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misdirection speaking simple words of misdirection discussions, part 3 expressions #186. Copyright © 20112 by Ken Gilbert. All rights reserved.
Debate Excitement Posted January 27, 2012 Last night was the second debate this week in the lead up to the Florida Republican presidential primary battle. It reminded me of a schoolgirl scuffle in the school yard at recess. “She pushed me.” “She pulled my hair!” You get my point. Romney and Gingrich are going at each other, attacking each other’s stability, integrity, and character. As far as I could tell, Romney got in some good self-righteous indignation, while Gingrich did some great “aw shucks” posing for the camera, and Santorum won the night with his relentless attack on RomneyCare. All and all, not as good as watching a “Die Hard” movie rerun on late night TV. Gingrich even showed some of his renowned out-of-the-box strategic thinking with his recommendation for a newly renewed space program, financed largely by the private sector I’m sure he thought it would be almost as great an idea as Kennedy’s space program challenge targeted for the close of the 1960’s. It surprises me that no one ever thought to bring up the fact that it was the early space program and the need for miniaturization to save weight in the space craft so it could break out of earth orbit that gave America the ingenuity to invent the microcomputer and its needed space saving memory. It was the inventions of the early space program that brought us the computer revolution of the 70’s and 80’s and the resulting microwave, cell phone, iPod, and internet revolution of the 90’s and beyond. This technological revolution also brought with it incredible economic growth and the significantly increased personal wealth of thousands of nerds and entrepreneurs throughout America. While Gingrich’s idea of a renewed space program is crazy at a time when the federal government is drowning in accumulated debt, and Romney and Santorum were right to jump on him from this perspective; however, if financed through private sector entrepreneurs, and not the public sector, this could be a good way to stimulate economic growth. Though, looking around we see no exciting emerging technology markets on the horizon. The computer industry is about as mature as it gets before the end market dynamics of company consolidation is complete. While not as far along, the same is true for the internet, cell phone, and intelligent handheld device markets. Entrepreneurs are looking around for the next great emerging technology market. The real question is “could space be that market?” I like Gingrich’s out-of-the-box thinking, but it’s just a stab in the dark. It’s a repeat of last century’s brilliance by a President who has been dead for almost fifty years. We need some new thinking to grasp the people’s imagination and the entrepreneur’s attention. Some new technology industry that can fuel the growth of our once great country for the next fifty years. I grew up and spent my whole working life in the technology industry, so permit a nerd to dream big dreams. Ok! I’m back down to earth, now. While we’re waiting for the nerds and entrepreneurs to save the day, there is something we can do to help get our once great country back on track to be great once again. We can force our federal government to stop spending money they do not have; we can force a balanced budget amendment to ensure that this does not happen again; and we can force the executive branch to stop imposing job-killing regulations on businesses and services across this great country. But the only way to do this is to elect fiscal conservatives to the Presidency and to the House and Senate in this year’s elections. Romney won’t do it! Even his own people said publically that he would not really repeal ObamaCare, for example. He doesn’t like to take risky steps, and risk is what we need to fix the problems with a government that is unresponsive to the people’s voice. Santorum won’t do it! He’s a social conservative, not a fiscal conservative. He has a big government, big spending track record. He’s a “compassionate conservative” like Bush 43. Paul might do it, if he surrounds himself with good people to help, and has a Congress who will go along. But it wouldn’t matter, because this country would be destroyed from without when he strips our military’s ability to fight a war on multiple fronts at a time when Iran, China, and others are getting more aggressive. Gingrich might do it, too, if he also surrounds himself with great people who can implement his grandiose ideas, and has a conservative Congress that will go along. He even talks tough on military, defense, and national security. But he’s so erratic and unpredictable. Who knows what he would actually do? Who else is left? Oh! Nobody. Well, now what? Where’s the dark horse candidate? Where’s the savior of America? Will he, or she, come in our lifetime? Maybe? But then, only God saves. No matter what happens to our once great country God’s still sitting on His thrown in heaven. It’s time to speak up in the public forum. blessings,
