Untold Story of North Korea at the Winter Olympics

By now, we’ve all seen the fawning headlines and stories of the media’s lovefest with Kim Yo Jong, the sister, close adviser and confidant to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. We haven't seen adoration like this from the media since the death of Fidel Castro. Here’s a small sampling:

NY Times: Kim Jong-un’s Sister Turns on the Charm, Taking Pence’s Spotlight

Washington Post: The “Ivanka Trump of North Korea” captivates people in the South

Associated Press: At Olympic Games, Kim Jong Un’s sister takes VIP seat

Reuters: North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics

Yahoo: All swagger and smiles, Kim Jung Un's mysterious sister gets her star turn at Winter Olympics

The winner of the “KJU Fan Club Best Propaganda Award” predictably went to CNN for a story entitled “Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics”. The article began with

If “diplomatic dance” were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un's younger sister would be favored to win gold.

With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea's presidential guest book, Kim Yo Jong has struck a chord with the public just one day into the PyeongChang Games.

Seen by some as her brother’s answer to American first daughter Ivanka Trump, Kim, 30, is not only a powerful member of Kim Jong Un’s kitchen cabinet but also a foil to the perception of North Korea as antiquated and militaristic.

CNN thus implies that, KJU’s sister flashing a smile offsets all the images and other news coming out of N Korea. Evidently, all the military parades, missile tests, and the killings of vast numbers of their citizens were totally misinterpreted by those outside of the media. CNN gives us further enlightenment of how we’ve further misunderstood N Korea in a separate article.

Babilina Hwang, a visiting professor at Georgetown, told CNN that “Kim Yo Jong is the perfect counterpart to [Ivanka Trump]. And it also is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state -- but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.”

So according to CNN, if you’re a young woman looking for a great career with advancement opportunities, send your resume to Kim Jong Un today! To CNN’s credit, the writer did include some information that distinguished the article from that of a a press release written by the N Korean public affairs office.

But as North Korea's brutal dictator, Kim's brother has ruled with an iron fist since coming to power, operating Nazi-style prison camps, repressing political opposition and even executing senior officers and his own family members in an effort to consolidate power.

CNN also included the fact that Kim Yo Jong is a close aide to her brother, but you have to look for it deep into the article. The writer also mentioned the 2-3 million N Koreans that have starved over the past couple of decades, but blamed this on famine caused by withdrawal of food subsidies from China and Russia, collective farming [state-run and controlled], flooding and droughts. There was no mention of the millions and millions of dollars of foreign aid for food that was routinely diverted to the military, including nuclear facilities, but this would have contradicted CNN’s portrayal of N Korea as a modern peace-loving progressive society.

The North Korea that the Media Ignores:

We’re all familiar with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s constant threats of nuclear war, but there are many other stories that get ignored by the media. We often see videos of enthusiastic cheering by his military leaders and others around him, but no mention that KJU imprisons and tortures anyone who he even suspects of hinting at disloyalty to his regime. His government has systematically destroyed churches and attempted to eradicate any signs of Christianity except for a few “token” churches left open to promote his claims of religious freedom. Any true Church leaders and Christians are routinely rounded up and sent to prison camps.

Even associating with a Christian can result in being detained for questioning. In shades of Nazi Germany, children are targeted early for government propaganda and brain washing (the American left has also very successfully adopted this strategy). During school days, a few children are assigned the “honor” of keeping watch while the other students are studying or playing at recess. What do they watch for? They are told to watch for incoming bombing raids by American war planes. This is one of the reasons for lack of resistance to the N Korean nuclear program. People are taught from childhood that attacks by the West are imminent. Children are also taught to spy on their parents and neighbors, so Christians must pray with their eyes open and worship secretly, even in the “privacy” of their own homes.

“Offenders” are typically sent to prison camps for the smallest of infractions. There are two types of prison camps in N Korea. Both are basically concentration camps in which prisoners are used as harsh slave labor for government-owned factories, and are also subject to torture and public executions. The Kyohwaso is a re-education type camp for those accused of “lesser” offences. Theoretically, prisoners are eligible for release after completing their sentence and deemed to be “rehabilitated”, but many don’t survive the harsh conditions. The Kwanliso camps are for more “serious” crimes such as criticizing the government or attempting to flee the country. Prisoners in these camps are considered beyond redemption, so are basically under a life sentence in order to “protect” society.

Some Christians might be “fortunate” to be sent to a Kyohwaso camp, but many are sent to one of the Kwanliso camps since Christianity is considered as dangerous as narcotics in N Korea. Christians are also seen as political prisoners, since Christianity is viewed by the NK government as a means by which the West attempts to “invade” and infiltrate the country with Western and capitalist ideas. Nearly 40 percent of prisoners die from the beatings and/or starvation. Many others manage to barely survive by eating some of the rats that infest the camp. It is estimated that about 30% (30,000) of 100,000 N Korean Christians currently are imprisoned in one of the Kwanliso camps.

The Seed of the Gospel from a Highly Unlikely Source

Yet, even in the darkness is a glimmer of light, as reported in The Voice of the Martyrs February 2018 Newsmagazine. Here, we find the story of “Kyung-ja” (names changed for protection), a mid-fifties North Korean woman detained because her daughter had defected to South Korea. As Kyung-ja was being beaten with a club, she drifted in and out of consciousness and heard the guard shouting out unfamiliar words like “God”, “Jesus” and “Bible”.

After two months of beatings, it was determined that Kyung-ja had no ties to Christianity so we was sent to a Kyohwaso camp for “re-education”. Her curiosity had been peaked however, so one day she asked a fellow prisoner, “What is God, and what is a Bible?” The prisoner whispered that “There is such a thing, but you must not ask [for your own safety]”.

After six months, during which she witnessed many atrocities and deaths of fellow prisoners, Kyung-ja was released. Eventually, her daughter was able to raise enough money and obtain the aid of a pastor to help Kyung-Ja defect to S Korea. Only then, was she able to obtain some answers to her questions about Christianity.

Today, Kyung-ja never misses a worship service or an opportunity to share her testimony with others. She also works with a VOM-sponsored ministry that reaches out to N Korean Christians and defectors. The irony is not lost on her that, if she had never been arrested, she would have never heard of Christianity, and that the seeds of the Gospel were planted by a N Korean guard attempting to eradicate Christianity.

