Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Need For Conservatives

Sadly, there are very few Americans left who were alive when the USA was a constitutional republic.   Now, we are a majority-rule welfare state, and Obamacare will achieve the leftists’ progressive goal of national socialism.  If only we could find conservatives to help restore our US Constitution.

The Need for 21st Century Conservatives
By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  July 30th, 2013 at 08:34 PM  |  27

Ever since the 1930s, or perhaps the times of Woodrow Wilson and the progressives, we’ve ceased to function as a constitutional republic governed by our founding laws.  Instead we have transitioned into a pure democracy government by majority rule.  The tyrannical rule of a majority of the political class, in conjunction with the lack of courage from those who claim to represent We the People, has bequeathed us with a losing equation for almost a century.

There is an imbalance of power inherent in the political system of any pure democracy, in that the forces of tyranny have a built-in advantage over the defenders of freedom. It takes but one legislative or administrative victory for statism to succeed in guiding society on an indelible path towards socialism.  As long as the media and societal institutions manipulate 51% of the population to elect 51% majorities for any big government proposal, they secure a permanent victory.  The forces of freedom are never strong enough to overturn a government intervention once the dependency takes root.

On the other hand, we don’t have the ability to perpetuate the lack of government intervention.  Even if we succeed in blocking a proposal, they will try a second, third, or fourth time until they are successful.  Hence, when liberals failed to institute a government takeover of healthcare in 1993, they tried again the next time they won unfettered power, and achieved their dream.  If our approach to governance is to consummate liberal programs into law when we have a seat at the table, we will never slow the inexorable slide into socialism.

We have approximately 77 welfare programs, and the best we can do is offer some minor tweaks.

We have government-run healthcare for seniors and complete federal control over our retirement, yet those two failed programs have become untouchable.

We have officious federal involvement in agriculture, housing, education, energy, and local transportation, yet all we can do is nibble around the edges.

We stand today at the precipice of enacting the worst government program ever.  We have two choices: we can continue funding Obamacare, only to find ourselves discussing modest tweaks to the law in 10 years from now – not unlike the way we are forced to approach Medicare now.  Or we can end the cycle of big government by forcing a fight to the death over this cancer to our country before it take effect.  It is that simple.  There are no other options.  Anyone who opposes the defund effort before the law takes effect is essentially admitting that Obamacare will become enshrined into the welfare state forever. . .






‘We the People’ Convention to Stop Obama

Mark Levin Urges Patriots to Call a ‘We the People’ Convention to Stop Obama
31 July 2013 / 66 Comments

Mark Levin, who hosts one of America’s top radio talk shows and is considered by supporters to be the people’s pundit on the Constitution, is rallying his 8.5 million-strong audience to demand an historic convention of state governments to halt the “oppressive power” of the federal government.

The author of two New York Times bestsellers on the threats to the Constitution, Levin hopes his latest, “The Liberty Amendments,” out mid-August, will spark the state lawmakers to tap a rarely used Constitutional provision to institute measures that would brake President Obama’s use of executive orders, bar thousand-page laws and collar inventive judges.

In a copy provided to Secrets, Levin writes that his book is an appeal “to rebalance the constitutional structure for the purpose of restoring our founding principles.”

Levin’s proposal for a grassroots, “We the People” effort focusing on state legislatures is especially appealing to Tea Party members and conservatives riled at Obamacare, snooping scandals and immigration reform. One Tea Party insider said the new book has the potential to reignite the movement.
He is likely to have a big impact. The reason: While Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have bigger audiences, Levin’s is extremely loyal, especially within the Tea Party movement. They helped make his book, “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto,” a mega seller at 1.3 million sold.

For Levin, who is also a lawyer and conservative legal activist through his Landmark Legal Foundation, the idea of a convention of the states to control Washington’s “ruling class” is actually an explicit constitutional option, not a radical idea, established in Article V. He writes that the framers feared the federal government might become oppressive and they provided future generations with a way out. The amendment process enables two-thirds of the state legislatures to convene a convention for the purpose of amending the Constitution, and then requires three-fourths to approve the proposals before they become the law of the land.



The Kalam Argument

The Simplest, Most Direct Argument for God’s Existence by Brandon Vogt

William Lane Craig is one of the sharpest Christian apologists today, especially on questions about God's existence, Jesus' Resurrection, and objective morality. The Evangelical philosopher travels around the country giving workshops and lectures, but he's best known for his public debates with well-known atheists and skeptics. (You can watch many of them online through his excellent Reasonable Faith website.)

During these debates, Craig has a very short time to make a clear and compelling case for God. One of his favorite arguments, on which he wrote his doctoral dissertation, is the kalam cosmological argument. Christians have many arguments for God, but the kalam has become increasingly popular because it is straightforward, easy-to-remember, and modern physics affirms one of its crucial premises (note: the argument doesn't depend on science, but the latest science strongly affirms it.)

The kalam argument is fairly simple:
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause for its coming into being, outside of itself.

Yesterday, Craig released a short five-minute video covering the basic argument. Watch it a few times, remember the in's and out's, and you'll be prepared next time someone tells you, "There's no evidence for God!"  



August 1: Happy Birthday, Colorado

It was this day, August 1st, in 1876 that Colorado was entered into the Union as the 38th State!




Whom am I to judge?

