Blog Archives - North Florida Writer

After the Rains

3/31/2014

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (ESV)

Have you ever noticed carefully the way life unfolds the morning after a storm? The air is clear and clean, the sun comes out ever so brightly with a beautiful sky and all living plant life shows its best green color while the flowers open beautifully and display their magic. The birds sing a little better and even we humans come forward with a much brighter outlook on life with a livelier step and a more positive attitude.

Well, if you took the time to worship the Lord yesterday on the Sabbath life should seem this way to you today as well. Regular worship, supplemented by reading the Word and praying to him in thanks and praise are simple steps that each of us needs to perform routinely. Our belief in our Lord and Savior requires constant practice and repetition. The more we do it, the better we perform and the more it means to us.

But there is much more to it than just that. If we fully accept our Savior as Lord, we become like the morning after the storm. We throw off the muck and mire of life and become clean and fresh again, bathed in His shower of blessings and the warmth of His love. And by living by His Commandments and His Word we discipline ourselves to live the Christian life of love and hope, a life that will lead us at the end of our limited time on earth to our eternal salvation through Him.

There can be no greater grace or love than this and we are so blessed that He has given us this opportunity. Will you accept it?

Dear Lord: Thank you for the grace and love that you have given to us for we are mere sinners who are undeserving of your mercy. Help us to open our hearts and minds to you and allow the Holy Spirit into our bodies so that we might live for you both now and forevermore. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Savior, who died that we might live. Amen.

Have a wonderful day and remember always to keep it with God.

John Boehner's "Sell Out Conservatives" Weekend

3/30/2014

Courtesy Flickr.com

Next weekend down here in Florida at the Ritz-Carlton on picturesque Amelia Island, John Boehner and his leadership team of cronies and phonies will be meeting with a group of liberals who will discuss with him ways to destroy the conservative wing of the Republican Party. The primary emphasis will be defeating Conservative Republican candidates, many with Tea Party ties, who are trying to put the party in Congress on course to do what the people want.

I'm not going to detail the story since I read it in redstate.com and you can read the actual story here: http://www.redstate.com/2014/03/25/next-weekend-house-republicans-collaborate-with-left-wing-interests-against-conservatives/.

What I do want to do here, however, is to provide a few comments about John Boehner and his "leadership team" which Conservatives need to be aware of. Principal in this is the fact that John Boehner and his chief front office team members, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy, are anything but conservative. They are just more of the same-old, same-old which has led the Republicans to disaster time and time again. And the other twenty-five Republicans who will be joining them in their meeting with the Main Street Partnership echo their views.

Remember the night that the Obama-Reid-Pelosi team got their hallmark legislation, the infamous Obamacare, passed and forwarded it to the President for signature? That night on the House floor Minority Leader Boehner made a very passionate conservative speech stating how bad this law was and what needed to be done to kill it as soon as possible. It was by far the best speech that the soon to be Speaker who can't effectively speak ever delivered and I thought maybe there was hope for the country.

In 2010, as a major backlash to Obamacare and all of the big government programs taking shape, Americans sent a decisive message to Washington as the House was recaptured in a huge victory for the Conservative Way. Yet despite that election and the resultant win that it gave to Boehner in his gaining the Speakership, he and his lieutenants have stabbed Conservatives in the heart repeatedly, opting to "work" with a President who has treated them lower than dirt. And now this same man and his team will be scheming next weekend at an expensive Florida resort to stab them in the heart again, this time hoping to deliver the fatal blow.

Conservative Americans, it is time to vote out of office every RINO and moderate who is part of this scheme and once and for all to return the House to a real Republican majority, one made up of people who represent their constituents not business groups like the Main Street Partnership and its spokesman, former Congressman Steve LaTourette, who is much closer in alignment to unions and Progressives than he ever was to conservatism.

Check out Erick Erickson's article yourself and speak out and call your Congressman. Stand for the real America, those of us who live in the heartland, not inside the Beltway. My column yesterday talked about not falling for the "we fight for you" scenario of two-faced politicians who don't give a tinkers-damn about what you and I think. It's time to respond accordingly and with the force of numbers.

We want our nation back and we'll no longer accept actions by supposed leaders who never honor the truth. We need more Ted Cruz's and Louie Gohmert's and less of the Boehner-Cantor-McCarthy variety, men who are more interested in their Washington gamesmanship and power than they are in the country. God bless America and let's bring her back.

"I'll Fight for You"

3/29/2014

There is no quote used more often and with less honesty in the world of politics than the heading to this commentary. Politicians are always campaigning saying that they will fight for you. Frankly, from what normally happens after they are elected these days I find that term offensive and a falsehood.

