Chris Wallace interrogates and lectures Santorum on DADT

I was originally going to use the word "debate," but when one party gets to ask all of the questions and has the advantage of throwing in "gotcha questions" it's no longer really a debate. On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace decided the most pressing issue facing the country must surely be the repeal of the military's policy on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), which allows gay soldiers to serve openly in the military. Because everybody almost nobody is talking about it. I say this because in a 13-minute segment with presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Wallace spent over a third of the time asking interrogating Santorum about DADT.

Clearly, Wallace is passionate about this issue and wasn't happy with Santorum's answers.

Before you watch the video, read the following question/comments and heavy duty opinionating by Wallace, from the transcript:

WALLACE: Senator, you say sexual activity has no place in the military. Heterosexuals have been open heterosexual for centuries in the military without any problems. And you talk about gays not being given, that they shouldn't be given special privilege. All of the "don't ask, don't tell" and the repeal of it does is say that they are given the same rights as everybody else has had forever.

WALLACE: No, wait a minute. Are you saying, you think that homosexual gay soldiers are going to sit there and go after the male counterparts in the barracks?

Wallace then reads a quote to Santorum and ask if that "sounds right" to him.

Santorum, smelling a rat, says, "Roughly, yes."

Wallace, thinking he's the most brilliant journalist since Dan Rather, hones in on his prey. (Santorum, like everyone in the viewing audience, knows exactly what's coming.):

WALLACE: Senator, Colonel Householder's[who is in the Army Adjutant General's Office in 1941, arguing against racial integration in the military] and I read -- Senator, I read Colonel Householder's comments yesterday. Everything that you said, living in close proximity, sharing bunks and showers, being in close proximity, what -- he used exactly the same arguments you use to argue against racial integration in the military in the 1940s.

WALLACE: I mean, it is a fact that your biology -- obviously, it's one thing if somebody is coming on to somebody in a room, but the sheer fact that somebody is a homosexual, are you saying -- I mean, these are all volunteers. They are all defending to protect our country, sir.

************************

Great job, Chris. Did you miss any talking points from the HuffPo? Everyone who watches Fox News knows Rick Santorum is the social conservative. And that he's against DADT. THIS IS NOT NEWS. Setting it up with the gay soldier question from the [ancient news] Fox News debate doesn't make it any more relevant. We expect this from MSNBC and the ever passionate Anderson Cooper. We expect better from the Fair and Balanced channel.

It's one thing (an appropriate thing) for a news anchor (or whatever Chris Wallace calls himself) to conduct an interview with a candidate and ask questions related to the candidate's positions, votes, and statements he has made. It's another thing entirely to turn the "interview" into an interrogation and condescending lecture designed to put the candidate in his place and explain to him (and the viewers) how backward - and practically racist - his views are.

That's just lazy, lousy journalism and I'm getting awfully tired of certain Fox personalities treating social conservatives this way. When they treat Rick Santorum this way, they're by proxy, looking down their noses at every SoCon in the viewing audience.

Meh. I can still turn the TV off and listen to Levin. Ratings are the only things these people understand.

(Fox wouldn't let me copy the embed code so I had to grab it from another site)

Crosspost:  Red State

White House to teens: You're gay? We're proud of you! (send us your resume)