No More Debt Posted January 13, 2012 With the current debt ceiling standing at just under 15.2 trillion dollars, Barack Obama, our spender-in-chief, is asking Congress for the debt limit to be raised once again by another 1.2 trillion dollars. This increase means that the debt ceiling will have been raised by over 6.7 trillion dollars during Obama’s first three years as President, making him the biggest spender of all our Presidents. In fact, with this increase, Obama will increase the US debt more than all Presidents combined from Washington through Clinton. This is unconscionable! This is the work of a President that does not care one whit about the long term trouble he is causing the American people, our children, and our children’s children. His actions show that he only cares about himself and the political favors he can accumulate. Obama and his administration are out of control, and Congress is incapable or unwilling to stop them. So what can you and I do about this horrific situation we find our once great country in? Our founding fathers left us with only one alternative, according to the US Constitution. All we can do is make sure Obama gets voted out of office in the upcoming 2012 Presidential election, and pray that the next President is willing and capable to undo all the spending, taxation, regulations, and start paying down the notional debt. But who of the Republican candidates will be willing and capable of making the difficult decisions, and doing what we need to get this once great country back on the road to prosperity and security? And can they do anything without a Republican House and a Republican Senate? Based on what we know of the candidate’s track records, this is how I believe they will each deal with the problems facing the American people. Romney talks big, but he will not stick his political neck out to reverse anything Obama and his administration has done. He may slow it down, but he will never reverse ObamaCare, spending, taxes, regulations, and begin to pay down the debt. Paul talks like he is capable of dismantling our huge federal government, and thereby reduce spending, but he will do the same for our domestic and international security, and put us in danger of falling prey to Iran, Al Qaeda, China, and others who wand to see our once great nation destroyed. Gingrich talks big about doing great things, and he has great ideas, but his track record as Speaker of the House is a failure when it comes to follow through, and actually doing what he says he will do. Santorum is great on social conservative maters, and he will definitely try to do all he says on this subject, but he is not a fiscal conservative. His track record shows him to be a big spending Republican like Bush 43. The term for him is a “compassionate conservative.” Perry is capable and willing to do what is needed, based on his track record in Texas, however he is incapable of making his case to the American people. The fact that he got only 1% of the primary vote in New Hampshire is proof of his short comings. Huntsman, if elected, will probably resign the office, since that’s what he did as governor of Utah and as ambassador to China. It seems he likes the challenge in the beginning, then gets bored, and moves on, leaving everyone in the lurch. So, where does this leave us? We are left with no viable candidate! Not one of them is willing and able to lead us out of the economic mess we find ourselves in these days. Thomas Jefferson, our third President, said “Every generation needs a new revolution.” Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating a bloody revolution to bring our country back to actually following the Constitution and the rule of law. There are many things I like about what Jefferson did as President, but I am not a fan of the way he went about doing what he did. My point in bringing up this Jefferson quote is to remind the American people that we need to shake things up in Washington, we need to shake up the political elite who think they know what is best for the rest of the populace. Now is the time to throw Obama and his cronies out of office. Now is the time to throw every tax and spend liberal politician out of Washington. Now is the time for someone to lead us out of debt by cutting spending, cutting taxes, cutting regulations, and reducing the deficit. Now is the time for the dark horse candidate to step up to their calling and lead this country back to its greatness and prosperity and compassion for those less fortunate around the world. blessings,
Rule of Law Posted January 7, 2012 This past week President Obama has ignored the rule of law provided by the US Constitution and appointed Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and three others as new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Obama made these appointments in direct violation of the US Constitution by not gaining Senate advice and consent first. Additionally, they are not considered recess appointments since the Senate was officially in session when he made them; and the Senate could not adjourn without the express approval of the House, which was not given. So through these illegal appointments the sitting President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, has violated Article 1 Section 5 and Article 2 Section 2 of the US Constitution, thereby showing once again his disdain for the rule of law and his lack of concern and understanding for our founding documents and our unique way of life. Obama is out of control, legally! Who can and will stand up to him and say ‘No’? Both Congress and the Supreme Court have shown themselves impotent in maintaining the rule of law when violated by the Executive branch. Neither has been able or willing to reign in Obama’s blatant violations of his Constitutional powers. Who will defend the US Constitution against this direct abuse of power? Will Mark Levin and the Landmark Legal Foundation? Will the Heritage Foundation? Will the Rutherford Institute? Will the American Center for Law and Justice? Is there any organization out there with the resources and the will to speak for the American people and the US Constitution against these direct acts of tyranny? Maybe this is too much to ask. Maybe it’s too difficult a fight; and maybe there are no more superheroes left in the world willing to fight for life, liberty, and justice in America. If you are out there in the vast amorphousness of the internet I beseech you to take up this cause; because if you do not then we are all destined to continue watching the rapid decline of this once great nation into tyranny and anarchy, which inevitably comes with the absence of a healthy respect for the rule of law. Now is the time for everyone who shares my views to speak up loudly in the public forum before it is too late. I hope and pray that I am not a lone voice in the American political wilderness. blessings,