Fighting for someone means that they will stand for you and defend your honor and way of life, something which generally they don't know how to do or in most cases certainly don't want to do. And there may be a few exceptions but generally speaking, they speak and stand for the lobbyists who provide them campaign funds so that they can con the rest of us into believing them. We are a far secondary figure since their primary role is to maintain power and prestige.

How did it get this way? Well, when citizens don't do their civic duty and pay attention to what politicians do and not just what they say and when these same citizens don't even understand what the functions of government are supposed to be in a democratic republic, bad things happen. The politicians themselves like it this way since it is then easy to fool the voters into trusting them.

And there is one other reason which is faced by all humans and it is temptation and weakness. Mortal men and women are weak, and when they are tempted by the trappings of power and wealth they often succumb which results in them doing whatever it takes to maintain their personal advantage while forgetting about the reason for their election in the first place. Only the imposition of term limits which will force change of officeholders in relatively short order can combat this as well as our intelligent selection of truly good men and women.

My last point is this: the only people who can truly say they will fight for you are those willing to rest their lives for you on the battlefield, our military forces. So the next time you run into a politician who stands and says he'll fight for you, just tell him to go see the nearest recruiter. Trust me, that will shut them up.

There I've said it. I've gotten my pet peeve for this Saturday morning off my chest. Have a great weekend and be safe out there.

Schumer On the Loose Again

3/28/2014

Courtesy flickr.com

So the illustrious Senior Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, the pit bull for all things extreme on the Left is at it again. This time he is hawking a bill in the Senate with a title that sounds good, "The Free Flow of Information Act" but as is always the case in the Senate, the truth is in the details. Commonly called the Media Shield Law, it is heralded as a solution to the situation where James Rosen was under such heat for filing reports that weren't favorable to the Administration and caused his freedom of the press to be violated.

Schumer claims that he has enough Republican RINO votes to push the bill through, but the second ranking Republican from Texas, John Cornyn, a squishy Conservative, says he is bluffing and that he will fight this tooth and nail. I hope that doesn't mean he'll fight it tooth and nail like he did the deficit extension and the effort to kill Obamacare.

The major problem with the bill is that it uses the term "covered journalist" when talking about who will be protected. So what does that mean?

Well, we know that Schumer will protect the rights of the Left in the media which covers all major televised media sources except Fox News, but what about the new journalism? Think about it, most of us if we are Conservative get our information either from talk radio or the internet; we have largely given up on most print and visual media, excepting once again Fox. And therein lies the rub: Schumer's bill has the potential to negate the freedom of speech of bloggers and average citizens who know it is their constitutional right to speak their mind openly and honestly. Small sites like mine will be at the mercy of this coyote in human form and the ability to receive both sides of all issues will be eliminated which is really what he wants to do.

So I hope the good Senor Senator from Texas is true to his word and I hope that even RINO Republicans realize the danger of allowing government to operate unwatched by the public it is supposed to serve. After all, now that the Fourth Estate is owned and operated by the Left, this bill is probably the last straw for openness in ideas and conversation across the American spectrum.

While I doubt that even if it passes the Senate that it can pass in the House, the precedent and direction it sets for future legislative controls in a country which is rapidly losing its free status is frightening. And never fully trust the leadership in the House which is so easy to be purchased by the highest bidder. John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy never saw a deal that they wouldn't try to make.

This is just another example of why Americans must pay attention and get involved in closely watching the happenings in Washington. Men in power are weak, easily bought and sold, unless a vigilant public keeps them honest. And when honesty is lost, freedom goes with it.

It's time for all of us to speak up; time is a-wastin'.

Is Sarah Going Easy on Hillary?

3/27/2014

I've liked Sarah Palin ever since she burst out into the national spotlight when John McCain surprised the country by picking her as his running mate. But once she introduced herself to America, it became clear why even John McCain would see her as a political asset even though his views are much more liberal. Sarah offers energy and excitement and an honest presentation of the state of things in America and I think those of us who are truly honest find that refreshing.

The other day when I heard that she had said some nice things about Hillary of all people I momentarily wondered if she herself had started drinking the Kool-Aid. But when I looked at the tenor of her comments in the light of the political trade I think it became obvious that she is on to something.

I think Sarah is facing the reality that yes, there will be a woman Presidential candidate soon as the reality of modern politics demands, but I think she also wants Hillary to be the one for a more fundamental reason. That reason is Hillary's track record and lack of real accomplishment.

The dirty little secret (actually it's not a secret unless you are a low information voter) is that Hillary is weak. She was the First Lady, nothing more although she tried to make it seem so, and then used her husband's coattails to be elected Senator from a sure thing state, the liberal bastion of New York.