Let me first start with a disclaimer;  I am 1000% against any and all bullying.  Kids can be unbelievably cruel and no child should be subjected to physical, verbal, or emotional violence .  This is not about that.  This is about special interest groups singling out bullying against a small minority and dragging us one step closer too the thought/speech-police state and imposing their agenda on the rest of us. 

~~~~~

Question:  How many LGBT-LMNOP individuals does it take to run the White House?  


Answer:  At least 11


Have you seen the "It Gets Better" ad campaign?  Our tax dollars and government officials are now being used to promote the gay agenda under the guise of this anti-bullying campaign.  From the website:

"The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future.  It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members.  It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help through the Trevor Project and GLSEN."

Now the White House has joined in the fun. While our nation is engaged in 2 (ish) wars overseas, a war on terror at home,   and we're teetering on the brink of financial disaster, the White House is busy making videos letting our teens know that homosexual sex could land them a sweet job as Joe Biden's social secretary. 


This first video features no less than eleven White House staffers celebrating their LGBT-LMNOP lifestyles:

Brian Bond, Deputy Directory, Office of Public Engagement

Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Kei Koizumi, Office of Science and Technology Policy

Jeffrey Crowley, Director, Office of National AIDS Policy

Greg Millet, Office of National AIDS Policy

Zach Portilla, Office of Presidential Personnel 

Karine Jean-Pierre, Office of Political Affairs

Carlos Elizondo, Social Secretary to the Vice President and Dr. Biden

Ven Nerella, Presidential Personnel Office

Anthony Bernal, Office of The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden

Ellie Schafer, Director, White House Visitors Office

[as an aside, why do we even have most of these offices???]

They all assure children that they're perfect they way they are. That some day soon,  life will get better and they'll be very, very happy and will be able to share in the goal of enlightening others about their happy, happy lifestyle:

No mention is made of the fact that male-to-male sex accounts for nearly half of all AIDS cases,  even though gay men account for less than 3% of the population. Or that lesbians have higher rates of depression, smoking, and drug and alcohol abuse.  Our government officials assure children (who have no business having sex in the first place) that this is going to turn out amazingly well for them.  Heck, it's practically a recruiting video! I wonder if our military's recruiting videos are this upbeat and enthusiastic....come to think of it, I wonder if President Obama has made any recruiting videos for our armed services.  


See more Obama administration officials' videos here. 


Vice President Biden's video is a rambling 4-minute self-esteem session.  He calls the bullies "losers" who are "inferior" and "less worthy and less bright" than those being bullied.  Way to set a good example, Joe!

"First and foremost, I'm proud of you. There's not a single thing about you that's not normal,  good, and decent. There are tens of millions of people around the world and millions of people right here in America and people right in your neighborhood who may be, or are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transenger [sic]. They're normal people... 

...Sometimes it's really hard to understand that it's the bully who's really the inferior one. That doesn't make it hurt any less.  It doesn't make the fear go away. But I came to understand because of my mother and father that the fact that I stuttered didn't make me less bright, less worthy or less of a person as they tried to make me feel. It was the people who were making fun of me who were less worthy, less bright...Listen to what I'm saying to you.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  You have every reason to be proud....proud. Don't let them take your self-worth away..."

Bullying is a very real problem.  In the more extreme cases, it represents a failure at many level, including the homes of the bullied and the bully, the school, and the friends who watch and do nothing.  Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the parents to ensure that their child is in a safe environment.  If the school can't or won't address the problem, then the parents need to get that kid out of the school ASAP.  

The answer is not to have special classes of bullying:  GLBT-LMNOP bullying, racial bullying, big-eared-boy bullying, computer geek bullying.  All bullying should be treated the same way. The answer to this problem isn't to endorse homosexuality and put the government's stamp approval on a lifestyle that the Bible clearly calls a sin.  Behind the happy faces in the videos are individuals who are living a lifestyle in opposition to God's plan for sexuality and marriage.  And they want to force this lifestyle on our children and our culture - using our tax dollars, no less!

