You Can't Barter With God and You Can't Challenge Him or His Ways

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An Enemy to Your Enemies

Exodus 23:22-23: “But if you will truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.  For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.”

Isn’t it amazing how whenever God asks us to do something for Him or about Him or with Him, He always promises to do more in return for us? You can check this out throughout Scripture and this is just one such case here in this chapter of Exodus. Here He says, “Obey the angel I send before you and I will do much for you, even more than “guard you on your travels; bring you to the place I have prepared for you; and pardon your transgressions” (all from vs. 20-21).

[Just as an aside, please note: God can do that with us for He has the right as Creator, but we can’t do that with Him.  We can’t barter with Him like He can with us. Live with it; that’s the way it is. Just as you can do that with your children, but heaven help them if they try to do it with you.]

But here’s the part I love if we do what God says, He will be “an enemy to our enemies”. Boy, are there ever days (like the one I had yesterday) when I need to know that. My God will fight my enemies for me. Again, notice that we are to “love our enemies” but that does not apply to God – He has the right to do whatever He wants to them when He wants to. That is so challenging and unacceptable to the liberal mind. Liberals want God to behave they way they think He should behave or at least the way He wants them (us) to behave. I say again, “Live with it.” This is a most difficult fact for a lot of Christians to grasp, let alone liberals. We keep asking, “Why? Why? Why?” and we apply that question to every aspect of life that we do not like or want to have happened. It could be my looks, my poverty, my disease, death in my family, loss of job, divorce, election outcomes, even rain when I wanted to have a picnic in the park or to have my child’s birthday party outside. Yet if we truly know God and Who He is, we would know that while as human beings we may have the right to ask that question (as we all do), we really have no right to expect an answer. And here’s the deal . . . Happy is the man or woman who learns that early in their life. And happier is the man or woman who accepts it.

Notice also that first God talks about being an “enemy to our enemies” and then He talks about being an “adversary to our adversaries”.  I wondered what the difference was, so I looked the two words up. Here’s what I generally discovered:

·      Enemy – a person (or nation) who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something or another nation (especially in time of war).

·      Adversary – one’s opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute.

As I reflected on these two definitions, I thought how wonderful it is that God’s promises are so thorough.  First of all, the dictionary tells us that one can be one’s own worst enemy. Now that’s as if God is saying He will be an enemy to our own natural self (the one that wants to do wrong and to sin) if we let Him. Secondly, I realized that the word ‘enemy’ is more applicable to major antagonists in our lives or that of our family, town, country or world (enemies of war, disease, family breakdown, imprisonment, torture, etc.) whereas adversary applies more to the everyday type of challengers that we face (temperature, slow drivers in front of us, ridicule, etc.).  Each one of us can draw the enemy vs. adversary line wherever we want on the continuum.  That’s not the point. The point is that God will fight them all for us – big enemies and smaller adversarial opponents. It is also interesting that Satan (the Devil) is commonly referred to sometimes as the Enemy and sometimes as the Adversary. Which one are you fighting today?

This short passage (vs. 22 and 23) ends with God first listing every single one of the enemies or adversaries that the Israelites will face in their journey.  The lesson for us is simply this: this is not a one-time thing that He is promising the children of Israel.  It is therefore also meant for us to know that God can and will, if we want Him to, and if we let Him – defeat all our enemies and adversaries in our own personal journey through the desert of this life.

And secondly, God says He will “completely destroy them.”  And you thought only your children could do that on their video games. God alone can only do it for real. And that’s a promise I can claim if I’m prepared to turn each and every one of my enemies and adversaries over to Him. How about you?

Author's Note: A few hours after posting this blog, as I was reading another book, the thought came to me that there are several people out there that feel they can and have made deals with God.  The best example is the type of person that says, "If you save me from this calamity God, I will serve you forever" or something to that effect.  I perfectly understand how you feel, but I am not sure that is exactly what I was talking about above.  In the circumstances I was referring to -- God is giving us a choice.  In the circumstance of "save me and I'll serve you" -- you and I really have no choice.  There is nothing for us to walk away from.  We are desperate.  God still may or may not save us.  We only hear about the ones that were saved and made that promise; not the ones that weren't.  We don't say to God as He says to us or as we say to our children, "It's up to you; take it or leave it."  That was my point.

