Friday, September 30, 2011

Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh, Good Values, Abortion, and Me.

Today I was listening to a radio interview with television and movie actor, Sandra Oh, a star of Grey's Anatomy and the first Korean (or Asian) actor to get a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.   On October 1, 2011 she along with Dr. Roberta Bondar, Burton Cummings, Daniel Nestor, Russell Peters, Ryan Reynolds and Mordecai Richler will be inducted into the "walk".

But here's what I found interesting.  Sandra said her parents instilled some good values in her and central to those was the idea that we are not here for ourselves, but that we must "serve society".  I thought about that for a moment.  It sure sounded good and I'm glad people like her (though I never watch the show) are trying to help society by serving it.  Oh says that's what actors do.  They feel for us, they laugh for us, they help us understand ourselves.  

Then I thought again.  I don't know about you, but as I think while Sandra Oh is thinking she is serving society (and she may well be), she's getting pretty close to handsomely serving herself -- her need for fame and attention and money, although she adamantly tried to say "au contraire" on this interview.

I also thought that there is a big difference between instilling in a child the need to serve society versus the need to serve God.  To serve society may well be fruitless as one ends up catering to a society that may not have its best interests at heart.   To serve God on the other hand requires us to love others and help them to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, not at their expense, but at ours.  Our reward, save for the joy we feel in actually helping a fellow human being while we can, is delayed until the time God's Son says to us, "well done, thou good and faithful servant".

Later on in the interview, Sandra Oh talked about the character she has been playing on Grey's Anatomy for the last seven years.   In year one, Christina Yang gets pregnant but the network would not allow her to have an abortion.   It just wasn't right back then to do that on network television.  Now, seven years later, the character who says she was not meant to be a mother, makes the "difficult" decision to have that abortion.  Oh says this was very hard for her to play realizing so many women and young girls follow that program religiously.  She wanted them to know that having an abortion is a difficult decision that impacts not only the woman involved, but also the father of the child.   Not much was mentioned about the child being aborted of course.

All very nice, Sandra, but your character went ahead and opted for the abortion.  The bottom line message your show delivered was this: it's a difficult decision alright, but it's one you can make.   Now tell me again about all these good and possible moral values your parents instilled in you?  And by the way, I'd prefer if you and your acting colleagues let me do my own feeling, laughing, and discovering.


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5 ways tablets will change church & ministry

If you're a pastor, an associate, or a church-boardmember, here's an article you'll need to think about as you look at your church in the future. Even if you're a simply a church-goer, you need to think this one out.

Baptist Press - TECHNOLOGY: 5 ways tablets will change church & ministry - News with a Christian Perspective

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How Many More of These Do We Need Before We Demand Our Government Declare Economic and Social War Against These Countries?

I know Christians will be persecuted in the last days, but I wonder what will happen to us who just stand by and allow the persecution to take place? How many situations like this one do you/I/we need to see or hear about before we demand that our government take stronger sanctions (social and economic) against countries like Iran who persecute Christians and others in this way? I'm hoping for the sake of our faith, not many more. Take a look.

Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death: Nadarkhani Refuses to Convert - International Business Times

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Greece, EuroZone, and YOU.

An incredible analysis by STRATFOR in print and in video. I think a must see if you're into these things.

Now what does all this mean for you and I? Well, if you were born in Greece or have family there as I do, this is not good news. If you're an investor, hold on to your hat because you will be hit hard and often as long as this situation persists. If you're a Christian, keep smiling -- God is indeed in control in Greece, in the Middle East, and everywhere else. The universe is indeed unfolding slowly as He told us it would. But hey, it's good for us to notice.

Portfolio: Preparing for Greece's Failure | STRATFOR

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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

What's Happening to the Monitoring of Religious Freedom?

Here's the latest on commissions which monitor religious freedom. Take a look. Just when we need more monitoring, we're getting less. Oh wait, that's in the plan too.

WORLD Magazine | Sudden death? | Emily Belz | Sep 23, 11

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Monday, September 26, 2011

The future of censorship in Social Media.

Here's the scoop on the future of censorship in the social media -- Twitter is looking good right now. Not so for Facebook and others. Take a look.

Baptist Press - Apple, Google censoring religion, NRB says - News with a Christian Perspective

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Fine Print of Obama's Jobs Bill Reduces Charitiable Donation Tax Deduction.

Many Americans now get $0.35 off their taxes for every $1 they give to charity. Obama is reducing that to $0.28 in his bill. It's in the fine print. Here are the details.

Rescue Missions Fear Obama's Jobs Plan Will Affect Donation, Christian News

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How Christian Children Are Persecuted

This story speaks for itself. Read it. Weep. Pray.

Girl accused of blasphemy for a spelling error – The Express Tribune

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The Very Latest on the Security Council process for Palestinian Vote

They need 9 votes at the Security Council to win a 'moral' victory. Six countries have said they would vote in favor. If they get 9 votes, the U.S. will veto it. Decision could take several weeks. Here are the details. . .

UN council considers Palestinian... JPost - Arts & Culture - Arts

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Arab Spring Blooms the equivalent of "Hired Guns" in Egypt

I'll leave it up to you as to "how then should you think" about the link attached and the story therein.  Suffice it to say that its original source is indeed an Egyptian paper.

What is sad about this is what it bodes for the future.  I believe things will be very rough after any decision to boycott the PA statehood at the U.N. this coming week.    But regardless of how that goes, the long-term situation is even worse.

With practices like this all over the Arab world, can an all-out assault be far behind?  I think not.

'Egyptians paid to storm Israeli embassy i... JPost - Middle East

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An excellent example of how things work out well for Muslims in Christian-founded countries.

This is a story about a public school board allowing Muslim prayers in school facilities.  It is about the school board saying it will do all it can to accommodate its students' religious requirements.   They agree to listen to opposition but admit they will not change their minds, especially as they say the 'costs' are covered by the Muslim community.

In the article you will read about the facts of the case.  But as always, we try to distinguish between facts and truth.  The truth has to do with the purpose and significance of the story.

As I see it, here are some of the implications and other interesting aspects of this situation that you won't be reading or hearing about:

1.  Christian groups (and I bet Jewish groups) have had and would continue to have a much more difficult time getting permission to use school facilities, especially where some accommodations would be required from school staff, etc.

2.  The Muslims are working within the laws of the land.  In this case, the school's religious accommodations policy and more.

3.  The authorities are standing (or hiding) behind the laws of the land and/or their own policy.  They have no intention of changing their minds.

4.  By sheer population growth numbers themselves, the Muslims' uncoordinated efforts across the city, the province, the country will ultimately change the face of Canada.

Perhaps it is time for Christian groups (and Jewsish ones) to start asking for a) similar devotion from their followers and b) requests for facilities from their school boards to carry on their religious activities.

Also, recently I blogged about anti-Christian groups lobbying PayPal to investigate ministries among their client that are anti-homosexuality practices.

