Surprised by Friendliness

A couple of weeks ago I went for my walk and was surprised by a very unusual display of friendliness.  Something happened that I have not encountered in at least fifteen years.  As I was walking, a police car approached on the same road, with two police officers: one was driving; the other, in the right front seat, seemed to be taking notes or examining something.  As they drew near I looked at them and made eye contact and the one on the passenger side waved to me.

Wow!  I have not encountered this in well over a decade!

In times past, I nearly always waved to the police.  I counted the police officers as public servants, as my friends who devoted their lives to me and the rest of the community, serving to help keep us all safe.  Twenty years ago I would not have thought it a wonderful surprise to have a police officer wave to me, especially not in response to my initial show of friendship and confidence.  But that was many years ago.

Since then I have stopped waving.  After about a decade of waving with no friendly response whatsoever from any of the officers to whom I waved, sometimes even encountering a scowl instead of the friendly smile and wave that I expected in return, I gave up waving.

In fact, I have actually become afraid of waving to them.  Whereas I previously looked to the police with trust, I now fear them.  I many times in the past ten years have called 911 to report people on the busy expressways who were in need of assistance.  Since such busy expressways are not appropriate places for a person without flashing lights and the authority to redirect traffic to attempt such things, I have called for those properly equipped.  But after a number of years of attempting to be of service as a good and caring citizen, I became aware that I was drawing attention to myself.  I was making myself known to those who track such things.

An example is when a fellow had an extension ladder fall off his truck and block portions of the expressway.  I wanted to stop and help clean it up, but knew that I would increase the danger by blocking the road with my vehicle and by adding another person to the scene.  So I called 911.  The response of the dispatcher made it clear that I was adding to the file that was being kept on me.

911 keeps track of every word.  911 asks for identification of the caller, and for the phone number, and many other bits of information that have nothing whatsoever to do with the incident.  It makes me cringe even to think of the number of times that I am listed as a person who involves himself in things.  Today this is a red flag.  In times past such people were counted as good citizens.

The fear of red flags kept on me does not keep me from caring and from becoming involved in helping others.  However, it does make me much more leery of the police and others who are keeping track of me.

So it was a delight when this police officer waved to me.

Yet it also left me wondering what this really means.

It is saddening to me to realize that our nation and society have become such that even an act of kindness or a show of friendliness, especially from someone working for the government, has come to be cause for suspicion.  It makes me sad to know that my perspective has been thus affected.  It makes me even more sad to acknowledge that such a change in perspective is largely justified.

Nevertheless, it is still a joy to report this instance of what at least I perceived as a kindly show of friendliness from one whom I have become conditioned not to expect to demonstrate such.  It was a joy to see this police officer wave to me.

And yes, I did wave in return.  I did so sheepishly and leerily, but also with a glimmer of hope.

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Green Or Else

At 2 meter opponents arrested in Naperville: 'A society of violating one another' the article reports that two residents of Naperville were arrested for saying “No” to the forced invasion of their property to forcibly install spy equipment known as Smart Meters.  Two ladies were arrested for crying out against this rape.

The Tribune video can be viewed here.

At the end of the video interview City Manager Doug Krieger says: “Uh, we absolutely are not bullies.  I...I believe that we bent over backwards to accommodate them.”

Apparently arresting women in their own yards is accommodating them.  Apparently forcibly installing electronic equipment in people’s homes against their protests is accommodating them.

A clear message is being sent to the citizenry. “Shut up and let us do whatever we choose to do to you, Or ELSE!”

Wow!

“Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics - By Francis Scott Key 1814


^ ^ ^

Naperville Community Television, Channel 17 reports further on these arrests and includes this video:




^ ^ ^

More is available at
Stop Smart Meters! .

A few still cry out in the name of liberty, expecting to be protected by the Constitution.  But the Constitution has no power in a land where people elect officials who do not honor it and who appoint judges who overturn it.  And where the rights of the helpless and those who have no voice nor vote are allowed to be trampled, the power-hungry become voracious.

The Old Testament prophets cried out with strong warnings concerning the wolves who feed on the widows and fatherless, the poor and the homeless, the downtrodden and the wandering foreigners.  When the people abide in the way of the Lord, the widows and orphans receive care and help, and the poor and homeless are clothed and fed, and the downtrodden and wandering strangers are lifted up by those whose love flows from their own knowledge of being loved.  This never is enacted by government programs, but always through those made merciful through receiving the Lord’s limitless mercies.

Sadly, the saints have always been outnumbered in this world.  Yet throughout history their lives have made a difference for many and God’s grace has shown even in the shadow of the powerful and uncaring.

