A Mind is Terrible Thing to Waste

By: Theosebes

The little girl's shoulders shook as she tearfully hugged her big brother good bye. The mother stood by with her hand on her son's shoulder, painfully dealing with the transition from high school student to college freshman. The scene was touching and brought back personal memories of just a year ago as I too experienced this emotional release in 2008 when my daughter entered the university for the first time. Yet there was peace knowing that the college she was attending was built on this mission statement: "Biblically centered education, scholarship and service- equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ."

The first institution in America was founded in 1636 by a Puritan named John Harvard. He left his library of 400 books to found a "seminary" with this understanding, "The maine end of [a student's] life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all found knowledge and learning." (Samuel, Eliot Morison, The Founding of Harvard College). Today the mission statement for Harvard is vastly different. "In brief: Harvard strives to create knowledge, to open the minds of students to that knowledge, and to enable students to take best advantage of their educational opportunities." Harvard no longer espouses that the study of God and Jesus Christ is the foundation of all found knowledge and learning, but rather there is a denial of God and the belief that humans can create knowledge. Education has devolved from its superior beginnings in America when the Progressive agenda took root, walking away from the classical preparation that made the true pursuit of knowledge and truth foundational and moving toward an education of experience, resulting in an incremental “dumbing down” of Americans dating back to the early twentieth century.

Parents today may send their children off to prestigious learning institution, feeling secure in the campus security, the dorm life, and the extra-curricular activities these schools may offer, but because parent's have also been indoctrinated into a Progressive mentality, it doesn't occur to them to be wary of the propaganda taught at most universities. Glenn Beck points out in Common Sense that the educational system has "fallen prey to political patronage and the Progressive agenda." Beck also quoted Woodrow Wilson, once president of Princeton University, (another one of America's first colleges founded to meet the needs of training ministers) who said, "Our problem is not merely to help the students to adjust themselves to world life....[but]to make them as unlike their fathers as we can." Beck, Glenn Common Sense, Pg 91.

When did the fathers of our country become unworthy of study and emulation? Who should we fashioning our lives after, if it is not the great men and women in history, our American history? Who should children view as worthwhile role models if it is not their fathers? When did the colleges and universities become enemies of the parent instead of a support system to help the child to succeed in becoming an adult?

According to Gary Amos and Richard Gardiner, in their book Never Before in History, the standard for graduation in the 1700s from Harvard was as follows:

• Every student who, on trial, shall be able to translate from the original Latin text, and logically to explain the Holy Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, and shall also be thoroughly acquainted with the principles of natural and moral philosophy, and shall be blameless in life and character, and approved at public examination by the President and the Fellows of the College, may receive the first degree.

The Masters Degree required the following:

• Every scholar who has maintained a good standing, and exhibited a written synopsis of logic, natural and moral philosophy, arithmetic and astronomy, and shall be prepared to defend a proposition or thesis; shall also be versed in the original languages, as aforesaid; and who carries with him a reputation for upright character and diligence in study, and shall pass successfully a public examination, shall be admitted to the second, or Master’s degree.

Today according to the Harvard website, graduation requirements to earn the bachelor’s degree, a student must complete 128 credits and maintain good academic standing (2.0 GPA). At least 64 credits must be completed at Harvard University. A student must fulfill all of his or her requirements and be in good academic and financial standing with Harvard University, with no disciplinary or administrative procedures pending, to graduate and participate in May Commencement. Each school of study of course has differing requirements for its emphasis,

but it is interesting to note the very different tone that one finds today at one of America’s most renowned universities and the requirements of two hundred years ago.

Most interesting is the requirement that the student must be upright and blameless in life and character and having a thorough knowledge of the Bible in the 1700’s Laws and Statutes for Students of Harvard College. One would be hard pressed to find such a high standard for graduation from any school today, let alone America’s oldest institution of higher learning: Harvard University.

Academic standards are set without regard for the character of the individual and no where is the Bible seen as an indispensable factor for a well rounded scholar.

Our lower institutions of learning have an even tougher climb to reach the excellence of early American schools. The New England Primer was the text book that emphasized both Christian charact

er and literacy and classical education was a standard for many colonial Americans, along with apprenticeships to provide skilled training.

Today’s classrooms would not be allowed to have a New E

ngland Primer, as it would offend those who believe in the separation of church and state. The Primer utilized Bible stories to help teach the alphabet and the Westminster Catechism was also part of the text. Samuel Eliot Morison said, “American revolutionary leaders, both North and South, Madison, Wythe, and Jefferson, the Rutledges and Pinckneys, as well as Hamilton, Jay, and the Adamses, and Trumbulls, could never have rendered their distinguished services to the young republic without that classical leaning which is denied to most Americans today. (Samuel Eliot Morison, Three Centuries of Harvard (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1936), 136.

How do we expect our children to excel in grade school, middle school and high school when the standards of education are at an all time low? When Progressivism has a choke hold on real education, when indoctrination is the ring of the school bell, and the diploma of good citizenship is given to a student who can spew out the correct responses on a test that measures the ability to think green, distrust the government and treat people equally. We are not raising an army of brilliant thinkers as the founding fathers were, but rather a generation whose work ethic, morality and character are easy to mold by those who believe they know what is best. Yet this “knowing” leadership also attended the schools of Progressive instruction and they too are not in the same league as the excellent scholars, thinkers and statesmen that the Founders were.