It just hit me that many Islamic websites asking for money and using PayPal are by their very nature, against homosexuals and their treatment of same around the world indicates this very clearly -- yet they weren't the object of the investigations or the allegations.   Many will miss this distinction.

Now back to the schools.  Here's the story for your own consumption and serious thought.   Your world and mine is changing daily.  Do you know it?

Tempers flare over prayer in schools - Toronto - CBC News

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Why the graduating entitlement generation is out of touch with reality.

There are few writers that usually get it right (not always mind you). Anyway, Margaret Wente of the Globe and Mail is one of them.

In this article you will see why one senior business executive said, "If what university graduates say is true, then we cannot succeed as a company in Canada." To that let me add, "If what university graduates say is true, we cannot survive as a nation in a competitive world that includes the emerging sleeping giants of India and China and others."   And I'm sure the same is true of the United States.  This is another reason why throwing more bailout stimulus money into the economy is not the answer.

But you can read all about it first-hand in her article.

Inside the entitlement generation - The Globe and Mail

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Heat is Increased: Anti-Christian lobbies convince PayPal to Investigate Ministries that oppose Homosexuality

If we don't think there's a concerted effort, orchestrated by the Enemy, to get Christians to "shut up" on homosexuality, abortion, etc., then we just are not paying attention to what's going on time and time again.  Again, chances are you won't hear this on CNN.  Unless of course, Anderson Cooper will come with some lame excuse to try "Keeping them honest" (the name of his special feature which usually interprets as let's find Christians and conservatives and nail them on any error they make).

Again, Christians need to somehow keep getting it out there in public that they love people who are homosexuals, but oppose homosexual practices as being anti-God.   Why is that so hard for people to accept?   Surely, if Obama can expect Republicans and Democrats to work together when they have such incredible philosophical differences, Christians and the GLBT can live in harmony disagreeing on each other's philosophy.   But that takes both sides to respect each other as people and not to demonize each other's character.  As Christians collectively, we have a long way to go here in 'turning the other cheek'.

Take a look at the attached and share your views on this blog.  We'd love to hear from you.

Online 'hate' campaign targets Christian sites

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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Stakes Get Higher vs. the U.S. re. upcoming vote and veto on Palestinian state. PLO threatens U.S. big time.

Well, isn't this just wonderful.  The PA -- the supposedly nicer, more reasonable faction of the two (or is it three) entities that represent Palestinians has taken the following action:

It has said it will go for full membership at the UN next week, forcing the US to veto the proposal at the Security Council, and suffer the ire of the majority of the world.  Okay, that's fair politics.  But today the PLO took the next step.

The PLO is now threatening the US that if they veto, they can kiss the possibility of a "two-state" solution good-bye.  The PLO says it may even consider dismantling the PA and allowing its more radical counter-part, Hamas, to take over.  Hamas wants to eliminate Israel and have the Palestinians take over all the land the Israelis now occupy.   The stakes keep getting higher.

And by the way, in case you missed the intricacies of the difficulty the U.S. and Obama in particular are in, the PLO now says the very reason they are going to the U.N. is because "Obama, in his last speech to the UN in 2010, talked about the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within one year."

The PA's Abbas efforts to reach an agreement through negotiations have hit a dead end, blaming Israel of course for stubbornness.  Abbas insists the long-term plan is to have a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.   He agrees that the PLO will continue to be the official representative of all the Palestinians in the meantime.



Palestinians are being called to the streets for a major protest on September 21 (Wednesday), but also to avoid violence in order to not give the Israelis "any excuses to ignite the region" -- nice shifting of blame, isn't it?  Obama has done more than inspire them, he seems to have taught them some great propaganda tactics.  Or, wait, maybe he learned them from them.

Finally, the PLO intends to insure all Palestinian refugees have the "right of return" to their original homes inside Israel.  (Of course, no mention of the Jews that have been moved from their original homes as Israel ceded more and more land over the decades of negotiations.)



Now you know my perspective, but please do read the write-up directly.  Then let us know your views.  Clearly hundreds have commented on the link itself after the article.  What we need to watch for is exactly how the U.S. and the POTUS will handle this situation.  The minute hand depicting the timing of the "end of the world" clock is possibly considering a slight move, depending on what happens next week.


PA to US: Statehood veto would 'd... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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Rex Murphy: Nails the Media for Partial Blame in Disastrous Performance of the POTUS.

If you know Rex Murphy, you know he pulls no punches. Even when it comes to his own profession. Here he gives it to the media real hard. And the topic is one of my favorites. But you've heard me saying this all along. It's a leftish-socialist media helping a leftish-socialist-pro-Islamic president.

Rex Murphy: The media’s love affair with a disastrous president | Full Comment | National Post

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Californians Banned From Studying Bible in Home -- This is Outrageous.

Chances are you won't hear much about this on CNN, so try to catch it here. This is out and out craziness -- all working towards thwarting and ultimately preventing people from being Christians. Yes, we're still a long way off. But jut how far? Take a look at this. And do something now.

The issue for me is this: I understand the need for a permit if one is running a church at home.  But having an "informal" bible study or even one that is made up of church people (that are registered elsewhere) should not be included.  Prayer in the home will be banned next if this trend continues.   Another issue to consider is this:  what does this mean for the future of the "house church movement"?

City demands Christians get permit for Bible study

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Just IN: Things Not Going Well in Libya - Gaddafi claims 354 residents killed.

Bottom-line: NATO will be criticized, including America.
Innocent people have been killed regardless of numbers. But Gaddafi should look in the mirror. It's one thing not to surrender against all odds, but it's another thing to keep on fighting hiding behind women and children.

If this thing lasts months and months as Gaddafi's people say it can, it will go down in history as one of the worse planned rebellions. Take a look. And keep an eye out for the responses of the NATO members.

NATO air strikes kill 354 in Sirte-Gaddafi's spokesman | News by Country | Reuters

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Friday, September 16, 2011

There are Religious Fanatics, then there's just Fanatics. And some of them are even Greeks.

I must admit that I was surprised when I found these pictures and then read the secondary article from the Associated Press. This is a repeat performance for this man. He accomplished nothing last time and did even less this time as his credibility had been all but gone first time around.

The only possible way to even think positively about this is to think the man is so desperate financially that he keeps setting himself on fire in protest. (In my recent visit to Greece -- including some very small villages in the countryside, I found no such people; though I'm sure there must be some.)  On the other hand, if this man were sane, he'd only do this once and see it gets him nowhere.

We can only assume that he is not "all present" where he should be and thus he keeps trying this. Now I know where the term many of my friends apply to me sometimes may come from. You know the one. "He's just another crazy Greek!"

Incredible Photos Show A Greek Man Setting Himself Alight Over Debt

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Ford TV Ad Slams Auto Bailouts - Big Business Speaks Out Creatively

You have to love this ad. Okay, if you're a Democrat, you probably don't -- but even a Democrat can give this one full marks for creativity. Oh wait, to Democrats creativity is only good when it promotes the goals of the left.