Kyung-ja story is amazing, but not as uncommon as we might think. Similarly, we continually see large numbers of Muslims turning to Christianity due to the brutal tactics of groups like ISIS, Boko Harem (W Africa), Al Shabaab (E Africa), Al Qaeda, FARC (Colombia), and others. I heard of one case about 18 months ago, where Muslim neighbors hid Christians in their homes after their village church had been attacked and burned by Islamic terrorists. Just as in the first few centuries in which the blood of the martyrs was the seed, we now see unequaled numbers of Muslims coming to Christ.

Let’s continue to pray for Christians in restricted and hostile nations.

Avoiding Scams while Helping the Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Natural disasters tend to bring out the best in most people, but the worst in others. For the past few days, most of us have marveled at the tireless efforts of the rescue workers (many are unpaid volunteers) in the wake of Hurricane Harvey's destruction and flooding in South Texas. We couldn't be prouder of our fellow Texans. We are also deeply appreciative of those from other states sacrificing their time and efforts for their fellow Americans.

Unfortunately, disasters also attract predators who typically exploit others for their own gain. No, I'm not talking about the "mainstream" media. Actually, many reporters did a pretty good job in their coverage, although the usual outlets (CNN, MSNBC etc) attempted to add their typical political spin, however unbelievable they may sound to any thinking person. I'm speaking instead of the charity scam artists, who take advantage of the generous charitable nature of people in order to bilk donors of monetary aid that is intended for the victims. It has been estimated that almost $2 billion dollars went to bogus charities after Hurricane Katrina.

The Federal Trade Commission offers the following common sense advice when dealing with Charities:

• Donate only to charities that you know and trust, and have a proven track record of dealing with disasters. Beware of those who use a very similar names to a well-known reputable charity.
• Check out the charity with the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or GuideStar.
• Avoid those who ask for donations in cash, ask you to wire money, or offer to send a courier or overnight delivery service to collect the donation immediately.
• Specify the exact disaster that you would like your donation to go toward. Many charities, the Red Cross in particular, sometimes stockpiles donations during a disaster, then moves a portion to the general fund that goes to pay for expenses such huge salaries, fund raising, advertising etc.
• When texting to donate, confirm the number with the source before you donate. The charge will show up on your mobile phone bill, but donations are not immediate.

You can find many more tips at Before Giving to a Charity.

What about the Red Cross?

The Red Cross began as a Christian organization, but sadly has devolved primarily into a very profitable "non-profit" secular agency in order to work more closely with governmental agencies and large corporations that typically will not donate through the much more efficient Christian charitable agencies. I remember a few years ago when a Red Cross office worker was threatened with termination if she didn't remove an ornament from her desk that contained a bible verse.

After Katrina, a deputy marshal was asked to leave a Red Cross shelter because he was praying with stranded refugees. In addition, an Albany, Louisiana church shelter took in a family who stated that they were kicked out a Red Cross shelter because they were reading from their family bible. The Christian shelter workers thought that there must have been a misunderstanding, until three other families later arrived after being booted for the same reason. No one had complained about the prayers or bible readings, but Red Cross representatives defended the decisions with the usual statement that their shelters take in families from diverse backgrounds, and didn't want to offend anyone (except for the Christians that were kicked out to fend for themselves in the extreme weather conditions).

The Red Cross also has a history of mismanagement. After a year long congressional investigation into Red Cross activities following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, a congressional committee headed by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley released a report in June of 2016 showing that, of the $500 million in donations for earthquake relief, almost $125 million was spent on internal expenses. Many questions from investigators went unanswered, and the Red Cross was unable or unwilling to explain where the money went.

In addition, the Red Cross typically sends a much smaller percentage of received donations to the victims than various Christian charities such as Samaritan's Purse, The Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, or multiple other fine organizations.

This is not to say that the Red Cross does not provide good humanitarian aid, and we certainly would not group them with the scammers or frauds. We are troubled by the anti-Christian bias coming from their top management, but we also personally know of many dedicated Christians who are working very long hours with them at the regional and local levels. We choose to donate through various Christian charities because a larger portion of our donations generally go to the victims, but urge our readers to follow their own conscience regarding these matters.

Finally, we'd like to say "Thanks Again" for all those who are helping in so many ways. We also ask for your continued prayers for both the spiritual and physical needs of the victims and the dedicated workers.

Update: Shortly after posting this, we received info from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that many homeowners and renters are getting robocalls stating that their flood premiums are past due and that, in order to have coverage for Hurricane Harvey, the consumers are being told they must submit a payment immediately through various means. DO NOT do this. Contact your insurance agent instead. If you suspect fraud, you can also call the FEMA Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at 1-866-720-5721.

Logic of the Cross

Like clockwork every Easter, we see stories from various TV shows and magazines attempting to discredit the Bible account of Jesus’ death and/or resurrection. Never mind that these stories have been debunked over and over by the evidence, the media continues to pull them out, re-warm them over and breathlessly promotes them as new scientific discoveries that supposedly signals the death knell for Christianity.

Since the Cross is a central foundation of Christianity, it is also a prime target of those who attempt to discredit the Faith. There have been many excellent books written over the years greatly detailing the evidence for the resurrection. Indeed, the evidence supporting the Biblical accounts of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection is much stronger than many of the other historical events that we take for granted. Therefore, even though we have a historically based article in progress, we decided to examine the Cross from a logical viewpoint based upon 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The preaching of the cross is, I know, nonsense to those who are involved in this dying world, but to us who are being saved from that death, it is nothing less than the power of God (Phillips NT).

The first thing Paul notes is that the message of the Cross, that is Jesus dying for the sins of all who would believe in Him as Lord and Savior so that we might be forgiven and spend eternity with Him in Heaven (Jn 3:16, 17:24) is foolishness to those unbelievers dying in their sins. But even though it is considered foolish or even absurd to this group of people, let’s examine the message to determine if it actually makes sense.

I think we can all agree that most people have a built-in conscience that can tell right from wrong, justice from injustice, and good from evil. Even though postmodern thinking has blurred many of the lines of separation between good and evil, most would agree that evil should be punished while good should be rewarded. Most civilized people would not want an evil person to go unpunished so that he would feel free to continue to steal, murder etc.

The cross is God’s rightful and just punishment for the evil (sin) among mankind. Every person has sinned (lied, stolen, lusted, coveted etc) in attitude, thought or deed, and as a result, is deserving of death (Rm 3:23, 6:23). Furthermore, there is no forgiveness of our sins without the shedding of lifeblood (Heb 9:22). In the OT, the priests made continual animal sacrifices as a temporary covering of sin, but these sacrifices could not remove the stain of sin. But the Christ, being the God-Man, voluntarily sacrificed Himself once for all the sins (past present and future) of all those who would believe in Him (Heb 10:11-14). In fact, Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice that had the infinite value required to satisfy God’s righteous wrath against sin and pay the penalty to restore our relationship and judicial status (we are credited with living a perfect life and fulfilling the law – Rm 8:4) before God the Father. There was no other way for us to be reconciled with a Holy God. Thus, the events of the cross were entirely logical.