Hillary did receive quite a bit of notoriety in the White House as her massive healthcare fiasco, the precursor of Obamacare, went nowhere and she was involved in some serious scandals such as the White House Travelgate where the travel office was fired in an attempt to fill the function with Clinton cronies. There are also still questions that really were never answered about the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster and her role in destroying the reputation of the women of what I'll call "Bimbogate." But the biggest issue came later.

I don't think I'll ever forget her angry response during her testimony about Benghazi when she said to her questioner when asked about the circumstances of the death of four loyal Americans, "What difference does it make?"

Yes, indeed, I think that Sarah Palin knows, as all Americans of conscience know, it makes a great deal of difference. I think if she decides to officially run she will rue the day that more light is shed onto Benghazi, and I think her former boss, the President, will try to make sure she doesn't. There's a smoking gun in there somewhere, folks, and sooner or later someone will find it.

And as for Sarah Palin, I wish her godspeed and blessings in whatever she decides to do. I don't think she wants to run herself after having to deal with the undeserved ridicule and scorn of the relentless Left, but I do know that she has an important role to play in returning America to its grand design. We need to all stand with her in this ambitious and laudable effort.

Better watch out, Hillary, we don't forget. America is bigger than you and in the end the truth will win out. It always does because it sets us free.

What's Going On in Egypt?

3/26/2014

Egyptian leader General Al-Sisi

The Western Press has been strangely silent about Egypt over the last several months. It's as if the largest Arab country no longer exists, or is it because so many Western liberals, American and otherwise, are fuming because their idea of democracy was set back by the Egyptian military?

It's probably the latter since Obama was hell bent on the Muslim Brotherhood running roughshod on the Coptic Christians while he looked the other way. It's just as the head of the Vatican Court, Cardinal Michael Burke said from the Vatican two days ago: Obama has done more to persecute Christians in the United States than anyone by taking away, or working to takeng away, their freedom of religious expression by edict. And when you do this to Christians in the "Land of the Free", the rest of the world sees it as open season on the religion of peace.

Not so in Egypt, however, as the military leader, General Al-Sisi continues his purge of Islamic Extremists in the Muslim Brotherhood. While Mohamed Morsi and thirty-six other Brotherhood leaders remain in custody awaiting trial resolution, the courts have now condemned 529 terrorists to death and more are now going to trial. Oh, they will get the opportunity to appeal as they should, but the General is determined to end the terrorism and bloodshed that has racked Egypt ever since Morsi was elected and then attempted to turn the nation into a dictatorial Muslim state owned and operated by the Brotherhood.

As always happens in these situations in the Middle East, Christian groups who supported the military suffered as much, if not more than anyone. These are the ten percent of Egypt that is Coptic Christian, and many were killed, including men, women and children and their churches and homes burned out. The military is working hard to stamp this out and that's part of the reason for the convictions. Murder, torture and property destruction will not be condoned by the General and he is committed to stamping it out.

Christian-believing Americans should see General Al-Sisi's actions as something that was necessary to avoid turning Egypt into a permanently broiling inferno which had nothing to do with a video. Things are better today for Egyptians as order is being returned, commerce is getting re-started and people are beginning to get on with their daily lives.

The military has also taken steps to close the tunnels from Egypt to Gaza, a primary route for terrorist weaponry to make its way to Palestinian terrorists (Hamas and company) to be used directly against Israel. The open border passage from Egypt to Gaza is now tightly controlled if not closed.

Egypt has also begun working with Israel informally on terror issues. General Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both know that they have the opportunity to lessen the strife and thereby stabilize their corner of the world. It's what is needed and it offers hope against the terrorism that has been so rampant and so deadly in both countries.

Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways and he uses unexpected bedfellows. Let us hope and pray that this is one of those cases that will ultimately lead to peace. And if you want to read about the goings-on in Egypt and Israel, the online Jerusalem Post is a good source (jpost.com). Unlike the Obama-compliant media, it will tell you the truth.

The Lord be with you and have a great day.

Michelle Obama: A Poor Representative for America

3/25/2014

Modern Peking (the parts we're allowed to see)

One thing that is always expected of people representing the United States of America while overseas is good diplomacy. Diplomacy in this sense means good manners, a pleasant demeanor and class. Class is the really difficult one, for class requires skill and care in making those you meet feel comfortable with you and it is not just limited to the upper crust. A person with class treats all with respect and decency, even house maids and serving personnel, appreciating what they do and who they are as members of the human race.

Diplomacy and class are certainly not qualities of note with the current First Family. From the President's snubbing of Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House to his calling out the Supreme Court during the State of the Union address a few years ago, his example as leader of his family has obviously rubbed off on his wife. Or could it be that her lack of class has rubbed off on him? More likely they rub off on each other and the problem just festers and grows jointly from their attitude of entitlement.

I say this based upon her behavior and that of her entourage in Peking while supposedly on an American goodwill trip (after all, we are footing the bill), but if it really does have a valid purpose other than sightseeing why is the press not allowed to accompany her? What is she hiding? After all, she doesn't have to worry about the mainstream press reporting the truth as they continually cover for the Obama's.

Maybe it's just as simple as she wants to avoid the press from saying "Hello, Mrs. Robinson". Mrs. Robinson, her mother, is making quite a stir in Peking these days and Michelle is probably trying to cover it up. The word has leaked out from local Chinese employees at the Peking Westin, where the family is ensconced in the Presidential suite in $8K per night of luxury, that Mrs. Robinson is fuming and screaming at the staff about everything and many want to quit from the abuse. Nothing they can do is good enough for this ingrate. This despite the fact that the Chinese as a people are very polite and I'm sure that hotel staff is going out of the way to make the Obama clan happy with absolutely no thanks and appreciation.

I don't know about the rest of you, but Mama didn't raise this cowboy to act that way and from the sounds of it she is doing to American-Chinese relations what the battleship Bismarck did to German-English diplomacy so many years ago. Bad behavior is never a good thing, but then again, some people either just don't seem to know better or don't care, and that clearly seems to fit this First Family.

So Michelle will carry on with her expensive trip while Barack is back in Washington probably happy to be rid of her for a while. Maybe Jay-Z and Beyonce are visiting while the others are gone. After all, he does seem to have a special relationship with them.

I guess what really rubs my craw the wrong way is the fact that we have a First Family which makes no attempt to demonstrate personal sacrifice in a land that is suffering so much because of the President's bad judgment and even worse policies. From a world position as the leader, America is rapidly sinking into a dismal state while the President of the United States of America and his family continually poke their fingers in the very eyes of those who must foot the bill for his fun and games.

Never has America been faced with such a pathetic situation and hopefully sufficient numbers of voters will make a big step forward in November to reverse this course. And to those Chinese citizens who through no fault of their own have been abused and mistreated by the poor behavior of this entourage, I say Americans aren't really this way. This is clearly an aberration, one which must be changed soon.

Wake up, America, and let's bring our country back. We are better than this and we deserve sound leadership by example. It shows what we are not, not what we say we are, and the Obamas should certainly know better.

Smile: It Will Start Your Day Off Right

3/24/2014

There's just something about a smiling baby

Okay, folks, it's Monday morning or as Fats Domino used to sing, "Blue Monday". There's just something about Monday mornings that makes it tougher to get in the groove and going like other days. Maybe it's because you had a great weekend or quite possibly it's that you feel guilty because you put off something Friday hoping it would go away but, nope, Monday is here and it's still waiting.

It really doesn't matter what the reason is, there is something easy you can do to immediately brighten your outlook: instead of moping around and dreading your start, force yourself to look at things from a positive perspective. Think about your many blessings and smile. You'll feel better and once you get in gear the day will go great. And remember, each day that goes by gets you another day closer to the next fun weekend.

So get out of those pajamas and get dressed, Sleepy Head. Clean up your act and when you look at yourself in the mirror while primping just say: "Smile and the whole world smiles with you", and then just do it. It's amazing the difference that a smile can make. It takes less physical work for you to carry a face with a smile instead of a frown and it is also infectious. Just look at yourself smiling in the mirror and you'll notice you look healthier and it will actually make you feel happier as well.

And then, with everyone you pass on the way into work just say "Good morning" with a smile on your face. Oh, some of them might look at you strangely, but you'll notice after a while that most will return your smile even if they were frowning before seeing you. It works and you'll see that it makes your day go better and it makes you more productive. And besides, who wants to spend all day hanging around with a grump and whether you like it or not you hang out with yourself all day.

So come on, folks, smile like your life depends on it. And a regular routine of it will lower blood pressure and stress and will actually make your life healthier and probably longer. Once you've gotten in the habit, it's easy, but you might just want to put a little reminder on your mirror. Put a little sunshine in your life and the life of others.

God bless you all and have a great week.

"Beavus and Butthead", er "Kaz and Sammy"

3/23/2014

Friday afternoon it was beautiful and some of the animals were frisky after so much rain and mud. My wife had her horse trailer open and she was outside with Kaz, our wonderful Great Dane, and Sammy, our new goat. These two play a bit but sometimes Kaz gets a little too close for Sammy's liking and I wondered when he was going to teach the big fella' a lesson. Well, it happened not long after I thought about it and it might have looked serious but it wasn't .

