Another Hideous City Council Farce

In our latest bill from the City of Wichita for our water usage is this flyer: H2O-flyer-PDF

Front view:

 Back view:

Here is the City of Wichita video presenting the deep compassion of this new program:





At 1:28 in this video the presenter says:

   

It is so important to me, especially after the last water bill raise.

In the opening portion of the video she says:

This month, the City of Wichita City Council approved a new program, known as the Help₂Others, H₂O, Care Fund.  It provides a way for people to make donations, so that others in our community can keep their water on. As you know, this has been an ongoing problem for the last year or two.

Over the last few years I have called to complain about the outrageous increases.  With each increase was another excuse.

The last time that I called can you guess the answer that I was given?

I was told that the City is punishing us for using water.

This is UN Agenda 21 being implemented without actually acknowledging it.

Yes, this has been an ongoing problem.  With one of the rate hikes we were told that it was because we had not used enough water.

Yes, the City claimed that it could not meet the Water Department’s budget because people had conserved too efficiently.  So the City raised the rates to steal more money from us.  If less water is used, so also less cost is demanded of the corporation called “The City of Wichita.”  But they are seeking to make money, not merely to meet budgets.

Now they are spending money on a program and its propaganda, to urge citizens to give compassionately for the poor people whom the City Council has broken financially.

Surely we should be deeply moved by the compassionate approval of this program.

What fools we are.  We have allowed them to raise our rates endlessly, with truly asinine excuses that change with the wind.

What has happened to all of the increased revenue?  Where has it gone?  Why do the City Council members not simply use these excess funds to help those whom they have broken?

Why do the people of Wichita continue to allow such frauds to hold office and to abuse the populace?

. . .

Perhaps the more pertinent question is “Why do I continue to imagine that attempting to call people to be aware with the hope of action on their part is a worthwhile venture?”

Twice we voted down the building of an undersized arena in the downtown area.  Twice they put it on the ballot and we said “NO!”  Then they told us that they were building it anyway and that they would make us pay for it, putting on the ballot two choices as to how we would allow them to steal our money.  Our sales tax rate was increased as a result.

They continue such abuses and they continue in office.

They raise our water usage rates because we don’t use enough water.  They raise our rates because we use too much water.  They raise our rates because the rates are too low.  They raise our rates without justification several times.  They raise our rates to help pay to pump river water into the aquifer.  They raise our rates because they want to raise our rates.

Now they want us to raise our rates voluntarily!

The truly disheartening reality is that people will do it.

Even more disheartening is the realization that people will believe that this money will be used to help others.

How soon after this will the next non-voluntary water rate increase be implemented?

. . .

How Does One Respond to Deliberate and Malicious Misrepresentation?

How does a person respond to deliberate misrepresentation by an attacker?  How should one respond to one who takes clear facts and twists them into something other than what they demonstrate in order to hurt the presenter and his reputation?

This is what my friend the Canadian Atheist has done to my presentation of my father’s loving actions that is presented in the post below.  He has taken my father’s acts of love, that I clearly presented as acts of love, and has labeled both my father and me as abusive people who should be avoided or even arrested.

His reasons?  Prejudice toward religions and especially toward the God of the Bible and those who fear, love, and trust in Him.  He is an atheist.  As such he wants to eradicate all faith in God.  He wants all people to be turned from faith in God to trust in themselves and their governments, and in his religion of his own version of secular humanism.  He would like to see all other religions annihilated.

He actively pursues this end, while denying that he seeks this.

So how should one whom he has attacked and tried to label as dangerous respond?

Well, the God whom he rejects, while trying to label his rejection as something more innocuous, says to recognize him as one who has made himself an enemy.  He declares that this is necessary so as to know to avoid his attacks, and to recognize him as one who needs forgiveness, love, and prayers on his behalf.  The God whom the Atheist rejects says not to return evil for evil, but to do good to all.  This God teaches and declares this in both the Old and New Testaments.

The Atheist says of the writers of the Biblical texts: “Don't take the word of men who wrote those texts in a time when the wheelbarrow was considered emerging technology.”  Wow!  I wonder whether we should treat Pythagoras and his algebraic and geometric writings with this same contempt.  Perhaps we should disregard that chariots and various gear driven machines were used by the ancient Egyptians of Moses’ era and even long before.

More importantly, however, we should ponder the message of these men moved by the Holy Spirit.  The Atheist says that their message of not seeking vengeance upon those who wrong them is outdated and should be ignored.  He says that the preaching of Jesus that we should “Love our enemies and bless them” is dangerous and should not be taught to our children.  He says this while he takes the loving actions of my father to protect his young son from danger and twists these actions and says that my father should have been arrested.

I shared in very clear terms that my father was very careful in his demonstration regarding the need to fear the hot stove.  My father held his own hand on the burner for two purposes.  The first was to guarantee that it would be safe and that no possible harm, bodily or emotionally, would come to his son.  Secondly, by holding his own hand on the burner he demonstrated that he could be trusted, even when the immediate reflex would seem to teach otherwise.

As I presented in my post, his lesson was very effective in both regards.  I was taught to understand the association of the word “Hot” with heat and with danger.  I also was taught to trust my father’s judgment in such matters and to respond to his loving voice and command of warning.

This enabled my father to save my life on multiple occasions. It enable him to steer me clear of many dangerous situations throughout my life.

From the Burn Foundation web site:

Safety Facts on Scald Burns

Hot Liquids Burn like Fire

Over 500,000 scald burns occur annually in the United States.
The two highest risk populations are children under the age of 5 and adults over 65.

Also at this site is this recommendation:

Consider marking a "NO ZONE" in front of the kitchen stove. Teach children to remain out of this zone. This can be done with colored tape on the floor.

Oh, for sure!  Curious toddlers and children under 5 will surely benefit from this!


The Shriners Hospitals for Children’s site says:

Every day, hundreds of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms. They were not even near a flame. The children are victims of scalds.

Clearly, this is a real danger. Scald burns (caused by hot liquids, steam or foods) are the most common burn injury among children age 4 and younger. According to Safe Kids USA, an average of 12 children ages 14 and under die from scald burn injuries each year. Children ages 4 and under account for nearly all of these deaths.

While the injuries and the numbers are distressing, even more disturbing is the fact that many of these burns could have been prevented.

O.K.  HUNDREDS of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms EVERY DAY!

Wow!  Doesn’t that sound like FUN?

My father took action to make certain that anyone in the family could turn his children away from such danger with a single word.  The Atheist says this is child abuse.

The Atheist also says: “Your children have rights and no parent is an overlord.”

Tell this to a child whose parents drag the child kicking and screaming to receive a vaccination or to the dentist’s office.  Tell this to the child who wants to go down the stairs to the basement and the parents block the path with barriers.  Tell this to the child who wants to investigate the kitchen cabinet and the parents have installed protective locks.  Tell that to the child who is throwing a temper tantrum because TV privileges have been taken away.

As a hospital chaplain in a research hospital I witnessed children whose parents gave consent for their children to be strapped in a bed and denied water and told that they could only receive a tiny dampened sponge on which to suck.  I observed young children who cried and screamed every time that a person in a white coat walked past the doorway. I’ve been with children who cried “No.  No!”as they received bronchial drainage treatments for cystic fibrosis.  I’ve been with children who were crying because they were told that they would have their limbs amputated.

For the sakes of the children, let’s be honest.  For the safety of the children, let’s face reality.  For the parents’ sakes, let’s not label their loving lordship over their children as criminal activity.

It is quite frightening to realize that social workers with prejudices like these demonstrated by the Atheist have the power to make criminals of parents.  He says that my father could have been arrested for his actions.  His implication is that he would seek to make this happen today.  He points to laws that empower such injustice, where acts that are not abuse are labeled and punished as abuse.