Let the Games Begin Posted January 3, 2012 Today sounds the official opening bell of the 2012 Republican presidential primary season. Today is the Iowa presidential GOP caucus, which will select Iowa’s delegates to the Republican nominating convention coming up this summer. The year leading up to today has been a political rollercoaster ride, with Romney, Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich, and Paul leading at one time or another, and Santorum making a last minute surge into second or third place, depending on which polls you believe. Lots of promises have been made, lots of babies have been kissed, and lots of ethnic food has been eaten, but do we really know where the candidates stand on the issues of interest to the electorate? What is each candidate’s position on the mounting debt, now topping 15 trillion dollars, and with Obama wanting to raise the limit again by another 1.2 trillion dollars? With our federal deficit estimated at 1 to 1.5 trillion dollars for every year into the foreseeable future, the national debt will continue to grow out of control unless something is done to reverse this trend. They all say they wand the debt lowered, but are they willing to cut spending by 2 trillion dollars a year to balance the budged and have enough left over to start paying down the debt? Or will they side with the Democrats because it is politically expedient, and approve raising taxes on an already hurting populace? What will they do about ObamaCare? Will anyone really be willing to stick their neck out politically, buck the Washington political machine, and rally Congress to repeal it? Or will they be willing to overturn it via executive order? What about the strangling of Medicare and Medicaid? Who will stand up for our aged and hurting? What about our unsecured porous borders? Will anyone be willing to make them secure, either with people or a fence or both? Where will the money come from to fund the securing of our borders? What about terrorism? Will any of the candidates continue to make terrorism a high priority within the US borders, and around the world? Where will the money come from to fund the battle? What about energy independence? Will any of the candidates get rid of the oppressive Gestapo tactics of the EPA that causes energy prices to remain high, causes business and household expenses to remain high, refuses to allow offshore oil and gas drilling, refuses to allow refineries to be built in this country, refuses to allow coal burning plants to continue to operate, and refuses to allow the production of incandescent light bulbs? What about the international threats fom Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and many other countries which would like to see the collapse of the US economy and the enslavement of the American people? Hopefully you get my point. Our once great country appears to be on the precipice of danger. If we tip slightly to the left we will continue our slide into world oblivion as a study for the history books, like Rome and England. If we tip slightly to the right we may be able to recover from the looming problems that threaten to tear down our Constitution and our Federal Republic. It’s time to choose. I hope we can all choose wisely, and save our once great country from ruin. blessings,
The Israel of God Posted December 26, 2011 Yesterday was Christmas day, the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, the day when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was thoughtful enough to wish Christians around the world a Merry Christmas. It was a simple gesture of peace, shalom, from one of God’s children. It was a sign of God’s ever present love. It was a statement that touched my heart; and for good reasons, because I was born a Jew in post war New York to Jewish parents who wanted to have nothing to do with the God of their fathers. My mother’s father, on the other hand, was a very religious man, a Polish immigrant with rabbinical training and experience in the old country. He was a man who loved God and His word, the Tanach, and spent every morning reading God’s word and praying God’s prayers. I know this because there were many days in my early years that I was able to sit at his feet during his morning ritual of reading, and prayer, and worship. I would listen to his words and watch his eyes and facial expressions very intently. I was transfixed by his love for his God, the God of Abraham. In my young life it was the only true expression of love I had ever actually seen, and known I had seen. Afterward, he would take me for a walk and he would talk to me about God, and how God loved His people Israel very much, and how God’s love is the life blood of our worship of Him, and of our desire to give thanks to Him for all we have and all we are, whether great or small, whether rich or poor, whether young or old. I was six and my grandfather Jacob was seventy-seven, and that summer he died. I