Pope Francis WILL Impact YOUR Life
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************
I am waiting for one slip, one false step, one mispronunciation, one SOMETHING for the world's media to turn on Pope Francis and tear him to shreds.
It's coming as surely as night follows day.
But before that happens, I'd like my readers to pause, take a deep breath and consider how Francis' life -- from here to his dying day -- will affect the lives of every single one of us, catholic or not.
I am not a Catholic, though as one who subscribes to "Old Lutheranism" you can imagine I am not particularly in awe of this pope or any pope for that matter. But, having said that, I respect the office as one of the most powerful and influential political and religious positions on earth.
(I have been queried a number of times about what I mean when I refer to myself as a subscriber to "Old Lutheranism." When I say I subscribe to Old Lutheranism I mean the old Lutheran Church, which stood on "Sola Scriptura" (Scripture Alone).
Sola scriptura was a foundational doctrinal principle of the Protestant Reformation held by the Reformers ... most importantly (to me, anyway) by Martin Luther, the Great Reformer, himself.
OK. So what exactly does it mean, this Sola scriptura?
Well, simply put, it means the Bible contains all the knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, sola scriptura demands only those doctrines are to be admitted or confessed that are found directly within or indirectly by using valid logical deduction or valid deductive reasoning from scripture ... ALONE. Read more on sola scriptura at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sola_scriptura
Martin Luther once said, "A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it". And, yeah, I agree with Brother Martin.
Luther also said this: "The true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so."
In some Evangelical and Baptist denominations, sola scriptura is stated even more strongly: it is self-authenticating, clear to the rational reader, its own interpreter (meaning it interprets itself), and is so complete as to be the final authority of Christian doctrine ... PERIOD.
When my branch of the Lutheran Church (in the US) left its sola scriptura foundation -- I left the church.)
I have no idea what kind of Pope Francis will turn out to be. At this point, I suspect NOBODY really knows.
Even if one does not subscribe to Apostolic Succession, and the infallibility of the Pope, one must still realize Pope Francis has an awesome responsibility to God and to man.
From what little we know of the man, it would appear he is aware of the unique "burden" he will carry to his death. One must remember the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church -- AND -- the Bishop of Rome --AND -- he is also the head of the sovereign city-state, Vatican City. (Whew!)
Now, as if that were not enough the Vatican maintains diplomatic relationships with more than 100 nations. He is the foremost public representative of Catholics. In speaking to the media and in making public announcements, the pope helps shape how Catholicism is perceived by the rest of the world. (Read more: What Are the Duties & Responsibilities of a Pope? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6681628_duties-responsibilities-pope_.html#ixzz2NzwxlwzR )
I may not be Roman Catholic, but I understand the importance religion has played, does play, and will play in the affairs of man on this planet. Even for those who claim to be non-religious, it is inescapable.
Collectively, man has decreed he needs a god to worship. That feeling of "incompleteness" without a god is so strong that man will actually create a god to worship from practically anything he can lay his hands upon.
The three things for which a man will most readily lay down his life are: his God, his family, and his country.
So, it is not inconsequential, nor trivial, that when a new pope burst upon the scene, all the eyes of the world turn toward Vatican City enclaved within the ancient city of Rome. He is the religious leader of well over a billion human beings on earth.
No matter your Christian denomination, no matter your faith, the plain truth is -- what this man does WILL impact your life to one degree or another.
So. With that in mind, may I be so bold as to suggest that those of us who pray, ask our chosen deity to extend His protection, and His blessings of wisdom and guidance to the man who sits on the papal throne in the Vatican.
After all, the Pope may be a "special" man, but beneath the robe, the alb, the crown, all the vestments of the priest, he remains -- JUST a man.
Frankly, (no play on words here.) knowing no more than I do now of this man Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio), I believe he would tell you exactly the same thing.
© J. D. Longstreet
one room challenge - the reveal
The big day has finally arrived - reveal day! Six weeks, 20 bloggers and one room later, my girls' have a new bedroom and I have a new manicure coming my way (catch up on weeks 1-6 of work on the ORC here).
So in the words of Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller, 'let's not ruin this with a lot of talk.' Let's get right to the good stuff.
If you follow me on instagram, then you've been getting little sneak peeks for the past few days. Here is where we started.
And six weeks later, here is where we are today.
Learn more about the silhouettes here.
Learn more about the heart artwork here.
Watercolor by Mai Autumn.
Learn more about the vanity here.
Learn more about the dresser here.
And with that I am spent. Happy but spent.
I want to thank all of you for following along and for your encouraging comments and support. I accept this Oscar on behalf of all the....oh wait, that's a different speech.
And a big thanks to my friend Linda for including me. My first two cocktails tonight will be in your honor my dear.
Make sure to check out my fellow ORC ladies to see their beautiful spaces as well. It's like Christmas morning I tell ya.
Now about that cocktail...
So in the words of Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller, 'let's not ruin this with a lot of talk.' Let's get right to the good stuff.
If you follow me on instagram, then you've been getting little sneak peeks for the past few days. Here is where we started.
And six weeks later, here is where we are today.
