mlajoie

Living Waters New Album featured in Nashua Telegraph!

2011-03-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

In the Encore section of the March 17, 2011 Nashua Telegraph, there was a very positive article about Living Waters new release, "Refresh". (This was a reprint of an earlier article in the Merrimack Journal.) Click on this! to see it...

Exciting NEWS! First CD is now live on ITUNES, Amazon & emusic!

2011-02-06T20:26:00.001-05:00

Our new CD, entitled "Refresh" has now gone live on itunes on the 20th for $9.99. On Amazon, it was released on Friday, February 11th! It costs only $7.99 for 13 songs. It is very cheap on 'emusic' for just 49 cents a song. You can sample all of the songs by going to our ReverbNation site and clicking the Amazon button. So exciting! Rejoice with us!

Peace & Love & JOY,
Mark Lajoie!

Check out music from Living Waters

2010-11-10T21:54:00.001-05:00

Living Waters FEATURED on ReverbNation MAIN PAGE

2010-10-31T14:43:00.000-04:00

Living Waters is going to be a featured on the main page of ReverbNation for the week of November 2 through November 9! Check it out!

Living Waters Music - A Music Player

2010-07-26T13:44:00.006-04:00

To see the full site, go to: http://www.reverbnation.com/livingwaters

In order to see the lyrics, click on "Options" and then the "Lyrics" rectangle. You may notice you can also "Download" or go to the site. Some of the songs on this player are "Noteworthy Composer" compositions, meaning they were written using sheet music composition software and have no live vocals (for instance, "A Stand of Courage" or the "Credo"). Since there are no words being sung on these, punch up the lyrics and follow the computerized lead "voice" in order to match the lyrics to it.

For a blog discussing these songs and memories of the Living Waters Band on the Living Waters Music site, click on the blog link to the right. Within, each blog entry there are links to the songs being discussed,

UPDATE: Oct 12, 2010. "Peter the Rock" was played on "The Catholic Music Express" radio program of Oct 3, 2010 and we have been linked to http://www.gvonline.net/artists.html !

Stupid Stupak: When Catholics Trust the Untrustable

2010-03-22T16:55:00.005-04:00

Stupid Stupak:

When Catholics Trust the Untrustable

(Let me start by saying that I do not use the word “stupid” as a childish insult to Representative Stupak. I use it to describe the act of trusting someone about something which only the most naïve could possibly trust. The only way to describe such an action is “foolish” or “stupid”.)

In the aftermath of the stunning betrayal by Bart Stupak on March 21, 2010, one historical precedent has filled my consciousness with its eerie, stomach-churning similarity. This precedent is the role of the Catholic Centre Party in the accession of the Nazis in the early 1930’s. (Before I go any further, let me also make it clear that I do not intend to directly compare Hitler and Obama. My purpose is to underline the foolishness of Catholics who trust those who have displayed unmistakable antagonism to moral issues of relevance to Catholics.)

Pictured above is Franz von Papen. He led the Catholic Centre Party, presenting himself as promoting the interests of Catholics in Germany, but in the end, he was just another short-sighted politician about whom Hitler commented, “These men are ghosts.” Hitler played him like a violin, used him for his own purposes and tossed him aside. We need not delve into great detail. Suffice it to say, Papen made deals with Hitler, a man whose virulent anti-Catholic rants were public record and easily accessible to any curious man, not to mention his perverse hatred of the Jews and others. Further, his main stated socialist and statist goals were totally repugnant to the Catholic ideals of subsidiarity and solidarity. Papen thought he could guide or control Hitler for his own purposes. Hitler made promises to von Papen. Von Papen used his influence, in his turn, to get Hitler appointed Chancellor, just when it seemed he had been stymied.

Papen used his influence for an altogether disastrous intrigue. In spite of all assertions to the contrary, it was he who took the initiative in establishing an alliance with Hitler, who was already beginning to despair of attaining power. Any hesitations he may have had about entering into this suicidal partnership were doubtless swept aside by his natural recklessness, his arrogant assumption of his own right to lead, and an itch for revenge upon his rival Schleicher, now Chancellor in the new cabinet. At all events, the offended Papen cleared away the last personal obstacles to a partnership between the nationalist right and the NSDAP….but this time with real chances of achieving power.

He really should have known better. If he had only stood his ground, we might have avoided the horrors of Holocaust and World War. A Catholic can’t ‘make deals’ with people who have consistently espoused moral values inconsistent with true social justice theory. You can’t get pure water from a thoroughly contaminated well.

Stupak should know better about this health care bill, too. Those who wrote and influenced it or, those whom Obama plans to use to administer the bill, like Ezekiel Emmanuel, Cass Sunstein and the like, have supported the use of government health care to promote federally funded abortions and maybe even infanticide in the words of some of them. Their own words, associations and actions have given us all more than ample opportunity to figure out what their REAL purposes are. These people have already let slip their real intentions in regard to life and other moral issues important to Catholics.

What in the world has Obama or his friends ever said in all their ‘public-consumption’ commentary that would give anyone any confidence in their most earnestly argued reassurances? Their credibility on ‘transparency’, on deficit-cutting or anything else has reached laughable lows. Why should Stupak trust an empty promise to do something which is inherently nonsensical: executive altering of legislation?? When they have made it so clear that widespread access to abortion and euthanasia is virtually number one on their list, why should he expect them to change their spots, unless it’s for a tactical maneuver?

HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?

This is a sad day for all those who feel conscience should have some sort of real-world relevance. Alas, it seems there is no ‘social justice’ for the most innocent and helpless among us like the infants and the elderly. We were hoping Stupak would stand tall. He failed. We still have a chance to and MUST stand up for life and freedom after this display of stupid gullibility.

Remember November is coming. Reports are already arising of a massive surge today for Stupak’s opponent. There’s one thing among many that we all can do. Let’s get back to work again!

The Lyin’ King: Summit at (Hubris) Pride Rock!

2010-02-27T14:25:00.010-05:00

The Lyin’ King:

Summit at ~~Hubris~~ Pride Rock!

All the lions gathered around the big flat rock for the big meeting on hyena-run health care. King Obamba cleared his throat dramatically and began:

Obamba: Listen to me and listen long. We’re talking about how I’m going to take care of all the lions by using the hyenas. I’m going to let you lions on the right do some of the talking and you lions on the left do more talking than that, but, of course, I will do more talking than all of you lions on the right combined, OK?

McCain: Wait a minute, why is that?

Obamba: I AM the King, after all, right? There was a reason I couldn’t wait to do this, wasn’t there?

McCain: Well, I….

Obamba: I have to look like I’m being fair. Let's see. Who should go first?

Biden: Don't look at me. I don't have to do anything. Just Biden my time!

Obamba: Be quiet, Vice Lion Biden. I will call on one of your lead lions on the right. So, go ahead, Lemur.

Lamar: That’s “Senior Lion Lamar….”

Obamba: Whatever. Go ahead, Lemur.

Lamar: Mr. King of the United Lions, back when you kept saying “I just can’t wait to be king” all the time, you promised to do things a certain way and now you’re not. A lot of the lions are saying they don’t want the hyenas taking care of the lions and rumors are flying that you are going to force us all to do it. The RBO – the Rafiki Budget Office – says it will be a lot more costly to the lions than the way we do it now. Will you promise here and now not to Rahm this thing down our throats so we can all discuss this honestly and actually do something that will really help?

Obamba: I’m going to totally ignore that last thing you just said and I’m going to say that you are factually incorrect about the RBO…

Lamar: But I have it right here…

Obamba: No, sorry, little Lemur, I’m right, you’re wrong. Rafiki is a good friend of mine…before we’re done here, I’ll make you eat your words.

[Obamba's little bird advisor ZatU approaches.]

ZatU: (quietly) …won’t be much else left to eat….

Obamba: ZatU, iz zat you again? I didn’t realize you were still there.

ZatU: (softly) You hardly realize anyone else but you is there.

Obamba: Well, I am the really important one here, after all.

[ZatU hands Obamba a piece of paper.]

Obamba: What’s this? (whispering to ZatU) RBO says that? (to all) Well, let me make this perfectly clear. What I meant to say is that certain types of lions at certain times will be doing better in certain ways. Why, it’s perfectly obvious that that’s what I meant to say about all that. And, you, Lemur….

Lamar: (sighing) Senior Lion Lamar….

Obamba: Whatever. You have got to stop getting us off track here with all your partisan, mean, power-grabbing type stuff….

Lamar: We haven’t had any power or say since you….

Obamba: Whatever. You see, I’ve got to look like I’m considering your ideas before I shut you down and your bringing up things like that is just less time for me to talk and look King-y and all that. Yes, My Cane, what is it?

McCain: That’s McCAIN!

Obamba: No, it’s not MY cane. You’re the one who needs a cane, you toothless old lion.

McCain: Well, anyway, I object to the PROCESS. You broke your promises when we were competing to be King. You said you weren’t doing business with the jackals and now you’re meeting with them and the hyenas all the time in secret caves.

Obamba: Toothless John, stop that, this has been very open.

McCain: Yeah, and what about the Zebra Kickback and the Smelly Warthog Purchase and all the Pork. Phew! There are so many pigs around here now.

Obamba: John, stop flapping your toothless gums, the campaign for King is over and I am the King – and you’re not. Besides, no one wants to hear you talk. They want to hear me. Well, maybe we’ll let a lion on the left talk a little. Senior Lioness Slaughter?

ZatU: No, but we will soon if these hyenas in the king’s government take over. Then you’ll see your ‘lioness slaughter’….

Obamba: Oh, is zat you, ZatU? I forgot you were there and I’m paying no attention to you. Go ahead, Lioness.

Slaughter: If we don’t let the hyenas take care of the lions, then we’ll see TERRIBLE trouble. The way things are now just won’t work. For instance, I know an old lioness that lost her teeth and she had no hyenas to give her teeth from other lions so she had to use her dead mother’s teeth, which don’t fit, and she’ll probably starve. Lions will be starving everywhere. It will be a…It will be a…a…

ZatU: Slaughter?

Slaughter: Yes?

ZatU: Never mind.

Slaughter: Well, anyway….

Obamba: All right, that’s enough of someone who’s not me.

[Obamba talks and talks and talks with his lion chin held high….]

Obamba: What is it, Ryan?

Ryan: Can I point out the obvious that we are in drought and near famine? Does it make any sense to go all in with the hyenas when it’s never worked with anything else we’ve done with them? Most lions reject this path.

[Lion Ryan goes on several minutes with great intelligence, passion and expression, bringing a whole series of facts.]

Obamba: You’re lyin’, Ryan.

Ryan: Well, yes, I am Lion Ryan! I can’t believe you used my title, Mr. King of the United Lions!

Obamba: Just stop all that now. You’re embarrassing yourself. Well, I’m done with all this and I trust I’ve dazzled everyone with how well I’ve seemed to be balanced and listen and all that stuff. You, right lions, well, actually I’m the only lion who’s right, here, Now, if you right lions don’t be reasonable and come over to my way of doing things…. [Obamba pounds one paw into the other and slashes a paw over his throat.] My gang, RahmU, Axle Hotrod and the Chicago Thugs will have to slip you the convincer. What choice do I have? I gave you every chance today in my very munificent munificensy. That’s enough of all this hog waste. I’m going to do what I really wanted to do in the first place now.

Obamba: (exits singing, with his lion chin in the air): "Everybody look left, everybody look………LEFT some more! Everywhere you look I'm standing in the spotlight! Every body look LEFT!"

ZatU: He just couldn’t wait to be King, all right. Now the rest of us can hardly wait till he ISN’T!!

Pro-Life House Dems Now on Front Line

2010-02-24T17:43:00.008-05:00

Pro-Life House Dems Now on Front Line

*published on Flopping Aces*

At one point President Obama promised: “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.” Obama released his own version of Obama-care yesterday. Now that we’ve had a chance to look at the massive health care plan monstrosity the White House finally put out for itself yesterday, we can add this to the list of lies, false promises and insinuations. He apparently met several times with Planned Parenthood. How many meetings with pro-life groups? You guessed it: none! The group Americans United For Life has put out the following report (which includes some very informative links):

“On Monday morning, February 22, 2010, President Obama unveiled a ‘new’ health care reform proposal, purporting to combine ideas from the Senate-passed bill, the House-passed bill, and Republican proposals. However, a careful examination of the White House proposal (which lacks actual legislative language) and statements made by members of the Obama Administration during a health care conference call on Monday reveal the truth – the “new” proposal is simply a modified version of the anti-life bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve.

Unfortunately, while the White House was crafting modifications to the Senate bill, they failed to remove the anti-life language. Therefore, all of AUL’s concerns about the bill’s abortion-related provisions, conscience provision, and end-of-life provisions remain. Further, the White House proposal dramatically increases funding – by 11 billion dollars – for “community health centers” which will include Planned Parenthood abortion centers. Because the proposal lacks a blanket prohibition on the use of federal funds for abortions, these new funds could be used to directly pay for abortions.

For detailed analyses of the anti-life provisions in the Senate health care reform bill, please see the following posts:

Legal Analysis of Life Concerns in President’s Proposal (Same as the Senate Health Care Reform Bill)

Abortion Tax and other Problems in President’s Proposal (Same as the Senate Health Care Reform Bill)

Abortion Funding Chart (In President’s Proposal and Senate Health Care Reform Bill)

Comparison Chart of Hyde Amendment, Senate Bill/President’s Proposal, and House Bill”

It is time to write and call all of the pro-life Democrats in the House and point out their Stupak Amendment just got thrown under the bus. (That bus is going to be a mile high before Obama gets done.) Strongly encourage them to vote AGAINST this bill now that the reason for their previous positive vote is totally gone. They are now manning the barricades against an existential threat against the American way of life. Many of them are Catholic. Will they move towards Obama or towards the call of Benedict XVI to value innocent human life? We need to help remind them how crucial this is to our land and all humanity. Call now!

The Four Corpsemen of the Obamaclypse

2010-02-11T06:43:00.014-05:00

The Four Corpsemen of the Obamaclypse

*published on Flopping Aces*

In recent days, concurrent with the apocalyptic “Snowpocalypse” in Washington and the earthquake in Chicago, a deluge and a great shaking of another sort has been shaking the Chicago cabal of President Obama in Washington, D.C. It is awesome serendipity that such similar cataclysms are mirroring each other in this way!

Many leading reasonable Democrats are lashing out at the inner sanctum of Chicago chosen ones surrounding Obama. Steve Clemons, Edward Luce, ex-Governor Doug Wilder of Virginia and others are, for the first time, beginning to be honest about the administrative incompetence and unsuitability of, in particular, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Gibbs, Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod.

The reasons these people are remonstrating spring, of course, from a far different place than those of the majority who are opposing health care and apocalyptic spending. Many of these liberals are frustrated that their once-in-a-lifetime chance to push certain pet causes is slipping through their fingers. Nonetheless, any amount of honesty is precious and praiseworthy.

So many of us tried to warn of the danger of hiring someone with SO little administrative experience who was so entangled with the questionable mindset and tactics of the ‘Chicago Way’ and far-left radicals. Perhaps, all Americans of good will can now agree about the destructiveness of this fearsome foursome and press for their ouster. How much further must we go to realize that the man in charge of hiring and organizing all of this is even more culpable than those he has appointed? I think a lot of Americans have already taken, or, are about to take, that short step to sanity in this election season of 2010.

[I must say that I am indebted for this potent title to Mark Steyn. It's a brilliant turn of phrase that deserves repeating!]

Corpse Man!

2010-02-05T06:59:00.002-05:00

Introducing…

Corpse Man!

Sources have managed to get this rare picture of the Commander-in-Chief’s secret weapon, CORPSE MAN. President Obama let the phrase slip at a recent press conference in reference to the Navy’s latest hush-hush project. “Torture” or enhanced interrogation will now be totally unnecessary. More intimidating than a mere superhero, CORPSE MAN will save us time and money on interrogations at a mere cost of…tens of BILLIONS?!?! You bet! We’re going to spend our way out of this crisis!

Obama “Faith” Advisor Attacks Pope!

2010-02-04T19:42:00.005-05:00

Obama “Faith”Advisor Attacks Pope!

*published on Flopping Aces*

Over the past year we’ve already seen ample evidence that Obama has indeed been affected by the Marxist marinade he stewed in over the years. Some of us were not so shocked by the massive spending, government takeover and the nascent socialism in most of his proposals. But the sheer radical nature of so many of his appointments was truly eye-opening, wasn’t it? (See among other articles, “Czar She Blows” earlier this year.) As the year went on, we saw many other disquieting examples. (Anita Dunn comes to mind, as well as his subsuming of the Census.) Well, it seems the radical Marxist, anti-religious beat goes on.

The Catholic News Agency is reporting that former minister Harry Knox, appointed by Obama to his Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership, is standing by his comments attacking Pope Benedict XVI as “hurting people in the name of Jesus”.

Pope hurts people 'in name of Jesus,' Obama faith-based advisor restates

Washington D.C., February 4 (CNA)

Knox, a former licensed minister of the United Methodist Church and a leader with the homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign (HRC), originally made his comments in March 2009 in response to Pope Benedict's comments about the effectiveness of condoms in fighting AIDS in Africa.

"The Pope's statement that condoms don't help control the spread of HIV, but rather condoms increase infection rates, is hurting people in the name of Jesus," Knox had said in a HRC statement. "On a continent where millions of people are infected with HIV, it is morally reprehensible to spread such blatant falsehoods."

CNSNews.com spoke with Knox at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Asked if he stood by his comments, he said "I do."

Asked about Harvard AIDS prevention researcher Dr. Edward Green's claim that the Pope was correct, Knox said Dr. Green was "simply incorrect."

"All the other evidence of science shows otherwise."

In March 2009, Dr. Green told CNA that researchers cannot find an association between more condom use and lower HIV rates. He has also written that programs to increase fidelity in relationships and to reduce the number of sex partners are effective.

Previously, Knox has described Pope Benedict XVI and certain Catholic bishops as "discredited leaders" because of their opposition to same-sex "marriage."

Though acknowledging the Knights of Columbus' "good works," he also called the Catholic fraternal order's members "foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression", because of the organization's support for the successful California ballot measure Proposition 8. That 2008 measure restored the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

My school’s religious order has many institutions serving the people in Marxist-ruled Zimbabwe and many other countries hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic. It is a truly catastrophic situation. Those who aren’t orphaned are often being raised by older grandparents. The money our schools are raising in this country is helping many of these orphans live at our schools in Africa. Programs discouraging promiscuity are getting results. Handing out condoms isn’t working. What the Pope says is a very simple statement of fact that is encountered in every day life down there, and not just in the convincing statistics referred to by Dr. Green.

I can offer an anecdote of my own in regard to the practical counter-disease effectiveness of condoms in real street life. Many years ago, I got the chance to visit and stay at Covenant House in New York City for awhile. (Covenant House is a shelter for runaway kids. A lot of runaways in New York, many very young, are picked up by pimps and forced into white slavery: forced prostitution.) I got to talk to the workers serving these kids there about the real statistics they got straight from the street. Can you guess what the failure rate is for condoms in real street use? It’s one in five. Can you guess the average number of tricks these kids have to turn a day? You guessed it: five! It’s basically Russian roulette. The STD’s all these kids get is no abstract papal religious propaganda; it’s horribly real.

Who would you rather trust in this African AIDS crisis: all the Catholic religious orders in Africa who are actually serving the orphans and shattered families, or someone denied ordination for not adhering to his own denomination’s rules?

It seems many of those surrounding Obama betray antipathy to authentic religion. If they are ‘religious’ at all, it is the Marxist model of Reverends Wright and Fleger, HEAVY emphasis on Marxist not ‘religious’. All this makes me wonder about Obama’s year-long search for a church to attend. Could it be that any ‘church’ he would really want to attend would not look good in a PR sense? I almost hate to speculate like that, but in view of the ever-increasing evidence from so many of his appointees, like this Harry Knox, what else are we to think?

Beware of far-left idealogical zealots offering ‘spiritual’ advice, or ANY advice for that matter. Their grasp on reality is so skewed that, every time they try to “help”, a lot of people are actually going to get very hurt!

President Queeg & The Brown Mutiny

2010-01-24T18:30:00.011-05:00

President Queeg

The Brown Mutiny

*published on Flopping Aces*

If you want to see a truly great classic movie, allow me to recommend The Caine Mutiny released in 1954. Why that one? Well, I’m beginning to see some resemblances in the plot of that movie and the STRANGE things going on around the Obama administration since the Massachusetts Miracle election of Scott Brown.

The short version of the plot is that a poorly-run ship gets a new captain who, it is hoped, will restore discipline and purpose to the crew. On the surface he looks like the perfect person to lead, though he’s never had such a task before. He’s seen hard duty and maybe he might be good in an essentially training job. It soon becomes apparent to all, however, that this Captain Queeg is damaged goods, psychologically. He seems to be on a megalomaniacal power trip and obsesses about trivial issues while being oblivious to true dangers. Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia summary:

The next day, the Caine is assigned to tow a target for gunnery practice. Queeg berates both Keith and Keefer over a crewman's appearance and, while distracted, cuts off the helmsman's warning; as a result, the Caine continues in a circle and cuts the towline to the target. Queeg refuses to accept responsibility and tries to cover it up.

Other incidents serve to undermine Queeg's authority. When the remains of a quart of strawberries is stolen from the officers' mess, the captain goes to absurd lengths to hunt the culprit. More seriously, in combat, Queeg breaks off escorting a group of landing craft during an amphibious assault long before they reach the fiercely-defended shore, dropping a yellow marker in the water instead and leaving them unsupported. Afterwards, Queeg makes a speech to his officers, not explicitly apologizing for his behavior, but bending enough to ask for their support. His disgruntled subordinates do not respond.

Keefer begins trying to convince Maryk that he should relieve Queeg on the basis of mental illness. Matters come to a head during a violent typhoon. Maryk urgently recommends that they steer into the waves and take on ballast, but Queeg fears that the ballast will foul the fuel lines with salt water. Queeg's decisions seem to Maryk to threaten the capsizing of the Caine. When Queeg appears to become paralyzed and unable to deal with the crisis, Maryk relieves him and takes over, with Keith's support.

Part of the crew is court-martialed for their mutiny. At first, Queeg presents himself as perfectly logical and a victim of jealousy and it seems to be working. Queeg is going to be cleared and the crewmembers convicted. Then, in a climactic scene, Queeg, played to the hilt by Humphrey Bogart, comes apart on the stand under the pressure of truth, his constant rolling of those metal balls in his right hand serving as the background for his mental collapse.

Now, let’s see what happened to Obama last week.

He had been brought aboard the ship of the body politic to straighten things up. He had never done anything like it before and there was some suspicion that he was ‘damaged goods’, having been stewed in a Marxist marinade and perhaps scarred by an unusual background. But he actually seemed to LOOK like the perfect antidote for what ailed us, just as someone like Queeg might SEEM to be perfect as a trainer; he had seen active duty; so, though he had never actually had such duty as a training captain, he might do well.

But as soon as he became our ‘captain’, Obama began to betray annoying symptoms of clueless behavior. He obsessed about the Olympics, global warming and the Nobel Prize, while our ship of state cut the towline of international respect. He conveyed massive energy and resources towards a health care monstrosity no one wanted while the real crying need for jobs lay like a target cut off and adrift in the water. When our Army cried for a quick decision in Afghanistan, he obfuscated and dithered. While Fort Hood and the Underwear Bomber cried out for a strong response, Obama dropped the yellow marker of apology and unprecedented civilian treatment of terrorists, including trying KSM in New York City.