How can we as parents pursue an education for our children, that reflects excellence and strives for a standard that few achieve, a standard that early Americans set and achieved? We as parents do know what is best for our children, even in regard to education, though the local school district and the Obama Administration would say the contrary. American schools are failing our children not because students are not learning to read, write and do basic math, but because the standard of excellence, the standard of “blameless in life and character” is not the key element in a child’s life. When we take away the foundation of Biblical scholarship and morality and replace it with an ever changing ideology of humanism, then the goal becomes only to clone robots who espouse the philosophy of the powers that be. When high moral character and biblical ethics are separated from the education of a child, only the outer shell will appear polished. Test scores may reflect understanding and in academics that child may find success, but the inner person will struggle for meaning that was never addressed in this pursuit of knowledge.

A wholly educated person is educated in mind, body and spirit and is a danger to the Progressive agenda, because that person has the ability to reason, to consider ethical ramifications and to speak against the wrongs that the government is foisting on the “tired and huddled masses”. This is why education is the most crucial weapon that we have as parents and that the Progressive desire to hold in complete control. There is recognition that if the masses can be educated just enough to know how to follow their “teachers”, then an army of “yes men” can be established. This is why parents must do their due diligence to be connected with their child through every part of schooling, even the choosing of the university. This too should becomes a family affair as the family releases the life, mind, and spirit of their child to an institution that will either reinforce the values of the family unit and build it into a stronger entity, or will do the work of a cancer and slowly destroy the value system of that individual, creating in that student an individual who questions the loving authority that nurtured it and instilling a group think mentality focused on experience and skills needed for a future society.

The future of America is in the children that we raise. Mediocre is not an option. Parents must become more deeply engaged in the philosophy of the educational process, as well as breaking the chains that have imprisoned our minds as well. We must re-educate ourselves, recognizing that we all have had a dose of Progressive indoctrination, and we must return to the educational pattern that helped establish this nation. Those who rule on high in Washington are products of this century old heist of the American mind. Like the old proverb, they too have been the frog, slowing dying in an ever warming pot of water. But the fire can be extinguished and the death of brilliant minds stopped. It is not too late to stop the march of this Statist ideology but it must become personal and we must return to the pursuit of truth that Harvard was built on at its inception: "The maine end of [a student's] life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all found knowledge and learning.” Without this foundation, we may truly say, the mind is a terrible thing to waste.

California Appeals Court Stands for English Only

By Theosebes

In 1914, President Theodore Roosevelt stated, "We have room for but one language in this country, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house."

Last week, the First District Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected arguments that English-only exams violate a federal requirement that limited-English-speaking students "shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner." Nearly 1.6 million students in California have limited command of the language, according to a OneNewsNow article. The court of appeals, in a three-to-zero ruling, upheld a San Francisco judge’s decision that ruled against the bilingual-education group in his 2007 decision.

The lawyer for the school district, Marc Coleman stated that they are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court. But Aloysius Hogan, a spokesman for English First, thinks that due to the solid three-to-zero ruling this would be a tough challenge.

Last week, I had the privilege of introducing a ten year old Ukrainian boy to a group of school children. This young man was adopted by a couple last December and knew absolutely no English when he arrived aside from “hello, yes, no, and mommy and papa.” The day of the assembly, he spoke in very good English to a group of children his age and fielded the questions that these children had for him about the orphanage he had lived in and about Ukraine. His native tongue is Russian and he had been learning to read Russian. Here in his new home, he had to learn a new alphabet and is now reading very well for only being here for eight months.

Credit goes to his parents, I am sure, for their dedication in helping him learn the language so quickly. But this young man has had a much more difficult life than most children ever experience in the United States and is already putting the majority of bi-lingual children and adults to shame.

If an orphan child can come to a new land, learn a new alphabet, learn to read and speak in English, in eight months, then why can’t a high school or any elementary school child do the same? I would suggest that there is laziness and a lack of care. The examples these children have at home demonstrate arrogance for not adopting the language that defines America and its heritage. There is no reason other than laziness and pride that keeps individuals back from learning the language of the land. With effort, the lives of the adults and children who do not have a command of the language would improve by making it easier to live in a country with a single language, making it easier to be neighborly and do day to day tasks in the community.

I agree with the Court's decision and believe that pressure needs to be applied to the homes of non-English speakers, holding them responsible for getting their children ready for the world. It is not the government’s job, but rather the individual who chooses to live in the United States of America.

Freedom of speech and Expression is not just for the left!

By Lenice Moynihan



Listen, I love the joker poster of Obama. I read that police are investigating who put them up and who created them. My first question is why and my second thought is I am outraged! There is a man at one of the rallies holding a sign that says "Obama die" and I believe he is now a man of suspicion. Although I personally would not choose to voice my opinion in that way, we do still live in a free society. We are a country of free speech! The poster of the joker is called free expression and the sign held by that man is called free speech. They have every right to say how they feel!

