Christian Political View Blog

The Game of Tactics

2010-02-14T19:40:00Z

I have been hearing so much about Obama using Saul D. Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals, I had to look for myself. The book written in the day of the Viet Nam war, and student unrest on college campuses the book does hold kernels of truth about the nature of man. Getting past Alinksy’s terminology of the time of “Doing my thing”, or “What’s his bag,” one might think the book was written for today. The term “community organizer” is used frequently throughout the book.

The organizer’s job is to inseminate an invitation for himself, to agitate, introduce ideas, get people pregnant with hope and a desire for change and to identify you as the person most qualified for this purpose. (Alinsky, 1971) Anything sound familiar? Hope and Change. Hope We Can Believe In.

The very first chapter states “Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.” (Alinsky, 1971) Obama made it clear when he said to Joe the Plumber. "It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama told him. "I want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too. Then, Obama explained his trickle-up theory of economics. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." (Hurt, 2008)

While “spreading the wealth around” sounds good to the liberal, to others, for those in generational poverty the attitude is that society owes one a living. (Payne, 2005) Handing out ever growing entitlements to those that will not work only continues the cycle of dependence on the government continues to grow. However, that may be the plan of the left they need their base. Those on the left that giving to the poor is the Christian thing to do. Fourth Rule: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. (Alinsky, 1971)

Luke 18And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

I don’t see anyone on the left giving everything away down to their last nickel. Nor do they intend to, but for a tactic against the right. Rule 4 works very well.

Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. Look at what the left does with Sarah Palin. The woman cannot do anything without Rule 5 blasting on SNL and late night talk shows, or Robert Gibbs taking a dig. A word of advice to Robert Gibbs don’t use Rule 5 when talking about someone else’s method of giving speeches, it really does make you look foolish.

Rule number 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Prime example would be in every speech about anything Obama always includes the following. In fact, when I first walked through the door, the government’s budget deficit stood at $1.3 trillion, with the budget gap over the next decade projected to be $8 trillion. (Weekly Adress, 2010) Maybe Obama should consider the 7th rule: A tactic that drags out too long becomes a drag. Everybody, including my cat, has the “I inherited this problem” memorized.

Rule 9: The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself. Any president has vast authority to influence policy even without legislation, through executive orders, agency rule-making and administrative fiat. And Mr. Obama’s success this week in pressuring the Senate to confirm 27 nominations by threatening to use his recess appointment power demonstrated that executive authority can also be leveraged to force action by Congress. (Baker, 2010)

The 10th rule: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. Problem here lays the possibility that people will finally have enough with bullies and elect to have them removed from office. If the Tea Party isn’t a wake-up call for the Democrats, then Rules for Radicals are more important that what the American public wants from Washington.

I do recommend this book for all conservatives. The book is highly enlightening as to the often disgraceful tactics, so called ethics or better lack thereof, and “means and ends” to obtain power.

Alinsky, S. D. (1971). Rules for Radicals. New York : Radaom House Inc.

Baker, P. (2010, February 13). Obama Poised to Use Executive Power to Muscle Through Domestic Agenda. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from New York times: www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/13/obama-poised-use-executive-power-muscle-domestic-agenda/

Payne, R. K. (2005). A Framework for Understanding Povety. Highlands, TX: Aha! Process Inc.

Weekly Adress. (2010, February 13). Retrieved February 14, 2010, from White House: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/weekly-address-president-obama-praises-restoration-pay-you-go

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

Republican v. Democrat

2010-02-09T17:25:00Z

I have read several news articles on various news sources regarding a number of political issues. Historically, politics has always been spirited even in the beginning of the United States. However, for some reason, now it just seems different. The extent that some of the responders to articles goes just makes me sad. The liberals accuse the conservatives as hate mongers, deservedly for some. Although I wouldn’t say the liberals were exactly dripping with love and compassion themselves by reading their responses. They were just as hateful and vile to those they accused of being a conservative.

The people responding to these articles I might sum up as a full flung brouhaha. Often the discussion starts-off civil enough, then some instigator from one side or the other unable to defend their opinion starts picking someone’s typos, spelling or grammar skills or lack there-of, as if proves the person writing the message doesn’t know what they are talking about. After that the name-calling starts, usually with either libtards or conpukes for the milder ones. If that isn’t enough to make one’s eyes hurt, they are just getting started. I read the responses until my eyes hurt from all the abusive tone. I am not accusing all, but some brave sole comes in and tries to reason with both sides. Most of the responders usually ignore the person and continue their tirade. I wonder if these blogs moderate the posts at all. From the language I have seen I would have to wager the answer would be no.

Sometime ago some were making a huge deal out of Obama using Dijon mustard on his hamburgers. Look, I can find plenty to issues of Obama’s to disagree about, but Dijon mustard? If I did, I would have to throw out the mustard out of my refrigerator due to the fact I have only one kind. Yes, I do put it on my hamburger, hotdog or anything else I put mustard on. Just in case someone wants to ask a silly question do I put Dijon on ice cream. NO, but if Obama does, well its his digestive system.

Remember the criticism that George H. Bush got because he signed an executive order banning broccoli from Air Force One? I was a Democrat then, and figured he is a grown up and could decided for himself if he wanted to eat broccoli. Guess he didn’t have any better luck getting the dog to eat the broccoli than I did. (Read my last article if you are wondering)

It finally breaks down that no one is listening to anybody, both sides are angry. And yes, a lot of people are angry at both the Democrats and the Republicans. I put more responsibility on the Democrats because they have both houses, and the White House still can’t get anything accomplished except to blame the Republicans. The Republicans should have taken responsibility back in between 2000 and 2004 and a lot of this wouldn’t have happened. Now neither side takes responsibility. Both sides are going into campaign mode, so all we can expect is that nothing substantial will be accomplished.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

Child Obesity

2010-02-04T16:53:00Z

I have to agree with Michelle Obama that child obesity is a crisis in our country. The problem is what would be the proper solution to solve the situation. From an article written by USA Today states that “the federal government would work with local officials and leaders in the business and non-profit sectors, to provide more nutritious food in schools, allow more opportunities for kids to be physically active and give more communities access to affordable, healthful food.”

While not trying to be critical as I do agree, obesity in anyone is a problem. However, responsibility seems to have fallen on the schools. Schools could offer healthier meals and give more physical education time, but that would be an additional cost to the taxpayers. As some families have had to cut back their food budget and purchase cheaper less nutritious food choices, the schools have also had to cut back on their food budgets. More students are receiving reduced and free lunches, which equals fewer dollars back into the school lunch program. Either the federal government will have to give more in subsidies, the state will give the local districts more money for lunch programs, districts could increase local property taxes, or finally increase the price of school lunches for those that don’t qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Additional physical education time would be beneficial. This reminded me of when I was going to school way back in the days when TV was just starting to go into the classrooms, we had physical education every day. Mainly it was to get us students out of the teacher’s hair for thirty minutes, have us run laps in the miserable hot weather then sing a rousing chorus of “Go, You Chicken Fat Go!” How many of you remember that little ditty? After which a couple of kids would pass out from heat exhaustion the rest of us would return to our classroom all sweaty and stinky; which may explain why our teachers appeared ill after we came back to class.