Green or Else has come upon the land.  It is no longer a future threat.  But God’s grace is greater and will most surely carry those who trust Him through every dark time until the fullness of the glory of His coming leaves no more shadows.

     Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them,
     Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?   Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
     A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
     And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.   And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give   it   you.   Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.   These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.   At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:   For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
     I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.  (John 16:19-28)

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How Is a Blind Man’s Cane Mistaken for a Samurai Sword?

Who in his right mind would think that this white cane was a samurai sword and the man carrying it a dangerous threat?



Apparently police worldwide think so.

The following reports tell the story:

Terror of blind man tasered by police: 'I thought they'd kill me', says stroke victim aged 61 whose white stick was mistaken for a samurai sword

Blind man tasered in police blunder

Police use Taser on blind man after stick mistaken for sword


More and more this sort of “mistake” is occurring worldwide.  How can such things be happening?  How is it that this is becoming more and more common?

It is happening according to the plan.

People are being trained to see terrorists everywhere.  Police are being trained to suspect everyone.  Police and military personnel are trained to look for this.

At the airport and at city hall, ordinary citizens are treated as potential perpetrators of violence.  A fingernail clipper is treated as a weapon and a bottle of water is counted as a possible bomb making ingredient.

People are being trained and encouraged to report “peculiar” behavior of their neighbors.

Is it really surprising that this is causing hysteria of the kind that leads to overreaction and use of force against a blind man carrying a cane for assistance?

People need to wake up and realize that this is bad news.  We need to stop this before it is too late.

Certainly there exist proper causes for suspicion.  But these are obvious in their peculiarity.  A stranger lurking around the back window or back door of a neighbor’s house, is a good example.  Someone wearing a ski mask in August is a very suspicious action.

But unless you believe that Highlander is a true to life story, reporting a man walking down the street with a samurai sword is insanity.  For the police to react to such reports without extreme discretion is absolute insanity.  When the suspected man is an elderly man walking slowly and with care, not threatening anyone, there is no excuse for such behavior.

But this hysteria is growing.  It is being promoted by the government bureaucracies, by the media, and by the government schools. It is actually being taught and fostered.

Police and military personnel should not be such fools as this.  They are thinking people.  But they are taught to obey orders above all else.  They are actually taught to be abusive, as with this elderly blind man, to apply assertive and abusive force and to make the handcuffs tight enough to hurt.  They are taught not to hesitate.  They are taught that protecting themselves against a suspected aggressor is more important than being certain.

Family and friends need to confront their loved ones who serve as law enforcement and military, lovingly reminding them of their vows to protect and serve.  If they do not count right as more important than might, they should resign.  If the lives of those they are sworn to protect are not more important than risking their own, then they should resign.

The country is safer without them if they have the wrong mindset.  At least most criminals cannot call for hundreds for backup.

And what of the notion that collateral damage is acceptable in a faux war against terror?  What is the proportion of people killed in the war against terror to the number killed by so-called terrorist attacks?  How many thousands and tens of thousands have been killed directly in the so-called war against terror?  And if the extensive collateral damage of poisoned water and effects are counted, how many more tens of thousands?

Which is more terrifying, really?  Which is the greater atrocity?

Then there are the massive changes that have been forced upon the citizens of the nations fighting this war on terror.  I can still remember when one could escort loved ones all the way to the embarking gate without even showing ID.  I can remember when people were not afraid of the police and security people at airports and elsewhere.  I can remember when police smiled and waved back when we waved to them.  I remember when we were not afraid to wave to the police as they passed by.

I also remember when we were not afraid of what our neighbors would report concerning our actions.  I remember when a spanking was not counted as abuse of one’s naughty child.  And yes, I am thankful that my parents were free to use such measures when they believed them to be necessary.

Today parents are arrested and their children are taken away if the parents dare to discipline them strongly.  Yet the TSA regularly frightens children and even gropes them publically, taking their toys and their drinks from them.  The police assist bankers in driving families from their homes.  The military confiscates guns from homeowners in the aftermath of horrific natural disasters.

These things became more prevalent during all of the presidents and their administrations and congresses of the past fifty years.  Isn’t it time that we wake up and stop putting these goons in office?  Isn’t time that we act responsibly?

Isn’t it time that we acknowledge the fact that voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil?  If everyone abandoned this insane notion and voted their conscience instead, the world would truly become a safer and more peaceful place to live.

If people truly acted responsibly and only voted according to their consciences, voting only for those whom they perceived as clearly and truly godly and faithful and honest, imagine how much smaller government would be and how much less money would be required to run it?