The left called George Bush Hitler for most of his term and no one said a word. I think of the art displays, if you can call them that, over the years. One in particular was the Cross in urine. Yes, it was beloved by the left as up and coming art. It was called free expression and no one cared how many of us were heartbroken by such a vile display! That artist was hailed not investigated! Those of us who found it blasphemous were considered stupid. A couple of months ago Obama was nailed to the cross looking just like Christ. This was done by some liberal artist. The image was going to be unveiled and touted as amazing. I found it to be vile and heresy. We heard no mention of investigations just awe of another genius. The more the art stomps on someone's beliefs or morals the left likes it that much more. You are a square if you can't see how secularism is cool!

The disgusting things the left has come up with under the guise of free speech and free expression has ruined this country. They are the ones who corrupted our image and they continue to do it. Hey, they came up with teaching kids how to put a condom on a banana in school. Of course, our tax dollars should pay for that, right? Who can argue with that kind of higher education and we were worried that we were becoming dumbed down! Remember though no Bible allowed, only bananas and "my two moms."

Free speech is free speech, period! I can't stand, I mean CAN'T STAND, the double standard of these vile hateful people. They love to dish it out but oh boy how they can't take it. This President has the thinnest, not the blackest, skin I have ever seen. He is a cry baby as is much of his staff. We agree mostly we don't want to be shrill like the left but if there are a few out there that do, have at it. Your Constitution defends you. Dear leader, I say that with contempt, that is the end of the story. Some might say what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Yea, maybe many of us see carrying the "Obama die" sign as crass but haven't we stood silent long enough. Remember the bananas?

DOMA Doomed by Obama?

By Theosebes

Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, a homosexual California couple, are challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. This law prevents same sex couples from securing spousal benefits from Social Security, filing joint tax returns and gaining benefit from other federal rights reserved for traditional marriage. DOMA gives the states the right to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department lawyers have argued that the act is constitutional and they contend that awarding the federal marriage benefits to homosexuals would infringe on the rights of taxpayers in the 30 states that specifically prohibit same-sex marriages.

The Obama administration filed court papers this Monday, August 17, 2009, claiming that they too believe that DOMA discriminates against homosexuals. According to the filing by Assistant Attorney General Tony West, “DOMA reflects a cautiously limited response to society’s still-evolving understanding of the institution of marriage.”

But would not the converse be true, if the law was reversed, wouldn’t the millions of people who live in traditional marriages, who support traditional marriages then be discriminated against? And at what point does the institution of marriage stop evolving? Who gets the final say as to what an “Evolved Marriage” looks like?

Also noted in the Associated Press was that the administration does not agree with the arguments that DOMA protects children by defining marriage as between a man and woman?

“The United States does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing and is therefore not relying upon any such interests to defend DOMA’s constitutionality,” lawyers argued in the filing.

Ironically, this is the same administration that believes the government (also known as “The Village”) knows how to raise our children better than we and that it would like to send “trained babysitters” to our homes to see that we are parenting right via a little paragraph in the proposed healthcare bill. This administration also thinks that the United Nation has the right tools to take care of all the world’s children, individually caring for them, through the efforts of U.N. Treaty on Children. This Administration is not rational about procreation and child-rearing!

If Mr. Smelt and Mr. Hammer want a state that accepts them and recognizes them for who they are, then I say, move to Massachusetts! Give the people of the states the right to vote their conscience and trust that their voice will be not only heard but also remain law. Let those whose cause has been lost, to either be a good sport about it, or move to a place where they can have the rights they believe they deserve. An interest group, such as the homosexual lobby, should not be able to over turn the voices of millions of Americans and trample states rights. The Obama administration has much bigger issues than to get in bed with this particular “special interest group.”

Keep It Up Mobsters!

By Kelli Krauss

Cheers to the American people who have come out of the woodwork to oppose the monstrosity of a health care bill currently supported by President Obama and the Democrats in Congress. There is nothing more exhilarating to watch than the wheels of democracy in motion with real Americans taking their representatives in Congress to task.

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has called you Nazis, un-American, and your movement “AstroTurf.” Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, refers to you as “evil-mongers.” The President of the United States wants you to “get out of the way” and would like you to be reported to the White House for spreading misinformation. Representative John Dingell thinks you are racists and likened you to sheet wearing KKK members of the 1960’s. You are ridiculed by Senator Barbara Boxer because you dress nicely. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that your concern and anger is “manufactured” and “not completely indicative of what's going on in America”; and NBC News says you are “dumber than Joe the Plumber” and just upset because we have a black President. The arrogant, out-of-touch leaders in Washington D.C. and most in the main stream media just keep turning their noses up to you and the majority of Americans in this country.

During a town-hall-meeting, Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican turned Democrat from Pennsylvania, when trying to respond to the genuine concern of his constituents about this health care bill, was about as inspiring, interesting and persuasive as a can of white paint. There was no substance to his remarks and he sounded bored and defeated. The regular everyday Americans who were there to ask questions sounded more informed and passionate than he did. Other Representatives and Senators have expressed outrage at the fact that you are informed and against the government take-over of our health care. They show disdain for you and want you to just be grateful that they took time out of their busy schedule to listen to you.