Anthony Esolen has an excellent article about the relationship between the sexual revolution and our culture (HT: Denny Burk). I think he gives us a glimpse of the end-game if the anything-goes agenda is successful:

"I can conceive of no other thing more deeply determinative of what a society will be like, or even whether it will be a genuine society at all, than our folkways regarding men and women, their courtship, their marriage, their duties to one another, and their raising of children. Sex—both the distinction between man and woman, and the act that unites man and woman in the embrace that is essentially oriented towards the future—is a foundational consideration for every people. When we ask, “Will a man be allowed to have more than one wife?” or “Will husbands and wives be allowed to divorce at will?” or “Will unmarried people be encouraged to behave as if they were married?”, we are asking, whether we understand it fully or not, “What kind of culture, if any, do we want to share?”... 

...They say, “We should be allowed to do this, because every sexual desire short of rape and (sometimes) adultery should be tolerated—no, encouraged, even honored in law.” But that is to justify the sexual revolution by saying that the sexual revolution is justified. Let them do more. Let them argue that the sexual revolution—in its entirety—has conduced to the common good. Let them argue that a society, if it can be called one, wherein a ten-year-old boy knows all about sodomy is a better place than one in which he hasn’t the faintest notion of it, but is too busy collecting baseball cards. Let them argue that a society in which a ten-year-old girl must wait once a month to see her father, if his new bedmate doesn’t get in the way, is a better place than one in which it never occurs to her that her mother and father may ever part company. 

In other words, let the sexual revolution be justified on grounds of the common good. I believe it fails that test miserably, with evidence that is weighty, obvious, manifold, logically and anthropologically deducible, and clearly predictable by wisdom both pagan and Christian. Let them make their case, rather than asserting a principle that, in reality, would destroy the very idea of the common good. For if we cannot appeal to the common good in a matter so fundamental, I do not see how we can appeal to it in any other."

This campaign is called "It Gets Better."  If we're talking about the lives and souls of young men and women and the common good of our society, it doesn't get better if this agenda is successful. 

March 17, 2011

Mandle Company - Candles for Men: 
Looking for a gift for the man in your life? This family-owned company in Michigan makes handmade "candles on testosterone." 

"No matter how strange it may be, every man has a favorite smell. So take a look around and chances are, we have what you’re looking for from football candles to down and dirty candles."

Scents include bacon, auto shop, grass, gunpowder, meat and potatoes, rawhide, and wood shop.  Don't see a scent you like?  You can suggest a stench! 


I saw the video below a while back and I'm pretty sure it's not associated with the Mandle Company.  But I wonder if this is where they got the idea?  

Now on to some more serious matters...

Chuck Schumer to John Boehner: Ditch Tea Party  
The Daily Caller

“Speaker Boehner wouldn’t have been able to pass this short-term measure without Democratic votes, and he won’t be able to pass a long-term one without Democratic votes either,” Schumer said in a statement. “It’s time for him to abandon the Tea Party, and forge a bipartisan compromise.”

"Fifty-four House Republicans, many of them Tea Party-backed freshman, voted against a stopgap measure Tuesday that would fund the government for three weeks while the parties negotiate a long-term deal. The proposal included $6 billion in cuts, but did not touch funding for the health care law and other programs that some in the caucus said needed to be included to get their approval.

"...Schumer said Monday that Boehner “should consider leaving the Tea Party behind” because they “are unwilling to accept anything short of the extreme cuts in the House budget, even if it risks a shutdown."

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, explained his decision to vote against the three week Continuing Resolution:

“Americans sent us here to deal with big problems in bold ways.  We’re borrowing billions of dollars a day, yet Senate Democrats have done little more than wring their hands for the last month.  With the federal government facing record deficits and a mammoth debt hanging over our economy and our future, we must do more than cut spending in bite-sized pieces.

“Democrats control both the Senate and the White House, and it’s time they stopped dithering.  We need swift action to deal with spending for the rest of this year.  We need to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, and we need to defund ObamaCare.  And we need to start tackling next year’s budget, the debt-ceiling, and other challenges standing in the way of job creation.  We've made some solid first downs on spending.  Now it's time to look to the end zone.”

Freshman Congressman Marco Rubio was even more direct in a RedState editorial:

"All this has led to a very predictable outcome: Washington politicians of both parties scrambling to put together two and three week plans to keep funding the government, while not fundamentally changing the behavior that has gotten us into this mess to begin with. 

Running our government on the fumes of borrowed spending is unacceptable, short-sighted and dangerous. I commend the efforts of House and Senate Republican leaders to deal with this, but I did not come to the U.S. Senate to be part of some absurd political theatre. 

I will no longer support short-term budget plans. While attempts at new spending reductions are commendable, we simply can no longer afford to nickel-and-dime our way out of the dangerous debt America has amassed. It is time our leaders in Washington wake up and realize that we are headed for a debt disaster."

John McCain s daughter wants Romney—not Palin—for president
The Marietta Daily Journal

"'My personal favorite right now is Mitt Romney,' she said. 'I like that he's not so radical. I like that he has really, really played his cards right, almost perfectly since the last election.'"

 As if I needed another reason not to vote for Romney!  Miss Meghan has made herself semi-famous by bashing conservatives, including Sarah Palin, on Twitter and in her book, "Dirty, Sexy Politics," in which she tries to make the case that social conservatism is a political dinosaur that must be retired if the Republicans are ever to win anything again. 

"Criminal justice major Deanna Pucci, 20, of Woodstock, is also a fan. "I absolutely love her," Pucci said. "I'm not really that much into politics, and I follow her on Twitter a lot, but she's just so funny and down to earth, and I think she's a good role model for younger generations.'"

An endorsement by Ms. McCain, a social liberal, will do nothing to convince conservatives that Romney shares their values. But maybe he'll be able to rouse some of the uninformed, 20-something celebrity stalkers, who are notorious non-voters.

2 ex-top Oakland County Dems arraigned in tea party ballot flap
Detroit Free Press
Two top Democrats from Michigan were indicted for getting "fake' Tea Party candidates on the ballot last fall:

“A scheme was devised by a party leader in Lansing to put people on the ballot on the Tea Party ticket,” Bouchard said. “It may not be ethical, but it’s not illegal. But some folks were placed on the ballot without their knowledge and that’s the criminal side.”

The indictment alleges that the two tried to put two county commissioner candidates and a state  senate candidate on the ballot without their knowledge by forging signatures and notarized documents.  Ultimately, the plot was discovered and the Michigan Supreme Court blocked the candidates from appearing on the ballot.  If convicted on the forgery charges, they could face 14 years in prison.  Is anyone else shocked that it's not illegal to put people on the ballot using a fake party affiliation?  


Concerned With Muslims, Gay Activists Cancel Parade in England 
Greg Gutfeld, Big Hollywood

 "So over in England (a country), some gay activists want to cancel a gay pride parade because it will cause “community tension,” between gays and Muslims.The march was a response to anti-gay stickers placed around town, but some worry this event could hurt Muslim feelings. 

Here’s part of a letter from a group of concerned types, who claim the march will “oppress other marginalized groups.”

“We want both homophobia and Islamophobia addressed as a collective problem and not feed one against the other, we do not recognise these as distinct categories.

"So, let’s rewind: homophobia and Islamophobia are the same thing. 

Okay..I gotta ask: do you think they would also group homophobia and anti-Christian attacks as one and the same? Do they see crude jokes aimed at Mormons as no different than anti-gay jokes? 

No way. So why are they embracing Muslims as marginalized brethren – and not others? 

Well, for one, it’s HARDER to protest around people who “really” hate you.So better to stay out of Islam’s way, and target the gentler dissenters, like white pudgy Christians – the people who remind you of dad, and don’t want you dead.And so here we have fear, masked as tolerance, forcing gays into contortions even circus performers wouldn’t try. 

I mean, how can the gay left defend a religion whose practitioners want gays punished? They’re joining hands with folks who, in other more extreme lands, might cut off theirs..."

Baptist Press - In Japan: Baptists struggle to reach disaster zone:
I've read a lot of accounts of the disaster in Japan,  but for some reason, I have not seen many reports of what it's actually like in the midst of the worst hit areas.  Baptist Press shares the accounts of Baptist missionaries and relief workers:

 "Across the upper half of Japan, life is either in tatters or at a standstill. With some roads impassable and fuel almost nonexistent in the north, relief and rescue workers have struggled to reach the areas where they are needed most... 