Far from being the transparent post-confrontational ‘trainer’ he had promised to be, he practiced a Queeg-like paranoid secrecy everywhere, in his many secret czars, the subsuming of the census, the Cambridge policeman acting stupidly, the total closed-door secrecy in the health care process, the silencing tactics with Fox, media and citizenry alike, and so much more.

Queeg had good attorneys to mask or spin the stories about him. Obama had almost the entire media and elite to try to spin the behavior we began to see with our own eyes. So, it looked like he might be able to get away with it. Until…

Enormous political pressure came to bear on Obama with the unexpected win by Brown in Massachusetts in the wake of New Jersey and Virginia, and then, IT HAPPENED. The veneer cracked. Hordes of once true-blue liberal pundits, politicians and power brokers began to say out loud what those watching closely have known all along. [For instance, Mort Zuckerman has repented with a vengeance] People began running from the health care bill like the plague, pointing fingers, jumping off the ship. Voila. The Emperor has no clothes. Everyone is staring at Obama in the witness chair, tumbling those balls in his hand, totally obsessed with an ideological madness, unable to face the reality surrounding him. He just can’t seem to deal with it, resorting to absurd comparisons that now fall completely flat with everyone. We’ve all seen it together and called it what it is. EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO HE IS NOW.

The one key, even crucial, difference is that Obama has not been relieved of command as Queeg so obviously needed to be, and was, at the end of “The Caine Mutiny”. Even though we have uncovered a similar paranoid obsession in Obama, he will most likely remain our ‘captain’ until 2012. There is still plenty of damage he can do, so many more yellow markers to drop, so many fruitless strawberry hunts to waste our money upon.

What do we do? Let’s all find something to do in making 2010 a sea-change election. This is a matter of patriotism not partisanship. “It is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” Choose a local candidate who gets it and become involved in their campaign. If you have a lot of money, it won’t do you any good if our country goes aground on some reef of socialism; give it where it will do some good. Are you a good writer? Write editorials, letters to the editors, on blogs, anywhere you can.

We’ve already managed to do so much up to now. Why stop? Let’s effectively take this captain’s hands off the wheel and limit the damage he can do. Like Paul Revere on Brown Beauty, let’s ride! Let’s mutiny against stupidity and RAISE SOME CAINE!!

The Sisters & the Swashbuckler

2010-01-20T21:33:00.009-05:00

The Sisters & the Swashbuckler

In the run-up to the miraculous come-from-behind victory of Scott Brown in oh-so-Blue Massachusetts, some conservatives were agonizing about supporting Brown (who is not strictly pro-life) or the ‘true conservative’, the ironically named Mr. Kennedy. In their agony to be ‘right’, they almost missed the rescue boat! Kennedy ended up getting less than 1%. Thank the Good God, most conservatives felt the inspiration of the Spirit and did the right thing by not insisting on such litmus test purity. Believe me, I think orthodoxy or defining truth is an important matter, but that’s not really the mistake being made in such cases. The problem starts with not recognizing that judging the worth or ultimate destiny of any person is a job that belongs to God alone. If God wants to use someone that’s not OUR idea of someone worthy, then so be it, that’s not our job. What is our job? We’ve got to do WHATever we can with WHOever we can! The Lord Jesus spelled it out in his Last Judgment of the Sheep and Goats. The question wasn’t ‘Have you believed the right things’; it was ‘What did you DO to, for or with the LEAST’. Mother Teresa didn’t interrogate those she helped about their worthiness or background and she worked with many unlikely allies.

It reminds me of the man on a roof in a flood begging the Lord for help: he refuses a rowboat, a police boat and a helicopter and says he’s waiting for God’s special help. As he’s drowning he complains to God, who replies: ‘Gee, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. Why didn’t you take any of them?’ Thank God, we jumped in Brown’s pickup!

The mistake of the hand-wringing conservatives, a ‘Brown-out’ of short-sightedness, is a common one in history. Truly wise men and authentically called leaders are usually humble enough to see the rowboat, even when it’s coming in a disconcerting or unexpected package while the puritanically proper are so ‘right’ that they’re actually wrong. I see such an example in the events surrounding the great Battle of New Orleans.

[I should preface my remarks by saying ahead of time that I realize Andrew Jackson is a controversial and troubling figure. Some of the things he did were so amazing and admirable while others were horrific and inexcusable. Suffice it to say that what he did at New Orleans was amazing.]

Colonel Jackson was about to face the greatest army in the world. The Redcoats racing up the Delta had just defeated the mighty Napoleon and were the best organized, provisioned and experienced soldiers in the world. Now, Jackson could have gone with a conventional plan solely based on U.S. regular soldiers, but what he did was visionary. For one thing, he actively enlisted every level of citizenry in the city on many levels. And then he turned to two very unlikely sources for help.

First, he asked for the help of Catholic Religious nuns, the Ursulines. We must remember, Jackson was a Protestant in a time that was generally distrustful and biased against the minority Catholics, but he did not hesitate to ask.

“…the Ursuline Sisters prayed that they would be spared loss of life in the Battle of New Orleans led by General Andrew Jackson against the formidable British Army. In spite of overwhelming odds including huge numbers of highly trained British soldiers, the Battle was won. General Jackson, publicly, and in a letter to the Sisters, acknowledged “heavenly intercession” in that victory. The Sisters welcomed the many injured British soldiers and nursed them back to health. (Jackson’s letter resides in the Ursuline Museum on State Street).

In years after the Battle, President Jackson’s trips to New Orleans always included visits to the Ursuline Convent.”

The other unlikely source was the notorious pirate, Jean Lafitte. Now, Lafitte actually saw himself as a “gentleman” and a “privateer”, but there was no doubt he had done some bad things. Nonetheless, Jackson met with him and saw something admirable and even trustworthy in this remarkable tactician and organizer and decided to ‘overlook’ what didn’t fit with his idea of propriety. Lafitte truly wanted to help for reasons that were at least partly laudable.

We can all read in history the results of this unlikely alliance, the glorious Battle of New Orleans. The way everyone planned and gave every ounce of energy they had together was a true inspiration. It was a truly miraculous unforeseen victory achieved through the hard work, co-operation and determination of many different yet like-minded patriots, very much like that joyous election of January 19, 2010.

So, let’s keep our eyes peeled for the next rowboat and the next allies in the glorious and righteous cause we share. Keep your powder dry and your boots on.

You might want to listen to Johnny Horton’s classic “The Battle of New Orleans” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxB42cjHTGg

“Brown Beauty” Rides Again! OR The “Scott” Heard Round the World!

2010-01-17T12:43:00.010-05:00

“Brown Beauty” Rides Again!

The “Scott” Heard Round the World!

My motto has always been ‘puns are fun’ and, my, what a feast presents itself in the current Special Election with Martha Coakley and Scott Brown! I employed several in my recent posts. Many, and rightly so, have seen an awesome parallel with the beginning of the American Revolution in Massachusetts in 1775. There, too, we saw the regular populace revolt against an out-of-touch, domineering aristocracy and top-down government bureaucracy. Outsiders have no idea to what similar depths of corruption and clueless entitlement the Democratic establishment in the Bay State has descended. (Oh, wait, actually you do since the Obama Presidency.) At any rate, I am reveling in the sweet happenstance of several fortuitous puns!

In the original Massachusetts uprising, Paul Revere borrowed a horse to embark on his famous ‘midnight ride’ popularized by Longfellow’s wonderful poem. What was the NAME of this heroic equine messenger, you ask? Why, BROWN BEAUTY is that name, of course. How appropriate that the workmanlike messenger of this present oh-so-sane revolt is also named BROWN, and that his campaign has been a thing of BEAUTY? In the immortal words of Jackie Gleason, “How sweet it is”!

The happy result of said ride of Revere was, need we say, the “shot heard round the world” at Concord. How curious! Have you noticed that “shot” rhymes with SCOTT? I was just reading in several foreign papers online that everyone around the world seems to have taken notice of this little-known State Senator and the revolutionary import of what is happening in Massachusetts. So, that means we might call this current confluence of events – dare we say it – “The SCOTT Heard Round the World”! [For more sublime wordplay, go to Howie Carr’s latest irreverent masterpiece.]

Some might regard such ruminations as of little importance. But results of wordplay like this often serve as distillers of the essence of very important truths. A whole range of events, meanings and movements can be summed up in such short summaries as “The XYZ Affair” or “Wall Street Lays an Egg”. What Cary Grant’s marriage to heiress Barbara Hutton meant in reams of gossip commentary has forever been encapsulated as “Cash & Cary”! I view these merry jests in much the same way. These phrases may be fun & trivial but the struggle for the future of all humanity is there in the fibers of their cloth and in the lilt of their short cadences.

What Can Brown Do For You? He Can WIN!!!

2010-01-10T09:29:00.005-05:00

What Can Brown Do For You? He Can WIN!!!

*published on Flopping Aces*

A few days ago I posted that Scott Brown was gaining significantly on Martha Coakley in the special election for Senate in Massachusetts. This is especially significant because the 60-vote filibuster-proof margin of the Democrats in the Senate hangs in the balance. The election is in less than two weeks. Well, a newer poll from PPP shows the race is now a dead heat. One could argue about the methodology and reach of these polls but the Real Clear Politics chart shows a definite trend and reveals a highly motivated opposition to ‘politics as usual’.

Here in New Hampshire, we experience a lot of the campaign. Scott Brown has been appearing regularly on “The Howie Carr Show” on radio and he comes across very well. The TV ads in his favor are spirited and enthusiastic. Brown’s own ‘200,000 mile pick-up’ ad is very effective. The one ad I saw for Coakley was a dis-spirited reading of vague campaign promises. In short, BROWN DELIVERS! Meanwhile, Coakley’s performance betrays a certain overconfidence.

One point Scott likes to make that is particularly appealing to me is that ‘this is not Ted Kennedy’s seat, it is the peoples’ seat’. Very true!

The bottom line is this seems to be a delivery van that’s worth putting gas in! Other important causes might not be so urgent at this moment. Send your patriotic package today so it can arrive there on time! Link to my previous post above to link to Brown’s campaign. Remember, UPS can offset the DOWNS…

What Can Brown Do For You? Plenty!

2010-01-05T16:34:00.006-05:00

What Can Brown Do For You? Plenty!

*published on Flopping Aces*

Don’t look now. The news has just hit that Scott Brown is within striking distance of Martha Coakley in the race for the Senate Seat in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Rasmussen’s poll of likely voters has seen Democrat Coakley’s lead shrink from 30 % to 9%. The special election is coming in two short weeks. He is absolutely committed to stopping this health care monstrosity in the Senate, and, if elected, he would be that 60^th vote guaranteeing the protection of filibuster! He is also opposed to Federal funding for abortion and several other items of interest to pro-life voters. The time is NOW to act.

‘What can I do?’ you may ask, ‘I don’t live in Massachusetts’. Easy: send CASH at his website. Call relatives in MA and ask them to go get an absentee ballot now. Pass this post on or post or write yourself somewhere accessible to Bay State voters.

We’ve had enough DOWNS; let’s have some UPS with BROWN that isn’t B.S. Let’s get this country moving again!

Just do it. Now.

Casey (& the Whole Blue Dog Team) Strikes Out! Casey Junior’s Coming OFF the Tracks!

2009-12-24T11:42:00.008-05:00

Casey (& the Whole Blue Dog Team) Strikes Out! Casey Junior’s Coming OFF the Tracks!

*published on Flopping Aces w/altered title*

Isn’t it ironic that the more the nation turns “pro-life” here and an ever-increasing majority recognizes how bad the monstrous health care plan is here the more certain ‘conservative’ or ‘pro-life’ Democrats are caving in on these very issues? These are times that try men’s souls apparently. What sort of moral foundation of principles have you built for yourself when you so loudly declare something about your core beliefs and then so easily betray them exactly when support is building among the people you serve?!? Such historic crossroads as we face now certainly provide a test of all that.

Senator Nelson from Nebraska is the prime case du jour; he has not only accepted what is bribery in all but name (the Cornhusker Kickback), but he has accepted the so-called “Casey compromise” on abortion which puts the lie to all he has said in recent days. Casey produced a list of “faith” groups that support his euphemisms, but the US Bishops and all authentic pro-life groups have seen through the ruse. It effectively provides the opportunity for massive Federal funding for abortion. (See here and here.)

Yes, as indicated above, Senator 'CASEY JUNIOR' of Pennsylvania (son of the that brave Senator Casey who experienced being blackballed at his own convention in 1992 and other real sacrifices for remaining true to his Faith) was way ahead of Nelson in betraying pro-life conservatives. He is opting for the same ‘symbolism-over-substance’ ploy used by Obama at Notre Dame. The Catholic Center Party in Germany during the 1930’s fell to this same tactic; they received reassuring ‘language’ from the National Socialists in return for some absolutely key votes that effected the transfer of power, which in turn negated any of the empty rhetoric used to co-opt them. . It's possible none of the disaster that followed would have happened if it weren't for the 'compromise’ of Franz von Papen and company.

We have every right to judge our representatives on such bases. True, only the “Judge of he living and the dead” has the right to assess the worth and ultimate destiny of anyone, but we have not only the right but the DUTY to assess their moral probity in carrying out their service to US. As I said last year regarding Barack Obama, we are “hiring” them and we have the right to take into account their moral standards as part of our assessment.

What do you say about the moral standards of “representatives” who act in such a way? I obviously do not want to vote for someone who espouses political views that directly oppose mine. That’s the easy part. Many commentators recently have realized that party politics are now in order. That is the judgment I think we have to make now. The Democratic Party is now so thoroughly infected by the Marxist, anti-life virus, that true pro-lifers and patriots must in good conscience now reject the label, though that would certainly not, as usual practice, be the modus operandi for believers. Such are the strange times we live in. Perhaps more patriotic, pro-life Democrats should follow the lead and logic of Representative Griffith of Alabama and abandon the Democratic Party all-together!

HAVE THEY LOST THEIR CENSUS?!?

2009-08-29T22:49:00.008-04:00

HAVE THEY LOST THEIR CENSUS?!?
*published on Flopping Aces*

A few months ago, Senator Judd Gregg refused to go ahead with his nomination to Commerce Secretary after he learned that the White House had taken over the work of the Census. "[He] didn't want to be a powerless GOP token, and that's where this was headed." said one friend of his. Judd intimated the Census had “tipped the balance” for his decision. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/12/gregg.nomination/index.html I remember how horrified I was at the time by the very idea and I could understand Judd feeling the necessity for his embarrassing and wrenching action.

The idea of the White House subsuming the Census just seems so wrong on so many levels. Even assuming the probity of any Administration taking such a step, the very act is per se, in itself, a horrible precedent and ripe with potential for, at least, non-intended problems and injustices. ACCOUNTABILITY is a hallmark of our American system. If this Census is taken away from the purview of the Cabinet, we are, in effect, putting our representative power further out of our hands (in that oversight of the process is further removed). To paraphrase one of our cherished ideals, “Enumeration without Representation is Tyranny”! The fact that the Obama group, in particular, was doing it seemed even more worrisome to me and, I’m sure, even to a lot of his more honest supporters. His team, throughout the campaign, kept betraying the “Chicago Way” mentality over and over again (just ask all those Hillary people!). Not only is the action itself almost unthinkable, having THESE people do it made it far worse.

Since then, one shocking and unnerving revelation about these people’s OTHER plans has leaked out bit by bit, making the Census problem one more brick in an ever-rising patterned wall that should alarm thinking patriots in terms of giving them hidden blanket powers. The Census problem worsened. The news came out that the group who caused so much turmoil with their unethical practices during the campaign, ACORN, is going to be asked to be part of the Census! http://blog.heritage.org/2009/03/19/acorn-gets-plum-census-assignment/ I don’t really care WHAT role they will be playing. If it’s coming out of the White House, and using ACORN, a group notorious for inflating numbers for political gain, the very least we can assume is horribly gauche lack of consideration for the appearance of impropriety. At the least, it is a slap in the face of those who still assume freedom is an American ideal. And shouldn’t history and experience warn us about the worse types of impropriety we have already SEEN?

Just when I thought it couldn’t be worse, we now learn that materials are being sent to children across the country, involving them in the process directly. Previously, teachers had to request such materials. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2009-08-26-census-kits-schools_N.htm As a teacher, I have received an email already from the government. As a Catholic, the principle of subsidiarity, guaranteeing that the larger organs of society should try not to excessively interfere in the smaller groups such as families and schools seems to be violated. Using the force and prestige of the Government to enroll children in a process that is not accountable doesn't jive with this sense:

One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State. http://www.acton.org/publications/randl/rl_article_200.php

Why reach the “Tendrils” of powerful government so far unnecessarily? And children? Pervasive early submersion in powerful government direction is not the optimum way for Americans to 'be involved'. After what we have seen already on the Census, and, in view of all the talk of mandatory volunteerism, civilian armies, and 'not being allowed to NOT join in', perhaps I may be excused for my suspicions without being accused of paranoia. This is yet one more thing that “We the People” have to raise a stink about and not let it be done in darkness. The reach of this Census should not be lengthened if it is being done in the way it is. The goal should be to return the Census to an accountable Cabinet Office; if that is not possible we must unveil it for all to see as we did with the Health Care threat. Shock them back to their SENSES!

Czar She Blows! Radicals Gone Wild

2009-08-25T17:54:00.006-04:00

Czar She Blows!
Radicals Gone Wild
*published on Flopping Aces
Are you pro-life? A majority of us are now apparently willing to describe ourselves that way in this country. If that is so, then you really need to heed the words and spread the facts I will discuss here. This is something we have to inform people about (because, after all, the Main Stream Media has uttered not a word). There is an alarming pattern developing in the TYPE of person Obama is appointing as his “Czars”. [Glenn Beck, to his credit, has done a lot this week to inform us about who these people are.]

Obama has made noises about “dialogue” with us but actions and associations speak - in this case, scream - louder than mere words.

First of all, even many Democrats are wondering why so very many czars [34? “more than the Romanovs” in Russia] are being appointed and why the extent of their power and the use of our tax dollars are beyond scrutiny; is it constitutional? There had been only a handful of them before in our history. It smacks of ‘shadow government’. (Perhaps, radicals know Americans would not go along with their plans if they were plainly stated.)

But something worries me most of all: the views that these unassailable appointees have expressed on human life. The main point is that many of them seem to be not just standard “liberals” on life issues. Some liberals might actually be authentically described as “pro-choice”, sincerely though ignorantly supporting what they don’t understand. This is not true of these friends of Obama; they are not just ‘fellow travelers’ or dupes of the Far Left Marxists. No, they ARE the Far Left Marxists!

{There are many places to investigate all of this. Look for yourself. Here is an example: http://jscafenette.com/2009/08/22/a-czar-for-this-a-czar-for-that/. Start there and keep on looking.}

Let us peruse a few of Obama’s appointees:

1. Van Jones

Mr. Jones has been appointed “Green Job” Czar. His radical connections are too myriad to count. Suffice it to say he calls himself a Communist (of the ‘Maoist’ variety) and a “rowdy Black nationalist”. He was a member of STORM, a radical group indeed. His lack of respect for life in general and willingness to take extreme measures reminds me of Bill Ayers’ rants about re-education.

2. John Holdren

Holdren is the new “Science Czar”. He remains a proponent of the discredited theories of Paul Erlich (who in his book, "The Population Bomb", has given us one of the most stupendously failed attempts at prediction in history). These are among his anti-life pronouncements:

- babies are not human until they’re socialized and may be killed if needed
- we should have a planetary regime to force abortions and sterilizations
- sterilizing agents should be put into the drinking water of the population

3. Ezekiel Emmanuel M.D.

The brother of Rahm Emmanuel, he is Obama’s “Health Policy Adviser”, the moving force behind Obama’s supposedly benign Health Care Plan. In his own writings, he supports “Social Value Allocation”, which, when you get beyond the euphemistic language, advocates radical anti-life ideas, including infanticide, forced abortion and many hints at euthanasia.

4. Cass Sunstein

He is the new “Regulatory Czar”. Following a pattern present among many of these people, he is, like Professor Peter Singer, a radical animal rights supporter. This view sees absolutely no uniqueness or value in human life as opposed to animals. He has proposed giving animals the right to sue! What about unborn and newborn humans, I wonder?

I suppose I could go on, but I’m not writing a research paper here. I just want to wake up as many as possible about this pattern. Let us send appreciation to the Democrats who are trying to challenge the constitutionality of these Czars or any who might do so. Send emails to as many people as you can to let them know this information. Above all, I think this should put to rest, once and for all, any tendency to want to buy ANY part of this horrible HR3200 or any other version of “health care reform”. If they insist on ramming this down our unwilling throats in whatever form, we can reasonably surmise that it is merely a wedge to gain the radical anti-life goals of those who wrote, influenced and promoted the monstrosity. Keep on working. We cannot let up. As our Founding Fathers knew, such work is its own reward and also beckons the blessings of Providence.

ADDENDUM:

Here are some links to start with:

Nat Hentoff expresses his fears about life: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff081909.php3

Van Jones, Newsbusters: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/sam-theodosopoulos/2009/07/10/fox-news-notes-communist-past-green-jobs-czar

FoxNews, Holdren, forced abortions and sterilization: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/21/obamas-science-czar-considered-forced-abortions-sterilization-population-growth/

Zeke Emmanuel: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/hello_obamacare_goodbye_grandm_1.html

Sunstein: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=614400

Glenn Beck has a segment this week called "Know Your Czars"!

The Exciting Adventure of… Queen Jezebel and the Purloined Vineyard!

2009-08-10T21:21:00.008-04:00

The Exciting Adventure of…
Queen Jezebel and the Purloined Vineyard!

*painting by Frank Dicksee depicting Elijah confronting Ahab & Jezebel in Naboth’s Vineyard*
*published on Flopping Aces*

In the current brouhaha about the Obama health care proposal and the town hall meeting anger expressed in opposition, it seems like proponents of HR3200 want to use the language of “choice”, “freedom” and the like to support it, while, at the same time, they are labeling opponents as “un-American”. In my previous post, I described the phenomenon of accusing your victims of what you’re doing. Now, I want to talk about how those ideologically and radically opposed to traditional American beliefs and practices are actually using the language of that same authentic Americanism in order to destroy it. They, secretly, or not so secretly, hate it! Do you think this is the first time such a thing has happened? Of course not!

In the First Book of Kings in the Bible, there is some of the best historical narrative and story-telling anywhere. In Chapter 16, we first meet Ahab, King of the newly split northern Kingdom of Israel, someone who is a central figure in the story we will tell. We are told “he did evil in the sight of the Lord more than any of his predecessors.” He introduces the worship of fertility gods and goddesses with their obscene rites; he builds temples to Ba’al. As a result, a drought of three and a half years befalls the land as predicted by Elijah. [This is very symbolic: three and a half is exactly half of SEVEN, the number of Covenant with God. The measuring stick of the people’s promise to God has been, as it were, snapped in two.] Ahab even marries the daughter of the King of Sidon, JEZEBEL!

{We should stop to understand the significance of marrying someone from Tyre or Sidon. The Sidonians were Phoenician pagans. Even other pagans, like the Greeks and Romans, tended to look down upon them [such as those famous Phoenicians at Carthage with whom the Romans fought in the Punic Wars]. They looked down on them because they not only engaged in human sacrifice (how awful compared to gladiatorial games!) but they also specialized in killing children; and their fertility rites involved cult prostitution publicly carried out in their temples. The degradation of their culture was unsettling to others, above all what they did in their homeland around Tyre and Sidon.}

This brings us to the other main character in the story we will tell: Jezebel. The name, Jezebel, by the way, has become, for many, synonymous with the quintessential evil woman. Bette Davis starred in the movie “Jezebel”, set in the Antebellum South; she plays a truly BAD woman in this movie!

