Wednesday, November 7. 2012
REVELATION 13 ESV-
1 I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon [Satan] gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast [the State], and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast ... was allowed to exercise authority... . 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven [the Church Triumphant]. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation [world-wide Totalitarian Government], 8 and all ... will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. [italics added]
Wednesday, November 7. 2012
Many Evangelicals simply do not get it. The Bible warns repeatedly about Government assuming the place and power of God over their lives- the lives of all citizens. Ever increasing State power and control is a great danger to our Faith, our Freedom, our lives. BEWARE
"The centralization of power is one of the most profound factors in American public life. Conservatives and libertarians find it a dangerous tendency, while liberal statists applaud it. The elevation of power decreases the importance of the individual, reduces the importance of competition from the public sphere (states and municipalities face real competitive pressures with one another, while the federal government has no peer) and diminishes the sphere of personal liberty.
But it also has a practical electoral effect, as everyone watching the election returns come in last night could see. In swing state after swing state, blue mushroom clouds erupted over red counties as big city political machines turned in their votes. A single metropolitan area of great size can outweigh all the remaining votes of the state, given that not even the reddest outlying county will vote 100 percent Republican."
Continue reading "IT IS NOT THE SIZE, IT IS THE POWER OF THE STATE WE NEED TO FEAR"
Wednesday, November 7. 2012
The Sharon Statement is the founding statement of principles of the Young Americans for Freedom. Its reference to Communism is dated, but this continues to be a good summary of Conservative Principles. "Written by M. Stanton Evans and adopted on September 11, 1960, the statement is named for the location of the inaugural meeting of Young Americans for Freedom, held at William F. Buckley, Jr.'s estate in Sharon, Connecticut."
“IN THIS TIME of moral and political crisis, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths. WE, as young conservatives, believe:
THAT foremost among the transcendent values is the individual's use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;
THAT liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;
THAT the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;
THAT when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish order and liberty;
Continue reading "PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATIVISM"
Wednesday, November 7. 2012
OK, what can I do? Apparently, the Presidential voting was heavily influenced by young, non-white, low income, less educated women [granted a statistical abstraction with lots of exceptions]. None of these descriptors identify me. So what can an old white educated man like me do to reach, educate, change such a demographic group? [Yes, I believe they need "changing".]
The strategy is to focus on the mid-terms Elections and the next Presidential Election [Paul Ryan?]. Who is in the best position to educate the young (school age) women and men- and to prepare them to vote next time? School Teachers! The work they do (the ministry they have) is The Key to transforming the Nation politically. [Do not fool yourself in thinking that what happens in every class room is not political or, for that matter, objective or neutral when it comes to beliefs and values, especially in English, Social Studies, Humanities and the Arts]
When I say Teachers I include home and private schoolers -all important, but lets face it, most children attend Public School. This makes the key to The Key to changing young minds, Public School Teachers. We must value them, treat them with much greater respect (including pay) and pray for them regularly and work to improve public education itself, the System (mostly by community involvement and legislation).
What can I do at my age and stage? Mostly, encourage those who have the vocation of Teaching!
PS- I have not forgotten the importance also of parents nor of the important influence of Pastors and Sunday School teachers. That is another Essay!
Wednesday, November 7. 2012
"The United States held elections last night, and nothing changed. Barack Obama remains president. The Democrats remain in control of the Senate with a non-filibuster-proof majority. The Republicans remain in control of the House of Representatives.
"The national political dynamic has resulted in an extended immobilization of the government. With the House -- a body where party discipline is the norm -- under Republican control, passing legislation will be difficult and require compromise. Since the Senate is in Democratic hands, the probability of it overriding any unilateral administrative actions is small. Nevertheless, Obama does not have enough congressional support for dramatic new initiatives, and getting appointments through the Senate that Republicans oppose will be difficult.
"There is a quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "That government is best which governs the least because its people discipline themselves." I am not sure that the current political climate is what was meant by the people disciplining themselves, but it is clear that the people have imposed profound limits on this government. Its ability to continue what is already being done has not been curbed, but its ability to do much that is new has been blocked." Read the full article here-
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/elections-gridlock-and-foreign-policy?
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