Well, it is a very nice dream.

Police State & Totalitarianism

It would seem that most people still believe that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Is there reason for anyone to reconsider this belief?  Is there any evidence that the Constitution of the United States no longer is the law of the land and that other laws have superceded the Constitution so that police and military now rule with absolute control?

In October of 2001 Congress passed and George W. Bush signed into law the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001," also known as the USA Patriot Act.  It is available at many places but here is an official site: USA PATRIOT Act.

Along side of this the so-called government also established other so-called responses for the need to “protect” us from terrorism, such as the Homeland Security and TSA.

Last year the global elite of Congress passed The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012.  It was signed into law on December 31, 2011, by President Barack Obama.

In March Obama issued and signed Executive Order 13603 -- National Defense Resources Preparedness, in which he calls upon and extends what this Act previously declared.

Are the people of America and the world paying attention to what these say and effect?

Perhaps more terrifying than even what these things say and establish and do is the fact that most people are willing to accept them without even questioning their validity, necessity, and constitutionality.

I myself have not flown since 2006 when my father was dying.  But at that time I was not allowed to pass the security checkpoint because I had these:




I was told that I would have to surrender them to my so-called protectors to be stolen from me.  I refused and was made to return to the airline desk and have my luggage retrieved so as to place the items in my luggage, which I had to leave unsecured (unlocked).  This, even though they x-ray scan all of the luggage and clearly see all that is inside.  Protection?  From whom?

Those who regularly fly are aware that things have become much worse.  How can any reasonable person with functional mental capacity allow this to be called proper?  How can anyone actually believe that this is honoring our constitutionally guaranteed liberty?

This past week I was required to go to the city hall to pay a bill because the bureaucrats have complicated this process to such a point that they cannot keep the procedure straight amongst themselves and we, the citizens, have to pick up their messes and correct them.  In years past this was a fairly simple matter.  But today one must subject oneself to the same fraudulent security molestations as at the airport.  Even after their procedures that included taking off my belt, then I was told that I would have to sign over my keys and sign for them again when I would leave.

Why was this required?  Because I had this on my keychain:



Half a dozen armed police officers were present in the entrance lobby alone and this is counted as a threatening weapon?  What real threat would such a tiny tool pose?

After obtaining my paperwork and receipt, and after signing to have my vicious weapon returned to me, I asked the very sweet Barbie doll with a gun why she thinks that treating honest citizens this way is OK.  I don’t call her this disrespectfully, but to demonstrate the ludicrous nature of this matter.  I am a working man of almost 220 lbs.  She is a lovely young lady of possibly 120 but more likely 110 lbs.  I have sufficient strength that I regularly tear tree limbs apart the size of her arms.  When I hug wife of the same size as this woman, I must be mindful to be careful so that I don’t break her ribs.  What on earth would I do to a person with a little key tool barely sharp enough to cut string?  How can she or anyone else imagine that this is in anyway related to protecting us?

Like most people, I have never hurt anyone in my life.  I have never been arrested.  I have never caused trouble.  Yet I am treated by the police and others who have sworn to protect the Constitution and those it represents as though I were a terrorist threat.

I am a preacher of the Gospel.  I invest myself in comforting people and helping people.  I serve my neighbors.  I help the homeless when I can.  I feed hungry people.  I give people a ride to the doctor and hospital.  I work hard to earn a living and to serve others.

This is the way of the vast majority of the citizenry.  Why should ordinary and law abiding and peaceful citizens be subjected to such disgraceful and wicked treatment?

Why are the people not demanding that this stop?

Why are the people imposing this upon us reelected?

When I took the paperwork to the inspection site for my truck, my receipt was taken from me until I would return with the trailer that also needed to be “inspected.”  I asked that my receipt be returned to me so that I would have proof of my payment.  They curtly refused.  I demanded my receipt before leaving and was told that then I would not be leaving.  The police told me that they were just people on the front line doing what they were told.  I asked whether this would include shooting me if they were told to do so.  The police puffed up their chests and told me to move along.  When I asked what violation I would be charged with they told me that I had better do as I was told.  The fact is that they helped the others steal my property, yet I was threatened with being arrested.

Was my question ridiculous?

Consider one incident in Saginaw, Michigan.

The report and video are at Man killed by cops, shot 30+ times.

The report begins, saying, “Three days before Independence Day, Milton Hall died in a fusillade of police gunfire outside a strip mall.”

The actual number of shots was 46.

If you watch the video, be aware that it shows the full scene.  The man is gunned down in full view.