*Bette Davis in “Jezebel”*

But I think this stereotype misses something very crucial about the real Jezebel. Jezebel was not only a princess of Sidon, she was a high priestess of her religion. In fact, reading in between the lines of the Bible’s depiction or her, it becomes clear that her motives are not typical evil motives per se. One insight explains everything: Jezebel was a religious FANATIC! She hated the RELIGION of the Israelites with an irrational passion. She was willing to do ANYTHING to further her own religion and destroy her own kingdom’s religion. Now, this would seem to put her in a somewhat delicate position. She was the Queen of ISRAEL, after all, and had duties, at least in appearance, towards the ancestral religion and traditions of her adopted people. How, did she deal with the conundrum of such a divergence in heart and persona?

She talked one way and acted another! She gave lip service to her duties as Queen; but most all her actions of power, actions that really meant something, were leading to the opposite place. Like the Marxists today, her concern was not truth but power. She had all the prophets of the God of Israel put to death for false reasons (save for Elijah). If the people had no one to speak out for them or challenge their consciences, then “without a vision” ‘the people’, as traditionally envisioned, would perish. She diverted funding and favor to the temples of Ba’al.

As First Kings goes on, Elijah defeats Jezebel’s prophets of Ba’al by means of an amazing miracle (which is quite a story in itself). She sends her army to kill him. He flees to Sinai, aided by the angels, to prepare for his next prophetic step.

At this point in Chapter 21, we come to a very revealing incident indeed, the event to which we have been leading: the story of Naboth’s Vineyard.

I Kings 21:1-12. 15-16
1 Some time after this, as Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria,
2 Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money."
3 "The LORD forbid," Naboth answered him, "that I should give you my ancestral heritage."

[There was a deep religious significance to the original gift of the land from God to his Tribe, sub-tribe and family. To a devout Israelite, things like genealogies and land titles were objects prompting devotion, to be treasured, kept and remembered. To give it up would be, in effect, a betrayal of God and country. Ahab had apparently lost all sense of his ‘roots’ as an Israelite.]

4 Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him: "I will not give you my ancestral heritage." Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat.

[How telling this is as to the character of Ahab! He his is weak, wishy-washy and self-centered. I picture him curling up in a fetal ball and sucking his thumb! He’s sulking. The next line shows us how little respect he has elicited from his wife.]

5 His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him, "Why are you so angry that you will not eat?"
6 He answered her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Sell me your vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.' But he refused to let me have his vineyard."
7 "A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!" his wife Jezebel said to him. "Get up. Eat and be cheerful. I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you."

[I guess we know who wears the pants in this family! Her fanatical certainty impels her to go where less brave, and perhaps wiser, ones would not go. She is used to getting her way and is supremely self-confident. It’s clear just how much she despises and undervalues Ahab.]

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and, having sealed them with his seal, sent them to the elders and to the nobles who lived in the same city with Naboth.

[Now, wait a minute. She’s using the King’s own SEAL!?! She has become the secret power driving things behind the scenes.]

9 This is what she wrote in the letters: "Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
10 Next, get two scoundrels to face him and accuse him of having cursed God and king. Then take him out and stone him to death."
11 His fellow citizens--the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city--did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing, through the letters she had sent them.

[Wow, what a dastardly deed! She will stop at nothing. Notice that she has Naboth accused of cursing God and king, breaking the Law of Moses! Isn’t SHE cursing the God of Israel day after day under her breath? Hasn’t she cursed and disrespected her husband the King to point of mocking him and usurping his power? From the appearance of the one statement recorded from the mouth of Naboth, I highly doubt that Naboth ever tried to offend God a day in his life. And yet, it is HE who must suffer. Jezebel is once again achieving her end of trying to appear to support God and country, all the while, furiously working to destroy it and transform it into the Phoenician homeland she knew and loved: CHANGE!]

15 When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Go on, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is not alive, but dead."
16 On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

How nonchalantly Jezebel snuffs out a life and tosses the carcass to the man she treats like her underling. How blithely Naboth acts! He immediately runs to “take possession” of what he coveted. We can picture him like a spoiled little kid, clapping his hands and yelling, “Yippee! Goody! Goody! I got it!” blissfully unaware of the horrible injustice and loss of innocent life that was the price for this illusory, passing pleasure. He is deadened and asleep spiritually; he can’t see what’s happening right around him.

Elijah, strengthened by his sojourn to Sinai, and no longer afraid, returns at this absolutely crucial moment to uncover everything that has been going on. Elijah confronts Ahab in the Vineyard with the full truth of everything that has happened with the Vineyard and, surprisingly, Ahab wakes up spiritually, changes his ways and asks for mercy. He begins to realize the wider implications of this small incident and begins to make the changes he needs to make. Elijah reassures him that the doom that had already been threatened for Ahab will not occur. On the other hand, Elijah predicts that the dogs will lick the blood of the corpse of Jezebel right where she had oppressed Naboth. And so it happens later in the story. [Cue the Twilight Zone Intro. music!] Some admire the defiance of Jezebel at her death as she dresses in all her best finery before she is killed by those around her. She is thrown from the window. It is a tragic end.

It seems to me that there are some similarities to the present situation. Obama and his friends speak the language of traditional American values but they are trying to hide where their heart is on purpose. They say you have a “choice” and all those reassuring platitudes but they plan to eventually get to a very UN-traditional, very UN-American single-payer system as some have let slip: http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=330913 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-bY92mcOdk. They are ideologues like Jezebel.

Like Jezebel, they despise the traditional values of God and country and are zealots for socialism at least and Marxism at the worst. No matter what they’ve been SAYING for public consumption, it’s crystal clear what they really want from their private words and by their actions, by what it is they are DOING and plan to do.

Like Jezebel, they try to silence any prophetic voices that are pointing out any inconvenient truths. They try to cow and threaten, to flood the air with their powerful rhetoric, just like Jezebel silenced the prophets of the Lord.

Like Naboth, let our devotion to our land and to our traditions stand and not bend under the pressure of the whims of a short-sighted and selfish government which does not respect our God-given freedom and property. Though they hire “scoundrels” (paid liars) to besmirch and mock us, calling us what those liars really are, like Naboth, let us not give up the heritage that is more precious than life itself.

Like Elijah, at this crucial moment, now that HR3200 has been providentially delayed and we can reveal ALL the truth about it, let us not be afraid to confront our friends with the truth and with the tough love that is needed. Look up the page numbers; make the contrast with our traditions obvious; use the tools you’re good at using to expose it. Like the Vineyard Incident, let us use this Bill to wake up the country to the wider implications.

Yes, like Ahab, let us help ourselves and our country wake up to the true situation. We have ‘married’ ourselves to an attractive ‘wife’ (Obama and all he represents) with great attractiveness and promises and yet have not noticed that she despises us and is working behind our backs to neuter our identity as Americans and usurp our power (the power that for us rests not in a king but in “We the People”). We have been confronted by our modern-day Elijah’s; let us, like Ahab, do something about that realization and avoid the consequences we have been warned about. The time is NOW! Elijah is pointing his finger at our Ahab. Let us change the “change” we are threatened with. Once, we have committed to the slow path to Government Health Care, there is probably no going back. Let’s NOT go through with it! You know the saying: MARRY IN HASTE, REPENT AT LEISURE. Let’s get the word out. Let’s roll!

ACCUSE YOUR VICTIM OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING!

2009-08-06T17:43:00.005-04:00

ACCUSE YOUR VICTIM OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING!
*published on Flopping Aces*

* The picture above Left shows Milada Horakova, a really dangerous-looking elderly lady who was a Czech dissident put to death after a Soviet show trial simply for disagreeing; above right, a recent town hall.

This is just a short observation on the White House’s campaign against the citizens’ anger expressed at Town Halls this month about Obama-care. Many have pointed out in the last 48 hours that this is a page right out of the Saul Alinsky ‘community organizing’ book: attack, mock and marginalize those who might stand in your way. That’s true enough. But its similarity to another Marxist tradition rang a bell with me.

In the Soviet Union, they used to have ‘show trials’. The victim was already doomed to death or gulag. The purpose was propaganda. In virtually all cases there was no truth whatsoever to the allegations, but Marxism is never about truth, it is about power. What was truly ironic about all this was that the secret state, the Comintern and the KGB actually did all the crimes of which the victims were accused and yet were innocent! The Soviets were the ones conspiring behind the scenes, intimidating, etc.

This knee-jerk reaction on the part of the White House betrays Marxist muscle memory. The SHOW TRIALS railroaded people by the dictum ‘Accuse the victim of what you’re doing’ and that’s exactly what they’re trying to do in these TOWN HALLS.

How interesting is it that the ‘community-organizer-in-chief’ and his forces are accusing the ordinary citizens at the town hall meetings of organized, disruptive behavior, of trying to achieve political ends by subversive means. Isn’t it painfully obvious that this behavior is at the very CORE of the identity of ACORN and all the other far-left activists who engage in ‘community organizing’?

I feel very confident that the vast majority of these people this month were not ‘bussed in’ or paid to disrupt the meetings. They are just ordinary people, many of them Democrats, who are justifiably fed up. On the other hand, the very behavior falsely attributed to the town hall attendees is exactly what ACORN and their ilk has done, by their own admission. Their PLAN is always to hire claques of haranguers to harass and intimidate, not to ASK QUESTIONS like the people at the town halls did.

The bottom line is, in the Marxist tradition, they are accusing their victims of doing exactly what they are doing, despite the fact there is no truth in the accusation. The one difference is that Obama and his Communist Czar and his Marxist Czars haven’t quite got totalitarian control yet.

I’m just saying….

IMAGINE ALL THE COMRADES! (to the tune of “Imagine” by John Lennon)

2009-08-05T10:04:00.006-04:00

IMAGINE ALL THE COMRADES!
(to the tune of “Imagine” by John Lennon)

Imagine no health insurance
I wonder if you can?
All the rich cats leveled
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the comrades
Enrolled in collective plans

You may say I’m a secret dreamer
But I’m not the only one
Barney Frank and Barack Obama
Will sneak this plan past everyone

Imagine no rich doctors
Instead of many, few
Doctors not giving orders
Comrades telling them what to do
Imagine all the doctors
Learning proletarian views

You may say I’m a secret dreamer
But I’m not the only one
Barney Frank and Barack Obama
Will sneak this plan past everyone

Imagine no religion
“Hospices” for all the old
Everyone paying for abortions
Old capitalists doing what they’re told
Imagine all the private health care
Beginning to die and fold

You may say I’m a secret dreamer
But I’m not the only one
This way everyone must join us
And the U.S.S.A will live as one

OBAMA’S PRIDE, ADAMS’ SHAME OR Obama’s Pride: a Damned Shame

2009-07-16T09:40:00.011-04:00

OBAMA’S PRIDE, ADAMS’ SHAME
OR Obama’s Pride: a Damned Shame

*published on Flopping Aces*

"Have you considered the meaning of that word 'worthy'? Weigh it well….I had rather you should be worthy possessors of one thousand pounds honestly acquired by your own labor and industry, than of tens of millions by banks and tricks….I had rather you should be worthy makers of brooms and baskets than unworthy presidents of the United States procured by intrigue, factious slander and corruption" - Letter of John Adams to his grandson

"It is an idea of the Christian religion, and ever has been of all believers of the immortality of the soul, that the intellectual part of man is capable of progressive improvement forever. Where then is the sense of calling the 'perfectibility of man' an original idea or modern discovery….I consider [this idea] as used by modern philosophers [e.g. French Enlightenment thinkers] to be mere words without meaning, that is mere nonsense." - Letter of John Adams to Benjamin Rush

The last month or so, I’ve been enjoying the Pulitzer Prize-winning book on John Adams by David McCullough. [It was recently turned into a highly acclaimed HBO miniseries starring Paul Giamatti with McCullough serving as consultant.] It’s pretty LARGE in more ways than one. It’s funny how examining ‘roots’ helps us figure out what feathered ‘wings’ we’ve got fluttering around our ears these days. There are several correlations between then and now I would like to point out.

JOHN ADAMS
Adams: Clear-sighted & Accurate Predictor
One thing that has become clear to me is just how far ahead of the curve Adams was in several important ways. It is almost breathtaking how much Adams saw and predicted things correctly, but the flip side of that is just how unappreciated this was at the time. He foresaw that Washington would be THE leader because of his character, morality and determination, and his unique circumstances, despite his lack of experience as a general. He foresaw that the Navy would be the critical factor in the coming War and beyond. Almost alone, he sensed that help should be gotten from France, Holland, Prussia and Portugal without becoming entangled in their political battles; just about everyone else wanted to back some horse or another. Looking back, he was almost certainly THE key figure in pushing “independency”, in getting financial help from Holland and in providing the theoretical backdrop for the New Constitution. He saw that human nature demanded the bicameral legislature and strong executive with an independent court system and that the unicameral model was fraught with enormous danger. He was right about the good outcome of the first in America and the violent, chaotic outcome of the French Reign of Terror in the second. He predicted what happened before it did because his analysis was dead on. And yet, he was smeared as being a little crazy, much too old, a closet royalist (!) and hopelessly out of touch!

John Adams was almost a sitting duck for criticism in that his ethic precluded his benefiting from what he saw as his duty. Adams was a very unusual diplomat and politician in that he was almost apolitical in certain ways. He consciously battled his own ambition and made love of country and heroic virtue his standard. He lamented the standard view of diplomacy as deception, deep compromise and double-mindedness in favor of polite but spirited preaching of the attractiveness and power of true principles coupled with an ingenious insight into human character and motivations.

Oh, he had his faults. The musical “1776” lampoons his famous lack of sensitivity to others and his own oversensitive nature. His writing was sometimes slap-dash, not organized and not well-expressed. His thoughts seemed to others at times to come out of nowhere in ways that were strange and weird. But lack of perseverance, charity and regard for others were certainly not among his faults. His character and capacity for deep friendship were recognized even by his enemies.

Adams vs. Jefferson: Faithful Realism vs. Ambitious Idealism
This brings us to a second great theme of this book: the love-hate relationship Adams experienced with Thomas Jefferson. They were the two key collaborators on the Declaration of Independence. They had become bosom friends in the many years they spent together in Europe, to the point where even Abigail Adams helped Jefferson with his daughter and corresponded with him on a regular basis in an impressively deep way.

They grew apart in the first years of the new Republic. Jefferson, surreptitiously, became the main moving force of the Anti-Federalist Party. He stopped writing to and visiting the Adams family. Adams, meanwhile, deplored political parties and angered people of both parties. Though he often spoke ill of the character of Hamilton from his own Federalist Party, he rarely spoke publicly about Jefferson. He made several overtures of regard toward Jefferson and, at the beginning of Adams’ Presidency, for a fleeting moment, it seemed they were going to work together, but Jefferson drew back again.

Privately, Adams worried about the character flaws he saw in his old friend. The one amazing thing McCullough hits on is that Adams was more correct about his appraisal of Jefferson’s character and motivations than Jefferson was about himself! Adams saw that despite Jefferson’s brilliance in linguistic expression and his sharpness of insight in things impersonal and mechanical, he was, unbeknownst to himself perhaps, truly driven by ambition and a theoretical idealism which did not fit reality. He trusted in his own persona and tended to think anything was justifiable because he was right about his pro-French stance. He even wrote, after most were horrified by the Reign of Terror in France, that all the violence was entirely justified! ‘Let only an Adam and Eve be left in every country if that is the way it has to be.’ Such an ‘ends justifies the means’ attitude seems to betray a disquieting self-centered radicalism that anticipates the Marxism of our day.

Jefferson eventually came to admit implicitly much that Adams had seen long before. He was ashamed of some of the political underhandedness to which he had resorted. He was so scarred by his experience as President that he deliberately did not mention it on his gravestone. His secret rationalism and lack of personal faith warmed in later years, I believe. Though he had criticized declarations of days of prayer, intercession or thanksgiving being declared by Washington and Adams, he ended up doing such things himself when he became President.

In fact, the two great Founders would become intimate friends again by the time they both died on the same day, amazingly the Fourth of July 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of their Great Collaboration. Adams said, “Oh, yes, it is the glorious fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all…Thomas Jefferson lives.” And Jefferson said, a few hours before, “I resign my spirit to God, my daughter and my country.” Despite his complicated personality, Jefferson seemed to die with a laudable faith and a renewed regard for the insight of Adams.

[By the way, I am not condemning Jefferson. I admire and honor him. The Revolution would not have happened without him and his work on the Declaration. He was absolutely right in a great deal of his thoughts and was brilliant in expressing them. We wouldn’t have key elements of our common political faith without his further emphases on the Bill of Rights, for instance. Everyone, including Washington and Adams, had notable faults, too. However, there can be little doubt that Adams’ laser-like insight was right again about Jefferson in that he wasn’t very consistent about practicing what he preached and this affected his politics.]

Contrast in Leadership Styles
The big lesson here is about leadership attitude. Washington and Adams modeled a serviceable humility as opposed to ideology and ambition. We can't presume to decide what the mission is; we have to find out what the Lord's mission is for us on the basis of submission to human nature and nature’s God. The law has to be greater than the man. John Adams understood that; Jefferson didn't, though he sometimes professed it. That's why Adams accurately predicted the outcome of both the French and the American Revolutions and Jefferson was dead wrong. Like his friend Washington, Adams routinely appealed to Providence and grace in regard to the nation’s destiny and purpose. Jefferson earlier tended to worship his reason as a god; Adams worshipped God for good reason.

(By the way, the one big rap on Adams’ Presidency was the Alien & Sedition Acts. McCullough concedes it was public relations fiasco, but points out that the context was imminent war. EVERYONE thought war with France was GOING to happen, and the XYZ Affair indicated the espionage threat, so some radical measures had to be taken.

OBAMA

Obama et al: Ambitious Idealists
Now what about Obama, Reid, Pelosi et al? Can there be any doubt that theirs is well-concealed but rabid ambition matched with blind far-left idealism that is also driving them, that they are the antithesis of what was good about Adams? Because their orientation is not a humble faith attitude and realism, their ability to see what’s really going on and to predict what will happen is seriously crippled. Their expectation of 'perfectibility' or constant progress is nonsense.

It seems very clear to me that Obama, like Jefferson, has enormous faith in his own reason, charm and personal appeal. Meanwhile, the founding principles are sloughed aside. We are NOT a Christian or religious nation, he says, we are secular in origin (although Turkey is a Muslim nation!). http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/06/03/its-official-our-american-president-declares-american-one-of-the-largest-muslim-countries/ He can sometimes talk a good game about democracy and the founding principles on the surface, but many of his other words and all of his actions betray the Marxist marination he undoubtedly has experienced in his life. So, he waits for long agonizing days as the pro-democracy demonstrators in Iran suffer, then he jumps on the perfectly legal deposing of a Marxist dictator in Honduras. http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/06/29/obama-calls-honduras-coup-illegal/ Like Jefferson, his vision is skewed by his secular faith.

The new Triumvirate seems to want to overpower, circumvent and frustrate the checks and balances the Federalist Founders Madison, Adams et al so wisely put into the Constitution. As Obama let slip early on, he sees the Constitution as a barrier to his purposes. http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/video/obama_bombshell_redistribution_of_wealth_audio/ He is setting up “Czars” beyond the reach of appeal, responsibility or reason at a record-setting clip http://www.hillarynme.com/2009/06/11/hey-wheres-obamas-common-sense-czar/ while he relies heavily on the Presidential pen-wielding he criticized so much in his predecessor. They mouth the catch-words of “bipartisanship” or “no politics as usual” while brutally overpowering any remonstration or even thought; we can’t even read the bills. http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/02/26/the-obama-tax-plan/ It is a violent legislative Reign of Terror rationalized because the ends will justify the means.

How are Those Promises and Predictions Going?
Obama said he would be able to ‘talk’ with North Korea and the Iranian despots. Things are not going quite as he said they would, are they? http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/06/02/obama-iran-has-a-legitimate-need-for-nuclear-power/ He stood at the Caterpillar plant and said they’d be hiring very soon. They’re firing. http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/05/18/despite-obamas-boast-caterpillar-readies-fourth-round-of-work-reductions/ He made many promises about levels of taxation. Any and all of those promises have now quite obviously and laughably gone up in smoke. He promised to close Guantanamo and then accepted the status quo. He heartily criticized Bush’s Iraq Policy and then did the same. He rejected Presidential directives as imperial and now is doing more of them than ever…and on and on and on.

Jefferson was totally blindsided by the violence in France but still predicted they would defeat England and spread ‘democracy’ throughout Europe within a very short time. Adams predicted the violence and said a dictator would surely follow. Jefferson was totally shocked by the rise of Napoleon; Adams said ‘I told you so’. Who does Obama resemble more?

CONCLUSION

We can only hope that these people, like Jefferson, will come to their senses before they, too, meet their Maker; let them change like Jefferson before all the likely economic chaos and loss of freedom they might cause!

Obama fails to see as John Adams did that “our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people”. An American President should take Washington or Adams as models. It wasn’t all about them, their genius or their persona; it was about humble but strong service. Adams would feel shame that the founding vision is being so abused. If Adams’ words and example cannot melt Obama’s pride, it’s a damned shame.

CHAMBERS OF HORROR: "WITNESS" TO THE FUTURE

2009-05-03T14:13:00.008-04:00

CHAMBERS OF HORROR: “WITNESS” TO THE FUTURE

*published on Flopping Aces*

I have been rereading the classic tome “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers recently, using the new 50th anniversary edition with wonderful forewords by the recently deceased Buckley & Novak. (It has had a foundational influence on American conservatives and traditionalists like Buckley and Novak and justifiably so.)

Although I have read it several times before, this is the first time I’ve read it since the election and the difference for me is astounding and eye-opening. Things have been leaping out of the pages at me this time. There is a lot I could talk about but for the purposes of this essay, there is one basic thing I want to mention. The point I want to make here is just how ‘Communist’ what Obama has said and done in regard to “Change” in the light of Chambers’ definition. [Is Obama specifically a Marxist or a Communist? That is another question which I cannot and do not presume to know as a fact. The points of similarity, however, I think, are obvious.]

First, for purposes of information, let me tell you a little bit about the book and the man. Many today have little idea who Whittaker Chambers is and why his book is so important, so some comment is owed to the reader.

“Witness” is Chambers’ attempt to explain his bearing ‘witness’ against Alger Hiss as a Communist spy in the famous trials and Congressional contests involving him in the late 40’s. He presents himself as a ‘witness’ but what kind of ‘witness’ is he? His answer has nothing to do with grudges, politics per se or even ideology. He even fails to fit into the classic ‘conservative’ mold. Basically, his answer is an existential one. He must witness against Communism not Hiss, against the experiential ideas not the Party. He MUST do it to be true to himself: “External freedom is only an aspect of interior freedom. Political freedom, as the Western world has known it, is only a political reading of the Bible. Religion and freedom are indivisible. Without freedom the soul dies. Without the soul there is no justification for freedom.… Hence every sincere break with Communism is a religious experience. (16).”

Whittaker (the name he adopted from his mother in the 1920’s) distinguished himself as a translator early on, notably for his rendition of “Bambi” from the German. To say his upbringing was problematic would be an understatement. As time went on, his troubled family life and experiences led Chambers to embrace Marxism and he did so with great ferocity. He was a bisexual aesthete who vehemently rejected religion and “associated God with ill-ventilated vestries and ill-ventilated minds. (82)”

Chambers radical bent was all-consuming; he became not only a Communist Party member but also went underground to be a Soviet operative, a total self-dedication. He ended up operating among the government circles of Washington, DC in a secret Communist cell based there (later known as the “Ware group”). He was alternately known as “Carl” or “Bob” or other aliases. He and his wife became close friends with a State Department official and his family that they met in that group; the friend’s name was Alger Hiss.