I am so proud of my fellow Americans who are making their voices heard. Unlike First Lady Michelle Obama who said “for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country” when her husband became the Democrat nominee for President, this is one of many times that I have been proud of my country. To see so many standing up in opposition to Obama and the Democrats desire to take over our health care, the courage to speak out loudly about it, and the strength to take ridicule from those who don’t understand is inspiring.

Keep it up well dressed mobsters!! We need to stay the course, hold our elected leaders accountable and let them know that we do pay attention; we are concerned; and they cannot do as they please with our country. As Thomas Jefferson said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."

Chuck Norris Doesn't Just Read Books

By Theosebes

Google “Chuck Norris” and the first site that comes up is the website Chuck Norris Facts. He has become a phenomenon on the Internet because of his tough guy image and the jokes pertaining to all things “Chuck Norris.”

Chuck Norris doesn’t read books,he just stares them down until he gets the information he wants out of them.

Yet unlike Al Franken: an actor playing the part of a politician; Chuck Norris has read the Health Care bill and knows what he is talking about.

“While watching these political hot August nights, I decided to research the reasons so many are opposed to Obamacare to separate the facts from the fantasy. What I discovered is that there are indeed dirty little secrets buried deep within the 1,000-plus page health care bill.”

According to Townhall.com, Mr. Norris did read the bill and found this interesting fact:

“It’s outlined in sections 440 and 1904 of the House bill (Page 838), under the heading “home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children.” The programs (provided via grants to states) would educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills.

The bill says that the government agents, “well-trained and competent staff,” would “provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains … modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices,” and “skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development.”

It appears that Hillary Clinton’s village to raise America’s children again is sneaking in through the backdoors of our homes via the Obamacare bill. I for one don’t like Clinton's and Obama’s version of a village and don’t intend to live there or let them raise my children. Their parenting skills are supremely lacking when it comes to running an efficient White House- hold, laying on the backs of our children ninety nine trillion dollars of debt. I don’t want them teaching my children math skills, as they appear to have none themselves. I don’t want them teaching my children how to read, as neither appears to have read the Stimulas Bill nor the Health Care Bill. I don’t want them telling my children who God is, as neither seems to understand the Bible. And I would thoroughly disapprove of the babysitters they want to send into my home according to this bill to coach me on how to raise my most treasured possession.

We already see burned out social workers who have no love for the children they purport to “help.” We see teachers who once had a love for kids stumble in and out of the classroom doing the job, without the motivating love behind it. These are the type of babysitter who will be trained to assess whether or not we as American parents are doing it correctly, by their playbook.

Obama and Hillary both ascribe to the “It takes a village mentality”, but their village is more global than American and the U.N. Treaty on Children is the means to the end. According to an article at Huffington Post, “democrats, from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to California Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of a Senate subcommittee on human rights, have advocated pushing for Senate ratification of the treaty, which requires two-thirds approval in the 100-seat chamber.” The Obama administration is looking to ratify this treaty.

As pointed out by Warren Mass in his article Obama May Revive Anti-family UN Child Treaty “like all UN conventions — is not based on the premise stated in our Declaration of Independence that rights are God-given and, therefore, unalienable (inherent and not subject to government restriction). As with the UN Charter itself, and the constitutions of many other nations, the convention presumes to grant rights. Any governmental entity that does this also presumes the converse power to restrict or suspend those same rights.” This administration does not see our children as belonging to American families, but as to the world. They desire to push their ethics onto the lives of all Americans, no matter what vehicle it takes, a Healthcare Bill or a U.N. Treaty, and they will not cease or desist until their agenda has permanently changed the landscape of our Nation and individually, our private homes.

My God-given rights as a parent, by virtue of the children God gave me, are not for the government to take away. I can not stand by and allow what I know is best for my children on a day to day basis, to be stripped away by a government that seems to only desire a nation that won’t back talk and will consent to every agenda. Washington D.C., Obama and the Democrats believe they can create a “Changed Nation” by getting to the hearts and minds of our kids. And they are right, they can. By taking away the rights of parents to love and choose what is best for their families, the government becomes the facilitator of cloned American children, all raised under one standard. This standard is not “One Nation Under God”, but rather “We are the world, we are the children.” The standard that has thrown God, the Bible and prayer out of so many crucial places in America will be the one in place when the babysitters come to check on our parenting skills. And if I, as a parent, get in the way of the babysitter, I will be deemed an unfit mother and placed in timeout, indefinitely.

As Chuck Norris pointed out, “Government needs less of a role in running our children’s lives and more of a role in supporting parents’ decisions for their children. Children belong to their parents, not the government. And the parents ought to have the right — and government support — to parent them without the fed’s mandates, education or intervention in our homes.”

