Reaffirmation that the Nobel Peace Prize is Meaningless

Lets review some of the recent winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994: Yasser Arafat - President of the Palestinian National Authority

2002: Former President Jimmy Carter
The reason he was given the award translates into his 20+ years of pushing his socialist agenda on the rest of the world. The same socialist agenda that gave us double digit inflation and record unemployment.

2007: Former Presidential Candidate Al Gore
He was recognized with the award for his efforts to promote knowledge of and spark further efforts to counteract the mythological phenomenon of man-made global warming (which has since been renamed "climate change" in light of the fact that the cyclical nature of the Earth's climate brought about cooling to further dash the leftists claims that the Earth is getting warmer.) Essentially this recognition came because of his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," the premise of which is 11 admitted "untruths," or LIES!

...And Finally..

2009: The messiah himself, Barak Obama.
President Obama's nomination for the award was official on February 1. That is 11 days after he was sworn in as president. In those 11 days his time was mostly spent arguing with Rush Limbaugh and touring various foreign cities apologizing for America and its "arrogance." Essentially Obama was nominated based on his presidential campaign and what the socialist lefties who dole out the award expect his policies and actions to be during his term. Furthermore, it was likely given to him in an effort to thwart even more the likelihood that he, as president of the United States, would take any strong action towards corrupt regimes such as the Iranian government fronted by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who denies the holocaust, swears by a philosophy that wishes to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and is rapidly developing nuclear weapons which would give him the ability to do so.

Before today's announcement I had already decided that the Nobel Peace Prize deserved little if any credibility. This confirms that position.

I Officially Wil Not be Purchasing an iPhone Because:

For the reasons outlined in the following Michelle Malkin blog posting, I now can say with the highest level of certainty that I will not be purchasing an iPhone, nor consciously supporting Apple in any way. These corporations who are playing the game of bowing to the Obamas and the rest of the leftists in order to emerge as a favorite of "The Party" when the socialist state does away with the freedoms that have made America the greatest nation on the face of the planet are just despicable.

Read Michelle Malkin's blog here

Favre, Strasburg, and Bertuzzi

So.. Favre is back....again. First he screws the Packers last year (And blames the team for how they handled the situation). Now, after insisting that he is retired for good, he signs a $25 Million contract for tow years with the Vikings. But he screwed them too. He waited until after training camp and after the first two pre-season games because he doesn't like camp. He claimed a rotator cuff problem, but I don't buy it. Favre has become the latest poster boy for lack of class.

In baseball...
Number one overall pick, Stephen Strasburg signed a $15 Million deal last night for four years with the Nationals. Strasburg has never pitched a single inning above college ball yet he is signing a deal like this. This entitlement syndrome (Like I mentioned previously) is catching on and it's not a good thing. Kansas City draft pick (#12 overall) Aaron Crow was drafted ninth overall last year by the Nationals, but failed to sign a deal and played in an independent league last year then re-entered the draft this year. He is exempt from the deadline this year and has until one week from next years draft to sign. The deal he turned down from Washington was worth $3.5 Million. Why do these agents keep filling these kids' heads with nonsense?! The first contract is not the important one. If they are any good, they will get to the show and make their dough. At this pace these kids are just making everyone mad.

And in hockey...
The Wings, who have seen several forwards leave for various destinations this offseason, just signed thug Todd Bertuzzi to a $1.5 Million deal. Yes, that Bertuzzi. I love the Wings, but I still don't know whether Bertuzzi deserves to be in the league. His victim, Steve Moore, who was in the middle of his first full season, still hasn't played another NHL game since the suckerpunch. Is it fair that Bertuzzi has played several seasons since?

How Jeremiah is Relevent Today

First, let me apologize for taking six days between posts. I may not have many readers out there, but I might have a few. Its been a week filled with work, week 1 of Disciple Bible Study, and a lack of muse, so to speak.

Now, onto things that matter. In Jeremiah 23, God tells the Hebrew people:

Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams. They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least.

Declares the Lord, in verse 32.

Immediately our president and the leaders of Congress came into my mind when I red this passage this morning. I think of the rhetoric and bold-faced lies being thrown about concerning health care (d/r)eform. Through Jeremiah, God is warning his people about false prophets who speak of magical, Utopian ideas and only tell the masses what they want to hear. There are many examples of such idea politicking, it is not just a phenomenon common to Washington D.C. It just seems to show up most often in D.C.

Friends, it is up to us to actively seek out God and listen to his direction. We must follow the command God gives us in II Chronicles, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Pray for our country. Pray for our country's leaders. Repent. A common theme of the prophets is repent and turn from our ways of sin. Repent and Pray.