Learn more about the silhouettes here.
Learn more about the heart artwork here.
Watercolor by Mai Autumn.
Learn more about the vanity here.
Learn more about the dresser here.
And with that I am spent. Happy but spent.
I want to thank all of you for following along and for your encouraging comments and support. I accept this Oscar on behalf of all the....oh wait, that's a different speech.
If you are new, please come back often as this project has actually triggered several others through out the house (I'm sick, I know). And for you regulars, big hugs and kisses to you.
And a big thanks to my friend Linda for including me. My first two cocktails tonight will be in your honor my dear.
Make sure to check out my fellow ORC ladies to see their beautiful spaces as well. It's like Christmas morning I tell ya.
Now about that cocktail...
If our government does not protect us from ourselves, who will?
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg literally believes he is his brother's keeper, and in fact the keeper of all the millions of New Yorkers and visitors to the city. He was thus compelled to ban the sale by restaurants and other venues of sugary drinks in doses larger than 16 ounces, citing an ethical mandate for someone to do something to protect people from themselves.
Such feelings are at the root of boundless dictates from governments at all levels, and are frequently the product of folks who believe not only that they know better than we do what is best for us, but also feel led to control our behavior for our own good.
However, New Yorkers may rest marginally easier now that a state Supreme Court Judge has properly ruled that the Bloomberg Ban is "arbitrary and capricious," and is now null and void.
This penchant among the nation's nannies produces varying degrees of damage. Some actions, like the Bloomberg Ban, are relatively harmless, merely restricting the personal liberty our Founders provided for us to pursue happiness.
Others, like the ban on Edison's incandescent light bulbs that have served us economically and dependably for well more than a century, have more serious effects. The newly mandated compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are said to use less energy and last longer than their predecessors, but are far more expensive, do not fit in many fixtures that incandescent bulbs do, and contain mercury, a substance that in emissions from coal burning electricity plants is viewed with great alarm by environmentalists, but is just peachy in CFLs. If you are unfortunate enough to break one of these bulbs, you must declare a minor hazmat emergency and execute a rigorous, time consuming and inconvenient cleanup routine. None of this is deemed nearly as important as the minuscule reduction in electricity use that CFLs provide, however.
Hyped-up environmental fears have spawned legions of regulations and initiatives, among which is the development of green cars that either run on electricity, or hybrids that alternate between conventional gasoline power and electricity. At the heart of this movement is concern over those dastardly carbon emissions produced by burning gasoline and diesel fuel. Electric cars emit no carbon dioxide and hybrids only do so when operating in gasoline mode.
We are told that if we do not take dramatic action immediately to reduce carbon emissions, the world will heat up and it will be even worse than the sequester. But the degree to which the activities of humans affect the world's temperature is a subject of (excuse the term) hot debate among scientists, and the evidence thus far -- when all the fraudulent and contrived data is omitted -- fails to support the doomsday prediction.
Nevertheless, President Barack Obama thought this was important enough to set a goal of having 1 million green cars on the road by 2015. But like CFLs, green cars are not consumer friendly, and sales in 2012 totaled a mere 50,000, well below what is needed to achieve Mr. Obama's goal. Consumers do not trust the immature technology and do not like their higher sticker prices.
Worse, you aren't told that environmental benefits are far less than we've been led to expect. A report by the National Center for Policy Analysis discusses the problems, noting that while electric cars do not contribute to "global warming," that is true only in the sense that they do not emit carbon dioxide. Building an electric car produces more than twice as much carbon-dioxide as building a conventional car, and because electric vehicles use electricity typically produced with fossil fuels, it indirectly emits about six ounces of carbon dioxide per mile compared with 12 ounces for a conventional car. Buying a green car that costs a lot more, uses an untrusted technology and contributes very little to environmental improvement holds little appeal for most people.
A Cato Institute report quoted former president Ronald Reagan: "Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves," and then suggested that "today’s policymakers would do well to heed Reagan’s words," noting that "Lawmakers at all levels of government have shown increasing contempt for personal responsibility and an increasing tendency to employ the power of the state to influence behavior. Government today pressures us to avoid risks, even risks that many of us knowingly and willingly take. There seems to be a consensus among nanny-statists that, with enough public service announcements, awareness campaigns, and social engineering efforts, Americans will start behaving as the nanny- statists want them to."
Yet, the nannies in both the public and private sectors ignore evidence that Americans prefer to think for themselves, enjoy the personal liberty we were given, and pursue happiness as we decide to, even if there is some risk attached to it.
Don't lie to us about the condition of the environment to gain control or force foolish changes to how we live, or force us to eat better or act differently for our own good. Just go away and leave us alone.