Another claim on children, by another government, was Hitler’s Youth. According to History Learning Site, movements for youngsters were part of German culture. The Hitler Youth was a logical extension of Hitler’s belief that the future of Nazi Germany was its children. The Hitler Youth was seen as being as important to a child as school was. Another dictator also saw the benefit in capturing the minds of children. As stated also in the Norris article, Josef Stalin once declared, “Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.” These men were smart and so are the Progressives who rule our country today. They know that they can create permanent Change by leaving an indelible mark on our nation’s children, through education and re-education of the American parents.

Perhaps this is why the fight against this bill is so impassioned, as deep down, we recognize a take over of things we holder dearer to us than just Health Care reform. The take over is our freedom to be Americans, to raise our families in God-fearing homes if we so choose and to teach our children what “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” means historically, not progressively. The fight is far from over, but if we have women and men, like Chuck Norris, ready and willing to take a stand, at all costs for our children and the country they will inherit, we can win and return it to our foundational roots.

Julie and Julia a movie review to lighten it up!

By Lenice Moynihan

Meryl Streep and Amy Adams star in the movie Julie and Julia. It is the latest script written by Nora Ephron. I took a front row seat on opening day. I love to cook myself and was looking forward to learning more about Julia Child. Of course, Meryl was magnificent as Julia and captivated us while she was on screen. Her accent, look and vibrant love for cooking were inspiring as was her portrayal of Julia's marriage to Paul Child, played by Stanley Tucci. Amy Adams was not so fortunate. Her character lacked the charisma Julia did and I found myself bored early on. The movie could have been more interesting and done just as well focusing more on Julia Child. Most of of my generation certainly has heard of Julia but were unaware of her biography. I brought my 19 year old daughter along because she never heard of Julia Child. I figured she was a role model worth knowing. She lead an interesting life and did not start cooking until after age 40. That was inspiring to a 48 year old facing empty nest syndrome! Stanley Tucci held his own along side Meryl Streep. Julia’s whit and charm melted even the French. Her determination and ability to laugh at mistakes made cooks everywhere ready to tackle a harder recipe.

The character Julie was also inspired by Julia and decided to cook her way through Julia’s “Master French Cooking” cook book. She was unfulfilled in her dead end job and quit writing which was her true passion. She decided to make all 547 recipes of Julia’s in one year. She blogs the experience; thus, getting back to writing. Her husband supports her in the beginning but becomes irritated with her self involvement. Her mother, performance only by phone by Mary Kay Place, is a riot. Overall though, Julie cannot captivate the way Julia can.

Although I enjoy Nora’s writing, there were some inconsistencies. Perhaps it was for laughs, but Julie’s best friend tells her she is a bitch. That really was not Julie’s character. Also, Julia was characterized as this generous over the top individual, yet we are informed she is neither impressed nor interested in Julie’s attempt to cook her recipes and blog the experience. That was inconsistent with her character and ended the movie for me on a bad note. On a personal note, I did not appreciate the standard liberal knock at Republicans pointed in one scene. It was unnecessary and really had nothing to do with the movie. Most of the audience did not laugh, the audience was older, and Nora only showed her political bias. Hollywood should recognize Republicans are half of the population and we pay for movie tickets too!

I give this movie a 7. Most performances are strong. The movie was a little long mostly when Julie was on screen. The food looked delicious and made me appreciate a good dish even more. I left the theatre salivating and hungry for some of that French Stew. There were a couple of morals but the one I left with as most important was you can never use too much butter!

Thou Shalt Have No Other gods Before the ACLU

By Theosebes

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” Patrick Henry, Ratifier of the U.S. Constitution

Last August 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida filed suit against the Santa Rosa County School District on behalf of two Pace High School students who alleged that school officials regularly promoted religion and led prayers at school events. Instead of fighting the lawsuit, the School District “consented to the entry of an order that prohibited, among other things, all prayer at school-sponsored events. The School District then consented to a much broader order fashioned by the ACLU, which essentially bans all employees from engaging in prayer or religious activities, whether before, during, or after school hours.” The federal district court of Pensacola, Florida entered the Consent Order without legal argument. According to the Liberty Counsel, which filed a motion to intervene, the order is unconstitutional and far over reaching as it infringes on the rights of the students, administration and teachers.

The Principal, Frank Lay, and Athletic Director, Robert Freeman, of Pace High School are scheduled to go on trial next month on criminal contempt charges. As reported on Onenewsnow.com, Principal Frank Lay asked Robert Freeman to have a prayer for the meal at an honorary luncheon in celebration of some of the athletic achievements. At another event, the principal asked the husband of a clerical worker to offer a blessing over a meal. The husband was not employed by the school. It is because of these two events that these two men are facing criminal contempt charges. If they are convicted, they both could face fines and imprisonment.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: “It is a sad day in America when school officials are criminally prosecuted for a prayer over a meal. The Founders believed that religion and morality are the twin pillars of the Republic. Judeo-Christianity was taught in public schools, because such teaching was the foundation of liberty. George Washington said that whoever undermines the twin pillars of religion and morality cannot be called a ‘Patriot.’ It is outrageous and an offense to the First Amendment to punish a school official for a simple prayer.”