After ten years or so, he underwent a mystical conversion, his description of which might be said to resemble the “Confession” of St. Augustine. A key break came when the Party first tried to stop his marriage and then demanded they abort their newly conceived child. “Abortion, which now fills me with physical horror, I then regarded, like all Communists, as a mere physical manipulation. (325).” All that had apparently changed within himself. He began to realize he was no longer what he had been and could not go through with what he had come to see as a horror. From that point on, he slowly began to plan, not only his break from the Party, but to begin his life-and-death war with Communism itself.

He resurfaced using his own name at considerable risk. He comments at one point that he felt he was “joining the losing side”. Getting a job at TIME magazine probably saved his life, because one did not usually ‘leave’ the Soviet underground alive. He went on to become a major editor in most divisions of the magazine, having a huge impact with the use of his superior writing skills. His main theme was that Marxism was EVIL and that it was a matter of life-and-death for civilization to identify and resist it. This was something the liberal press of his day heartily mocked. Mao & his minions in China were harmless “agrarian reformers”; these liberals claimed to see the future in the USSR and that ‘it worked’. In order to come to these conclusions they had to ignore the purges and genocides, torture and death camps, but that seemed something many were quite wiling to do. Chambers’ marvelous writing kept prophetically and inconveniently pointing to such willful ignorance. Many of his editorials read as fresh today as when he wrote them.

{By the way, there can really be no doubt that Hiss was a Soviet spy. He has been identified in their own files with the codename ALES, as confirmed by the bipartisan committee of Senator Moynihan (despite the baseless public absolution he received from NBC and others in the media). His influence at the Yalta conference, taking advantage of an ailing Roosevelt, might very well explain Stalin’s amazing success there. An example of a discussion on this is here: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Alger_Hiss}

Whittaker Chambers decided to cooperate against Hiss and the result was those famous trials and hearings that still incite strong reactions today. Among the highlights of those events was the famous set of microfilm that Chambers produced from his pumpkin patch for a young Richard Nixon.

He eventually became a Quaker and a small farmer. He resigned from Time after the turmoil of the Hiss trial and lived quietly on his farm. Chambers was pilloried and mocked by the liberal media of his time as he fully expected, and his eccentricity and intellectualism made him an easy target, but he was satisfied that he had been true to himself in giving witness to the truth.

Now let me go on to my main point. I noted in my reading this time that Chambers seemed to identify one major appeal that Communism has that makes it what it is: CHANGE. Action which becomes its own reason, freed from God and morality, finds its meaning in acting for its own sake.

“The revolutionary heart of Communism is not the theatrical appeal: ‘Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains. You have a world to gain.’ It is a simple statement of Karl Marx, further simplified for handy use: "Philosophers have explained the world; it is necessary to CHANGE the world." Communists are bound together by no secret oath. The tie that binds them across the frontiers of nations, across barriers of language and differences of class and education, in defiance of religion, morality, truth, law, honor, the weaknesses of the body and the irresolutions of the mind, even unto death, is a simple conviction: It is necessary to CHANGE the world. Their power, whose nature baffles the rest of the world, because in a large measure the rest of the world has lost that power, is the power to hold convictions and to act on them. It is the same power that moves mountains; it is also an unfailing power to move men. Communists are that part of mankind which has recovered the power to live or die -to bear witness-for its faith. And it is a simple, rational faith that inspires men to live or die for it.

It is not new. It is, in fact, man's second oldest faith. Its promise was whispered in the first days of the Creation under the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil: ‘Ye shall be as gods.’ It is the great alternative faith of mankind. Like all great faiths, its force derives from a simple vision. Other ages have had great visions. They have always been different versions of the same vision: the vision of God and man's relationship to God. The Communist vision is the vision of Man without God.” [From the introductory “Foreword in the Form of a Letter to my Children”, emphasis mine]

Doesn’t this sound awfully FAMILIAR?!? This is true not only about Obama’s ubiquitous campaign slogans, but also in terms of his first hundred days. ACT quickly! Don’t think! No need to actually read those bills. Abortion fits right into this. The sheer radical nature of so MANY of his appointees on this and related issues fits the template. Don’t examine or reveal what abortion really is. Don’t complicate matters with moral conundrums about good and evil. It’s just a ‘physical manipulation”. Just DO it!

Chambers’ assessment of the relationship of government and business sounds eerily familiar as well:

It is surprising how little I knew about the New Deal, although it had been all around me during my years in Washington. But all the New Dealers I had known were Communists or near-Communists. None of them took the New Deal seriously as an end in itself. They regarded it as an instrument for gaining their own revolutionary ends. (471)

The New Deal was a genuine revolution, whose deepest purpose was not simply reform within existing traditions, but a basic CHANGE in the social, and, above all, the POWER relationships within the nation. It was not a revolution by violence. It was a revolution by bookkeeping and lawmaking. In so far as it was successful, the power of POLITICS had replaced the power of business. This is the basic power shift of all the revolutions of our time. This shift was the revolution. (472) [emphasis mine]

What Obama and his Chicago radicals are doing makes the power-grabbing, government control and spending of the New Deal look like child’s play but the description above is just as apt. Doesn’t it seem like Obama is trying to replace the power of business with the power of politics? Isn’t what he is seeking a basic change in social and power relationships? This would seem to be indeed “revolution by lawmaking”. “Witness” has apparently foreseen exactly what a nation led by ‘Communist’-style CHANGE would look and feel like. This is a chilling realization. Maybe you are resisting this insight because you voted for Obama and you feel invested. Any good American wants his President to succeed. I submit this is a case when we should hope he fails not out of spite but for the sake of civilization.

When we grasp eternal truths they lead to amazing predictions. One does not necessarily need to be a seer to be a prophet. If you understand human nature and the divine dynamic, it’s amazing how well you can see what’s going to happen. It seems to me that “Witness” holds a timeless value which is particularly valuable at certain times. I propose that now is such a time. “Witness” has been a witness to the future.

How should we react? Chambers was actually somewhat pessimistic about the Free World’s chances; it seemed like he might have been wrong with the triumphs of the fall of the USSR and its satellites. With recent events, however, I’m wondering whether his pessimism wasn’t that far off. Even if that is so, he was only a theoretical pessimist; he was actually a practical optimist. His sentiments about possible outcomes didn’t stop him from being an amazing witness indeed. We should follow his example, using whatever gifts we have to unmask this evil assailing us for what it is. Chambers has come ‘back to the future’ to warn us of the horror facing us. Let us echo that warning loud and clear.

"SILLY, SENSELESS DOVE!"

2009-04-10T20:12:00.008-04:00

“SILLY, SENSELESS DOVE!"

*published on Flopping Aces

*pictures: right, an icon of the Prophet Hosea; left, a rock dove with a pin through his brain, a ‘pinhead pigeon’

This little essay is about a turn of phrase used by the prophet Hosea in regards to some mistakes being made by the leaders of his day; and it is about the similarity of the mistakes being made by our leadership right now.

In the mid-700’s BC, the chickens – or should I say, the pigeons - were coming home to roost for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They had been warned about the coming destruction by Amos earlier but they hadn’t changed. Hosea arrived on the scene to plead with even greater urgency, because now the horrible threat of the Assyrian Empire was becoming clear to everyone, not just prophets.

The Assyrians were the first great world empire, centered in Nineveh in Northern Mesopotamia. Their standard modus operandi was the use of intimidation and terror to cow their subjects; they were universally feared and hated and their cruelty was calculated and legendary. [They would eventually get their comeuppance at the hands of the Babylonians.] They were beginning to bully and hector the Kingdom of Israel. What were the leaders of Israel going to do?

Now, the advice of Amos and Hosea was to ‘turn to the Lord’. The cause of the nation’s problems was their lack of identity and social cohesion. Israel’s unity, uniquely, was not purely racial or ethnic; it was centered on a belief in one God and a moral code not mere genetics. In turning to the worship of the fertility gods and goddesses, they were also engaging in the immoral practices associated with them. Since those primitive religions were divorced from moral requirements and did not involve a sense of a personal relationship with their gods (using a magical or instrumental approach) the Israelites began turning away not just from their unifying belief in one God and their common set of moral values, but also from their personal obligations to the needy among them as emphasized so often in the Law of Moses. If what unifies you is weakened, the result is weakness, disunity and chaos.

“Without a vision, the people perish” is what the Book of Proverbs tells us. Even so, without the glue of their common beliefs, the Kingdom of Israel began to come apart at the seams. The Prophets describe a justice system that no longer worked: ever-rising violence, crime and fraud; what justice there was could only be obtained by bribe or government influence. The leaders in the capital Samaria were especially excoriated. They spent a lot of time lining their own pockets and did little to foster a sense of nation. Amos had mocked the character of the rich women there who abused the needy and overindulged their appetites as “cows of Bashan”. Private charity withered on the vine and social solidarity was destroyed as the government in Samaria grew in size and power like in the time of Solomon. Those who had power took advantage of those who could not fight them.

In regard to our present topic, Hosea noted a response of the leadership to the coming crisis and mocked it as well. Israel apparently preferred the prestigious role-playing of high politics. They wanted to become one of the gang of nations, becoming mixed up with them: “Ephraim mingles with the nations”. They apparently tried to ‘negotiate’ with the Assyrians to save themselves. From our perspective, the very thought is utterly ridiculous. The Assyrians had already made it abundantly clear they were the qualm-free terror agents of their day. To ‘sit down’ with them was desperate and futile. Israel, also (like their Southern sister Kingdom Judah later in the face of the Babylonians) tried to rely on alliance-building with the nations around them. They even apparently reached out to the Egyptian Empire for help. It seems they did everything BUT turn to their OWN God.

This is from the book of Hosea, Chapter 7: [By the way ‘Ephraim’ is one the sub-tribes of the tribe of Joseph which is often used to represent all of the Northern tribes.]

8 Ephraim mingles with the nations, Ephraim is a hearth cake unturned.
9 Strangers have sapped his strength, but he takes no notice of it; Of gray hairs, too, there is a sprinkling, but he takes no notice of it.
10 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him; yet they do not return to the LORD, their God, nor seek him, for all that.
11 Ephraim is like a dove, silly and senseless; They call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria.
12 Even as they go I will spread my net around them, like birds in the air I will bring them down. In an instant I will send them captive from their land.
Hosea 7:8-12 (NAB)

When you try to mix up an amalgamated ‘nations’ pancake and you forget to turn it over, what happens? It starts to burn and the smoke alarms go off. When you start making deals with all these other nations, and becoming just another one of the gang, you begin to imperceptibly lose your national identity and strength. Like the proverbial boiled frog, you don’t even notice how it’s slipping away.

And then, he calls them “a dove, silly and senseless”. Have you ever watched doves? The mourning dove, or turtle dove, has a tiny little head in proportion to its body, and, hence, a tiny little brain, and they act it. They are not the sharpest tools in the shed. But there’s another dove which might be more applicable: it’s the ‘rock dove’ more popularly known as the pigeon. We all know pigeons. Once again, not a whole lot brain power happening there. Hosea pictures Israel dumbly ambling along – duuhhh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duuuhh – totally clueless and oblivious to the fact that the Assyrian’s net is just about to be plunked down on them to capture them.

In 723 BC, this is what happened and the Israelites were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, becoming the famous ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’. {Descendants of all these tribes have been discovered and confirmed through DNA testing in places like East Africa, Cambodia, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Many of them have been returning to Israel recently, seemingly as predicted by the Prophets. This has caused some friction with Jews descended from the tribe of Judah, of course, but it sure is an interesting development!}

Now, we have a set of leaders in our country who apparently want to “mingle with the nations” in an unprecedented way, trying to be part of the gang to the point where other nations might be given power to control our economy, for instance. Obama seems to want to lose our uniqueness in the mixture of the cosmopolitan pancake.

Obama and company also want to sit down with people like Iran, N. Korea and the Taliban who make the Assyrians look nice. Future generations will probably look on in as much mystification as we do when we look back at Israel trying to ‘negotiate’ with the Assyrians.

He does NOT rely on our national identity but downplays it, saying we are not a Christian or Jewish nation; we are “citizens” indistinguishable from any other nation. Our national identity is a VERY similar thing to that of the ancient Hebrews. Yet it is this very thing he denigrates. (Tell me, is Turkey not a Muslim nation in its history? Is India not a Hindu nation culturally? Why is it that we only we are not allowed to acknowledge our undeniable Judeo-Christian heritage that makes us what we are?)

Obama is denying us our national vision, the glue that has held us together for all our history, based not on race or happenstance but on values which inform our moral and social conscience. He prefers, like a silly, senseless dove, to seek alliances and cheap approval while our strength and identity imperceptibly seep into the socialist soil. How can the results be any different than what happened before?

It’s time to call it what it is. This is betrayal of our national identity. This is silly. This is senseless. It is a mistake that has already been made that does not need to be made again.

I wonder, if a metal rod were driven through the brain of THIS leadership, would they just keep on going with their foolhardy policies? I suppose it wouldn’t matter - if the policies are brainless springing from dumb instinct or blind ideological fervor and not from reason. Let us pray and raise our consciousness prophetically like Hosea tried to do with the Northern Tribes.
Let’s not let our leaders move on with this course of action unchallenged. I’m going to a Tea Party April 15th, are you?

They don’t think we can see what they’re doing. They don’t think we’re going to do or say anything. We’ll see about that. Silly, senseless doves!!

Sign The Petition!

2009-03-24T16:47:00.003-04:00

Sign The Petition!

I invite all of you to sign a petition protesting the University of Notre Dame inviting President Obama to speak there. When challenged about this, the University uttered platitudes about keeping the lines of ‘dialogue’ open. Steer droppings! Would the University be inviting ‘dialogue’ with Doctor Kevorkian? On the positive side, Bishop D’Arcy of South Bend has pulled out and given a great statement.

Stop the madness. Sign the petition:

www.NotreDameScandal.com

OBAMA – FOOLISH SOLOMON RETURNS?

2009-03-21T21:38:00.005-04:00

OBAMA – FOOLISH SOLOMON RETURNS?
*published on Flopping Aces

Having endured the shocking spectacle of the first two months of the Obama/Pelosi/Reid debacle, another historical parallel occurred to me. This one might not seem so obvious at first, but there is a real lesson to be learned from the latter parts of the reign of the biblical King Solomon.

We have probably all heard of WISE Solomon and the many references to the wisdom of the third king of Israel, the son of David. True enough, Solomon began with humility and asked for wisdom to serve his people and we are told that he was given it. There is much evidence given in the First Book of Kings for this wisdom of his. He wrote many proverbs and he promoted knowledge and arts. His shrewd insight into human motivations and character was revealed when he judged the case of the two women and the baby. He did oversee the creation of the First Temple, one of the most beautiful edifices ever created. He did build a seeming political peace with those around him. The Queen of Sheba traveled from far away to see this astounding wisdom for herself and was suitably impressed.

But there is more to the story than that. God warned Solomon ahead of time of TWO main dangers to him and thus to his people. He must avoid IDOLATRY and the immoral practices associated with it; and he must not OPPRESS his people or put unreasonable burdens on them. If he did not heed this warning, his kingdom would be split at his death.

You would think he would have studiously avoided any hint of these two dangers. But human nature being what it is, very gradual change can fool us. If you put a frog into boiling water, it jumps out, but if you simply put up the heat slowly by degrees, the frog will boil to death without realizing it. What was it that fooled Solomon into his fatal errors? Faith in the power of Government!

One way he began to expand his Empire was through the diplomacy of marriage. This meant not only the daughter of the Pharaoh, but the daughters of every small city or state in the area, assuming them into the Empire or making an alliance. We are told he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He brought them all to Jerusalem, built them palaces and temples to worship their own gods. As time went on, he began to join them in their temples ‘for company’s sake’ but, eventually, of course, he began to join in their IDOLATRY and immoral practices. (Now what was it that unified Israel as a nation? It wasn’t an ethnic unity but the uniqueness of their belief in one God and their morality very much like the United States today. What happens when that glue of unity is weakened by becoming “like the nations”? King Solomon was dooming the future identity of the nation.)

We’ve seen he was building many palaces for all those wives; well, he built many more, all with the most expensive materials and needing many servants to support them. He rejected the traditional tribal organization and artificially imposed a massive bureaucracy beholden to his government; this was very troubling to his people but he did not respect their wishes to keep the religiously significant Twelve Tribe pattern. He began to build more and more roads. For the first time, he established a large standing army (including the famed “stables of Solomon”). How was this enormous expansion of government going to be supported? You guessed it: TAXES and FORCED SERVICE! Farmers had to surrender large amounts of their produce and livestock to the government. Their sons and daughters were forced to give long parts of their lives to serve in the palaces, working on the roads or in the army. He ended by crushing his subjects, something he was specifically warned about.

In I Kings 10:14, the author makes an offhand, seemingly innocuous comment that is actually very significant. He tells us the amount of yearly income that Solomon’s government took in: “SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SIX gold talents”. (One talent, by the way was an enormous amount of money in itself.) Now, I’m sure that wasn’t the exact amount every year. Why use that number? The perfect number is SEVEN, the number of the Covenant with God, where there is peace and wisdom; in fact, the Hebrew word for making a Covenant with God is literally “to seven”. Six Hundred and Sixty Six will always fall short of ‘Seven’. This is a way of saying Solomon had fallen short of the Covenant and broken it. He was the very powerful ruler who turned to Apostasy, the seeming peace-maker who brought the dis-ease of massive social injustice.

[No doubt, you may have recognized this number from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. This verse in First Kings is what John was referring to. When trying to describe the future Antichrist or Man of Sin who will lead all to Apostasy, the seeming peacemaker who will bring Apocalypse, John could think of no one better than Solomon and that evocative number of his. The Antichrist will be very much like Solomon. By the way, I in no way am implying I think Obama or any of these people is the Antichrist! I don’t. I am comparing them to Solomon in what they have done and in their practical results. It’s the pattern I want to underline, not a conspiracy theory.]

After Solomon died, his young, inexperienced and arrogant son, Reheboam, refused to lighten the horrible government load and succeeded in splitting the Kingdom, just as predicted. The resultant fledgling kingdoms were doomed to be swallowed up by the Assyrians and Babylonians in future years.

There are too many parallels between this foreboding example and the present cabal’s behavior to list them all. The seizing of the Census, spending more money than has been spent in the history of the world, the biggest Government power grab in history in the ‘porkulus’ bill, ‘required voluntarism’, the diplomacy of go along to get along with no thought to future consequences, the looming threat of Universal Health Care and domestic militias: all of this points to the same kind of blind grab for power that seduced Solomon. Whatever they think they will get out of this, the power-grabbers should know that history does not lie; they will bring horrible disunity and injustice and suffering, if they do not change. Let us pray that they will be changed or thwarted in their deluded schemes. And let us all do everything we can to avoid these mistakes.

LES MIZ: Capitalist Whiz Brings Better Biz

2009-03-07T16:30:00.004-05:00

LEZ MIZ: Capitalist Whiz Brings Better Biz
*published on Flopping Aces
Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is a massive tome which has gained massive attention because of the blockbuster musical theatre phenomenon that is based upon it. There have been lessons and parallels aplenty drawn from this story but I have another take of my own here.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of this wonderful tale. Jean Valjean, a woodcutter, is imprisoned for stealing a piece of bread. Because of failed escapes he ends up being imprisoned for nineteen years; he reenters the world in a hell of hatred and desperation until the good Bishop of Digne ‘buys his soul’ back for him and commissions him to live for others the rest of his life. Taking a new identity, he becomes a prosperous business man in Montreuil-sur-mer and becomes a pillar of the community through his factories and private charity. Eventually, his secret identity is discovered by the maniacally legalistic public servant Javert. Javert pursues Valjean relentlessly through much of the rest of the story, but Valjean’s mystical moral depth triumphs in the end over the harsh legalism of Javert.

Hugo himself was a ‘liberal’ Bonapartist and that does come out in some places in his novel. However, I think everyone agrees that’s not really what he was pushing or talking about in his classic. Like Dostoevsky and Dickens in that time, he was making a spiritual and cultural point about our need for God in a secular age and how that affects how we treat each other.

As I was recently reading this great work, this was the thing that struck me quite hard. Jean Valjean in his first new incarnation after his escape is a CAPITALIST HERO! He comes up with a great idea. He reworks a marginal process into a truly useful one and sparks the growth of an industry. He provides jobs and prosperity for his town and the entire area. Far from being the stereotypical greedy magnate, he uses his private charity to build a non-governmental framework of community and social support. He promotes a spirit of solidarity while respecting the subsidiarity of all the small groups. The respect and trust he earns propels him into the office of mayor, where he presents us the ideal ‘public servant’ very much in the traditional American model as opposed to the controlling bureaucrat.

In stark contrast to this is the all-smothering spirit of government control personified in Javert. To Javert, it is government and law which orders all, subsumes all; government is something he BELIEVES in and worships. In one scene he turns himself over to the mayor (Valjean) for dismissal because he feels he has filed a false report on him. He as an individual is unimportant in comparison to the all-wise government regulations and bureaucratic process. If he must be sacrificed for the sake of proper functioning of the controlling rules then ‘so be it’. He is willing to do almost anything in this story as long as it serves the letter of the law and the government; the ends justify the means.

After all, the socialism of the French Revolution was a massive experiment in cultural transformation where the government entered everything, going so far as to change the calendar and attempt to produce social results. The State and Reason became the Gods that were worshipped. (These trends continued even during the short-lived Monarchist ‘restoration’.) Despite the mantra of ‘Liberty’, intrusive control became the by-product of this precursor to Marxism and Communism. Javert’s misplaced ultra-sincere idealism results in oppression and suffering whereas the practical capitalism of Valjean brings concord and community.

[Parenthetically, it should be noted that Hugo believed the overall effect of the Revolution was positive, and I don’t think he’s all wrong. However, we, having the benefit of hindsight, can see things in his own writing that maybe he could not. His brand of ‘liberalism’ perhaps has much more in common with a ‘conservative’ today than the pseudo-socialists who now use the title.]

As we now watch the spectacle of a massive government takeover without any parallel, I see the fanatical stare of Javert fixing upon us all, determined to bring justice and order to us for our own good. His certainty is alluring; he promises high ideals. Misery and ‘les miserables’ is indeed the real result. I choose to look into the warm forgiven eyes of Valjean, shining with the light of the God of agape love. If Javert tries to give me something, I know there are hooks inside. I prefer Liberty in the classical American model. I think I’ll go to Valjean. He’ll give me a job or help me start a business and he will respect my Liberty.

RWANDA’S LESSON ABOUT GOVERNMENT

2009-02-21T22:20:00.006-05:00

RWANDA’S LESSON ABOUT GOVERNMENT
*published on Flopping Aces
The story of Immaculee Iligabiza is destined to be, I think, one of the defining stories of our time, like that of Anne Frank or Solzhenitsyn. Her story has been featured on “60 Minutes” and PBS; her books “Left To Tell” and “Led By Faith”, as well as her new book on Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda have been international bestsellers. I urge you to read them. {e.g. see http://www.lefttotell.com/ } They will sweep you away; I read each in one day apiece.

Her story is a truly amazing one. She came from a fairly well-to-do, religious Catholic family in a small town in Western Rwanda. Her parents were educators, heavily involved in charities and community-minded. Then the horrible genocide of 1994 began. She got home from college just as the maelstrom of killing began. Her father sent her to the local Protestant pastor in hopes he would hide her from the machete-wielding Hutus bent on wiping out the Tutsis. The pastor did hide her with seven other women in a tiny bathroom (see the picture above) where she spent three months praying and becoming transformed in mind and heart. It is a story replete with miracles and palpable evidence of the Providence of God. Her entire family (save one brother) and most of her friends were wiped out and at several times she really should have met their fate, too. But she feels she was saved for the purpose of warning the world at large about the dangers she saw herself. Her remedy?: Faith, Family, Forgiveness, Fortitude. These are the most powerful forces in the world building a Kingdom that is unshakeable.