We all had to take physical fitness tests everyone had to pass the timed tests, or else you were considered “unfit”. No consideration that some kids just weren’t built the same even if they weren’t fat. I have a genetic disorder, which often isn’t obvious in younger children, the only sign might be being the class klutz. You know the kid no one wants on their team. At the end of the year, the lucky students who passed all the physical tests received a nice little patch. If you wish to sing along but can't remember the words click here. As one Phys. Ed teacher said even students as dumb as a rock could get one of these. Not exactly politically correct, even for then, but nothing was ever said. Students with obvious disabilities only had to try, and they got the coveted patch, which is only fair. So what is worse than being as dumb as a rock? Being labeled unfit of course.

The article mentioned very little on how parents and children are to make right choices when it comes to dietary needs. How can you convince a child that steamed broccoli is good for you when chocolate cake tastes so much better? Many children have learned, you can’t hide broccoli in milk, nor will the dog eat the vegetable. Considering my dogs would on occasion insist on eating the most disgusting things, (no doggie kisses after that) and wouldn’t eat broccoli made me wonder if the green vegetable was a toxic substance. Considering the pesticides used back then, it probably was a toxic substance, not to mention fish with all the mercury content and other foods considered “healthy” slam packed full of cancer causing contaminations.

The problem never really went away just pushed back on the back burner and forgotten until medical reports came out about the increase in obesity. Now once again the government is stepping in and making regulations, telling us what to eat, not eat and how to exercise. Sounds a little like the 1949 book entitled 1984 by George Orwell.

People make choices, sometimes they are wrong choices. What concerns me is that the government is trying so hard to control every aspect of our lives. While “pro-choice” people state that the government should stay out of what a woman does with her own body, why is it acceptable for the government to say what foods are okay or not okay to put into our bodies?

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

Campaign Contributions

2010-01-21T17:11:00Z

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that corporations, labor unions and other groups can spend directly on political campaigns. I have not located the courts comments on the case possibly has yet to be posted, however, I find it fascinating that we will be able to find out exactly who is contributing to whom with campaign money. Sometimes a name and who they work for often doesn’t mean much without a little research, however if let’s say pharmaceutical companies were contributing large amounts of campaign money to a certain candidate who was claiming to clamp down on “gouging drug companies” wouldn’t that be interesting to know.

It is my opinion that the only reason Congress will send up any protest over the court’s ruling is that they don’t want us to know exactly where their money is coming from. Campaign disclosure information gives name, who they work for, and the amount given. Right now individuals have a limit on how much they may give in contributions. We already know that oil companies tend to support Republicans and unions Democrats. I wonder how much money financial institutions will be giving to the Democrats this year, considering the bail out money they received. Worse if they use part of the bail out money to make those contributions. But I supposed that would be acceptable if contributed to the correct candidate. If things weren’t sleazy enough in Washington this should make the path to the Congress as slippery as banana peels on icy roads.

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred [3] from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows

Candace Clark

Christian Political View

Ramblings

2010-01-14T15:48:00Z

The heater in the house went out and we are waiting on a new part to get warmth back, which should be sometime next week. I am sitting in my office wearing a jacket, as the house is still cold from the past week of cold weather. During the coldest days, I wrapped myself in a blanket while working on deadlines, trying to concentrate on yearly reports while my teeth chatter to a distraction. The house has warmed up a bit, it was 45 degrees and currently the temperature has risen to a toasty 49 degrees.

I am not complaining many are far worse off than I am; at least I have a roof over my head. The people in Haiti need our prayers, the hardships they are facing is tremendous. The Haitian Red Cross estimates that the earthquake killed between 45,000 and 50,000 people. We must do what we can to help these people in their time of need. Proverbs 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. Be careful when donating to a charity, all too often spurious organizations pop up to rob people of their generosity, check them out first. Donate to those groups that you know and trust.

During this busy time of trying to meet deadlines, get some photo shoots lined up, attend meetings, conferences and fundraising activities I find that keeping up with what is going on in politics a little more difficult. A good staff would be most helpful; though I am afraid, the pay would be the same as mine, which is nothing. I will try to research as time permits on the goings on in Washington and let you know what I have found out. I hope that after March things should be back to an easier pace, at least until September when everything starts back up again.

It is finally warmer outside than inside, I think I will open the windows and let in some 60-degree air. Then start searching the legislation and see how Congress plans to spend our tax-dollars.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T15:05:00Z

The firecrackers and jubilation have quieted down as a new year has settled upon us. I look back on 2009 and wonder what 2010 will bring us. A mid-term election year is upon us, which will bring rhetoric from all parties each claiming they can do a better job, and blaming the other for the problems we face, while no one accepts responsibility. When they do accept responsibility often with lip service only, someone else pays the price; unfortunately, far too many times, the taxpayers are the ones who ultimately pay.

An icon will pass away and journalists, commentators, and bloggers will scrutinize the life and death of said person for a week, of course the more well know or controversial the person, the longer the story will remain until the next big event that grabs their attention. At least until some “new” revelation develops and the story starts all over again.

We can be sure that we will see more scandals, some will be shrugged off, while others are condemned, tragedies, natural disasters, triumphs, and of course tender stories that will touch the hearts of many. The media will continue to pound on one story while ignoring another that is just as important or more so.

With all of this in my thoughts, my mind reflects on the Psalm 23 1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Regardless what this New Year has in store for us we can keep secure of faith in the Lord, as He is in control no matter how circumstances appear around us. Although a bit out of context here another verse gives comfort, Jesus said in John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

It isn’t always easy not to be afraid in this day of instant information and can watch stories unfold right before our eyes as they happen. However, the Lord’s promises have not changed, they have not waivered, we just need to learn to cling to them.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

How Much Will All This Cost Us?

2009-12-24T18:03:00Z

After looking over H.R. 3962 Affordable Health Care for America Act a 2076 page document, which nearly caused me to scratch my head bald and swallow a bottle of antacids, I have more questions than answers. Something that I did find humorous on page 20 (2) Language – The standards shall ensure that the summary is presented in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner and utilizes terminology understandable by the average plan enrollee. It is a shame that the legislators cannot do the same policy when it comes to writing legislation.

According to the bill, insurance companies will be required to provide four policy levels known as Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. On page 112 of the bill, the Bronze level states the following. A plan in the Bronze level shall provide a level of coverage that is designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Okay my first question was what in the world does that mean? So following the advice for the word of the day that Bill O’Reilly gives at the end of his show, I looked up actuarial. It means relating to statistical calculations especially of life expectancy. Oh my, not exactly clear on what they mean by using that terminology. Does the 60 percent mean instead of a 80/20 plan they pay 60 and you pay the 40. I found the answer on page 224 and yes, that is what the 60 percent means. While one may save money on the monthly premiums, even a simple stay in the hospital would take a huge bite out of any savings. Meanwhile Silver is 70 percent, Gold will be 80 percent and Platinum 90 percent. Of course, the Platinum level will have a nice little surcharge of 40% attached for those able to afford the premium.

I also took note on page 228 Determination of High-Risk Individuals. This method shall provide for identification of individuals as high-risk on the basis of (i) a list of at least 50 but not more than 100 medical conditions that are identified as high-risk conditions and that may be based on identification of diagnostic and procedure codes that are indicative of individuals with pre-existing, high-risk conditions; or (ii) any other comparable objective method of identification recommended by the American Academy of Actuaries. (There’s that word again) I was unable to find a list of the so-called high-risk medical conditions, though I can guess what a few of them might be, and I have them, and so do many Americans currently and not currently covered by insurance.