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The Common Thread in “Lust, Fear, & Pride”

During a recent week in Toronto I had the opportunity to follow two significant stories on the news.  One story was from the United States, the other from Canada.  The former was about the trial of former U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards’ with respect to his possible misuse of campaign funds to support his mistress.  The second story was home-grown right here in Toronto and it had to do with the fact that some judges were finding far too many municipal and provincial police officers were lying in their testimonies in a desperate attempt to convict suspects.

In the same week, I attended a Pops Series concert of the Toronto Symphony where the theme was famous Sci-Fi Music and the guest host was none other than George Takei about whom the program said, “known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series Star Trek, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise.”  Takei took the opportunity, at least for his solo parts of the concert, to tell us that all the good things the producer of Star Trek had in mind when he produced the show many decades ago were indeed coming true and the world is a much more wonderful place to live in now than it was back in the days the first time the good ship Enterprise cruised the universe.

For some crazy reason, perhaps understood only by those that understand how my mind works, I started reconsidering all three of these stories, both individually and as a group, by the end of the week.  I discovered something that all three had in common.  I noticed that each story was really about hiding the truth and furthermore, about propagating a lie.  Let me explain the observation in each case.

The story of the downfall of John Edwards involved lying at the personal level.  Not only did Edwards lie to his wife and others, but also individuals in his employ or circle of friends lied in order to perpetuate the likelihood of his lies being believed.  First, we have the lie that his campaign aide, Andrew Young, told in which he claimed he was the father of the baby that Edwards had with his mistress, Rielle Hunter, in order to protect Edwards.  Then we have the lie that the aide’s wife, Cheri Andrew, agreed to when she let her husband say that.  According to her, Edwards had said that if they didn’t go along with this lie, his campaign would die, and his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, would find out about his affair.  And of course, the mistress agreed to the lie as well.  You can’t easily come up with this kind of stuff in Hollywood, unless you are Woody Allen or Steve Martin, but in real life, it finds you.  Wonderful.

Before we examine the cause of the various lying, let’s take a look at our second story – the case of too many police officers lying on the stand.  While each police office who lies during a court case does so as an individual, the fact is that there is often solidarity and supporting lies required not only by one’s police partner, but the whole division, and ultimately the entire force, in some cases.  Police officers bond together better than any Bull-Grip glue you can find at Home Depot.  This often occurs for some good reason, but almost always with some very good results, for them.  Not so the case for the poor sucker who is the butt of the lying.  In this particular story, the Toronto Star newspaper had identified at least 100 cases of police deception.  The paper also discovered that while judges may note such findings and even comment on them, they are powerless to do anything about them under current legislation.  Go figure.  For some reason perjury it seems does not apply to law enforcement officers.  The research discovered cases where officers had lied, misled the court, or fabricated evidence.  In many of those cases, the judges tossed out the evidence against the accused, and they walked free.  If they were guilty, certainly justice, any victims, and society as a whole, were not served.  You may want to think that it serves the police right for the dishonest role they may have played, but before we jump to that conclusion, we need to also remember that some of those who ‘walked’ in these cases were possessors of child pornography, a major ecstasy drug manufacturer operating out of a residence, and drug dealers carrying loaded handguns.  To make matters worse, probably because of the solidarity of those in the forces, most officers caught being dishonest are not dealt with at all.  Clearly, there ought to be another approach.

