Look Inside Yourself...

Some of the video games I have most anticipated this year and some last year are filled with needless profanity.  And not just random swearing resulting from a fit of anger (not that that is even remotely OK), but the characters talk like loggers in normal conversation.  And these games are targeting kids from grade school to old dudes like me.  In most cases, the swearing is awkward, like the computer nerds that wrote these games had a quota of curse words to use and sprinkled them throughout the games randomly.  Personally, I don't think it adds anything to the games, I think it reduces their likability.

 Most of the heroes from the silver screen I remember from when I was a kid, either didn't swear at all, or only used one or maybe two curse words in an entire movie.  Frankly, I am more troubled that the barrage of gutter talk and sex in these games is far more detrimental to our kids than the use of guns are.  I think kids today are exposed to way too much negative influence than even when I was a kid.  They lose their precious innocence at an early age, and it's my money hungry generation that is all too willing to profit at any cost and using anything to sell their wares to kids through any means they can.

 This obviously isn't anything you can legislate away, it is the essence of why a lot of things that used to be part of every day commerce are now demonized as evil Capitalism, when it's the evil in the hearts and souls of men left unchecked by society, and in some cases defended as free speech that are to blame. To we who believe, a much simpler word for it is "sin".  To me, this kind of a lack of moral restraint is at the root of the free market and our very society's demise today, and OUR lack of fortitude and willingness to identify the culprits and single out the offenses as bad business is just as much to blame.  Instead we let politicians and the willing news media propagandize bad behavior as belonging to an inanimate object that should be taken from the populace, as if evil will stop if one of the tools is prohibited. Or we let them spin a yarn of blaming some external force, or congenital anomaly for evil behavior.  Jesus clears it up in Mark 7:5 by saying "Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them".

The Eagles had a song on their "Hell Freezes Over" album called "Get Over It" which I find very appropriate for what is needed for our country.  We need to quit blaming everything but the cause of the evils today and forgo the loss of money, political correctness, propaganda, and the like, and not settle for anything less than the men and women that founded this country settled for.  They left England to escape some of the very things we are trying to embrace as a nation today.  The irony would be laughable if it weren't so sad.

I'm Mad

All the talk of the need for additional tax revenue, and the screams of bloody murder at the idea of reducing spending, are symptomatic of a government that is not acting in our best interest.  They aren’t even using common sense.  In fact, there is nowhere in the world, but in a government setting in which one could get away with what they’re doing.  The latest local “crisis” is the supposed need to increase our fuel costs to fix roads in our state. 

I believe the question that begs to be asked of our elected officials is:  What happened to the monies that were supposed to be used for road maintenance?  Why aren’t you budgeting for this?  The cost of maintaining roads hasn’t increased to the degree that more revenue is necessary.  Our state is not so different from other states, why then can some of them return unused monies to their constituents?  The answer is these three things:  budgeting, budgeting, and budgeting.  You might have to speak slowly to our state officials and spell it out, as this is obviously a foreign concept to them.  It also involves work.

If their answer is wages and benefits are eating the funds up, then again I must ask: Why are you using funds for roads for paying employees?  And where else in the world can you decide to spend less making product to pay more wages?  This isn’t the land of Oz, and the union and government employees won’t melt if this year’s contract is less money than last.  We in the private sector have been doing what we do with less and less for the last 5+ years.  In part, so our government and its employees can keep the lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to, and then some.

I am sick and tired of the attitudes our elected officials are taking with us.  They seem even more emboldened to act dishonorably after the election of late.  I am even more disappointed that people don’t seem to care how much their own money is wasted and will line up to give even more to the bottomless pit we call our government.  I’m no prophet, but I can say with relative certainty that if we continue to remain apathetic to the way we are treated by the media in our country, and by our government that refuses to work for us, soon we will be oppressed like never before in these United States.  History testifies to it, as this isn’t the first time a government has gone in a tyrannical direction.  Actually, the USA is the exception to the rule, and one of the last truly free countries left in the world.