"Some 70,000 people had already been evacuated from a 12-mile radius; about 140,000 remain in the new 30-mile warning zone, according to news reports. More than 500,000 people have been made homeless by the quake and tsunami. Many endured snow and freezing temperatures Wednesday, as government supplies began to reach the worst affected areas... 

"A four-member team from the Japan Baptist Convention and Japanese Baptist Union was forced to turn around when they tried to enter the disaster zone to check on the 21 churches affiliated with the two entities. Special government permits are needed to travel the expressway and to enter disaster zones. Another main route to the earthquake- and tsunami-affected areas goes through radiation evacuation zones. Back roads are open, but fuel is scarce so traveling long distances is almost impossible...

"We went for search and rescue, but quickly realized the Japanese government had that under control,' Frazier said. The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort. 'So, we drove around evaluating the damage and found an evacuation center... 

"Around 400 people had taken refuge in the center. Frazier said there was no electricity or gas in the area. When the Rescue 24 team arrived, the evacuation center was low on food... 

"All they had was a half of a box of bananas and a half of a box of oranges for 400 people,' Frazier said... 

"The Baptist team went from store to store, trying to find food to help. Frazier said the line just to get into the local 7-Eleven store numbered around 200. They finally came across a truck unloading groceries at the back of a store and convinced them to sell more than the 'rationing' amount so they could feed the 400 people... 

"'We stuffed our van with as much food as it would hold,' Frazier said.
"Survivors in the shelters in the earthquake and tsunami areas said they are short of food and water, according to news reports. The Japanese army is using helicopters to bring in basic supplies. With the country's power supply depleted by the damaged nuclear plants, many shelters have no heat. Frazier concurred that the ongoing nuclear crisis makes it hard to get much aid or relief work done at the moment."

Pray for the Japanese people and for aid workers and missionaries who are facing brutally cold temperatures on top of the other unthinkable circumstances in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. 

March 16, 2011

Welcome to readers dropping by from Dan Phillips' Biblical Christianity blog, which is one of my favorites in the blogospere.  He also blogs at Pyromaniacs, another of my faves, and (allegedly) the #9 Christian blog on the earth with almost 200K hits per month!  Thanks to DJP for sending his esteemed readers my way!

Fed instructs teachers to Facebook creep on students  
The Daily Caller

"Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students’ lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time for expressing ideas and words that are deemed by Washington special-interest groups to be harassment of some students...."...Facebook is developing new features that will make it harder for principals to miss episodes of online “harassment,” and so will increase the likelihood of government action against the teenage users of Facebook and other social-media..."...The leading advocate for the expanded rules is Kevin Jennings, who heads the Education Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings founded the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network advocacy group, and raised at least $100,000 for the Obama campaign in 2008..."...Ken Trump, a Cleveland-based school-safety consultant, says the administration is so determined to focus on gay and lesbian teens that it is asking Congress for $365 million to conduct bullying-related school surveys in 2012..."...The primary purpose behind the administration’s initiative is to “create a social and political climate where it is impossible to express conservative moral beliefs” about sexuality, even when research data shows those beliefs help many people live prosperous and happy lives, said Laurie Higgins, the school-advocacy chief of three-person Illinois Family Institute, in Carol Stream, Ill...."

As schools begin to rely more and more on technology, parents will need to be vigilant about protecting the privacy rights of their children.  Many schools are now issuing school-owned laptop computers to their students, which will give the schools many new avenues for "creeping" on their students.  In addition to the inherent loss of privacy with Facebook, the new threat of school district retaliation against unpopular viewpoints is chilling. 


A Note to House Republicans Patting Themselves On the Back
Red State - Erick Erickson

"I hope John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Jeb Hensarling, and the rest of the House Leadership and those Republicans who supported the 3 week continuing resolution “cutting” $6 billion realize this:
The daily amount of interest we will accrue on our national debt is greater than the $6 billion saved over three weeks. In other words, these cuts have done nothing to save us any money."