Anyway, you have to see this advertisement. It's amazing in two ways: First, the company is willing to have someone say that and secondly, they likely know they may lose some potential buyers -- like the union members who build their cars. But then again, I doubt very much that union members will give up the great discounts they get in buying one of their employer's automobiles just because the employer is taking a shot at their idol President -- no, no that's idol, not idle.

Take a look and enjoy. Then comment please.

Ford TV Ad Slams Obama Auto Bailouts - Washington Whispers (usnews.com)

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"Let him die" yelled the debate crowd in response to moderator's unfair question.

The leftists are at it again.  At the last GOP debate, Wolf Blitzer of CNN (those paragons of fairness -- both Blitzer and CNN) asked the candidates what would they do if a 30-year old who had refused to buy heatlh insurance if though his salary indicated he could afford it in spades came in needing life and death emergency treatment.  Admittedly, the candidates had a tough time answering the question.  They did so because you can't answer that question with a one-word answer, or even one sentence.  So, the audience helped out, "Let him die."   Blitzer beamed from big ear to big ear as he figured he had scored a coup for CNN, the Democrats, the liberals, the leftists, the socialists -- or collectively, the idiots, in my books.

Of course the answer in a first-world country is not "let him die".  It is much more complex than that.  I am neither a doctor nor a politician nor an economist, but if I were on a panel to adjudicate this one, I'd suggest that something closer to the right approach would along these lines (and I know many of you could improve on this):

1. Give him the necessary medical treatment to keep him alive immediately (as doctors are required to do regardless of ability to pay).
2. Then freeze all his assets, garnish his wages, have access to his bank accounts, etc.; that is, do everything you have to until and in order to recoup the costs of the service to the state, both during and after his treatment.
3. Give him one warning and then he's on his own for future emergencies -- if he has no insurance when he comes in again and the computer says "he's done this before" -- then you let him "rest in peace".   It is a crime against the state and mankind to deliberate make decisions that require someone else to pay the piper when you get sick.  (Remember we are not talking about those that cannot afford insurance -- we're talking about the guy that drives a Beamer but chooses not to buy insurance.)  This is not that much different than letting a homeless person die on the street be freezing to death because he refuses to go to a shelter in sub-zero weather.

Now, some of you may say to me, "Wow, as a Christian, you sound pretty extreme."  Maybe, but if you had a choice between using $500,000 worth of medical treatment on a rich guy or on people that couldn't afford insurance due to poverty -- and you were a Christian, which would you choose to help? 

Furthermore, the Bible tells people to "count the cost before you go to build a tower".  Let me spell that out a little differently for you.  Life has responsibilities.  If God blesses you with money, you need to use it to take care of some of those responsibilities rather than using it as you please.  That's part of counting the cost when you live the life in the fast lane.

I believe in mistakes and I believe in forgiveness.  But I don't believe in "beating the system" and getting away with it.  Even God does not let us do that -- when we die, if we had no opted for Him, we're goners.   As far as I'm concerned it's a free world.  You're free to have insurance or not.  When you opt not to, you are also opting not to get treated.    It's no different than opting for divorce -- chances are you'll see your kids a lot less, if at all.

I just wanted you to have this other 'conservative' perspective before you read the opposite arguments from the article we've linked to.   And we do want your input after that.

"Let him die": A debate question exposes the incoherence—and cowardice—of the Republican candidates' opposition to Obamacare. - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine

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Paris Leads the Way in Saying NO to Muslims, but nicely. Is the tide turning to reasonableness?

This is an interesting story about saying 'no' to a religious group.  The Americans and Canadians say it to Christians all the time, but seldom are they able to say 'no' to those of the Islamic faith.  There must be a reason for that, but that's another story.

Anyway, the city of Paris has banned "prayers on the street" and the new law was clearly aimed at Muslims.  Two mosques are involved and the city has offered to rent them some additional space.  Everyone seems to be cooperating.

I believe most would cooperate once they realize that a 'no' is a 'no' and that we need to help find alternatives.   This is also a good story.  Take a look.

BBC News - Paris ban on Muslim street prayers comes into effect

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

This Congressman Sees the Light & It is Dark, Very Dark.

I only wish that this congressman had smashed his CFL light bulb on his podium while we was speaking like Nikita Kruschev had banged his shoe when addressing the U.N. many years ago.

The current direction America is heading with respect to what kind of light you can have in your home has gone way beyond the ridiculous. This is monstrously absurd.

And the speaker is right -- if you break one of these in a high-rise, there is no way you can satisfy the "law" when it comes to disposing of it. You'll be a law breaker.

Finally, economically speaking -- every single one of these bulbs is made in the U.S.A. -- nope, wrong -- it's made in China. Nice deal if you can pull it off.

The problem is we have too many dimly-lit heads in the Administration. Take a look at this interesting video clip -- it keeps getting better as you approach the end.

Once Again, a Government 'Improvement' Makes Things Exponentially Worse � LewRockwell.com Blog

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New Death Tools for Religious Murders

Bully gone extreme and lethal. This is not an easy story to bring to you. But it makes a lot of sense. It's happening. Maybe not here in North America where the technology may be too sophisticated and could give away the source, but it's happening overseas. And it's not good.

But look what the texters in Sudan want: "a purely Islamic state" so they must "kill the infidels and destroy their churches". They claim to be aware of and are monitoring any attempts by Christians to evangelize. Christians are seen as the enemy of Islam and their "infidel influence" must be stopped through jihad. Take a look. Think. Love. Pray.

Killer words: Muslims text death threats to Christians

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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

What Exactly PLO will do at UN next week.

It's official. The PA going for full recognition at the U.N. which means they need to get 2/3rds of the vote in the General Assembly and then Security Council approval. They'll succeed at the Assembly but be vetoed by the U.S. at the Security Council.

The result will they that they'll settle for non-member observer status at the U.N. akin to that of the Vatican. (It's clear whether or not they'll need to re-apply for that.) If they get this status of non-member observer, not much will change tangibly, only politically. And they will have served their goal of making the U.S. the big, bad, ugly bogeyman that is against the Arabs.

Interesting times in the next few weeks. But don't expect the map of the Middle East to change any time soon. The details for the facts of the story are in the link below. You'll need to discern the "truth" as you seek the story's significance and meaning. And you can be sure, there is one -- this is part of the earth that God has a special vested interest in.

PLO to seek full UN recognition - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

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If They Did This in America, Hollywood wouldn't be publishing too many films.

Maybe what is taking place in India is not so bad after all. I mean it is one way to refocus our society on the value of family. Take a look at the details. The truth is that this should never be the case in the first place. But hey, actors are human.

Now here's a thought. What if we put a ban on anyone in any profession for say three years if they had an affair in that profession? Sorry, just got carried away in my thinking. Take a look at this lovely story from India.