Of course, only those who believe (trust in, rely on) the work of Christ will be saved (Jn 3:16, Ac 4:12). Those who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior are already condemned (Jn 3:18) and the message of the cross remains illogical. For a more detailed discussion on our topic and subject verse (1Cor 1:18), including its context within Scripture (1Cor 1:18 – 2:5), the historical context of the Jews and Greeks, and Godly vs human wisdom, see The Cross - Foolishness or the Power of God?

Before we end this post, I’d like to address a couple of questions that some may be asking. The first, typical asked by unbelievers and even by some new believers is, “Why couldn’t God just forgive and forget? Why do we have to be perfect to get into heaven? Couldn’t God lower His standard just a bit or grade on the curve?” The thinking here is that, if God is good and He is a God of love, couldn’t He at least ignore the minor stuff.

To answer these questions, we must understand the simplicity of God. By simplicity, we don’t mean that God is a simple God. God is undeniably beyond our comprehensive understanding. By “divine simplicity”, we’re merely referring to His unity of being (or unity of His nature or character), primarily with respect to His attributes. God’s attributes are irreducible in that we can’t separate them or temporarily take one away. We can distinguish between them, but they always work together. Therefore God, whose eyes are too pure to even look upon evil, can’t tolerate sin (Hab 1:13) because His Holiness, Truth and Justice won’t allow it. However, because His Love is also working, He provided a substitute, His own Son. Thus, He is able to punish wrongdoing while still saving those who believe without compromising His Holiness.

The second question that might be asked by anyone is, “Why would God sacrifice His only Son for me?” I must admit that, on the surface, this seems very illogical. I certainly would not allow either of my sons to be sacrificed for anyone. The only rational explanation for God’s actions according to His eternal plan is His great love for each of us (Rm 5:7-8). It has often been said that neither the Roman soldiers nor the nails could have kept Jesus on the cross since He had legions of angels at His disposal (Mt 26:52-54). He voluntarily laid down His life (Jn 10:17-18) and the only thing holding Him to the cross was His great love for us. In light of what He did, shouldn’t we live for Him?

Is Men Loving Jesus Homoerotic?

We hope all our readers had a very Merry Christmas this year. As Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior, the major news media typically trots out many stories to discredit the event, and Christianity in general. Perhaps the most interesting twist this season is the Georgetown professor on MSNBC claiming that Christian men loving Jesus is “Interestingly Homoerotic”.

Professor Michael Eric Dyson made the remarks to substitute host Joy Reid on the Ed Show last week while attempting to recruit the LGBT community to join with “African-Americans” as common victims of the “right” on the heels of the remarks made by Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty. We’d like to thank our friends at Newsbusters for being one of the few dozen that still watches MSNBC and brings us the few highlights worth considering.

From the video and transcripts:

Dyson: Jesus was a Jew who, around whom a religion was made. So the anti-Semitism of many of the Christians is ironic to begin with. And then secondly, the gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual stuff - look through the Bible. There’s a lot of interesting things. The same men who will stand up in the church of all men, ‘I put my God, Jesus, overall women. I love him more than I love her.’

Hmmm. Do you really? That sounds interestingly homoerotic to people who are outside your religious traditions. I’m not suggesting it is but I’m suggesting that there are some very interesting, subtle, narrative tensions within the Bible itself and within Christianity beyond that.

Of course, Ms Reid agrees with Dyson throughout the interview, praises him for his Bible knowledge, and ends the segment by hoping the audience will consider Dyson’s words alongside those of Jesus. The article also points out that neither Reid nor Dyson (or apparently the executives at MSNBC) realize that “humans can love without sexual intimacy”, giving parents and children as an example.

It is also obvious that neither the professor nor host has a clue as to how to interpret the Bible. We’ll just mention two basic aspects, context and original language. Beginning with the latter, the professor may not be aware that the New Testament was written in Greek, not in English. The Greek language contains four words for “love”, agape, phileo, eros and stergo.

In the Bible, human love for Jesus is always given as agape (Godly, selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love) or phileo (brotherly love). By his description, the professor attempts to substitute eros love (physical attraction or passionate desire) which can be used in a positive sense relating to husband and wife, or negatively for a number of forbidden acts, but is never used in the Bible with respect to loving Jesus.

Turning to the aspect of context, Ms Reid opened the segment by saying that anyone can manipulate the Bible to support any argument or position. It is somewhat ironic that, although the host was directing her comment to those she perceived to be intolerant of behavior that is condemned in Scripture, her guest then proceeded to make erroneous statements about the Bible in an attempt to prove his point. In reality however, Ms Reid's opening statement is only true to a point. In order to support a false argument, one must disregard the most important interpretation principle, that of regula fidei (rule of faith) or analogia fidei (analogy of faith). This rule basically means that we should interpret any portion of Scripture within the context of the whole because Scripture (when properly understood) will never contradict itself. The “tensions” spoke of by the professor are introduced by those who either don't understand the Scriptures or twist them for their own agenda (or both).

Thus, even though a person may not have a working knowledge of the original language, they can still understand the basic meaning by consulting related Scripture passages. In our case, we could look at the descriptions of love (agape) in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails (1Cor 13:4-8).

Would a person without an ulterior motive equate these characteristics of love to physical or sexual attraction?

We find much more of “love” in the the second, third and fourth chapters of John’s first epistle. In addition, it also contrasts the professor’s version of worldly love with Godly love, “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world” (1Jn 2:16). The letter (and John’s Gospel) also makes multiple ties between our love for Jesus and our obedience to Him.

Students of the Bible should not be surprised at the lack of ability by the professor and members of the media to properly understand Scripture. The Bible tells us

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1Cor 2:12-14).

Returning to the second chapter of John’s first epistle, immediately after contrasting worldly love with Godly love, John follows with a warning to us about the many antichrists that we'll encounter, describing them as “those who are trying to lead you astray” (1Jn 2:26). Therefore, we must regularly put on all our armor, particularly by studying and properly interpreting the Word of God.

The Media's Continuing Adoration of Barack Obama

The good folks over at the Media Research Center has issued a special edition report containing various media quotes concerning BHO. The report is entitled Still Slobbering Over Barack Obama, and documents the "media’s continuing love affair" with BHO.