The man was known to have emotional issues.  He was upset and belligerent.  He says that he actually called the police because he wanted to voice his frustration.  He had a knife.

The police were six in number.  They had an attack dog, guns, and presumably batons and tasers.

When Mr. Hall began moving his knife was not raised.

The dog was not released.  Batons were not drawn.  Tasers were not drawn.  Guns were drawn and fired.  The man stops in his tracks.  The guns continued to fire.  The man fell down.  The guns continued to fire.  The man lay motionless on the ground and at least 8 more shots were fired.

This is a very extreme example but it is not an isolated incident.

Do the people have cause for concern?

Mr. Hall had a knife.  He had a previous altercation with a store owner where apparently no violence occurred and Mr. Hall left.  During his agitated conversation with the police no apparent attempt was made by the police to ask why he had called them.  They only threatened him.  He stood in the middle of a parking lot far from anyone whom he could harm.  The attack dog could easily have been used to subdue him at least long enough to taser him or tackle him.

At the time of his killing, this man was not a threat to anyone.

What action prompted this barrage of gunfire?

He said “NO!” to the police.  He had a history of saying “no” to the police.  He had a history of being a nuisance.

They shot him 46 times without attempting any other measure.

Was the man who made this video in danger from Mr. Hall?  Were the people driving by in danger from Mr. Hall?  Were other passers-by in danger from Mr. Hall?  Was the store owner in danger from Mr. Hall?  Were the police in genuine danger from Mr. Hall?  Were the little birdies nearby in danger from Mr. Hall?

Yet Mr. Hall was shot 46 times to protect us.

Should not people with a conscience be troubled by this to the point of calling for a change other than what Bush and Obama have brought upon us? Should we not be outraged that such a man as Mr. Hall can be gunned down as he was?

This man needed help.  Instead he was shot.  He was shot 46 times!

What does this say about the attitude of the police?

He was not shot in the leg or shoulder to stop him.  After he was immobilized they continued shooting and shooting.

Over the Trayvon Martin shooting, where he actually attacked a man and was shot and killed in the altercation, Obama joined in.  Did he say anything about this man who was shot 46 times?  Where is the outrage by those who caused so much turmoil regarding Trayvon’s killing?

It apparently is acceptable for the police and the military and the CIA and Homeland Security and the TSA to abuse and molest and even to kill.

Meanwhile, the big bankers are getting rich, foreclosing on homes of people who have lost their jobs that the big bankers have moved to China.  More and more people are being forced to become homeless and destitute.  Our water is being poisoned with fluoride.  Our food is being poisoned with glutamates, aspartic acid, fluoride, and pesticides.  Our air is being sprayed with toxins.  Drugs are being pushed as the answer to every problem.  Health care is being confiscated by the government.  And working people who carry a pocket knife and mothers who carry a finger nail clipper are treated as terrorist threats to society.

Yet people are not concerned.  When asked, Mitt Romney says that he approves of the NDAA, TSA, HS, Patriot Act, invading other countries in the name of a war against terrorism, of the TARP bailouts and the stimulus money.  Yet some people imagine that voting for such a man is voting for change.

Ultimately, this is to be expected.  People have not changed.  Adam listened to his wife who listened to the serpent.  Then, when confronted by the Lord they began the blaming game.  Cain killed his brother.  Wars have raged ever since.  Nations rise up against each other.  Neighbors envy one another’s possessions and spouses and then act according to their lusts.  It has been this way since sin came into the world.  Freedom from fear cannot be found.

It can only be received.  Perfect love casts out all fear.  Perfect love is from above.  It is given freely, but it is received through means.  The Lord has established those means to be utilized and administered within His Church.

He has forewarned that as the last days approach that things would become more intense and worsen.  He said that we should remember that He has told us of these things beforehand so that when we see them and suffer them that we take comfort in His promises.  He says that these are all signs that the end of this evil age is approaching.  He says that these are signs that the evil one is raging on account of knowing the limits of his time.  He says that we should look up and see that our redemption draws nigh.  Our trust, our hope, is not in princes and rulers, presidents and congresses, judges and courts, doctors and hospitals, police and military.  Those will all surely fail us and even abuse us.  But the Lord deals with us in grace offering us His merciful goodness and love.

For whom do I write this?  I suppose that first and foremost I write for myself and my wife.  I also write for all others, but I myself need to hear and believe God’s promises in Christ.  I need that comfort and assurance.  I need to be renewed in the knowledge that this world is not all that there is and that the evils of this world and of the worldly shall not prevail.  The many abuses can be endured.  The many hurts can be suffered without being overcome.  For the just shall live by His faith, and through Him we are saved and kept safe forevermore.