Why is this being done? On page 229 states, (i) to provide a schedule of payments that specifies the amount that will be paid for each of the conditions identified under subparagraph (A) or (ii) to use any other comparable method for determining payment amounts that is recommended by the American Academy of Actuaries and that encourages the use of care coordination and care management programs for high-risk conditions. All of this to start on January 1, 2014. My question if no one is to be denied health insurance due to pre-existing conditions then why would individuals be targeted as “high-risk”?

On page 56, although the Public Option is out, at least for the moment, when comparative purchasing options for insurance will be as follows: eligibility, availability, premium rates, and cost sharing with respect to such coverage options and be consistent with the standards adopted for the uniform explanation of coverage as provided for in section 2715 of the Public Health Service Act. According to the legislation a website will be established so anyone, from any state may receive information on at least the following coverage options. This site will also include information regarding Medicare and Social Security.

(A) Health insurance coverage offered by health insurance issuers, other than coverage that provides reimbursement only for the treatment or mitigation of –

(i) a single disease or condition; or conditions; or

(ii) an unreasonably limited set of diseases or conditions (as determined by the Secretary)

This to me makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and nearly sent me to the nearest pharmacy for another bottle of antacids. Considering that insurance costs are actuarially based, my conclusion would be if treatment A costs X number of dollars, while treatment B is X amount, it costs less to treat and gets a higher rate of reimbursement. Which treatment will the patient be getting, even if treatment A is the better choice? That part is unclear.

So now who are The American Academy of Actuaries according to their website, they state they are a professional association with over 16,000 members, whose mission is to assist public policymakers by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualifications, practice, and professional standards for actuaries in the United States. In other words they are number crunchers.

The American Academy of Actuaries boggled my mind with their rhetoric, this plan will reduce the cost of premiums for some while others will be suffering from “rate shock”. I thought the reform was to make health insurance affordable for everyone.

Rate shock doesn’t quite express my reaction when I found a letter from the CBO to Senator Bayh regarding the price of premiums in 2016. “Average premiums per policy in the nongroup market in 2016 would be roughly $5,800 for single polices (income $50,100) and $15,200 for family polices (income $102,100) in the proposal, compared with roughly $5,500 for single polices and $13,100 for family polices under current law.” How can Congress consider this affordable to middle-income America? However, I did find good news! With the tax subsidy received depending on the enrollee’s income relative to the federal poverty level the estimate would be single plans would now be $5,200 a year and the family plan drops to $14,100 a year. These costs are based on the second “cheapest” Silver plan. Seeing the prices of the Silver plan I fear that I would need a defibrillator upon seeing the premium prices of the Platinum plan.

With the cost sharing included, I am guessing this would include deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. A single enrollee with the income of $14,700 the out of pocket/deductible would be $1,100 and a family of four with an income of four would be $9,000 which runs from $1,100 income of $14,700 single plan to $9,000 for incomes starting at $54,000 for a family of four.

Remember the promise of, if you like your current insurance policy you can keep it? Well that is true to a certain extent. “As older and less healthy individuals leave the pool of grandfathered polices, these blocks of grandfathered policies could experience premium increases lower than medical trend. However, over time these blocks would likely shrink due to attrition, meaning that administrative expenses would have to be distributed over a smaller pool. In addition, policyholders in these blocks will age, and some will develop serious health conditions rise to the level of the new market, policyholders would move to avoid further premium increases.” Letter to the Senator Tom Harkin, November 23, 2009 from the American Academy of Actuaries.

Assuming that the requirement to purchase the required health insurance would in fact create a market for health insurance, at least in theory drive down the cost of said insurance. According to a letter written to Senator Harry Reid on November 20, 2009, stated: “For insurance markets to be viable, they must attract a broad cross section of risks. Implementing market reforms to prohibit insurers from denying coverage and to restrict how much premiums can vary will result in adverse selection and upward pressure on premiums unless lower-risk individuals have incentives to purchase coverage. To be effective, however, the penalties for not complying with the mandate must be meaningful relative to the premium faced. The penalties in the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act are very low, which is especially problematic given the bill’s limits on premium variations by age, which will raise premiums for younger individuals. Strengthening the bill’s individual mandate through higher financial penalties is needed to reduce adverse selection that would arise due to the new issue and rating restrictions.

The bill contains incentives for lower-risk individuals to purchase coverage, but these incentives, especially those related to the individual mandate, are quite weak. In particular, the proposal would require individuals to have coverage or pay financial penalty of $95 for 2014, $350 for 2015 and $750 for 2016, and indexed thereafter. The letter goes on then makes the statement “Lower-risk individuals would be more likely to pay the penalty and forgo coverage or drop coverage they have, thus putting upward pressure on premiums.”

So if I was one of those people who don’t quite qualify for tax-credits, but still can’t muster payments for a premium on top of possible, home-mortgage payments, car payments, groceries, electric bills, etc etc. I might choose paying the penalties also. I am not sure if requiring someone to purchase health insurance would be constitutional. The example is everyone who owns a motor vehicle must have insurance if driven on public roads. However, federal and state laws do not require persons to purchase a vehicle.

The Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act includes provisions that would generate health care savings, particularly in the Medicare program. The majority of savings would derive from reductions in certain provider payments and reductions in payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Although these types of savings will help address short-term goals, options to more permanently reduce spending growth to address long-term goals.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a bad idea to me. Cutting payments to doctors would mean doctors either leaving the field, or not accepting more Medicare patients. While cuts to Medicare Advantage Plans would mean those on Medicare could be paying more out of pocket, unless they purchase gap plans, consequently more people buying insurance.

All in all unless you have no income, this is one very expensive health care bill. From what it looks like, be prepared to be fleeced

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

U.S. Marines and the Afghanistan Police

2009-12-11T13:57:00Z

Reading the FOXNews report, regarding the problems the Marines are having with training new police force. I worked with a law enforcement agency for over 20 years and can be empathic to their situation with the new recruits or worse if they were actually hired. You certainly need people that the citizens feel they can trust, which is difficult when corruption beleaguered the forces in the past.

Now how do the Marines overcome this problem? The age of the recruit is probably not much younger than some of the Marines themselves were when they enlisted. The difference is the military would have weeded-out a number of them before they reached basic training; others are removed if they don’t measure up to standards during training, sadly some not until it was too late. However, you get what you get and have to instill higher standards into the recruit.

Speaking on my own experience in dealing with people that should never have been hired to the position they were given I will make a few points. The question would be; how would one go about accomplishing this task? I have an answer, but some groups would have a conniption for having made such a suggestion, probably because they suffer the same lack. Since I can count on the U.S. would never implement my idea; what other options would be available. The first thing would be, get rid of the corruption. Not an easy task, if the root of the corruption sits at the top. Given that elections in Afghanistan were at the very least questionable, one must start elsewhere, and must consider that the courts may also be corrupt.