have carried his teachings with me my whole life, and now I would like to give some of the love God gave me through him back to the people of my fathers, to the Israel of God. But there is nothing that I have that is worth giving but that which was given to me. God’s truth! The Messiah was first promised in the Garden after the fall when God said to the serpent “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15) Next the Messiah was promised to Abram, later called Abraham, when God promised to make him a great nation and a blessing, when He said “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) God confirmed the promise of the Messiah again after Abraham passed the test of being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, the son of promise, in Genesis 22:18; and again to Isaac in Genesis 26:4; and again to Jacob in Genesis 28:14; and again to Judah in Genesis 49:10 when He said “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” God confirmed the promise of the Messiah to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-14, which was later validated by Jesus’ lineage (Matthew 1 and Luke 3) and at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:17). God continues to confirm the promise of the Messiah, who would be born of a virgin and called ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14), who would take the government upon His own shoulders and be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), and upon whom God would place the iniquity of us all and who would be brought as a lamb to the slaughter and whose soul would be an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:1-12). God tells us when the Messiah would be born, 483 years after Ezra was sent back to rebuild the city of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24-25), somewhere around 5 to 4 BC, which fits with our known history. God tells us the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), would have His way prepared (Isaiah 40:3-5), would be preceded by a forerunner (Malachi 3:1), would be preceded by Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6), would be declared the Son of God (Psalm 2:7), would have a Galilean ministry (Isaiah 9:1-2), would speak in parables (Psalm 2:7), would be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18), would heal the broken hearted (Isaiah 61:1-2), would be rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3), would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4), would make a triumphal entry (Zechariah 9:9), would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), would be hated without reason (Psalm 35:19), would be pierced through hands and feet and side (Zechariah 12:10), would be resurrected from the dead (Psalm 16:10, 49:15), would ascend to sit at God’s right hand (Psalm 68:18), and many more. And so the only gift I have to give back to Mr. Netanyahu and to the memory of my grandfather is the gift of the Messiah, the birth of whom is celebrated every Christmas by believing Christians around the world. This Jesus, who was born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins, was buried in a rich man’s tomb, was raised to life after three days and three nights, and ascended into heaven to sit down at the right hand of the Father, is the promised Messiah. If you believe in your heart these things and that He was raised from the dead, and if you confess with your mouth that He is the Lord our God, then you will be saved and dwell with God for all eternity. blessings,
A Merry Democrat Christmas Posted December 23, 2011 House Republicans walked blindly and boldly right into the political trap laid before them by their Democrat rivals, thereby giving the Congressional Democrats a very merry Christmas present, and showing once again their political ineptitude. The House Republicans were forced to approve the two-month extension on the social security payroll tax cut and the expiring jobless benefits or risk giving Obama enough political ammunition to possibly ensure his reelection. Our seasoned House Republicans, lead down the yellow brick road by Speaker Boehner, acted as though they were freshman Representatives. When will they learn how to play the game they were sent to Washington to win? I know, the Senate and the Oval Office are in the hands of Democrats, thus making their jobs much more difficult. But, come on, the House Republicans loose every one of these political battles, even when they do control both the House and the Senate. You’d think they’d be smart enough to win one of the battles just one time, right? I, for one, am fed up with their lackluster performance! The American people need tax relief that can be counted on, tax relief that will make businesses more comfortable hiring new employees, not temporary relief that may go away in two months. Businesses need economic and tax consistency from the federal government in order to make and execute plans for hiring additional workers. This is not rocket science! But what the American people get is political maneuverings that give the Democrats the appearance of caring about the financially hurting and out of work Americans, without any of the needed results. What we need is more jobs for out of work Americans, not rich politicians who pretend to care about out of work Americans, when all they really care about is their own jobs and their own growing economic wealth. If you’re fed up with politicians, as I am, then speak up in the public forum any and every way you can. Merry Christmas America. blessings, |
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As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua 24:15