Mourning the Passing of the USA ... J. D. Longstreet
Mourning the Passing of the USA
The Darkened City On A Hill
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*******************
"This is a president (B. H. Obama) who has presided over an imploding economy, a ballooning deficit, a deteriorating international situation, an out-of-control Department of Justice, a diminished military, political and racial divisions that are tearing the nation apart, the specter of restrictions on freedom of expression, the appointment of indisputable incompetents and highly dubious characters to sensitive positions of authority (read: Kew, Hagel, Brennan and Kerry, who are only the most recent), and a de facto alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood whose self-admitted project is the destruction of the United States and whose installment in power in Egypt, as Barry Rubin definitively shows, “was a conscious and deliberate strategy of the Obama administration, developed before the ‘Arab Spring’ began.” Indeed, this is a president who traffics in blatant lies, cover-ups and misdirections at the cost of American interests and consequently merits being suspected of nefarious designs." SOURCE: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
"The Republic" is dying, dear reader, and I have no clue what to do about it.
America's closest friends can see it, too, and they, too are frustrated by the obvious attempts to destroy America and the lack of interest in her citizens to save their country.
David Solway, the author of "The End of the Republic" from which the opening remarks of this article were taken, issues this warning within the same article: "I say this to my American readers: One way or another, your trophy president is going to bring down your country. All the evidence points to the likelihood that he is not only an enemy of the United States of America, but its most formidable enemy in the world today. As I wrote in 2009, “I do not fear Abbas, Zelaya, Putin, Chavez or the rest of that disreputable bunch. I am alarmed when I consider Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. But I am scared to death of Obama.” You should be too." SOURCE: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
Much blame is being laid at the feet of the "low information voter" for returning Obama to the Oval Office last November. I must tell you, I totally agree with that, though I do not think it was the problem entire, only an extremely important part of the Obama/Democratic Party strategy to win.
One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said this: "This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins."
Thomas Jefferson another Founding Father of the USA said: “No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity”
Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh in an article entitled: "The End of an Empire" published one day after the most important election in the history of the world, wrote the following words: "Our Constitutional Republic died a peaceful death on November 6, 2012. Having reached the point of no return in a comatose state after years of progressive and illegal immigration assaults, the fabric of conservative society is now completely unraveled and Uncle Sam’s America is no more.
The United States of America is now relegated to the dust bin of history as a “has been” empire. The Shining City on the Hill, the hope of so many millions since July 4, 1776, no longer exists. What rises from the ashes is a country that few of us will recognize, like, or learn to accept submissively.
After 236 years of existence, a new country emerges today, run by secular progressives who rejected our Constitution, what we stand for, and who we are as a nation. The Supreme Court will be forever altered after its last conservative members will be replaced by the liberal academics who call themselves “progressives.” The rule of law will be implemented by Executive Orders, making Congress irrelevant.
The communist motto “Forward” that resonated with so many ignorant Americans will plunge us into many years of darkness from which we will never be able to recover. We have proven our Founding Fathers right, they did give us a Constitutional Republic and we were unable to maintain it." SOURCE: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871
It has been four months since that fateful election and I now think I have some inkling as to how the people of France felt when the Nazi's marched beneath the Arc de Triomphe at Place de l'Étoile and down the Champs-Elysees. In movies houses, as a lad, I watched the news reels of the grief-stricken French, their shoulders slumped, their eyes wet with tears, and anguish written large upon their faces as the triumphant barbarian brigades of "supermen" smashed their freedom with the "clump" of each Nazi jack boot upon the avenue built to celebrate French victory.
Eventually, though, it was America, and her allies, shedding the blood of their people on French soil to re-purchase France's freedom.
I can only wonder -- who will ride to America's rescue? Who?
No one. That's who.
If America is to be rescued, Americans will have to do it themselves.
In closing her article Dr. Paugh says: "I mourn today the loss of my adopted country. I have fought hard over the last four years to prevent its overt and accelerated destruction but the darker forces stronger than many of us have overcome concerted efforts by millions of Americans to maintain the Republic. Mediocrity, sloth, godlessness, dependence, cowardice, using the law selectively or ignoring it, and hopeless corruption will define the new country. Only God can save us now with his mercy and grace." SOURCE: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871
Those Americans who actually pay attention to their government, understand that the last flicker of hope for saving America was outed on November 6th, 2012. The last, best, hope for freedom-loving people of earth is gone. Those of you struggling for freedom around the world -- understand: We can not save you. We could not even save ourselves.
Today we are left with only the stench of a decomposing republic. There will be no resurrection. We had best get used to the idea that the free America we knew is dead and gone FOREVER. And we must accept that where one nation existed before, there are now TWO nations existing within the same space -- and -- like matter and anti-matter they cannot exist in the same space simultaneously. There is an explosion coming.
The precursor to the coming cataclysm was the so-called Great Recession. It was the precursor ONLY -- NOT the cataclysm itself.
There is nothing so promising as a light at the end of our current tunnel. NOTHING! But -- it is said that one must hit bottom before one is able to climb back to the top. I feel compelled to tell you -- the bottom is in sight.
Only a few million Americans will have the gumption, fortitude, determination, and pure grit to climb out of the hole, and create a new and a FREE, nation where once stood proud America.
History is replete with stories of governments that defy their people, their laws, and most importantly -- the laws of God. Every single one has fallen. And yet man's arrogance overrules his innate common sense and the cycle begins over and over again to end -- every time -- in the same disaster.
My beloved America has now fallen -- and quickly. Hardly out of her infancy, she adopted the terminal illness, that killer of nations, "progressivism" (Its real name is SOCIALISM) and-- predictably -- it killed her.