Indeed, parents today face such fears.  Over the past year people have also been arrested for handing out free bottles of water to thirsty passers by.  People have also been arrested for giving free food to homeless people.  Here in Wichita a group was legally prevented from setting up a free meal center for the poor and for the homeless because of prejudice against the poor and homeless who were not wanted in the area.  And yes, in each of these instances that I mention, it was people professing to be Christians who faced these legal hindrances.

Future comments will not be allowed apart from an apology for the disgraceful twisting of the truth with hurtful intentions.  Any comment other than an apology will be deleted, as these attacks are not helpful, honest, or in any way for the good of others.

What I present on this web site is in the name of the God of Love in accord with what He has revealed in His Holy Scriptures.  Those who desire to hear and read of this God and His self-sacrificing actions on behalf of His children will find this doctrine proclaimed here, along with comments about issues facing us all in this world of corruption and sin.  No one who does not like God and His written declaration of His will and interaction with mankind, and does not want to hear of Christ and His Church, will not find this site at all to one’s liking.

I desire nothing but good for all.  This is what I receive from the Lord my God.  This is what I in turn desire for all.

Regarding my earthly father and his dealings with me, no other human being is in a better position to evaluate the goodness of his fatherly care.  No one else has a right to judge him with a judgment contrary to what I myself testify concerning his relationship with me.  I bear witness to his tireless and self-sacrificing love toward me, love that imitated the love of the Lord to both my father and to me.  Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and is way out of line.

On two occasions, my dear father expressed his concern about failing as a father.  I acknowledged that he had failings, and assured him of both God’s forgiveness as well as ours. I also reminded him of the things of primary importance, all of which he faithfully and consistently fulfilled.  I assured him that the things that I and the rest of the family needed most from him he had given to us.  I assured him that he was a good father for whom I give thanks to God.  I have never declared otherwise to anyone and no one will ever convince me to believe otherwise concerning my father.

For those who did not grow up under such a father, I remind you of the Father of all who loves you more than you can know.  I urge you to receive His love through the means by which He makes His love available without limit.  If you do not know this and would like to hear of it, I will be very happy to explain it to you.

God’s peace to all in Christ Jesus.

+ + +

When a True Statement is made to be False

     There are many examples of this in the world. A statement is made, using portions of the truth to present a falsehood. The devil is the inventor of this tactic. He used this tactic in the garden of Eden to tempt the woman to doubt the truth and to refashion God’s Word according to her own reason. The result was that Mankind was cut off from the Truth, cut off from Life. Death thereby came to mankind in connection with the blindness and corruption of sin. The devil foolishly tried this tactic with Jesus, too. The devil actually quoted Scripture to Jesus in an attempt to move Jesus to accept something false. The devil actually quoted the Scripture verbatim. But he used the Scripture out of context, applying it to try to present a false precept, and therefore the true statement was actually false. Even though the statement was true in the context in which it stands written, used as the devil used it, it was nevertheless false.

     At When Love Encounters Impenitence, Love Does Not Go to War a statement is quoted as a beautiful “bit of grace and truth.” The statement is made at Steadfast Lutherans within the comments concerning the article Interesting Interview of Pastor Morris in the Newtown Bee, by Pr. Rossow. Notably, Pr. McCain in his blog post quoting this statement does not provide a link to where it was made. Thereby he uses the quote without allowing his readers to examine how it was used.

     The quoted statement was actually used to attack other Christians, using the deliberately controverted guise of love. The statement is actually an attack on people who are openly and honestly addressing a serious issue and calling for dishonesty within their church body to be swept away so that the truth may prevail among them.

     Here is the statement, which, divorced from the context in which it was presented, is a truly beautiful “bit of grace and truth.” It sounds wonderful until one reads it in the context in which Pastor Fiene has written and presented it.

When love encounters impenitence, love weeps while shaking the dust off its feet. Love doesn’t go to war. It doesn’t badger. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t scream for everyone to fix their eyes on the sin that’s already been made as public as it can be.

Love doesn’t continually appoint itself to the task of penning another epistle of rebuke. It doesn’t repeatedly provide online fuel for those who easily explode in anger and cruelty. Love doesn’t seek to stir up more anger over vacations or preferential treatment.

Love is patient. Love recognizes that, were it not for the calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying of the Holy Spirit, not a trace of orthodoxy would beat in any of our hearts. Love remembers that countless saints spent far more time than Pr. Morris has defending their sins before the Lord brought them to repentance. Love waits, hopes and prays that our brother in Christ will one day see his error.

And, in the meantime, if love must shake the dust off its feet, then that’s what love must do. But it does so in tears, not in a manner like this.

     The issue being raised by the original article is the issue of a blatant sin committed within the LC-MS. The pastors and congregations of the LC-MS take an oath not to partake in unionistic worship. In the situation being addressed, a pastor openly, publicly, and proudly violated this oath. When he was called on it, he apologized in a way that actually accused those who sought to bring him to repent. I posted concerning this at An Apology Is Not Repentance. The end result was that the LC-MS president apologized for attempting to do his sworn duty, while the one who should have been called to repent denied that he did any wrong. The way it was finally presented was as a call to the members of the LC-MS to repent of their desire to call sin “sin” and to call sinners to repent of their sins, especially their public sins against the Gospel.

     The falsehood begins with the very first sentence, where Pr. Fiene says: “When love encounters impenitence, love weeps while shaking the dust off its feet.”

     This is a very devilish use of the truth. For this is exactly what the Lord Jesus has commanded the saints to do regarding those who reject the truth that has been presented to them. However, Pr. Fiene is not in agreement with Jesus that Pr. Morris should be confronted openly with the truth and then told that he is not a Christian on account of refusing to acknowledge his sin and repent of it. The people whom Pr. Fiene is countering are actually calling for Pr. Morris, as well as his district president and Pr. Harrison to be called to repent of their public sin in this matter, the sin of calling sin as “righteousness” and righteousness as “sin.” They are calling for repentance of all three lying pastors. But even they are not speaking of shaking the dust off their feet. Even they are not saying that if these lying pastors refuse to hear the truth and be called to repentance that they should be excommunicated for the sake of showing them the seriousness of their impenitence. Pr. Fiene especially is not calling for this. He is trying to condemn those who are at least calling their leaders to be accountable. He is trying to change the focus from the call to the leaders to repent, so that the focus becomes one of calling those who are calling for repentance to repent. But because this devilish maneuver is masked as love, it is a very effective deception.

     If those who practice unionism don’t believe that it is sinful, then they should admit this and end their participation in the LC-MS communion. However, the sad fact is that the LC-MS is not what it claims to be. The LC-MS has openly practiced unionism at many levels for decades, perhaps really even for its entire existence. The LC-MS has only pretended to be against unionism, while allowing it and actually practicing it for years.

     From that perspective Pr. Fiene would be correct, if indeed he were saying that the members of the LC-MS should admit the longstanding impenitence of the LC-MS and with tears shake the dust off their feet and walk away.

     But Pr. Fiene’s dishonest use of the truth goes further still. He says:

     Love doesn’t go to war. It doesn’t badger. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t scream for everyone to fix their eyes on the sin that’s already been made as public as it can be.
     Love doesn’t continually appoint itself to the task of penning another epistle of rebuke.

     This ignores the very obvious fact that war has already been declared and imposed upon those whom he is condemning. War has already been declared by those who gave an oath not to partake in unionism and then have openly done so and furthermore have publicly sought to make unionism the accepted practice of the church. Those who stand up against this are persecuted until either broken or driven out of the LC-MS. Those who do resist, those who do fight against those making war against them, are doing so not only for their own sake, but for the sake of their loved ones who are being destroyed spiritually in this war imposed by the so-called tolerant ones.

     This is true also for those who have admitted the truth of the impenitence of the LC-MS and have shaken the dust off their feet and walked away in tears. They still look on as they see their family and friends being led further and further away from the narrowness of the truth into the broad path of relativism and tolerance of adulterated doctrine and practice. As they view the changes effected in their family and friends, their love does move them to pen yet another and another epistle. They do experience and even express holy anger as they stand helplessly watching their loved ones spiritually eviscerated.