As the article points out, "Any other President with BHO’s record — high unemployment, record deficits, and scandals such as Fast and Furious and the leaking of our nation’s intelligence secrets — would face withering scrutiny from the press". We can only imagine the around-the-clock hysterical coverage if these issues had occurred during GW Bush's term.

Please see the link above for the entire article, but here are a few example quotes from the report (bold emphasis added). As a public service, we must advise our readers to put away any hot beverages or sharp objects prior to reading. An on-hand supply of nausea medicine and barf bags might also come in handy.

Time’s Nancy Gibbs, November 17, 2008 cover story on BHO's election win:

"Some princes are born in palaces. Some are born in mangers. But a few are born in the imagination, out of scraps of history and hope....Barack Hussein Obama did not win because of the color of his skin. Nor did he win in spite of it. He won because at a very dangerous moment in the life of a still young country, more people than have ever spoken before came together to try to save it. And that was a victory all its own."

ABC’s Bill Weir talking about Obama’s inauguration on World News, Jan. 20, 2009:

"We know that wind can make a cold day feel colder, but can national pride make a freezing day feel warmer? It seems to be the case because regardless of the final crowd number estimates, never have so many people shivered so long with such joy. From above, even the seagulls must have been awed by the blanket of humanity."

ABC’s Terry Moran to Media Bistro’s Steve Krakauer in a February 20, 2009 Morning Media Menu podcast talking about how the presidency is actually a demotion for BHO:

"like to say that, in some ways, Barack Obama is the first President since George Washington to be taking a step down into the Oval Office. I mean, from visionary leader of a giant movement, now he’s got an executive position that he has to perform in, in a way."

Host Christiane Amanpour to White House advisor David Axelrod on ABC’s This Week, September 26, 2010, after the reality had set in with some supporters that BHO was in way over his head:

"People from all over the world, frankly, say to me, here comes a President with a huge mandate, a huge reservoir of goodwill, huge promises to change, and, with all of that, his popularity is down. People don’t appreciate some of the amazing legislative agenda that he’s accomplished."

Newsweek’s Evan Thomas to host Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball, June 5, 2009:

"Reagan [at the 1984 D-Day commemoration] was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is, ‘We are above that now. We’re not just parochial, we’re not just chauvinistic, we’re not just provincial. We stand for something.’ I mean, in a way, Obama’s standing above the country, above — above the world. He’s sort of God. He’s going to bring all different sides together."

The Huffington Post’s Howard Fineman, May 2, 2011:

"By calmly and meticulously overseeing the successful targeting of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama just proved himself — vividly, in almost Biblical terms — to be an effective commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States."

Stephen Marche in a column for Esquire magazine’s August 2011 issue, entitled How Can We Not Love Obama? Because Like It or Not, He Is All of Us:

"“Can we just enjoy Obama for a moment? Before the policy choices have to be weighed and the hard decisions have to be made, can we just take a month or two to contemplate him the way we might contemplate a painting by Vermeer or a guitar lick by the early-seventies Rolling Stones or a Peyton Manning pass or any other astounding, ecstatic human achievement? Because twenty years from now, we’re going to look back on this time as a glorious idyll in American politics, with a confident, intelligent, fascinating president riding the surge of his prodigious talents from triumph to triumph....‘I am large, I contain multitudes,’ Walt Whitman wrote, and Obama lives that lyrical prophecy....Barack Obama is developing into what Hegel called a ‘world-historical soul,’ an embodiment of the spirit of the times. He is what we hope we can be."

Nope... no bias to see here folks. Move along.

Mid-Year 2012 Review

We had planned to post a series of reviews of the first six months of 2012, featuring the talents and wits of many gifted and talented artists. We were to begin this series with a brief summary or overture of many of the events and issues, followed by additional posts on the various subjects over the next few weeks. After getting swamped on other projects, we decided to do a review of the full year instead. So, we're posting a preview at this time, and will be add the others toward the end of the year.

As we view these posts, we who are Christians should bear in mind that, even though we have the right to express our opinions, we should also pray for our government leaders and keep these issues in perspective. The Psalmist writes “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them -- the Lord, who remains faithful forever.” (Ps 146:3-6)

We should also remember that, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Finally, we should not forget that it is only the grace of God that separates us from the unbelievers. The apostle Paul addresses believers: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2:1-7)

That said, enjoy the cartoons.

No, this is not all of the toons. In order to to post a greater number without interrupting the flow of the main blog pages, we are now loading our toons on a separate page. So, please see our Mid-year Toon Review page for additional toons on the economy, election year, religious freedom, Israel, foreign policy, right to life, jobs, healthcare, military, the media, energy and other topics.

Fall 2011 Review

Our fall 2011 cartoon review includes Israel. OWS, Thanksgiving, the beginning of election season, and more.

Our toons have been archived at End-year 2011 Toon Review. Enjoy and continue praying for our nation.

June 2011 Review

As the month of June comes to an end, we offer this review of some of the month's events. Enjoy.

The first is actually a holdover from May that didn’t make it into our 2011 Memorial Day Tribute.

Moving to June, the tolerance police continue to run wild, insisting on tolerance for everything except Christianity.

Our toons this month include the Fast and Furious, the economy, and others. See June 2011 Toon Review for the archive. Enjoy and God Bless.

April 2011 Toons

Here’s a collection of cartoons from the latter part of April. Enjoy.

See the archive at April 2011 Toon Review. God bless.

Toon Update March 2011

After getting busy and not posting for a few weeks, I often do an update on what we’ve missed. In this case, we’ll use the “a picture is worth a thousand words” strategy. It’s also a lot more fun. It would be even more fun if not so true. Hope you enjoy.

See the archive at March 2011 Toon Review. This month focuses primarily on the UN and foreign policy.

Candles, Marxists, and the Word of Truth

As we witness the riots and unrest in Egypt, it brought to mind an incredible untold story (at least by our secular media) during the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Most of us remember the usual talking heads focusing on the surface themes of politics and economics, while denying that Ronald Reagan had anything to do with the event. Yet, as with most stories, the important underlying causes were ignored by the media.

It is true that political and economic conditions had reached critical mass in Eastern Europe and Asia by the late 1980s, but this emergency situation was the direct result of the moral and spiritual crises created by communism’s Marxist worldview. If we are open to the truth about this atheistic worldview, we can easily see that it must inevitably lead to this outcome.