BBC News - Ban for actress Nikhita Thukral over Darshan 'affair'

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The News Obama doesn't want, America worries about, and the World can't afford right now.

The headline of the linked article says it all --"more poor Americans than ever before".  The article gives you the 'facts'. The 'truth' however lies in the significance and meaning of the facts.  You'll need to read between the lines.

Ask yourself, what are the implications, if any, for:
1. 2012 election?
2. the American economy?
3. the future of America's foreign aid programs in light of their own needs?
4. any opportunities the anti-western cultures may seek to take advantage of?
5. churches and their efforts to address poverty locally vs. globally?
6. you, and how you will spend your next charity dollar?

Some things to think about when you're seeking the "truth" behind this story. And remember, all "Truth" flows from God and all "Truth" points to God. Now, here are the facts.  Read them and then  . . . Tell us what "Truth" you're seeing.

BBC News - Number of Americans in poverty hits record high

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Monday, September 12, 2011

A Very Hard Christian Dilemma

You are a leader in a Christian church with a large parking lot. Your church is one of two situated next to or close by a very large mosque that the FBI has informed you about.  Its leaders are training and abetting radical Islamist terrorists, some of which were involved in 9/11 and that mosque actually counseled two of the 9/11 terrorists and helped them get housing, etc., in the area.

Question: Do you allow them to use your much needed parking lot on Fridays (which is not used much by you on that day)?

Both churches say "you do". The FBI and other groups seem not to be so sure. So what does the Bible say? Jesus did say "love your enemy" and much more along those lines. In fact, at face value, one could well argue that the Christian churches have no choice but to help out the Muslim neighbors.

I'm not so sure that is taking Christ's words or those of other parts of the Gospel in context. Looking at this from a different perspective, are these churches possibly instrumental in facilitating further acts of terrorism against the United States and in turn the rest of us? Perhaps.

At the very least, I would want to place very restrict conditions and terms under which I would allow the mosque to use the parking lot -- if those were found to be broken, then the assistance is off. We need to be willing to help our enemies, but we are not to be facilitating their wrong-doings. Corrie Ten Boom had, as a Christian, to feed the Nazi soldiers, but not to help them send Jews to the gas chambers. The Good Samaritan had to help the stranger that fell among thieves, but he didn't have to help him rob others to get even.

If you read the article carefully, you'll see that perhaps helping the mosque is more a matter of 'convenience' for these churches rather than being great examples of Christian neighbors -- there is a part in there that talks about "if we didn't, we'd be in more trouble", etc., or something to that effect. Fair enough -- but let's not pretend that the only thing to do here, from a Christian perspective, is to roll over and play dead, allowing them to have their cake (parking lot) and eat it too (allowing them train and move against America).

And by the way, it is most unfortunate that the churches are in a position to feel "trapped" -- damned if they do; damned if they don't.   If we had all done our jobs properly in the first place -- we wouldn't be in this mess.   Those are my thoughts; what are yours?

D.C. churches help 9/11 mosque grow

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Sunday, September 11, 2011

Why There's a Bigger Political Storm Ahead Than We'd Like.

You have to read between the lines. The "Jobs" Act is not going to "Work". Funny how that is. A great interview with Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader by Sean Hannity -- yes, he's from Fox.

Cantor: Obama's 'All or Nothing' Approach to Jobs Bill Not the Way to Go - Interviews - Hannity - Fox News

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Armageddon being delayed again: 3 U.S. Presidents Have Used Waiver Right to Delay move of U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In 1995 (16 years ago) the U.S. passed the authorization of the move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. But it had a clause in it which allowed a President to delay such action every six months in the interests of National Security. Three presidents have used this waiver approximately 32 times in the last sixteen years.

The significance of this delay is huge to Christians.  They see the naming of Jerusalem as the unchallenged capital of Israel as a critical prerequisite to the rebuilding of the Temple on the Temple Mount.  So, in one respect, three presidents have interfered with this goal.   In another, all three may be simply doing their part to prevent the battle of Armageddon.   So, I understand their relunctance to implement this authority the Congress has given them.

But here's the interesting part of the situation.  When God says it's time, there will not be a single president, or all of them combined, that will delay the decision to declare Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel.

In the meantime, read their rationale and the implications, and be glad you have faith in the God of your Bible.

US: bill to move embassy to Jerus... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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Saturday, September 10, 2011

This One Chart Should Help You Figure Out When the President is Lying to You or He's Incompetent, or Both.

If a President promises you x (because he calls himself responsible and accountable for action in a particular area) and you keep getting y, which just doesn't cut it -- at what point do you think the President is either lying to you boldly or he's totally incompetent to serve as President. This one chart alone should help you figure that out.  

Unemployment Rates: Promised vs. Actual - By Veronique de Rugy - The Corner - National Review Online

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OMG (Obama Must Go) and Take His Legacy (10 American Records) With Him

Roger Kimball puts it all in perspective. This Pot-US has already left one of the strongest legacies of any president. In this link, you'll see the ten American records set under his presidency. The problem is that they're all negative. OMG indeed.

Roger’s Rules � Shut up, he explained

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Remember When We Ued to Say, "If Iran Goes Nuclear"? Well, those days are gone.

Here is the latest account on Iran's Nuclear capabilities and it's a very good analysis. Bottom line is that Iran can now deploy a nuclear bomb in just eight weeks from the time it says it wants to. And by the end of 2012, that time requirement will be cut in half. So much for sanctions. Got any other ideas you western leaders?

Here are the details:

No More Hypotheticals: Iran Already Is A Nuclear State | The New Republic

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Is It Possible The California Crowd Was Not Cheering for Capital Punishment?

There was an awkward moment on National TV on September 7th when it was announced that the state of Texas has executed 234 condemned murderers under Rick Perry's governorship. In his blog, adapted for RealClearReligion, Rod Dreher calls the reaction (applause) to the announcement a "vile repulsive thing". But what was the audience cheering for and how vile a thing is it really in perspective?

First of all, let me declare my position on 'capital punishment'. A) Intellectually I'd like to say, "I don't know." B) Theologically, I'd like to say "God is a God of Love and a God of Justice, so the answer often must be 'it depends'.  God's 'grace' is more about our eternal salvation than our escaping of consequences here on earth for our sins."  C) Socially, I'd like to say, "Al Capone used it as a deterrent to others who thought they could cross him, and since very few did, I believe it worked and still does as a good deterrent.  I just don't buy those who say it is not."  And finally, D) from a human perspective, I'd like to say, "no should have to die at the hands of another person, but gee whiz that goes for the victim of the murderer as well, doesn't it?"