Not everyone will hear this and believe it.  But for me and my house, I repeat it again and again and again until we finally behold the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.  And for anyone who sees the peace of God that rules our hearts in the face of all that is happening in the world, I share the source of that peace so that they may enjoy it for themselves as well.

Luther sums this up very powerfully in the last stanza of his marvelous hymn:

1.     A mighty Fortress is our God,
     A trusty Shield and Weapon;
     He helps us free from every need
     That hath us now o'ertaken.
     The old evil Foe
     Now means deadly woe;
     Deep guile and great might
     Are his dread arms in fight;
     On Earth is not his equal.



2.     With might of ours can naught be done,
     Soon were our loss effected;
     But for us fights the Valiant One,
     Whom God Himself elected.
     Ask ye, Who is this?
     Jesus Christ it is.
     Of Sabaoth Lord,
     And there's none other God;
     He holds the field forever.



3.     Though devils all the world should fill,
     All eager to devour us.
     We tremble not, we fear no ill,
     They shall not overpower us.
     This world's prince may still
     Scowl fierce as he will,
     He can harm us none,
     He's judged; the deed is done;
     One little word can fell him.



4.     The Word they still shall let remain
     Nor any thanks have for it;
     He's by our side upon the plain
     With His good gifts and Spirit.
     And take they our life,
     Goods, fame, child and wife,
     Let these all be gone,
     They yet have nothing won;
     The Kingdom ours remaineth.

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Good Bye Old Friend!

On June 16 at about 2:00 AM there was a crash outside of our bedroom window.  I heard it, but it did not register with me yet, not until there was a loud banging on our front door.  A gentleman who frequently drives past our house was knocking to make me aware that an unfamiliar white pickup was parked oddly in my driveway.  He stopped to let me know out of concern.  He said that he had never seen that truck in the driveway before and suspected that it was not mine, especially since there was a man walking to and fro in the street.  When I looked, the man was no longer walking but was lying in the street on his back.  I thanked the gentleman for his kindness and put on more clothing and grabbed by cell phone and camera and went to investigate.

A white Dodge Dakota Sport pickup truck was mingled with my poor old F-150.  The man was lying on his back in the street with his feet toward the curb and his head toward the center line.

While the damage to my truck was a concern, the man in the street was my priority.

When I approached him to ask if he was OK he responded, “No, I don’t know where the hell I am.”  When I asked whether he needed some help he said, “You can help me by telling me where the hell I am.”

I informed him that he was lying in the street.  He said that He knew that but did not know where he was.  I informed him that he had an accident with his truck and that he was lying in the street.  He replied saying that he knew that but did not know where he was.  I told him that he needed to move out of the street so that he would not be run over by passing cars but he did not want to move.  He eventually said that he had a few drinks.

Uh huh.

When other vehicles came, I stood waving them away from the fallen man.  Two of the passers by, two ladies, parked their vehicles and approached to try to be of assistance.  I finally persuaded the man that he needed to move to the lawn where he would be safe, and he extended his hand upward for help rising.  But as he rose to about a 30 degree angle he softly said, “Ow, ow.”  Then I noticed the blood on the pavement and felt the back of his head and received a handful of blood.  I said, “O.K.  You need to stay right there until an ambulance arrives.  I’ll get a flashlight to direct traffic so you don’t get run over.”

Apparently he was unaware of being injured.  It seems that he must have begun to step onto the curb, lost his balance, and fell backward onto the roadway, hitting his head and splitting his scalp somewhat.

After easing him back to his lying position, he then reached for his cigarettes and lit one up to smoke while he lay awaiting whatever would come next.  I moved his glasses so that they would not be stepped upon.  He said that he did not want me to call an ambulance.  I informed him that I had to as he was injured.

911 is absurd.  When I called the questions asked of me were ludicrous.  I informed the lady that she needed to get an ambulance to the scene now and that I was done talking with her as I needed to keep the man from being run over.

When the police officers arrived, they seemed to be more concerned about gathering evidence for a DUI conviction than they were about the man’s safety.  They repeatedly referred to me as a victim, which I did not fully realize until later.  The first officer was really very rude.

When the paramedics arrived, they checked the man briefly and loaded him onto a gurney and secured his neck and head and loaded him into the ambulance and transported him to a hospital.

Now it was safe to take pictures of the accident scene, now that the man was safer, no longer in danger of being run over.

Police and emergency vehicles filled the streets with pretty colored lights flashing everywhere.  My little camera and my knowledge of its functions limited the clarity of the photos. Nevertheless, this was the scene.

