing the propriety of public measures and political opinions, let us have as much of it as you please: But if it means the liberty of affronting, calumniating and defaming one another, I, for my part, own myself willing to part with my share of it.” —Benjamin Franklin (1789)
IN BRIEF
It Must Be Time for Another ‘Russian Collusion’ Story1
President Donald Trump has had a few pretty good weeks. His response to two major hurricanes was laudable, however badly that disappointed a Leftmedia ready to pounce2 a la George W. Bush and Hurricane Katrina. His new chief of staff, John Kelly3, appears to be running a tight ship at the White House. Trump even worked across the aisle with a deal on the debt ceiling4 — at least the press was good, even if Republicans were jilted.
Thus, combined with last week’s release of Hillary Clinton’s pathetic blame-everybody-else book5, the timing is perfect to turn attention back to … what else? Russia.
Think we’re paranoid about the timing? Back in July, Julie Pace, the liberal Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press, observed quizzically, “Every time [Trump and his administration] feel like they found their footing, every time they feel like they’ve had a positive message, something on the Russia investigation overtakes it.”
According to a New York Times scoop6, Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, may be facing criminal charges as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. The Times says this relates to possible “violations of tax laws, money-laundering prohibitions and requirements to disclose foreign lobbying.” These may or may not have anything to do with Manafort’s relationship to Trump, and it may or may not have anything to do with the raid on his house7 in July.
Which brings us to yesterday’s second story. CNN reports8 that James Comey’s FBI was surveilling Manafort before and after the 2016 election, and may have recorded conversations with Trump last year. It isn’t clear if Manafort was being surveilled while he was serving as Trump’s campaign manager. Either way, it lends a little credence to Trump’s charge that Barack Obama “had my wires tapped9.”
There are two things to keep in mind here. First, neither of these stories is the “bombshell” the Times or CNN hope, though it’s true surveilling Manafort would have required some reasonable suspicion countenanced by a FISA court. He may be innocent, or he may not be. Second, and far more important, is as Mark Alexander wrote in July10: The most perilous domestic threat to American Liberty is the collusion between Democrats and their mainstream media partisans. What did the Times and CNN know, and when did they know it? How long have they been sitting on what amounts to pretty useless information, meant solely to put Russia back in the headlines and keep Trump on the ropes?
What’s With the Paris Climate Accord?11
This weekend The Wall Street Journal published a “bombshell” report12 in which it alluded to President Donald Trump’s reneging on his previous decision to exit the Paris climate accord13. The Journal’s initial headline, “Trump Administration Won’t Withdraw from Paris Climate Deal,” suggested that a major shift had occurred. The truth is that there is less “news” here than what’s implied — yet at the same time, it indicates that more skepticism was warranted when Trump made his initial announcement.
The Journal began its report: “The Trump administration is considering staying in the Paris agreement to fight climate change ‘under the right conditions,’ offering to re-engage in the international deal three months after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pull out if it didn’t find more favorable terms. During a climate-change meeting Saturday of more than 30 ministers led by Canada, China and the European Union, in Montreal, U.S. officials broached revising U.S. climate-change goals, two participants said, signaling a compromise that would keep the U.S. at the table even if it meant weakening the international effort.”
None of this is inconsistent with the president’s initial proclamation. On June 1, Trump stated14: “In order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord … but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers. So we’re getting out. But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair [emphasis added].”
In this sense, Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters is correct in saying, “There has been no change in the U.S.‘s position on the Paris agreement. As the president has made abundantly clear, the U.S. is withdrawing unless we can re-enter on terms that are more favorable to our country.” Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do in June. The Journal headline now reads less assertively, “Trump Administration Seeks to Avoid Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord.”
Perhaps the lesson here is that conservatives should have been more skeptical from the get-go. As his statement proves, Trump hinted in June that the U.S. wasn’t necessarily walking away from the Paris climate accord. The bigger concern is whether any final decision will contradict Trump’s campaign pledge. In May 2016, he said, “We’re going to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to UN global warming programs.” He should be reminded that any U.S. partnership with the UN on this matter would betray his constituency.