     And then Pr. Fiene and Pr. McCain cry out that love does not cry out against such things.

     Truly there is a point where one must finally say, “I have nothing more whatsoever to do with thee.” There does come the time where mourning and even praying for such comes to an end, as the Lord told Samuel to stop mourning for Saul and John says not to pray for those who sin unto death (1 John 5:17).

     I must admit that I don’t really know how to make this distinction and so I simply continue as the Lord Jesus teaches in the Our Father and as the General Prayer follows the admonitions of the apostles, praying for everyone generally. As for those who seem to be beyond receiving anything good from me, I do eventually stop praying for them specifically, including them in my general prayers for all and for all of the enemies of the cross. And even though I have shaken the dust off my feet concerning the impenitent churches and those who remain in their clutches, my heart nevertheless longs for their repentance unto the way of true peace and life.

     It seems that a big issue for those still in churches like the LC-MS is that they imagine that they are still fighting to protect their home and loved ones. They seem not to realize that their church body that they call home has been confiscated by the enemy. So they continue fighting for what is no longer theirs. They fight battles that are nothing more than futile rebelling against the established rulers of the household. From this perspective they would do well to hear Pr. Fienes that such is not the way of love. Love rather would admit the impenitence of their false church so that they would shake the dust off their feet and walk away in tears. Then they would be free to embrace the true faith, the true doctrine, and the true worship without continually fighting the enemy whom they falsely call brother. Then they would begin to understand what St. John declares, saying:

     Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. (1 John 3:13-14)

     In order truly to love the brethren, one must first rightly acknowledge the brethren. Continuing in fellowship with those who are not the brethren is to malign and despise the brethren. Those who love the brethren do not join themselves to the world that hates the brethren. Rather, in love for the brethren, they stand together with the brethren apart from the world. It seems odd that so many have forgotten this so that they continue to cling to worldly corporations that use “Church” in their corporate identities while ignoring and even despising those who stand apart, gathered into the name of Jesus. They somehow seem to have become convinced that love means holding to the church that bears the name and works of their fathers and grandfathers rather than the Church founded upon and preserved through the name and works of Jesus.

+ + +

Fluoride Is Good for You - Can You Trust Your Dentist?

The American Dental Association is ramping up its efforts to promote fluoridation of Wichita’s water.

The Phone has been ringing with a recorded message from a dentist who calls those who are opposing this toxic substance/medication being forced upon the public LIARS!

Yes, she actually calls anyone presenting the truth about fluoridation LIARS!

Guess who she claims as the authoritative source for this claim.

The MEDIA!

She actually makes the claim that every time that the MEDIA has checked the scientific evidence that the MEDIA has found it to be false.

She claims that “Fluoride Is Good for You!”

Does she give any actual scientific evidence for this claim?  Does she give any actual evidence that counters the warnings about what fluoride actually does to people who consume it?

Why would a dentist act this way?  Why would the ADA make such an effort to promote this toxic waste being added to our water?

Do these dentists have anything to gain?  Is it possible that they gain something by this?

Have you heard of Fluorosis?

Definitions of fluorosis are easily found on-line, such as the CDC’s article: Community Water Fluoridation.

Some photographs of fluorosis are also available, such as these:









Wow!  What wonderful smiles drinking fluoride can produce!  Guess who people turn to in the hope of correcting this when it happens?

Could it be their dentists?  Do dentists make any money from this?  Hmm?  Does the ADA benefit from this?

Here is the definition from medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com:

fluo·ro·sis
n.
An abnormal condition caused by excessive intake of fluorine, as from fluoridated drinking water, characterized chiefly by mottling of the teeth.


fluorosis /flu·o·ro·sis

1. a condition due to ingestion of excessive amounts of fluorine.
   
2. a condition in humans due to exposure to excessive amounts of fluorine or its compounds, resulting from accidental ingestion of certain insecticides and rodenticides, chronic inhalation of industrial dusts or gases, or prolonged ingestion of water containing large amounts of fluorides; characterized by skeletal changes such as osteofluorosis and by mottled enamel when exposure occurs during enamel formation.

Sadly, fluorosis is only one of the effects of ingestion of too much fluoride.  Some are far worse.

But the ADA and many dentists want us to believe that adding fluoride to our drinking water is a good idea.

The published list of those dentists and other medical professionals who have endorsed this can be viewed at Medical Community Endorsements.

At Endorsing Organizations another list of the organizations is listed.

Is your dentist or other health care provider listed?

Did you know that some dentists and health care providers refuse to be members of these organizations because of these issues?

Yes!  There actually are people who are standing up for us and saying NO to the organizations who claim to be looking out for us but are really promoting things that are only good for their own business interests.  Some of these people have faced persecution from their peers, yet they continue to act according to their consciences and for the good of their patients.

Is it time that people start asking more questions of their health care providers?  Could it be that we should stop giving blind trust to “professionals” and should learn more about these issues ourselves?

Did you know that the ADA actually has a web page called Statement on FDA Toothpaste Warning Labels, where the ADA announces that they are trying to persuade the FDA to remove the requirement to warn people about the dangers of swallowing fluoride?

Can you believe this?  Even the FDA and the CDC, with their shabby record, still warn the public against the dangers of fluoride ingestion, but the ADA publically declares that they want them to stop.

Could it be that it is time to reward those brave and honest professionals who stand against the pressure of their peers to go along to get along?

To whom do you really want to give your trust?

MORE Lying Propaganda!

Today in the mail we received yet more propaganda for poisoning Wichitans.

I barely had time to post on this matter and we received yet another mailing from the group that deceptively calls itself “wichitans for healthy teeth.”




This is angering.  These so-called facts have been proven to be false, yet here they are presented as the truth.  Ingested fluoride is not effective, certainly not more effective than topical application, for prevention of tooth decay.  This is a proven fact. See the sites listed in the previous post below for the studies.

Moreover, ingested fluoride is very much a danger.

Consider these typical and standardized warnings on toothpaste labels:

 

 

Again I am moved to ask:

Who are these people, anyway?


Why are they so determined to persuade communities to buy poison to spread throughout the entire community through the drinking water supply?

Why do they completely ignore, deliberately ignore what is clearly declared even on toothpaste labels?

Why are they allowed deliberately to misrepresent what is known about the dangers of fluoride ingestion?

Why are these people not being prosecuted for their criminal activities?

Who are these people?

Who are they REALLY?

Who is behind this push to add horrifically toxic substances to our water supply?

Why are they not being held accountable for this false advertising?

Why is this open attempt to poison entire populations not being prosecuted as terrorist activity?

Just in case the toothpaste warning somehow escaped notice, here it is again:

Warnings

Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age.
If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.

If more than used for brushing

is accidentally swallowed,

get medical help

or contact a

Poison Control Center

right away.

What part of this warning is unclear?

What part of the warning that fluoride is a dangerous substance that should not be ingested is not clear?

By the way, did you notice the amount of fluoride that is in toothpaste that is considered enough to require this warning label?  It is less than one quarter of one percent.  How much is considered to be dangerous enough that people should be warned to seek medical help if it is swallowed?  Anything more than what is used for normal brushing, which is one inch of toothpaste squeezed from the tube onto the toothbrush.  More than this is labeled as cause for seeking medical help.

Whom Shall We Trust?

Whom Shall We Trust?

This question is one that always looms before us.  Whom shall or can we trust?

On this blog I include links to Alex Jones’ Prison Planet/InfoWars because this site presents much valuable reporting of information.  Included in this is exposure of the dangers of processed free glutamic acid and aspartic acid being added to our foods and vaccines.  This really is very important news.