After reading her books, one fact struck me pretty hard: this was a GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED genocide. Some blame can be laid at the feet of the Belgians for the adversarial structures they purposefully left. For decades, the dominant Hutu tribe used government social policy and rules to marginalize the smaller Tutsi tribe (also known by some as the ‘Wahtusi’). Immaculee experienced this when she was forced to always show her tribal identification card at school, for instance. [Immaculee finds this quite ironic in that centuries of intermarriage have made the physical distinctions almost useless, much as the ‘Aryan’ ravings of the Nazis had little factual basis.] The government also co-opted media sources, making them into propagandistic hate sites. Tutsis were routinely labeled ‘cockroaches’ or vermin and were increasingly barred from access to knowledge and power. When the Hutu President was killed in 1994, the government officially closed everything so that killing squads, trained for years, could devote all their energy to implementing the ‘final solution’ of killing ALL Tutsis.

It’s amazing how powerful government and media can be. Immaculee’s own friends and neighbors, people she knew and trusted, were among those taunting her in the house where she was hiding, describing how they would slowly torture and gang rape her. About a million people were killed in ways so heinous it was like hell on earth.

And yet, partly thanks to people like Immaculee, a grass-roots movement (not a government mandate!) of forgiveness and charity has helped make Rwanda a re-born jewel of prosperity and peace. (The Benebikira Sisters, a Catholic order of nuns, which takes care of hundreds of orphans, is part of this general effort.)

There is certainly a lesson here for us in this country right now. It’s never a good thing to give any government too much of the power we the people have by right. What are this remarkable story and this remarkable woman trying to teach us?

I invite you to read what Immaculee has to say. And please spread the word. It’s too important to keep it under a bushel basket.

POPE POPS PELOSI OVER PERVERTED PRO-LIFE PROCLAMATIONS!

2009-02-19T17:33:00.003-05:00

POPE POPS PELOSI OVER PERVERTED PRO-LIFE PROCLAMATIONS!

*published on Flopping Aces

Speaker of the House Pelosi clearly thought she was going to walk into the Vatican and dominate Pope Benedict XVI. Predictions were made how the two would get beyond the narrow pro-life issue and that terrible “micro-obsession with abortion” as Jon O’Brien, head of the so-called “Catholic for Choice” liberal front group put it. Well, according to reports, the ENTIRE 15-minute meeting was a lecture from the Successor to St. Peter to Pelosi, solely devoted to what the Church really teaches about the right to life and the DUTY to defend the unborn. [See this http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15125.]

This tack taken by the Pope is in obvious and conscious contradistinction to the very public & loopy statements of ‘theology’ put out by Pelosi on the topic of human life [e.g. http://www.catholicsinpubliclife.org/page2/page14/files/1908780af1e21f6b66f30772f8234fa8-14.html].

Way to go, Pope! This is the sort of things leaders are SUPPOSED to do! Now it’s time for the U.S, Bishops to follow up, because the media will obviously try to hush this result up. Let’s do our best not to let them, too.

And let’s pray for Pelosi or some other unforeseen stalwart to have a change of heart and step forward on this and all the other important issues. Whittaker Chambers was a sold-out undercover Soviet spy who had given up everything to destroy capitalism and democracy, the sort of fanatic who doesn’t get turned from their path. In his classic autobiography, “WITNESS” it was the party’s demand that he and his wife abort their child which began his slow Exodus to sanity. He was forced to think about what he believed. “I felt like I was joining the losing side,” he commented. Yet, he and others like him helped to turn the seemingly inexorable tide of Marxism. Maybe this meeting will be the sort of shock to Pelosi’s moral system that she needs.

This is another time we need to turn the tide. We need more ‘witnesses’. Can I get a witness?

THE MIRACLE INSIDE THE MIRACLE

2009-02-08T11:32:00.003-05:00

THE MIRACLE INSIDE THE MIRACLE

Here is a story worth sharing from the Divine Mercy website: [http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=3493]. Miracles are only pointers or signs indicating the real miracle of grace in human hearts.

By Felix Carroll (Feb 4, 2009)
A banker on a business trip in New York City, Fred Berretta had just checked into his hotel room. He had about 20 minutes down time before he had to meet his colleagues.

For some reason he decided to clean out his briefcase, something he hadn't done in a long time. As he emptied it out, he came across a booklet he had stuffed into a pocket years ago on praying the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy. He recalls having prayed it a few times years ago. But by Jan. 15, 2009, it was a good intention mislaid — among spreadsheets and quarterly reports and matters that seemed far more pressing.

Only two weeks prior, Fred had made a New Year's resolution to try to get into better spiritual shape. Here in this hotel room was an opportunity to fulfill it. So he followed along in the booklet and prayed the chaplet, a prayer our Lord gave to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s during a series of revelations that have sparked the modern Divine Mercy movement.

The time happened to be 3 o'clock, known as the Hour of Great Mercy, when Jesus died on the cross. Fred would consider that detail the following day — as he was preparing to die.

He would be among the 155 people to board a jet airliner at LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, N.C., his home town. Ninety seconds after takeoff, the jet would apparently hit a flock of geese, the engines would explode, and the plane would lose power at 3,200 feet. The aircraft would be out of reach from any airfield. It would lose thrust and altitude. Everything would become eerily quiet. Fred would cinch his seatbelt. His left hand would clutch the armrest, his heart would race, his face would be flush.

He would think about his family — his wife and four young children. He would think about God, about death, about trust, about an extraordinary promise made by Jesus that he read the previous day in that booklet.

"Prepare for impact," the pilot would say over the PA system.

What was the promise? Suddenly, it would come to him, the last passage he read before heading off to his meeting. Jesus said to St. Faustina, "This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion (Diary of St. Faustina, 1320).

As the ground surged into view, Fred would look at his watch. It would be 3:30, the Hour of Great Mercy!

"I prayed with every fiber of emotion and sincerity I could muster, 'God, please be merciful to us,'" Fred would recall two weeks later.

'Miracle on the Hudson'?
You've probably heard about the crash landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on Jan. 15. No one was seriously injured. Politicians and news anchors quickly dubbed it the "Miracle on the Hudson." In the history of aviation no jet airliner had ever made an emergency landing on water without casualties.

Then, there were the news images of a US Airways Airbus floating gently down the frigid Hudson, like some sort of breaching, people-friendly, aquatic creature. The passengers stood on its wings, calmly awaiting rescue. Amidst all the news of economic collapse, of tens of thousands of layoffs on a weekly basis, of families in peril, of a reckoning at hand for a culture of greed, this plane, these passengers, its pilot, all served as a sort of restorative balm on our nation's collective conscious.

The story made you gasp, gulp hard, smile widely, and be thankful. Thankful for what? For good news. For heroes in the pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, and the rest of the crew. Thankful in the knowledge that in the panic-filled moments when the plane lurched to a stop it wasn't every man and woman for himself or herself. Thankful that humanity's better nature was on display. Thankful the incident wasn't terrorist-related, but apparently geese-related. Thankful that a guy like Fred Berretta, 41, would live to walk through the door of his home once again, hug his wife and children, and make sure they knew he loved them — that he always had and that he always will.

Vinny Flynn who?
For devotees of Divine Mercy, Flight 1549 serves as further proof that the Lord keeps His promises.

We may never have learned Fred Berretta's story if it weren't for Vinny Flynn. Following the crash, Fred felt compelled to send an email of thanks to Vinny, the former executive editor at the Marian Helpers Center, in Stockbridge, Mass. Though Vinny and his family are seen daily at 3 p.m. (EST) on EWTN singing the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Fred had never heard of Vinny until about two hours before he boarded Flight 1549.

Following morning meetings on Jan. 15, Fred found himself in the unusual position of having some free time on a business trip. It was noon. He stepped inside Manhattan's St. Patrick's Cathedral. He stayed for the 12 p.m. Mass. Afterwards, he went into St. Patrick's gift shop. A book caught his eye — Vinny's 7 Secrets of the Eucharist (Mercy Song Ignatius, 2006), which, with citations from St. Faustina's Diary, gives a greater understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist. Fred also purchased a St. Michael's scapular.

In an interview with thedivinemercy.org this week, Fred explained what happened next:

"I got into a cab and went to the airport," he said. "My flight was delayed about 15 minutes, so I sat there and started reading Vinny's book. I was really taken by it. I boarded the plane and continued to read. Just as we were rolling out for takeoff, I put the book away and closed my eyes and began to reflect on what I had been reading. Then, I heard the impact, then the explosion, and the plane shook violently. I was sitting in seat 16A, which is behind the wing. I could see smoke coming out of the left engine. You could smell the jet fuel."

As soon as Fred, a private pilot, realized the second engine was also not functioning, he became tense, like everyone else around him.

He heard some cries from the cabin.

"Some of us looked at each other," he said. "There was nothing to be said. I knew that the only thing I could do was pray."

A Resolution
These were the other things he knew: This sleek, high performance jet airliner had suddenly and irreversibly become a 73-ton glider sinking fast above one of the nation's most densely populated regions. It would touch down somewhere, somehow, very soon, at a speed of about 120 mph. The chances of survival were almost nil.

He thought about his family, how hard his death would be on them. Indeed, that was the most painful part of the experience for him, his concern for them.

He thought about the very thing all these years that seemed to stand in the way of growing deeper in his faith. It came down to this: trust. He didn't have much. Ever. He had once fancied himself among the titans of commerce. He once trusted that money would bring security and peace of mind. This flight wasn't the thing that taught him otherwise. Rather, it was this past year. The bottom fell out of the economy, and with it, much of Fred's savings of the last 20 years.

By Christmas, the self-described "half-hearted Catholic" knew in his heart the only security in the world is the security found in God, which led to his New Year's resolution; which led to him praying the chaplet in a hotel room; which led him to buy Vinny's book; which led him to close his eyes in seat 16A, his trajectory heavenward, and reflect upon how God is real and He loves us and that He wants us to turn to Him in trust.

Which is exactly what Fred did when he suddenly realized it was the Hour of Great Mercy and he would probably be dead in a matter of seconds. He trusted, truly, for the first time.

All these fragments of thought seemed to piece themselves into place. The plane was going down, yet everything was making sense. He admits he was in shock. But he also felt at peace, a deep peace. God had allowed him to find the Divine Mercy booklet in his briefcase. God had steered him to Vinny's book. God did all this, he thought, to prepare him for death.

He hunched over in his seat to brace for impact. He prayed for God's mercy. Then he prayed two Hail Marys and one Our Father. He made it halfway though a prayer to St. Michael, the archangel, when the plane hit the water, came to a stop, and bobbed up and down like a toy in a kiddy pool.

'True Peace'
"Under the most precarious situations I could ever imagine," says Fred, "God taught me what true peace is all about — that it's found in accepting God's will. That we must try our best in this life, but not sweat the small stuff, and hand control over to God."

One more thing to mention. A couple weeks before the flight, Fred had prayed the Rosary for the first time in years. He had recently learned of the 15 promises that, as legend has it, the Virgin Mary made to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan to all who pray the Rosary with a faithful heart. Fred remembers thinking at the time, "Are those promises real?" He feels he recently received his answer.

"I still have my boarding pass from the flight," Fred said this week, "and I couldn't help but to notice all the 15s associated with the flight. We left on Jan. 15, from gate 15. It was Flight 1549, with 155 passengers. Also, it took off during the 15th hour, by military time, which is what the world of aviation uses. I smiled when it hit me later. There was my answer right there."

He's vowed to embrace the Eucharist, thanks to Vinny; the Rosary, thanks to all those 15s; and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, thanks to that booklet.

God was doing more than preparing him for death: God was preparing him for life.

SOMEONE PUT U.S. IN A PICKLE BARREL!

2009-02-03T16:57:00.004-05:00

SOMEONE PUT U.S. IN A PICKLE BARREL!

Joe was walking down the street, when who did he see walking toward him, but Good Old Uncle Sam with nothing on but a big pickle barrel held up by a pair of straps!

“UNCLE SAM!” cried Joe, “What in Sam Hill happened to you?”

He pointed up the hill toward a white house. There were a group of guys meeting in front of the house. “That O’bummer feller up there tricked me out of my clothes and took over my house, that white house up there.”

“You don’t say. How’d ‘e manage that?”

“Well, I can’t rightly figure it. I already had my suspicions. All’s I know is he came at me with a whole bunch of words and had me sign something. He was telling me I had to save all the people with no clothes and no house and before I knew it, my wallet was cleaned out and my clothes and my house were snatched up from right under my hook-ed nose. It’s the durndest thing. He keeps talking about a ‘stimulus’. Well, I don’t want the Liberty kids overstimulated.”

“And, Uncle Sam, who are all those strange people milling around up there with him?”

“Why, they popped up straight out of the woodwork, or so it seems. I had never seen hide nor hair of them until after all these shenanigans were done. From what I hear, a good number of them are tax cheats and scalliwags.”

“Who is that squirrelly guy using all that bad language?”

“Well, I heard them calling him ‘Bloggerovitch’ or some such thing. Maybe he’s a Russian guy from the World Web. All’s I know is he’s up to no good. There’s the police coming for him now.

“Look at guy with the big glasses, Sam. ‘Al Frankman’ I think he’s called. He don’t look ‘frank’ to me. Someone said he was stealing notes, I think. Yeah, they sure are an unsavory looking gang.”

“Sure ‘nough, but it worries me more that they look like the gang that can’t shoot straight. There’s some mean hombres out there and these small-timers won’t be able to charm, cheat and ‘change’ their way past them like they did nice old Uncle Sam. They’ll be looking down the wrong end of a gun barrel and then what’s gonna happen to my kids?”

“And what’s gonna happen to you, Sam?? You’re in a real pickle.....barrel, that is…..”

Just then the Liberty Kids came rushing down the street.

“UNCLE SAM! UNCLE SAM!” they screamed, “What happened?!”

“Hi, kids! I dun been hoodwinked.”

“Oh, no! What are you going to do now?”

“Well, kids, this isn’t the first time I’ve had the wool pulled over my eyes and it probably won’t be the last.”

“That’s sure right, Uncle Sam, they sure have and they sure will!”

“But has anything ever stopped me afore?”

“No, Uncle Sam!”

“And nothin’s gonna stop me now, nither. Slow and steady wins the race and I’ll ‘ventually take care of these rapscallions just like I dun all those others. You children, remember?”

“We sure do, Uncle Sam!”

“So, don’t you worry ‘bout me! All’s I need right now are some proper duds. This loaner barrel is just a trifle splintery and nippy for your Uncle. You kids are the ones that can always dress me up in proper Fourth of July red, white and blue stripey clothes.”

“We’ll take care of you, Uncle Sam!”

“Well, I know you will and I’m right thankful to you. When someone else gives me a dressing down, you all will be dressing me UP! And they’ll be OVER a barrel themselves soon enough. And once I get me a shirt I’ll be rolling up my sleeves and getting to WORK!!”

FIRST DAY, FIRST ATTACK ON PRO-LIFE CAUSE

2009-01-22T12:47:00.004-05:00

FIRST DAY, FIRST ATTACK ON PRO-LIFE CAUSE
*published on Flopping Aces*

On the very first day in office, the new administration announced it would rescind the ‘Mexico City policy’ Thursday. (This banned tax dollars from going to non-governmental agencies that perform abortions.)

See here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/01/21/obama-lift-ban-funding-groups-providing-abortions-overseas/.

Thursday is the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, when thousands of Pro-Lifers annually descend on Washington for the March for Life.

So, it is “above his pay grade” to decide what human life is, but he can use MY TAX DOLLARS to kill human life without bothering his conscience a wit. That is the logic of Goebbels, not Lincoln or anyone else.

Further, how is this any big “change” from the same old confrontation we’ve always had? This is what Clinton did too with the same “in-your-face” timing. Obama had a great opportunity here. What a chance to be truly different. Sad to say, I knew this would happen. Obama tipped his hand early on that his mind and heart are the most radically pro-abortion of anyone who has ever entered the Office.

Poor John Adams! He said: “I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” It seems the noises Obama made about “change” and reaching out do not apply to me and so many like us, and, in my opinion, that is neither honest nor wise.

THIS SIDE IS DONE, TURN ME OVER!

2009-01-04T10:55:00.003-05:00

THIS SIDE IS DONE, TURN ME OVER!
*published on Flopping Aces*
We stand at a crossroads in America. The government seems to be proposing that all citizens basically lose their faith in capitalism and liberty. Let the government take over the wealth and make it fairer and easier for everyone. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Weren’t the liberal press in the Fifties urging us to follow the example of that benign paragon, the “agrarian reformers” of Communist China and the Soviet Union? Well, in my opinion, we need a hero – or two – or more! We need a lot of good people to step forward. We also need good examples to follow. A very proper patron for this pickle comes to mind: St. Laurence (or Lawrence).

Laurence was an archdeacon of the city of Rome during a time of great persecution for the Church. The original martyrology was lost early on, but his story captured the imagination of many great early reporters. [There is some dispute about certain details of his ordeal, but the reality and effect of his sacrifice are indisputable. He, along with Nicholas, in the view of some, became the paradigm saint of the early Church.] In short, the way he opposed the government and his ultimate triumph point to a pattern we can imitate.

The year was 258, we are told. Pope Sixtus had barely attained the Chair of St. Peter, and, in view of the longevity of Popes at that time, he could barely hope to survive for long under the fierce persecution of Emperors Decius and Valerian, when he called upon his good friend Laurence to take charge of the duties of record-keeping and organizing charity to the poor.

Predictably, Sixtus was captured and condemned. As he was being led away, Laurence came to be with him. Sixtus comforted the weeping deacon by reassuring Laurence that he would very soon follow his friend to eternal happiness. Sure enough, four days later, Laurence was captured and, in view of his role in the Roman Church, confronted with an ultimatum: bring the famous “hidden riches” of the Church within two days or he would die a terrible death. Laurence agreed. He came back with a crowd of beggars, widows, cripples and the poor. “This is the riches of the Church!” he declared.

Now, let’s just take a look at that action! His was not the resistance of bitter, pessimistic antagonism. This showed the good humor that always results when one’s faith is girt under with a peaceful, brimming confidence. Show those who are in error where they err with gentle irony. (The response of McAuliffe at Bastogne to the German ultimatum comes to mind: “Nuts.” This is the very same dynamic.) Cut through all the hot air and pretension with something that exposes the truth of a situation for all to see.

The government propaganda was that the Christian Church was a weird group of incestuous cannibals who, though they seemed to love in a new, almost attractive sort of way, were actually greedy hoarders of wealth. (This was almost entirely either gross exaggeration or deliberate misrepresentation.) Further, they were way too preachy about what was wrong with the culture of death and sexual excess.

What did Laurence succeed in doing in this one public action? He showed what the Church was really about. It cared about individual people! The poor were not the faceless, exploited mob that the government saw. The ruling culture’s attitude was exposed! For the Church, every person had value and influence! ‘We will not directly oppose the master-mob ethic but we will show it for what it is and we will continue working beneath the surface for a new civilization of selfless agape love, of freedom and responsibility, respecting families and persons and standing in solidarity for what is right.’ Perhaps you recognize this ethic. It is the same basic approach that inspired our own Founding Fathers.

After the temerity of Laurence’s wordless lesson, he was condemned to a painful death. Ambrose among others says he was grilled to death on a gridiron. It is said that he told his torturers, “This side is done; turn me over and have a bite.” What a true sense of humor! ‘All you have is force and bluster’, he seems to be saying, ‘I have sublime, peaceful truth and I know it’. As Isaiah prophesied the Suffering Messiah will say in the midst of being tortured and beaten, “I have set my face like flint KNOWING I shall NOT be put to shame!” [This reminds me of Reagan’s remark to the doctor when he was shot: “I hope you’re a Republican!”]

Shouldn’t the conservative movement recapture this basic confidence of Reagan? Where did he get it? He got it, from the very principles displayed in Laurence’s actions. Will any of you out there stand up and show some confidence and humor in leadership? I think I see some of this in Jindal or Palin and I’m sure there are many others on every level and in many communities. How many of you will go through the hardship of running and governing or doing other things for the sake of the nation? You might get grilled over the coals, sure enough. Just smile and tell them: ‘You want a piece of me? Go ahead! Take a bite! But rest assured, I’m not done yet!’

Joan of Arc Was a Loser!

2008-11-27T10:24:00.007-05:00

Joan of Arc Was a Loser!
*published on Flopping Aces; quoted by Andrew Sullivan (out of context!)
Yes, Joan of Arc was a loser. Moses was a failure. Churchill was an outcast and then an outcast again. The Lord Jesus himself was - or seemed to be - defeated. This is an important thing to remember at times like this. The election has been lost. But even the defeated never lose - even when they do - if they preserve that core of self deep within that no one but our Creator can touch.

Yes, as we probably all know, Joan of Arc did have some success. [Her story is one of the best and well-documented of any medieval saint (save Francis of Assisi, perhaps) in historical terms and would be worth anyone’s time to investigate further. Mark Twain devoted 14 years of his life to research his version of her story under another pseudonym and considered it his best work.] By 1428, the Hundred Years War had been going on since 1337 and the social and moral effects were devastating to the country in countless ways as war usually is (mercenary war in particular!). Then along came this young girl from Domremy. Within a few months, she energized the ‘useless’ Dauphin, handed two major defeats to the English and Burgundians and got Charles crowned at Rheims. She accomplished more in this short time than had been done in a century, and with relatively little loss. This seems like success to us, but we have the benefit of seeing from afar and knowing what followed. Yes, by the end of the war, the ‘cowardly’ Charles would personally lead the conquest of a city and help complete the eviction of the English invaders; and we can look back to what Joan did as the crucial turning point.

But in 1428, that was far in the future. What did it look like to those at the time? Joan’s influence at court was quickly undermined after her initial success and she was looked down on as an uneducated country rube, despite the fact she had just given the country a new start. A whispering campaign motivated by this disdain and jealousy, defeated her insights and probably prolonged the war for many years more. (By the way, I think there are parallels with Sarah Palin, who was despised by insiders for her appearance and demeanor and lynched in a media show trial. And Palin, unlike her persecutors, actually accomplished things worthy of praise and, I feel, has good insights for going forward!) In any further efforts to lead within the court, Joan was seen, and rightly so, as a failure.

Joan tried to keep fighting, with little support, and without the benefit of her supernatural directions, but she was betrayed and tragically captured by the Burgundians. She was the victim of a rigged, political show trial by the English and burned as a ‘heretic’, bringing shame and defeat to her name. Many in France did see her as a hero but her name would not be totally cleared, even by the Church, until the 20th Century.

It may be that right now all the powers that be, the media, the educational system, etc. seem to be arrayed in favor of things that we, the minority, can see are not good. Much of what we have seen has seemed ‘rigged’ against us, and we have been ‘defeated’ like the inner and outer enemies of Joan defeated her. In this time, we should remember we cannot possibly see with an infinite eye. We should leave that for the One who is competent to do so. It can’t be our goal to only ‘win’ arguments or technical victories. It is our job to live lives worthy of our calling, graced as that young woman was so long ago; we must show faith, hope & charity which are the true powers of this world as John Nash, Einstein and others have noted. If we do that, and leave the results for the future, it may be that our personal defeats may be, in fact, turning points for the general good. No good deed or good word is ever for nothing. Americans, don’t forget Joan of Arc!

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

REJOICE IN THE VOICELESS’ ‘FREEDOM’ OF ‘CHOICE’?