A primary tenet of Marxism is the supposition that God only exists in the imagination of the economically downtrodden; that He is subjectively created as a wishful fantasy to remedy a person’s misery or unhappiness. Thus, while American liberals generally view religion as the root of all evil, a true Marxist would view religion as the imaginary, but ineffective solution to evil, with the primary evil being an unequal distribution of wealth. If one could build an alternative system (under government control); a new world order in which all persons were monetarily equal (except the ruling elite, of course), then there would be no further need for religion. After all, why would someone cling to fanciful thoughts of a joyful hereafter when they could have a utopian paradise in their present life on earth? We, of course, see this "government is the solution to all our problems" theory promoted by many today.

So, for Marxism to work, it must “kill God”, at least in the sense of replacing His memory in the minds of the people with reliance on the government. We’ve seen from history however, that any attempt to eradicate God is always doomed to failure. Just to give a few examples, at the beginning of the fourth century, Roman emperor Diocletian began possibly the most intense empire-wide persecution in an attempt to eradicate Christianity. Yet within a few years, Constantine took the throne and later made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. In the eighteenth century, the French philosopher Voltaire declared that within a hundred years, there would not be a single Bible left on earth. The house where he lived is now a distribution center for Bibles printed in many different languages. Finally, in 1966, the New York Times declared that “God is dead”, but as Ravi Zacharias so aptly noted, the Times was “dancing on an empty grave”.

Another major reason that Marxist socialism is destined to always fail is that it is based on the false assumption that man’s nature is inherently good; that putting man into a better environment will solve all his problems (one glance at the Garden of Eden experience disproves this presumption). It assumes that enough people will be willing to work hard while others are idle, and yet share everything equally. On the other hand, the Free Enterprise system thrives because it is consistent with man’s fallen nature, rightly assuming that most folks won’t work without reward. One of my former pastors, Dr Harold O’Chester from Austin, used to say that he could tell how a person would vote based upon the answer to one question, “Do you believe man is inherently good or evil?” As Adrian Rogers once said,

You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the industrious out of it. You don't multiply wealth by dividing it. Government cannot give anything to anybody that it doesn't first take from somebody else. Whenever somebody receives something without working for it, somebody else has to work for it without receiving. The worst thing that can happen to a nation is for half of the people to get the idea they don't have to work because somebody else will work for them, and the other half to get the idea that it does no good to work because they don't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Perhaps the best account of the Soviet collapse is recorded in a book by Barbara von der Heydt entitled Candles behind the Wall: Heroes of the Peaceful Revolution That Shattered Communism. Ms von der Heydt had worked with the first displaced Eastern European refugees in 1989, and much of her account is based on personal interviews with everyday people involved in the struggle against those who were attempting to obliterate any traces of the Faith. She recounts the stories of individuals whose grass roots movements eventually challenged the very core of communism. We recommend everyone read this book who has the opportunity, but we’ll paraphrase a couple of examples here.

One of the stories that stood out to me was the account of Uwe Holmer, an East German pastor who, along with his wife, managed a Christian organization for the mentally and physically disabled. In 1989, Dictator Erich Honecker resigned due to health issues. Honecker was so hated that even his own daughter refused to take him in. Yet, the Holmers finally provided the former tyrant and his wife with shelter even though the pastor’s family was terribly persecuted during his reign. When asked why, Pastor Holmer replied

The Lord has charged us to follow him and to take in all those who are burdened ... to follow his commandment to love our enemies; and to live by the prayer he taught us in these words, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” ... We want to live by Christ’s example.

Ms von der Heydt also provides us the inside story on the tense situation outside the Russian parliament in August of 1991. The Soviets had recently lost control of Eastern Europe, so while Michael Gorbachev was in the Crimea, the totalitarian communist party seized control of the government. They dispersed tanks and their troops and surrounded the Russian parliament, trapping Boris Yeltsin and the legislators inside. The world watched anxiously as thousands of freedom-seeking civilians formed a human barricade around the building.

According to Ms Von Der Heydt, it was at this point that Iven Kharlanov and Anatoly Rudenko of the Bible society in Moscow called other Bible societies around the world asking for prayer before coming up with a brave but dangerous plan. They contacted other Christians and drove a truck full of New Testaments to the scene, arriving just as the military was about to storm the building.

Christians took the Bibles and began handing them out to the soldiers quoting Exodus 20:13, “thou shall not kill”. At the same time, others began going tank to tank, handing out the Scriptures and quoting the verse. Ms Von Der Heydt specifically mentions one woman, Shirinai Dossova, walking over to one of the tanks and banging on its side with her bare knuckles until the mystified driver finally opened the hatch. She held the Bible out to him and declared, "It says in this book that you shouldn't kill. Are you going to kill us?" The young soldier was obviously baffled, but nervously took the Bible while saying, "We not intending to kill anybody."

Ms Von Der Heydt also reported that very few of the soldiers refused the Bibles. Some tucked them in a pocket or bag, but others, who probably had never seen one but perhaps may have been wanting one, began reading right away.

Of course, we know from history that the attack on the parliament building was averted and the coup collapsed. Yet to this day, secular historians still puzzle in amazement as to why the almost certain attack failed to transpire. But now, as Paul Harvey would say, we know the rest of the story. It was the Hand and the Word of God.

A Silent and Holy Night

In modern times, the Christmas holiday season is filled with much hustle and bustle. We’re blasted by ads urging us to save money by buying our gifts from a particular source. I haven’t checked out any of the watchdog sites who inform us as to which retailers are hostile or supportive of using the word “Christmas” in their commercials and sale ads, but at least locally, there appeared to be more mentions of Christmas instead of the generic “holidays” or “seasons” this year. I even heard Best Buy use the word “Christmas” for the first time. I did notice that many such as Walgreens, who were using “holidays” in the past, stopped using either term and just urged customers to buy gifts without mentioning any occasion at all.

Of course, the hesitation or outright refusal to use the word “Christmas” is a part of the larger culture war against Christianity and any traditional or family values. Much of this hostility is led, or at least aided and abetted by our secular media. I'm usually not shocked anymore by many of the positions taken by the opposition, but I was mildly surprised by the angry tone of the comments posted on many mainstream websites by the "tolerant" left against the pro-Christmas programming by Fox News. The attitude of the media toward Christianity was probably best summed up by NPR’s Nina Totenberg who said last week that “I was at -- forgive the expression -- a Christmas party at the Department of Justice.”

