The other night Congress made a deal that stopped the shutdown. Good for them. Kinda. The news media made a great big show of the idea that a shutdown would have left our troops in the lurch. Troops on the front lines were once considered emergency personnel and exempt from a shut down. Somehow their designation must have been changed to non-emergency. Things that make you go hmmmm. The stuff going on behind the scenes is disconcerting to say the least. And the bureaucracy around it is so unwieldly that fixing it is almost impossible.
But let's talk turkey here: both sides have a brain cramp somewhere. The left is hell-bent to spend all of our hard-earned money. The right is hell-bent to cut everything. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a normal conversation with our representatives so that rational thought would prevail?
Why do they continually want to cut Medicare and Social Security? They complain about lack of healthcare but want to cut the only system that really helps seniors with healthcare. If we had to pay more for my husband's Medicare it would be a disaster financially. It's the "fixed income thing" - and Congress is completely oblivious to it. Because someone is on a roll- or what I like to call the ideology trains.Two of the running in opposite directions and there are ends to the tracks just up ahead!
Here's some food for thought- how about the processes of bidding and purchasing within the federal government? Do you think we could do some good revamping there? They always go with low bidder, which can often result in money wasted from stuff that isn't up to par. Then they'll turn around and purchase something that should have cost very little and pay a whopper price for it. (Ok they could've gone to the local hardware store for 5 bucks instead of some contractor who charges $2000. Get the picture?) Padding the budgets, wasteful practices, fraud both in and out of the system -- those areas all cost taxpayer money. But when our Congress gets on an idea roll for left or right, truth is often left behind in the dust. Sometimes a program should be cut (especially socialist ones or ones that obviously go against what America has always stood for), but sometimes it's practices within the main structure.
One can only hope that the people in charge of us will one day soon get a clue and start really cutting the pork and leave the things which affect real people alone. I hope so. I love this country. Watching it cave in on itself is extremely sad.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Once Again, Foolish Actions take lives
Yes, once again someone in his misplaced zeal has caused a problem. Some so-called pastor burned a Q'uran and now there have been several deaths as a result. His grandstanding cost lives. He cannot be called a "pastor" because the very nature of the term denotes care for the lives of people.
Jesus never burned books. Religious people burn books thinking they are making a statement. But the statement made by such actions is not the reconciliation through the Cross, it's hatred and animosity. And doing it in a public way is just plain stupid. Shaking our fists in the faces of our enemies only proves to them that we are evil.
Jesus told us to bless our enemies. He commanded that we bless those who curse us. He wants us to give them a coat if they need it. If we do not love our enemies, then they will never come to Christ. And it will be OUR fault!
Standing for truth is extremely different than causing an uproar, did you know that? If my government is running rampant away from God, then it's my duty to vote them out. If someone accosts me and demands that I succumb to their religion, then I will stand like Daniel and say no. Daniel's way did not accuse or attack the king. He simply stayed strong in the Lord and stood firm in his convictions. Our faith has a testimony that should show strength, wisdom, and love- not anger or hatred or actions which place people in harm's way. I don't have to embrace Islam to love the Arab people. I don't have to hate them to prove I'm a Christian.
Maybe he thought that his statement would make people see that Islam is not peaceful, or that they are wrong. It didn't do that. It just made all of us look bad. I will point out that there is no excuse for the Muslims who killed innocent people over the Q'uran- that is pure evil.But that pastor who started this mess should be ashamed. I hope the Lord is able to convict his heart of the sin in it.
"For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17
Jesus never burned books. Religious people burn books thinking they are making a statement. But the statement made by such actions is not the reconciliation through the Cross, it's hatred and animosity. And doing it in a public way is just plain stupid. Shaking our fists in the faces of our enemies only proves to them that we are evil.
Jesus told us to bless our enemies. He commanded that we bless those who curse us. He wants us to give them a coat if they need it. If we do not love our enemies, then they will never come to Christ. And it will be OUR fault!
Standing for truth is extremely different than causing an uproar, did you know that? If my government is running rampant away from God, then it's my duty to vote them out. If someone accosts me and demands that I succumb to their religion, then I will stand like Daniel and say no. Daniel's way did not accuse or attack the king. He simply stayed strong in the Lord and stood firm in his convictions. Our faith has a testimony that should show strength, wisdom, and love- not anger or hatred or actions which place people in harm's way. I don't have to embrace Islam to love the Arab people. I don't have to hate them to prove I'm a Christian.
Maybe he thought that his statement would make people see that Islam is not peaceful, or that they are wrong. It didn't do that. It just made all of us look bad. I will point out that there is no excuse for the Muslims who killed innocent people over the Q'uran- that is pure evil.But that pastor who started this mess should be ashamed. I hope the Lord is able to convict his heart of the sin in it.