Revolutionary firebrand Patrick Henry said: "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”
And finally, JFK once said: "A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten.”
Well, SOME of us have not forgotten. As we view the "event horizon" in our metaphorical rear view mirror, it is critical that we understand that it falls to us to carry that memory into the formation of a new nation AFTER the coming cataclysm.
May God hasten the day when freedom reigns supreme once again for those who will accept nothing less than a government, which listens to -- and governs by -- the voice of its people through the original founding documents of the old nation formerly known as the USA.
© J. D. Longstreet
The Darkened City On A Hill
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*******************
"This is a president (B. H. Obama) who has presided over an imploding economy, a ballooning deficit, a deteriorating international situation, an out-of-control Department of Justice, a diminished military, political and racial divisions that are tearing the nation apart, the specter of restrictions on freedom of expression, the appointment of indisputable incompetents and highly dubious characters to sensitive positions of authority (read: Kew, Hagel, Brennan and Kerry, who are only the most recent), and a de facto alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood whose self-admitted project is the destruction of the United States and whose installment in power in Egypt, as Barry Rubin definitively shows, “was a conscious and deliberate strategy of the Obama administration, developed before the ‘Arab Spring’ began.” Indeed, this is a president who traffics in blatant lies, cover-ups and misdirections at the cost of American interests and consequently merits being suspected of nefarious designs." SOURCE: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
"The Republic" is dying, dear reader, and I have no clue what to do about it.
America's closest friends can see it, too, and they, too are frustrated by the obvious attempts to destroy America and the lack of interest in her citizens to save their country.
David Solway, the author of "The End of the Republic" from which the opening remarks of this article were taken, issues this warning within the same article: "I say this to my American readers: One way or another, your trophy president is going to bring down your country. All the evidence points to the likelihood that he is not only an enemy of the United States of America, but its most formidable enemy in the world today. As I wrote in 2009, “I do not fear Abbas, Zelaya, Putin, Chavez or the rest of that disreputable bunch. I am alarmed when I consider Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. But I am scared to death of Obama.” You should be too." SOURCE: http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-solway/the-end-of-the-republic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=60c711b9d6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
Much blame is being laid at the feet of the "low information voter" for returning Obama to the Oval Office last November. I must tell you, I totally agree with that, though I do not think it was the problem entire, only an extremely important part of the Obama/Democratic Party strategy to win.
One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said this: "This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins."
Thomas Jefferson another Founding Father of the USA said: “No nation is permitted to live in ignorance with impunity”
Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh in an article entitled: "The End of an Empire" published one day after the most important election in the history of the world, wrote the following words: "Our Constitutional Republic died a peaceful death on November 6, 2012. Having reached the point of no return in a comatose state after years of progressive and illegal immigration assaults, the fabric of conservative society is now completely unraveled and Uncle Sam’s America is no more.
The United States of America is now relegated to the dust bin of history as a “has been” empire. The Shining City on the Hill, the hope of so many millions since July 4, 1776, no longer exists. What rises from the ashes is a country that few of us will recognize, like, or learn to accept submissively.
After 236 years of existence, a new country emerges today, run by secular progressives who rejected our Constitution, what we stand for, and who we are as a nation. The Supreme Court will be forever altered after its last conservative members will be replaced by the liberal academics who call themselves “progressives.” The rule of law will be implemented by Executive Orders, making Congress irrelevant.
The communist motto “Forward” that resonated with so many ignorant Americans will plunge us into many years of darkness from which we will never be able to recover. We have proven our Founding Fathers right, they did give us a Constitutional Republic and we were unable to maintain it." SOURCE: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871
It has been four months since that fateful election and I now think I have some inkling as to how the people of France felt when the Nazi's marched beneath the Arc de Triomphe at Place de l'Étoile and down the Champs-Elysees. In movies houses, as a lad, I watched the news reels of the grief-stricken French, their shoulders slumped, their eyes wet with tears, and anguish written large upon their faces as the triumphant barbarian brigades of "supermen" smashed their freedom with the "clump" of each Nazi jack boot upon the avenue built to celebrate French victory.
Eventually, though, it was America, and her allies, shedding the blood of their people on French soil to re-purchase France's freedom.
I can only wonder -- who will ride to America's rescue? Who?
No one. That's who.
If America is to be rescued, Americans will have to do it themselves.
In closing her article Dr. Paugh says: "I mourn today the loss of my adopted country. I have fought hard over the last four years to prevent its overt and accelerated destruction but the darker forces stronger than many of us have overcome concerted efforts by millions of Americans to maintain the Republic. Mediocrity, sloth, godlessness, dependence, cowardice, using the law selectively or ignoring it, and hopeless corruption will define the new country. Only God can save us now with his mercy and grace." SOURCE: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/50871
Those Americans who actually pay attention to their government, understand that the last flicker of hope for saving America was outed on November 6th, 2012. The last, best, hope for freedom-loving people of earth is gone. Those of you struggling for freedom around the world -- understand: We can not save you. We could not even save ourselves.
