LUCK'S RANTS

The True Cost of Freedom

2011-12-23T21:21:00.003-07:00

"O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

Silent Night

2011-12-18T11:39:00.004-07:00

For my brother and sisters who stand watch at the gate so that I can sleep in peace.

I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh, and looked
across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix, My stocks were
down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.

And so with only minutes till my son got home from school, I gave up on
the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take, and so I flipped
the TV on to catch a little break.

I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust, No snowflakes hung
upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh, eight
hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.

A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens, Their
eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.

Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind, To share a
scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease, They had no
Christmas turkey, just a pack of MRE's.

They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see, They didn't need
an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn't have a present even though it was tradition, the only boxes
I could see were labeled "ammunition".

I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side, He asked me what it
was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near and kissed him on
the forehead as I whispered in his ear.

There's nothing wrong, my little son, for safe we sleep tonight, our
heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right, to worry about
the things in life that really mean nothing at all, instead of wondering
each day if we will be the next to fall.

He looked at me as children do and said it's always right, to thank the
ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note, to thank the
many far from home, and this is what we wrote,

God bless you all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.
The gift you give, you share with all, a present every day, You give the
gift of liberty and that we can't repay.

Fasting: I finally get it

2011-11-21T14:34:00.005-07:00

Since I became a Christian one of the doctrines I've never really understood was fasting. The missionaries who taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ neglected to mention this Christian principle to me and it never really sunk in. During my own time as a missionary I struggled with the doctrine of fasting and even refused to teach it at times because I couldn't teach something I didn't believe in. When my missionary companion would fast I would cook a wonderful meal for me.

The issue I had with fasting stems from a misunderstanding of prayer. People I know would fast for this or that. At times it seemed to me that people treated fasting as a trump card. If I prayed for X to happen and it hasn't that means I need to fast and then God will make it happen. This caused me to look at fasting like a proposition. If I starve myself with a purpose God will be obligated to listen to me so that I don't starve to death. So many times fasting seemed to me just to be prayer on steroids. I just couldn't comprehend why God would listen to prayers of half starved people and not listen to the same prayers if the people had a full belly.

This all changed this past week. In Sunday school we were talking about covenants and someone brought up fasting. Immediately talk began to move toward prayer being this magical kind of trump card that turns God into some kind of mythical genie or Santa Claus. As I set in my seat trying to bite my tongue the Holy Spirit illuminated my mind.

Fasting is not a trump card to get God to listen to you or even a way to show God, "Hey I am really serious about this prayer." Rather fasting in its purest form is a way to turn a person's prayers into the kind of prayers they should be. Fasting is a principle that at its very core is transformative. A true fast should imbue the person with greater spirituality, it gives a person the ability to tell the natural man no, while the spiritual person grows toward dominance. During a fast a person should come to an understanding of what God's will is.

It is God's will not our own that we should pray for. We should pray that our hearts be turned towards God's purpose and not our own. When our purpose is contrary to God's such as in praying for someone to get better and God's will is that they graduate to the next world our prayers should be that we ask God to help us accept this calling home or that we can accept their pain and suffering as part of God's will.

Fasting is the required ingredient in this divine recipe that allows a person to be spirituality mature and disciplined enough to pray for the right things. Fasting is what allows a person to better know the mind of God through increased spirituality.

I now know that I can and look forward to fasting.

Looking at the budget

2011-10-25T12:19:00.001-06:00

• U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000

• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000

• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000

• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000

• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000

Now let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget.

• Annual family income: $21,700

• Money the family spent: $38,200

• New debt on the credit card: $16,500

• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710

• Total budget cuts: $385

28th amendment

2011-10-21T18:24:00.004-06:00

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:

"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in
1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

Thankful for being born in America

2011-08-18T21:43:00.005-06:00

I was reading an article today, and the thought came to me would the average child in America credit and be thankful to God for being born in America. If asked the question of "What is prayer?" How would they respond. If I was asked as a high school student what prayer is I would have said the grown up version of a list to Santa.

Prayer is so much more than that to me now. Prayer shouldn't be a wishlist of what I hope God gives me or will give me because I've been exceptionally good this year. Prayer is a time for me to commune with my Father in Heaven, acknowledge my weaknesses and ask for strength so I can be a better servant. Prayer is a time to admit that I am a sinner and have sinned and confess my faith in God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ and my desire to follow Him. Prayer is a time to thank Him for the wonderful blessings I have in my life.

Far too often I do find that my prayers end up as an adult Santa's list. I am asking for what I want and not listening to what God's will is. I am grateful that He is patient with me. I am grateful that he does listen even to my lists of wants.

I am grateful He has said no to my prayers. I think sometimes I am most grateful for the no's He has given me. Without those no's I wouldn't be the man I am today. I am grateful that like a gardener who knows when to prune and cut that God does that with me. I am glad that God knows when to cut me down so that I can grow the way he wants me to.

God is good.

This kinda got away from me but, this is what is on my mind after reading that article. I want my kids and every person's kids to know what prayer is and more importantly to know that it works.

Bible Dictionary: Atonement

2011-08-07T16:54:00.006-06:00

For my New Testament class I had to write a bible dictionary topic. I choose the atonement. Keeping it limited to three pages was the hardest part of the assignment. What do you think of it? What could I add? What should I take out?

Atonement: The word atonement implies that two people who are estranged can be together again. In While the New Testament only has the word Atonement in Romans 5:11 the Old Testament is full of references of an atonement between the sinning human and a holy God. The Old Testament reconciled the gulf between human and God by the use of animal sacrifice that covered or atoned for sin. the case of the New Testament the Synoptic Gospel authors, John and Paul all use the word reconcile, reconciliation and atone to imply that humans through the sacrifice of Christ can be sanctified. While the New Testament authors are all in agreement that atonement with God is accomplished through Christ they each record this principle differently.

The cross is integral part of Mark’s gospel. The first reference to the cross is found in Mark 2:19-20 where Christ refers to a bridegroom who will be taken away. The central part of Mark's gospel 8:27-10:52 can be segregated into three sections (8:31; 9:31; 10:32-34). Each of these sections function to explain the necessity of the sacrifice and cross from a soteriological point of view that establishes it is the will of God for Christ to be sacrificed.

There are three significant images that are recorded by Mark that describe Christ’s suffering, the cup (10:38; 14:23-24, 36) the baptism (10:38) and the ransom for many (10:45). Each of these has images relates back to a part of the Old Testament. The cup has reference to Christ bearing the wrath of God for humanity( Ps. 75:8; Is. 51:17-23; Jer. 25:15-28) The image of baptism indicates being overwhelmed by a flood of troubles (Ps. 69:1-2, 14-15). The concept of the ransom of many refers back to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Isaiah prophesied of a new exodus that would be accomplished by the servant of the Lord( Is. 35:9; 41:14; 43:1, 14; 44:33-24; 51:11; 52:2; 62:12; 63:9) Mark is trying to get his reader to understand that it is the death of Jesus that will the ransom that is paid to free the sinner from slavery.

Matthew includes much of the same material that Mark records. In the first chapter of Matthew Christ’s mission is made evident (Matt: 1:21). This is fulfilled later in Matthew 26:28. There are three sub-conflicts in Matthew between Jesus and the religious establishment, his disciples when they demonstrate a lack of faith and lastly the conflict with Satan. Each of these conflicts is ultimately resolved by Christ when he submits to the will of the Father in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:39, 42) and when he overwhelms the will of Satan. (Matt. 16:21-23)

Like Mark, Matthew records that Jesus fulfilled the words of Isaiah. (Is. 53) Differing from Mark, Matthew has two explicit citations that state that Jesus is the one prophesied of. (Is. 53:4; 42:1-4; Matt. 8:17; 12:17-21) In Christ’s healing of the sick, infirm, and possessed showed that even his ministry portrayed his ultimate messianic mission.

In The Passover meal in both Mark and Matthew Jesus gave additional words over both the bread and wine that impress His imminent sacrifice. It is in the Passover that Christ’s blood and body are mentioned in connection with the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. Both Paul and Peter make the link between Christ and the paschal lamb (1 Cor. 5:7-8 1 Peter 1:18-19) In the Gospel of Luke Christ makes a statement signifying his blood is the part of a new covenant. (Luke 22:20) In saying that his blood will be poured out, Christ is making reference to the sacrificial language of the Old Testament (Lev. 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34).

For the apostle Paul the atonement of Christ was not only a historical fact but a critical part of Christian life. In some of his earliest writings to the Saints in Galatia and Corinth Paul reminds his converts that Jesus died for their sins according to the prophecies found in the scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4) It is the epistles of Paul that the doctrine of Atonement is more fully expounded and recorded.

It is in Paul’s writings that an early Christian understanding of Christ’s sacrifice can be found. It is this reconciliation with God that often makes up some part of the theme of each of his epistles. For Paul reconciliation between God and humanity only occurs through Christ. (Rom. 5:1-11) It is Christ’s sinless life that allows him to be the bridge between a fallen human and God. (2 Cor. 5:21) Without the penal substitution of Christ each person would have to face the wrath of God’s justice for their actions in mortality. (Rom. 5:9; 2 Cor. 5:10) Because Christ had to suffer the wrath and justice of God fallen humanity does not. (Rom. 5:8-10) The blood and death of Christ is what allows the justice of God to be reconciled with the mercy of God. (Rom. 3:25) The atoning blood of Christ is what allows a person to move on toward sanctification. (Eph. 5:26-27)

(Scriptures regarding the Atonement: Explained: Rom. 5:8-11; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Foreordained: Rom. 3:25;1 Peter 1:11, 20; Foretold: Isa. 53:4-6, 8-12; Dan. 9:24-27; Zech. 13:1,7; Effected by Christ alone: John 1:29, 36; Voluntary: Heb. 10:5-9; John 10:11, 15, 17-18; Exhibits the grace and mercy of God: Rom. 8:32; Eph 2:4-5, 7; 1 Tim. 2:4; Heb. 2:9; Exhibits the love of God: Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10; Exhibits the love of Christ: John 15:13; Gal. 2:20; Eph 5:2, 25; Reconciles the justice and mercy of God: Rom. 3:25-26; Necessity of: Luke 19:10; Heb 9:22; Made only once: Heb:7:27; 9:24-28; 10:10,12,14; 1 Pet. 3:18; Remission of sins: John 1:29; Rom. 3:25; Eph. 1:7; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; Justification: Rom. 5:9; 2 Cor. 5:21 Sanctification: 2 Cor. 5:15; Eph 5:26-27; Redemption: Matt. 20:28; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim 2:6; Heb 9:12; Delivers from power of sin: Rom. 8:3; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Power of Satan: Coloss. 2:15; Heb. 2:14-15; Faith in, indispensable: Rom. 3:25; Gal 3:13-14)

The Challenge of Jesus

2011-07-28T10:19:00.006-06:00

I just finished reading N.T. Wright's The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. I think that Wright stretches too far sometimes when he tries to tie most of Christ teachings to the exile and restoration of Israel. overall his book should be read by Christians who seek to understand the perspective of a first century Jew and what those individuals may have thought when they heard Jesus teaching. The last two chapters of the book is where I found the real gold of his writings and I share the following.

"If you are to shape your world in following Christ, it is not enough to say that being a Christian and being a professional or an academic (to address these worlds particularly for the moment) is about high moral standards, using every opportunity to talk to people about Jesus, praying for or with your students, being fair in your grading and honest in your speaking. All that is vital and necessary, but you are called to something much, much more. You are called, prayerfully, to discern where in your discipline the human project is showing signs of exile and humbly and boldly to act symbolically in ways that declare that the powers have been defeated, that the kingdom has come in Jesus the Jewish Messiah, that the new way of being human has been unveiled, and to be prepared to tell the story that explains what these symbols are all about. And in all this you are to declare, in symbol and praxis, in story and articulate answers to questions, that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not; that Jesus is Lord and Marx, Freud and Nietzsche are not; that Jesus is Lord and neither modernity nor post modernity is. When Paul spoke of the gospel, he was not talking primarily about a system of salvation but about the announcement, in symbol and word, that Jesus is the true Lord of the world, the true light of the world." (pg 187)

Ten Ways Progressive Policies Harm Society's Moral Character

2011-07-18T23:01:00.001-06:00

Ten Ways Progressive Policies Harm Society's Moral Character

"While liberals are certain about the moral superiority of liberal policies, the truth is that those policies actually diminish a society's moral character. Many individual liberals are fine people, but the policies they advocate tend to make a people worse. Here are 10 reasons:

1. The bigger the government, the less the citizens do for one another. If the state will take care of me and my neighbors, why should I? This is why Western Europeans, people who have lived in welfare states far longer than Americans have, give less to charity and volunteer less time to others than do Americans of the same socioeconomic status.

The greatest description of American civilization was written in the early 19th century by the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville. One of the differences distinguishing Americans from Europeans that he most marveled at was how much Americans -- through myriad associations -- took care of one another. Until President Franklin Roosevelt began the seemingly inexorable movement of America toward the European welfare state -- vastly expanded later by other Democratic presidents -- Americans took responsibility for one another and for themselves far more than they do today. Churches, Rotary Clubs, free-loan societies and other voluntary associations were ubiquitous. As the state grew, however, all these associations declined. In Western Europe, they have virtually all disappeared."

2. The welfare state, though often well intended, is nevertheless a Ponzi scheme. Conservatives have known this for generations. But now, any honest person must acknowledge it. The welfare state is predicated on collecting money from today's workers in order to pay for those who paid in before them. But today's workers don't have enough money to sustain the scheme, and there are too few of them to do so. As a result, virtually every welfare state in Europe, and many American states, like California, are going broke.

3. Citizens of liberal welfare states become increasingly narcissistic. The great preoccupations of vast numbers of Brits, Frenchmen, Germans and other Western Europeans are how much vacation time they will have and how early they can retire and be supported by the state.

4. The liberal welfare state makes people disdain work. Americans work considerably harder than Western Europeans, and contrary to liberal thought since Karl Marx, work builds character.

5. Nothing more guarantees the erosion of character than getting something for nothing. In the liberal welfare state, one develops an entitlement mentality -- another expression of narcissism. And the rhetoric of liberalism -- labeling each new entitlement a "right" -- reinforces this sense of entitlement.

6. The bigger the government, the more the corruption. As the famous truism goes, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Of course, big businesses are also often corrupt. But they are eventually caught or go out of business. The government cannot go out of business. And unlike corrupt governments, corrupt businesses cannot print money and thereby devalue a nation's currency, and they cannot arrest you.

7. The welfare state corrupts family life. Even many Democrats have acknowledged the destructive consequences of the welfare state on the underclass. It has rendered vast numbers of males unnecessary to females, who have looked to the state to support them and their children (and the more children, the more state support) rather than to husbands. In effect, these women took the state as their husband.

8. The welfare state inhibits the maturation of its young citizens into responsible adults. As regards men specifically, I was raised, as were all generations of American men before me, to aspire to work hard in order to marry and support a wife and children. No more. One of the reasons many single women lament the prevalence of boy-men -- men who have not grown up -- is that the liberal state has told men they don't have to support anybody. They are free to remain boys for as long as they want.

And here is an example regarding both sexes. The loudest and most sustained applause I ever heard was that of college students responding to a speech by President Barack Obama informing them that they would now be covered by their parents' health insurance policies until age 26.

9. As a result of the left's sympathetic views of pacifism and because almost no welfare state can afford a strong military, European countries rely on America to fight the world's evils and even to defend them.

10. The leftist weltanschauung sees society's and the world's great battle as between rich and poor rather than between good and evil. Equality therefore trumps morality. This is what produces the morally confused liberal elites that can venerate a Cuban tyranny with its egalitarian society over a free and decent America that has greater inequality.

None of this matters to progressives. Against all this destructiveness, they will respond not with arguments to refute these consequences of the liberal welfare state, but by citing the terms "social justice" and "compassion," and by labeling their opponents "selfish" and worse.

If you want to feel good, liberalism is awesome. If you want to do good, it is largely awful."

By Dennis Prager

Squirrel in Church

2011-07-14T12:34:00.005-06:00

In one of my seminary classes the professor just shared this video. I have to pass it along.

I can't help but smile.

What Religion Boils Down To

2011-07-13T19:30:00.003-06:00

"If Christ cannot be glimpsed in the followers of Christianity, they should admit their religion is a mistake and stop faking it; Muslim's should not advocate Islam until Muslim against Muslim carnage ends and Salaam Aleikum becomes a reality in true submission to God's will; If Hindus want to prove their religion is the Sanatan Dharm, why not break free from Samsara by revolting en masse against India's caste system? That will eliminate a far more insidious form of apartheid than South Africa's, because the caste system persists in the guise of religion." -Frank Raj

Guns Don't Kill People

2011-07-12T18:50:00.003-06:00

Read an article at a fellow blogger's site The Drawn Cutlass where they discussed an Arizona State Senator pointing a firearm at a reporter. I told them I would find a related video so here it is. The clip is from a T.V. show called American Dad. This particular episode is also one of my favorites.

Dream a Little Okay

2011-07-12T15:20:00.003-06:00

My state representitive posted this on his facebook wall and I thought to share it here.

“Dream A Little Dream”: How Long Would It Take To Pay Off The U.S. Federal Government Debt?

"Let’s dream: Let’s imagine that the American political leadership decides to get serious about U.S. Federal government debt reduction—crazy as it may sound.

“Porcus Washingtonianus”:
Recently discovered new species,
native to the District of Columbia.

Actually, that’s too crazy. The American political leadership will never “do the right thing” with regards the deficit. After all, last spring, the American political leadership couldn’t agree on a measly $50 billion worth of cuts—a mere 1.4% of the total Federal government budget.

Okay, so in order to give our daydream a veneer of verisimilitude, let’s pretend instead that the members of Congress and the president are the victims of a cunning biological terrorist attack—they are infected with truly massive doses of both the Responsibility Bug and the Austerity Virus.

And then—under the unnatural effects of these sneaky terrorist pathogens—the American political leadership decides to cut the deficit outright, and start retiring the national debt.

Yeah: That’s much more realistic.

How much would they have to cut, in order to pay off the national debt? And how long would it take, to retire that national debt in its entirety?

Well, in order to figure this out, first they’d have to get honest about exactly how much is the U.S. Federal government’s debt. (Honesty is a perverse side-effect of the Responsibility Bug and the Austerity Virus. Scientists are working feverishly to try to stop this honesty stuff.)

Total outstanding Treasury debt is $9.7 trillion—but that’s not the entire Federal government debt. To those $9.7 trillion, you have to add another $4.6 trillion, which corresponds to “intragovernmental holdings”—basically IOU’s or markers the Federal government has put in the famed “Social Security lockbox”.

Thus the total Federal government debt: $14.35 trillion.

That’s the number the Congress and President of our dreams has to close: $14.35 trillion. Or to be more precise: $14,344,491,791,132.71.

The current deficit is $1.65 trillion per year—but that bald number doesn’t help up much.

A better factoid would be knowing, How much revenue does the U.S. Federal government bring in per year, via taxes, fees and so on?

That would be $2.173 trillion, according to the OMB.

So let’s imagine that the Capitol Hill and the White House of our dreams agree to immediately cut all deficit-expenditures—that is, cut $1.65 trillion right off the top—and then they also agree to pay down the national debt on an “accelerated” schedule: Let’s say they set aside a third of all Federal revenue to pay down the Federal government debt. In other words, for every $3 of revenue the Federal government brings in, $2 will be for government services and operations, and another $1 will be for paying down the debt.

A third of $2.173 trillion is $724 billion.

So they start paying off the Federal government debt at this pace: $724 billion a year—a TARP per year. The Federal government “makes do” with just the two-thirds of its revenue, $1.45 trillion.

Question: How long would it take for the Federal government to pay off the total Federal government debt?

Answer: If the Federal government took on no new debt, and instead paid off all its outstanding debt at a pace of $724 billion per year, it would take just shy of 20 years to pay off the National debt.

That’s right: At a minimum, it’ll take 20 years to pay off the Federal government deficit—assuming there are balanced budgets from here to fiscal year 2032, and the Federal government devotes one-third of its total revenue just to retiring the National debt.

Like I told you at the outset: This is just a dream.

Let’s keep on dreaming—hell, it’s one of the few things in this life that’s free.

So now that they’re cutting the deficit and the debt, what will our Dream-Congress and Dream-President have to cut in the budget, in order to make this target?

Let’s assume that Social Security is the sacred cow—after all, people have actually contributed to this fund, so in a sense it’s “theirs”. So no cuts in Social Security.

And no cuts in the interest payments, which in 2010 was $197 billion. Can’t unilaterally cut what you owe, so that’s also Untouchable.

Social Security was $701 billion in 2010. To make the math simple, let’s ignore the demographic time-bomb that is the Baby Boomer generation. So say it’s the same $700 billion moving forward. Ditto with the interest payments, which were $197 billion in 2010 but which of course would begin to decrease as we retired debt. These two fudges more-or-less cancel one another out.

So if Social Security and interest payments are Untouchable, that means $900 billion gets lopped off our $1.45 trillion budget.

That leaves us with $550 billion a year for “everything else”: The military, Medicare, Medicaid, mandatory and discretionary expenditures, infrastructure, NASA, the FBI, Homeland Security—everything else has to be covered by that $550 billion. A year.

Thus every other Federal government department would have to be cut by about 80%.

Sounds extreme, huh? But 80% cuts across the board is the number, once you start to think about it:

If the total outlays of the Federal government in 2010 were $3.45 trillion, and we’ve said that $900 billion of that is Untouchable in our new $1.45 trillion budget, then that leaves us with $550 billion to cover what used to be $2.55 trillion in expenditures.

That is, 80% cuts.

Thus the military would go down from about $700 billion (not including wars) to $140 billion. Medicare and Medicaid? From about $800 billion down to $160 billion. And so on, across every budget item.

An easier way to think of it is from the point of view of employment: If we cut 80% of the budget, how many Federal employees would we have to lay off?

Well, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, there were 4.43 million people employed by the Federal government in 2009, of which 1.6 million were military personnel.

If we lay off 80% of that work force, we’d reduce the Federal government to a mere 880,000 employees for all branches and departments.

Or in other words, we’d have to lay off 3.54 million people. They’d be some very unhappy voters, those 3.54 million unemployed—but they’d be doing their bit, to reduce the deficit!

So they’d be happy, right?

. . . right?

————

This, of course, is a dream: Let’s get back to the nightmare.

Like I said, last Spring, the Congress and the White House could barely manage to cut a measly $50 billion from the Federal government budget—a mere 1.4% of the total Federal government outlays.

So there is no way—ever—that the political leadership will get serious about reducing the deficit, much less the overall debt. Hell, they’re about to raise the debt limit, and probably kick it up by a couple of trillion dollars—at least!

So there’ll never be any cuts—ever.

Therefore, the U.S. Federal government has to look at other alternatives to get out of paying its debt—and generate more nominal revenue.

After all, that huge Baby Boom generation is beginning to retire and—wouldn’t you know it—they didn’t provide for themselves in their retirement: They will be completely dependent on Social Security, which is as everyone knows a pay-as-you-go scheme. Or in other words, a Ponzi scheme.

Therefore, the Federal government can’t cut spending—and has to increase nominal spending. In other words, it has to go into even more debt.

In the end, there are only two ways to get out of a sovereign debt you can’t pay, or don’t want to pay: Either default, or inflate.

The U.S. Federal government will never default—because if it did, the entire U.S. financial superstructure would blow up on the spot. Even if it were a “half-hour default”, as some Neanderthal Republican politicians are saying ought to happen, it would still be a credit event—all sorts of contractual hedges would trigger. Even if this “default” really were merely a half-hour long, it would be akin to throwing sand into the gears of a nuclear reactor—unpredictably damaging to the U.S. financial system, potentially from merely “very bad” all the way to “mortal”.

So no default.

Therefore, inflate.

QE-2 is ending—but QE-lite is still going strong: The Federal Reserve reinvestment of excedents from its MBS and other toxic asset positions, brought onto the Fed’s balance sheet back during QE-1 in 2008 and 2009.

QE-lite is about $25 billion a month.

Furthermore, QE-3 is likely in the offing, as the Treasury department simply does not have the buyers for the debt it has on deck—and the Federal Reserve has become the buyer of last resort. The Fed can—and probably will—launch QE-3 under the cover that the “recovery” has been “sluggish”, and that therefore more monetary stimulus is necessary.

Therefore, more money printing by the Fed, to keep the Treasury department funded.

Therefore, more inflation, as we have been seeing lately, even in the official numbers.

Therefore—inevitably—an eventual Moment of Clarity in the markets, when they realize at a zeitgeist level that Fed-induced inflation is the only solution to the U.S. Federal government debt issue.

When that Moment of Clarity in the markets happens, then that’s the day the dollar dies: Weimar here we come.

Don’t believe me? OK—then go convince Capitol Hill and the White House to get serious about cutting the deficit: Go tell them to eliminate the national debt in 20 years. See if they take any serious steps in that direction."

So after reading this all I could think of. . . as my father in law would say, time to buy more silver and I would add more bullets.

Teeth Pulling

2011-04-21T19:30:00.003-06:00

I was talking with my dad and family and he was talking about this video. I can only say WOW! That was awesome.

These other videos show other ways of pulling teeth

Minja

2011-04-21T15:50:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine pointed me to this video. It made me laugh so I wanted to share it. Enjoy.

Video of Me Preaching

2011-04-18T22:03:00.002-06:00

Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

Have you ever felt that when you pray that God picks up but then puts you on hold. Or that all you get is His voice mail. Have you ever felt alone or abandoned by God?

When we wake up in the morning sometimes we don’t want to get out of bed. I’m not talking about when you have a hang over or stayed up to late. I’m talking about the morning when you wake up and don’t want to deal with family. When you don’t want to go to work. The kind of morning when you just want to turn on your side and go back to sleep.

I can’t speak for all of you but I know I have. I’ve had those feelings.

Its called depression.

You might be thinking, “hold on a second, a true blue, dyed in wool Christian, isn’t supposed to get depressed.”

Well, being a Christians doesn’t make us immune to our moods going up and down. It’s part of going through life. We can’t help but have ups and downs. Its part of being human

I was at a pretty low point in my life and someone told me that I really loved the Lord and had faith that I shouldn’t feel depressed. I shouldn’t be sad. This person told me, “There’s no depression in the Bible,” so turn that frown upside down.

Well, first I wanted to punch the person in the face. I got over that and got to thinking.

There is depression in the bible. There’s a lot of it.

Moses begged God to kill him. Jesus became so sorrowful and suffered excruciating agony before his arrest. He wept before he raised Lazarus from the dead.

If you are human, if you have blood in your viens and skin on your bones, your moods are going to go up and down. We’re gonna have bad day and we’re gonna have good days. Those days may even drag into weeks or months sometimes.

There have been times in my life when I could only hope that God was listening to my beggings and pleadings. That he was hearing my calls for help.

Depression can be a like a fog that moves in slowly or hits us all of the sudden.

Sometimes the fog that hits us all of the sudden the loss of a husband, wife. A son,or daughter. A mother or father. When we face these losses we’re forced to confront the deepest of truths and the darkest of our fears. That’s when the fog of depression rolls in.

We may even at times wish to call out my God my God why have you forsaken me.

In the Bible there is a story about a prophet named Elijah, a queen named Jezebel, and the prophets of Baal:

A foreign queen, Jezebel, had married Ahab, the king of Israel. She brought with her hundreds of prophets of Baal. Baal was a pagan god.

When she arrived in Israel, she tried to establish a mission there and was doing a good job of it. Jezebel was a manipulative, mean, devilish woman. Ahab was a weak king, and things were not working very well for him or Israel or the God of Israel.

So Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. It was a winner-take-all contest. They went to Mount Carmel and built two altars, one to Baal and one to Jehovah. The rules were that the prophets of Baal would sacrifice the bull and do their thing, and then Elijah would do the same on the altar to Jehovah. The god who brought the fire to the altar would be the god that Israel would worship.

So the 450 pagan preachers did their thing -- they beat their drums, they prayed, they danced, they called on Baal, but nothing happened; and, finally, they gave up. Then it was Elijah's turn. He put the sacrifice on the altar and poured buckets of water over it to demonstrate his confidence in God's power. He prayed and God sent the fire that consumed the sacrifice. Jehovah was obviously the victor. Then he killed the 450 priests of Baal. When Jezebel received word of this, she was furious and sent word to Elijah that she would have someone do the same to him.

Now here was a man who had scored the greatest victory of his life. He had called down fire, embarrassed the opposition, and had 450 pagan priests killed. He was riding high, and all of a sudden, one word from a defiant queen sent chills up and down his spine. So what did he do? He started running because he was afraid of Jezebel. This happened in northern Israel, and he ran past Jezreel and got all the way to Beersheba to the south. And he was so exhausted that he collapsed.

Then God sent an angel to him in the night. The angel said, "Arise and eat." The angel said that to him twice and then fed him. Elijah got up, took care of his body, and then he was instructed to go down to Mount Sinai, about another 150 miles. When he arrived there, he still wasn't relieved of his fear and depression. He stood in the mouth of the cave and watched the lightning and the storms. God wasn't there, he determined. Then he heard God in a still, small voice say, "Go back to Israel by the way of Damascus. Anoint Elisha to follow you. There are 7,000 people waiting for you to come. They are the people of God who have remained faithful."

I have told you the story, painting a verbal canvas for you. Now let's pull out the three pegs to hang the lesson on. This will help us when the fog of depression rolls in.

Remember, the first thing God said to Elijah was "get up." In a sense, take care of yourself. I will guarantee you this: If you want to be depressed, the first step on the road to depression is to let your body get depleted.

Elijah had neglected to take care of himself physically and this had resulted in an emotional collapse. Body and soul are connected as one, and when we neglect self-care, the fog rolls in.

The body must be cared for in order to prevent the fog of depression from overtaking us. So, get up and take care of yourself: Eat, sleep and exercise.

Next Elijah, standing in the mouth of the cave at Sinai, realized that God spoke in the still small voice - not the earthquake - wind and fire. And he began to reestablish his relationship with God. This prevented the "fog" from overtaking him. So, look up. God loves us, even when dark moods overtake us and God is still speaking quietly to us.

Finally, God makes it clear to Elijah that he was not alone. Dark moods, depression, the "fog" make us feel that we are one against the world.

One night I dreamed a dream.
I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.

When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.

"Lord, You told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, You leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."[1]

Elijah is reminded by God that there are 7,000 in Israel who are still loyal to their God, and he is to link up with them. When the dark moods overtake us, we need other people.

Our faith is a plural faith. Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together, I'll be with them." It is not a singular faith as reflected in the country-western song "Me and Jesus, We'll Get By." We are not complete without our Christian family. To beat away the "fog," we must link up.

Elijah gives us a clear path to surviving when the "fog" that descends on us: Get up, look up, link up.

And let's remember that we can act our way into a new way of feeling easier than we can feel our way into a new way of acting.

[1] Margaret Fishback Powers, 1964 http://www.wowzone.com/fprints.htm (accessed 4/7/2011)

Church and Starbucks

2011-04-18T11:13:00.003-06:00

Marines Invade Haiti

2011-04-17T21:06:00.003-06:00

Before you decide to watch this video I give fair warning that harsh language is used but that it is bleeped out.

Gun Control Reminders

2011-04-17T20:58:00.002-06:00

"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."~ Unknown

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords and IEDs?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you NOT understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

Holy War Cry

2011-04-12T16:51:00.002-06:00

Psalm 119:33-40
Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees,
that I may follow it to the end.
³⁴ Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
³⁹ Take away the disgrace I dread,
for your laws are good.
⁴⁰ How I long for your precepts!
In your righteousness preserve my life. (NIV)

A Holy War Cry

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Start the day with a Holy War cry unto the Lord.

I want each of you to give a holy War cry. You call that a war cry.

Since the days when our ancestors pounded on each other with wooden clubs there have been battle cries. A battle cry was intended to show the enemy how determined and hostile their opponent was. The purpose of a battle cry was to frighten an enemy into fleeing before the battle even started.

With that in mind, when we wake up in the Morning, Satan should know that we awoke because of our war cry. Satan should start shaking in his boots because a Christian has awakened. The gates of hell should tremble, knowing that a committed Christian is on the warpath, looking to kick butt and take names.

A Christian’s life is more than just a journey; Christian life involves spiritual warfare. We are in a war, fighting for God or against him. In the morning, we decide if we are the new person who committed their life to Christ. The new person who is fighting to kill the old person, or are we to be the old person who wants to live life by their own rules?

In this war there is no middle ground. There are No Neutral parties. We are either with God or we are against him.

Every day when we wake up, we should wake up ready to battle against Satan and the old us. Every day, our goal should be “how can we give Satan a black eye and break the chains that link our old life to our new life?”

Since we are at War, we need to train everyday that we aren’t in battle to be ready for the next battle we have to fight. There is an adage that many of you may have heard: “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in War.”

The psalmist realized that if he was to keep his life in line with God's Word, there would be a struggle – and he needed to train. He turned to his leader and begged for more training, so he could be prepared to fight. This is why he said to the Lord, “Teach me; lead me.” He was turning to his leader, saying, “Help me train for my battles. Help me do my part to win the war.”

One attribute any good warrior has is discipline. I was taught that discipline is instant willingness and obedience to orders.

We should be obedient to God because it’s something we love to do. When’s the last time you saw a parent have to make a child eat ice cream! We might have to make a child eat their vegetables, but we have trouble keeping them away from the cookie jar. We might have to make them practice their piano lessons, but we won't have to force him to run and fetch our wallet when we get ready to give them their allowance. In our willingness to be obedient to God, we should be as eager as the child seeking ice cream or their parent’s wallet.

Obeying God should not be something we have to be made to do. It should be something we do without thinking. It should be so ingrained in us that we follow the commandments before we even think about it. If we love God, why would we have to be made to walk along a path we delight in?

We have to, because we battle against ourselves. We are not comprised of one person but rather two. There is the old person we were before we found Christ, and there is the new person who we want to be now, that we know Christ.

The new person loves the path that God’s commandments help us walk down and the old person doesn’t, and so, the fight is on.

In this battle we swing back and forth between the old man and the new man. One day we have the discipline needed to be obedient and several days later the old person wins. And we go back and forth. The new person seeking to turn to God fully, and the old person hunting for a return to a life of drugs, sex and rock ’n’ roll.

The old person desires to slip back into being too proud, telling lies, looking at pornography, sleeping around, getting drunk and stirring up trouble at work and at home.

If we want the new person to win the battle more often we need to have discipline. We should echo the words of Lord Tennyson, “Ours is not to make reply, ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die.”

It is discipline that allows a person to make such a statement.

In this struggle between the new person and the old person there is no quarter. There is no retreat back to safe ground. In the end, there can be only one. Either the new person or the old person will be triumphant.

That’s why we should say as the Psalmist did, “Lord, I need your discipline. A discipline higher than anything I currently possess. Lord, I need you to help me walk in the path of Your commandments.” That is the mark of a true believer, an obedient child.

The psalmist wanted God to help him be obedient. He asked, “God give me your strength to wage my war. Turn me away from the person I was. Help me follow You.”

The difference between the old person and the new can be seen in difference between the prodigal's going-away petition and his coming-home petition: Going away he just said, "Father, give me..." Returning home, he humbly begged, "Father, make me as one of your servants…"

The man or woman who can say to God, “Father, make me one of your servants” is a true believer.

There are those who read it and forsake it…rebelling against God's Word. There are those who read it and forget it… simply allowing it to be crowded out of their lives. There are those who read it and are wise enough to want to live it

We need to be warriors who battle to keep their lives in line with the Word of God. We need to train for battle against the old person we were. We need to start every day with a war cry to the Lord. Amen.

Reasons To Own A Gun

2011-04-05T11:01:00.010-06:00