Misleading Stats on Jobs Editorial

Recently, I had occasion to write a letter to the editor of my hometown newspaper regarding an editorial that gave a very optomistic report on the nation's jobless rate which has dropped to 7.7%.  Additionally, the editorial also took in the fact that Speaker Boehner and the President were 'negotiating' on this fiscal cliff they love to talk about and commented that, "the GOP must accept higher tax rates on the wealthiest 2 percent of taxpayers."  

 

What follows is my response, which was printed, minus the highlighted section(s):

'Tis the Season

Well, that time of year is upon us again - unfortunately, more and more it's 'that time of year' - time to silence Christians and (gulp) Christmas!

 

It appears that a Christian church in Little Rock, AK was presenting a matinee production of "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown"  which students from Terry Elementary School were planning to attend as a 'field-day' trip.   This trip was strictly voluntary and letters were sent home explaining the purpose of the trip.  A (meaning ONE) parent objected to the field trip and contacted the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers which is - you guessed it - a 'self-described community of atheists, agnostics and humanists'.  Well, why not!!  

Blasphemy

 A painting that depicts President Barack Obama as a crucified Jesus Christ is prominently on display at a Boston community college art gallery  according to an article written by Tony Lee and published on Nov. 27th.  See http://breitbart.com

 

The picture of the painting (which I have been unable to import to this site) shows Obama with his arms outstretched on a cross with a crown of thorns on his head.  Apparently the 'artist' painted the picture four years ago at which time it was supposed to debut in New York but the event was cancelled due to public outrage -  there has been no such outrage in Boston. 

 

Civility

Recently, our local newspaper printed a letter from a gentleman condemning Gov. Romney for his statement that President Obama won re-election this November because of "gifts" he provided certain demographic groups.  The letter writer was also quick to condemn statements made by attorney Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law as a message of  "fear, paranoia, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry.  His language was that of the typical liberal whose motto can only be classified as - 'do as I say, not as I do'.

 Following is my response letter to the editor dated Nov. 22nd:

A One Way Street?

Over the past week or so, the news has been inundated with stories about Dan Cathy, President and CEO of Chick Fil A who was interviewed by the Baptist Press and verbalized his Christian belief regarding marriage.  He, along with other Christians (myself included) believe that marriage is based on the Biblical value of - 'marriage is the unity of one man and one woman'.  This is his personal belief  and that of his family.   Understand - he did not say that he would deny persons with a different point of view than his the right to eat in or work at any of his restaurants nor did he say anything hateful about them. 

A Brave Pastor

Since President Obama came out (evolved) with his support of gay marriage, there have been various  comments, pro and con, from numerous religious leaders as well as elected officials.  I, personally, believe that the President has deliberately put the African American community in a position of having to make a choice - that is to  choose between what their religious belief is and has always been or loyalty to a man of color who happens to be the leader of the free world.  Many of these African American religious leaders have said that although they do not agree with the President on this matter or even on his abortion stance, they will still support him in November.  Sad, when God plays second fiddle to a mere human. 

Religious Activism

Two items of note:

First Item - 

The author of The Exorcist, William P. Blatty is preparing to help students (and possibly others) of Georgetown University prepare a canon lawsuit to be filed with the Archdiocese of Washington and the Vatican.  Mr. Blatty is a Georgetown alumnus and expresses his immense displeasure that Georgetown is no longer true to the Catholic identity he was familiar with as a member of the class of 1950.  The purpose of the canon lawsuit seeks remedies "up to and including possible removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown's right to call itself Catholic or Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants."

The 'Gay' Agenda

Ever since President Obama 'came out' for gay marriage on May 9th, our local newspaper has received letter after letter to the editor, pro and con on this subject.  Many of the letters seemed to be in favor of this particular lifestyle chastising those who were in opposition as homophobes, bigots, religious wackos, hate mongers, fear mongers, 'fearful' of homosexuals and the list goes on.   As a Christian and firm believer in the word of the Bible I cannot condone this type of lifestyle and I am firmly opposed to young children being taught that it is a valid, alternative to heterosexuality. 