Here is my part of the police report minus the signature.

I asked the police officer to let me scan it after he gave his part but he said that this was not allowed because of the insurance companies.  I later learned what this means.  I do not know whether or not he knew the real reason but the insurance company did.  The City of Wichita delays the publishing of the report so as to be able to charge the insurance company a fee of $16.00.

Because of this, the man’s insurance company could not assist me immediately.  They were unable to obtain the official report from the City of Wichita and they could not contact their client.  Presumably he was unavailable to return their calls while in jail and then was afraid to answer his phone.

By the way, it turns out that the man lives one block from our house.  In fact, I had to ride my bicycle for transportation to and from the bank, and on my way I saw his truck parked in front of his apartment.  He had it back from the impound lot in driveable condition.  I was left with a crumpled truck forced to a 45 degree angle onto the lawn.  As it turns out, I could actually see his pickup from my driveway.  Incredible!

It was truly disheartening to me that my neighbor did this to me and then took absolutely no care whatsoever for my well-being.  He knew the trouble that he caused me but did nothing to facilitate getting me back on the road and back to work in my tree business.  I dared not allow myself to think about it for very long as it made me angry.  Anger is not a good thing, at least not if allowed to fester.

Amazingly the damage to my irresponsible neighbor’s pickup was comparatively minimal.  My poor old friend was totaled.

Prior to my neighbor’s indiscretion my truck was parked straight in the driveway, backed in as is my usual manner.  But not after he jumped the curb and slammed into it.

As the following photo shows, the front frame was shifted at least 6 inches rightward.  My poor, faithful, old friend was done in.

Replacing him makes me feel like I am betraying an old friend.  That is silly, as it is only a truck, but I do feel that way.  It served me well for many years and miles.

Stephanie and I both give thanks that this did not occur during a time when I could have been under the truck servicing it.  That truly would have been messy.

The old, faithful, gray truck with leprosy but guts and grit has been towed away.  My stomach hurts when I think of it.  Yet, through this, though it has set us back financially, God has provided that I have a newer truck as a replacement.  It seems to be a good truck, too, a 1997 versus the older 1990.  It has fewer miles and better paint and an air conditioner that works.  So in the end, God has again worked good for us, even through difficult circumstances.

If we are willing to see it, He does this in all things, even as St. Paul assures us.

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Cannibalistic Demoniac?

According to The Palm Beach Post News article, Miami police shoot, kill naked man who was 'eating' face of another man:

One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp, police said.

Is this for real?

The article further says:

The officer, who has not been identified, approached and saw that the naked man was actually chewing the other man’s head, according to witnesses. The officer ordered the naked man to back away, and when he continued the assault, the officer shot him. The attacker continued to eat the man, despite being shot, forcing the officer to continue firing. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen shots.

Wow!

Two questions come to mind:

First, what would possess a man to do such a thing as this?  Actually, I believe that the question answers itself.

Secondly, why was this police officer’s first response to shoot the cannibalistic attacker?  Don’t the police still carry their batons?  And what about a taser?

Was this so horrifying that the officer reacted in terror?  Surely it is horrifying.  Who but a demented devilish creator of horror stories and movies would imagine such a thing?  Well, the devil, of course, but whom else?

Perhaps the report does not tell the full story.  Perhaps the police officer did try other methods of stopping this horrible act before shooting the attacker.

But what of this attacker?  How does one explain his actions?  What of the superhuman strength?

Is this "Cool" ... "No need to panic"?

Officials conduct military training in So. Fla.




One tourist calls it “cool.”

Reported in segment 1:48 of the video: “Some people even called 911,” and the police officer kindly explains, “A lot of people have called in a panic, there’s no need to panic.”

When I was young the popular TV show SWAT was considered to be cool.  I thought so, too.  I never really thought about the implications of police being trained and programed to act as assassins in body armor.  I never really moved beyond the presentation of these special weapons and tactics as noble protectors of the populace.  I never really thought it through to the point of considering that police were being specially trained to kill Americans by the order of their superiors.

Is this cool?  Or should the people be concerned?

Under the guise of fighting terrorism, this special training is being expanded beyond anything that any common citizen would ever have imagined even a few years ago.  Military and local police are now being trained together to “fight terrorism” and “civil uprising.”

The NDAA gives these enforcers of “peace” the authority to act openly in ways that have never been done openly.  Citizens can now be arrested and detained indefinitely without legal representation (and worse).

The kindly police officer informs us:  “A lot of people have called in a panic, there’s no need to panic.”

Are we being taught not to have concern over such maneuvers?  Are we being programmed simply to accept such things as common place events in our society?  Are we being set up for this sort of thing being done in our cities as what is to be expected?