When the paper first gave rise to the issue, the Toronto police spokesperson sent a rather strong letter to the paper criticizing it for not ‘understanding’ certain things or caring enough to help readers ‘understand’ the situation.  Really.  Then a few days later, the president of the Toronto Police Association (read ‘union’) wrote an opinion article in the same paper explaining how the coverage “oversimplified the facts”.  The author claims that the 100 cases the paper identified was nothing compared to the 1.5 million cases heard across Canada in the same period of time.  Mike McCormack had a good point.  We need to be careful that we don’t paint all our men and women in police uniforms as liars and deceivers.  They are not.  However, if my grandchild gets raped by a child molester; murdered by an armed dealer because he got in the way; or hit by a drunken driver, that was released because of just one police officer lying then, for me, that’s one officer too many lying.  And, it is rather odd that of those accused of lying, the number of officers found guilty by their own forces is almost zero.

The furor over this story ended recently when the Attorney General of Ontario agreed to probe the case of police officers “who are found by judges to have lied in court.”  I welcomed this and so did Police Association President McCormack – but perhaps for different reasons.

Sadly enough the controversy of whether or not police lie on the stand was also followed by another form of lying the police may be guilty of as a group.  For years, drivers swore that Toronto police officers worked on a quota when it came to giving out violation tickets to drivers.  The police and their employer denied it.  But lo and behold, in the same week, one leaked memo to officers of a large Toronto Division states they are “expected to write a book a day.”  A book is 25 tickets.  When questioned, the Deputy Police Chef said the memo used “inappropriate language” and “there’s no quota, just an expectation” to do what they are supposed to do, he argued.  Let’s get real for a moment.  In the service, when the ‘expectation’ comes from a superior officer and he also tells you that promotion is based partly on your record which includes doing your job in this area, then I submit to you, this ‘expectation’ is heard and read and obeyed as a ‘quota’.  If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck, it’s a duck.  Welcome to collective lying – a practice almost as old as the world’s oldest profession if not older, as I read ancient texts.

That now takes me briefly to my third story and its associated lies – the one that George Takei and other liberals promote constantly around the world, using their fame and fortune to do so.  It is what I call lying at the “global” level.  Politicians and activists are very good at this – think Al Gore and the millions he has made on the lie of global warming.  I am sure you can find other examples like the individuals who deny the holocaust ever happened.

According to his write-up, Takei was “unjustly” interned in two U.S. camps during WWII (those awful Americans), is a human rights and community activist, spokesman for the ‘Coming Out Project’ and he “currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband Brad Takei”.  Fine and dandy, Takei is free to be and do what he wants to be and do.  I mention this only to tell you what his philosophy of life and political ideology is like.  And they both affect his thinking as do mine affect my thinking, I admit. But if Takei thinks that mankind is much better off these days than we were half a century ago, I think he must have lost his reading glasses somewhere in outer space when he stepped outside the Enterprise for a stroll.  He is missing the hunger, the exploits, the illiteracy, the illnesses, the racism, and so much more that is not only still with us, but growing in the world.  And then when he and his buddies start to tell us that “man” can solve the world’s problems, you know he is, at best, deceiving himself.  One only needs to look at America, Europe, Africa, the Arab States, the Middle East, and many other places in 2012 to know there is not an iota of truth in that.  But good luck, George.

Okay, that’s three stories – all tied to lying, but at different levels.  Edwards at the personal level; the police at the group level or organizational level; and Takei and friends at the global level.  But what exactly causes these three levels of lying?  Is the cause one and the same for all three?  Are they different?  Well, yes and no.

When I am faced with such difficult questions, I have the privilege (and the blessing) of asking a very reliable source – my wife.  And that’s exactly what I did.

“Honey, when a person gets involved in extra-marital affairs, what, in your opinion, is the key driving cause?” I asked her.  “Lust!” she replied without any hesitation.  The cause of John Edwards’ lying was his affair, which in turn, was caused by lust.  He simply was not satisfied with the beautiful woman he had, who was the girl of his youth, who was the mother of his children, and the woman who right now needed him more than any other person in the world.  Instead, he lusted after another woman.  And now he had to lie about it to salvage a number of things and people – his wife being one of them.

“Honey, when a police officer lies on the stand and the whole force tends to support him afterwards, what causes that?” I continued my research.  “Fear!” she replied, again without any hesitation.  People lie in their work because they are afraid of failure.  Others lie with them because they fear the repercussions of having one in their ranks of failing or in this case, caught lying.