So what was all that applause down there in California during the debate really all about?   Of course, no state of the union or any other jurisdiction for that matter is perfectly suited in making the call to execute someone.   No court is perfect.  And so on.  And yes, mistakes are made and sometimes the innocent person goes to the gallows.   (You'll be given examples in Dreher's blog.)  Let me remind you that all these bleeding hearts that cry blue bloody murder when a mistake is made with respect to capital punishment, they rejoice or at least stay silently complacent when hundreds of thousands of innocent children are murdered annually through abortions, when more and more doctors want to pursue mercy-killings of the aged (not sure whose mercy they have in mind), and now when some members of the North American public carry-out so-called 'honor-killings' because their culture or religious law calls for it.   Mr. Dreher there's no consistency in your line of argument.

Dreher also suggests that people have a strong need to believe in capital punishment.  I disagree with that.  I was a big fan of capital punishment (perhaps like Dreher himself admits he once was), and although I still accept it as the right way to go in many circumstances, I don't have the "strong need" to believe in it.  In fact, I wish we never had to exercise it -- I wish we were never put in a position to need to exercise it.  But we are.  We are because there are "vile repulsive people out there who do vile repulsive things to others especially children."   That's what's vile and repulsive Mr. Dreher, not people applauding, even for capital punishment, if they were.

If you think, however, they were applauding "for capital punishment" you are more narrow-minded or blind than I thought and certainly more narrow-minded and blind than those you accuse of being 'conservative.'  In case you can't figure it out, let me explain it to you. . .

These people were applauding (and loudly) for the guts that one state and one governor had and have to deal directly with those, and give a clear message to any potential, murderers who carry out such vile and repulsive acts as those that warrant the death penalty in their state.  That is what people were applauding for.

Dreher goes on to say he would rather have society protect itself by bloodless means if at all possible.  But to apply that argument here is weak.  First there is the issue of cost -- (bloodless equals no death penalty in this case) -- and that means a very heavy on-going cost to society for keeping a convicted murder alive, often for decades.  I'm okay with that, but it is the liberals that complain so much about costs when it comes to keeping old people alive or putting GPS tracking systems on convicted child sex offenders.   Secondly, bloodless means we are totally denying any deterrent power of execution -- something I personally believe it has, just by watching human nature -- from the age of young children right up to adults.

Once again, you've heard my side of the story.  It's best i let you get Dreher's and then you can make up your own mind. When you do, let us know how you'd vote on this one.




RealClearReligion - The Ugliness of Cheering for Capital Punishment

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Obama's Own Economist Disagrees with Pot-US's jobs plan.

Need we say anything more than that? Someone is not listening to his own experts when he puts forth ideas like extending Unemployment Insurance. Of course not -- for the man has an agenda to weaken every class of American society, make them all so docile and dependent, and then have his socialist friends rule forever. You can put all the pieces together for yourself, but start with this analysis of his recent Jobs Act.

Terence Corcoran: The Obama job plan that kills jobs | FP Comment | Financial Post

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Call for Impeachment, Yes. Will It Succeed, No.

If no one Democrat is willing to run against the first Black President of the U.S., even though many of them are praying 'someone else' would, then I can assure you that no Democrat is going to vote to impeach the first Black President even though he may be found guilty of more than one count of impeachable acts. As long as the Democrats control the Senate, a vote to impeach which requires 2/3 of the chamber voting in favor will never come about.

But the potential offenses are well worth noting. Since impeachment will likely take as long as 14 months, we're all just as well off if Obama were defeating in the 2012 election. Here are the details. Take a look and tell us what you think.

Memo to Congress: Impeachment probe needed now!

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Friday, September 09, 2011

What We Have Here is A Gross Desire Not To Deal with Sex Offenders.

This blog of mine is linked to a story from a very liberal, left-leaning newspaper -- one of Canada's biggest. And it is about trying sex offenders.  TheStar seems to think nothing the conservative propose will help. You can read all the details there. But first, let me hit some of the highlights from a conservative perspective:

The province of Ontario's Conservative party wants to address cases of sex abuse especially where it involves children.  They want to use Global Positioning Technology to monitor Ontario’s 14,000 registered sex offenders to allow police to “instantly respond” if a sex offender went near a school or playground.  

The proposal will help keep children and communities safe, the Tories say.   So far so good -- then in walk the bleeding hearts, the leftists, the liberals and capital L, Liberals -- all of whom seem to say "wont't work."  Read, "it's not perfect" therefore "forget it."

Get this, the article says "little or no evidence" that electronic monitoring actually protects children.  Which part of "if it will prevent one child from being molested, let's do it" can't they say?  Of course, the majority of child sexual offenses are carried out by friends or relatives.  And 100% of all spousal abuse is committed by husbands or wives.  Both also occur "at home".  Let's not try to do anything about that crime either.

The article points out that GPS would not have stopped one woman and one man referred to in the article.  So, therefore, no GPS for anyone.  What kind of logic is that.  Many drugs still work on a small number of patients they're given to -- so let's take them away from everyone and not help the few that otherwise would be helped.

And wait there's more.  They're throwing "false alarm" technical issue data at us as well.  Yes, car brakes also fail in many cars -- many accidents are caused by them.  But using the line of arguing of the writer of this article and the position of the 'bleeding heart' liberals, we can eliminate all brakes in cars.  That's about how insane they are.

And then they throw in the "expense" card.  Yes, it's expensive.  But how much is a life worth?  It appears not very much to these people -- many of them are the same ones that sleep very well at night knowing thousands and thousands of abortions take place annually.   But hey, trying to stop those would interfere with the rights of a person's body -- not the baby's of course.

I'm not prepared to say any more.  I am feeling nauseated -- and it's not from the tooth-ache I have.  Heaven forbid that we should take any steps to stop deranged people from having their fun, even if it means allowing children to get abused.  The mentality and morality of these advocates is, on a scale of -10 to +10, averaging -20.   Read the rest here:

Canada News: Reality check: Would PC plan to protect kids from sex offenders work? - thestar.com

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Thursday, September 08, 2011

You Thought Obama's Uncle Got a Deal. Check out the half-brother 's deal.

Here are the highlights.  You can read the details in the link.

President Obama's half-brother runs a foundation that collects funds in the United States. He gotapproval of a tax-exempt status in an unheard-of time period of only a month.  He is
Barack Obama's half-brother Abongo Malik Obama, also known as "Roy" Obama. The decision was made retroactive for three years.


 The official complaint with the IRS asking for an investigation of why the Barack H. Obama Foundation was being allowed to solicit tax-deductible contributions from the public even though the foundation had not applied for or received an IRS determination.  This is believed to be "political favoritism to the president's brother."
Receiving an IRS determination letter typically takes as long as six months after an organization seeking tax-exempt status has filed a formal application with the IRS.
The concern of the National Legal and Policy Center was that the foundation may have violated federal and/or state postal and tax laws by soliciting via the Internet and U.S. mail tax-deductible contributions without having made required filings and without having received necessary IRS tax-exempt determinations.


When some media phoned the foundation's headquarters in Arlington, Va., to seek comment. they received no return phone call.