The ACLU, not unlike the Church of England of hundreds of years ago, flaunts its own version of religious tolerance and then criminally persecuting those who disagree with them and who take a stand against them. Just as the Separatists came to these American shores to escape the ACLU-type persecution, today’s Christians have no new land to which they may escape and must take this fight for their constitutionally protected rights to the courts.

As long as Americans cave to the bullying tactics of the ACLU, all First Amendment rights will be in jeopardy. The ACLU worships a god, the god of secular humanism and their Bible is their personal agenda to silence those who don’t worship this god of theirs. Perhaps it is time to send the ACLU on their own pilgrimage, on their own Mayflower, to find a country that will tolerate their anti-constitutional ways, their religious persecution, and their intolerance.

Unhinged!

By Swilliams

Our U.S. Secretary of State was often described as the "Smartest Woman in America" which caused me to scratch my head more than once. What had I missed? She failed at her attempt to revamp health care in her husband's (presidential) administration; she lost her law firm's billing records when they were subpoenaed; as the subject of numerous probes, take your pick - Whitewater, Travelgate, whatever - she would only answer that she "could not recall"; and then, her greatest claim to fame was simply being unaware of her husband's numerous infidelities right under her nose.

Remember her assertion that tales of Slick Willy's escapades was all a vast right-wing conspiracy? Well, to refresh your memory:



Then we had Hillary on the campaign trail behaving in ways that seemed, well, a bit unstable:


Now, you got to admit this one was a bit creepy:


And here she seems to disagree with Nancy Pelosi on the issue of whether citizen dissent is patriotic or not:


What was even better was seeing her on TV this week in a Q&A session with students in the Congo. This numero uno diplomat representing the United States in her official capacity had this to say:


But maybe Hillary Clinton will be best remembered on the Internet, and definitely not network news, or polite society for that matter, for this (in)famous moment:

Copyright 2009 Missouri Musings

The Arrogance of one Administration

By Lenice Moynihan

The arrogance of this administration is beyond the pale. Obama is the one who manufactured statistics and facts since day one. His election was never a mandate yet we have been led to believe over and over again that it was. Right now, the Left has a bogus advertisement stating just that. The FACT is he did not win by a mandate but rather a minor margin. He lives in a world of fantasy where logic, facts and reality play no part. What is a larger concern is our media and people that refuse to see or report the FACTS.

Obama's surprise at the grass roots movement is astounding. Mostly because we have been told since day one this man is a genius. Not only is this man not a genius, but he can not stand firm on his quick sand rhetoric. This government is becoming creepy. I can think of no other word that would describe the turn of events during town hall meetings. Pelosi stated as a fact that the "angry mob" were seen carrying swastikas and the White House is telling the Democrats to go out and "punch back twice as hard." This is how our government is talking about it's citizens? Sounds like fascism to me. The White House is encouraging our elected officials to fight back instead of listening to their constituents. The state run media happily obeys and reports town hall meetings as manufactured mobs. This is an outrage!

We can no longer dismiss the fascist regime that seems to be emerging. They want a single party state. They want to cram their ideology down our throats; case in point-Obamacare. They have no interest in WE THE PEOPLE, only an interest in We the Government. He does not want to lead a Republic he wants to empower government. He is not concerned about the rights vested in us by the Constitution. He already trampled on that with bail-outs, taking over the private sector, and paying off the unions.

We are in a grave situation here in the United States. It is mostly perpetrated by our government. Those we voted in to protect our laws and our citizens are attacking us! We will not be silenced. Anyone who is still more concerned about touting the party line than supporting his country really needs to do a fact check. There are no facts in this administration only fabricated words and numbers. Obama helped no one and his actions and the real FACTS show this to be true. I have learned to expect the opposite of whatever this man says. He is the consummate liar and by that judgement I stand. This system is broken and corrupt. Is it beyond repair? We can not let them quiet the drum that is beating ever loudly. This country is what we will fight for, not a party and not a President.

Mr. President this is MY country and you will not silence me!

Obama-Style Transparency

By Kelli Krauss

I can‘t believe that we actually have a program in Congress to be voted on that is called “cash-for-clunkers.” When I first heard it, I thought maybe it was an early retirement plan for some in Congress, but we shall not be so lucky. The continuation of this program is the latest evidence of the Obama Administration’s promised “transparency.”

Once again, we find our leaders getting ready to vote and spend more money on something that hasn’t been competently reported on. Harry Reid is confident that they will vote on this “cash-for-clunkers” program before they break for their August recess even though the Obama Administration has not yet given the proper reports to show whether the program is or can be successful.

The White House has refused to release documents containing information on the program and the Transportation Department has said it will release its findings, but it may be after the Senate votes to sink another $2 billion into the program.

This has been the course of the Obama Administration for the last eight months. Apparently in the dictionary that Obama and his staffers refer to, the definition for transparency and ambiguity has been conveniently reversed. It is mind boggling to me how a man can campaign nationally on his dedication to transparency and honesty as well as his promise to the American people of having 5 days to review bills before they are signed and then clearly not do it. The list of campaign promises broken and inconsistencies in his statements is growing longer by the day.