Some years ago, the elected head of the agency that I worked for was, let’s say might have been considered being two clowns short of being a circus. Without the help of the media, the citizens would never have known what kind of circus was really going on. He hired people that didn’t meet the then minimum of hiring standards so he lowered them until he could hire his “well qualified” workers that he preferred. I had to deal with file clerks and supervisors that could not read or write, seriously, if some of them had to spell the word cat, they wouldn’t know where to begin. They were the least of the problems we had to deal with. One might suggest teaching them to read and write, which takes a lot of time, but worth the effort if you have that luxury. I wasn’t in that position back then and I don’t think the Marines are now either, at least not with the time table Obama has suggested.

At least those with drug problems are removed, stealing candy is another matter. One might consider if the recruits will steal candy intended for children, then they might be doing other things such as taking goods from the bazaar without paying, perhaps they have a feeling of entitlement. How do you instill in someone that integrity is valuable, in a culture that is vastly different to our own, once willingly given up, near impossible to regain?

The Marines have their jobs cut out for them, and are in need of our prayers.

Candace Clark

Christian Political View

Christmas on a Tight Budget

2009-12-04T15:13:00Z

I meant to write an article much sooner than I have, however, life sometimes throws a curve at you and takes up your time from the things that you really want to do. So many topics to choose from, which by now have been hashed ad nauseam to the point where I really want to scream. I don’t want to rehash everything that has already been said.

An article on FOXNews caught my interest that some cities around American are not putting up Christmas decorations, or should I say “Winter Decorations” to be politically correct, since in many areas anything suggesting that December 25th is a Christian holiday has been banned. Which is really sad, it would be like banning the American flag on the 4th of July, or red hearts on Valentine’s Day.

The most important thing to remember is why we celebrate Christmas. Luke 1:67-79 67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by [3] the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender [4] mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. The Grinch cannot steal Christmas unless you allow it to do so.

I understand tight budgets, but even with a meager budget, one can still have a festive appearance. I’m talking for families not cities. We bought an artificial tree a few years back, which we use every year. Not having to go out and look for that “perfect” tree with a big bald spot on one side not only saves money, it also keeps my floors free from those pesky needles, and not to mention reduced fire danger.

Refurbish old decorations, a quick spray of paint and some glitter can add sparkle to your tree. Make your own tree topper. I used two different ribbons to make my topper. Bought some acrylic gems from Michael’s in different colors to add sparkle. They have a little hole in them, I just slip a ornament hook through it and have a very nice little ornament. The poinsettias were on sale at 50% off also had a coupon for another 20% off my entire purchase. The little white birds were from Dollar Tree if you look carefully you should find at least one. The silver and blue picks were on sale at Michael’s something like .29 cents each.

My 1200 lights were bought over time; though some bulbs need to be replaced next year, as a few have burned out. My tree has looked different every year, by just changing the color of ribbon, and swapping out the ornaments, use red and gold one year, blue and silver the next, multicolor after that.

This is what my tree looks like this year. It isn’t as fancy as last year, just going to have to take my word on that, as I didn’t have my camera then. One can also make their own gifts/decorations using glass blocks.

If you have any other ideas you would like to share, please let us know.

Candace Clark
Chrstian Political View

My Hospital Stay

2009-11-22T20:49:00Z

First off, thank you to those of you that sent messages of encouragement regarding my surgery, they meant a lot to me. Also, I do apologize that I have been away from the blog for longer than I had expected, but I seemed to have been a bit optimistic on how I would be feeling so soon after surgery. With a sore throat, and energy levels at near zero, I just couldn’t bring myself to write anything longer than a brief email or two.

I am going to ramble a bit about a issue. A person wrote to me unhappy that I only post replies to articles after moderation. Considering the vile language and threats this person used this would is a surprise? This is a Christian website, not a filth site. Those that wish to speak in such a manner may find plenty sites on the web more than willing to gutter talk but not here. If you have a problem with that, so be it. I think anyone reading the articles and the responses know that those answering do not have to agree with me, though I will defend my stance. All I ask is for those responding to keep it clean and civil.

With that off my chest now, and for those that are just itching to know how my surgery went, if not read no further. I will try to keep this humorous.

I arrived at the hospital shortly after 10:00 am on the 11th and walked into the lovely lobby. Very nicely decorated for Christmas, and to my delight a woman was playing hymns on a beautiful grand piano. Went to the admissions desk and was given number 25 and told to wait. It wasn’t long before I was taken into another room asked a few questions, and she told me my surgery was estimated to cost $37,000. I was thinking what kind of vehicle I could buy with that money, a BMW 135 perhaps. She put a bracelet on me and sent me back to the lobby. About 20 minutes later a young man comes to escort me to my next stop. Oh goodie, another lobby, Spartan compared to the main lobby, but it served its purpose. Another wait, finally, had my vitals taken and sent back to the lobby, the population getting thinner. As people discussed politics I couldn’t help but notice that they centered around guess who? Obama. None of the people were complimentary of how he is handling the current financial circumstances that we are in. A couple of women stated that Obama was stuck on himself, and didn’t do anything but make fancy trips all over the world. I wasn’t sure if the two were trying to get a reaction from me, they got none. However, by this time I was called to go to the next stop.

Now the fun starts, time to get into a elegant backless gown, which I was told was an exclusive design. Some thigh high white teds and Christmas red socks clashed terribly with the “exclusive” peaches and cream-colored gown. Completing the ensemble knee high navy blue Roman boot like things on my legs, wasn’t sure what they were for but I would find out later. Perfect outfit for that special date with the surgeon. Now for the best part, getting the IV inserted into one of my veins. Let me put it this way, my veins don’t volunteer, they roll, they dive, and they hide and a nah nah nah you can’t get me just to make things challenging. With two nurses working on getting the IV in and a student nurse watching the IV was finally inserted after about twenty mintues. Someone comes in and says surgery is waiting on me. Already? Surgery isn’t for another hour and a half.

In comes the gurney, and off I go through a bunch of passages, an elevator through some doors into a holding area. Ah Ha! I knew it, my “exclusive” gown was off the rack just as I thought, everyone in there had the same gown. Oh well, I guess they were trying to make me feel special.

More people stopped by to ask questions again, what type surgery I was having. Big name uvulopalatopharyngoplsty, don’t ask me how to pronounce it, they just called it UPP for short. Now it was 10 minutes after surgery was to start, finally started moving. A young woman said she was the anesthesiologist’s assistant and put a mask over my face. Said a couple of other things and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room with a huge sore throat. I heard a male voice asking about my pain, and then giving me something in my IV, and little latter he asked if that had helped, which was no. After the third dose it finally worked.

A woman came up and asked me if I knew what type of surgery I had and answered that UPP surgery. She asked if I knew where I was, well of course I did, I smiled and said, “Yeah, EPCOT.” She laughed and I said I was at the hospital.

They got me to my room in SICU which was interesting. They connected me to a heart monitor, blood pressure machine, oxygen level monitor and a pump for those blue boot things. The boots massage the legs to prevent blood clots, it felt good for a while then became very annoying after the second day. My blood pressure was taken every hour on the hour, blood sugar checked every 4 hours, respiratory therapist every 4 hours, not to mention the having my temperature taken 4 hours as well, everything was not all at the same time. The alarms on the IV machine kept going off for no reason, which made it difficult to sleep in between all the other interruptions. Not to mention being able to hear all the other alarms in other rooms going off. I think the alarms were talking with each other.