Today we are left with only the stench of a decomposing republic. There will be no resurrection. We had best get used to the idea that the free America we knew is dead and gone FOREVER. And we must accept that where one nation existed before, there are now TWO nations existing within the same space -- and -- like matter and anti-matter they cannot exist in the same space simultaneously. There is an explosion coming.
The precursor to the coming cataclysm was the so-called Great Recession. It was the precursor ONLY -- NOT the cataclysm itself.
There is nothing so promising as a light at the end of our current tunnel. NOTHING! But -- it is said that one must hit bottom before one is able to climb back to the top. I feel compelled to tell you -- the bottom is in sight.
Only a few million Americans will have the gumption, fortitude, determination, and pure grit to climb out of the hole, and create a new and a FREE, nation where once stood proud America.
History is replete with stories of governments that defy their people, their laws, and most importantly -- the laws of God. Every single one has fallen. And yet man's arrogance overrules his innate common sense and the cycle begins over and over again to end -- every time -- in the same disaster.
My beloved America has now fallen -- and quickly. Hardly out of her infancy, she adopted the terminal illness, that killer of nations, "progressivism" (Its real name is SOCIALISM) and-- predictably -- it killed her.
Revolutionary firebrand Patrick Henry said: "Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”
And finally, JFK once said: "A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today - and in fact we have forgotten.”
Well, SOME of us have not forgotten. As we view the "event horizon" in our metaphorical rear view mirror, it is critical that we understand that it falls to us to carry that memory into the formation of a new nation AFTER the coming cataclysm.
May God hasten the day when freedom reigns supreme once again for those who will accept nothing less than a government, which listens to -- and governs by -- the voice of its people through the original founding documents of the old nation formerly known as the USA.
© J. D. Longstreet
monday monday
Top 'o the morning to ya. (sorry, I couldn't resist) I trust you had a wonderful weekend and are just pleased as punch for another Monday.
Spring break has begun at my house so I have two girls at home just waiting to be entertained. They will be so excited to hear that they get to spend the day running ORC errands with me. That is what I call spring break fun.
While I give the girls the good news I'll leave you with this picture. A last bit of green to wrap up the holiday weekend.
See you back here on Wednesday for the big reveal!!!
Spring break has begun at my house so I have two girls at home just waiting to be entertained. They will be so excited to hear that they get to spend the day running ORC errands with me. That is what I call spring break fun.
While I give the girls the good news I'll leave you with this picture. A last bit of green to wrap up the holiday weekend.
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| source |
America Has Won Her Last War ... J. D. Longstreet
America Has Won Her Last War
A Lack of COURAGE. A Loss of WILL
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*************************
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. ... Ezekiel 7:14 (The Bible)
Courage is a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain with determination to persevere and overcome until victory is realized.
America's LAST great General, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, was wont to say: "There is no substitute for victory." Truer words were never spoken.
As I write, America is under nuclear threat from North Korea. Even if North Korea does not possess the missile power to send a nuclear tipped missile to the west coast of the US, it surely can strike Hawaii and numerous American bases closer to Korea than that.
Technically, the US is STILL at war with North Korea. All this time we have been living with only a "cease fire" agreement. Fighting could erupt at any moment.
The one man who could have ended it in the nineteen-fifties was Gen. MacArthur. President Truman fired him partly due to what Truman thought was insubordination -- and -- partly because Truman was afraid MacArthur would run against him as the republican candidate for President in the next election. Had MacArthur run -- he would have won. (My opinion, of course.)
See, we were not in Korea to win! Korea was the first war under America's new policy of "Limited War." It was a UN sponsored war. It was referred to as a "police action."
We did not win. At best, it has been a tie ever since. BUT -- that war is not over.
And it would be thus even unto today. (at least to this writing.)
Vietnam -- a loss.
Iraq -- a loss.
Afghanistan -- a loss.
You may protest, but I'm here to tell you that in warfare anything less than victory is a loss -- period! Anything less than victory emboldens your enemies and insures a constant state of warfare will exist forever -- unless and until the cowardly country (Let's not kid ourselves. That's what it is. Cowardice!) finds it's long lost courage and begins to act (and react) as a powerful nation should and not as a weakling giant.
America's Limited Warfare policy has been in place since the Bay of Pigs invasion. Oh, that little battle in southern Iraq and Kuwait was only a single battle, for all intents and purposes. And we didn't even finish that one.
"Limited Warfare," don't you see?
We had to go back to Iraq.
One must surmise that the United States, with all its power, its unmatched power anywhere on the globe, is simply afraid to use that power. The US today reminds me of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of OZ story. Often we appear to others as a panicked elephant bellowing in fear and trying to escape the tiny little mouse scurrying across the floor near it.
Frankly, it is embarrassing.
And today we are further emasculating our military with downsizing, budget cuts, homosexuals serving openly, and the latest -- women in combat roles. Our enemies are laughing the rear ends off at our stupidity! They cannot believe their good fortune.
I am reminded of the following piece of scripture: "And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass ... " Leviticus 26:19 (The Bible) America no longer has the WILL TO WIN. America no longer has the courage to engage an enemy in a life or death struggle and see it through to total victory.