Shouldn’t we have some transparency on why the Obama Justice Department dropped all charges against the New Black Panther Party and the three members that were intimidating voters in Philadelphia on Election Day? Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, the number three man in the Obama Justice Department, approved a decision in May to drop the charges even though the lawyers in the department’s Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division recommended that the Justice Department seek sanctions against the organization and the three individuals. The government had already won a default judgment in federal court against the three men. But, it is okay for Obama to have Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano monitor "right-wing extremists" who are those concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion, as well as returning war veterans. Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia is not letting this go and has asked for an explanation on why the Justice Department dropped all charges against the New Black Panthers.

How about some transparency on health care reform? After all, Barack Obama said this during his Presidential campaign, "People say, 'Well, you have this great health care plan, but how are you going to pass it? You know, it failed in '93’, and what I've said is, I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."

Did I miss this negotiation on C-SPAN? There is now video that shows Obama in 2003 and 2007 talking about his intention to have a single-payer government run health system and how many years he thinks it will take to phase out employer-provided health insurance. Yet he is actively campaigning and insisting that the American people not believe the claims that his health care push is a “Trojan horse” for a single-payer system.

If this is the transparency and honesty that we can expect from President Obama and his administration in leading this country, it is no wonder that the term “Chicago politics” has been used to describe their methods.

It is Called An Uprising!

By Lenice Moynihan

I can not take it anymore! I can not believe the propaganda of this administration. We have the likes of Barbara Boxer attacking Americans for showing up at Town Hall meetings outraged over 8 months of illegal maneuvers by Obama and his Hench men. Hey Barbara, WE ARE THE PEOPLE, we are not Obama's sycophants. Our Constitution was written to limit government and you all have taken it upon yourselves to trample on our freedoms. You bet people are showing up at Town Hall meetings angry. Why wouldn't we be angry at an administration that is trying to take away our rights and give all power to the government? All the while raping us of our hard work by stealing our money and giving it to the unions and others who are owed for Obama's election. You have forgotten you represent us, we don't represent you. We could care less if our uprising hurts this President or any President. This country is not about the President and what he wants. This country is about the people and its majority. Americans have no interest in helping Obama corrupt this system worse than it already is. He has showed himself to be nothing but a liar and a coward. This is not what geniuses or true leaders are made of; he can't tell the truth because his idea of Utopia would sink like the Titanic.

Next we have Linda Douglas, the communications director for the White House, attacking Drudge and his reporting on Obama's health care plans. The Drudge Report ran a video of Obama admitting he wants a one payer system run by the government. We are also privy to a speech Barack gave back in 2002 showing his true ideology. Linda Douglas spends several minutes trying to down-play the report and refute its facts. Linda, we see Barack's mouth moving and we hear him clearly. We don't need your explanation of what he really said. Although Bill Maher would disagree, we are not that stupid.

Then we have Robert Gibbs who spends half his time giggling when a real question comes his way. Being the spokesman for Obama, he characterized the Town Hall meetings as "an angry mob." He also insisted that these people were bussed in by the insurance companies. After I was done being stunned by this description, I just started laughing. These people are unraveling before our eyes. They can't tell a fact, a truth, or understand what is happening around them. They misjudged the American people. This country was founded by men who risked their lives for FREEDOM. They created the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence so that government could not overpower the people. We love our country and the families that made it possible for the United States to come into being. Barack Obama and his Chicago style corrupt politics is no match for the true American.

I am appalled at the lengths this government has gone to lie, cheat and steal its way to the top. There were a few of us that were always awake but now we have company. Obama your time is running out. You are no match for the American heart and way of life. We understand this country is much more than a party affiliation. WE ARE THE PEOPLE! We will not give up our rights, our health care, our freedoms, our law, or our religion for anyone. Certainly not for someone who has no regard for the Constitution or the people it is supposed to preserve. This is called an Uprising. Obama you were born to lose this fight!

Harvey Milk a Hero?

By Theosebes

What does Harvey Milk have in common with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.? Absolutely nothing! Yet his supporters in California desire to elevate him to the same position that these great men hold in history by honoring him with his own “special” day. What did Harvey Milk ever do that places him on equal footing with Presidents, Veterans and Independence Day? Absolutely nothing! He was a vocal, flamboyant politician with an agenda, able to use his charisma and connection to make legislation happen. How is that much different from any of the politicians today? Perhaps, instead of a Harvey Milk Day in the Public Schools of California, we should make it “fair” for all politicians and call it “Politicians Who Push Their Agenda Day.” If Harvey Milk had not been murdered by a fellow politician, he wouldn’t be getting a day, but because of his death, he has been raised to iconic status for being an effective community leader. What I ask should be the criteria of such an honor? What gives an individual “hero” status deserving of singular attention by a school board, state or nation?

HE’RO, n. [L. heros; Gr. a demigod.]

1. A man of distinguished valor, intrepidity or enterprise in danger; as a hero in arms.

2. A great, illustrious or extraordinary person; as a hero in learning. [Little used.]

3. In a poem, or romance, the principal personage, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and Aeneas in the Aeneid.