If anyone wanted to a quick escape from his or her room forget that. First, I would have to disconnect all the contraptions that the hospital had me hooked up to, which have alarms that go off with the slightest whim. Next those boot things that have Velcro and very noisy when removing. But the biggest obstacle would have been the nurses placing their work desks, directly in front of my door. I was picturing myself as a football linebacker shoving his way through the opposing side seeing his way clear. No chance. Guess I have to stay.

Thankfully the hospital is on 12 hour shifts and didn’t have to go through shift change every 8 hours and showing off those lovely stitches in my throat. Listening to what type of surgery I had, what type of medication I was on, also I was able to use the bedside potty and able to pass gas. Do I get a diploma for all of this? The nurses told me the doctor did beautiful work. Did he do needlepoint roses? Now I would consider that beautiful. Nope. Well, I tell you, I don’t know what it looked like, but it felt like moss hanging down tickling the back of my throat and tongue.

The bed I was in was very nice. One of the nurses told me the bed cost $33,000 dollars. Darn and I couldn’t even take this thing for a spin around ICU that’s no fun. But I have to admit, it was very comfortable. I found a used one on line for $20,000. Yikes even used they are still expensive. If you want to look at it click here.

As many of you that have surgery know that, some embarrassing things start to happen about 24 hours later. I don’t want to be crude but one might have thought that I had been to a Mexican Frijoles Grandes Festival for three days and tried everything twice, complete with firecrackers. You will be glad to know that the festivities have settled down since coming home.

After the first day, I was on clear liquid diet, chicken broth (low sodium) apple juice and tea. I don’t like tea, and I could only choke on the apple juice. It took all day to drink 12 ounces, not enough to be sprung from the hospital.

Day two doctor put me on full liquid diet. Ensure, oatmeal that looked like a glob of paste, coffee (something else I don’t drink) and milk. Took me a while but I got the Ensure and the milk down without too much trouble. But had to drink it out of a tiny medicine cup about half a shot’s worth.

Lunch was Ensure, cream of chicken soup (watch out for the tiny pieces of chicken, not good if caught in the moss) chocolate pudding. Took me two hours but I got the food down.

Don’t remember dinner, it was pretty much the same thing.

Another night of alarms going off, with the nurses who guard my door checked my IV flushed the line and still the alarm wanted to go off. Back in later have to get some blood. Again the veins wanted to play catch me if you can with the nurses. First one tried, better get the expert, score is now Veins 2 Nurses 0. They gave up and checked the orders, no blood work was ordered or let’s not worry about that. A few minutes later the IV alarm went off again. This time the needle had slipped out. Score is now Veins 3 Nurses 0. They called for a nurse that that can get any vein. After struggling with the hide and seek veins, score is now Veins 3 Nurses 1! Later in the morning I felt something wet on my pillow, oh no the IV was leaking. The nurse didn’t think the needle slipped just that the line detached from the whatever the thing is called. Next thing I noticed blood was coming out of the what the thing is called. The nurse said that is a good sign the needle had not slipped just the line detached. Sure enough score now Veins 3 Nurses 2.

I have to say the nurses that I had while in the SICU were so very nice. They encourage me to drink as much as possible to get those throat muscles working again. Now a little a week and a half later, I still splutter a bit, but I no longer use what I call the half-shot glass.

The final night I was moved to a regular room, down more long corridors, that appeared to have been long abandoned. I was imagining them being used in a movie called Zombies Take Over the Hospital, kind of spooky looking. But my new room was very nice, though the air conditioner was a bit noisy. I asked the nurse if there was a marching band around and was told no that is just the air-conditioner. Wow some sound that thing makes, I can hear the big drums, snares, cymbals, sousaphones, trombones, trumpets and so on. It plays different tunes too. I looked out the window and saw my room was across from the football field with a great view of the score board. Hah, now I know why I thought I could hear a marching band. When the game was over, the drone of the air-conditioner did not sound like a marching band, just a soft thud thud thud. The next morning I was able to come home.

I can get by with Tylenol instead of the liquid painkiller. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat do not; use the little syringe to squirt that stuff into the back of the mouth. I can’t say it brought tears to my eyes, more like tears shot out of my eyes like they were putting out a fire. I learned to carefully put in the front of my mouth and chase it down with a swallow of milk. Each day I find a little improvement, haven’t gotten into eating anything more solid than cream of wheat, but that is okay. I might be eating sweet potato pie (without the crust), and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, for which I am thankful.

Hope I didn’t bore anybody, but I will be trying to get back on course soon, as soon as my tolerance for politics returns. I am finding plenty to say.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

I will be away for a few days

2009-11-10T19:56:00Z

I will be having a uvulopalatopharyngoplasty tomorrow and will be off the computer for at least a few days. No I didn't know how to spell the procedure, I cheated and copied and pasted the word onto my blog.
Also I have been keeping up with the news, much of which I wanted to post my feelings, but the words just wouldn't come. While other news items just seemed trivial in comparison to the Ft. Hood tragedy.
Hopefully I will feel like logging on be Monday and try to stay more up to date with what is going on in the United States and the world.
Keep me in your prayers, folks, this procedure is not picnic. If you look up the word, you will understand the pun
.

I thought you might enjoy some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago at a nature park.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

Are We There Yet?

2009-11-03T13:39:00Z

My article posted for this past week, "America and Mother Earth Worship," about the December 6-18 climate change conference in Copenhagen, causes me, upon reflection, to make some corollary observations. There is need to clarify, I think.

Thinking on Bible prophecy and these volatile days through which we are passing generates the same kind of questions we often had as children on a long trip. The TV/radio commercial captures the question perfectly: "Are we there yet?"

By watching the developments of profound signals of prophetic import--like, for example, the Copenhagen conference and its potential for fomenting world governance--I fear we sometimes look at such developments as the specific events that will produce the Antichrist regime--i.e., we sometimes imply/infer that these developments mean we are, in fact, already there. Each such event seems like the fulfillment is upon us.

So, I want to somewhat moderate my thinking on advising how to consider issues and events in the news. The proof that we aren't there yet, fulfillment-wise, is quite evident. In almost every instance of those dramatic news-making trends toward Tribulation, something seems to inevitably pull the world back from the brink of that apocalypse.

In the case of the Copenhagen meetings that are to be designed to twist the arms of the leaders of all nations involved to sign on to a treaty that will obligate them to global governance in ecological matters, movement has suddenly slowed to a crawl. The following excerpt explains the slowing of the train to Tribulation that seemed, just a week ago, unstoppable:

"President Obama is 'leaning toward not going' to the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, a senior administration official told Fox News..." (Major Garret, "Obama Likely to Skip Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen," FOXNews.com, 10/24/09).

The report stated that the Obama administration's thinking at present is that the Copenhagen conference doesn't rise to the level that needs the top echelon of leadership. The president will be accepting his Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo, Norway, on the second day of the Copenhagen conference. He will, the thinking goes, speak to the matters of global ecological concerns from his platform at Oslo.