2008-11-15T10:59:00.005-05:00

REJOICE IN THE VOICELESS’ ‘FREEDOM’ OF ‘CHOICE’?
*published on Flopping Aces*
The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops is meeting at this very moment (November 14, 2008) and I was just watching some of the Bishops’ comments on EWTN (the world Catholic cable network). Perhaps the immense gravity of this situation has finally woken them up, but they are absolutely expressing straight out the immense danger the Church faces in this country in a way we haven’t seen. It fills me with rage that they haven’t spoken more openly before, but, by God, it seems to finally be sinking in what is facing our Church and believers in general.

Much has been said already about many facets of this awful “Freedom of Choice Act”, but I would like to underline one aspect of this bill that should chill the heart of every believer of any kind in this country. The Bishops have apparently begun to realize one thing: this bill will FORCE Catholic hospitals to provide abortions. ALL conscience clauses will be obliterated, invading the inner sanctum of the freedom to practice religion, trampling the First Amendment. “You must burn infants alive over the course of hours; you must tear and cut them apart while they are still alive”. The draconian choices facing over 600 Catholic hospitals: closing the Obstetrics wing of all of them, or closing all of the hospitals altogether. The alternative is allowing the government to force Catholic physicians to perform these heinous actions which, to their credit, the Bishops seem to be refusing to countenance at all. This amounts to an anti-religious war which will destroy something which is invaluable, not only to Catholics, but to all Americans.

Anti-Catholic bigots must be wondering what the problem is. Religion is the major impediment to progress, after all, etc. etc. I think most fair thinkers, even unbelievers, will conclude, like the non-practicing Benjamin Franklin, that the free exercise of religion is crucial to the political health of the nation. How can anyone think it is good to exclude the services of highly trained, motivated moral professionals and institutions?

What was it that doomed the Kingdom of Judah to seventy years of Exile in Babylon? The prophet Jeremiah identified the straw that broke the camel’s back, the tipping point that changed the possibility of calamity from ‘IF’ to ‘WHEN’. What was it? It was when King Manasseh instituted public, state-sponsored killing of innocent children. They would bring the babies and children outside the gates of Jerusalem to the Valley of Hinnom. There before the eyes of the King and all the leaders, they burned their children alive as an offering to the god Moloch. It was totally legal. Nobody objected. Everyone watched and approved by their silence. (Later known as Gehenna, the garbage dump of Jerusalem, it was a place Jesus used as a symbol of eternal damnation).

Jeremiah pointed out that any society that can do that has passed beyond the point of any possibility of recovery. Prophets always initially give a CONDITIONAL warning; it’s up to us; if we can change, we can avoid the consequences. The problem is that as the downward angle of the ‘slippery slope’ increases more and more, eventually we must get to point where there is a straight 90o angle, where the only possible result left is for gravity to take over and to SPLAT! Poor Jeremiah was forced to be a prophet of doom because the die had already been cast by the time he came along. Despite the desperate reform attempts of King Josiah, it was too little too late.

Up to this point, our nation has made choices that gave some hope we might have some future. We elected people who tried to put some common-sense restrictions, who refused to use tax money or who allowed believers to obey their conscience in some small measure. What’s going to happen now that we have voted to go to the extreme we are threatened with going to? What if our own government basically backs millions of believers against the wall with a moral gun to their heads? What if we, like latter-day Manassehs, publicly and officially force the nation to stand around and watch as we kill the innocent children with tax money and religious institutions? Can a nation that tortures and kills its own helpless and innocent in such a radical way hope to have a future? The first nation to radically legalize abortion, Soviet Russia, permanently damaged their birth rate and they’ve never recovered; their implosion continues. Post-Christian Europe follows them apace as the Muslim wave laps around their necks.

Hearts must change before kingdoms can change. America can bravely lead in a more healthy direction. We cannot stand around like the people in Gehenna. We have got to speak out and pray that certain important hearts will change before it’s too late.

Life – Taken For Granite

2008-11-09T14:04:00.012-05:00

Life – Taken For Granite

*published on Flopping Aces*
The following is a composite conversation based on several post-Election Day discussions with friends and acquaintances up here in the Granite State of New Hampshire. The Great Stone Face, The Old Man on the Mountain, was once a symbol of our fierce independence: Live Free or Die! We were a rock island of red sanity in a sea of blue madness. Now with our deficits, spending, new laws and liberal leaders, we are no longer unique; we are well on our way to becoming Massachusetts North, if we’re not there already. It seems we ‘lost face’ and our identity the past four years since our great symbol, the Stone Face, fell off the mountain.

Hearts of stone and heads of granite: O Lord may you take them from us and give us hearts of flesh and minds which no longer take life for granted.

“Isn’t this just great? The first black man has been elected President! What a great day! You can celebrate, right? You’re happy, right? ”

“No, I’m sorry, I’m not happy. I’m glad we broke the barrier, but, for me, this day is a like a tragedy.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I’m pro-life.”

“What’s that? Oh yeah, that has to do with being against abortion, right?

Yes, somebody actually said that. I found out that some people voted for Obama without knowing some bare basics about what he believed about this and other things.

“You mean Obama’s not ‘pro-life’? I figured he was. He seems like such a nice guy.”

“He’s an utter catastrophe for anyone like me.”

“In what way?”

“For one thing, do you know what bill he plans to sign first? Guess,”

“No idea, what?”

“Obama said, ‘the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act’ and Pelosi has said the same thing, so it’ll almost certainly be done.”

“What’s that, ‘Freedom of Choice Act’?”

“It’s a law that will get rid of any and all restrictions on abortion. ALL laws wiped off the books. There’ll be no more parental notification or anything and YOUR taxes and MINE will now be used to pay for abortions.”

“Whoa, I don’t agree with that, even if I’m not sure I totally agree on abortion. Why didn’t we hear about that?”

“Are you kidding me? You expected the press that was so in the tank for Obama to report anything?? Don’t you know how much they covered over for him?”

“Yeah, I know they were all in the tank for him.”

When I brought up the press coverage, people hung their head in guilty recognition. Several things I mentioned, like the Fairness Doctrine, the Mandatory Service Plan, the 2001 Share the Wealth Tape, and a host of others, they either hadn’t heard of at all or they knew little about it. They looked truly shocked.

“Well, I DO think we should stop that bill anyway.”

“It’s too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you figure you can call your Senator to ask them not to vote for it?”

“Yeah, right.”

“Who’re you going to call, Shaheen, who we just elected?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“She’s a former board member for Planned Parenthood that makes hundreds of millions from abortion. Do you think she’s going to stop it?”

“Well, aren’t there others?”

“Yesterday was our chance. Now it’s TOO LATE! What’s going to stop them NOW? NOTHING! The pro-abortion people now control it all and there is NOTHING left to stop them. And you want me to be happy?!”

“I didn’t know that about Obama, but he’s good on other things. He’ll be better on the economy, won’t he?”

“It’s too much like socialism to me.”

“I’m not quite sure, what’s socialism again?”

“Never mind.”

“He’s better than Bush. He’ll get us out of our wars…”

Most people spouted anti-Bush platitudes or comments on personality, symbolism and appearances or how great it will look to the world. The euphoria from the acceptance speech the night before was what was driving most of them.

“Listen, we’re friends, and I sincerely wish I could really be happy with you today. But, with everything I know, I can only feel really upset and scared for my country.”

“You’re just mad because you lost. Isn’t he your President now? Shouldn’t you support him?”

“He is going to be my President and ours and I will pray for him every day. I won’t be disrespectful. But I’m not going to be quiet anymore; if he does the wrong thing I’m not going to pretend it’s just great and say nothing. And I’m not going to ACCEPT things like the Freedom of Choice Act or other things that could mean the ruin of our country. I won’t go along and say it’s OK.”

“Wow, you really threw a wet blanket on my day.”

“I’m really sorry. You know I respect you and you’re important to me and this shouldn’t get in the way of our friendship.”

“The feeling is mutual. Well, gotta get to work. See ya.”

Every single one of the people I talked to remain my good friends or working acquaintances. I think my honest reactions gave them pause for thought. Now we’ll all have to wait and see what happens over the coming days. I don’t think these Granite State friends will ever take the life issue for granted again.

We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy love
The sun so bright, it leaves no shadows
Only scars carved into stone on the face of it
The moon is up over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes….
I'll see you again when the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red over One Tree Hill

- U2, “One Tree Hill”

Stand Up, Barack! Part Doh! My God, What Have We Done?

2008-11-07T19:03:00.002-05:00

Stand Up, Barack! Part Doh! My God, What Have We Done?

*published on Flopping Aces*

You’ve got to hand it to Joe Biden. Sir Gaffe-a-lot tried to warn us about this guy, Barack Obama. For whatever reason, subconscious guilt, knowledge that he had made a dreadful mistake or whatever, he guaranteed a “generated crisis” for Barack within six months. He hinted heavily at what he had said openly several times before: Obama is not ready and there is something very disquieting about him.

Well, that “Stand Up, Chuck!” realization is spreading like wildfire. [To see the original “Chuck” incident, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2mzbuRgnI4]. Take a look around. A record 10% post-election stock drop did not really match any new information except for Obama’s election. Chris Matthews looked like he was about to soil his trousers, this time out of fear. http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/11/06/chris-matthews-my-job-to-make-sure-this-presidency-works/. Newsweek’s brave investigators are suddenly squeamish about not knowing who Barack is or what he wants using the words “creepy” and “deeply manipulative”. (See what they had to say on Charlie Rose: http://www.floppingaces.net/2008/11/06/newsweek-editors-obama-a-creepy-deeply-manipulative-creature/). There are several other examples.

Obama chose Rahm Emmanuel for his chief of staff. Here is another corrupt Chicago politician who is known to have operated as a ruthless shark; this gives us a clue that our feelings of misgiving are well-founded. A never-before-seen stand-alone transition team is meeting in sealed secretive silence doing who knows what. There is talk of forced voluntarism, a hint at that Civilian Homeland Military. There’s a sinking feeling rampant. A lot are wondering aloud about what Obama really thinks and what he is really going to do.

Well, why didn’t anybody find out about any of this BEFORE the election beside the marginalized “right-wing crazies” among whom I must be counted by the press’s reckoning? Because the press allowed Obama to amass his huge sums of cash, prime the polls and cover his past with nary a whimper from our ‘watchdogs’, we must now face the consequences.

Thanks, Joe Biden, for at least hinting at all of this before the election. Maybe there still is a Catholic conscience buried somewhere in that whirl of words that swirls around you. In the meantime, we feel the same anxious tension Joe threw out there last month. Will the real Barack Obama please STAND UP?!?

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

WHEN IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE…PRAY!

2008-10-25T10:33:00.008-04:00

WHEN IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE…PRAY!
*published on Flopping Aces*

The situation for Christendom in 1571, by any measure was impossible. The resurgent Ottoman Empire was poised to invade Italy, march up the boot and finally crush the Christian world out of existence. The earliest Arab Muslim empires had been more civilized and tolerant, perhaps, but the converted Turks retained many of their brutal ways; and now the time had come to finally destroy Europe. Ali Pasha had gathered a large fleet and army, had overwhelmed many of the Mediterranean islands with vastly superior numbers and vicious cruelty and what they would do to Europe was a horror just to contemplate in its certain fierceness and in its inevitable scope. [By the way, no ‘anti-Muslim’ prejudice is intended in telling this particular story.]

Pope Pius V (the future Saint Pius V) was virtually alone in seeing the threat. Europe was much too engrossed in the fratricidal religious struggles of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the venal impulses of nationalism. He finally did prod Phillip II of Spain to provide some ships and men and the famous Admiral Andrea Doria of Genoa joined under the leadership of Don Juan de Asturias, half-brother of Phillip. This 24-year old ‘Don Juan’ was the very same original profligate high-liver we associate with that name. This neophyte’s chances at keeping the fractious, disorganized, vastly outnumbered alliance together at all were dim at best, and odds of his defeating the far more experienced and dominant Ottoman force were infinitesimal. Everyone frankly considered the last-ditch effort doomed from the start, and any honest appraisal could actually come to no other conclusion.

What does a believer do at a time when the situation is absolutely overwhelming and impossible? Jesus had said something may indeed be impossible for us, but for God nothing is impossible. He promised us the power of prayer could pierce circumstances of time and space. Pope Pius called on all the people of Rome to pray a novena of Rosaries. [The idea of a ‘Novena’ has its origins in the nine days that Mary & the Apostles prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Rosary has always been amazingly powerful, I think, because it is so accessible and simple, sums up what Christians believe and can engage all levels of prayer.] All went to their churches praying for nine days.

The forces of the ‘Holy League’ went to confront the Turkish fleet off the coast of Greece at a place called Lepanto. Turkish spies reported that crushing victory was inevitable. Andrea Doria hoisted the blessed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which had been touched to the original miraculous image in Mexico. Don Juan called for the attack and at that moment the winds immediately turned to maximum effect. A series of more unforeseen and astounding events brought about the miraculous victory.

The Pope at that moment in Rome turned to his Cardinals and asked them to sing the Te Deum Laudamus for God had delivered the people. He said this though news was weeks away, for God Himself had somehow revealed it. Sure enough news came confirming the miracle. The Pope credited the act of faith by the people. From that time October 7 has been celebrated, now as ‘Our Lady of the Rosary’. Many historians regard Lepanto as the most momentous history-changing naval battle since Actium itself which created the Roman Empire. From that moment on, the Ottoman Empire began its long, steady decline into “the Sick Man of Europe” of latter days. It was impossible; but it happened.

Now we find ourselves in an impossible situation for our country. Most of the major powers-that-be are using every possible force, legal, illegal, nefarious and otherwise to foist upon us “The One” they have ordained. The media, the entertainment industry, millionaires, well-financed PR groups, ACORN, etc. etc. have declared the election of Obama inevitable.

The candidates for President and Vice President hold vastly disparate world views and visions for our country. So much that we as Americans hold dear and have fought to retain is subject to destruction if Obama is elected. Some examples, to name a few:

-- Right to free speech vs. the “Fairness Doctrine”
-- Free market economy Capitalism vs. Redistribution of wealth Socialism
-- The Pursuit of Happiness vs. Taxes, taxes, taxes
-- The inalienable Right to Life vs. the “Freedom of Choice Act”

What possible chance is there for those who still love freedom, the American ideal and independence? The answer remains the same. We must pray. I have heard of several groups beginning daily prayer chains. My wife and I are praying the Rosary and the Chaplet of Mercy every day in a deep way. When I saw a picture of John McCain with the same image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that won an impossible victory in 1571, it gave me hope. Hope when inspired by God’s will is unconquerable. Our Lady recently saved Mexico from a Marxist government. Perhaps it is God’s will that her Son save us now rather than later, and, hence, the entire world. Man proposes; God disposes. Let us truly turn to God and perhaps we may be delivered. Freedom isn’t free. It takes the total devotion of our lives and all we are. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, won’t you?
http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

STAND UP, BARACK! O GOD, WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?

2008-10-21T18:46:00.011-04:00

STAND UP, BARACK! O GOD, WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?
*published on Flopping Aces*

It seems everyone is talking about the latest absolutely amazing super-gaffe from Joe “Gaffe-a-day” Biden. (Everyone is talking, that is, except the major media organs of communication who are supposed to be reporting fairly. If I were them, I would camp out permanently right next to Joe for at least for a day, if only for the entertainment value! Forget for just a minute that you are a sold-out toady for the Messiah!)

I won’t bother to quote at length or recount all of the details at this point. Go to Glenn Beck today or other places like the following article by Matt Jaffe on the ABC News blog to see what he said: (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/biden-to-suppor.html).

Suffice it to say, Joe began blabbing about the possible foreign policy threats out there that are certain to strike us soon, and how Barack will stand up for us, when he realized in mid-blab that his guy is a foreign policy cripple in a wheelchair. Figuratively speaking, it is virtually the same double-take he did with Chuck, the wheelchair-bound politician of “Stand up, Chuck!” fame. When he realized the implications of his realization, he began to babble like a babble-head doll.

The sheer incoherence of what followed was absolutely breath-taking. Basically, he’s guaranteeing that Obama’s weakness WILL bring us a catastrophic attack, a la Khrushchev and Kennedy (which gave us the Bay of Pigs and nearly blowing up the world!). He tried to reassure everyone by resorting to one of his standard fallback positions - shameless, narcissistic boasting – saying he knows more about foreign policy than everyone else around (a move certain to make friends and influence his legislative compatriots). He’ll out-Cheney Dick Cheney and save the country when it seems like Barack is doing the wrong thing when he’s really doing the right thing. BLAAAAH! I can’t stand it! It seems like the truth keeps leaking out of the holes in this guy like water from a pin-pricked balloon.

[And they say Sarah Palin isn’t qualified?? My goodness, at least she’s faced down some tough customers and gotten a lot of things done! Biden has either been on the wrong side of things or he’s devolved into these nearly psychotic skeins of verbal folderol.]

Maybe he’s subconsciously trying to do all of us a huge favor and warn us all about the sheer lunacy of hiring a security risk who’s never run anything but radical community organizations to lead the world. He could possibly make Jimmy Carter look bold, experienced and decisive.

Please, anyone within the sound of my voice, listen to the nervous tension in Joe’s voice; I mean Joe the Plumber AND Joe the Babbler. Elect John McCain for the good of the country! Put country first before any other motivation which might be driving you. Don’t sell out. Be noble and STAND UP! STAND UP before you find you can’t or you are not allowed to…

“What Do You Do With a General When He Stops Being a General?”

2008-10-19T14:55:00.007-04:00

“What Do You Do With a General
When He Stops Being a General?”
*published on Flopping Aces*
Well, now we see; it is clear. Colin Powell is Obama’s October Surprise. Those who know better and have decided whom we need in spite of us are bringing in the biggest gun to secure their victory and make it clear for us.

Colin Powell is a very good man, by all accounts, in many ways. I’m sure he’s trying to be sincere. But like all of us he has weaknesses and tendencies that might explain why he was open to taking this move directly on behalf of Obama. What was he really doing this morning on “Meet the Press”?

This is my take. What Powell gave was an uninterrupted political speech not the argument of a statesman. (Tom Brokaw didn’t seem as concerned about time constraints this time, by the way; he must have left his stopwatch at home. Somehow, I don’t think Tim Russert would have left several of Powell’s points unchallenged like Brokaw did.) My wife’s remark as we watched him was: “he’s reading through a list of Obama campaign talking points, bullet point by bullet point. He’s not even coming up for air!” His tone and manner even sounded liked Obama’s, reassuring but lacking something somehow. Why did it seem this way?

Logical reasons don’t seem to be the primary justification for this move he’s made. Rather, his points seem to be political, power-sharing and influence-building more than issue-based or ideological. He seems more concerned about appearances, how he looks, how we ‘look’, “approval ratings” and our perception in the world. (For instance, I understand we need to build coalitions more than Bush has, but I think Obama and Powell are not really talking about that; they want ‘standing’.)

There are more clues in the programmatic points he made that indicate they are more ‘excuses’ than reasons. I would like to address some of them as examples of the overall pattern I see.

- If he really was “impressed” by Obama’s response to the current crisis, what exactly did Obama DO that impressed him so much? The one meeting he tried to conduct as an “executive” was an unmitigated disaster. His stated purpose was to pass the original version that had billions for ACORN. Thank God he failed. He also employed the “call me if you need me” method of leadership most of that time. McCain actually did help save us from the original bill and did get some safeguards put in, no matter what it looked like. I think what Powell is telling us is that Obama gives an IMPRESSION of ‘calm’ and he ‘looks presidential’ through the crisis while McCain ‘looked’ “erratic” in the codeword of the Obama campaign (even though he was the one who actually DID something). If this is what he’s really saying, then this is more evidence his move is a political one not a principled one.

- He claims to be very concerned about education. Does he really think the slavish toeing of the education unions’ line which is what Obama is really espousing has been or will be good for us? Does he not know what kind of “education” Obama was funding and promoting with Bill Ayres in Chicago? Shouldn’t he be for true “change” like vouchers or true teacher standards? But, I suppose, that wouldn’t ‘look’ right.

- Powell said the Republican Party is “becoming narrower.” This, once again, is all about impressions, vague characterizations and talking points as opposed to principle, records and evidence of actually doing something. Powell claimed Obama has somehow “widened” his approach. After all we’ve seen, is there anybody that’s been paying attention who, with full and firm conviction, buys any of Obama’s “post-partisan” rhetoric now? Ask the ordinary citizens who supported Hilary how THEY feel about his actual practices, for one thing. Ask the victims of the ACORN, Fannie Mae and other fiascos about the Alinsky tactics used against them. Who is it that has been ‘wider’ in the REAL world? McCain has lived it; Obama NEVER has and has done the opposite. John McCain has the proof of it in ways that has actually upset the so-called ‘narrower’ Republicans.

- His accepting of Obama’s “experience” and rejection of Palin’s seems to be totally based on what it will LOOK LIKE. Can the ‘poise’ shown in ‘running a campaign’ really outweigh real actions and the supervision of a very large budget or a business? Powell says he prefers how we’ll be perceived over actual records and accomplishments. Biden has been totally wrong and loopy at times in his foreign policy approach and he lied 14 times in 90 minutes during his debate with Palin, but he ‘seems’ more Presidential so he is preferable to that bumpkin Sarah?

So what’s really going on here? Why would he do it? My guess, because of the political nature of his polemic, is that it has everything to do with the fact that Powell shares the upper class, pro-choice, we know better than you socially liberal approach of Obama’s core support. His reputation in the military has been that of a rather ‘soft’ Beta male, in opposition to the Schwarzkopf types. He wants to be well regarded, I suspect, by his elite peer group. If that is so, Americans should recognize it as such. It seems pretty obvious to me that’s what he has done. Unfortunately, we are an image-driven society and the impact of this will probably be very large. We will need to work hard to get this insight out there, if we can.

Well, I hope he will take responsibility for making this move later on if it actually helps elect the least experienced President ever. He is spending the well-earned capital of his reputation in a very dubious way. I hope he will be strong enough to admit that the voices callin’ Powell were lying. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Emperor still has no clothes, even when a retired General says its so.

Joe the Plumber Flushes Out Senator Government!

2008-10-18T00:21:00.006-04:00

Joe the Plumber Flushes Out Senator Government!
*published on Flopping Aces*
How very revealing all of this has been, hasn’t it? Obama wandered onto the wrong street that day didn’t he? The question itself ‘flushed out’ Barry well enough. It forced him to pretty much admit his socialist mindset. I suspect the effect has been earth-shaking. Their internal polling must have alarmed them quite a bit or they wouldn’t have reacted they way they have.

And it is that very reaction that has even more successfully ‘flushed out’ the REAL Barack Obama, so fortuitously re-named by McCain as “Senator Government”. He and his friends have that Marxist impulse so perfected by Stalin of attacking the symbols which reveal their hypocrisy ruthlessly. As in Orwell’s 1984, they can produce their own reality, without worrying about the effect on their hapless victims. This is what they are trying to do to Joe. I won’t go into the details of the facts about him and their attacks. Suffice it to say, he was in no way a plant, he asked a question about a possible business, not his present situation. The inquisition he is undergoing in two days exceeds most of the MSM’s efforts investigating Senator Government for two years.

But I think they just may have overplayed their hand this time on the heels of what they did and are doing to Sarah Palin. I just went to one of her rallies and the crowd was truly astounding. Like the people of Solidarity or the non-violent crowds of the Velvet Revolution and their sister uprisings, many are simply not going to ALLOW themselves to be stampeded this time by the hackneyed ‘tell us what to believe’ cant coming from the old, far-left power bases. Their reaction reveals them as not agents of reform, but the most predictable socialist idealogues with the same failed ideas.

‘Senator Government’ has been flushed out by ‘the Plumber’.