4. In pagan mythology, a hero was an illustrious person, mortal indeed, but supposed by the populace to partake of immortality, and after his death to be placed among the gods.

America has lowered the bar for what defines a hero and because of this mis-definition, anyone can claim the title without doing anything for his or her fellow man. Harvey Milk is not a hero, he is not a man distinguished by valor, intrepidity or enterprise in danger. He may have served in the armed forces and we thank him for that service, but this does not deem him hero status and worthy of a day named in his honor. He lived a lifestyle that he chose to promote through the political process, rising up through the ranks and fighting for his homosexual community. But that doesn’t elevate him to hero status either, as most politicians fight for what he or she believes in, passionately and persistently. This is the just part of the job and Harvey Milk did his job. Give him a shiny gold star for his star chart and an “Atta boy”, but don’t give him a day of honor!

To place Harvey Milk on the level with great Americans who in fact hold hero status because of their lives, their personal integrity, and character, is to negate the very actions that made these individuals great and worthy of honor. We place hero status on athletes, actors, musicians and politicians, for what? What have most of these people done that can be deemed worthy of honorable mention? Most have gained popularity at best and infamy at worst, without a hint of serving their fellow man. Yet even in following the golden rule, one should never seek recognition, as this should be part of a civil society, not a heroic deed!

The firemen who saved people from the Twin Towers melting frame are heroes, because though it was their job, they continued to work around the clock for the love of their fellow man. Where is their calendar day? Why doesn’t the California School Board have a day for heroic 911 volunteers?

What about the men and women who paid the most extravagant price, serving our country and giving up their lives to protect our rights to even have this conversation? What about Cpl. Jason L. Dunham of Scio, New York, who posthumously received America’s highest military decoration two years and nine months after succumbing to a mortal brain injury while fighting in Iraq? What about the soldiers who gave it all and their families who sacrificed their loved ones for America. Perhaps they could have a day named in their honor for the California Public School system.

The mothers and fathers who care for their cancer-ridden child, living in and out of hospitals and fighting for every second of their beloved child’s life are worthy of hero status. Where is their day California?

What about the heroism of the child who undergoes chemotherapy and radiation, fighting to live, longing to play again? Do not these real life heroes deserve more recognition than Harvey Milk?

The Harvey Milk Day SB 572 is now lying on the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger. He has vetoed similar legislation, but is under much pressure to sign it into law this time. If signed, according to an email that is circulating, SB 572 would pressure every California public school to have an official Harvey Milk Day promoting the homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual agenda to children as young as kindergarten. The bill is written so broadly, that SB 572 would allow schools to determine what it considers suitable commemorative exercises.

State Senator Mark Leno reintroduced the bill and had Sean Penn, the actor who played Harvey Milk, at his side. Leno said that Penn’s Oscar demonstrates to Schwarzenegger that Harvey Milk now has “provincial interest” and therefore the Governor should sign it into law.

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. Keller, Helen

Let our voices be the tiny pushes of honest Americans speaking loudly to Sacramento and to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger letting him know that Harvey Milk should not have hero status or a day on the calendar. Call Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at 916-445-2841 and let your opinion be known.

Boxer Belittles Again

By Kelli Krauss

Barbara Boxer, a.k.a. “Ma’am", does not like what is happening all over the country at these town-hall meetings. According to Senator Boxer, who was interviewed by Chris Matthews, these “well-dressed” Americans who are concerned about the fast pass of a health care reform bill that will spend endless amounts of money and produce a government run fiasco, don’t really know anything. They are asking questions just to be difficult, obstructive, and because they just don’t like Obama. So we all have to dress badly for Boxer to take us seriously?

Her statements make clear that she thinks we don’t have the brains to process the garbage that comes out of Washington. We should accept hook, line and sinker what they want to pass and assume it is in the best interest of the American people. No debate, no questions, and if you do, it is because you don’t like Obama, as Boxer very clearly stated, “So all of this is a diversion by the people who want to, frankly, hurt President Obama.” She and many others in Congress seem to be perfectly fine with insulting the American people. With Al Franken, a.k.a. Stuart Smalley, now a Senator from Minnesota, they must be having daily affirmation meetings and reciting, “I'm going to do a terrific show today! And I'm gonna help people! Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!”

The American people have a right to express their opinion about the direction of the country especially to those in Congress directly representing them. It is funny how Barbara Boxer has no problem with Code Pink and their tactics of protest or many other radical groups who do actually organize and rally to protest, but is offended by an ordinary American voicing their opinion about the direction of health care and spending in this country. To her we are just ridiculous people who dress nicely and have gathered to make the President look bad. It is such a juvenile way to look at an opposing view and just shows how little she and many in Congress know about the mind of the American people, how little they think of the American people and how scared they are about what is rallying the American people.

I am glad that Barbara Boxer, a.k.a. “Ma’am”, is getting in front of the cameras along with her comrades in Congress because it continues to show how they snub the American people, especially those who pay attention, think and think differently. They are igniting a flame in more and more Americans who are fed up and finally standing up to be heard.