The report states further: "One big reason the Copenhagen conference is not a 'head of state' event is because of the slow progress of climate change legislation in the U.S. Senate. Absent Senate passage of a climate change bill mandating a cap-and-trade system, Obama will have nothing to bring to Copenhagen as part of a U.S.-led effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a factor likely to undermine global efforts to curb those emissions" (Ibid.).

The bottom line is that, for now, the administration's decision--if it holds--lets the air out of the global elitists' grandiose plans to get a treaty accomplished in December. The rest of the world will, as things are right now, have to follow the lead of the still most powerful nation on the planet.

This sort of power playing on the world stage is a major reason the globalist architects want there to be no one superpower. The neo-Tower of Babel builders want the power garnered in an oligarchy of sort, with them holding all of the marbles. It is ironic that America's current president, who seems bent on bringing America into such a configuration as the elitists want, is now acting as primary hindrance to giving them what they want--America's wealth and sovereignty.

My point beyond that is to say that, indeed, we are not there yet. We haven't yet seen the playing out of the prophecies that will first arrange as they must. God is in control! The lurching forward of prophetic rearrangement, then the sudden braking, has been a consistent part of these past several years and months. The Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved. Jews began rushing to Israel. It seemed that this was it. Prophecy would quickly unfold and planet earth would soon be in Tribulation.

Then Gulf War I and the attacks of 9/11/01 pushed alarm buttons, and the reaction, even to the non-Christian world--was to look to prophecy and the long-anticipated Armageddon..

Most every international issue and event that bursts in our headlines seems to make some conclude that now the fulfillment of the foretellings of Jesus and the prophets are at hand. I am talking about, of course, people who view Bible prophecy as truth from God's Word. Too often, the over-exuberant Bible prophecy student looks at these unfolding things as fulfillment to one degree or another. But, we aren't there yet.

My caution, therefore, is to look at all of the dynamic rearrangements taking place through the prism of God's prophetic microscope, the Bible. But, we must understand that these are all stage-settings, not fulfillment in themselves. It is a process of fulfilling in which we are involved at present.

The possible exception might be the nation Israel back in the land of promise. Even this astounding fact, however, is a prophecy in the process of fulfilling, for the people have not yet fully possessed that land.

We aren't there yet. But, obviously, from all of the evidence before us, our destination, where we will look face to face into the eyes of our Blessed Lord, can't be too far distant.

Terry James
Rapture Ready

America and Mother Earth Worship

2009-10-26T11:28:00Z

Globalism's call is out to require all nations to bow before the altar of sacrifice to Mother Earth. The United States of America is expected to lead the way by giving up its sovereignty to the priests of new world order, those who will be in charge of the Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December of this year.

All nations will be expected to sign a treaty that the globalists elite proclaim will save the world from what formerly was termed "global warming," but now has been changed to "climate change." The sleight-of-hand switch in terminology is due to the fact that: 1) there is, and has never been, true scientific evidence that global warming is occurring; and, in fact, 2) all indicators point to the reality that the planet is actually in a period of global cooling, much to the chagrin of Al Gore and his brethren in the perpetration of ecological chicanery. The new term, "climate change," is designed to take into account both global warming and global cooling, of course.

The treaty is intended to establish an organization called "Conference of Parties" (COP). This entity would define and implement taxing policies for all nations who are members of COP. The concept of the COP is to tax the wealthy nations in order to pay for poor nations who, when it is so determined, can't act properly as good stewards of their own environment. Redistribution of wealth has long been the fervent desire of the present-day Marxist ideologues. Now there is impetus--led by the president of the United States--to take from the productive and give to the masses in a blatant attempt to garner an overwhelming power base of political support from those beneficiaries of the forced "largesse."

COP, in other words, is a ruse that for public consumption is said to be designed to save the world from humanity-caused ecological destruction. In reality, it is a move that would do the Bolshevik Revolution of Lenin's day proud. America's citizenry is intended to be the future proletariat, should the would-be globalist masters have their way. People would, if this attempted travesty is ratified by the U.S. Senate, ultimately suffer even more than did the worker bees of Lenin's, Stalin's, and Mao's brutal dictatorships.

I say this with the beast regime of Revelation chapter 13 in mind, toward which all of this is leading, in my view. Ratification of the treaty will require two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. This will be a very difficult thing to accomplish for those who want it done in this way. The president can, however, go to the meetings and sign the treaty--and it is, in effect, a done deal, apart from Senate ratification or other congressional action. The new world order builders prefer the Senate ratification route, because once ratified and implemented, it would require quite strong legislative action to undo the treaty obligation. The president's fiat signing could be simply negated by a future administration, with a different president taking America out of the treaty obligation by his signature only.

It is strongly suspected that President Obama will go to the December 6-18 Copenhagen conference and obligate the U.S. to abide by whatever liberty-destroying globalist edicts come forth. One well-qualified observer of things involved in the effort to, in effect, enslave America and the world under the auspices of the elitists who want absolute power, thus control, weighed in on what the results of U.S. ratification or presidential signature would almost certainly mean to this nation.

Lord Monckton, former science advisor to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is a well-known critic of the theory of anthropogenic causes of global warming. He says the following about what he thinks would be the results of America's obligations under the treaty, and an ultimate changed world order planned to come out of the Copenhagen Conference.

I read that treaty and what it says is this: that a world government is going to be created. The word "government" actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity.

The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to Third World countries, in satisfaction of what is called, coyly, "climate debt"--because we've been burning CO2 and they haven't. We've been screwing up the climate and they haven't. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is envorcement...

So thank you, America. You were the beacon of freedom to the world. It is a privilege to stand on this soil of freedom while it is still free...But...unless you stop it, your president will sign your freedom, your democracy, and your humanity away forever. (Bill Wilson, "Copenhagen Climate Conference Ruse to Establish Global Government Even to Rule Over American Youth," bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com/2009/10/copenhagen-climate-conference-ruse-to.html)

When considering this seemingly mindless rush to throw America's blood-bought freedoms upon the base of the reemerging Tower of Babel in the form of worship of Mother Earth, under the guise of saving the planet from humankind, God's Word focuses the spotlight of truth on these dark days:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man... Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind." (Romans 1: 21-23, 25, 28a)

Rational-thinking people today ponder and wonder out loud about what has happened to America and the world in only a short number of months. Why is everything held sacred being turned upside down? Why the perplexity within this nation and in nations around the globe? Why are we now worshiping the environment, and willing to give up sovereignty, and considering giving away liberty for the sake of elitist demands that we follow their insane dictates?

The road to global governance has been paved with callous disregard. For example, when the president of the United States declared that America is not a Christian nation, most people of God were, and remain, silent. It is true that this nation's people in general long ago turned from principles within God's Word--who is Jesus Christ--and worshipped instead many gods--materialism being chief among them. But, to remain silent for the most part when our top leader declares, in effect, war on all that is Christian, is symptomatic of spiritual sin-sickness that must be what is meant by God having turned the apathetic over to a "reprobate mind."

Why should we be surprised at the swiftness with which the reprobate thinking that is systemic within our government is moving America away from God's prescription toward a religion of satanically inspired worship of the creation rather than the Creator? One thing sure: It is a signal that global gulag and Tribulation loom for earth's rebels, perhaps in the very near future.