Brief Updates on Previous Posts

Color of Change/ALEC  

A recent release from ALEC  has announced the end of the Task Force that deals with non-economic issues (e.g. voter ID) and will now focus on jobs, free markets and growth.  Color of Change takes credit for this  decision and their tactics can only be regarded, in polite terms, as shameful.  COC was successful in getting companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Arby's, Kraft, Intuit and Walgreen's to drop their membership in ALEC.  I choose not to drink Pepsi or Coke, eat in McDonald's or Arby's, renounce anything made by  Kraft, not renew or update my Quick Books and stay out of Walgreen's!  Join me anybody?

Catholic Bishop Jensky/Peoria, ILL.
It would appear since the Bishop's homily given at a men's march and Mass on April 14th. , some members of the Notre Dame University faculty (where Bishop Jensky is a Board Member) have determined that he is woefully ignorant of history, insensitive to victims of genocide, exhibits an absence of judgment in his comments and should either apologize for his comments or resign  from Notre Dame's Board of Fellows. 

I took the time to read the full text of his homily and I found it  forthright, motivating,  factually correct and completely void of any 'political correctness' (you can read it here:  www.thecatholicpost.com  if you want)    

The purpose of his message:   Christians, it's time we stand up and be heard!

Is It "Of" or "From"?

You may have heard of 'Reverend' Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State?  Well, it seems he has filed a complaint with the IRS against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Ill. claiming the diocese broke federal rules when the Bishop spoke out against the President's 'unconstitutional' mandate forcing Catholic institutions to pay for birth control for employees, against church doctrine.   

It appears the Bishop criticized the policies proposed by the Obama administration requiring all employers including religious groups to provide free birth control coverage in their health care plans and pointed out other government challenges the Catholic Church has previously overcome including campaigns by Hitler and Stalin.

The Taking of Life

There I was, catching up on all the news today when I came across this headline:  Planned Parenthood Promotes '40 days of Prayer' for Abortion.  eeYup!  Honestly!  I just could not believe my eyes!!!

To quote from the article written by Dr. Susan Berry in breitbart.com, "In what appears to be an attempt to mock and pervert the pro-life community, Six Rivers Planned Parenthood of Eureka, California has launched a campaign that encourages "prayer" as a means to protect those involved in the "sacred care" of abortion." 

The Martin/Zimmerman Tragedy

I have just finished reading such a well-written article regarding this tragedy that I highly recommend it be read by all because I haven't seen it as well said anywhere else. You can find it at: americanspectator.com titled The Trayvon Martin Nightmare by Arnold S. Trebach.

This will give you a  better, more objective view of the occurrence on that fateful night, including a portion of what was actually written in the police report from the scene.   It is most unfortunate that some highly visible  political figures,  including their cohorts in the  media,  have chosen to make this a political football based on race, rushing to judgment/condemnation before any of the facts are fully known.

"A false witness will not go unpunished, 

And he who speaks lies shall perish."       Prov. 19:9

The Bullies Have Left the Playground For the Streets

Recently, there have been several articles regarding intimidating tactics brought to bear by a group called Color of Change, on name brand companies who are members, to disassociate themselves from an organization known as ALEC.  Why is this cause for alarm?  Well, let me give you some background on both Color of Change and ALEC.

A Lesson From Nature

As part of my usual prayer practice, I start each day with an inspirational reading from 'Our Daily Bread' before moving on to my Bible.  Today's column was headed "Stick Together" and as I read it I thought how appropriate (once again) for this moment in time!  Briefly, it centered on a study that explained how colonies of fire ants could survive floods for weeks without being destroyed even though their bodies are more dense than water.  The study showed there are tiny hairs on the ants' bodies that trap air bubbles and when thousands of them cling together they form a sort of 'life raft' to ride out the flood.  Think about that - their  survival depends on 'clinging together'!

A Visitor From the Past

  I was reading one of my favorite sites the other day and in the process of reading the comments posted to it, came across the following response which I found  very appropriate for this moment in time: 

A Visitor From The Past
           by Thelan  Paulk  (1986)

I had a dream the other night I didn't understand,

A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand.

His  clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by my bed

He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low he said: