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Hannity Versus Griffin: There is No Comparison

5/31/2017

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PictureKaty Griffin: She should be ashamed of herself.
The mainstream media has been all ablaze in recent weeks with the Media Matters push to try and drive Sean Hannity off the air. Why?  Well, they use the excuse of his expose about the murder of Seth Rich but it's much bigger than that.  The Left is hellbent on removing all conservative voices from talk radio with David Brock and his Soros-linked group trying to "scare" corporate sponsors into dropping their advertising which, when successful, is the death knell of any radio or TV program.  They were successful with O'Reilly so why not try Hannity?  They forgot one important point.  Hannity's personal life has been squeaky clean and the attempts that they made to create scandal were quickly dashed and Hannity, the fighter, has refused to give up.

Contrast Hannity with Kathy Griffin, the no-talent comedienne who substitutes bad language and filth for humor  and has gotten away with it routinely.  But now she has gone public with a picture of her holding a likeness of a bloody head of President Trump in her hand.  I suppose she thought it was funny with her sick idea of humor but, of course, the overwhelming majority of Americans recognized it for what it is: hate.  The Secret Service paid her a visit, a requirement in such cases, and filed an investigative report on the event.  The travel and administrative costs were likely in the thousands, not to mention the need to take agents away from many other and more critical matters.  And Griffin has now issued an apology which only she knows if it was sincere or not.  So is that enough of a cost?  Frankly I don't think so but, then again, unlike the Left, I don't believe in boycotts.

So here's what I think should happen.  She should pay the full cost of travel expenses and administrative costs for the Secret Service actions which were taken and then she should be considered "off limits" to appearances for money before any public venue for at least six months, a period during which she could perform community service in the real world which she finds such disdain for.  But I know since this is not going to be a court issue (I supposed it could be) my suggestions would only come true if Ms. Griffin herself volunteered to pay that price.  If she's sincere, she should since by showing such hate toward the President of the United States, a man who was appropriately elected, she has shown great disdain for the very country in which she is very fortunate to lives.  Whatever ultimately does or does not come of this, I truly hope that she looks inward at herself and her soul and opens her heart to the Holy Spirit. She has also made vile comments about God and Christ but they can be forgiven if only she sincerely opens her heart and develops faith.  Otherwise this lost soul will continue to wander around filled with hate and contempt which will never end well for her.

And as for Sean Hannity.  There are more unanswered questions about the Seth Rich case that need to be answered, and while I know that he is precluded from breaching that further due to his Fox employment, I thank him for opening it up. It's not over and it's far from being over as more are beginning to look at the robbery that wasn't and why so much information has been held under look and key.  And some of the corporate sponsors who dropped Hannity, most notably USAA, have come back in response to public outrage.  USAA, a corporation heavily dependent on military and former military members and families obviously had no idea the degree to which their dissing Hannity would be received, largely due to Hannity's generous long time support for the military and organizations that support their injured and wounded personnel. We can be thankful for that.

Hannity and Griffin: two opposites in viewpoint and opposites from the heart.  Is it a case of honesty, compassion and honor versus hate, vile outbursts and dishonor?  I've obviously reached my conclusion. You be the judge for yourself.


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Memorial Day 2017 is Done, So What Should We Take From It?

5/30/2017

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PictureThe celebratory parade ends
The Memorial Day parades, tributes and celebrations are done and we awake to a Tuesday faced with a return to the routine of day-to-day life. And for those who departed from us by fighting to the death for our freedom, what should we carry forward with us from this experience to make our life worthwhile for the gift that they gave us?

If we sit down and think for a minute, it shouldn't be too difficult.  Over the generations, young Americans, many under the age of twenty and right out of high school, put their fear of danger on hold and stood together in many difficult places and locales and gave their all for their country.  Now there are those who would say that without the Selective Service System that would have never been the case but, in reality that organization came about to deal with our lack of readiness in peacetime.  Think about it, we build up quickly for war, then quickly disband to a degree higher than we should, and then have to do it all again quickly when another crisis of both national and international concern arises. So will we ever learn from our past?

When I hear the cries of "give peace a chance", my immediate response is the question "but what if the other guy isn't willing to work with us for peace?"  A large number of nations in this world are run by brutal dictators who do not answer to their people. Tyranny rapidly grabs a foothold frequently in such a situation and the leader begins to think of him or herself as a god. Illusions of power, wealth and grandeur fill their heads and they then become threats to world order demonstrating itself by aggression and war. When this happens, it takes good people from other nations to keep a balance on the international stage from becoming a scourge of advancing tyranny.  And if you believe in God as I do and recognize that evil in the personage of the fallen one (I never dignify satan with capitalization) has free run on this world, then it becomes imperative that the good counterbalance the evil by maintaining a state of military preparedness to keep dictatorial leaders from trying to expand their grasp on land, wealth and humanity.  When the threat of punishing pain and suffering is the only deterrent that they understand, then sufficient capacity must be maintained to the degree that a response can be mounted quickly when necessary.

So, in honor of those who honorably served and paid the ultimate price, it is imperative that we work to maintain the readiness posture to keep the peace.  Now that doesn't mean that the United States must personally handle every outburst of tyranny individually, but it does mean that we have to set the example to good people in all nations to maintain strength at all times. For where strength falters, evil steps in and we have seen many examples where weakness has been exposed and taken advantage of by the ruthless. 

And sometimes we are even faced with a situation where we must work with people with whom we disagree, but in those cases we must maintain the strength and willpower to temper them to the sufficient degree to gain their support for important causes.  And no better case is exemplified than the current effort in developing a working relationship between Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Arab Emirates and others to stem the influence of Iran and her tyrannical Mullahs in their efforts to create a nuclear threat to the world.  This is similar to what we successfully did in World War II with the Soviets and it served our purposes, and theirs, at the time to end the scourge of Hitler.

We must remember, however, that in such relationships as those just discussed we must always keep our eyes open for possible adverse consequences and handle those appropriately according to the best interests of the American way of life.  Sometimes it is brutal, sometimes it is very cold, but if you believe that the United States remains as the beacon of light to a yearning world, then you know it's the right thing to do. We've tried other approaches in recent years and they've literally stabbed us in the back and, sadly, there are some who support that view.  But if you appreciate the sacrifice of those who we honored yesterday and you have God in your heart and allow Him to guide your soul, you'll easily know that standing  tall for our way of life and the constitutional principles followed to found our nation, then you will know it's the right thing to do.


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SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN FOR MEMORIAL DAY: "No Greater Gift........"

5/27/2017

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PictureNormandy American Military Cemetery
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.                             -John 15:13 (ESV)

As we commemorate Memorial Day 2017 this weekend and on Monday there is no more appropriate picture to represent it's solemn nature than the United States Military Cemetery in the Normandy region of France which overlooks the site of D-Day, the greatest landing of American and Allied forces ever assembled for an invasion. It's a most impressive and emotional site that every American who has the opportunity should visit. We lost several thousand brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines during that dramatic and most critical "Longest Day" battle and it took nearly twenty-four hours from it's start to realize that America and her allies would be successful.  But as deadly as it was, those who were buried here represent only a few of the hundreds of thousands who have died giving their lives that America may remain free.

Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice now cover four centuries beginning with the Revolutionary War and they made household names of places both in America and in many far distant places that we would otherwise likely not have found noteworthy. They include Valley Forge and Yorktown, Antietam and Gettysburg, San Juan Hill, Verdun, the Ardennes and Normandy, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, Inchon and the Chosen Reservoir, Chu Lai, the Aschau Valley, Fallujah and Marjah, just to name a few.  In cold and snow; rain, oppressive heat and mud conditions; over desert, mountains, seas, swamps and plains as well as all hours of daylight and darkness, American military service members have fought in the most demanding situations against terrible odds, and the toll on life has been great.  But those who died that others might live accepted the danger, challenge and fate that their task brought to them.  And we who live and enjoy the fruits of living in the greatest nation on earth owe an unending debt of gratitude to those who never made it home.

Memorial Day is a day when we must honor those who gave their life for us. It's the least we can do and, if you are a parent or grandparent, it's a good time to explain to your children what these brave souls did for us and what it means to be free.  So take in a parade or a special ceremony, visit a veteran's cemetery, fly your flag high at home and above all, take time to thank God for the gift that they gave.  There is truly no greater gift that a person can give than to give up their life for their countrymen.  May God give them peace in rest and may their surviving family members ever be proud of what they did for all of us.  And may we never forget them.

Dear Lord:  On this special weekend we thank you for the courage, bravery and ultimate sacrifice that so many gave that others might live free.  We are truly blessed to live in a land where we have such brave and honorable men and women and let us never forget what they did. And may we as a nation vow to work hard for peace, but remember that under certain conditions we have no alternative but to fight for what we know is right.  We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.


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Trump's First Trip: Successfully Doing What He Said He'd Do

5/25/2017

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So the media said, preparatory to Trump's first big trip overseas, that he'd embarrass the United States because he didn't know how to deal with the delicacies of diplomacy.  Now they've changed their tune to complaining about his positions, yet they can't seem to understand that his audience is cordial and "getting" what he is saying.  They may not agree, but they have respect for him and the media still doesn't get it. But, then again, when you approach your work, a job which is supposed to be unbiased, with a bias that is so strong that to open your eyes is unthinkable just doesn't work very well in practice.  Frankly, it's why the media has a lower standing with Americans than even Congress.

Trump baffled them first by his very direct and blunt, yet respectful at the same time, comments on what Muslim leaders in attendance at his Riyadh speech needed to do to quell violence.  He asked them all to step up to the plate and get involved, that the problem with ISIS and Islamic terror that originated in the Middle East must be solved by the Middle East.  He sweetened the pot by offering military support through equipment contracts but made it clear that they must take the lead in solving the problem.  Some even call it a proposal for a Middle Eastern version of NATO but whatever it is, it seems to have been received positively. And remember, Trump is deadly serious about neutering the threat from Iran, which is music to the ears of the Muslim leaders in attendance who see themselves as directly threatened by the extremist Mullahs. It's also important to remember that while Iranians are also Muslims, they are Persian, not Arab, and that makes a huge difference in the region.

Then it was on to Israel where he had meetings with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Movement Leader Mahmoud Abbas.  While his visit shows signs of reopening the dialogue, it remains to be seen if the Palestinians really want to meet productively or just buy time as they still to date refuse to acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.  Trump is clearly aware of this and he knows that Netanyahu, who has a significant number of Arab citizens in his country, wants to insure the Jewish influence and control of Jerusalem, something which should be their sovereign right. It will be a touch and go effort but at least Trump has opened the subject in a balanced way and as such has undone the clear bias toward the Palestinians of the past Administration.  And it is clear that he will stand by Israel in response to military action and support.

Next was NATO, where Trump made it clear that for NATO to really work each of it's member nations must commit to their fair share of operational expenses and self-defense.  With twenty-three of the twenty-eight member nations currently not living up to that standard, he pushed them hard and warned that America would not continue to carry the major burden of their self-defense.  Reluctantly, they now understand that he's not kidding, yet at the same time he wants to maintain the organization for it's strategic value.

Before heading to the G7 summit, the President took time to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May of Great Britain, dealing with the strong bonds between our two nations and the kerfuffle created by the continuing intelligence leaks coming from somewhere within the burgeoning Executive Branch.  Much of it is beyond his control due to Deep State intransigence but he has tasked the Justice Department with finding the culprits and going after the offenders with the full force of the law.  The traditional international sharing of threat warnings between the two nations had been threatened but is now back on line due to his vow.

And now he's at the G7, where he's pointing out the dangers of terror while much of the more liberal European group shuns that for Climate Change. Trump is holding his own, he's convinced that the terror situation is the most critical thing the world faces today and the unwillingness of the Europeans to face the truth which is clearly on display in their own nations is perplexing at best. But remember, Europe, through NATO and world standing has always been dependent upon American support and even they realize that a strong America, something which has been lacking, is in their own best interest. And remember this as well. Whatever, if any, impact man has on the natural cycles of climate, unless China and India get fully involved any action is useless and both countries, while giving lip service, will never lower their production output or else their tenuous economies will collapse. The whole world under such a system would likely fall as well.

So as Trump's first international trip nears a close, it is clear that he has defied the odds and has done quite well. He has shown the world that he can hold his own, that he is not weak and speaks from a position of strength, and that he will always put America first while helping those who help us.  And after eight years of having a President apologize for the nation that he is supposed to represent, a leader who exudes strength and confidence in the "can do" capacity of the United States is welcome indeed.

Well done, Mr. President.


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Hurricane Season 2017 Draws Near: Are You Ready?

5/25/2017

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The picture shown is one of a homeowner's worst nightmares.  In this particular case it is a picture taken in 1994 by Los Angeles Times photographer Joe Pugliesi of a Fillmore, California home following the big Northridge earthquake.  Imagine coming home to find this situation facing your family; it is life changing and takes time, money and hard work to recover from, yet often it is avoidable. I decided to use this picture since Americans everywhere in the country are subject to disasters, but we here in Florida and on the East Coast face a different kind of menace.

Now, in late May, we are approaching another season when disasters seem to rear their ugly head in epic proportions each year.  Hurricane season rapidly nears and if you live here in Florida, hurricanes are always the most likely source of disaster although tornadoes can be deadly as well, just not as widespread in scope here.  And with the opening of the season next week, it's time to make the preparations that will make life livable if impacted.  It only takes one hit to really change your life.

First, of course, is to make sure you have insurance. If you are on a mortgage, the bank will require that, but it is amazing to find the number who own a home in full and have lapsed insurance to save money.  You can bet these people, however, when hit with a disaster will be begging for help.  It likely won't be available, at least not to the degree to put their life as they've known it back in place.  And you can't wait until the last minute to get it (like Obamacare) because it must be fully in force ahead of any possible projections of a storm in your area.  Don't forget to evaluate your possible need for flood insurance as well. Your general policy doesn't cover everything.

Second, do what you can to avoid putting yourself in this situation.  Plenty of data is available on variations in land and past experience with such things as flood, hurricanes, tornadoes.  While you can't avoid all possible disaster areas, you can hedge your bets. Coastal and low lying areas are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes and floods, check things out accordingly.  If you are in a coastal location, make your home as "seaworthy" as you possibly can.

Have an evacuation plan with an emergency supply kit, and leave if you fear your home itself is more dangerous as a "hunker down" place than another option.  If you plan to stay where you are, however, it is highly likely in a major event that you will be on your own for three to five days before help is forthcoming. In such case, make a list of needed items and procure them in advance, including  emergency non-perishable food, medical supplies for first aid, bottled water or a purification kit, and flashlights, portable radios, batteries and chargers.  Also include such things as tarps, basic tools and duct tape, mosquito netting and appropriate clothing which are a must.  In my own family, we even keep a large cattle trough full of water with a chlorine floater for makeshift showers in the crunch.  Trust me, you don't want to spend multiple days powerless in Florida without this capability, and this is particularly critical if you are on a well.

Having personally been through a number of hurricanes where we were unreachable for days, both here and in the Tidewater region to the north, we were able to maintain a reasonable level of comfort despite numerous power outages.  If you have a power generator, so much the better, but it might be prohibited in times of longer term usage without a major acceptable fuel storage tank.

Whether you are here in Florida where preparations should be maintained at all times by citizens, or in a lesser likely target area, plan anyway.  For when disaster strikes, and it can do so very suddenly anywhere and at anytime, then it is too late.  Make it easy on yourself.  Get ready and you, too, will survive the storm with only some inconvenience.  We can all live with that.

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Orwell's 1984: Alive and Well in Alachua County, Florida

5/24/2017

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Last night in Gainesville, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to remove the longstanding statue of "Poor" Old Joe, the symbolic Confederate soldier recognizing local citizens who died for the Confederacy during the Civil War from 1861-65.  The statue had become a bone of contention for many in recent years, largely part of the growing group of well-meaning but sadly misguided people around the country desirous of removing all vestiges of Civil War history from public properties in the South. 

The Civil War is American History, it happened and it is true, and recognizing its truth in the Land of the Free is the best way of reminding citizens of past happenings lest they be repeated. Unfortunately, most of a liberal and progressive view refuse to recognize that truth is always better than political correctness, for political correctness leads to the loss of understanding of the real world and replacement with a fantasy land utopian option which fuzzes over the mind and fills it with "fluff, not stuff."  Of course, that kind of thinking leads to safe rooms and safety pins which accomplish nothing except to insure the development of minds with only one point of view.  That point of view is one where what they call fact has first been through something akin to Hillary's bleachbit process.  It didn't work out to well for Hillary and her fortunes and it ultimately won't work out to well for these folks either.

The danger of processes like this is that they are just another attack on freedom of speech and expression.  And such attacks have been seen in South Carolina, Virginia and many other Old South states in an attempt to destroy all vestiges of Southern culture and heritage.  Even one of the commissioners at the meeting, Chuck Chestnut, is quoted as saying he'd never seen anything worthwhile about Southern culture. Really, Commissioner?  Well, if you truly believe that it's clear that you are less open minded than those you criticize.  Once again, the Civil War was the truth, and local young men of that day fought and died for a cause that was more about protecting their homes and families in a state that had joined the Confederacy.  The overwhelming number of soldiers never had slaves, in fact, they likely worked in the fields with those slaves themselves.  And to try to place yourself in a position to judge from where we sit this day is impossible. We are in no position to do so.

And let's take it all another step if we insist on playing the blame game.  There would have been no slavery without slave traders, and most of the black Africans sold into slavery were sold by other black Africans.  They were brutal to one another.  And then the Dutch shipping companies made a fortune off the shipment of slaves and Northern bankers enriched themselves through the financing of slavery.  So talk about the whole issue, a nationwide issue, and then realize that these young men who died and for whom this statue was erected did the only thing they knew to do back then.  They fought for their family and the meager possessions they owned.

Governments need to focus on the real needs of their communities today, not spend their time on politically correct answers to issues that should always be available from a historical perspective of truth, not milquetoast. After all, governments often have made a mess of the things they are supposed to focus on and then look for small things that can make them feel good while accomplishing nothing.  Destroying real history is not an accomplishment, it just seeks to cover up the truth, truth which always needs to be remembered as a learning point.  It's something for all of us to remember.


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Changing Times: From Riyadh to Jerusalem

5/22/2017

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When President Donald Trump disembarked from Air Force One with the First Lady in Riyadh this past weekend,  it marked the beginning of changing times in the relationship between the United States and the House of Saud.  When meeting the King, the President did not bow, First Lady Melania did not wear a hijab,  the President was honored by presentation of the highest award given to a foreigner by the Saudi government and and the King offered his hand to the First Lady.  And these symbolic actions were just the beginning of a new page in the relationship between the two countries, a relationship that will be open and honest and which will result in mutual respect.

But beyond the symbolism, some amazing things happened during his short visit in Saudi Arabia.  The President delivered a speech where he politely, but directly, called out the assembled Arab leaders gathered from many nations to hear him, and stated that they had to wipe the scourge of ISIS and Islamic terror out of their countries.  He told them it's time to face the twenty-first century and those same leaders reacted favorably.  He didn't act like Rambo, he was reasoned but firm and clear, and he told them America will be at their side but it's their responsibility to clean up the horror that is originating in their lands.  It was like a million years had gone by since Barack Obama made his apology tour to the same region at about the same point in his first term when he apologized for America.  Trump made no apologies for America, rather he offered military assistance in terms of weaponry for the fight and has added impetus to the ongoing efforts to unite Arab nations who want peace and tranquility with Israeli forces for that effort. Back channels interface, notably between President El Sisi or Egypt and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already shown signs of those two nations working together.

And then Trump was on to Israel to meet with Netanyahu and also with Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.  This is a definite "tough nut" to crack, but with several of the Arab leaders desiring to end the hostilities, their added push to have Abbas to come to the table as opposed to the stand of his predecessors, things could improve.  First and foremost, however, will be Trump's continued insistence of the right of Israel to be a Jewish State, otherwise it will all fall apart.

In these two stops, however, President Trump has brought both strength and reason to the table, something the Arabs of the Middle East haven't seen in a decade.  America is and always will be the one nation that can bridge gaps, and with an approach that recognizes that forcing democracy on all nations of the world has not worked, and that rather we must work with nations who will work with us providing grounds for mutual trust can be found, perhaps he can succeed.  One thing is certain, it's a pleasant change from the chaos and disastrous policies of his predecessors and it is needed if the threat from Iran is indeed as serious as it appears to be.   Make no mistake about it, Iran cannot be allowed to refine their nuclear capacity to the full delivery stage or the Middle East as a whole, not just Israel, will become the Valley of Armageddon.  The world may very well not be able to survive that.


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SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN:  The Thirsty Earth

5/20/2017

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Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.    -James 5:18.


Here in Florida we are suffering from a severe drought.  Except for very limited showers, we have had no rain for months.  The aquifer is dropping, the flow of water is slowing, the ground is parched, hay for animals is becoming scarce and fire dangers are extreme.  And many grumble and complain and, yes, I will confess that has crossed my mind as well, but at some point we are reminded that it is all in God's hands. The words of James above talk about how important living for God and praying for His divine assistance is to our ultimate success through Him.  In the passage, James is referring to one of the great Prophets of God in Israel in the years before Christ, the Prophet Elijah. 

Elijah lived in a time of great wickedness for Israel.  After King David died, the country broke apart, with the northern portion of the land retaining the name Israel and the southern becoming Judah.  Elijah was a Prophet of God in the north and in his time nearly nine hundred years before Christ, he was in constant danger as King Ahab began supporting worship of Baal and Asherah, idols and false gods who encouraged licentiousness and unhealthy living. 

Ahab was dominated by his wife, Jezebel, who had been brought up worshiping the pagan gods and she convinced him to do so.  To please her he built great and ornate worship centers for Baal where immoral rituals and sacrifice of offerings were given.  Idolatrous prophets of both Baal and Asherah prospered, with nearly nine hundred such operating in in the land at their height.  Needless to say, God wasn't pleased and Elijah, having the gift of divine understanding of what God wanted from mankind,  prayed for three years without rain. God granted his wish.

Three years later Israel was in dire straits, with crops dying and water disappearing in a parched land.  Elijah presented himself at the chief center of worship to the pagan god and challenged the false prophets to show the people how Baal could save them.  They offered a bull as a sacrifice, and carried on with their symbolic rituals of praise for the false god.  Not surprisingly, they received no answer. 

Elijah then offered to show them how the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would respond to praise and an earnest quest for help.  He sacrificed a bull on the altar and after a short wait, a thunderbolt of fire struck the altar and destroyed the entire worship center.  The people immediately fell to their knees and prayed to God as the false prophets lost their influence.  But Elijah left the scene fearful of what Ahab might do and later prayed in earnest for God to forgive His people and bring rain.  Soon abundant rain returned and the nation recovered and Ahab repented but his wife, Jezebel, retained true to her pagan ways until death.

So why do I tell this story?  I do so to point out that God is in control of everything that He has created; he can accomplish anything he wants.  But sometimes he wants to teach us a lesson, or He might just be interested to see if we would solve the problem ourselves based upon the way in which he expects us to live.  We are given free will in which to operate on this earth but he never intended us to do anything that would not reflect what He had in mind when He gave us dominion over the earth.  We make many mistakes, sometimes honestly, sometimes due to greed and selfishness, but He lets us operate as we wish until the time that He ultimately decides its time to act. If we are really smart, we won't challenge his but instead fulfill his wishes.

Water is a precious commodity, a basic building block of life, and when we abuse it, misuse it, and fail to learn from past mistakes droughts come about which can threaten all that we have and our very existence.  We need to learn that the only way we can properly use anything is if we are doing it in the manner that God created it for, and that takes faith, my friends. And the drought will end, but will it create havoc on many people first.  Only God knows the answer to that.

So take a tip from Elijah.  Thank God for the blessings of rain and don't take it for granted. For living in a state like Florida that has been dry for most of the year so far, it takes someone much greater than all the engineers on earth to solve the problem.  It takes the guidance of God and his grace.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the blessings of rain and we pray that you will shower them down on us once again. Help us to learn from the drought, to be better stewards of your earth, and to make all the decisions that we must based on your counsel and love.  We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.

If you like today's Sunday Morning Coming Down, you might like my book, A Blogger Shares His Faith, now available at the Kindle Store. It's just a straight from the heart offering of why I think our faith in God of three persons is so important to our future. Without Him, we will ultimately die in darkness, but with Him and His light we are afforded the opportunity to live forever.  Here's the link:

              https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJGZR99/





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Property Rights and All Constitutional Rights: Some Want to Trample Them

5/19/2017

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SPECIAL NOTE:  Today’s blog is a copy of this morning’s post on my author page found at facebook.com/NorthFloridaWriter. It is presented to show the power of politicians and the media to formulate an argument for something they support based upon rumor, perception and false or non-existent evidence in accomplishing what they want. If they can even get minimal traction for the possibility of a President’s impeachment using hearsay and wishful thinking, imagine what they can do with our property rights and our other God-given rights if they so desire.  It’s worth thinking about.
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I just can't let today go by without linking the behavior of our so-called leaders in the Washington Establishment to the purpose for my political novel, THOU SHALL NOT TAKE OUR LAND. Big, bloated government with actors on the stage who are a threat to the average citizen are dangerous to all of us, even those of us who think that there is no such threat. When a mountain is created out of a molehill as we see in this crazy impeachment push, imagine what happens when these same people continue to never answer to the voters. After all, those in Washington, once they understand the ropes, realize how much more power and how much more wealth they can attain if they only answer to the desires of the entrenched DEEP STATE. And one of our most beloved God-given rights, private property rights for the average citizen, will easily fall with all of our other rights as these same unprincipled politicians realize we can be sent out to pasture in a cookie cutter apartment residence.

Don't think they can accomplish this? Take a moment to research and read about Agenda 21 and 30, which use great sounding themes to sell their program. Of course, the powerful and the connected will never pay the price, it's just for the little guy who is a pawn to be fit into a cookie cutter lifestyle as the elites desire. America as we know it will be gone if we don't wake up and we'll end up just like Europe, maybe worse, where it won't be safe to leave your little cubicle unless you want to join the mob. And this isn't a Democratic or a Republican problem, it's an American problem of We, The People versus the politically corrupt on both sides of the aisle and their cronies and masters.

Do I sound overly fatalistic? Well, if so I have achieved my goal of getting your attention. Freedom and individualism are being attacked under the name of the common good. Without freedom and individualism and, of course, God in your heart, the powerful will achieve their end goals and the rest of us will become very common with very little good to be found.  Check out the book here:

        https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBY7C4T

It is the first of a series about a fictional family in Florida and their friends fighting for their land and their freedom. Prior to 2033, the Argyles didn't think there was a problem either, but once they opened their eyes they knew there was much work to be done.



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Impeachment?  Not So Fast!

5/18/2017

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So the Left and the mainstream media are in nirvana today as they continue to spin the story about the Comey memo being a smoking gun and which has now been used to initiate a Special Prosecutor's assignment by the Deputy Attorney General on the "Russian Thing and the Administration."  What's so interesting about this is that the Comey memo has not yet been produced and the contradictions between the story and what Comey has testified under oath are glaring but not reported.  It's now time to look at the whole picture as it significantly alters the narrative.  And even if the memo is produced, what is a personal memo as a basis for initiating a possible impeachment.  Comey's track record isn't so hot if anyone wants to look at his past work history and ties to the Clintons going back to the 1990s.

In February, then FBI Director Comey was asked in a Congressional hearing if anyone in the Administration had put pressure at any time on him to stop the investigation of General Flynn and others who might be dealing with the Russians in an improper manner.  Comey said NO.  And then, early this month, Comey was asked an almost identical question during a Senate hearing if the Administration had brought pressure on him to end the investigation and he said NO again.  And then later this same month, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a holdover from the Obama Administration, told a Senate panel that the FBI had all the support it needed in carrying out it's investigation of the Russia issue and had more than sufficient funding to get it's job done, much to the chagrin of Democrats trying to use lack of funding as an argument against Trump.

So if Comey knew that Trump had tried to influence him on the Flynn issue, and the key is what does influence mean and how is it defined, why didn't he immediately report it to the Justice Department as required by protocol?  It seems very clear that if Trump had violated the law Comey would have said so in his sworn testimony before Congress.  Did he instead violate the law by giving false testimony under oath?  Is he the one who is guilty of obstruction of justice (the charge being bandied about), not Trump? Or, as I suspect, was there no obstruction of justice in the first place?  These are questions that need to be answered by Comey and it's pathetic that the media hasn't picked up on it. But, then again, that wouldn't meet their desired agenda.

And now we have a Special Prosecutor assigned, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, when we don't have any indictments and we don't have any evidence other than hearsay from anonymous sources.  I don't think such an action has ever been taken like this before on such a weak basis, certainly not in either the Nixon or Clinton impeachment cases, but then again the media was never so overly biased as it is today.  Or at least they tried to put on a front of being impartial in the old days.

We've had a full frontal assault by the media on Trump since day one, since the Establishment, Democratic and Republican and the huge bureaucracy is petrified that Trump will continue to try and drain the Swamp.  And make no mistake about it, folks, the Swamp is alive and well, it is the Deep State, and it will do anything it can to either eliminate Trump or at least stop his agenda.  Shame on Democrats and a significant group of Republicans who have interest only in their personal future and fortunes, not what is needed to make America a nation that operates under the rule of law.  Like it or not, Trump is trying to put the law back where it should be, not the hype and outrageous behaviors of fat cat politicians and their supporting cronies.  Of course, if you want the government telling you every little detail of how to live your life and controlling your destiny, then this direction is probably something you want.  But if it comes to full fruition, it won't be America, it will be tyranny of the state.

As a closing thought, today's headline with Reuters is probably about as good sm example of how the media tries to make a non-story into a headline.  Reuters reported today that anonymous sources had identified eighteen Trump Administration officials who were in contact with Russia.  CNN and others jumped on it but they obviously didn't read the whole story.  Hidden in the weeds near the end of the story was a statement that no action which could be considered improper was found.  The media should be ashamed but they won't be, because they are on a mission for the Democrats and those who agree with them and this will continue.  A sad state of affairs for the Fourth Estate. 

A fair media is dead. Let's bring on the truth instead.


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    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

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