Terry James
Rapture Ready

Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-09T22:58:00Z

The polite thing to do would be to say congratulations President Obama. So Congratulations, Mr. Obama. However, the question remains, why was Obama given the Nobel Peace Prize? According to the Nobel Prize website in September of 2008 letters of invitation were sent out to those qualified to nominate someone for the prize. At this point Obama had not yet been elected to office. The nominations must be postmarked no later than February 1st of 2009. Obama at this time been in office a total of 9 days. Not very much time to get anything accomplished; unless one counts campaigning and giving speeches as a pathway to peace.

He has given speeches on his desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons, but that is all that has happened as of yet. I do not foresee many nations willing to give up their weapons if they think they may end up like sitting ducks with hunters pointing their rifles at them ready to squeeze the trigger. Who will be willing to give up their weapons first?

To those that believe Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize award proves that he is a great President consider that Yasser Arafat was bestowed with the prize in 1994. Yasser Arafat was the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, not exactly a peace-loving group as Israel can attest. I am not comparing Obama to Arafat by any means; I am just making the point that one sometimes might wonder why the Nobel is given to certain people. Does the Nobel Foundation have an agenda?

The Nobel Foundation claims that Obama has given people around the world hope. But I say Christ has given me hope. 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to given an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: If people are placing their hope in Obama, they will be disappointed. He is human, with human failures. Only Christ can give true hope to those that call upon His name.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

End-Times Insanity

2009-10-06T15:56:00Z

Fear is on the rise in America and the world at the moment. It is a type of fear that comes upon humankind almost like nervous milling about that stirs within the wildebeests of the Serengeti just before predators set them to flight. There are many reasons this is so. But one reason in particular especially agitates the simmering fear. It is the culprit more than all of the other reasons combined for the building anxiety today.

Before we address that most profound reason for fear of things to come, let's look at the many other causes that make fear levels rise across the nation and the world. Those causes involve a myriad of issues and events. We and others who consider our times in light of Bible prophecy continually attempt to analyze those matters and present our findings to anyone and everyone who will stop, look, and listen.

For the masses of humanity in third-world regions, such as vast areas of Africa, Asia, and other bleak places, panic is a daily search for the next bite of food and swallow of water. We see the frail bodies, the distended stomachs, the flies on the faces of those whose wide, searching eyes look to the cameras filming them for their next life-sustaining morsel.

These suffering souls are not often demonstrative with their fear because their circumstances have denuded them of energy, and have robbed them of the ability to know how near to starvation they have come. The world turns a blind eye, for the most part, to the plight of these emaciated hordes. The group of people who are looking the other way too often includes even those of us who are watchmen on the wall for the signals of Christ's return.

Starvation, nonetheless, is one of the sure signs of where this generation stands on God's prophetic timeline. That millions of people are caught up in growing famine dramatically forewarns that the black horse of the Apocalypse will one day, perhaps soon, ride forth. But growing famine is not the greatest reason for the geometrically progressing worry around the globe.

Thinking on fear burgeoning within the civilized areas of the world, we briefly review the more familiar causes. These involve topics we have exhaustively examined in recent days:

· Iran is on the verge of becoming a possessor of nuclear weaponry. Israel can't and won't let this happen. The potential for war—nuclear war—breaking out in the Middle East is not just possible, but likely, considering the realities involved.

· North Korea is a loose cannon that already has nuclear capability, according to some experts. Even China, its chief governor in the nation-state sense, can't seem to control the North Korean madmen and their threats.

· Afghanistan is a breeding ground for terrorists, and reportedly hosts Osama bin Laden and others who want to destroy America, Israel, and anyone else who doesn't bend the knee to Allah. Americans continue to come home in body bags from that region, while politicians play electioneering games, not wanting to offend leftist voter bases by sending troops needed to win the war there.

· Pakistan, a nuclear power, is in disarray, with constant threats of overthrow against its decreasingly pro-American position within its leadership. Terrorists threaten to blow up things and kill people in every part of the world. New York and other major American cities and their large, densely-congregated populations are in the bull’s eye for attack by terrorists with possibly horrific weapons, including those that are nuclear, biological, and chemical.

· The United States of America daily experiences assaults from within, chipping away at individual rights and national sovereignty. The U.S. Constitution is under constant assault, and the system of checks and balances is out the window. Congress shrinks from its responsibility to the American people, while there is observably a power grab of unprecedented proportions. Morality plummets, while entertainment madness infects old and young alike, taking thoughts of preserving the republic far from the citizenry. U.S. leadership in economy, diplomacy, and most every other category is on the skids. Corporate America has become a sick, dying entity—thanks to elected officials who seem intent on the government owning/running private enterprise. By their constant striving to meld the American economy with the socialist economic structures of Europe, they are destroying this nation—whether wittingly or not. These, by running up multi-trillion dollar deficits, are giving away hope for future generations to know the prosperity of past generations of Americans. The neo-Babel builders herd America's great wealth, technology, and influence toward end-times Babylon—the long-anticipated New World Order. President Obama's administration and the leaderships of most other G-20 nations are violating at every turn God's prescription for interacting with His chosen nation, Israel. The world's diplomatic community, of course, has no idea of the prophetic ramifications of dealing treacherously with Israel, so it has no qualms about trying to force a peace that can never truly be made this side of Christ's Second Advent. However, there is a sense of extreme danger that even the international community of nations feels in dealing with Israel and its enemies in the "Roadmap to Peace" plan. Most fearful of all—from the perspective of those of us who watch the stage-setting for biblically prophetic things to come—is the fact that the church as a whole is oblivious to America's dealing treacherously with Israel. Most in this late hour, in fact, think the church has replaced Israel as inheritor of God's promises given to the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Today, much of the church is in total prophetic ignorance, and is so fat, lazy, and lethargic that I almost wonder if she can be lifted at the Rapture, even by the Lord Jesus.

All of the foregoing, however, does not account in total for the almost tangible fear about the future. The one, all-encompassing reason for the fear that is driving people to look anxiously at what’s ahead for themselves and their children is the spirit that pervades this generation of earth-dwellers. It is the spirit of Antichrist.

The world has cast God aside. This has been happening in the U.S. since 1963, when prayer, Bible-reading, and things of a religious nature—meaning Christianity—were suppressed in public schools. Today, the crops sown in that decade are being reaped in the generation that saw American leaders assassinated, its economy bankrupted, a war that eventually took 50,000 American lives, and a drug culture develop that continues to plague the nation.

To deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to seek and save the lost is to invite another one to step in and fill the void that exists when attempts are made to keep God out. We have seen and heard the raves in recent times, with media using words like "messiah" and "savior" to describe the type of adulation attributed to a political candidate. One day, the one called "the Beast" will step into the spotlight of end-times history to fulfill the role of that long-prophesied Man of Sin.

Because Christ is denied, fear saturates all of mankind today. It is an insanity born of Christ-rejection. It is the development of reprobate spiritual dementia in a world of people ripe for God's judgment: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient" (Romans 1:28).

There is an antidote for the madness that infects humanity in these end of days: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). Jesus Christ is the antidote to the fear-insanity rampant today. He is coming back—perhaps today!

Terry James
Rapture Ready

I will be out of town for a few days

2009-09-25T12:11:00Z

I will be leaving today for a conference and will return Sunday afternoon. Just letting everybody know if they reply to a post it won't appear until sometime late Sunday afternoon.