Look. Modern Americans are not the men and women of courage, determination, and dedication to freedom and liberty that the men and women of the "greatest generation" were.
I often think that if America could afford it we would simply hire another country's military to defend us ... oh, say, the Israeli Defense Forces, perhaps.
Take a look at our military today... especially at the leaders of our military. They're politician soldiers -- parade ground generals -- paper tigers. Even our Commander-in-Chief is unsure as to which end of a rifle the round is expelled, the muzzle or the butt. He has shown us many times that he is frightened by any rifle painted black. It appears he is much more interested in the creation of his own Praetorian Guard called the Department of Homeland Security.
The point is -- our military is, for all intents and purposes, leaderless. We have a military today, which is an army of lions led by a sheep!
Today, as we are desperately trying to extract ourselves from Afghanistan, it is plain to see the "pride of our power" is so obviously broken. Our "will to win" simply does not exist. When President Obama announces his EXIT PLAN from Afghanistan before he sends troops into battle, one can little doubt total victory is playing any part, at all, in the US efforts, or lack thereof, in Afghanistan. In fact, little known to most Americans, the Obama Administration is actually holding "peace talks" with the Taliban -- an act of pure desperation.
Let's be clear: From Korea to Cuba to Vietnam to Iran to Lebanon to Somalia to Kosovo to Iraq to Afghanistan—all these wars were, and continue to be, unarguably AMERICAN DEFEATS. All of them were both political and military LOSSES.
Among those of us who actually follow current events from around the globe, rather than those ubiquitous "reality" shows on TV, there is much concern for the current security of the US. The next really BIG war is at our doorstep ... and the US (her military AND her civilian population) is/are not prepared. Not even close.
There is more than ample reason to believe there will be combat on American shores. Are we prepared? NO! We can expect the slaughter of American civilians. Are we prepared? NO!
Are we prepared for mass evacuations of areas of the US deemed too toxic as the result of nuclear radiation? Of course -- WE ARE NOT. Are we ready to fight with our backs against the wall? No, we are not.
Are Americans ready to fend for themselves, for food, water, shelter, safety, all without any government to truck in food, water, housing, and armed guards to protect us? NO! We are not!
But -- it IS coming. And the outcome is far from clear, except to say the US has only about a 50-50 chance of surviving a war on our own shores TODAY.
Until America steps back and takes a long, hard, look at what it has become, and determines to reclaim its former stature, its former character, its former belief in its own exceptionalism, and most importantly, its "trust in God" America's downward spiral will not only continue but can be expected to hasten in circularity and descendance.
Much of the evangelical Christian community in America can -- and will -- tell you that America is currently under a curse from God. I have come to believe, or as the experts say: "I have concluded" those bible thumpers may well be right! For any American willing to take the blinders off an actually consider the world we live in today, it becomes immediately obvious that something is massively WRONG.
IF America is indeed, under a curse from God, then yes, we can expect to be invaded, defeated, reduced to slaves!
There most certainly is a day of reckoning at hand.
"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!" 2nd Samuel, Chapter 1, Verse 25. Comparing America of the 20th century to America of the 21st century, the previous bible quote is more than an apt description. It is spot on.
A nation that cannot defend itself cannot survive. A nation that does not have the will to defend itself most certainly will not survive. If, indeed, America has won it last war, then it seems clear that America's future of defeat and enslavement is not just predictable, it is certain.
© J. D. Longstreet
A Lack of COURAGE. A Loss of WILL
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*************************
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. ... Ezekiel 7:14 (The Bible)
Courage is a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain with determination to persevere and overcome until victory is realized.
America's LAST great General, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, was wont to say: "There is no substitute for victory." Truer words were never spoken.
As I write, America is under nuclear threat from North Korea. Even if North Korea does not possess the missile power to send a nuclear tipped missile to the west coast of the US, it surely can strike Hawaii and numerous American bases closer to Korea than that.
Technically, the US is STILL at war with North Korea. All this time we have been living with only a "cease fire" agreement. Fighting could erupt at any moment.
The one man who could have ended it in the nineteen-fifties was Gen. MacArthur. President Truman fired him partly due to what Truman thought was insubordination -- and -- partly because Truman was afraid MacArthur would run against him as the republican candidate for President in the next election. Had MacArthur run -- he would have won. (My opinion, of course.)
See, we were not in Korea to win! Korea was the first war under America's new policy of "Limited War." It was a UN sponsored war. It was referred to as a "police action."
We did not win. At best, it has been a tie ever since. BUT -- that war is not over.
And it would be thus even unto today. (at least to this writing.)
Vietnam -- a loss.
Iraq -- a loss.
Afghanistan -- a loss.
You may protest, but I'm here to tell you that in warfare anything less than victory is a loss -- period! Anything less than victory emboldens your enemies and insures a constant state of warfare will exist forever -- unless and until the cowardly country (Let's not kid ourselves. That's what it is. Cowardice!) finds it's long lost courage and begins to act (and react) as a powerful nation should and not as a weakling giant.