As Sammy moved about the yard, Kaz kept running from side to side right behind him and then coming up near his rump and nipping him. He wasn't biting, just playing with him with his soft mouth like when you give him a dog bone. Sammy, however, doesn't like him approaching from the rear so action was inevitable.

Suddenly Sammy slipped in the side door of the trailer and Kaz had no idea where he was. He stopped for a moment and then resumed his circular route around the trailer. On about the third pass, Sammy came out the door, turned in the opposite direction and when Kaz came around the back ramp Sammy was headed directly for him, lifting his front legs off the ground and smacking him pretty good with his nubbed head (his horns were removed for just this reason) on the shoulders.

The look on Kaz's face told it all and the big fella' just turned and walked away toward our deck. He sulked for a few minutes as his pride was hurt, but then he was fine. Within two or three minutes they were at it again, albeit with Kaz behaving a little more cautiously and gently.

This little event needed to happen for Kaz now knows that Sammy has his own defense system and he will be much wiser for it. As for Sammy, he just strutted around for a while bleating his victory call before returning to his usual favorite pastime which means trying to eat my wife's roses.

Each and every animal has a style of his own and all of his playmates on the farm needs to learn about it and how to respond. The one rule we have here on the Ark is if you want to stay you have to get along. So far we have had very few new family members who don't play by the rules; when they don't they have to leave which means we find them another home. But the Lord has ways of making them understand which makes for an interesting environment around us.

The Ark lives on and we thank God for his love and guidance in making it a success. And today is a good day, the Sabbath, for each of us to thank Him for what he does for us. After all, He is our salvation. God bless you all.

.

Kaz started chasing Sammy around the horse trailer. Sammy would run for a while then stop, but then start again whenever Kaz got near his rump. I could see that he was starting to get aggravated; he just wanted to be left alone.

After ammy

Three Cheers for the Thomas More Society

3/22/2014

Courtesy, Thomas More Society

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.   Psalms 127:3

At a time when so many are clamoring about special rights which are totally unrelated to those rights which humans were granted by a Gracious God and documented in our Constitution by our founders, I find it quite appalling that large numbers of us have disregarded the paramount importance of the right to life. That so many Americans would disregard the life of a living thing by seeing it as an inconvenience after it has been created just strikes me as subhuman at best.

Even our illustrious President voiced his opinion that he wouldn't want his daughters bothered by an unwanted pregnancy in the event that it happened to them. For the leader of the Free World and so many other leaders to disregard life in such a callous and flippant manner represents a society that has clearly lost its way.

Luckily for those of us who have strong opposition to these views and especially the efforts to force their views on us constantly, the Thomas More Society in Chicago is a beacon of bright light on a sordid subject. A public interest law firm that takes on right to life and other important issues which impact our lives as free beings in a nation that is becoming continually more oppressive, the lawyers of the Society are engaged in legal struggles to protect the very foundations of our nation's existence that are at peril.

Principal mission goals of the Society are the following:

    1. Protecting First Amendment rights including the right for an organization to pray
        for the unborn on public land outside of an abortion facility.
    2. Defending the laws protecting life from conception until natural death.
    3. Ensuring free expression of religion in the public square.
    4. Restoring respect for the marriage as a sacred union of one man and one woman.

For those of us who are God-fearing and follow the Ten Commandments as well as the Words of the Gospel accredited to God the Father, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well as our inner guidance provided by the Holy Spirit, these goals are very important.

Of particular interest these days is the active part the Society has played in trying to bring out the truth of the IRS scandal. Tom Brejcha, President and Chief Counsel, gave the House Oversight and Government Refort Committee over five hundred pages of information in 2009 detailing the problems that pro-life groups had with the tax agency after filing for 501(c)3 status. They were harassed in their efforts to pray in front of abortion facilities despite their peaceful demeanor and told they could not advocate a single position on abortion but must educate and inform on both sides of the issue, a clear violation of their rights under the Constitution.

Five years have gone by and the House of Representatives still hasn't been able to take any definitive action to stop IRS Gestapo-like tactics largely due to the non-action by the Administration in general and the Justice and Treasury Departments in particular but also due to timidity on the part of politicians of many political stripes.

I hope each of you will take time to learn more about this courageous organization and the tireless work they do for those who can't defend themselves, the unborn children. And God bless them for their efforts. To learn more about the Society visit their website: www.thomasmoresociety. org where you can also see specific works they have done and continue to do to further the cause of the right to life.

goals of the Society in its miss .

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