However, also on this site is the promotion of products from which Alex receives income to support his news network.  Among these products are the Youngevity products, including one that Alex promotes highly, Beyond Tangy Tangerine.

Here is the product label listing the ingredients from http://www.deaddoctorsdontlie.com/Beyond-Tangy-Tangerine.463 and http://www.american-nutrition.com/beyond_tangy_tangerine.html:



In the “OTHER INGREDIENTS” section are other items of concern, but specifically listed under the amino acids are aspartic acid and glutamic acid.

Both of these are in free form, having been processed, and therefore having the effects of excito-toxins.  Alex has rightly made a big deal about the dangers of both of these when they exist in this free form and are added to our foods to be ingested.

So I e-mailed him and his associates at every e-dress provided on their contact page, drawing to their attention that they were promoting a product that includes the very things that they are warning people to avoid.

Sadly, I never received a response and Alex continues to promote this product heavily.

My conclusion is that I cannot trust Alex not to compromise when money is at stake.  This is typical.  It is true of many companies, news sources, and even the mainstream church bodies.

So who can we trust?

As a pastor I have always admonished those entrusted to my spiritual oversight that they should never trust me and what I say without being certain that what I say is actually in accord with the Scriptures.  While I explained that it is right for them to give their pastor the benefit of the doubt and not to suspect him, they nevertheless should do like the people of Berea, in Acts 17:10-12, who carefully examined what St. Paul preached to them to be sure that he was preaching what the Scriptures declare before they received his preaching as true.

Regarding the Gospel, this is the most important area in which we must be absolutely certain of what we are hearing and receiving.  But we should also apply this caution to those to whom we turn for our news and nutrition and health information.

After all, what we don’t know can indeed hurt us, especially if we do not know that we are being fed spiritual and/or bodily poison.

+ + +

Ron Paul Has Not Suspended His Campaign

I was quite disheartened by the e-mails that I received from NewsMax and other so-called news sources.  They reported that Ron Paul had dropped out of the race.

I found this very odd, considering the videos of interviews with both Ron and his wife that I viewed that same day.

Huh?  What happened?

Today, after receiving more e-mails with similar headlines and reporting, I decided to visit the Ron Paul 2012 Official Campaign Website, where I read a very different reporting.  One page says, Ron Paul Has Not Suspended His Campaign.

From that page:

“Asked if this is a dropout, Paul’s campaign manager Jesse Benton said ‘Absolutely not! We are focusing our efforts squarely on winning delegates and party leadership positions at state conventions.”

Here is the video:



I am very glad to hear this.  While I personally do not believe that the leadership of the Republican Party will ever allow Ron Paul to be their nominee, I am very glad that he has not dropped out and will continue to show the party leadership for the frauds that they are and will continue to bring to the fore the real issues facing our nation and society and world.

I personally am convinced that it does not matter how many votes or delegates Ron Paul receives as far as his nomination to the Republican ticket is concerned.  He will not be the Republican candidate.  End of story.  The elite will find a way to prevent it.

I would love to see Ron Paul run on the Constitution Party or the Reform Party or even the Libertarian party ticket or as an Independent after the Republicans close the door.

I would love to see the citizens become aware of the total fraud of the two party system and turn out in massive numbers to elect Ron Paul and then see how the elite manage to put Obama back into office anyway.  Actually, I do not really want to see this last part, because of what it means for our nation and world, but at least the world would see.  Sadly, the government is preparing for this and will take action against the citizens when they protest.  The preparations are being made, as even the mainstream media reports in a half-hearted manner.

It appears that 2012 will most certainly be a year of Change.

- - -

Comments and the 8th Commandment

Last night someone left an anonymous comment to the post immediately preceding this one. It was full of heinous accusations against someone not actually named, so one is left to guess. Presumably the accusations were directed toward Mr. Rubio.

I deleted the comment. The comment was anonymous, unclear, and slanderous and libelous. It was hateful and vicious. The accusations were unsubstantiated.

This is not the way for this blog.

If the matters on which this person commented are true, they are certainly important. However, that manner of reporting them is wrongful and unwelcome.

This blog has as its foundation the Word of God, Jesus. Jesus is not about condemnation and destruction of persons. He is about salvation, redemption, forgiveness, restoration, and reconciliation. Thus, while what He declares, certainly includes the Law which shows us God’s holiness from which we fall monstrously short, His primary declaration is the Gospel of forgiveness and life. Because we never ever measure up to the standard of the Law of God’s holiness, it always accuses and condemns us. But the Lord is not willing that anyone should be left standing condemned. His gracious will is that all should hear the restoring power of the Gospel and to be converted from the condemnation and ways of unbelief to the new life of justification and sanctification.

Thus He has given us the Eighth Commandment. Luther’s explanation does a wonderful job of showing the full intent of this declaration.

The Eighth Commandment.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What does this mean?—Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

Like all of the Commandments or Words of the Decalogue, this can only be rightly understood when our heart is enlightened by the Gospel. The Gospel directs us back to the Lord so that we hear what His true intention is. His true intention is not to accuse and condemn but to rescue and restore. Thus, when we truly understand this as applying to ourselves, then we, like our loving Father, look to others with the same gracious intent.

Another Scriptural way of saying this is that we learn to love our neighbor as ourselves. Once we truly learn God’s love, we then begin to love ourselves, and that love changes how we look upon others so that we love them in the same way as we love ourselves.

When we seek to condemn and destroy others, we have forgotten true love of self. For the viciousness that we display toward others demonstrates that we have forgotten our own need for God’s grace and mercy and have ceased abiding in His peace and love. Thus His love no longer constrains us because we have turned away from His loving countenance to our own deceived thoughts.

We need to remember that the old adage of “Sticks and stones” is not true. It should really say “Sticks and stones may break our bones and words can truly crush us, but the Lord’s grace is truly sufficient for us to give us the strength to endure and forgive and love.”

Certainly sin has to be denounced. Certainly evil must be restrained. But this must begin with each of us. Only then can we justly speak concerning others. Only then are we able to see clearly so as to speak for what is good.

We do indeed need to be aware of what is wrong around us, especially when these things can bring harm to others. There is an appropriate way to warn against these things. Unsubstantiated and vicious accusations are not the way. The proper intent of crying out with warning about the past deeds of others and especially of people in positions of leadership, is to warn against a propensity for the recurrence of such evil deeds.

But what if that person has been converted from those ways? Should we not first be certain to know whether or not the person has been turned from the ways of destruction and wickedness? Should we not be certain that we are dealing with what is and not merely with what was? And should we not provide evidence for any warnings that we make?

I know that in my own life that I must always be on guard against my own sinful nature. Even then, I must remember that the power to overcome my sinfulness is the power of God’s merciful love toward me. God’s love is what changes me from a vicious hatemonger to a lover of self and neighbor. God’s love is what turns me from one who lashes out thoughtlessly to one who cares for those who could be hurt by my words and actions.

Words truly are powerful. They can build up or they can tear down. They can rescue or they can destroy. They can defend or they can attack. They can comfort or they can condemn and cause shame.

Truly caution needs to be used in how we speak. I certainly fail in this regard and need to be called back continually from such failures to the love and mercy of the Lord. In this posting I hold this necessity before one and all that we may all be continually converted by God’s gracious work through His Holy Spirit.

God’s peace to all in Christ Jesus.

+ + +

Will the Real Candidates Please Stand Up?

Does the past matter? Should the American people be informed regarding the history of those who are running for office?

How can Americans learn the facts? Will the facts be discovered from the news industry? Will they learn the facts from sitcoms and late night TV comedians? Will they learn the facts from so-called conservative radio programs?

Has this not been the avenue that most Americans have traveled? Has anything been learned that helped improve and change the downward spiral that has been observed? Or has the spiral suddenly become a plunge?

For those who think that an half hour video presentation is not an exorbitant investment of time, here is a link to an article and video with a powerful amount of information. All of the information is supplied with the sources. Therefore it can be checked and validated.