"For God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Results of Fear
Fear is planned. Did you know that? Not so much by people, but by forces unseen. When major disasters like the one in Japan occur, fear spreads through the atmosphere like radioactive fallout. Only it travels farther than any man-made danger. And it is hoped by those unseen forces that we will all react badly and panic.
Example: When scientists and the media started the panic over H1N1 virus, people over-reacted in droves. Normally sane folks began to freak out about ordinary tasks like going to the grocery store. And eventually the scientific community had to acknowledge that thte threat wasn't as over powering as they had thought initially.
Here's the basic fact: if you are having anxiety over what "might happen" you are wasting your blood pressure. Living in preparedness for anything requires plain old faith in God, not worry and fear. Fear breeds freak outs. Fear breeds bad decisions. Fear breeds a heart attack waiting to happen and a toxin dump straight to your blood cells. Fear messes with the ability to think straight. It causes people to freeze up in an emergency and do all the wrong things. Best to avoid fear, don't you think?
With the scientist claiming a major quake Cascadia this coming weekend, the threat of nuclear meltdown in Japan, the advice I give today is to pull back from fear and grow some faith muscles.It's a much healthier plan!
Example: When scientists and the media started the panic over H1N1 virus, people over-reacted in droves. Normally sane folks began to freak out about ordinary tasks like going to the grocery store. And eventually the scientific community had to acknowledge that thte threat wasn't as over powering as they had thought initially.
Here's the basic fact: if you are having anxiety over what "might happen" you are wasting your blood pressure. Living in preparedness for anything requires plain old faith in God, not worry and fear. Fear breeds freak outs. Fear breeds bad decisions. Fear breeds a heart attack waiting to happen and a toxin dump straight to your blood cells. Fear messes with the ability to think straight. It causes people to freeze up in an emergency and do all the wrong things. Best to avoid fear, don't you think?
With the scientist claiming a major quake Cascadia this coming weekend, the threat of nuclear meltdown in Japan, the advice I give today is to pull back from fear and grow some faith muscles.It's a much healthier plan!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Middle East
Since I haven't weighed in on any of the latest political junk, I decided it was time to pontificate.
Middle East uprisings:
While I know many people in Egypt are happy that Mubarek is gone,I have noted that some news reports still show that the army is pursuing Christians to imprison,kill, or harrass them. There is still repression in Egypt, even with the earthly strongman bound.
Even if Gadhafi gets his come-uppance (and I really hope he does), Libya's history will still come back to haunt its people. Why? Because years of repression and evil do not go away in a day. The longer a nation lives steeped in hatred and other problems, the longer it takes to bring freedom.
Russia is a case in point. Technically they became a "free" nation when Mr. Gorbachev and Mr Yeltsin changed everything. But centuries of repressive government have remained unchanged in many areas. And Mr. Putin's KGB background didn't help matters. Their brand of "democracy" is significantly skewed from our own. Mr Medvedev inherited quite a lot of "stuff" that he was not likely to change.
It will be like that in the Middle East, no matter how these uprisings shake out in the end. The MB's and other jihadists of the region will not let go of their power easily- and therein lies the problem. When chaos rules, evil steps in. The rule of law that we enjoy in America is not what they are used to- and it could flip quickly back to severe and unyielding Sharia.
I once had an argument with a lady who said she wished that we would have laws like the Middle East- so that drunks and child molesters would have their hands cut off or beheaded for their crimes. I asked her what if her own son were arrested and had his hands cut off, would she be so legalistic then? Our legal system may let some bad guys go, but it is set up from a perspective of mercy -- something few other nations have a grasp of.
My heart yearns for the best in the Middle East. It is the birthplace of civilization as we know it. But it took the life of Christ to switch off the inherent barbaric practices for the generations behind Him. Without His Presence and influence today, the Middle East will not have true hope for the future.
Middle East uprisings:
While I know many people in Egypt are happy that Mubarek is gone,I have noted that some news reports still show that the army is pursuing Christians to imprison,kill, or harrass them. There is still repression in Egypt, even with the earthly strongman bound.
Even if Gadhafi gets his come-uppance (and I really hope he does), Libya's history will still come back to haunt its people. Why? Because years of repression and evil do not go away in a day. The longer a nation lives steeped in hatred and other problems, the longer it takes to bring freedom.
Russia is a case in point. Technically they became a "free" nation when Mr. Gorbachev and Mr Yeltsin changed everything. But centuries of repressive government have remained unchanged in many areas. And Mr. Putin's KGB background didn't help matters. Their brand of "democracy" is significantly skewed from our own. Mr Medvedev inherited quite a lot of "stuff" that he was not likely to change.