Entitlement Syndrome

San Francisco 49ers #1 Draft pick is a prime example of one of the major flaws impacting America today. The former Texas Tech University star wide receiver, Michael Crabtree, is yet to sign a contract with the 49ers, who have the exclusive rights to sign him. Crabtree is threatening to hold out all year and re-enter the NFL draft next year if the Niners fail to offer him the money that he says he "deserves." Crabtree is yet to prove a thing about himself and his ability to compete in the NFL except that he has a star sized ego. The since of entitlement displayed in the sentiment that he is "owed" a certain exorbitant amount before having earned anything is, unfortunately not unique to Crabtree. We each see it everyday in the people we interact with. Most everyone seems to think that they are entitled to certain privileges and prizes. Sometimes they believe the government owes them, other times it is their employer, or some other party. None of these people have done anything to deserve these rewards, in fact the Bible tells us that what we deserve is eternal damnation. I believe this entitlement sentiment is getting us further into trouble. Where is personal responsibility?

If I were the 49ers, I would hold Crabtree to his word and make him sit out all year. They will have greater success without him and he is ruining his own chances for finding a team that will welcome him in the future.

ABC Coverage of the Sotomayor Confirmation

ABC is the latest of the media juggernauts to blatantly display their liberal bias. The network referred to the confirmation of Sotomayor as a "Jackie Robinson" moment. The problem is that all these democrat senators who according to the left did such a great thing by confirming the first Hispanic justice to the court are mainly the same democrats who, in 2001, had the opportunity to confirm a Bush nominee, Miguel Estrada, to a lower court, the D.C. Court of Appeals. Rather than do so, however, they conducted a filibuster and Estrada never received a vote. Estrada was magna cum laude at Columbia University and later the same at Harvard Law. From there he went on to have a fantastic career. The mainstream media had no problem with the democrats opposing the nomination of Estrada to the D.C. Court of Appeals, yet they were in complete upheaval at those who voiced legitimate dissent with the nomination of Sotomayor, who is an outspoken racist and has been praised for her ideals of decisions based on empathy, rather than the law and the opportunity to legislate from the bench. This double standard is disgusting.

New Racism - The Confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor

New racism is just as bad as old racism. And now, the U.S. Senate is supporting it. Today, the senate voted 68 - 31 to confirm Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. I believe this is a terrible precedent. The nine republicans who rejected their principles (part of the reason I do not claim to be a republican, but rather a conservative) will be listed later.

Sotomayor is one of the justices who decided that the Connecticut fire department that threw out the results of the promotion exam due to the fact that only one minority candidate scored a grade worthy of promotion was legitimate. It was a case of racism that was later overruled by a higher court. The racism was against the 16 white males who worked hard and scored a grade that would have made them eligible (out of 17 total who passed, the other was an Hispanic male).

Sotomayor is also the justice who as a guest lecturer stated that a wise Latina's experiences would lend her to make better decisions than a white male. She is stating publicly, as a guest lecturer at university campuses, that she is racist.

One of the characteristics of Sotomayor that President Obama stated publicly as a reason for her selection was her likelihood to make decisions with a level of "empathy." The bench is not supposed to look at a person's position. The bench is supposed to make decisions based on the law and the Constitution.

As promised, here are the nine republicans that voted to confirm Sotomayor, courtesy of Fox News:
George Voinovich of Ohio, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Kit Bond of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Mel Martinez of Florida, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

I feel like we are living in Israel or Judah circa 600 B.C. We are headed the wrong direction. Will we listen to those trying to warn us, or like Israel and Judah will we be overcome?

Truth and The Remnant

I am blessed by many things in my life. I have a beautiful wife who loves me and loves God. I have a job, and I enjoy what I do. I am healthy and so is most of my family. I could go on and on.

Another of the many blessings in my life is that my pastor shares and reinforces many of the beliefs and opinions that I have. In fact, I believe that all of the ministers at my church are fantastic and I appreciate the fact the God has placed each of them where they are.

The pastor that I speak of and I both believe that there is a right and a wrong. Apparently, according to a recent Gallup poll that Pastor Fleming cited, he and I are in the minority. In the poll, over 70% of Americans agreed with the statement that, "there is no such thing as objective truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct." Pastor Fleming went on to say in his sermon the following four points which are the backbone for this post:

I. It matters what we believe.
I remember speaking the same idea 11 years ago when I was a graduating senior in high school. I encouraged my fellow students in the church to take the time to know what they believed.