I'm extremely disappointed that my congressman, Rep. Jim Renacci, went along with the House leadership and voted for the continuing resolution, which didn't remove the Obamacare slush fund, didn't defund Planned Parenthood, and didn't do a thing to solve the towering deficit problem. Congressman Renacci campaigned on a platform of repealing Obamacare and reducing the deficit, but on fourth and one, he punted the ball back to the Democrats' side of the field.  I applaud brave GOP members like Michelle Bachman, Mike Pence, Allen West, and Louis Gohmert who are serious about tackling these enormous problems that are jeopardizing the future of our country. 


Judge Convicts Nurse: Free Speech Does Not Cover Encouraging Suicide | The Blaze:

"Freedom of speech is no defense for a former nurse who engaged in “lethal advocacy” when he encouraged an English man and Canadian woman to kill themselves after searching for depressed people over the Internet, a Minnesota judge said in delivering a guilty verdict against the man.
"The judge found William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, guilty Tuesday of two counts of aiding the suicides of Mark Drybrough, 32, of Coventry, England, who hanged himself in 2005, and Nadia Kajouji, 18, of Brampton, Ontario, who jumped into a frozen river in 2008...
"...Melchert-Dinkel was not merely expressing ideas about suicide The court finds that defendant’s speech imminently incited the victims to commit suicide, and can be described as ‘lethal advocacy,‘ which is analogous to the category of unprotected speech known as ’fighting words‘ and ’imminent incitement of lawlessness,’” Neuville wrote."

Forget flashcards! Watch reality TV and get into college | Los Angeles Times: 
The L.A. Times reports that students were given the following essay prompt on a recent SAT test:

“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular ... How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment?”

I've had this complaint about SAT questions for years.  They generally focus on some aspect of pop-culture, much of which is unfamiliar to students who don't spend their evenings in front of the TV as well as those who don't attend public school. There was a time that students were tested on a common body of knowledge that was rooted in study of the traditional liberal arts. While the question above is a writing prompt, designed to test the student's ability to write a coherent essay, taking a position and defending an argument, assigning such a silly topic - what educator Charlotte Mason would have called "twaddle" - demeans and dumbs down the the integrity of the test as well as those being tested. 


Is a Tsunami an “Act of God”? | The Daysman:

"There is a lot of controversy right now about whether or not hell is real.
But there is much less doubt about whether or not tsunamis are.
This raises a couple of questions. Is a tsunami an “act of God,” as the insurance companies tell us? And if so, is his role active or passive?
Assume for a minute that he is passive. Then we want to know why he didn’t prevent the tragedy in Japan. And if he is active, we want to know why he caused it.
We can safely say he cares about it, which makes it harder to argue he is passive about such things. No one wants, or needs, a passive God. And clearly the scripture says he is not:
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,like grass that is renewed in the morning:in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;in the evening it fades and withers.For we are brought to an end by your anger;by your wrath we are dismayed.(Psalm 90:5-7 ESV)" 

Read the whole thing. It's a great response to an immeasurable tragedy. 


After all the doom, despair, and agony this week, I needed a little cheering up, so I turned to one of my favorites: Rhett and Link's Buffet Song. This just never gets old for me...

March 2, 2011

"The New SB5 *
Colleen Grady breaks down the new and improved SB5 on her State of Ohio Education blog.

"Today the Ohio Senate committee hearing the bill accepted an omnibus amendment to the beleaguered bill that substantially alters the provisions of the original legislation."  After sorting it all out for us, Colleen asks: "Is the bill moving in the right direction?" Stop by her blog and share your comments.  


*Update:  SB5 was voted out of committee today and is headed to the senate for a vote scheduled for this afternoon.  


*Update to the update:  The Ohio senate passed SB5 today by a vote of 17-16.

Tennessee bill would make following Sharia a felony 

The Blaze

"The Tennessee state legislature is considering making it a felony to follow some versions of the Islamic code known as Shariah, the most stringent measure yet aimed at limiting the expansion of the religious code in superseding civic law. The bill faces steep constitutional hurdles, but the measure’s proponents are confident it will become law."


Unborn babies to 'testify' in hearing on Ohio Heartbeat Bill
LifeSite News

"Two unborn babies will ‘testify’ to their humanity in a live ultrasound before an Ohio House committee that is considering a bill that would ban abortion as soon as an unborn baby’s heartbeat is detected.... An unborn child’s heartbeat is generally accepted as beating by 18-24 days after conception. The earliest first trimester abortions generally begin at 4 weeks into pregnancy (dated from the last menstrual period). Pro-life supporters of the measure say the two unborn babies, including one at nine weeks gestation, would become the youngest human beings ever to testify before the Health Committee.