It will be like that in the Middle East, no matter how these uprisings shake out in the end. The MB's and other jihadists of the region will not let go of their power easily- and therein lies the problem. When chaos rules, evil steps in. The rule of law that we enjoy in America is not what they are used to- and it could flip quickly back to severe and unyielding Sharia.
I once had an argument with a lady who said she wished that we would have laws like the Middle East- so that drunks and child molesters would have their hands cut off or beheaded for their crimes. I asked her what if her own son were arrested and had his hands cut off, would she be so legalistic then? Our legal system may let some bad guys go, but it is set up from a perspective of mercy -- something few other nations have a grasp of.
My heart yearns for the best in the Middle East. It is the birthplace of civilization as we know it. But it took the life of Christ to switch off the inherent barbaric practices for the generations behind Him. Without His Presence and influence today, the Middle East will not have true hope for the future.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Somewhere a Balance
I am constantly tired of the fighting on both sides of the political game regarding the environment. Somewhere, there must be a balance. This continual penchant to sound like two boxers in a ring with no rules drive me nuts. Let's get a referee and institute some rules, ok?
Let me give an example: Liberals follow hard after cap and trade due to the fear of "global warming" that has a socialist agenda. The purpose of the fear mongering is to control every aspect of people's lives in a vain attempt to stop something that we have little or no control over in the first place. It is a philosophy based in fear and it is just plain wrong.
The Conservatives realize the socialist plan and are moving to try to stop it entirely with three bills before congress now- one to stop the EPA from implementing some carbon regulations for two years,one to cut off funding for said carbon plans, and one for stipping the EPA of all authority to regulate greenhouse gases. It's as if they believe the EPA is the big AC himself!
Contrary to popular Conservative ideas, there is greed in the earth. Greed is what produces pollution, cutting corners, damage to the environment. Unfortunately, we can't trust all companies to be conscious of their damage to our world. We do have to monitor it, and there should be penalties for violators. It just needs to be done with restraint and wisdom. (Yeah, I know not much of that out there right now).
Now because the current administration is full of screaming lefties, we have to worry about over-reaction, over-regulation, and just plain communist leaning regulations. So why can't we come up with a balance?
Why can't we have corporations and government work together for something that won't destroy the workforce or the environment? How can we stop our legislators from over-doing it on either side of the equation?
The EPA is not inherently evil, by the way. They are responsible for some much-needed environmental cleanup over the years since their inception. Maybe they are over-bearing. Maybe they have too much power. But all in all they are the reason some cities no longer have acid-rain. They are the reason the Coeur d'Alene River runs clear instead of an ugly opaque greyish-white. They are the ultimate reason why Shoshone County is now a sought after place to live when it was a cess-pool of mining pollution and contaminated ground.
There is a balance. There is a place where we can take good care of the beauty of the earth and still use its bountiful resources. We should be self-sufficient in oil, and we can do that without destroying all of our wilderness. We should be able to protect our natural resources and use them at the same time. Would somebody in Washington please get a grip on truth and balance?
Let me give an example: Liberals follow hard after cap and trade due to the fear of "global warming" that has a socialist agenda. The purpose of the fear mongering is to control every aspect of people's lives in a vain attempt to stop something that we have little or no control over in the first place. It is a philosophy based in fear and it is just plain wrong.
The Conservatives realize the socialist plan and are moving to try to stop it entirely with three bills before congress now- one to stop the EPA from implementing some carbon regulations for two years,one to cut off funding for said carbon plans, and one for stipping the EPA of all authority to regulate greenhouse gases. It's as if they believe the EPA is the big AC himself!
Contrary to popular Conservative ideas, there is greed in the earth. Greed is what produces pollution, cutting corners, damage to the environment. Unfortunately, we can't trust all companies to be conscious of their damage to our world. We do have to monitor it, and there should be penalties for violators. It just needs to be done with restraint and wisdom. (Yeah, I know not much of that out there right now).
Now because the current administration is full of screaming lefties, we have to worry about over-reaction, over-regulation, and just plain communist leaning regulations. So why can't we come up with a balance?
Why can't we have corporations and government work together for something that won't destroy the workforce or the environment? How can we stop our legislators from over-doing it on either side of the equation?
The EPA is not inherently evil, by the way. They are responsible for some much-needed environmental cleanup over the years since their inception. Maybe they are over-bearing. Maybe they have too much power. But all in all they are the reason some cities no longer have acid-rain. They are the reason the Coeur d'Alene River runs clear instead of an ugly opaque greyish-white. They are the ultimate reason why Shoshone County is now a sought after place to live when it was a cess-pool of mining pollution and contaminated ground.
There is a balance. There is a place where we can take good care of the beauty of the earth and still use its bountiful resources. We should be self-sufficient in oil, and we can do that without destroying all of our wilderness. We should be able to protect our natural resources and use them at the same time. Would somebody in Washington please get a grip on truth and balance?