Of course, we don’t know what the terms or conditions of a refined deal would look like. But Trump also needs to understand that global accords, particularly environmental ones, are a dangerous game. His advisers need to be very direct and insistent on the fact that partner nations cannot be trusted to fulfill their end of the bargain. The Paris accord’s biggest advocates have their eyes set on the redistribution of wealth, which is what the accord would facilitate. Whatever his end game is, it’s imperative that Trump refuse any “deal” that harms business or uses any tax dollars to fund a statist scheme.
And, oh, by the way, the science isn’t settled. Oxford researchers have released some interesting findings on the so-called “carbon budget,” or how much emissions the earth can take and still maintain temperatures. The Washington Post notes15, “Any substantial revision to the carbon budget would have major implications, changing our ideas of how rapidly countries will need to ratchet down their greenhouse gas emissions in coming years and, thus, the very workings of global climate policymaking.” Well, how about that?
Top Headlines16
In UN speech, Trump warns that U.S. will “destroy North Korea” and other “rogue regimes (The Washington Post17)
Promise kept: Trump killed two old regulations for every new one, $645 million saved (Washington Examiner18.)
Hillary mulls challenging legitimacy of 2016 election, cites Russian influence (The Washington Times19)
Complete with gratuitous and hateful Trump bashing, preliminary ratings for Emmys predict new record … low (Hot Air20)
Hypocrisy alert: Obama raking it in from Wall Street (Daily Wire21)
Crossing the border illegally is harder than it’s been in 50 years, DHS report says (The Daily Signal22)
Equifax stock sales are the focus of U.S. criminal probe into possible insider trading (Bloomberg23)
VA only filling half of its medical appointments while veterans wait for weeks (Washington Examiner24)
Audit: IRS improperly withheld information after FOIA requests were filed (The Washington Free Beacon25)
Evergreen professor at center of protests resigns; college will pay $500,000 (The Seattle Times26)
Policy: The GOP’s last-ditch effort to repeal ObamaCare is surprisingly good (Investor’s Business Daily27)
Policy: Trump should end all speculation on Paris climate agreement (The Daily Signal28.)
For more, visit Patriot Headline Report29.
Don’t Miss Patriot Humor
Check out That Happened30.
If you’d like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here31.
FEATURED ANALYSIS
Economic Improvement Connects to Conservative Policy32
By Robin Smith
America’s working class was a tremendous focus of the 2016 presidential election. Hillary Clinton took for granted voters in the Rust Belt in particular and chose to focus on bicoastal population centers, in keeping with the Democrat Party’s clear and continued leftist direction. Meanwhile, Donald J. Trump’s populist sloganeering stuck. His promises to "Make America Great Again” and to put “America First” not only resonated but created a firm foundation of an intense voter base.
Why? |
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30
on: September 19, 2017, 09:11:57 AM
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Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
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Blind Hearts
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:18)
It is a tragedy for a person to have blinded eyes but infinitely worse to have a blinded heart. No one ever willfully chooses to be sightless, but spiritual blindness is a product of the human will.
After Christ had given sight to the man born blind, the Pharisees still refused to believe, so Jesus said to them, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. . . . If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:39, 41).
Like these ancient intellectuals, it often seems that modern intellectuals are incurably blind. They profess to teach science and philosophy of the highest complexity, but their understanding is darkened and their hearts are blinded when it comes to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. As Paul says: “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
Even very religious people, people who believe in God as Creator, may blind themselves when confronted with the truth that the Creator must also become their Savior. “But their minds were blinded . . . even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart” (2 Corinthians 3:14-15).
Nevertheless, Christ came as “the light,” and when anyone will simply in faith “turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16), and the gospel will “shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). HMM
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