The Real Newt Gingrich .

While this video presentation focuses particularly upon Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, it actually addresses the general movement of many in politics over the last few decades, especially at the national level.

If information about the candidates is a desire, this video will supply more than is easily absorbed in a single viewing.

- - -

Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super Bowl Ad

Today I received an e-mail notice regarding controversy that has generated in response to a Super Bowl advertisement. Included in the article to which the e-mail notice provided a link are two embeded videos, one of this advertisement and one of a Reagan reelection campain advertisement. Apparently there are many articles on the Internet regarding this advertisement and what various people perceive or extract from it. This particular article is Rove Tosses Penalty Flag at Eastwood Ad, Calling It 'Offensive'.

I find this controversy to be amazingly sad and even sick. It shows how sick America has become. It shows how far from reality most people are in their thinking. It shows how people look to the wrong sources for guidance and leadership and identity.

Here are the two videos:





The reactions to the so-called Eastwood advertisement very powerfully demonstrates the limits that have developed regarding people’s thinking. People today no longer know how to listen so as to hear what is actually being said and more importantly, who is actually saying it.

This is a Chrysler advertisement. It’s purpose is to promote the Chrysler corporation and its products. Chrysler spent a fortune on this advertisement promoting their company. It is not a statement on America and Americans, though it uses nostalgic notions from these themes to present Chrysler as caring about America and Americans. And perhaps the producers of this advertisement actually do care about America and Americans. But the true point of an advertisement like this one is to try to convince Americans to care about Chrysler.

In this advertisement Clint Eastwood is a hireling of the Chrysler corporation. While he may agree with what is presented in the advertisement, he is speaking for someone other than himself.

This is what he does. This is who he is. He is a lifetime hypocrite, that is, an actor. That is, after all, the definition: hypocrite.

This is what Clint Eastwood does. He is a professional presenter of things that he is not. He is a pretender. He invests himself in presenting what he is paid to present. This is his life. This is his identity. This is what he does. He has done it for more years than I have been alive.

Why do people look to Hollywood hypocrites for the truth? In the special features portion of “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” Antonio Banderas made an amazing statement. He said of himself as an actor: “I am a professional liar. That’s what I do.” He said it with his winsome charm and smile, but on this occasion, he was not lying.

How can anyone know when to trust a hypocrite? When can that which a hypocrite presents be taken to heart? Why do people look to such shallow persons and expect to find depth of character and direction? When this is where people turn, what does it say of them?

Regarding Mr. Eastwood, since he is the object of the current controversy, consider the pattern of his relationships on record, Clint Eastwood: Relationships.

Now, I do not share this link to tear down Mr. Eastwood, but to show the shallowness of thinking of anyone who looks to someone for leadership and direction without considering whether the person has this sort of stability in that person’s own life. How a person deals with one’s most personal relationships is most surely a powerful indicator of whether or not the person’s judgment and dealings can be trusted as a guide or source of integrity and leadership.

I like Mr. Eastwood, at least from what I have experienced. I don’t like what he represents, but I expect that if I actually met him that I would enjoy the encounter. I imagine that we would even find that in our conversation that we had some things in common.

As I view the Chrysler advertisement, I find it to be very appealing. My impression, after watching it multiple times, is that it is a very nostalgic but shallow view of America. My impression is that both Chrysler and Mr. Eastwood are sharing their view of America as a land where the people are strong and committed and resilient. They seem to believe that Americans are a people who come together when times are bad, when they believe that they are fighting for survival. It seems to me that the primary view of America and Americans is expressed when Mr. Eastwood says:

     All that matters now is what’s ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win? Detroit’s showing us that it can be done.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the point of the advertisement. It is a very typical view of America and what makes America great and what America should be. It is the prevailing American sentiment.

I do not agree with this perspective and belief. I do not believe that this is all that matters. I believe that we need to be concerned with more than these. I believe that we need to begin with the realization that integrity is more than coming together for survival and for coming from behind and for winning. I believe that truly coming together means standing united in the identity that our founding documents provide us. I believe that truly coming together means standing as “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” This means that there must be a singular understanding of what these mean. It means that “liberty and justice” must truly be for ALL. It means that leaders must be elected and appointed who are not hypocrites, who do not say one thing today, another thing tomorrow, and yet something else a week from tomorrow. It means that when the oath of office is made that we impeach those who do as is reported in this article: Justice Ginsburg causes storm dissing the Constitution while abroad. If we allow a US Supreme Court Justice to make such outrageous and treasonous statements about the Constitution and to remain as a judge over the application of the rule of this Constitution over the laws of the land, then how can we imagine that we can come together for anything more than hypocritical and momentary unity and justice and liberty?

America is facing her current dilemma and impending demise because Americans have forgotten what it means to be American. As a people we have forgotten our foundation upon which we stand. Without this foundation we fall.

The words that Mr. Eastwood spoke on behalf of Chrysler, and perhaps even from his own heart, are good words as far that they go. We need to remember that winning has a defined objective, that winning is about more than which side prevails. We need to remember that the battle has a genuine cause, something substantial, something with a rock-solid foundation.

We need to consider those for whom we vote and support. We truly should consider their record. Do they show fidelity in their most important personal relationships? If they are not faithful to these and betray those who are closest to them, how can we expect that they will treat people that they have never met any better? If they supported big government and big corporate control and warmongering and trampling of liberty in times past, how can we expect them to do differently under the current circumstances?

And naturally, I believe that ultimately, true unity cannot be embraced apart from the one true faith in the one true God. America has never truly had such in her history and so she has never had true justice and liberty for all. Yes, America has been called a Christian nation, but she has never truly demonstrated this. If she were truly a Christian nation she would not have allowed the horrible abuses that have been done to her children. But hypocrisy is not limited to Hollywood. It prevails most among those claiming to be Christians. And while that is the case, true peace and true freedom will remain but a shadowy dream.

+ + +

You lied to me by telling me the truth?

In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides there is an amazingly perverse but true to life conversation. I quote it below but it can also be read here or heard at POTC: Angelica lies to Jack by telling him the truth.

Angelica: I need years, Jack. Not for me. For my father. I am truly the daughter of Blackbeard.
Jack Sparrow: You've fallen for your own con, love.
Angelica: No. He is my father. The lies I told you were not lies.
Jack Sparrow: You lied to me by telling me the truth?
Angelica: Yes.
Jack Sparrow: That's very good. May I use that?
Angelica: I'm sure you will anyway.
Jack Sparrow: Mmm, of course I will.

Another quote reflecting perverse reality is when Jack says: “The Black Pearl in a bottle? Why is the Black Pearl in a bottle?”

If one desires it can be heard at: POTC: Ship's in the bottle .


It is astounding to realize how often the truth is misused in the manner that Jack discovers through Angelica’s use of the truth to deceive him. When the truth is spoken apart from its context it misleads and deceives. When the truth is spoken in connection with people’s false presuppositions so as to allow them to form their own conclusions regarding the statement based upon their false presuppositions, deception is the result. This is true also when a false presupposition is first stated or alluded as truth and then the true statement is made.

The devil boldly attempted this with the Lord Jesus. It worked on other humans with great success. But Jesus is the Truth. The Truth cannot be deceived or overcome by misuse of true statements. The Truth is more than the sum of the many and various articles and particular true statements. And so, Jesus did not argue with the devil. He did not try to prove the truth. He simply countered the misuse of a true statement with another true statement that showed the false and wrong use of the first statement. (Matthew 4:1-11)

If the first Adam had done this, his wife would not have been deceived. Instead, he stood by and allowed her to defend the truth with her own reason. He listened as she added to the Word that he had taught her and did not interject with a loving and gentle corrective. Good intentioned people have added their own presumptive reasoning to the Word ever since. Once this occurs, the Truth is lost to them and they move ever farther from it in their own deluded perception.