America's Limited Warfare policy has been in place since the Bay of Pigs invasion. Oh, that little battle in southern Iraq and Kuwait was only a single battle, for all intents and purposes. And we didn't even finish that one.
"Limited Warfare," don't you see?
We had to go back to Iraq.
One must surmise that the United States, with all its power, its unmatched power anywhere on the globe, is simply afraid to use that power. The US today reminds me of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of OZ story. Often we appear to others as a panicked elephant bellowing in fear and trying to escape the tiny little mouse scurrying across the floor near it.
Frankly, it is embarrassing.
And today we are further emasculating our military with downsizing, budget cuts, homosexuals serving openly, and the latest -- women in combat roles. Our enemies are laughing the rear ends off at our stupidity! They cannot believe their good fortune.
I am reminded of the following piece of scripture: "And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass ... " Leviticus 26:19 (The Bible) America no longer has the WILL TO WIN. America no longer has the courage to engage an enemy in a life or death struggle and see it through to total victory.
Look. Modern Americans are not the men and women of courage, determination, and dedication to freedom and liberty that the men and women of the "greatest generation" were.
I often think that if America could afford it we would simply hire another country's military to defend us ... oh, say, the Israeli Defense Forces, perhaps.
Take a look at our military today... especially at the leaders of our military. They're politician soldiers -- parade ground generals -- paper tigers. Even our Commander-in-Chief is unsure as to which end of a rifle the round is expelled, the muzzle or the butt. He has shown us many times that he is frightened by any rifle painted black. It appears he is much more interested in the creation of his own Praetorian Guard called the Department of Homeland Security.
The point is -- our military is, for all intents and purposes, leaderless. We have a military today, which is an army of lions led by a sheep!
Today, as we are desperately trying to extract ourselves from Afghanistan, it is plain to see the "pride of our power" is so obviously broken. Our "will to win" simply does not exist. When President Obama announces his EXIT PLAN from Afghanistan before he sends troops into battle, one can little doubt total victory is playing any part, at all, in the US efforts, or lack thereof, in Afghanistan. In fact, little known to most Americans, the Obama Administration is actually holding "peace talks" with the Taliban -- an act of pure desperation.
Let's be clear: From Korea to Cuba to Vietnam to Iran to Lebanon to Somalia to Kosovo to Iraq to Afghanistan—all these wars were, and continue to be, unarguably AMERICAN DEFEATS. All of them were both political and military LOSSES.
Among those of us who actually follow current events from around the globe, rather than those ubiquitous "reality" shows on TV, there is much concern for the current security of the US. The next really BIG war is at our doorstep ... and the US (her military AND her civilian population) is/are not prepared. Not even close.
There is more than ample reason to believe there will be combat on American shores. Are we prepared? NO! We can expect the slaughter of American civilians. Are we prepared? NO!
Are we prepared for mass evacuations of areas of the US deemed too toxic as the result of nuclear radiation? Of course -- WE ARE NOT. Are we ready to fight with our backs against the wall? No, we are not.
Are Americans ready to fend for themselves, for food, water, shelter, safety, all without any government to truck in food, water, housing, and armed guards to protect us? NO! We are not!
But -- it IS coming. And the outcome is far from clear, except to say the US has only about a 50-50 chance of surviving a war on our own shores TODAY.
Until America steps back and takes a long, hard, look at what it has become, and determines to reclaim its former stature, its former character, its former belief in its own exceptionalism, and most importantly, its "trust in God" America's downward spiral will not only continue but can be expected to hasten in circularity and descendance.
Much of the evangelical Christian community in America can -- and will -- tell you that America is currently under a curse from God. I have come to believe, or as the experts say: "I have concluded" those bible thumpers may well be right! For any American willing to take the blinders off an actually consider the world we live in today, it becomes immediately obvious that something is massively WRONG.
IF America is indeed, under a curse from God, then yes, we can expect to be invaded, defeated, reduced to slaves!
There most certainly is a day of reckoning at hand.
"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!" 2nd Samuel, Chapter 1, Verse 25. Comparing America of the 20th century to America of the 21st century, the previous bible quote is more than an apt description. It is spot on.
A nation that cannot defend itself cannot survive. A nation that does not have the will to defend itself most certainly will not survive. If, indeed, America has won it last war, then it seems clear that America's future of defeat and enslavement is not just predictable, it is certain.
© J. D. Longstreet
Tangerine & Fuchsia m i x
While you seeing this post I am still in New York having a great time with Bogdan for my birthday, but I'm also working on a new project.
I will tell you more about the project next week.
Meantime this is how I manifest my enthusiasm for Spring and warm weather: Colors, Colors, Colors!!!
"Color me PINK" said my inner voice one morning... so pink & tangerine it was! Voila!
A bold happy mix!
Blazer: Coldwater Creek/ option Here
Shirt: vintage
Pants: Gap/ option Here
Bag: Joe Fresh
Heels: BCBGeneration
Necklace: thanks to SweepStreet / Here
Cuff bracelet: St.Thomas/ option Here
Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren
The Reemergence of Mitt Romney at CPAC...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Romney at CPAC 2013. The reemergence of the Mitten. A man that is as close to a chameleon as there ever was.The crowd eats it up.