Candace Clark
Christian Policital View

Taking a Look at Health Insurance

2009-09-22T14:07:00Z

While the battle continues in Congress over health care reform, which no one denies that this needs an overhaul; however the question is how and how much can we afford.

I will list some things that I found on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) website.

First off, everyone will be required to have “qualified” health insurance, not sure how constitutional that requirement would be, however, nor did I find what the definition of a qualified health insurance be. However, fines ranging from $750 for an individual and up to $3,800 per family. Somebody might add it up and decide the fines would be less expensive.

Let us look at the numbers for a moment. Using scenarios and a zip code, I found a number of insurance companies offering plans. Let us just say these are “affordable” and let you decide if they would be a choice for you. No particular order, I am not recommending any product by any means only using them as an example.

Company A Saver plan.

20-year-old male non-smoker no pre-existing health issues can get hospitalization insurance for $31.14 a month.

20-year-old female smoker, no other pre-existing health issues can get this same policy for $38.77

54 year-old female non-smoker with pre-existing health issues same policy $109.31

40 year-old male with 39 year-old wife and two children aged 14 and 11 with no pre-existing conditions comes to $159.87.

This policy while inexpensive has a huge deductable at $10,000 dollars per person to max out $10,000. The enrollee must pay the deductable before the insurance pays anything. Doctor’s office visits, medications and other outpatient services are not covered. It would be my guess these plans would not be a “qualified” insurance policy.

Company A Select plan.

49 year-old male smoker with pre-existing health issues, on this plan his cost would be $126.87 again the problem is the $10,000 deductable, and $5,000 out-of-pocket expenses, which is not included in the deductible. Doctor visits, medications, health exams are covered and not subject to the deductable; which is a good thing due to having to pay $10,000 a year to visit the doctor just once.

Company B Better read all the detail plan

20-year-old female no health issues can get coverage for $41.07 monthly. Doctor’s office visit no charge after deductible, periodic health exams, no charge no deductable with limitations, plus other services after deductable. Deductable is $7,500 and out of pocket expenses includes the deductable. If this young woman was seeing my doctor she would be paying $166.00 for the office visit, however needs to wait 3 months before making any appointments.

54 year-old female with health issues can get the same plan for $146.59 a month.

Company B another read all the details plan

29-year-old male, with 28 year-old wife and 10-year-old child. Their insurance would run $147.99 a month. $10,000 dollars per person deductible $20,000 maximum. No charge for doctor’s visit after deductible is paid. Annual out-of-pocket expenses is included in the decutible.

Company C low deductible plan

40-year-old male, 30-year-old wife, 3-year-old son their monthly premium is $948.92. Deductible is $500 per person or $1,500 per family. Out of pocket expenses $7,500 for family which includes the deductible.

Company C

49-year-old male smoker with weight issues pays $426.00 for this plan. No deductible, out-o-pocket expenses $5,000. This one looks good if you can afford the monthly payment.

A family of three with no issues same policy would run $797.00

Everyone should read the CBO’s reports to obtain a better understanding and the concerns raised questioned by some senators. If you want to know the truth about the health plan read the reports, read the bills. That is what matters. What I find interesting is what Obama says and what the CBO says conflict.

Some people will be paying more for their polices. Seniors will be paying more for their Medicare, but the offset will be lower medication costs.

Other concerns would be companies that do not now offer insurance to employees. Question was raised would employers lower the wages of employees to either cover added costs of the insurance or penalties for non-compliance the answer was possibly. My thought would be if the company was just large enough to be mandated, then would they layoff some workers to be under the limit? Keep the pay the same, just fewer workers.

With mandates for insurance companies to accept people regardless of pre-existing conditions, among other mandates, increased competition, etc, what would the effect on the monthly premiums? The answer was they would be slightly lower. Now let me get this straight, if you make just a little too much for government assistance and you cannot afford the insurance premiums now, how will a slight decrease in monthly payments be of help?

Candace Clark

Christian Political View

ACORN AGAIN

2009-09-14T15:55:00Z

I checked on line to see which other news media outlets are covering the ACORN scandals. ABC – Short article but had to use their search engine, nothing on CBS, NBC and MSNBC using their search engines, (not surprising). CNN had a longer article but slanted sympathetically toward ACORN.

I did agree that perhaps the videos might not be used as court evidence, however, it would be enough to warrant a request for a full investigation. Three different ACORN offices, all using the same phrases, advised how to give false information on loan applications and the IRS. Now, that would give me at least a reasonable suspicion that ACORN’s training sessions might be questionable. What I found amusing it on ACORN’s website, they state not to be pressured by predatory lenders into putting false information on a bank loan. But hey, it’s okay if ACORN does that.

I have contacted my congressmen, waiting to hear back from them. One I know will contact me as he always does. The other, I will have to wait and see, unless he is too busy to speak to someone that is not a Democrat.

It is sad that the day has come when Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Sweeping under the rug what ACORN has been doing for no telling how long, is the same as calling evil, good. It is time America! It is time we take a stand and tell congress; “Clean up your act!” It is time to get people into office with integrity and expects integrity from others.

Candace Clark
Christian Political View

ACORN

2009-09-12T20:24:00Z

Normally I am not shocked about anything I hear about the actions of ACORN. This time I would have to say this latest action is contemptible. Two different offices gave instructions, at least that is currently known now, on how to lie to financial institutions and the IRS, which was bad enough, but they didn’t stop there. Without so much as a bat of an eye, both offices were willing to help hide the fact that the two, posing as a prostitute and a pimp were bringing in under aged girls from El Salvador for immoral purposes.

Whoa! That should have slammed on the breaks right there, if nothing else did. This makes me wonder how many people they have helped doing exactly that, they seemed way to comfortable discussing such issues. How many people have you helped enslave ACORN?

According to FOXNews, ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis claimed that the videos capturing her former workers were "doctored, edited, and in no way the result of the fabricated story being portrayed by conservative activist 'filmmaker' O'Keefe and his partner in crime."

Lewis said ACORN will take legal action against FOX News and those involved in the making for the videos. ACORN offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, among other places, were also targeted, she said.

"I am appalled and angry; I cannot and I will not defend the actions of the workers depicted in the video, who have since been terminated," she said.

As I read this I had to ask myself okay, which is this? Are the videos doctored, edited and fabricated or not, since she also stated she could not and would not defend the action of the workers. Which is it?

Thankfully, the Census Bureau has cut ties, now for the rest of the government to do the same. Do I think that the Justice Department will even touch this? I certainly hope so, but already too much has been ignored about ACORN. A few workers have been fired, some even arrested, thrown under the bus to make ACORN appear accountable.

I also find it appalling (not really) that the White House has remained silent, at least as I type this. Not wanting to be considered a conspiracy theorist, one might think everybody has something on each other at ACORN and the Oval Office.

Democrats should be enraged, and demand a FULL investigation at least try to make some of us believe they might have a couple of microscopic moral fibers left in the entire party. Time will only tell, but people are going to have to stand up and say enough is enough. Stop ACORN from using OUR tax dollars for illegal purposes! Start calling your congress representatives! Demand that they take action. Whichever party affiliation that you might be. This isn’t about Democrat or Republic this is about our congress people doing something right!

Candace Clark

Christian Political View