What’s the answer?  I used to think voting, but I believe our system of election has sadly been corrupted to the point it is untrustworthy.  At this point, I believe bringing the deeds of our elected officials to the light of day and not let them set the narrative for what they are doing is a good start.  Throwing out the Republican and Democrat party lines from one’s thought process is another, as it keeps the masses divided sufficiently so the ruling class can do as they want under the guise of whatever cover story they tell to their devotees.  Don’t let peripheral or social issues take our eyes off the goal of making our leaders act in our behalf.  Don’t be afraid to dialog about it, after all it IS important.  If someone says they hate politics, answer “me too, but I don’t like what our government is doing to my kids future”.  What’s more important than our children’s wellbeing?  At this point there lives will be drastically different than ours, not for the better, unless we do something about it. 

Anymore, when I see a news snippet of a politician talking about the need for revenue or the horrific results of reducing even the rate of increase that they spend money, I immediately see a picture of Peter Finch delivering his “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” lines from the movie “Network”, in the same way adults sound to the cartoon characters in Charlie Brown.  I can see their lips move, but I only hear “I’m mad as hell…”

The definition of lunacy:

1.       Printing money and spending your way to prosperity.

2.       Taking guns from lawful people and expecting criminals to obey the same edicts.

3.       Throwing billions and billions of taxed dollars at social programs for an endless war on poverty.

4.       Taxing the rich as a way to elevate the middle and lower class.

5.       Thinking you’re all that and hoping for a third term.

6.       Believing the establishment media, and mistaking their propaganda for actual news.

7.       Believing a government that won’t stop spending, says they won’t raise your taxes, borrows or prints over 40 cents of every dollar they spend, can’t even come close to funding Medicare and Social Security, but wants to take over a private industry like , oh ,say medicine.  All the while, letting something small, like a constitutionally mandated budget slide for over 4 years…

I’m not trying to be a downer, but come on, I don’t know any household, or business in the USA that would try any of these ideas and be successful.  And nowhere in history has any nation survived this kind of treachery.  I understand nobody wants to be mired down in political talk, and for the most part, me neither, but this kind of activity taking place in our lands highest office is criminal, and should be called out for what it is and opposed vehemently.

The positive side to this equation being demonstrated as the old saying goes: “There are no atheists in foxholes”.  When the going gets tough, spiritual growth abounds and our cognitive dependence on God increases exponentially.  That part is good.  Unfortunately, it all takes place at the expense of our country we all love.  (Sorry , I sound like Peter…)

The answer?  I always hear my friends on the left asking for alternatives, instead of criticism, I don’t think the conservatives in our land could be any clearer.  I believe it is a matter of what the Bible calls deprivation.  When we lose our way because we fail to teach our children the values that made our country great, we are susceptible to believe anything, the ideology of liberalism and first stage thinking is much easier to fall into if you have nothing to compare it to.  It’s not that we aren’t trying to do right by our children, but the opposition has monopolized the media, schools, universities, and government.  There may have been a time, but I believe we have past the tipping point.  Miracles can always happen, so I am not giving up, however, it appears we are going to have to go through some tougher times rather than avoid them by following the ideas that built this country.

But brothers and sisters, be of good cheer, fight the good fight, don’t back down and be intimidated into whatever the belief of the day is, even if everybody is doing it.  God is in control, and we aren’t the first to walk down this road.  I will leave you with one of my favorite verses:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, (or the times we live in) for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

                                                                                                                                                   Deuteronomy 31:6

I can’t help think there are more of us, than there are of the folks that are changing this country’s course, so dividing us is their main weapon.  If we could celebrate our likenesses, and work together, I believe we could defeat the current movement in our land.  Having said that, it is my hope that we can convince our neighbors in a kind manor, that the way things are is NOT how God, or our founders set this country forth.                                                                             

God Bless.