At what point do the citizens have cause for being concerned?  At what point do we as Christians have cause to be concerned for our neighbors and countrymen?  When does love for neighbor move us to stand up and cry: “Whoa!  What is this?”

Have we ever seen any cause to question the leaders of this country and the world?  How many times did the American Indians trust the government to honor the treaties that were signed only to be abused yet again?  How many KKK members were in government and law enforcement, with no protection for those who were abused and even killed?  What of those who were imprisoned in the concentration/detainment camps for the people of Japanese ancestry?  What of those who have had their businesses and homes raided by the IRS enforcers?  What about the arrest of gentle and honest farmers selling raw milk to people who desire it?  How about what was recently done to Mr. Del Rio as reported at Austin Steals Elderly Veteran’s House for Crime of Having Fallout Shelter.  According to the report:

The city began its theft by sending the code enforcement team to Mr. Del Rio’s home early one Saturday morning in May of 2010. After the retired Air Force reservist, Vietnam veteran, and former state employee put on some clothes and opened the door, he was rushed by an Austin Police SWAT team. He was detained and interrogated over a period of ten hours.

Here stands the man:



The city sent a SWAT team.  In what way is this justifiable or even rational?  When we hear of these things being done to our neighbors and fellow countrymen, should we not become alarmed?  These things are happening all over the country.  These are happening with the approval of both the Democrats and the Republicans.  When the police are the ones being used in this way, to whom can a citizen turn for help?  When the judges do nothing and the media presents these as “cool” and stupid citizens accept these things as “cool,” or say, “What can I do about it?” the situation grows in intensity.  Isn’t it time to say “No more!”?

For a closer view of what is coming, see U.S. Army Re-Education Manual: Yet More Chilling Revelations.

From above, if a SWAT team was sent to intimidate and arrest Mr. Del Rio, a retired citizen who has served his country in many capacities, for whom are these detention camps being built?  Whom are the government leaders labeling as people who should be detained and/or reeducated?

Last year in my post Where have all the police gone? , I shared a late night event where over 40 police cars and a helicopter converged upon a local bowling ally on account of an off-duty police officer working security who encountered two unruly men.

Are such things not indicative of matters becoming out of control, or at least, not being focused primarily upon protection of the people?

I find these things very concerning.  I hear of people going hungry, unable to afford medical care, losing their homes, being mugged because they cannot afford to drive and have to walk home late at night from their jobs.

I am concerned because the most precious treasure of mankind, the pure Gospel, is being misrepresented so that people are becoming hardened to it and to belief in the God of the Gospel.  Ultimately, this is my greatest concern, as the church bodies become more and more corrupt, and the government and society follow.  The healing and peace and joy and comfort of the Gospel is being buried or transformed so that people are not receiving these blessings and benefits, and both society and the country are moving in a direction toward destruction.

How sad.


- - -

Attack Dogs used on a High School Walkout in MD

Has this been in the news? It is the first that I have seen of it.

Dogs used on a HS Students. Four Arrested For “Thought Crimes"



From what I’ve been reading elsewhere, the nutrition is indeed a cause of concern, especially with the “pink slime” and other toxic additives that are being used in government school lunches.

While I don’t know enough about the various issues of concern to these high school students to attempt to address these issues, the fact that the government has this much control over the populace horrifies me. I never realized the extent to which this reaches until my wife began working for the government schools and began talking about the laws that she daily encounters.

Growing up I never realized what the truancy laws were. I never realized that the parental excuse and doctor’s written excuses were needed because I was being held hostage by the legal system. I always thought that this was merely part of the requirements of being a responsible student. I had no clue regarding the fact that missing class was a crime for which my parents would be held accountable.

A few years ago when I became aware of this I was truly horrified. I was deeply shocked to realize that this has been in force for all of my life apart from my awareness. I was very troubled to realize that this depth of mind control and social programming has been forced upon us for such a long time.

What is more is that the government schools are a farce and a joke. They are inefficient. They demand more and more taxes of the populace and accomplish less and less. This was as true when I was a youngster as it is today.

I was blessed to attend our church’s parochial school through the sixth grade. My first year in the government school was like a general review. The next year we were made aware of the advanced classes and I began learning something again. But there was also the continual bombardment of false information, especially in the history and social departments. I was being taught that the way to get laws changed is to challenge them by breaking them so that they would be reviewed by the courts. This was called civil disobedience and was the only real means taught for changing laws.