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

’69 Celtics, double-knot Red Sox and the Audacity of Hubris

2008-10-17T23:20:00.006-04:00

’69 Celtics, double-knot Red Sox and the Audacity of Hubris
*published on Flopping Aces*

The Obamas are celebrating already. Michelle was ordering that lobster and caviar at the Waldorf. Plans for all the celebrations are, apparently, already moving forward at a feverish pace. Obama’s performance at the Al Smith fundraiser for the Catholic Archdiocesan charities, which was supposed to feature “comedy”, aroused in me a great deal of discomfort; he seems to lack true humor about himself despite the great lines written for him and there was a hard edge to some of his jabs. I think he takes himself very seriously. Contrast that with the deep, authentic self-deprecation and true joy in John McCain’s humor.

My sense is that Obama just can’t help himself and he’s getting ready for the celebration. Meanwhile, Comeback McCain seems to have this underdog mojo happening again like it has so many times. He actually seems to relish and thrive on it.

My memory was jarred. Hadn’t I seen and felt something like this before? My son was marveling over yet another Red Sox miraculous, historic comeback against the Rays last night. He made the comparison to Obama and McCain without even having seen the fundraiser. He said that he had the feeling that McCain was making a totally unexpected miracle comeback because of his authenticity, just like the Red Sox have done the past few years. I remembered the night in 2004 when the Red Sox were down three games to none to the Yankees after laying one of the biggest eggs in history. Curt Schilling simply said, “Why not us? Why not now?” The simple, stark, powerful truth of this statement impelled them to a remarkable team effort. Roberts stole a base and history was changed.

My son can’t remember, but I can never forget the very similar 1969 Celtics. They weren’t supposed to even make it to the Championship. They sure had a lot of pedigree and some nostalgic respect, but they were simply TOO OLD! It was Bill Russell’s last hurrah. The Lakers were the newest, exciting wave of the future featuring Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt the Stilt; they wowed everyone and swept to the Finals with a fresh sense of inevitability and celebrity. Celtics were yesterday’s news and the odds were all against them. Somehow, against any reasonable expectations, the over-the-hill gang made it to the Finals against the anointed ones. Then, lo and behold, they managed to scratch and fight and stretch it to a Game Seven; but it was the considered appraisal of the Lakers’ organization that the worn-out Celtics could not possibly have anything left to beat the new best team in the world. They loaded the balloons in the ceiling in Los Angeles. They purchased magnums of champagne on ice and all the accoutrements of celebration. Red Auerbach shrewdly showed this ostentation to his team before the game. In the final seconds, Nelsons’s shot bounced straight up and swished through the basket and Bill Russell had his eleventh Ring. The old fighters pulled off one of their greatest achievements.

I’m no seer and I’m not predicting what will happen, but I can sure see a lot of correlation. Several times in his career, John McCain has specialized in the improbable comeback. We’ve just seen it in the primaries again. The set-up is now almost identical to 1969. McCain has a LOT of pedigree and nostalgic respect but he has been presented by the Obama campaign as TOO OLD; his time has past! Obama is the new, exciting wave of the future, someone who has wowed everyone in the media with his fresh sense of inevitability and celebrity. Somehow, McCain has managed to keep it reasonably close toward the end, but it’s obvious to the Obama campaign that’s it’s over already or else they wouldn’t be doing these things they’re doing. But like Bill Russell, it’s obvious to me John McCain has some powerful shots left in his gun with bullets just right for the crises we face. I don’t think any one of us should be surprised on November 4 if McCain clanks one on the back of the rim and has it swish perfectly down through the net. And then Obama will have to do with all of his celebratory bric-a-brac whatever it is the Lakers did with theirs in 1969.

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/

THIS ACORN MIASMA IS GETTING NUTTIER & FRUITIER BY THE MINUTE

2008-10-13T13:50:00.006-04:00

THIS ACORN MIASMA IS GETTING NUTTIER & FRUITIER BY THE MINUTE

FBI voter fraud investigations in 13 States; tens of thousands of false registrations; $800, 000 funneled through third parties from the Obama campaign to ACORN; the attempt to give away BILLIONS to ACORN in the initial bailout bill; radical scare tactics on bank presidents to give bad loans; Barry's "community organizing" was training these ACORN thugs? Can it get any stranger or scarier? I think we better take some time to laugh…

Hey, they're looking for ya………Who?.................THE SQUIRRELS! [Pictures from Townhall.com]

ACORN-y Idea!

2008-10-13T12:41:00.005-04:00

ACORN-y Idea!
*published on Flopping Aces*
I come up with nutty ideas all the time. Here’s another one. Why not carry an acorn in your pocket when you go to vote. In the secret of the booth, take out the acorn and leave it as a nice decoration. It is fall, after all. It is symbolic of hope for renewal after the death of winter. The multiplying power of the seed in the acorn, the multiplying power of the vote: yes, it seems to be a perfect aesthetic and artistic statement! A lot of our “community organizer” friends should really ‘dig’ this as much as the squirrels do.

Mark A. Lajoie
http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/
http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

Hey, they're looking for you….Who?....The squirrels!!!

The New Obama Cabinet!

2008-10-13T11:10:00.010-04:00

*published on Flopping Aces*
These pictures are from Townhall.com.

Who are these people? You don't know? Let me try to explain.

Franklin Raines is the CEO who, along with Jim Johnson, made tens of millions from Fannie Mae, and then was used by the Obama campaign (Johnson to pick the Vice Presidential Candidate). Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, as you know, was given totally free rein to give massive amounts of bad loans. They, in turn, infected the entire sub-prime market, which in turn has helped tank the whole financial system. McCain and others tried to stop them. Obama, Frank and Dodd supported their dangerous schemes. Fannie Mae gave massive contributions to Obama, number two amount of money all time, next to Senator Dodd (head of the relevant committee), although Obama had only been a Senator for two years.

Ayres, besides being an unrepentant bombing killer, is actually very influential in the ultra liberal education elites. He believes capitalism should be destroyed, just like ACORN, the Annenberg grant in Chicago, and the Woods Foundation, on all of which he worked with Obama. Ayres gave Obama $50 million as his Annenberg chairman to fund their far-left education programs. How could Obama 'forget' they worked together? Why did he lie about how he launched his campaign in Ayres' home, saying the previous Rep. had arranged it, when she hadn't?

Tony Rezko is a shady far-left money man who has worked closely with Mayor Daley, the Governor of Illinois and Obama moving HUGE amounts of money, even to terrorist sympathizers. He is under indictment and is about to sing for a deal, although it's not clear who he's going to sing about. He 'helped' Obama with his real estate, as well.

I think you all know Wright, but the media doesn't point out he's a Marxist. No after life, Jesus is a black revolutionary, 'unconventional' morality.

And Marx? No one can doubt that moldy fellow played a large part in Obama's young political formation. If you look closely at the ideas and even the language used by Obama, you can see the effect is not negligible. You probably haven't heard any of this because most of the media is in the tank, a few because they do know his past and want to hide it, many because they love the idea of our electing the first black President. Hey, I love the idea, too. I just don't like the idea of putting a shady Chicago politician in charge with Pelosi, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and a dominant liberal Congress. If you are pro-life, especially, the idea should chill your soul. He voted against bans on born-alive and partial-birth abortions. Even 'pro-choice' people of conscience should be given pause at how radical that is.

The economic ramifications are also horrific. The 'middle-class tax cuts' he always talks about neglects to mention the ending of the Bush tax cuts = net loss for us. The 95% figure neglects to say only 60% PAY taxes. Today he told a plumber he wants to "spread the wealth around". Economic re-distributionism. Socialism. Wherever Communism or socialism has been tried, it's been a disaster.

At the very least, these consistently far-left associations show HORRIBLE judgment, if nothing else.

There have been MASSIVE amounts of false registrations in 13 battleground states across the country on OBAMA's behalf. They also specialize in intimidation of banks into giving bad loans. The Obama campaign tried to sneak $800,000 to ACORN through third parties. We should remember Marxism sanctions lying and skullduggery such as this. "The ends justify the means." Right at this moment, hearings in Ohio are trying to make sense of it all there.

Americans think they're getting a great 'treat' with Obama. If we actually look at what we are being handed? Maybe it's time to take stock – or not!

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ and http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

Ayres: “ ‘c’ommunist” More Than Terrorist

2008-10-08T17:06:00.005-04:00

Ayres: “ ‘c’ommunist” More Than Terrorist
*published on Flopping Aces*
The issue of Barack Obama’s ties to William Ayres has re-emerged in the closing days of the election, but I think even the McCain campaign is missing the salient fact. It is very true that having a friendship with a terrorist is troubling enough, but the evidence of a shared radical left agenda is far more troubling.

Bill Ayres, of course, was part of a radical offshoot of the notorious Weather Underground which bombed the Capital and the Pentagon and killed policemen. He was a leader of all this activity. In 2001 he said he wished he had done more.

Obama at first tried to claim to claim he was merely a “neighbor on my street”, but it soon came to light they had worked together for eight years and Obama had launched his campaign at his house. Could Obama had been the only person in Chicago who didn’t know about his tainted past?

As I said, having any association with anyone having this man’s past would be troubling enough. What if John McCain had known Timothy McVeigh? It is what they were doing together and how often that troubles me.

The Obama campaign and their helpmates the media have tried to portray him as a reformed person making contributions to society. This ignores the words he has spoken and the nature of his activities. He has described himself as “a small ‘c’ Communist”, saying he has preferred the writings of Marx to Lenin. He is a major force in education promoting far left thought, such as portraying our country as a militaristic bully whose capitalist system must be destroyed.

Ayres hired Obama as his Chairman of an Annenberg project on education in Chicago (and, by the way, how could you ‘forget’ someone who gave you $50 million dollars to spend?!). They worked together to pay outside radical groups to indoctrinate students in far left politics, specifically mentioning they should NOT push basics such as math and science. [The results were a total failure, in terms of any educational measures.] Ayres and Obama also worked together in the similarly minded Woods Foundation. Obama has pointed with pride to his work here. Further, the launch of Obama’s political career at Ayres’ house was set up by them; it was NOT set up by the previous State Rep. as Obama has tried to claim.

The main conclusion coming out of this is that Obama must share the radical views of Ayres, especially in light of all his other work and associations, such as his “community organizer” work with the far left group ACORN and his contributions to Wright and Fleger. Fill in this tableau with the voter fraud and mortgage bullying of ACORN which Obama, Frank and Dodd tried to sneak down our throats (to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars) in the initial version of the bailout bill, and we have a threat much more ominous than a mere association with a terrorist. Without stretching credulity much at all, we could be about to elect someone who wants to destroy capitalism and promote far left socialism. Can we really take that chance?

BETTER GET BETTER BASICS FOR BARRY!

2008-09-14T12:51:00.007-04:00

BETTER GET BETTER BASICS TO BARRY!

Barack Obama talked a lot the other night at Columbia about new, large government-sponsored ‘volunteer’ or ‘service’ programs. Volunteerism has certainly been a wonderful part of our national character and, yes, the government-related movements like the Peace Corps have been great examples of a healthy body politic.

However, I sensed that Obama sees the government’s role as pretty all-encompassing. His seeming preference for a more socialist approach is what I get out of lot of his remarks. We all remember other top-down ideas that have slipped out of Obama’s deepest psyche, like that Homeland Military Force that will be as strong as the Army (!).

I thought it might be time to go back and take a look at some classic Catholic social justice theory that makes so much sense in retrospect. I think Obama – and all of us – need a little primer on some ‘economy and society’ basics. Let’s take a look.

Leo XIII came out with the seminal encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” in the year 1891. It was followed up by other letters that built upon that good foundation. The basic idea from this tradition that I want to underline is summed up in two words: ‘subsidiarity’ and ‘solidarity’. In Catholic social theory, these two values are presented as tied together, balanced and equally necessary in a healthy society. I know, this all seems pretty abstract to start with, but hang with me, here. If we could just grasp this, a LOT of common sense can flow from it. What are these two words?

In Catholic thought, ‘subsidiarity’ simply reminds us that a healthy society is made up of a whole lot of small, strong, independent social groups – ‘subsidiary’ groups. You have youth groups, charitable societies, local governments, schools, the Elks, religious societies, etc. (By far, the most important is the family, nuclear and extended.)

In order for things to work right, each of these smaller, ‘subsidiary’ units needs to be respected by the larger organs of power. THE State, THE Church, THE Press, THE Armed Forces must respect the independence and integrity of each of these smaller groups for the good of all. These larger groups shouldn’t overawe or super-cede jobs that are properly done by the smaller groups.

What this means is, a large group, such as the government, should neither take over the smaller functions of the family through force such as in Communist or totalitarian governments or through a sort of benevolent ‘smothering’, such as in socialism. When decisions within families, such as how to educate the children or how they will be taken care of are taken over, the result is massive social injustice and disequilibrium.

When Hitler forcibly shipped youths to retraining camps, severed from their family and town roots, it served as great brainwashing but horrible social justice in the long run. Hallowed family and regional traditions which had humanized and stabilized were ripped out, leaving a moral vacuum ripe for the greatest horrors. Scandinavia’s 80% taxation and 6 AM to 8 PM daycare led to unprecedented levels of 5-year old suicides among other things before they lurched away from total immersion socialism. This is not some abstract idea. It’s really there and has real consequences when it is violated.

It was the genius of our Founding Fathers to build in and express respect for states and towns, families, churches and associations. It was this that de Tocqueville marveled about, because it worked so well. That’s why the ethos of ‘small-town America’ resonates so strongly when we see someone like Sarah Palin. (This is not to romanticize all ‘small-town’ values, by the way. I understand these places can, indeed, sometimes, be petty, parochial or prejudiced. The larger point remains.)

However, it’s not good to ONLY have respect for subsidiarity. What if all the small groups did whatever they wanted without regard to other groups or larger supervisory groups? That wouldn’t work, either. John Paul II warned not only about Communism, but, also, about untrammeled capitalism.

What is the antidote for such a danger? It is the idea of ‘solidarity’. (Have you ever wondered why John Paul used the word so much, or why Lech Walesa named his union with this word? Wojtilja knew how to put these classic ideas into practice in the real world!) This principle says that everyone should consider the whole of humanity or the larger group in whatever they do. We’re all in this together, after all. True, my grocery store can put up the price of milk far above wholesale if it wants and that might be good for the store in the short run, but how would that affect the needier people, and, therefore, the larger community? Patriotic sentiments and actions for one’s country are a perfect example of such ‘solidarity’. It might cost my family and my locality for me to serve in the military, but it serves the greater purpose of preserving the liberties of millions.

However, this ‘solidarity’ is absolutely USELESS if it is not entirely starting from one’s self; one must be acting completely from one’s own volition. (That is precisely where Marxism and socialism err, by theorizing that individuality is not important and conformity must be forced.) This internalization of ideals of solidarity is called virtue. If the larger organs of power seek to IMPOSE it, then it is NOT ‘solidarity’ at all! Solidarity must be learned on the knees of mothers, at truly free-standing schools, in the company of local friends and co-workers and in the pews of churches. It involves souls reared in such nurseries that go out “to give their lives to a cause greater than themselves”. Can you see the perfect balance of the two extremes: subsidiarity AND solidarity? Precisely because you are so respectful of the smaller, organic groups, you are able to more perfectly promote the whole.

Were you thinking about John McCain as I went through these principles? He is steeped in the language of respect for the small and devotion to the greater. He even uses the phrase “a cause greater than oneself” routinely, and it seems clear it’s really part of him. In this forum, and at Saddleback, the ease with which his convictions arose showed amply how this whole world view forms the warp and woof of his soul.

Can you also see how the Marxism which was apparently so prevalent in Obama’s learning and upbringing runs counter to all of this? Perhaps, that is why he can make some of the suggestions he has. Perhaps, he really believes what he said about the bitter small town Americans clinging to their guns and religion. Perhaps that’s why his campaign’s initial reaction to Palin was a denigration of small towns. Perhaps that explains his explicit espousal of the “What’s Wrong with Kansas” mentality.

We should help to defend and preserve a balance which is good for America, and, hence, good for the whole world. Without rancor, let us promote the election of McCain and Palin. We should maintain the great American balance as expressed in Catholic social theory and lived out across our country. We should not turn our country over to those who espouse the unbalanced, socialist approach. Any reasons we are being given to do so can’t be anything other than rationalizations. Any sudden conversions in Obama’s policies or statements are probably not to be trusted.

Recently he’s tried to talk out the lyrics of the balanced American ideal, but he’s seemed to speak as one who knows only the words and not the tune of the song. Maybe someone can get this basic academic information about subsidiarity and solidarity to Obama and it might help him understand what so many Americans believe and live in practice.

Is there somebody out there who would be willing to send these basic social ideas to Obama and company? Can I get a witness? I really think we had better get better basics to Barry.

Thomas More and the Cup to Nowhere

2008-09-10T21:01:00.005-04:00

THOMAS MORE & THE CUP TO NOWHERE
*published on Flopping Aces*
In the famous play and movie by Robert Bolt, “A Man for All Seasons”, we are told the inspiring story of Sir Thomas More. (He is ‘Saint Thomas More’ for Catholics. "He was the person of the greatest virtue these islands ever produced,” was the appraisal of the acclaimed Samuel Johnson. Fame also attends him as the humanist intellectual and friend of Erasmus who wrote Utopia.) More is a judge and a public servant who has a large family and a reputation for unusual honesty and self-application. He eventually becomes the number two official leader in the Kingdom, the Lord Chancellor. The tension of the piece lies in his refusal to publicly approve of King Henry VIII’s divorce and marriage to Anne Boleyn and the King’s break with the Catholic Church. This leads to More’s martyrdom. His devotion to conscience and ethics through all of this has provoked admiration from observers of every stripe, and rightly so.

In one key scene near the beginning, More, the judge, receives the gift of a cup as he is exiting the court to go home. He carries it absent-mindedly, a fact which comes to the attention of the office-monger Richard Rich. On the boat ride home, it is brought to More’s attention that the giver of the cup had a case in his court, opening the possibility it might be a bribe. Within a split second of hearing this news, Sir Thomas unhesitatingly dumps the expensive cup into the river.

Later, near the end of the play, at his trial for treason, the treacherous Judas figure, Richard Rich, attempts to make something of More’s cup, twisting the facts to imply that this man most famous for his honesty and probity had intended to take a bribe. More makes mincemeat of the whole smear by pointing out that not only was there no evidence he kept the cup but he ruled against the woman by whom he was supposedly influenced. [Rich later stole More’s head from his shoulders by outright lying under oath about his statements.]

Among the avalanche of ‘scandals’ thrown against the brass wall which is Sarah Palin, there is one which struck me as more legitimate. A ‘boatload’ of the others have been retracted or proven false almost as soon as they have arisen. However, the word has been trumpeted that Palin was “for ‘the Bridge To Nowhere’ before she was against it.” That would be troubling, if true. But I soon thought of St. Thomas More.

With More, much of the smear campaign did not ring true because he already had a record and a reputation as being unusually, notably honest. Most of the charges fell apart at his trial, despite the most powerful forces being arrayed against him. The cup charge seemed pretty bad at first. But, in the end, it became clear that More had simply gone down that road for a while, ignorant of the implications, and had dropped it as soon as he knew what was going on.

Palin has demonstrated through an undeniable pattern that she is a cost-cutter and a promoter of government ethics. Even most of her enemies concede as much. This ‘outlier’ of an ethics ‘poll’ strikes an impartial observer as suspicious immediately. It doesn’t fit the pattern. It seems like a proverbial straw being grasped at. After reading about the whole affair, it seems to me that we have a similar situation to More’s cup.

Palin has never said she was against the IDEA of a bridge there. (She has actually done a lot for the infrastructure of Alaska by the way.) In her speech, she said, “If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves.” That does not contradict the fact that she openly talked about the idea. Why not? Why not check it out and see if it’s feasible? Isn’t that what thorough executives do? She was not AGAINST the IDEA of having a bridge, at first. However, the undeniable fact remains that when Stevens’ federal earmark was brought to her for action, SHE SHOT IT DOWN (a fact Alaska Democrats tried to expunge from the State web site). The Cup ended up in the river. The Bridge never got there. That is the bottom line for this whole affair. She recognized it for the boondoggle it was, and dropped it like a hot potato; at some point, she also saw the IDEA itself was not going to be fiscally feasible and opted for a ferry instead.

Palin, unlike Obama, has a record and a reputation for actually doing things in terms of ethics and change. This is so true that she is being considered, rightly, I think, for the second highest office in the land, just as St. Thomas More was. Neither would have been considered if not for this.

The smear involving More’s Cup led to nowhere. It sunk without the support of a pattern. The enemies of Palin are trying to get across a solitary, contrived point that I believe will crumble and will lead nowhere. This is a Bridge idea that they will not be able to get across to anyone in the end because it cannot be sustained without a ‘suspension’ of belief. In fact, I think they will cross under that Bridge when it falls down.

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ And http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

Rocky Barracuda!

2008-09-04T20:15:00.008-04:00

ROCKY BARRACUDA
*published on Flopping Aces*
Rocky Marciano was quite a person. My friend, Coach Mac, used to be a pro fighter in Boston back then and knew Brockton and knew Rocky. As a young man, Rocky learned one hard lesson once. He jumped into an amateur boxing match one time, for the first time, and was winning easily, but he soon ran out of gas and lost on points. He swore to himself that he would never forget that lesson and he never did. (By acclamation, he is now regarded as one of the hardest trainers ever, someone who got stronger as a fight went on.)

He was routinely underestimated on his way to the championship. He was undersized with a very short reach. He seemed very awkward indeed and not very impressive. He came from a working class Italian family and refused to get involved with Mafia or dishonest boxing insiders. His generosity, family sense and integrity were sneered at by many. But he came up the hard way – the honest way. And nothing was going to stop him.

What they all didn’t realize is he was driven by the unconquerable power of virtue, faith and determination. And his seeming awkwardness was actually ingenious adaptation and humble learning as he went on. The fully developed Rocky used a great gambit. He tried to bait his opponents by their pride or lack of emotional control and when they came closer in a later round and let their guard down, he unleashed his awesome punches (which, at one point, were measured to be as strong as a jack hammer!).

This Wednesday night there is no doubt in my mind we saw Rocky Barracuda. The Democrats made the classic mistake of letting their anger, fear, and greed for easy victory lead them to take the path of the low blow. They convinced themselves they could rush in and finish off this young, helpless female, Sarah Palin, and destroy her. What they found on that night was every bit as devastating as “The Punch” that ended Jersey Joe Walcott’s fight, though he had been ahead on points. With powerful, honest, totally AUTHENTIC thrusts of oratory she displayed undeniably true strength.

She has been tried in a true crucible involving real people and true governance, not the artifice of Obama. She is true hope and change built in reality. And like the well-trained Rocky, who had paid his dues, the Barracuda showed the greatness in America that de Tocqueville came to love and admire.

With unexpectedly powerful punches she totally stunned the pretender and with thunderous blows she struck him like few have been struck before.

All I can say is, “Down goes Barry! Down goes Barry!”

http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ And http://mlajoie2.blogtownhall.com/

THE LYIN' KING!

2008-08-30T09:36:00.010-04:00

THE LYIN’ KING!
*published on Flopping Aces*
ZatU approached young Prince Obamba cautiously. He was getting kind of touchy lately.

“Young Prince, don’t you think it’s time in the story to go out into the wilderness and gain some experience to get ready to become King of the MAFUSA, the Most AwFul United States of America? To be ready, you should get out there, look at cloud pictures, talk to warthogs, meerkats and baboons, and grow up some.”

“Oh is zat u, ZatU?” said Obamba, distractedly. “Nah, I want to be King now.”

“But, you said in 2004 you wouldn’t have enough experience by now in 2008?” objected ZatU.