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Fresh Starts
Bombs exploding in Nigeria, explosions in the Philippines, what a start to Christmas Day. Sometimes I wonder why people have to be so filled with hate that they can't take a day off from destruction. In some previous wars, Christmas was honored by both sides. Not so in modern times. The spirit of murder is so entrenched that people want to kill even at the Celebration of the Most Important Person in history. But then, that's the key right there- they don't know Jesus or even have an inkling about Him.
My heart for everyone this coming year is that there will be a fresh start. That enough of these hate-filled, murderous people will be touched so deeply by Jesus that they melt into a heap and get a heart change. You don't think so? It happened to Paul. That would be Saint Paul- who started off as Saul the murderer of Christians.
God has a way of revealing the truth. He often does it at the expense of our own mindsets. Having a golden Light flush out all the crap in our hearts and minds is quite an experience. I hope one day I will wake up, sign in to my news feeds, and see good news all across the earth. It will probably have to wait until either I go Home or Jesus returns, but I live in expectation. I pray that all of you will live in that expectation as well. A fresh start for the entire world. Wouldn't that be grand!
My heart for everyone this coming year is that there will be a fresh start. That enough of these hate-filled, murderous people will be touched so deeply by Jesus that they melt into a heap and get a heart change. You don't think so? It happened to Paul. That would be Saint Paul- who started off as Saul the murderer of Christians.
God has a way of revealing the truth. He often does it at the expense of our own mindsets. Having a golden Light flush out all the crap in our hearts and minds is quite an experience. I hope one day I will wake up, sign in to my news feeds, and see good news all across the earth. It will probably have to wait until either I go Home or Jesus returns, but I live in expectation. I pray that all of you will live in that expectation as well. A fresh start for the entire world. Wouldn't that be grand!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Christmas Debacle
Remember back when I mentioned that we'd be watching and Congress had better remember the message of November's elections? We'll we're watching, they're not remembering.These last few days of a lame duck session are a debacle.
The word debacle means disaster. And it perfectly describes the current attitudes of a large portion of the Congress. It will be good to see a lot of them hit the road in January.
In all my years I have never seen such disrespect for the American voters. I see power hungry politicians bent on shoving bills through that are detrimental to the future of our nation. Don't give me the "it's just a difference of opinion" speech, either. It is simple math: if you spend beyond your means, you will go broke. I know from personal experience that debt destroys. And the deeper the debt, the deeper the destruction. And yet this Congress has been determined to pull the foundations of America out from under us.I'm beginning to think it's a deliberate attempt to wreck the ship of state.
The spending omnibus bill has been pulled short term, according to Senator Reid this morning (Dec 17). So, what, you want to add more stuff? Figure out how to add a few more pages to the 1,999 already in it? Trying to even out the 8.3 billion in pork? I have an answer. Get the shredder, hire a secretary, and shred the whole kit and kaboodle. Start over and keep it to a couple of hundred pages. Leave out the special interests, just handle the important matters like funding the government. Leave the special stuff for individual bills that everyone can see clearly. Quit hiding everyone's pet projects inside important pages. That would help Americans begin to heal from their runaway freight train government.
The biggest Christmas present America needs from it's government is a huge backing off. Stick to the basics. Stay out of the deception game. Fix this Christmas debacle. Stop hiding, start being honest. That would be a huge Merry Christmas to all of us!
The word debacle means disaster. And it perfectly describes the current attitudes of a large portion of the Congress. It will be good to see a lot of them hit the road in January.
In all my years I have never seen such disrespect for the American voters. I see power hungry politicians bent on shoving bills through that are detrimental to the future of our nation. Don't give me the "it's just a difference of opinion" speech, either. It is simple math: if you spend beyond your means, you will go broke. I know from personal experience that debt destroys. And the deeper the debt, the deeper the destruction. And yet this Congress has been determined to pull the foundations of America out from under us.I'm beginning to think it's a deliberate attempt to wreck the ship of state.
The spending omnibus bill has been pulled short term, according to Senator Reid this morning (Dec 17). So, what, you want to add more stuff? Figure out how to add a few more pages to the 1,999 already in it? Trying to even out the 8.3 billion in pork? I have an answer. Get the shredder, hire a secretary, and shred the whole kit and kaboodle. Start over and keep it to a couple of hundred pages. Leave out the special interests, just handle the important matters like funding the government. Leave the special stuff for individual bills that everyone can see clearly. Quit hiding everyone's pet projects inside important pages. That would help Americans begin to heal from their runaway freight train government.
The biggest Christmas present America needs from it's government is a huge backing off. Stick to the basics. Stay out of the deception game. Fix this Christmas debacle. Stop hiding, start being honest. That would be a huge Merry Christmas to all of us!
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