Thus these kids in Maryland first think of a walkout rather than talking to their parents and discussing the ways of addressing these issues through the school board and through demanding changes in legislation. Thus the government first teaches the students to be “activists” and law breakers, to cause civil unrest, and then arrests them for doing as they have been taught to do. That principal ought to be fired for his duplicity. The police chief also should be fired for promotion of terrorism.

Most importantly, the truancy laws should be overturned. The citizens should not be required by law to subject themselves to educational tyranny. If people do not want an education, or they simply do not want to be forced into government social modification programs, they should be free to seek their own means of education or even to remain ignorant if they so choose. Most of all, the entire populace should not be forced to pay for these social modification programs that always demand more money.

I often feel bewildered by the fact that the government’s religion is forcibly taught to the nation’s children and most people express no real objection. The result is that true freedom has been nearly entirely obliterated.

Just think, if parents decide that they do not want their children to be subjected to the government’s required (accredited) curricula, the government sends its enforcers to take the children from the parents. If a citizen does not want to support the government’s enforced indoctrination programs and refuses to pay the required program fees (property taxes), the government confiscates the citizen’s home and property. Parents who want to educate their own children must receive special permission from the government and must use the government’s curricula.

If the children object and stage a walk out, the government enforcers are sent with tasers and clubs and guns and attack dogs to hold them hostage.

Yet the people blithely ignore these government reeducation/indoctrination concentration camps and imagine that the freedom envisioned by the founders of this nation still exists. And this is just what is observed in the government enforced education system.

Is it time yet for us to become concerned?

This information does seem to shed some light upon what the usual candidates for office support with their support of the Federal Department of Education and “No child left behind.” That is for sure, no child is left behind, they all are dragged off together to the same locked down facilities. Well, at least we can take comfort knowing that the Obama, Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum have consistently pressed for more taxes to support the Department of Ed. Surely we can count on them for more of the same.

Ah, what a relief!

+ + +

Where have all the police gone?

My neighbor has been in need of a ride home from work of late. He works in a part of town that is not safe to be walking late at night and he is released from work at 11:15 pm. His work place is seven and a half miles away, and after a long day’s work, that is a long way to have to walk home through dangerous neighborhoods. So, late Friday night he and I were traveling homeward on South Seneca and we saw a myriad of flashing colored lights around Seneca Bowl.

As we drew nearer we had to slow down. Police cars were lined up all along the north block. They filled the west parking lot. Twelve police cars were lined up along Seneca. More police cars were packed into the south parking lot and the parking lots of the neighboring businesses. My best estimate is a count of over forty police cars. At least one helicopter continued flying overhead.

Why? Was this a hostage situation? Was this a dirty bomb threat by terrorists?

After driving home I tried to glean information from various news reporting agencies. Nothing showed up anywhere. Saturday’s newspaper showed nothing either. Surely such an enormous disturbance in the neighborhood warranted some form of public explanation!

Today I called the bowling alley and asked about the situation. I was informed that a couple of jerks started fighting and the police officer that is hired to maintain security radioed for back up. But his radio cut out and the dispatcher signaled that an officer was in distress.

Now I sympathize with those who serve as police officers that if an officer is in need of help that they all want to come to their brother’s aid. I understand that they all relate to the sense of need not to be left alone in such a situation. But the dispatcher knew that it was a simple situation of two jerks fighting. Is there any justification for 40 or more police cars cramming into such a small area for such little reason? Is there any justification for leaving the rest of the city unguarded?

What about the distress that they caused to the poor people of the neighborhood? What about those especially who live next to this block? I live five blocks from there and it troubled my spirit. Surely those who were closer must have felt troubled.

Moreover, this was a terrible waste of manpower and money.

I do not want to disparage the police and sheriff’s departments nor those who serve. Nevertheless, something is very askew in this matter. This is not right. It is actually a dangerous thing. This is a very serious lack of effective communication in matters that impact the community’s safety. How is such error possible? How can two belligerent and unruly jerks become cause for an enormous invasive force of armed agents of the government?

Was this a joke? What could the officers have been thinking to pile upon each other as they did? The parking lots were jammed full of police vehicles. It was nearly like the nutty pile up scenes in comedy movies where the silly police ram into each other, flipping and crashing and landing on each other while the bad guys race off unscathed. Perhaps this is why it went unreported in the media. How would the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County explain this without embarrassment? My neighbor was able to observe two handcuffed men sitting in the parking lot, but no other activity besides the horde of police vehicles, as we drove past. Two silly men and forty or more police vehicles with the accompanying officers. Wow. Such proficiency leaves one in awe. No wonder we keep hearing about the need to increase taxes to provide for a larger police budget.