II. It matters that what we believe is the truth.
I could reiterate Pastor Fleming's words here, but I suspect that this blog will be long enough.

III. There is such a thing as truth.
As Pastor Fleming says, God has revealed to us that we can know Jesus Christ, and he, and only he, can save us, and that is truth. There are some things that God has not clearly revealed and in these matters we must not be rigid. However, on the things in which God has clearly made himself known, we must not waiver.

IV. Truth is unchanging.
God's truth is the same today as it was 6000 years ago, and before the world began. It will be the same for all eternity. Likewise, it is the same here in Georgia as it is across the country or across the world.

In II Timothy chapter 4, Paul tells us that there will be many false prophets and those false prophets will be welcomed because they will tell the people what the people want to hear. The prophet Amos was scolded by King Jeroboam and his false prophet. Jeroboam was close to this false prophet because this false prophet told the king what he wanted to hear. Amos, contrarily, spoke God's call for Israel to repent and return to God. The king and the people did not want to listen.

Amos is not the only prophet like this. There have been many. Jeremiah spoke out to Judah, but he too was outcast. Judah's sins were so great that God told Jeremiah to not intercede for them because he (God) would not listen. He also instructed Jeremiah to be celibate, and not to attend funerals or mourn the deceased as a statement against the evil in Judah.

I discovered Jay Albert Noch while reading an issue of National Review magazine. Noch has an essay called, "Isaiah's Job." That is a job like a chore, not Job, the man that God was so proud of 5000 years ago in the time of Genesis. Noch points out that when God called Isaiah, he warned him that the people would not listen. Isaiah wondered why God was sending him, if the people would not listen. God's response was that Isaiah was being sent for the benefit of the remnant, those that didn't drink the mainstream Kool-Aid. This lesson is important today just as much as it was then. There are going to be times when we need to speak the truth. There is truth. Many, likely most, will not listen. Speak the truth for the remnant.

Credit to Rev. Terry Fleming for his sermon titled, "The Importance of Good Doctorin'[sic]"
and to Mr. Jay Albert Noch for his essay, "Isaiah's Job"

Nancy Pelosi and Pres. Obama are Attempting to Pull a Fast One

The report is that Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and President Obama are planning to "bulldoze" Nationalized Healthcare through the house THIS week. Although the president claims that those wishing to keep their current health care will be able that is barely even part true. Much like medicare (which the government has run unsuccessfully), the "public option" will force private insurance to subsidize, or pay more, so that it can pay less to the providers. Eventually, this will run all private insurers out of the market. This is only one of the many ways that everyone will be forced into the "public option."

Something ironic about this whole initiative, is that it comes about as a response to the belief that too many Americans do not have insurance. For instance, among children, only 11% are uninsured. Even among children living in poverty, over 82% HAVE health insurance. This is according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Some other figures from the Census Bureau on WHO is uninsured in 2007.
Over 21% of the uninsured people in the U.S. are not citizens. This means they don't pay taxes, nor will they when we offer them healthcare that we are going to pay for for them.
20% make OVER $75,000 in income per year. These folks have CHOSEN to not carry insurance and pay for their medical bills out of pocket and save the insurance premiums. Do we really need to "protect" them from being uninsured?
Another 20% did not work. Likewise, with no income, they are not paying taxes.
That leaves less than 40% of all uninsured people in the U.S. that do not make $75K or better, and actually pay taxes. The uninsured rate of all people in the U.S. is 15%. That means that we are planning to destroy our system for the sake of 6% of the people in the U.S.

In the bill is some shocking legislature. There is a section that discusses end of life counselling. In order to help control healtchare costs for the public, our elderly will be "counseled" on ending their life, rather than use more public healthcare. On the same lines, I can't wait for the government to force expectant mothers to have certain pre-delivery tests to see if an unborn child should be aborted rather than become a burden to the system. The bill lays the groundwork for government rationing of healtcare. My mother is a cancer survivor. I am thankful that she acquired her cancer before any of this mess happened. I would hate for the government to tell her she is not eligible for treatment because she has already satisfied her usefulness to the system.

The government is not just stopping at healthcare "De-form." The CDC announced that it favored a tax on sodas as a measure to combat obesity. The CDC chief said, "Reversing obesity is not going to be done successfully with individual effort. We are going to have to do it for you." That is awful. Not only is the government relieving us of our personal responsibility to maintain a healthy weight, but they are saying only they (the government) can control obesity.

I have to go. I need to find a sad sports story to lift my spirits.