The woman, whom her husband later in the loving response produced by the Gospel renamed Eve, or Life, imagined that she had to overcome the misuse of God’s Word with additional requirements or restrictions. The devil spoke the truth deceptively. God did say not to eat of every tree of the garden, but He did not say it in this way. Moreover, by presenting it as a question, the devil craftily inferred that it was something to question. He challenged the woman’s understanding, to which she responded defensively rather than simply responding in faith. She could have simply responded saying: “Yes. That is correct. He told us not to eat of every tree. The one tree is not for us to eat.” But instead, she decided to add an additional restriction, she added that God said that they neither could touch it. Once she made this false addition, she was no longer protected by the Word of God. Now she had begun to rely upon her own self and her own reason.

Notice that the devil did not come to tempt the Man, but the woman who heard the Word through the Man. Moreover, the devil did not present his temptation directly as an mighty angel, but through a lesser creature, a very beautiful creature, one that would not have caused alarm. This was one of the creatures that Adam named, one that had been placed under Adam’s province. Through it the devil could speak without being obvious. A simple question coming from a lower creature would not seem out of place., especially since this command was not given to the lower creatures but only to Adam and all who were generated through him and of him.

In the movie Jack Sparrow says: “The Black Pearl in a bottle? Why is the Black Pearl in a bottle?” If Adam had known who was in the serpent, he would have asked what an angel was doing in the serpent. Jack is a wicked man who surrounds himself with deception and acts deceptively and wickedly. It is no surprise that he would encounter a deceptive use of the truth and then want to use make use of that himself. Adam was innocent and naive to such things, yet once he became a son of the deceiver, he, too, turned to more deception, trying to hide his nakedness, that is, his openly manifested sinfulness, with inventions of his own, namely, fig leaves sewn together.

The Truth, spoken honestly and forthrightly, ends the facade. It shows God for who He really is, and in contrast, sinners for who they have become. The Truth shows the depths of God’s love, how far it reaches, how far it moves Him on our behalf. His sunshine does not shine only for believers, but for all. His rain falls upon both as well. He came to the world, born as a man, to give Himself to us and for us, taking our sin and our consequences. He rose again with the same humanity still as His own, so that the renewed relationship or communion would be absolute. He established His Church so that this Truth would be proclaimed and received. Through His means of grace administered in this Church people continue to be called out of the darkness into His light of forgiveness and restoration and healing and peace.

The devil hid himself in a creature in order to deceive. The Lord manifested Himself in Jesus to make the Truth known. The devil continues to deceive through convincing mankind that the truth can be found through a microscope and through conjecture. The Lord comes to us visibly as a man and openly declares the Truth, leaving no room for conjecture. And to those who hear Him and are moved to believe His Word again, they find that things really are just as they have been told.

      And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

+ + +

Have a Farcical Christmas — Not

Merry Christmas!

What does this mean?

Some add, “Keep Christ in Christmas!” or “Jesus is the reason for the season!”

Do these really give a more clear definition and better understanding?

All of these are good sayings. But do those who use them even understand what they mean?

Below is a video that was produced by an atheist. It contains the words “damn” and “hell” as expletives. When I first viewed it on the website of a recent blogger acquaintance, I had to turn it off because of the anger that I experienced regarding the farcical perspective from which it displays faith in God.

But then I asked myself, “But who is presenting this farcical perspective?”

I myself cry out against this as I observe it amongst those professing to be believers. I will explain this further below the video.

Be warned that this video is offensive. It attacks religion and religionists and especially targets Christians. It also contains offensive expletives. It is about the same as watching David Letterman or a typical TV sitcom, or at least from what I remember of these from when I watched TV.

If God Were a Car


There are plenty of fallacies in the presentation of this attack on Christians and the God of the Bible that I could address, things that are dishonestly presented because they misrepresent what the Christian faith actually teaches. Sadly, however, those who prepared this video are accurately representing what they have experienced and observed. They are not the ones responsible for this farcical representation but are merely recording what they have observed from people claiming to be representatives of this faith.

I read on the profile page of one convert from Fundamentalistic Christianity to the religion of Atheism how badly she suffered under the pretense of Christian faith that she experienced. She shares how badly she still suffers from the abuses that she experienced from these charlatans. I know these abuses myself. I have witnessed others who have suffered them. Moreover, I, too, have been severely abused by those pretending to be representatives of Christ and His faith and Church.

As this video very vividly portrays, the so-called Christian Church that predominates the landscape has no unity of doctrine, except to say that in some way or other Jesus is believed in.

The most farcical of the representations of the Christian faith are those made by the so-called Conservative Christians. They pat themselves on the back for their self-purported faithfulness to the true faith while they do not adhere to it. They write marvelous expositions of what the Bible says, but then deny it within their fellowships and church bodies and synods.

As one who grew up within that which calls itself the Elsie Mess, or the LC-MesS, the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, I will use my own experience as the example.

The LC-MS claims to be a stalwart bastion of the Christian faith. She prides herself on the fact that she demands that her pastors give a quia subscription to the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. She boasts of unity in doctrine and practice.

As one example of this farcical claim, I heard today of a congregation of the LC-MS in which on the altar/table of the Lord’s Supper the pastor and congregation set two sets of chalices and of the individualistic communion trays. One set has wine. The other set has grape juice.

This is the Sacrament and particularly the portion that the Lord Jesus named as The New Testament in His blood. (1 Corinthians 11:25) This is the very definition of the Church of the New Testament. Yet even within one congregation there are FOUR divisions/schisms regarding how they partake of it. Where is the unity of which the apostle speaks in the preceding chapter? Even within the same congregation there exists no unity regarding how to partake of the blood of Christ?!

What does this say of those who say “I believe”? What does this say of them when they say that they are one in the faith? What do they believe together as one? How will anyone observe oneness among them?

And what of the LC-MS? Where is the unity? Their president says that he believes that it may someday be possible to achieve 80 percent unity, and the conservatives and confessionals applaud him for this. 80 percent unity? What does this mean? What honest person speaks of such? This is what one expects from those seeking political office. Where does the Bible in which they claim to believe speak of 80% of anything? Yet this stalwart bastion of faithfulness to the Bible admits that even 50 percent unity is not even a reality but only a goal.

From this, then, the landscape broadens to the many schisms that are so vast that the various confessions do not even resemble one another. Yet they all claim to be Church. Not only this, but they generally even acknowledge one another as Church.

So what is the person from the outside to conclude?

This video very aptly shows what is concluded.

Who can effectively argue against their conclusion?

This evening, throughout the world, Christmas will be celebrated. By most it will be entirely a farcical observance.

But Christmas is very real. The Christ who gives Himself in the Mass is real. His gifts are real. His gifts are real gifts, given freely, without charge. The peace on earth and goodwill toward men heralded by the angels is real, when it is received where it is promised, in the Christ Mass, administered as it was ordained by the one who performs what He promises.

The needy do receive what their hearts long to receive. The poor are blessed in their spirits and bodies. They gather to the One who comes through gentle means that can be tasted and felt and seen. Though He has ascended far above to do for His beloved what He has promised and so cannot be seen with the eyes in the bodily form in which He walked with His disciples and touched the sick with healing and the hurting with comfort and then gave Himself bodily to suffering and death on their behalf, nevertheless, He has provided means by which He does come today bodily to work the same miracles. In His true Church the saints do gather to these means and they do receive healing and comfort and forgiveness and regeneration and peace and justification and sanctification and true unity and goodwill.

If those who have been injured by frauds and those who have been deceived into believing that no-god is all there is, if such souls desire more, this God offers Himself freely for the everlasting blessing of all who will hear and receive Him. The price tag is far greater than the $15,000.00 demanded in the video, but the price has already been paid by this God Himself. This is what the babe born in Bethlehem is, the price of our everlasting blessedness. This is God’s only-begotten Son, given for the sake of the redemption of the world from all that is awry. This is the price that only God could pay. And it has been paid.