Foundation is also thought to have limited financial reporting.



Exhibit 1, Homepage of the Barack H. Obama Foundation
A convert to Islam
Abongo Malik "Roy" Obama is a major character in Obama’s autobiography, "Dreams from My Father."

Now, it's your turn.  See if you can pull the same thing off so fast.  Is this the "change" you voted for?  Or is this a form of nepotism you were trying to eliminate?    Americans will have another chance a year from now.

Check it out:   http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=342529 

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Tuesday, September 06, 2011

"Why Muslims are still mad at America" -- From CNN World's 'Global Public Square' 11/09/05 with a different perspective from yours truly.

I have taken the time to reprint the subject article with full credit to CNN World.  But I also wanted to be able to comment on it.  And I have done so.  Steven Kull has some excellent points, but some that also need a response.  The writing backed in yellow is mine and thus a response from a different perspective. -- Ken Godevenos, Epistoli.

CNN Editor’s Note: Steven Kull is director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes and author of the recently released book, Feeling Betrayed: The Roots of Muslim Anger at America.
By Steven Kull, Special to CNN


On the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, many Americans are wondering whether the risk of a terrorist attack against America has been reduced.  The picture is mixed. With the death of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda is weaker.  With revolutions in several Arab countries, frustrations with unpopular autocratic governments - a recruiting theme for terrorist groups - have been mitigated.  But one important contributing factor has not improved - widespread anger at America in the Muslim world.  While views have improved in Indonesia, throughout the Middle East and South Asia, hostility toward the United States persists unabated.




This does not mean that most Muslims support terrorist attacks on America. On the contrary, overwhelming majorities reject terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks, as morally wrong.  Al Qaeda is quite unpopular.

However, anger at America does contribute to an environment in which it is easier for anti-American terrorist groups to recruit jihadists, to generate funding and to generally operate with little government interference - witness how bin Laden operated in Pakistan and the widespread anger there when the Pakistani military failed to prevent the United States from taking him out.

Trying to understand Muslims’ feelings toward America has been the focus of a five-year study I recently completed that included conducting focus groups and surveys throughout the Muslim world.  I sat for many hours trying to understand as Muslims explained to me why they are so mad at America.
Muslims have much they do not like about how America treats them.
Are we talking about how America lets them have equal rights in the United States?  How the U.S. lets them practice all of their religion except those aspects that go against Ameican national laws that apply to all their citizens? Just what exactly do they mean?

But there is one thing that is the most fundamental: their perception that America seeks to undermine Islam - a perception held by overwhelming majorities.
And how does America do this exactly?  Are we talking about Islam as a peaceful religion that has no ill-will against Jews and Christians?  Or are we talking about the Ideological-quasi-political Islam that does?

The fact that many Americans blithely brush off this accusation without really understanding it is one reason this anger persists. To understand it one must go deeper into the Muslim worldview.
Muslims tend to view current events through the lens of a long-standing historical narrative.
Okay, help us to understand this better Steven.
 
According to this narrative, going back to the Middle Ages Christian forces from the West have persistently sought to break the grip of Islam on its people.  By holding fast, Muslims believe, they were able to flourish as a civilization, at times superseding the West in many dimensions.
Today, they believe, that struggle continues - except today the challenge is greater. Western cultural products are seen as seductively undermining Islamic culture.
Wait, and that latter point is America's fault??  The Islamic people who choose to pursue the cultural products of the West are not America's responsibility.   If they can't be controlled by their own leaders and parents, why would we blame America?  We certainly don't let Christians blame America for all that their children are pursuing against their own Christian way of life, do we?

More importantly, Western powers have gained extraordinary military might that is seen as threatening and coercively dominating the Muslim world and propping up secular autocrats ready to accommodate the West.
Just how exactly?  Name one place the West has gone in against Muslims where it has not been as a result of that state's threats to others.  Western countries have never turned their guns on such Islamic States without reason -- and by the way, in case you missed it, take a look at the threats of Iran these days -- who's using its military against them?   Someone perhaps should given that they keep threatening to annihilate Israel and America.  But we seem to miss and dismiss all that.

U.S. support for Israel, sometimes described as ‘America’s aircraft carrier in the region’, is seen as integral to U.S. plans for domination.
If the last three years of the Obama administration has done anything, it has shown the world that America's desire for domination is dead in the water, so let's not use that lame excuse for hostility towards America by Muslims.

All this is seen as also serving Western economic interests, such as in securing oil, which dovetails with the agenda of keeping Islam under foot.
Really?  If anything it is the Islamic states and OPEC that control America so beautifully when it comes to oil.  And yes, if America's friend Israel has oil and they want to develop it with America, then why not let them -- there's enough of a market for everyone.

Muslims overwhelmingly believe that the 9/11 attacks, and any attacks on civilians, are contrary to Islam.
And how exactly have they shown this?  Have they officially, through their imams or their heads of state, stood up and formally denounced 9/11?  If so, we've all missed it. 

However, many Muslims do believe that America must back away from the Muslim world.
America did not back away after 9/11.  Rather, it advanced into Afghanistan, into Iraq, and expanded its forces based in the Gulf.  Many Muslims, with their penchant for conspiracy theories, even wonder if the United States somehow engineered the 9/11 attacks to justify this advance.  When George W. Bush, in what has to go down as one of the greatest public diplomacy missteps of all time, announced a “crusade” against terrorism, the assimilation of American actions into the long-standing narrative of Western hostility to Islam was all but complete.
Yes, America went after the "terrorists" after 9/11 -- they would have gone after Christians or Jews or Hindus or Buddhists if they thought that is what the terrorists were or what they were hiding behind. But they weren't -- they were clearly people acting on behalf of what they believe is "true Islam" -- Islam by their book.  So let's not say Americans should have backed away after 9/11 any more than Al Qaeda should back away each time they get attacked.

Furthermore, the idea "that America must back away from the Muslim world" now is a little too much to take.  Most of America is wishing the Muslim world would "back away from America" and just leave it and them alone.  I could say more here but I won't.

Like most Americans I initially viewed this as a big misunderstanding.  Muslims, it seemed, underestimated the pluralism of Western society and with an overactive historical imagination had strung together various elements - each with their own good explanation - into a paranoia-tinged narrative of American hostility to Islam.
And yet with time it became clearer to me what it was about Americans that gave them this impression.  Sure, Americans are happy to have Muslims go to their mosques.  If they want to sneak away to pray 5 times a day - fine.
But for many Muslims this pluralistic bonhomie masks an American narrative that is actually quite oppressive.  This narrative is one that some Muslims think they see even more clearly than Americans themselves.
According to this American narrative - which Muslims perceive as arrogant and dismissive - human society naturally and inevitable evolves through the stages that the West has gone through.
Nobody is asking the 'Muslim world' to evolve through anything except 'peace with the rest of the non-Islamic world'.  Can they do that?  Will they do that?  So far, there's no evidence of that, except with the few Muslims who have seen the personal advantages to them of the West and capitalism.