Christians also receive much opposition and antagonism from our own government, a government originally founded on Biblical principles. Many large corporations, including some non-profit charities have followed their lead. In just the past week or so, we witnessed

--The Federal Reserve forced a bank in Oklahoma to stop displaying a Bible verse of the day and crosses on the teller’s counter, and ordered the removal of buttons that said "Merry Christmas, God With Us."
--The Red Cross banned Christmas in over 400 of their fund-raising shops, ordering the removal of decorations or any other signs that might remind anyone of Christmas.
--A school in Virginia ordered student members of a "Christmas Sweater Club" into detention for singing Christmas songs, handing out candy canes and generally spreading Christmas cheer.

But before we begin to accuse the feds of being completely hostile to religion, we should point out that Mr Obama’s Justice Dept recently filed suit against a school in Illinois on behalf of a Muslim teacher who wanted to abandon her students in order to make her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca. Never mind that she could have taken the trip during summer break. The feds and ACLU are also strangely quiet when schools promote a day of tolerance, forcing students to dress in Muslim garb and adopt Muslim names. But, imagine the outcry if a school promoted a day in which students dressed as Bible characters. All involved, from the superintendent to the night janitors would be fired on the spot and possibly face civil and criminal penalties.

Yet, even with the hostilities toward Christianity, believers can peacefully rest in knowing that our sovereign God is in control. In contrast to the modern holiday chaos, we can look back at that silent and holy night when the Son of God came into the world as a little baby to continue the history of our redemption that was planned before the beginning of time. During a season of calamity and commercialization, we can joyfully sing "Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!"

We can take time to marvel, as did the shepherds as the angel accompanied by the angelic choir announced that a Savior had been born in the city of David. As they were probably too awed to speak, the only sound might have been an occasional bleating of sheep. They then followed the star on that clear night to find the Messiah in a manger. After worshiping him, they returned to their jobs, never to be the same again.

Perhaps the only time that some of us glimpse the true meaning and spirit of Christmas is at a Christmas Eve or Christmas Sunday service, but we should not limit ourselves however, to one day or week out of the year. Like the shepherds who returned to their daily lives praising God, we should attempt to glorify God with everything we do as we return to our “normal” routines for the rest of the year.

You are also welcome to read our The True Meaning of Christmas article.

Voter Standards: DWTS vs POTUS

The television program Dancing with the Stars has played to record audiences this season thanks to the inclusion of Bristol Palin, the daughter of the former Alaska governor. Ms Palin’s success has resulted in conspiracy theories involving the Tea Party, as well as exploding heads in the media and on the far left. A Wisconsin man even shot up his television in disgust over a performance.

I've never watched DWTS (or American Idol or any other reality show) so I can't comment on Ms Palin's dancing ability or lack of. What has interested me is the usual biased media coverage and the reaction from the “tolerant police” on the left. For example, as reported by Yahoo:

"ABC just might be on the verge of outsmarting itself; using Palin's cult of personality to juice this cycle's ratings while ensuring a result that just might give the lie to everything `Dancing With the Stars' stands for," wrote Eric Deggans, critic for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.

Unlike many of the articles, Yahoo offered some non-conspiracy reasons for Ms Palin’s success:

Many of Bristol Palin's supporters readily conceded she wasn't the best dancer. But they admired her pluck and willingness to put herself on the line.

Gretchen Offord, a women's crisis counselor from Shasta Lake, Calif., said she detested the condescension that was directed Palin's way by many of the professional dancers and judges on the show. "I tend to have sympathy for people who have the odds stacked against them," she said. Offord voted for Bristol. She doesn't particularly like Sarah.

Susan Gonzalez, a 26-year-old teacher from Washington, D.C., said she and many of her friends became fans of Bristol as the season went along. "There's something about her that I think every girl in her 20s can relate to," she said. "She's very vulnerable, and watching her gain confidence over the course of the season was kind of interesting — the fact that she's not the best, and she knows she's not the best, but every week she goes on and puts on a brave face." Monday was the first night Palin looked like she was enjoying herself, Gonzalez said. "She kind of seemed relieved that it was over," she said.

In the end, Bristol finished third (of three) in the final. Jennifer Grey was the winner, but all the headlines screamed Bristol Palin comes up Last, Again, on "Dancing". Just for grins, I googled “Bristol Palin” along with the exact phrase “last place” and received 249,000 results. Several wrote “Surprising probably no one, Bristol Palin came in last once again during last night's DWTS finals” or similar words.

Many of the comments by readers of the leftist blogs can’t be printed here, but here’s one from Yahoo.

however you slice it, these retards were voting for who palin was rather than competence. Obviously they either don't think competence is important or don't even know what it is. Unfortunately there are a lot of them. They are called conservatives or in their purest form "tea party." Not good for anybody, even themselves.

So now, competence during an election has suddenly become important to those on the left. Ms Palin typically received low scores from the show’s judges, but made up the difference during the voting by the viewers. The media and the critics on the left thus claimed that the voting became a contest based on popularity and personalities rather than on qualifications.

Yet, this is the same media that deliberately played down the issues (and the candidates’ qualifications or lack of) during the last US Presidential election. Realizing that the socialistic Dems could not win on experience (competence or qualifications), or a platform of higher taxes and spending, redistribution of wealth, killing babies, record deficits, amnesty for illegals, and gutting our defense, the media purposely buried the issues and concentrated on “Barry’s” personality.

While those on the left always march in step with the media’s worship of the chosen one, most independents were so caught up in the sound bites of making history that few bothered to check his slight, but very revealing record.

Now however, when Ms Palin advanced week after week on her popularity, the left and the media cry foul. They recoil in horror at any suggestion of a literacy test for voters in a presidential election, but suggest a PHD in the Arts be required in order to vote on DWTS. They send the message that the candidate's qualifications and competence don’t need to be considered when voting for the nation’s highest office, but when voting for DWTS contestants, a much higher standard must be applied.

You Can Be a Mainstream Media Reporter

So, you say you'd like to work for CNN, MSNBC, PBS, the New York Times or any of the other self-proclaimed "mainstream" media outlets. Andrew Klavan has produced a very helpful video that will greatly aid you in achieving your goal. If your scores are high enough, you might even land a spot on The View.

The Value of Newspaper Endorsements

As if we didn’t have enough reasons for supporting Rick Perry’s re-election effort for Texas Governor, here’s one more. The AP recently reported that Mr Perry is shunning major newspaper endorsements:

Candidates for high political office usually grovel for newspaper endorsements. Not Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Breaking from a decades-old tradition, the governor isn't even bothering to meet with editorial writers, much less ask for their blessing.