“No way, I CAN be King now.”

“You know you’re not REALLY Martin Luther King, right?

“I’m not?” mused Obamba, with some confusion.

“Well, do what you want, but that gang of hyenas you’ve been hanging out with – Fleger, Rezko, Ayers - can’t be a good thing. A real King is supposed to be FIGHTING the bad guys in this story and the evil schemes of that really old lion.”

“It’s all mine now. I was really roaring with that speech, setting the Table at Red Rocks in Colorado last night…”

“That was Invesco Field…and maybe you shouldn’t have quite so much pride before you are REALLY in charge of the pride,” cautioned ZatU.

“Everybody will be talking about that speech for days! I really showed that old warrior lion who’s big and tough and who can rule everything…”

“Well, actually the old lion chose a lioness to run with today and everybody’s been roaring about that. It seems like your speech is now PALIN’ in comparison,” joked the bird.

“All right, go out there and say: That lioness from a bitter small town hasn’t been out to look at cloud pictures; she hasn’t met flatulent warthogs or befriended mere cats, or doggies, for that matter. She hasn’t grown up enough or gone out to the wilderness to gain some experience.”

“Well, I hate to point it out but you haven’t either. And, she has been out to the wilderness. And, she actually did corner and cage a few corrupt hyena politicians and beat some of them in contests. She met no flatulent hogs but she got a big natural gas line running. Unlike you, Prince, she was in charge of a savannah between Russia and Canada and in charge of the Lion Guard and….”

“All right, all right, I don’t care, get out there and give my dissing message!’

ZatU went out and came back quickly looking like a ruffled bird.

“Well, what happened?” demanded Obamba.

“We’re in a bit of trouble, Prince.”

You mean they thought I was being mean-spirited and it made them think of my small town comments and my own lack of experience?”

“Yes.”

“That’s all right. I’ll go out there, blame it on you, and say a bunch of nice stuff about the lioness.”

“But what about your remarks before?” questioned ZatU.

“What do you mean MY remarks? YOU gave them,” Obamba said, calmly.

“You don’t mean, sir, that I have to….”

“That’s right, get under there, you annoying, sqawking bird!” cried Obamba, pointing.

“No, not that! Please?!” begged ZatU.

“That’s right! Under the bus! C’mon. Let’s go.....UNDER THE BUS!”

“Oh, all right, I guess I have to.”

“That’s right. I’m King.”

“Well, not yet.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but I will be VERY soon. And I just can’t wait to…”

“You’re not going to sing, are you? I’m beginning to think that old lion’s the GOOD guy.”

“Oh, ZatU? You’re still under there, ZatU? I forgot all about you. Yes, I’m going to sing all right, just like the King of Pop.”

“You’re not him either, you know.”

“Oh, you’re still there? Maybe not, but I will be soon!”

The whole enormous ensemble comes out on stage for the dazzling production number. EVERYBODY SINGS!

OBAMBA: I'm gonna be a mighty king, so Americans beware!

ASOB (ADVISERS STILL ON BUS): (whispering so Obamba won’t hear)
We've never seen a King of Pop
With so little savoir faire

OBAMBA: I'm gonna be the mane event
Like no King was before
I'm brushing up on looking down
I'm working on my roar

Oh, I just can't wait to be king!

I’ll be saying do this
I’ll be saying go there
I’ll be saying stop that
Don’t talk about Bill Ayers
Socialism’s bright new day
You’ll all be free to do it my way!

ASOB: I think it's time that you and I
Arranged a heart-to-heart

OBAMBA: Kings don't need advice
From little people for a start

ANUB (ADVISERS NOW UNDER BUS):If this is where the country’s headed

Count me out

Community service, out of Chicago

I wouldn't hang about
The Messiah’s really wildly left wing

OBAMBA: Oh, I just can't wait to be King!
Everybody look left
Everybody don’t look at Wright
(or with the Fairness Doctrine:) don’t look right

Everywhere you look I'm--

Standing in the spotlight

IRAQI TRIP REPORTERS: Not yet

OBAMBA: Let the country go broke and sing
Let's hear “just words” not future suffering
It's gonna be King Obamba's finest fling

Oh, I just can't wait to be King!

VOTERS: Oh, he just can't wait to be King!

OBAMBA: Oh, I just can't wait...Just can't wait

To be King!

[spoken] Call me Abraham, Martin or John….or Michael Jackson….or have Oprah call me when she's done crying…

I WANT MY SADDLE BACK!

2008-08-23T08:59:00.005-04:00

*Published on Flopping Aces*
I WANT MY SADDLE BACK!

“Now let me get this straight,” the chief cowhand, Joe Voter said, looking up to Barry sitting on the horse. “Now, I know you come pretty highly recommended on this paper, but you want to be trail boss of this whole drive and you have no experience? Why didn’t you say that up front?”

Barry shifted uneasily in the saddle. “Well, you didn’t ask. Besides, I feel very confident I can do it, between me and my Chicago posse here.”

“Are you sure you’ve even ridden a horse before? I’m letting you sit in my saddle but you look a little…”

“Bull! I wrecking I’ve ridden a bull!”

“You wrecking…And your name is “Saddleback Barry” Barack Soetero Obama?”

“Always has been, ever since the day I was born.”

“You were always called ‘Saddleback’?”

“That’s what my staff…or, my posse, tells me.”

“Oh…OK. Well, what kind of experience do you have with herds?”

“Oh! Well! I’ve HEARD all kinds of things, especially as a lawyer in Chicago, in the few cases I was in…wow, did I hear…”

“No! No! Not hearing…”

“What was that you said?”

“Not hearing!”

“What?”

“HERDING! HERDING!”

“Hurting? No, no injuries whatsoever of any kind, I am not hurt at all.”

“NOOOO! Not ‘hurting’, ‘herding’, as in herding animals!”

“Oh, that’s right, that’s what this job is, right?”

“Yes!”

“Wait!” Barry giggled nervously, “Let me consult my posse, here.”

Barry whispered furiously with his posse.

“OK, I did have experience in Chicago herding cats…”

“NO! NO!” the posse whispered furiously and spoke in Barry’s ear.

“Ha, Ha, I misspoke, uh, because my gang, or, my posse told me the, uh, wrong thing. What I meant to say is, and what I’ve consistently said, is I’ve herded DOGGIES.”

“Dogies! Dogies!” whispered the posse.

“Doughgees…” said Barry quietly.

“Did you just say ‘doggies’?” asked the chief cowhand.

“Doughgees, of course,” replied Barry, matter-of-factly.

“I could have sworn…”

“You must have misunderstood,” Barry said with a deep smile.

“So, you’ve herded dogies, have you?” said the cowhand, suspiciously.

“Oh, yes, I lived near cattle in Indonesia…”

“What’s your approach to rustlers?”

“Rustlers?” said Barry blankly.

“You know, if they tried to steal some of the cattle, how would you handle it?”

“Well, I wrecking I’d have to sit down and have a talk with them.”

“Talk? What would you say?” asked the cowhand.

“I’d say, maybe they shouldn’t be stealing cattle, that’s what I’d say!” cried Barry.

“Do you mean you’d set some conditions, say how the sheriff is backing you up, threaten to get a warrant, set guards, or…”

“Oh, yeah, all of that stuff. I’ve always said that. And I’d attack the Pakistan ranch.”

“The Pakistan ranch? They’re working with us on the drive! I’ve got some suspicions about them getting a little action on the side but…”

“I heard some of your cowmen say some cow-stealers are there,” said Barry earnestly.

The chief cowhand stood with his mouth open for a while. “Listen, I have one last question. Please describe to me your philosophy of keeping track of the different breeds on the drive and how would you approach branding.”

“Listen, buddy, I don’t want anything to do with breeding and cows. I’m sure they know how to do that themselves. That’s WAY above my pay grade as trail boss. But you should hire ME because I’ve HEARD of all the great ways to move doughgees together without HURTING any of them. And I HOPE you know, I CHANGE my clothes often so I will not be stinky to my fellow cowhands. And I know how to work well with all of them and to bring all the different kinds of cows together. Branding is prejudice and I would treat all the cows equally. Thank you.”

“You are unbelievable,” muttered the chief cowhand in disbelief.

“Thank you very much!” cried Barry enthusiastically.

“How DID you get this far.”

“I came by bull. By the way, wouldn’t you want to know who my assistant trail boss would be?” said Barry, coyly.

“No, but go ahead,” the discouraged cowhand replied.

“I’m not going to tell you yet,” teased Barry.

“Why not?” inquired the cowhand.

“I’m just BIDEN my time,” Barry chuckled.

The chief cowhand turned to an older cowboy standing nearby. “Hey, Mac, I know I said you might be too old to lead this drive this time. I bought what some of the Libby cowboys were telling me about this guy and I admit now I was wrong. At least, you know what you’re doing and you got plenty energy enough.”

The cowhand turned to Barry and said, “And you, you got no paperwork showing what in tarnation you did in Chicago and I don’t care. Get out of here.”

“Humph! You don’t know what you’re missing. You’re all so BITTER around here with all your guns. I didn’t want to stay here anyway. The price of arugula is too high. If you’re not smart enough to know who I am destined to be, it’s your loss. Humph!” Barry said, turning away.

“Wait! Come back here!” said the cowhand.

“Oh! You want me after all?” said Barry, expectantly.

“No, Saddleback Barack,” he said, “I want my saddle back.”

David Up, SAUL Down (‘S’all Downhill From Here)

2008-08-16T23:00:00.004-04:00

*’David and Saul’ by Rembrandt*

David Up, SAUL Down (‘S’all Downhill From Here)

The first two kings of Israel were King Saul and King David. They are often contrasted. David is beloved; Saul is a tragic figure. David is great and famous; Saul is often forgotten though he started out so well. Yet, I have noticed something peculiar about this. Saul and David are amazingly similar people! The question becomes, why did they turn out so very differently? How do we discern the difference between truly great leaders on one hand and talented but flawed ones on the other? In the answer, I find a connection to the present situation. I want to dive into the admittedly murky world of character and personality and find some patterns of coherence.

The fact is that Saul and David were amazingly similar in several ways. Let us map out some of those similarities:

Topic Saul David
Personality Melancholic Melancholic (Ps 51)
Temperament Artistic Artistic
Music Loved Music Played harp; Psalms
Prophet Stayed with them Spoke prophetically
Background Poor/rural; cattle Poor/rural; sheep

We could further argue that David’s sins could be seen as far worse than Saul’s:

Saul’s Sins David’s Sins
Impatiently offered sacrifice Committed adultery
Though not a priest (I Sm 13:9-14) Abuse power (2Sm 11)

He broke ‘the Ban’ kept best things Engaged in a cover-up
For self and lied (I Sm 14:9)

Consulted Witch of Endor, Conspiracy/murder
Forbidden by Moses (I Sm 28)

If David’s sins seem worse, why then did he succeed where Saul failed? Where does the difference lie? It is in their respective reactions & spiritual attitudes:

Saul David
Zeal for maintenance of his ‘self’ “Man after God’s Heart”;
Jealousy, envy of David extreme Positive reactions

He was narcissistic, didn’t care Generous/forgiving;
enough about God to be reverent Didn’t kill Saul; reverent

Lying showed he didn’t care; When confronted he was
He no longer believed in God; Truly repentant/sorry
Fell in despair (consulted witch) Accepted consequences

The bottom line with Saul is he, deep down, ceased being devoted to God. His own self-importance was always the reference; the result was that he was ‘wishy-washy’ or ‘slippery’. When confronted with the evidence of offering sacrifice himself, he never admitted guilt; he tried to plead his case, seemingly clueless about the obvious impiety he was modeling for his people. He had to ‘look good’ no matter the cost. When he broke the Ban, he did what we call in politics ‘spinning’. He intended to do the right thing all along; he just was going to do it a little later and he certainly wasn’t intending to keep for himself what belonged to God. In other words, he lied. He seemed to have that awful problem: he could never admit he was wrong. So, when he started to approach personal disaster, instead of changing his ways or turning to God in His mercy, he committed what amounted to an act of despair: he went to consult the Witch of Endor, an act expressly forbidden by the Law of Moses. In the end he committed the ultimate act of despair: suicide.

The difference in attitude with David is evident in many situations and events. His frequent sparing of an enemy’s life demonstrates why I Samuel calls David “a man after God’s own heart”. However, the one event in particular I want to consider is how David reacted to Nathan’s Parable of the Lamb. He had slid down a terrible path that started with selfish lust (a very familiar starting place for trouble for so many!). At several points he could have turned back, but he eventually went down the sordid path of voyeurism, adultery, cover-up, murder and conspiracy. He thought he had successfully covered it up. But the prophet Nathan confronted him about Bathsheba:

1And the Lord sent Nathan to David: and when he was come to him, he said to him: There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor.

2The rich man had exceeding many sheep and oxen.

3But the poor man had nothing at all but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and which had grown up in his house together with his children, eating of his bread, and drinking of his cup, and sleeping in his bosom: and it was unto him as a daughter.

4And when a certain stranger was come to the rich man, he spared to take of his own sheep and oxen, to make a feast for that stranger, who was come to him, but took the poor man's ewe, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

5And David's anger being exceedingly kindled against that man, he said to Nathan: As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this is a child of death.

6He shall restore the ewe fourfold, because he did this thing, and had no pity.

7And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man! - II Samuel 12:1-7a (D-R)

David was confronted directly with what he had done. Now, in a ‘do or die’ moment, he had a decision as to how he would react. Such moments are the measures of character and virtue. Now, how could have David reacted? There are several possibilities:

- He could have done what Saul did and ‘spin’ or justify himself: “mistakes were made”, ‘the buck never got here’.

- He could have denied it outright and gotten away with it as king (like Clinton, he could have said, ‘I did not…have…sexual…relations with that woman…Ms. Bathsheba”.) Many would want to believe him.

- He could have used the simple argument by force and had Nathan killed to shut him up (there are too many examples of this to list!).

- He could have pretended to be sorry and not really done anything to make it real. He could have put on a big show.

But what did he do? He admitted he was wrong! “I have sinned against the Lord,” he said quite simply. Read Psalm 51 slowly, which David wrote at the time, and see greatness of soul incarnate. By many actions, he took ownership and tried to make up for what he did. Further, he reached out to Bathsheba. Imagine her position. David could have done what most all men do in like situations and abandon the ‘other woman’ like a hot potato. What he did was to reach out to her in comfort. Their child had died after all of this; what did David do? He married her and provided her with a ‘love child’ in the best sense of the term, Solomon, who would go on to build the Temple. We all err; we all have sinned. David showed true humility. He showed authenticity.

A further aid in this exercise comes from the New Testament. Saul is comparable to Judas in the Gospel. He wasn’t the only one to betray the Lord. He even had some recognition that what he had done was wrong. But in the end, it was really all about him; it was about his view of what Jesus should represent, his appraisal of the possibilities of mercy. He, like Saul, committed suicide; he gave up. David, on the other hand, is comparable to Peter who sinned & repented. What Peter did is really no better than what Judas did, but he was able to look beyond himself and see it wasn’t all about him. “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Tend my sheep! Feed my sheep! Feed my lambs!” Pour your life out for those given into your care. He did and he changed the world for the better.

Now I will give my opinions on the candidates. Which is more like Saul? Which is more like David? Such an enterprise can seem like a Rohrshach Test. You can’t quote chapter and verse and link to a campaign website to ‘prove’ anything, really. These are moral observations to which, perhaps, you, as a reader, will not relate to, or which you will deny completely and vociferously. So be it. But this is the sort of thing which explains why we have interviews for jobs, not just resumes and references. Parts of interviewing are fact-finding and informational; but there’s something more that’s not quite so definable. Just talking to someone can show you something about what makes them tick. With that being said, here are my impressions.

John McCain often talks about one lesson he learned over the years as a general concept. It is expressed many ways: e.g. become devoted to a cause greater than yourself; you are not the most important; your country, your culture, your family are. We should note this really isn’t something he talks about all the time in terms of his own life. He doesn’t often mention his adoption of children from Mother Teresa or his sons in the military and Iraq. These are attitudes you learn by doing. I think he’s learned hard lessons from what he did. There seems to be ‘authenticity’.

Now has McCain been sinful and selfish? You bet he has, and he’ll be the first one to tell you. And there’s nothing wrong with mentioning his faults and failings; he’s running for President; we need to put it all out there. Did he break under torture? Mention it. Was he a prodigal underachiever in his school days? Mention it. He does, too. A lot of political enemies this election have attacked him for the divorce with his first wife and remarrying. What they don’t mention is how those kids love and revere him as much as his other kids. The difference here is he has fully admitted his guilt and has tried to make up for what he has done. Although he did nothing legally wrong in the Keating Five Scandal, he reacted by admitting his guilt & becoming a crusader for reform. This is the basic reason I think that I started to take a look at this man. Go ahead and attack him, McSame, McLame, he cheated on his wife, mention all the real faults, go ahead and try to twist everything to make him ‘look’ bad. Go ahead. It’s not fair. But it won’t change the deep down fiber built up in this man. And he can take it. In short, John McCain reminds me of King David. He shows ‘humility’.

Now what has been the personal performance of Obama? One thing that has stood out to me is that he can not seem to admit he was WRONG. There are many instances of this; one example is the Katie Couric interview when she desperately tried to pin down a very evasive Obama. Do you remember the exasperation he showed? He seems ‘slippery’. He seems ‘touchy’ or self-important.

There is a definite tendency to want to spin things, creating the appearance of something, not merely flip/flopping, but being on multiple sides of an issue! Even allies have noted this and been sorely disappointed. An example is the stunning flop on PRINCIPLE in the FISA vote. He seems ‘wishy-washy’. He often seems to be ‘spinning’.

I don’t want to bother listing all of my impressions, but I do want to mention the ONE particular thing, that decided it all for me. He voted against a bill, a bill that would have banned killing the victims of abortion that are born alive; three times he voted against it in the Illinois legislature. He then said he would have voted for the version in the Senate because it had certain language. (We have since learned he voted against one version in committee in Illinois that did have the same language; he lied.) [See the article by Freddoso in National Review on August 14, 2008 and see my post on this at my blogspot, http://mlajoie2.blogspot.com/ or at Flopping Aces. Connections are there to lead you to these and other facts.] Like Saul and his stepping in for the priest to sacrifice, Obama seems to have no concept how such impiety sets an awful example. To play around with this issue like that gives me the impression of someone who will rule like Saul.

Young Saul actually started out as a very popular choice for king, but he was doomed to tragedy with dreadful consequences for his kingdom. To me, Obama is like Saul. In my heart and in my gut, if we elect Barack Obama, ‘s’all downhill from there.

HOPE AND CHANGE...YOUR CLOTHES!

2008-08-14T12:29:00.012-04:00

*Published on Flopping Aces*
HOPE AND CHANGE...YOUR CLOTHES!

“Hold still, will you, Uncle Sam?”

“I’m sorry. I just don’t feel right about this. Where’s that resume again?”

“Resume? My samples are my resume! EVERYbody I’ve done ALL my work for has been VERY satisfied,” Barry said, winking slyly to his friend Libby.

“Weeelll,” stalled Sam.

“These old red, white and blue duds are so ‘passay’, Sam. Get with the times!”

“I just can’t see it.” Uncle Sam shrugged.

“Neither can I,” agreed Joe Voter.

“All you need is Hope, remember? OK, I guess we’ve got to do it again. Let’s all chant it…ready?”

“Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!”

“I know Spanish, too. (Well, maybe not...) Let’s go”

“Si, se puede! Si, se puede! Si, se puede!”

“You should be able to see these underpants now. Everybody see them?”

“Yes I can,” commented one, followed by general agreement, everyone glancing nervously around.

“See, we have pink and sky, no over-strong red and blue. Notice the ultra-hip swoosh pastel design, tastefully placed,” said Barry chuckling as he looked around, inviting reaction.

“Oh, yes, tastefully placed…funny!...Ha! Ha!” everyone commented and laughed.

“So these “Energy Wear” undies have plenty of renewable energy options and futuristic, with-it …”

“But how are we going to be covered now with no new-coal technology, no nuclear, no drilling? We should have those, too. It’s going to take decades for those other options…” objected George.

“George. George!” said Barry grabbing George’s face in his hands. “You’re too practical! You want drilling? All right, let me put this nice ‘drilling’ sticker on. Everybody see?”

“Sure!” “Oh, yes!” “I see it!”

“Here is your ‘No Conditions’ vest.” Barry said, holding out his two hands, as if holding a vest. “Unfortunately, it’s only good if things don’t get too hot out there in the world, but it sure looks good and that’s what’s important! Go ahead, put it on.”

“You’re putting me on,” deadpanned Sam.

“Oh, no, you misunderstood. Put IT on,” said Libby, chuckling.

Sam put ‘it’ on.

“It’s a little drafty,” noticed Sam.

“Yeah, we may have to say we changed it, add some ‘conditions’” muttered Barry absent-mindedly. “You’ll get used to it. There’s really nothing to this,” insisted Barry, winking knowingly once again to Libby.

“Now, here is the 'piece de resistance', your ‘Save the World Poverty Bill’ T-shirt worth only $845 BILLION dollars!” cried Barry, triumphantly!

“Isn’t that a trifle pricy?” objected Sam, weakly.

“You ARE kidding me, Sam, right? This is what makes the whole ensemble work! Think how GOOD you are going to look to everybody in the world!” argued Barry.

“How much is all this costing?” asked Sam, timidly. “That white Universal Health Care shirt with the extra long arms you were talking about, the one that’s fastened with tacks, or taxes, I was already going to charge that on credit and…”

“Oh, no need to talk about that now. Give me credit for knowing what I’m doing,” Barry smiled sweetly. “Here’s our next piece, the Home Militia beret…”

[Fast forward to January 20, 2009]

“Well, it’s show time, Sam. Walk out there and impress the world!” cried Barry.

Uncle Sam walked out. Total silence reigned. Young toddler, Baby Blogger, broke the silence, “MOMMY, UNCLE SAM HAS NO CLOTHES!”

Vladimir Putin started applauding one clap at a time, very slowly, breaking the silence. “I see you are enjoying the services of this tailor. He is like many I have commissioned myself. I have really looked forward to seeing you like this. It’s the real you!”

China, Iran, North Korea and a dangerous-looking group nodded their heads vigorously. Everyone else gasped.

Uncle Sam blushed about as red as the rear end of a naughty boy. He turned to Barry, “YOU did this to me! And now, I’ve got no money to buy a real suit with proper red, white and blue. Why, you’re fired!”

“Uh, uh, UHHH! (I just love saying uh, uh, uh.) Tsk! Tsk!” said Barry, taking out a scroll and letting it unroll, “We’ve got a contract for FOUR YEARS! Bwah, ha, ha, ha! Bwah, ha, ha, ha! BWAH, HA, HA, HA!....”
……….
“This is a NIGHTMARE!” cried Sam, as he shot bolt upright in bed.

“Yes,” replied Dr. Madison calmly, “That seems to be a nightmare you just had.”

“This is the worst one yet.”

“Our unconscious mind often warns us about the path an illness might take IF we don’t seek treatment,” commented the doctor wisely.

“Well, where are those good-old Maverick pills? They may not be flashy, but they have a proven track record of working, not like the snake oil that skinny fella with the big ears had me swallow.”

“Uncle Sam, we’ll all keep you right on schedule!” cried all the nieces and nephews.

“I know for a fact you guys care about me. You’re all so anxious to give me bad-tasting medicine that’s good for me, aren’t you?” joked Sam.

“Oh, yes, we love seeing you take bad-tasting medicine!” they cried.

Sam picked up the cut-glass bottle Obama had given him. “I guess I understand the slogan on this bottle of snake oil now: ‘Change…There’s Nothing To It’.”