As in the Renaissance, religion is largely banished from the public sphere, thus allowing pluralism and diversity of beliefs in the private sphere while maintaining a secular public sphere.  This leads naturally to the elevation of individual freedoms and the emergence of democratic principles that make the will of the people the basis of the authority of law rather than revealed religious principles.
From this assumed American perspective, Muslim society is seen as simply behind the West in this evolutionary process.  Retrogressive forces in Muslim society are seen as clinging to Islamic traditions that make Sharia the basis of law, not the will of the people, and inevitably keep women in their traditional oppressed roles and minority religions discriminated against.
Whether this is true or not, and much of it is -- no one is forcing Muslim society to change.  It must learn on its own to deal with outside influences, but stay home to do it, or learn to deal with it when in a non-Muslim country like the U.S.  Christians do not get to dictate how they want the culture or the country to go, nor do Jews -- why should Muslims expect a whole culture to change for them?

Muslims see this narrative as being used to justify America actually violating democratic principles in relation to the Muslim world.  Even if it is contrary to the will of the people, the United State props us autocratic governments on the basis that they are relatively more progressive - according to the assumed Western narrative - than what the people would do if they had their way. 
America is free to prop up anyone they choose, as long as they do not attack other countries in the process.  It seems to me that America was very much in favor of the Arab Spring all over the world this year -- in favor of the Muslim rebellions in many countries.

When the Algerian military in 1991 overturned the results of a democratic election when it appeared that an Islamist party would prevail, America and other Western governments turned a blind eye.
Herein lies the dilemma -- America does not agree nor can it be forced to agree that a "religion" can legitimately be a "political party".  Especially a religion which allows its leaders (both religious and political) to speak boldly and publicly about the elimination of both America and Israel for starters and then all Christians and Jews who don't convert to Islam.  That is the problem and that alone.

When democratic forces arose in Tunisia and Egypt, Muslims perceive that the United States only joined the parade when the outcome was irreversible.  Still, America supports autocratic forces in Bahrain in the face of pro-democratic forces calling for change.
See above.
 
A particularly frustrating feature of the U.S. narrative, for Muslims, is that it divides Muslim society into a progressive liberal and secular sector on one hand and on the other a regressive Islamist sector that seeks to impose backward Islamic traditions.   America then seeks to promote the liberal forces and to undermine the Islamist forces.
Don't blame America for that -- it's a fact.  Muslims are not united and they can't seem to agree on what the Koran really says about how to deal with infidels, Jews, and people of the Book.  They don't speak with a united voice at all.  Let's not blame America and Americans for that.  Also, let's stop hiding behind a concept of an American 'narrative' -- what the sam hill is that?  It's either an American official position or it's not.  And I do not believe that this 'narrative' is anything more than what has been made up in the minds of Muslims to justify their current situation.

This is not simply imagined. Currently in Congress there are efforts to ensure that U.S. funding of democracy promotion in Egypt only benefits liberal, secular parties and does not in any way benefit Islamist parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Tell me again why American funds should support any party that is 'religious' when it does not even do that in America, and secondly, why it would support any religious party whose main premise is to defeat the West and eliminate America, then Israel, then Jews, etc.?   Somebody please explain those two things to me.  Fast.

To most Muslims this American perspective on Muslim society is simply incorrect and American efforts to choose the winner is really about America seeking to impose its Western secular model of governance and to eradicate the role of Islam in the public sphere.  Since to Muslims Islam is, by definition, meant to be in the public sphere, American efforts are seen as seeking to undermine Islam itself.
Sorry, don't buy it.  If Muslims want to be left alone, Americans would be the first to leave them alone, but it is Muslims that keep emigrating to non-Islamic countries and then insist on those nations becoming totally conducive to their way of life, etc.

The assertion that America is misreading Muslim society is supported by polling data.  While Americans do tend to divide the Muslim public into secular and Islamist groups, polls show that Muslims do not divide so neatly.
All of us know some Muslims.  And the ones I know say to me -- "I am not like the terrorist Islamists or Muslims; I do not want to destroy America or eliminate the Jews; I want to live in peace."  But that is not what any of us see in the world news -- especially in Indonesia, Malysia, Pakistan, Egypt, and other countries where Muslims are flexing their Islamic muscles against Christians and Jews. There clearly is a dichotomy whether some Muslims accept it or not.

Overwhelming majorities endorse liberal principles including that the will of the people should be the basis of governance, government leaders should be chosen through free elections and that there should be full freedom of religion.
As long as that religion shows that it is not out to eliminate other religions or states.

At the same time, equally large majorities say that Sharia should be the basis of government, that all laws should be vetted by Islamic scholars to ensure they are consistent with the Koran and that Muslims should not be allowed to convert to another religion.
Now that is all about freedom, isn't it?  Not.
 
Obviously there are some serious contradictions here.  But these contradictions are not primarily between sectors of Muslim society but rather within Muslim individuals.  This could be described as an “internal clash of civilizations.”
Sorry Steven, but if you believe that, you're part of the contradiction.  And if you are right, then the official Muslim position, until they prove otherwise, is the one most of us won't like and the one I've described above.
 
Muslims are well aware of these tensions.  They are drawn to the liberal ideas of democracy and pluralism and they want to find a way to incorporate them into their societies.  Al Qaeda’s model of rejecting all Western influences in favor of purely traditional society garners little support.
At the same most Muslims want to preserve the Islamic foundations of their society and want their public life to be infused with Islamic principles.  Most want Sharia to play a greater role.  They want a quality of piety to pervade their culture. Integrating these aspirations with liberal ideas of democracy and freedom of religion is a decidedly challenging endeavor.
So it is particularly infuriating to Muslims when America intervenes in a way that is destabilizing, trying to root for one imagined side against another, in what Americans conceive of as an inevitable evolution toward the victory of one side.
Why then blame the Americans?  Why not blame the fact that Muslims can't handle this dichotomy that they themselves want to pursue?
 
If this were in fact a conflict between external groups, such interventions may in fact strengthen one side over the other. But because the conflict is actually primarily an internal conflict, America’s interventions produce a backlash, making Muslims feel that they need to do more to defend their Islamic foundations and making advocates of liberal ideas suspect.
It would be a conflict between 'external' groups within Islam, except that the liberal arm is scared to death of the repercussions they would face from the radical arm.  Another reason why non-Muslims should be involved to help the weaker side, if they are to be involved at all.

There are reasons to believe that this effect was al Qaeda’s intended goal of the 9/11 attacks.  By provoking America into military action against Muslim targets, al Qaeda hoped to revive the age-old narrative of the crusading West and to drive the Muslim people into the arms of al Qaeda’s vision of a purely traditional Islamic society devoid of liberal or Western elements.
Read the above paragraph again and then tell me why America should be blamed for this, and other things -- or be accused of going after Muslims?   No way.  The facts incriminate others, not Americans.