Sarah Palin denounces Obama's DOMA decision

National Review

"I have always believed that marriage is between one man and one woman. Like the majority of Americans, I support the Defense of Marriage Act and find it appalling that the Obama administration decided not to defend this federal law which was enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed into law by a Democrat president. It’s appalling, but not surprising that the President has flip-flopped on yet another issue from his stated position as a candidate to a seemingly opposite position once he was elected."

Boxer says Republicans have a vendetta against Elmo

The Hill

"Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that House Republicans want to strip government funding of PBS because they have a "vendetta against Elmo."

Fred Thompson to lobby for TN trial lawyers

Sherri Clark for iVoters

"Attorney, legal consultant, author, orator, spokesman, US senator, movie star, and now lobbyist, Fred Thompson has accepted the Tennessee Association for Justice’s offer to enlist him in the fight against a tort reform initiative led by newly elected Governor Bill Haslam.  TAJ, formerly known as Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, is hoping that Mr. Thompson’s otherwise conservative positions and uncanny ability to debate/influence will be the secret weapon they need to battle against growing concerns among many Tennesseeans regarding abusive litigation."

Our conservative hero, Fred Thompson, going over to the dark side?

Another Afghan Christian faces execution

Denny Burk reprints a letter from this Christian brother and says, "I hope and pray that it will help to focus attention on Shoaib’s case. Intense international scrutiny led to the release of Said Musa last week. Let’s pray that the same might happen for brother Shoaib."

"My name is Shoaib Said Assadullah. I am 23 years old. For the last four months I have been imprisoned in Qasre Shahi prison, Mazar-e Sharif for the crime of apostasy, which means I’ve changed my beliefs. Not only has my freedom been taken from me, but I [am] undergoing severe psychological pressure. Several times I have been attacked physically and threatened to death by fellow prisoners, especially Taliban and anti government prisoners who are in jail.

My case is supposed to be sent to the court shortly, because the prosecutor has the right to hold a case only for 30 days. The court’s decision is most definitely going to be the death penalty for me, because the prosecutor has accused me under the Clause 139 of the [Afghan] criminal code which says, ‘If the crime is not cited in the criminal code, then the case has to be referred to the Islamic Shariah law.’

They're still enforcing Shariah law in Afghanistan????

Texas getting stood up by D.C. on border security

Town Hall - Elizabeth Meinecke

"Both Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Poe have made several past overtures to the White House and administration on the issue. Poe sent letters to the president and, following the deployment of only 1200 troops, introduced legislation, yet still feels the issue hasn't been fully addressed. Perry also made requests asking for 1,000 National Guard troops along the border. One request came in 2009, and another came after the National Guard troops deployed to Texas last summer as part of the 1200 totaled only 286.

Both said in separate interviews that they had no idea what else needs to happen to get the president to respond adequately to the issue. Meanwhile, terrorists are being smuggled across the southern border. Recently, a U.S. ICE agent was shot and killed by the drug cartels. Juarez, on the Mexican border, has had more civilians killed than Afghanistan had last year."

Rutgers to begin gender-neutral housing

CNN

"In the wake of the high-profile suicide of a gay Rutgers University student last fall, the New Jersey college will implement gender-neutral housing in an attempt to make the university more inclusive...In the aftermath of the Clementi tragedy, members of the university's LGBTQ community told the administration that gender-neutral housing would help create an even more inclusive environment. "

John Piper tweeted: "Responding to Tyler's tragic suicide with gender neutral dorms is like pushing others in after him."

19 Action News in Cleveland is conducting their Food Wars.  Up this week: CORNED BEEF!  Corky & Lenny's vs. Slyman's.  I've never had Corky and Lenny's but I am certain there is nothing better in the world than a Slyman's corned beef sandwich.  Vote here.   I found this short  video on Slyman's website that shows their American Dream. This is what happens when the free market and capitalism collide with hard-working immigrants....100 briskets a day!  When asked why he makes the sandwiches so big, the owner said, "To thank America for my freedom." Another reason to love the U.S.A.!


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...and now a little encouragement...I stumbled upon this blog when Ryan was looking for a church near Hillsdale College and have been blessed by it many times.  The following is a letter the blogger wrote to himself on his 58th birthday:

Be That Guy
Wally Metts
"And slow down so you can make time for others, especially young men who are trying to figure things out. Remember when your Dad died and you had no one to call? Now you are that guy....Learn to be more generous and more grateful. When you get to the end, people shouldn't be tired of you, mad at you, burdened by you or embarrassed by you. Go back to Psalm 112 again and again.

Be that guy too, the gracious, merciful, righteous, fearless, steady guy who fears the Lord and delights in his commands. You are not too old to learn."

February 28, 2011

Why aren't we on strike?  Wayne Allyn Root - The Daily Caller
"Private-sector workers should be the ones striking in the streets of Wisconsin. They’re the ones who have to support government workers’ bloated salaries and pensions. But private-sector workers can’t afford to take a day off, let alone a week. Doesn’t that say everything? Only government employees, with their powerful unions, lifetime job security, short workweeks, loads of sick days, nonstop holidays, early retirement, and huge pensions, can afford to stand in the street protesting. Common sense tells us anyone with this much time to protest and the ability to abandon their work duties is greatly overpaid."


Liberals hiding in the back-alley of abortion debate - Heather Cirmo The Daily Caller
"The flawed logic is that abortion should not be outlawed because some women will find any way to get an abortion, even if it is dangerous. Apart from the ridiculous assertion that a law is only worth passing and keeping if it is upheld by all the people all the time (talk about an argument for anarchy!), the so-called pro-choice crowd does not give enough credit to women to act righteously with new information accessible to them. In other words, if women start believing — based largely upon recent advances in medical technology — that life begins at conception, hearts and minds on the issue of abortion will change and abortion will be seen as an immoral act — namely the killing of another human being."


What the Puberty Talk Can Teach Us About Discipleship - Russell Moore
"Parents do this because they know puberty is, literally, a crisis. It’s a turning point that brings unique temptations and tests. But it’s not the only such crisis. Every stage of life brings with it something comparable. Parents can demystify, to some degree, puberty because they’ve been through it themselves...

...Why don’t we do the same thing elsewhere in the life cycle, within the life of the church 

Why don’t our older women tell twenty-something young brides about the kind of isolation that can come with small children in the house? Why don’t our older men prepare our thirtysomethings for the testosterone drop that often prompts what we call a “midlife crisis”? Why can’t older women teach younger women how to handle the hormonal upheaval that can come with menopause, and how to go through it with Christlikeness? Why couldn’t the elderly in our congregations warn the younger generations about the pull toward bitterness or despondency or rage that can come with failing health or life in nursing homes?"

20 states receive federal grants to start cradle to career data tracking

Here's another example of our Federal government wasting millions and millions of dollars.  Twenty states, including Ohio, have received grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act "to support states with the development and implementation of systems that promote the linking of data across time and databases, from early childhood into career."  States receiving grants will now be setting up systems to track our children from cradle to "career."  Grants range from $5.1 million to $19.7 million.  

Combat troops to get gay sensitivity training
"American combat troops will get sensitivity training directly on the battlefield about the military’s new policy on gays instead of waiting until they return to home base in the United States, the senior enlisted man in Afghanistan said Thursday....
...Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, the top enlisted man in Afghanistan where 100,000 U.S. troops are deployed, said that the sessions on respecting gays’ rights will go right down to the forward operating bases, where troops fight Taliban militants...
...Our plan is to take their direction, and we’re going to execute that training right here on the battlefield.” ...No unit is exempted, he said... 
...“Our goal is to not allow a unit to return to home station and have the unit responsible for that,” he said. “While we own those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, we’re going to execute that training on the ground...
...“If there are people who cannot deal with the change, then they’re going to have to do what’s best for their troops and best for the organization and best for the military service and exit the military service, so that we can move forward - if that’s the way that we have to go,” Sgt. Hill said on the television show, “Washington Watch” in December."


Let the social engineering begin.  As if our front-line combat troops don't have enough to do.