Sunday, on his way home from Brazil, Pope Francis said it was not his job to judge gays. He said that's what the Tony Awards are for.
~ Jay Leno


1 Aug 1961: Six Flags Over Texas Opens

On this day in 1961, amusement park lovers "head for the thrills" as Six Flags Over Texas, the first park in the Six Flags chain, opens. Located on 212 acres in Arlington, Texas, the park was the first to feature log flume and mine train rides and later, the first 360-degree looping roller coaster, modern parachute drop and man-made river rapids ride. The park also pioneered the concept of all-inclusive admission price; until then, separate entrance fees and individual ride tickets were the standard. During its opening year, a day at Six Flags cost $2.75 for an adult and $2.25 for a child. A hamburger sold for 50 cents and a soda set the buyer back a dime.
The park, which took a year and $10 million to build, was the brainchild of Texas real estate developer and oilman Angus Wynne Jr., who viewed it as a short-term way to make a buck from some vacant land before turning it into an industrial complex. Wynne reportedly recouped his personal investment of $3.5 million within 18 months and changed his mind about the park's temporary status. With 17.5 million visitors in its first 10 years, the park became the Lone Star State's top for-profit tourist attraction. Today, average annual attendance at the park is over 3 million.

One of Six Flags' unique aspects was that it wasn't just a random collection of rides; it was developed around a theme: the history of Texas. The park's name was a nod to the six flags that had flown over the state at various times--France, Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy, Texas and the United States. The park's rides and attractions were grouped into six themed sections that represented the cultures of these governments and enabled visitors to experience everything from cowboy culture to Southern belles and pirates. Originally, the park was to be called Texas Under Six Flags, before it was decided that Texas should never be under anything.

Angus Wynne sold Six Flags in 1969 and in the coming years, the company expanded and was resold. Today, Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company and owns and operates 30 theme, water and zoological parks in North America. In 2005, almost 34 million people spent a combined 250 million hours at Six Flags parks.





August 1: Severn Maccabean Martyrs

August 1:  The Seven Holy Maccabean Martyrs:
Habim, Antonin, Guriah, Eleazar, Eusebon, Hadim (Halim) and Marcellus, their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar

Commemorated on August 1

The seventh chapter of the Second Book of Maccabees (a book found in the Catholic Bible but not found in Protestant Bibles because Martin Luther ripped out that book because he did not believe in Purgatory.  However, the New Testament book of Hebrews commends these martyrs as examplars of living faith.) 

The horrific tortures (scalping, tongue removal, body cutting, burning alive) and murders of these Maccabean martyrs was so terrible and gruesome that we derived an English word from it – macabre.  (Adopted from the French word for Maccabee).

The Seven Holy Maccabean Martyrs: Habim, Antonin, Guriah, Eleazar, Eusebon, Hadim (Halim) and Marcellus, their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar suffered in the year 166 before the Birth of Christ under the impious Syrian emperor Antiochos Epiphanos.
Adhering to an Hellenistic cult, Antiochos Epiphanos introduced pagan customs at Jerusalem and throughout all Judea. He desecrated the Temple of the Lord, putting there in a statue of the pagan god Zeus, and forcing the Jews to worship it. Many of them then fell away from the True God. But there were also those, who were deeply sorrowed by the downfall of the people of God and who continued to believe in the coming arrival of the Saviour.

A ninety year old elder – the law-teacher Eleazar, was brought to trial for his adherence to the Mosaic Law, and he steadfastly underwent tortures and died at Jerusalem. Bravery was likewise shown by the disciples of Saint Eleazar – the Seven Maccabean Brothers and their mother Solomonia.

They were brought to trial in Antioch by the emperor Antiochos Epiphanos. They fearlessly acknowledged themselves as followers of the True God, and refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods.

The eldest of the lads, having been first to answer the emperor in the name of all seven brothers, was given over to fierce tortures in sight of his remaining brothers and their mother. The next five brothers one after the other underwent these tortures. There remained the seventh brother, the very youngest. Antiochos suggested to Saint Solomonia to urge the lad into renunciation, so that at least this final son would remain for her. But the brave mother encouraged him also in the confession of the True God. The lad resolutely ignored the entreaty of the emperor and likewise firmly underwent the tortures, just like his older brothers.
After the death of all her seven children, Saint Solomonia, standing over their bodies, raised up her hands in prayer to God and died.

The Martyrs Act of the holy Seven Maccabean Brothers inspired Judas Maccabee, and he led the revolt against Antiochos Epiphanos with the help of God gaining the victory, and then purifying the Jerusalem Temple of idols.

All these events are related in the Book of Second Maccabees, which is included within the Bible. Sermons of laudation to the holy Maccabean Martyrs were offered by various fathers of the Church – Sainted Cyprian of Carthage, Sainted Ambrose of Mediolanum (Milan), Sainted Gregory Nazianzus and Sainted John Chrysostomos.


From The Crucified Rabbi by Taylor R. Marshall:
A Catholic Church in Rome was once dedicated to these holy Jewish martyrs.  It is known today as San Pietro in Vincoli or Saint Peter in Chains because it housed the chains used by the pagan Roman authorities to arrest Saint Peter.  In 1876, an archeologist found beneath the church what were once believed to be the tombs of the seven martyred brothers of this Maccabean story.  This same church is known throughout the world for its famous statue of Moses as the great giver  of the Law.