Endorsing murder, and preventing it...

The nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, reports it received $542 million from government sources in 2011-2012 while performing 995,687 abortions from 2009-2011. In 2011 alone, its clinics performed 333,964 abortions.  That breaks down to over $1600 per killing taxpayers are paying for.  It's no wonder with a money grubbing murderous industry like that, 2011 was a year of record low birth rates in the USA.  Babies don't stand a chance with an industry like that, and an all too willing populace to aid them in their mission.
 It's kind of hard to take a political party seriously that claims it wants to disarm the populace to save lives, while at the same time incorporates killing an exponentially larger number of innocent babies in their mother's wombs as a part of their party platform.  What kind of barbarians have we become?
As a popular and influential member of the media said of guns, which have been a part of our culture for over 200 years, "Stop the insanity". Personally, I can't think of anything more insane than organized killing of nearly one in ten of the babies born in a country simply to evade the responsibility of caring for them.

Zeitgeist: The Addendum Movie Review...

I have a mini movie review.  My bride and I watched Zeitgeist: The Addendum a couple of nights ago on Netflix.  I must say I was riveted to the first half of this movie.  It dealt with, and explained how money is created and used in the United States and the world.  It then went on to describe business practices of huge investment companies and the subsidiaries they control.  The movie put forth a convincing explanation how our monetary system is based on debt.  Even the act of repaying debt causes more debt, wow.

The second part of the first half of the movie explained how big business goes into under-developed countries and offers them huge loans to improve their infrastructures in trade for considerations having to do with their natural resources, and in almost all cases, the outcome is worse for the countries inhabitants than before they arrived, and through the countries eventual inability to repay the loans, the big companies ultimately get a lock on their resources.  Needless to say, it painted a bleak picture of how greedy big money corporations are, and their total disregard for anything other than profit.

The information in this movie seemed plausible and had interviews with people that had first-hand information.  It didn’t leave me with a good feeling about our government, but I have become quite disillusioned with them by now anyway, due to their dastardly deeds of late.  The graphic interludes were almost over the top, but it added to the mood they were trying to present.

The second half of the movie, and especially toward the end, was an attack on Christianity, and all other religions.  I suppose at least they were an equal opportunity basher of beliefs.  As a Christian, I was disappointed they came at Christianity in the classic know-nothing style antagonists do if they are reaching for low hanging fruit.  They misinterpreted scripture, attributed ideas Christianity opposes to Christianity, maligned its leaders, and so on.  This to me was disappointing, as it subtracted from their overall credibility from the first half of the movie.  I left me wondering if they were missing the mark in their explanations of the world economic malaise as badly as they had misrepresented Christianity.

Along with their exposition on the evils of organized religion, they segued into their idea of what the inhabitants of planet earth should do to avert the looming crisis from the greed of governments and huge corporations.  They presented a guy that claimed to be a “social engineer”, and he unveiled his idea of basically a utopian society, where work was not necessary, but in his description, automation was king.  His society was not based on profit, but blissful coexistence, with the absence of greed.

Very notably, this wonderful society of his, sported tenets of caring for the fellow man told in such a way to make the viewer comfortable that this new society would be the author of kindness and generosity.  On one hand the movie blasted organized religion, then recited the same principles Jesus taught during his ministry, as a means of living in harmony and regaining our joy, except they left out the the idea that our joy is found in the Lord.  I can understand the idea that people reject God, but why not do so in silence.  Why the need to destroy something you don’t believe in?  If it isn’t real, no threat, right? (Rhetoric)  

All in all, I recommend this documentary as a source for understanding the corruption of our economic system.  I think the makers of this movie did a great job of simplifying something as clandestine and corrupt as the powers that be in this world. However, if you are a believer, and are offended easily, then the last half of this movie will hurt your feelings.  It isn’t blasphemous, (maybe a little), just negative and antagonistic, very needlessly.  I give this movie three stars ★★★.