Wondering if the rEpublican socons and neocons will ever get it right.
Via: Memeorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Romney at CPAC 2013. The reemergence of the Mitten. A man that is as close to a chameleon as there ever was.The crowd eats it up.
THE HILL - GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appealed for the Republican Party to learn from the mistakes of his losing 2012 presidential campaign and, as conservatives chart their course forward, to look to GOP governors for a path to future electoral wins.
Romney received perhaps the most enthusiastic reception yet of any speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference, with a packed auditorium offering him an extended standing ovation before he began.
He told the CPAC crowd that while he "left the race disappointed that we didn't win," he remained optimistic for future success — if the party learns from his campaign.
"We've lost races before, in the past, but those setbacks prepared us for larger victories. It's up to us to make sure that we learn from our mistakes, and my mistakes, and that we take advantage of that learning to make sure that we take back the nation, take back the White House, get the Senate and put in place conservative principles," he said.
The speech marked a reemergence of sorts for Romney, who has quietly returned to private life following his defeat.
Many Republicans have blamed Romney for losing a winnable race to President Obama, criticizing him as a poor candidate who ran a flawed campaign. The loss caught many in the party off-guard — Romney included — due in part to faulty assumptions about turnout and mistaken polling.
Some Republicans have also charged Romney was not conservative enough, and didn't cut a stark enough contrast to Obama.
Skip
"As someone who just lost the last election, I'm probably not in the best position to chart the course for the next one," Romney admitted.
"That being said, let me offer this advice. And perhaps because I'm a former governor, I would urge us all to learn the lessons that come from some of our greatest success stories, and that's 30 Republican governors across the country," he added.
The former Massachusetts governor's loss in November has sparked a party-wide recalibrating, as the GOP looks to avoid the mistakes of 2012. {Read More
Wondering if the rEpublican socons and neocons will ever get it right.
Via: Memeorandum
Read Meat for the Pack...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Senator Rubio tossing out some red meat for the hungry at CPAC.
Rubio is right about one thing for certain. The left will criticize his speech for no new ideas. Perhaps they have a valid point.
View video of speech.
Via: Memeorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Senator Rubio tossing out some red meat for the hungry at CPAC.
HuffPo - Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) threw some social conservative red meat to CPAC-goers on Thursday in a rant against Democrats who criticize him and members of his party for opposing same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
"Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot," he said, his words drowned out by cheers from the crowd as he talked about his belief in the protection of human life "at every stage of its development."
"The people who are actually closed-minded in American politics are the people who love to preach about the certainty of science with regards to our climate but ignore the absolute fact that science has proven that life begins at conception," he continued.
Rubio does not often speak so forcefully on social issues, but if there's any venue to do it, it's CPAC. His speech was wildly popular: he entered the stage to the first standing ovation of the day, and drew applause every time he took a sip of water. (He also made plenty of jokes about water, a nod to his awkward sip during a post-State of the Union speech.)
His CPAC remarks focused largely on economic issues, from lowering taxes to defunding Obamacare...
Skip
"As soon as I'm done speaking, I'll tell you what the criticism on the left is going to be," Rubio said. "Number one, he drank too much water. Number two: that he didn't offer any new ideas. {Read More}
Rubio is right about one thing for certain. The left will criticize his speech for no new ideas. Perhaps they have a valid point.
View video of speech.
Via: Memeorandum
He's Back! Like the Bad Habit That Just Won't Go Away...
by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -VS- Tyranny
And just when we thought (and hoped) the pontificating socon ex Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum had taken his last gasp of political hot air in 2012. Guess we might not be so lucky...
Nice Rick, you're sounding like the broken record that you are.
Rick, you are sounding exactly like you did in 2012. Here's an idea for ya, get a new template. The old one has worn thin. Maybe tiy and the Mittens can get together and work on "A Plan."
Could this be the future?
Just saying...
Via: Memeorandum
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -VS- Tyranny
And just when we thought (and hoped) the pontificating socon ex Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum had taken his last gasp of political hot air in 2012. Guess we might not be so lucky...
The Hill - Former Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum on Friday delivered an emotional address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, inspired by the death of his nephew the night before, that indicated he has no plans to fade from the political spotlight anytime soon.
Speaking to a full auditorium that received him with enthusiastic but sometimes uneven applause, Santorum attacked the left for currying favor with Americans by offering "stuff" and charged that conservatives need to stand by their principles.
"What does it profit a movement to gain the count and lose its own soul?" he said.
And in a line that echoed Romney's comment about losing because President Obama gave certain demographic groups "gifts," Santorum charged that "the left can always promise more stuff."
Nice Rick, you're sounding like the broken record that you are.
"If all we do this weekend is offer Americans a better way to get more stuff in hopes that this will dull their pain, we and America will lose," he said.
Rick, you are sounding exactly like you did in 2012. Here's an idea for ya, get a new template. The old one has worn thin. Maybe tiy and the Mittens can get together and work on "A Plan."
Read the Rest
Could this be the future?
Just saying...
Via: Memeorandum
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