The way Perry sees it, newspapers are old news and have lost much of their influence. In a rapidly changing media climate, Perry said he decided before the March primaries that seeking their endorsements was a waste of time… "The most prized resource that you have is the candidate's time, and what is the best return on your investment that you can get with a candidate's time," Perry told The Associated Press. "It was a calculated decision, but you know the world is really changing, I mean, the way people get their information, who they listen to, etc. Put it all on the balance beam and the balance was toward not doing the editorial boards."

Newspaper editorialists have responded to Perry's snub with fury, accusing him of doing a disservice to voters by refusing to submit to unscripted questioning. The staunchly conservative Tyler Morning Telegraph, which Perry once called his "favorite" paper, slapped the longest-serving Texas governor with a blistering front-page editorial on Sunday.

"Your position to not visit with the editorial boards of Texas newspapers may be astute politically, but it demonstrates a disregard for newspaper readers and voters across the state, who deserve to hear substance rather than silence," the editorial said.

Perry also drew an unusual rebuke from the National Conference of Editorial Writers, which called him "disingenuous" for saying he didn't have time to take questions from its members when he spoke to their annual conference last month in Dallas. "If the governor can't take questions from the editorial board, from the press, on behalf of the public, it makes you wonder if they're fit for office," said Tom Waseleski of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, former president of the conference. "To out and out refuse to meet with editorial boards is cowardly and reprehensible."

The statements from the media heads attempt to give us the impression that by avoiding the newspaper editors, Mr Perry is snubbing the people. The Tyler editorial mentions that the voters “deserve to hear substance”, but isn’t Mr Perry providing real substance by avoiding the media filter and communicating directly with the people. Therein lies the real objection to Mr Perry’s strategy. It minimizes the amount of liberal spin the media can put on his message. If Mr Perry allowed the media to deliver his message, it would be unrecognizable by the time it got to the people.

As an example of newspaper “substance”, the far-left Austin American Statesman (known as the “un-American Statesman” to many locals) featured a hit-piece on Mr Perry for renting a “mansion” at taxpayer expense while the Governor’s building is undergoing renovation. In this article, they applauded a gimmick by his opponent, former Houston mayor Bill White, who promised to move into a double-wide trailer if elected. Mr White gave no details on where this trailer was to be located, or how he would handle the required security that must be approved by Homeland Security. A friend of mine remarked that, ”if Mr White does for Texas what he did for Houston, we’ll all be living in trailers within a sanctuary state”. Also absent from the article was the fact that Mr White, a multi-millionaire portrayed as a regular guy, left a $17 billion deficit in the general fund when he left office, and the fact that Mr Perry could have already moved back into the governor’s quarters had it not been torched during the Democratic state convention.

We must disagree however, with those who say that newspaper endorsements are irrelevant. On the contrary, an endorsement by a major newspaper can be very valuable to the voter. For the voter who doesn’t have time to check out the background of all the candidates, especially since the media minimizes or downright purges the liberal candidate’s stance on the issues, its endorsement can reveal a wealth of important information. For example, we know that most major metropolitan newspapers lean to the far left (with a few exceptions such as the Washington Times), so if a candidate receives the endorsement of several major papers, we can be reasonably sure that the candidate is soft on terrorism, pro-death, favors higher taxes, and more entitlement spending. The endorsed candidate will generally have a low view of the constitution, and be either hostile toward religion or friendly to all but Christianity. They will also have voted for nationalized healthcare and bailouts or will support them if a new candidate. It is certainly no coincidence that most major newspapers endorsed Mr Obama.

So, we can see great value in a newspaper’s endorsement. If voters will simply pick up a New York Times, a Houston Chronicle, or almost any other major city newspaper and vote against all those who are endorsed, our country would see vast improvements in a very short time.

A Tale of Two Afghan Videos

It has been an interesting Independence Day weekend, to say the least. We had not heard from our son Justin, who is serving in the US Marines in Afghanistan, in about three weeks. Many other marine parents warned us to stay away from the daily news in order to retain our sanity. This is easy for me in that I get most of my news from the internet, since the nightly so-called news programs are merely a rehashing of the days talking points from Move On and the Daily Kos. Still, during especially rough times, I have other parents call and warn me to keep my wife away from the news for the next few days. I can only imagine the emotions of parents during the time when President Bush was in office, and the media always portrayed the war and the troops in the worst possible light. Now that the media’s messiah is the current commander in chief, they have sanitized the war news somewhat, but it can still be unsettling to watch.

This past week, the world witnessed the very graphic video of a British soldier under fire, bloodied with bullets splashing around him in the sand. Fortunately, he was not hurt seriously and returned to duty later that day. This video was a graphic reminder of the conditions under which our brave troops are serving.

The next day, our friend Starrla called to tell my wife that she saw our son Justin on CNN. Later, my brothers called to say that they had seen Justin in a Yahoo video that has since been taken down. We looked up the video, and sure enough, there he was. It was difficult to make a positive id since he was wearing all his gear, but he finally called and confirmed that he was in the five hour firefight, that he was safe, and that he had been on camera. So, while the first video brought worry, the second brought some comfort for the moment.

As we continue to celebrate on this Independence Day weekend, please remember to pray for all the friends and relatives back home. Above all, please continue to pray for our troops serving in harm’s way. While the liberal politicians are busy stripping away our freedoms and traditional values on which our country was founded, these brave men and women are putting their lives on the line daily to preserve them. May God bless our Troops.

Failed Bombing and Comedy Central

Continuing from yesterday’s post, we also had the failed bombing in New York’s Times Square. Once it became clear to the liberals that it wasn’t a crazed Tea Party member who was mad about healthcare, as theorized by Mayor Bloomberg, members of the media set out to explain how a misunderstood all-American Muslim boy could do such a thing. Perhaps CBS came up with the best twist, denying his training in a Pakistani terrorist camp, and postulating that his motive involved money pressure since he “Hasn't Realized Any American Dream”.

Speaking of unbelievable, the Obama representative to the UN stood by and watched while the United Nations elected Iran to its Commission on the Status of Women’s Rights. This should make women feel much safer, unless they have a suntan.

Finally, the Comedy Central network is planning a new animated cartoon about Jesus called “JC”. This comes only two weeks after the network banned the banned the show “South Park” from displaying an image, or even mentioning the name of the Muslim prophet Muhammed after receiving death threats from the “religion of peace” (h/t NewsBusters).

According to the Hollywood Reporter:

Comedy Central is set to announce "JC," a half-hour show about Christ wanting to escape the shadow of his "powerful but apathetic father" and live a regular life in New York City. In the show, God is preoccupied with playing video games while Christ, "the ultimate fish out of water," tries to adjust to life in the big city.