Al Qaeda did not succeed in drawing in most Muslims.  Al Qaeda’s terrorist methods are seen as wrong and its vision as too extreme.  The hold of liberal ideas is not easy to shake. However, al Qaeda did succeed in pulling the United States into a position in the Muslim world that has alienated much of Muslim society.
So for this, we're angry at Americans????

By intervening in ways that have enhanced the polarization of secular and Islamist forces the United States has also made it more difficult for Muslims to build a political space within which they can find a middle ground that integrates these elements into a more coherent whole.
Oh please, that's like blaming outsiders for the infighting within a family.  Yes, they have a role, but only if the family lets them.
 
As America begins to gradually disengage from Iraq and Afghanistan there is the potential for negative feelings toward the United States to begin to abate.  Muslims generally perceive U.S. military forces in the region as a threatening presence designed to keep the region the way America wants it to be. Any lightening of America’s military footprint will further mitigate this sense of being coerced.

But perhaps most fundamentally, America’s relationship is most likely to improve as it comes to understand, accept and embrace the whole of Muslim society and the course of development that it has chosen for itself.  Muslims believe that they are on a different path than the West.
Exactly.  So why expect Americans to accept it and swallow it lock, stock, and barrel? Especially if it is so contrary to its own approach to life, and more specifically, if the other culture wants to eliminate the American way of life?  That does not make sense -- except to Muslims who want their cake and want to eat it too.  Sorry, but I think we need some perspective here.

This path is central to their notion of their freedom to practice their religion.  When they feel that America is threatening their religion and their aspirations, they grow resolutely hostile.
Let me repeat.  America is not threatening their religion at all.  Their religion is threatened only when it enters the political sphere in a way that wants to eliminate other religions and other countries.  Steven you keep missing that point.  Just a minor oversight, I'm sure, that you can easily correct next time you write.

As Americans we may believe that it is not possible to blend such a form of religiosity and liberal values.  Maybe Muslims will conclude this too.  But only when Muslims perceive America as no longer being an obstacle to their endeavor will they be able to move forward in their discovery.
And how exactly is their "endeavor" defined.  Please define it clearly and fully and then we'll see if we can even entertain it.  But we won't if includes eliminating other religions and countries, including Christianity, Judaism, Americans, Jews, Christians.  Change that and see how things change for the better.
 
And it is only then that America’s relationship with the Muslim world will become more amicable.
If only it were true and possible.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of Steven Kull.
The views expressed in yellow interspersed within Steven Kull's article are solely those of Ken Godevenos.

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Let's Vow Never to Stop Using BC and AD. Australia caves.

It's coming folks -- and not so slowly. Take a look at what's going on down under. And there'll be lots more now that they've started.

Australia Strikes Christ's Birth as History Marker | CBN.com

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Abortion Above Everything Else Is Obama's HIghest Absolute

The POT-us seems to be going back to a law passed in 1994 that most parties believe is totally unconstitutional, but it's a law and he insists on using it. (Of course, he chooses which American laws he wants to enforce -- think illegal immigration and see what he does enforce.) This law puts more restrictions on peaceful demonstrations of anti-abortion folks than anything other kind of peaceful protesters. Why is that?

I think it's a spiritual deprivation that has hit the president and most of America's leftist liberals. They want to be able to call the shots on "life and death" and not allow God to do so. Thus they do all they can to fight any term limitations on abortion.

Obama's abortion absolutism and the 1st Amendment | Campaign 2012

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You Won't Like Why Illegal Immigrants Are So Dear to Barack Obama

I know that all politicians (in fact, all of humanity) has vested interests in something. But gee whiz, surely to goodness we can't allow a president of the U.S. to be driven by these kind of interests, can we? At least not when the liberal media make toast of a candidate's faith and his/her belief in the Divine -- but yet allow personal family ties like the one you'll read about to muddy a president's position on a crucial issue.

If there was any integrity in the White House these days, this relative should have been deported and the law followed, then let the president have his way with illegal immigrants by passing legislation officially and then taking steps to bring "uncle Omar" back.

Instead, we leave hundreds of 'uncle Omars' on the streets of America. After all, some of them have friends, no make that nephews, in higher places.

'Uncle Omar' called the face of Obama's immigration goal

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All the Latest Data You Need on U.S. Political Scene as of Sept. 5

I usually don't refer to a leftist liberal network, but I do want to share what essential Democratic-friendly networks and pollsters are saying today.

Obama hits all-time low, NBC News/WSJ poll finds - politics - msnbc.com

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Monday, September 05, 2011

I'm Running Out of Gas Stations I Can Buy From . . .

I've recently stopped buying gas from Citgo because it is owned by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.   Now I am asked to stop buying Shell gas because they do business out of Syria knowing their profits and money goes to support the regime there.   What company is next?

Here are the details on Shell:  http://www.syria-oil.com/en/?p=1558

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Obama Receives Kudos From Malaysia. Really???

This is the biggest joke of the month. The Malaysian Ambassador to the U.S. says B.O. should be praised for doing all he can to support Muslim integration and relations with the U.S.

This man represents a country that persecutes Christians as much as any other country in the world. Just 'google' "Malaysia and Christianity" and look at a few hundred hits.

We should support Obama’s Muslim policy, says envoy JJ

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Iran, Egypt, and now Libya: Heading for Jihadic Islamist Statehood. How many more will we help become the same before we say enough?

Another one of my "here look at this, for I told you so" blogs. Now even the Washington Times sees proof of what's ahead. The writing is clearly on the wall. Color another country on the world map -- Jihadic Green.

Jihadists plot to take over Libya - Washington Times

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PA Won't Stop UN Bid and If U.S. vetoes, they'll keep coming back.

Here you have it folks. The P.A. is hell-bent on going to the U.N. and even if the U.S. vetoes it at the Security Council, they'll be back again and again until they get what they want.

It reminds me of Turkey who has recently expelled the Israeli Diplomatic staff in Turkey even though the U.N. report ruled Israel had a legal right to block the Flotilla heading to Gaza from Turkey in 2010.

Both remind me of spoiled little brats (a.k.a. children). Stamina is good, however, as long as you're prepared to suffer the consequences of your insistence.

On the other hand, the U.S. is desperately trying to get another peace talk initiative going in lieu of the U.N. bid by the Palestinians. The question is why? I can only guess.

Barack Obama is worried that he is expected to veto the U.N. vote in favor of statehood for the Palestinians as he had promised; but he's afraid of what his leftist and liberal and unionist and Islamic-friendly (all of them together) supporters will think of him come election time if he has to do that.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.   Oh, well, there's another adage that goes something like this: "you reap what you sow".   Enjoy the harvest, Mr. President.   Here are the details:

'We won't give up UN bid': Palestinians - Yahoo! News

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