This truly is cause for rejoicing. This is cause for celebration! This truly is Joy to the Word, for the Lord IS Come. His blessings flow far as the curse is found. In this person, this little baby, the power to drive the farce back into the darkness is with us in flesh and blood. The table is prepared. All is ready. He stands and calls to one and all to partake freely, in accord with His promise and Word. Come and see that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever!

+ + +

Save a Tree?

Have you received information from banks and credit card companies and other creditors urging you to “Save a Tree” by allowing them to cut you off from having your bills and statements mailed to you as actual physical documents? Have you been bombarded by the “Go Green” promoters?

Have you ever wondered why? Have you ever felt bewildered by the amount of paper that is wasted in mailings that promote this propaganda? If these companies and banks are so interested in saving trees, why do they send monthly and even weekly mailings trying to entice us to add yet another phone line or to supply answers to inane and often irrelevant questions on customer service surveys regarding customer service that does not actually exist?

What is the real agenda? What is the real motivation?

Have you figured this out yet? It is really very simple if a person has one’s eyes open to more than what is promoted in the propaganda.

But to the real point of this question, does not using paper truly save a tree?

This is a very different question than whether or not recycling is worthwhile. Conservation is not only a good and worthwhile idea, it is godly. It is the way of those who are grateful to God for His wonderful gifts. Making the best use of God’s gifts is the way of those who know God’s love and in turn love God and neighbor.

Sadly, though, very few people know what being a conservationist really means, just as most people really do not understand what being a conservative means.

I am an arborist as part of my vocation. I care for trees. I help people to maintain their trees and shrubs so as to have attractive, safe, and enjoyable properties. This involves pruning for safe and solid structure, pruning to remove disease, pruning for shape and appearance, and sometimes it involves removal of a tree or bush and sometimes also the stump. Some of the woody material can be saved for a lumbermill. Some can be saved for firewood. Some can be pelletized for wood burning stoves and for municipal power plants. (Yes, cities are purchasing pelletized tree waste for economical and environmentally friendly power sources.) Much of the tree and shrub debris can be chipped to be used as mulch. This is conservationism in practice.

This has developed into an enormous industry. For some examples, check out some of the issues of Tree Care Industry Magazine. It is amazing!

Regarding the “Saving a Tree” propaganda, I would like to provide a couple of links to articles that supply very helpful answers, real answers.

EarthAnswers - Are We Running Out of Trees?

How Are Trees Grown for Paper?

The second link is especially worthy of notice in this matter of “saving trees.” This is information that I grew up with. I learned these things from my father and from working with nature and from six years of FFA, and from my undergraduate studies in agricultural and biological sciences. But most people have the perception that has been promoted by the banking and credit industries for their own reasons. Most people receive the bombardment of circulars and catalogs and such and feel badly that “trees are being killed.” They are very surprised when I explain to them that the trees that are being used for paper are actually planted and raised for that very purpose and that if it were not for the paper industry, these trees likely would never be planted at all. Yes the paper and lumber industry, especially in North America, actually leads the way in preserving trees and forests!

I was very glad to find that TAPPI is working to supply this information. It is very helpful to be able to refer people to resources that verify these facts.

From their publication, “How Are Trees Grown for Paper?” here are a few very informative quotes:

How Are Trees Grown for Paper?

Trees are planted and grown specifically to make paper. Trees that are cut down for paper production do not come from our favorite park or wilderness area.

When some people hear about trees being cut for paper, they might think of their favorite oak in the backyard, neighborhood park or wilderness area being cut to pieces. They might think of birds, squirrels and other creatures being robbed of their homes.

The good news is that the production and use of paper are not causing forests to disappear.

The good news is that the production and use of paper are not causing forests to disappear.

Is this what is being taught by the propagandists who teach that allowing them to press us into utilizing electronic communication only is equal to Going Green?

Where do trees for making paper come from?

Most trees used for paper come from forests called managed timberlands. Even though the trees in these timberlands may look like “woods,” they are an agricultural crop - like vegetables on a farm. The trees are grown to be made into products for human use. Not using paper in order to save trees is like not eating salad in order to “save” vegetables.

In fact, many forests might not exist in the first place if trees weren’t planted and harvested by industry. It takes from 10 - 20 years for trees to grow until they are large enough for harvesting. During that time, those trees are part of a community of plants and animals, and their environment space is known as an ecosystem. Trees provide a place to live (or habitat) for many species of plants and animals, and they add oxygen to the earth’s atmosphere.

Isn’t this wonderful news? Why does the government not tell us this? Why does the media not tell us this? Why are we being pressed instead into surrendering our use of paper products to those who want to restrict our communications and especially our financial communications to electronic sources only?

Will we run out of trees if we continue to cut them down for paper?

No. More trees are planted every year than are cut down. This is due in most part to the success of managed timberlands. Whenever trees are harvested, more trees are planted to take their place. Timberlands can be managed to produce trees and forest products forever.

Trees are a renewable resource. As long as we manage timberland and plant trees to replace the ones cut down, trees will continue to grow and grow and grow.

In some ways, this process is similar to growing vegetables in a garden. We plant the vegetables and let them grow until they are mature enough to harvest. When harvest time comes, we collect the vegetables and eat them. Next spring, the process begins again when we plant a new crop. As long as we continue to plant and harvest, the process goes on and on.

More trees are destroyed by fire and insects than are cut down to make paper. And, on an average, when a tree is harvested for making paper, five more are planted in its place.

On an average, when a tree is harvested for making paper, five more are planted in its place!

Were you aware of this wonderful fact? How many people know that using paper products is equal to Going Green and helping to preserve our forests?

Moreover, as I mentioned above, some cities are turning to utilizing tree debris for producing power. This source of power, when used in these high efficiency power plants, is said to be cleaner than natural gas. While I have not checked sources on that fact, it is true that no new carbon dioxide is produced as it is with natural gas. What is produced from using the wood products is the same as would be through the decomposition process, except that electricity is produced for our enjoyment.

Some cities are going a step farther and are processing their trash in this way, thereby significantly reducing the use of landfills. By using sophisticated sorting equipment, much of what would otherwise go to the landfill is being utilized in the production of lower cost energy.

Why are we not hearing of every city doing this? Why do we not hear of the big power companies doing this?

Why do we hear ludicrous scare tactics regarding the dangers of methane production from livestock and humans? In the Seventies, when I was in highschool, my Ag. instructor informed us about a livestock producer who powered the entire operation and his home with power to spare, utilizing the methane produced on the farm. Why do the city sewage treatment plants not use their methane for power? Why is the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a global tax and spend former vice president who travels the world in a plane that burns more fuel than most neighborhoods, when there are farmers who have been “saving the world” for decades through genuine innovation and conservation practices?

Isn’t it time for people to become tired of the lies that are designed to steal away people’s liberty while certain elitists are becoming wealthy far beyond filthy? Isn’t it time for people to awaken to the way that the globalist agenda of teaching evolution has blinded the populace to what godly stewardship is and where such understanding originates? Those who appreciate God’s creative genius and graciousness are naturally conservation minded. Those who do not appreciate God’s gracious activity in creation are not.

Consider these articles regarding the way that the Nobel Gore responds to his own climate propaganda;

Al Gore’s Energy Use,
How green is Al Gore's $9 million Montecito oceanfront villa?,
Al Gore's House ,
and then there is his Gulf Stream Jet, which you can Google or whatever for yourself.

If Mr. Gore and his hypocritical globalist elite friends were not seeking to dictate what the rest of the world is and is not allowed to do, there would be little cause for objection to their selfish and wasteful lifestyle. Well, there is of course their irresponsible and massive contribution to pollution and waste. But having large and expensive houses and luxury cars and planes for their personal use is not the problem. The problem is first that they do not want to allow anyone else to enjoy such benefits, and secondly that they are deliberately deceiving people and stealing the truth from us all. By this they are actually hindering the things that could have real benefit to us all. But they own the media. They own the resources. They own the Federal Reserve. Through it they own the government and military.