"In general, comedy in purist form always makes some people uncomfortable," said Comedy Central's head of original programming Kent Alterman. When asked if the show might draw some fire, especially coming on the heels of the network's decision to censor the Muslim faith's religious figure on "South Park," Alterman said it’s too early in the show's development to be concerned about such matters. "We don't even know what the show is yet," he said.

Like all Comedy Central executives, Alterman declined to address the recent controversy over "South Park," where the network aired a heavily redacted episode after the show's creators were threatened by an extremist Islamic Web site.

So, Mr Alterman thinks it’s too early in the show's development to be concerned about offending Christians, but he’s ultra-sensitive about offending Muslims. Although one could argue for freedom of expression (which generally tends to be subjective according to one’s viewpoint), a great amount of discretion should be used with any religious figure, even those of the cults. We should be free to point out the errors in their actions and teachings, but should refrain from personal attacks on their person.

Spills and Floods

Whoa, has it been this long since I last posted? I’ve been working on a modern version of the Didache along with notes, commentary, and Scripture references, which was a very rewarding endeavor. Turning to our blog, I have some new posts about ready to load, but let's begin by catching up on a few events.

The one event to monopolize most of the media attention over the past couple of weeks has been the BP oil spill in the gulf. After vilifying President Bush for his perceived slow response to Katrina, the lamestream media yawned when Mr Obama took his time responding to the oil spill. The Dems finally swung into action, emailing supporters to "stand with President Obama to hold BP accountable", and oh yeah, while you’re at it, please send money. This could get interesting, since it was revealed the next day that Mr Obama is the biggest recipient of BP cash. Many dems have returned contributions to BP, but so far, Mr Obama has chosen to keep the money.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration finally sent a representative to view the flood situation in Tennessee. I kept waiting for Nancy Pelosi to demand that Mr Obama rush the money “that we owe these people” as she did to President Bush during the New Orleans flood. I was shocked that Ms Pelosi used the words “that we owe them” instead of “that we should send as a charitable act” or similar. I wasn’t shocked by her “owe me” mentality, only that she chose to use the words in publicly. According to Ms Pelosi, if certain people experience misfortune, the government "owes" them taxpayer money. It certainly wasn’t a surprise when most of the media spiked the comment to protect Ms Pelosi. Perhaps Mr Obama wasn’t as concerned about the Tennessee victims, since they were regular middle class working folks who cling to their guns and religion during times of crisis, rather than looking to the god of government for a bailout.

Let's continue to pray and help our friends in the Tennessee and neighboring states. As a Texan, I'll always be grateful for the brave volunteers who fought and died alongside our ancestors at the Alamo.

Female Firebrands - Fools for Christ

For almost a decade, liberals have been suffering from a disease known as Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS). A couple of years ago, many came down with a bad case of Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS). It must have been highly contagious, because now we're seeing an wide outbreak of a migratory strain which could be called Conservative Female Derangement Syndrome (CFDS). Common symptoms appear to range from paranoia and anger to outright fear and craziness. So, what is it about conservative women that tends to drive liberals up the wall. An article in the Observer of London examines the subject from a moderately liberal point of view.

Paul Harris from New York writes an article in the London Observer today entitled The new wave of female firebrands striking fear into liberal America. The reader would not automatically suspect a hit piece from the title, but in the byline, "Right-wing radicals are already pinning presidential ambitions on a mother-of-five from Minnesota who calls herself a 'fool for Christ' and condemns Obama as a socialist at the head of a "gangster regime", Mr Harris removes all doubt as to his intentions.

In subtle assaults, thinly disguised as journalism, Mr Harris goes on to attach Michele Bachmann, and to a slightly lesser extent, Sarah Palin, claiming that many "experts" have branded their positions and statements as "extreme".

Read the entire Female Firebrands article, in which we examine such questions as "Who are these "experts", "What are these positions and beliefs which are considered extreme", "Why females as opposed to males", and more.

While I was Away

I finally got that engineering project out that’s had me tied up the last few weeks, so what have I missed in the world? Here’s something shocking. White House Communications Director Anita Dunn disclosed to the Dominican government that President Obama's presidential campaign focused on "making" the news media cover certain issues while rarely communicating anything to the press unless it was "controlled." Ms Dunn stated that "Very rarely did we communicate through the press anything that we didn't absolutely control. One of the reasons we did so many of the David Plouffe (Obama's chief campaign manager) videos was not just for our supporters, but also because it was a way for us to get our message out without having to actually talk to reporters." I say this is shocking not in the sense of surprise that it happened, but that she actually admitted it. I have to wonder why they would go to this much trouble when the media was already in love with their candidate. Even if a gaffe was made, such as when BHO admitted that he was Muslin, George Stephanopoulos immediately stepped in with damage control saying, “you mean you’re a Christian, right”. Why go to the trouble to control a media who already worships you?

This is the same Anita Dunn, who last June, told an audience of high school students that her "favorite political philosophers" included Mao Zedong, the Communist Chinese leader whose policies are blamed for the deaths of tens of millions of people. A week after the admission to the Dominican’s, Ms Dunn attacked the top-rated Fox News network as an "arm of the Republican Party" and "opinion journalism masquerading as news." One of the first moves in a dictatorship is to silence any objective news media, just ask Mr Obama’s pal, Caesar Chavez. I saw a YouTube video the other day in which Jay Leno announced that the Obama administration had finally decided to employ an additional 40,000 troops… against Fox News.

On another subject, I notice Hillary and BHO are still whining that all of the problems in the world are “inherited” by their administration from the Bush years, even though they’ve been in office for over nine months now. This doesn’t even take into consideration that the Democrats were in control of both houses of congress for two years before they took over the presidency, a fact well hidden by their friends in the media. It also doesn’t reflect the fact that most of the worst laws of the past ten years originated by Carter and Clinton appointed liberal judges legislating from the bench.

I'll have to catch up with the other news later, but think I have time to check out one more story, so… oh, here’s a good one. Hillary has tentatively agreed to a weapons inspection program that would allow the Russians to visit nuclear sites in America to count missiles and our warheads. I wonder if she'll also furnish hand-held GPS units for the tour. This agreement is still tentative, so we must pray that someone comes to their senses before this is allowed to happen. Ms Clinton said the U.S. would be as transparent as possible. Hey, who knew that when BHO promised transparency, he actually meant with the Russians instead of us. Ms Clinton also said that "We want to ensure that every question that the Russian military or Russian government asks is answered." Hmm, this could get interesting. What if the Russians request to see the birth certificate, the background and job description of the czars, or to read the health care bill online?