Through this they indoctrinate the children in the schools to accept their false doctrine and world view. Through this they persuade much of the population to “save a tree” while the elite burn the Constitution and even the people themselves.

What can we do?

First we need to realize that it is not in our power to save the world. We cannot save the country. We cannot save the trees. We cannot even save ourselves.

Realizing this changes our perspective from one of complaining and bickering and fighting and despair, to one of reliance upon the one who does have the power to save us and the trees and the country and the world. When we truly acknowledge Him, we begin to look to the things that He tells us that we can do. We can seek first His kingdom and His righteousness through the means through which He gives them. We can teach the truth to our children and loved ones. We can speak the truth in love to all who are willing to hear it. We can give thanks to God for His creation, for His recreation, for His redemption, for His mercy, for His love, for His grace, for His justification, for His sanctification, for His gifts of every kind. We can rejoice in His goodness and love, loving Him above all things and loving our neighbors as ourselves. We can gather for the blessings that He promises through His means of grace. We can live in peace in as much as it is ours to do. We can enjoy the life that God has given us and we can to the best of our ability utilize the gifts that God gives to us for the benefit of all. This we can do, until the day of the Lord’s Advent at the end of this age.

If everyone, or in fact, if even everyone who professes to be Christian, truly heard this and lived in this way, the world would be very different than it now is. After all, even Gore and Obama profess to be Christian. Wow, come to think of it, even Ted Kennedy claimed to be Christian. Just imagine if everyone who makes this claim actually believed it (and the one whom it confesses)!

+ + +

Interesting tidbits regarding “Conservative” Christianity

Save a tree?

Did you know that the original/traditional/liturgical use of the Christmas Tree includes making of the dead trunk the cross for Lententide?

Also, did you know that the Ashes for Ash Wednesday are made from the palm branches used in the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration?

+ + +

Honestly

If a person is said to be the most honest person that one knows, what is really being said about that person?

Can a person that is mostly honest be trusted?

If a person declares that lying is sometimes appropriate, can that person ever be trusted?

If a person declares that lying is sometimes appropriate, is that person not declaring that lying is always appropriate, if that person determines the circumstance to warrant it?

If a person is said to be the most honest person that one knows, is this not equal to saying that the person is dishonest?

+ + +

More on Pastor Nadarkhani

The Washington Post has an article, Clearing up the facts on Pastor Nadarkhani’s fate.

It includes a link to this translation of the Iranian Supreme Court verdict against Nadarkhani.

+ + +

Weather Forecast Chuckles

Once again the ludicrous manner of the weather forecasters has made me chuckle.

A few moments ago I visited the forecast website to see what was being forecast, to see whether the weather forecast had changed. Several times last night and several more times this morning I checked, to find the same forecast.

Today: Showers, mainly before 1pm. High near 47. Windy, with a northwest wind between 30 and 37 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

It has been raining ALL morning. As this is hindering me from going out to work, I checked again a few moments ago to find an updated forecast:

Today: Showers, mainly before 1pm. High near 47. Windy, with a northwest wind between 30 and 37 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Apparently someone must have realized that it has been raining all morning and therefore adjusted the percentage of likelihood for precipitation from 60% to 90%.

Sadly, this is typical. Sad as it is, it still makes me chuckle when I observe it. I suppose it is the apparent attempt to save face by not going all the way to 100% that makes me laugh. It appears that the 90% is posted so as to attempt to maintain the facade that this was actually forecast and not merely a correction due to looking outside to see what is actually happening.

Oh, well. Yet it does frustrate me that these people promote themselves as honest scientists upon whom we can rely. Such farcical pretense is observed in government, in education, and even in the churches. Is it any wonder that people stop caring and believing?

. . .

Reputation and Good Name

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1)

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. (Ecclesiastes 7:1)

It is a terrible thing for a person to have his good name stolen away by another. Those who fear God, those who trust in the Lord and abide in His goodness, those who value the forgiveness that Christ purchased with His life for all, do not do such things.

For the good of all the Lord God commands:

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:16)

A little later He expounds further, explaining in more detail the ways in which His people do not walk on account of the love that He has for all and that they have received by His gracious decree:

Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. (Exodus 23:1-3)

The NKJV makes this a little easier to understand:

You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute. (Exodus 23:1-3)

Yesterday, after concluding a meeting in my home with one of my insurance agents, he handed me a flyer that someone had stuck in my door. It was a campaign advertisement slamming one of the city council candidates. It was libelous and slanderous. It twisted facts to present them in a way to give a false witness against the man whom this group opposed.

How can a man defend himself against such deliberate misrepresentations of the truth?

How deeply did these villainous hatemongers have to dig to find this information?

Josh freely shared it in his campaign. He told it to the Wichita Eagle and it was printed for all to read. Josh also posted it on his campaign web site. Only when Josh shared it, he shared how these things from his past helped him to learn what is right and good so as to be a more responsible citizen. He openly shared information that this other group has presented out of context in order to steal from a man his good name.

Josh’s opponent has also done this in his actual campaign flyers, telling outright lies and also other misrepresentations that were intended to lead people to false and hurtful conclusions regarding Josh.

This latest attack was deliberately done the day before the election so that Josh would have no opportunity to respond. This was done in such a way as to incite anger and fury in those who would read it so that they would react with hatred and malice rather than considering that such campaigning cannot be trusted.

This is very sad. It breaks my heart, but on account of the injury done to a man who is seeking to do good for his neighbors as well as to learn and to grow as a man and husband and father and citizen.

As I ponder the mistakes that people make in their lives, as I see them acknowledge their errors and turn from them to the better way, I can only applaud them and encourage them and give thanks to God for the miracle of repentance and renewal. Moreover, as I ponder the economic perils that we all face, when I learn of a man who was made to be unemployed by the system, who on this account faced foreclosure of his home, who courageously sought remedy through renegotiating his mortgage, who fearlessly sought new employment so as to be able to resume making payments on his home, this I count as a marvelous example of good stewardship rather than reason to run the man down. I consider this to be a wonderful example of responsible leadership, not as an example of a man who cannot handle his own finances. How many people in our country have actually lost their homes due to the collapse of the economy? This man stood up and found a way to keep his home.

Now, regarding what sort of man is fit to represent me on the city council and what sort of man will understand the struggles of his fellow citizens who are being over taxed and ignored regarding useless government spending, I count the man who has faced these challenges personally and has risen above them to be the one whom I can trust.

It truly grieves me that in this campaign Josh is openly, maliciously, and wrongfully attacked. Why can the others not simply run on their own good name? Why do people cause harm to others rather than presenting their own ideas and letting the voters see what is good?

This is very sad business.

As for me, though my voice be minuscule and of very little consequence, I will speak on behalf of my wronged neighbor and do what little I can to help him maintain his good name. I hope that at least a few people will read my comments and consider that what has been said about Josh is unfair and will remember the good things that he represents. This is much bigger than an election. A man’s life is being affected by these things. The life of his family is being affected, too. In the end, all of us are affected by these things, for if this is what is done in an election campaign, what will be done to anyone who raises issues against these vicious people in the future? Whom else will be attacked? What else may be done when one actually holds an office of power? We would all do well to consider these things in every election. If someone uses such tactics to become elected, who will protect us from having such things done to us in the future when we speak out and disagree with what such a person does in the public office? Will such a person be inclined to listen? Will such a person react with civility?

Surely the Lord is right. We should not bear false witness against our neighbor, nor join with those who do such things. No good ever comes from such ways. But good surely does arise from coming to one another’s aid and defending one another and speaking well of one another whenever possible.

Is this not worthy of serious consideration?

† † †