I was on a roll.  “Honey,” I tried once more, “when someone like George Takei lies publicly and globally about the state of the world today and about man’s likelihood of solving his own problems, what causes that?”  Again, no hesitation as she blurted out the answer, “Pride!”  Bingo!  She was right again I realized.  When man lies about the state of the world and the state of man’s future, it is his pride that actually blinds his minds’ eyes so that he cannot see his own shortcomings and thinks he can save himself, to the point where he may not even know he is lying.  He just is.

So, I thought, we lie alone in situations like extra-marital affairs and cheating on our spouses because of lust.  We lie alone and in groups because of fear.  We lie alone, in groups, and in global movements because of pride.  I repeated the findings to her.  She nodded.  Then she asked me a question.  “And dear, what do all these things – lust, fear, and pride, have in common?”  “SIN!” I replied.   “Bingo” she said.

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Listening to right-left and left-right media.

There are two reasons why I am sharing this particular article. One of them you will read in the paragraph below, before you get to the lead. The other is that my son Basil sent it to me as a "Valuable Article" and he is indeed a very good judge of things like that.  So here it is, with my comment which I also posted on the CBC online site -- you may see it on there as you look at the link.

Here's what I said:  "Neil MacDonald has written a well worth column and has many good points. In fact, he may well be right on the fact that the majority of us may well have made up our minds and we just do not want to be confused with the facts. Perhaps so, and we can all benefit from paying some heed to his own rhetoric.

However, as a conservative, who only gets CNN on TV, and only listens to FOX in the car or when in the States, I must take up one key issue with Mr. MacDonald.

He writes: "This country's political discourse is angry and discordant. . . It's soaked with religion and race, and it obsesses over trivialities — are Muslims bringing Shariah law to America? — while ignoring matters of real importance."

This is what makes conservatives angry and angry at people in the media like MacDonald. People who ignore religion and its importance, and people who pay no attention to the inroads and actions of radical Islam around the globe (including mass murders taking place in Nigeria) all while Neil and friends are pontificating about their belief that other things are more important, or worse still, that what we value is not important, only trivial.

As long as media men and women like MacDonald keep thinking and writing like this, they'll get their ears clipped whenever conservatives get a chance. And rightly so.

I suggest the media stop making news and manipulating its listeners and start reporting on what the majority of people (not minorities) believe in, then go with the flow. And when they do report what some minorities think, say they're a minority. Good data and dependence on it, improves one's credibility."   -- you'll find it under the comment by K.B.G. in this story below.  (You can indicate your support or lack thereof right on there with a thumbs up or down; or better still why not come back to this blog and comment there.

Neil Macdonald: Media hatred and the rise of Newt Gingrich - World - CBC News


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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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Pedophiles best seen as "Minor Attracted Adults"

Liberal anti-God movement's greatest & favorite strategy: re-label sin so that it looks like fun and wholesome activity. You won't believe who deceived and deceiving these people and their psychiatrists are. Take a look and scream, for your child's sake. America, wake up and stop this nonsense under a liberal regime that prevails from the White House down.

Psychiatrists seek to destigmatize adult-child sex

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A Concise Review: Core Conservative Belief vs. Progressive Belief on 13 Key Issues.

This article is well worth your time.  You can use it to figure out who you are. . .  Then act accordingly and also pass it on.

Archived-Articles: Core Conservative Beliefs

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Washington Examiner: "Dems. will yield on everything but abortion." Now, That's Really Sad.

A fairly well written article by a liberal no less, but still interesting. Take a look and catch the whole story behind the story, abortion, and the budget.

Democrats will yield on everything but abortion | Timothy P. Carney | Politics | Washington Examiner

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Christiane Amanpour -- A Liberal Reporter Shows Her Colors Pretending She Has None and Loses.

Okay, I'm no soothsayer but about a year ago, I decided that one of my favorite reporters was indeed a liberal stooge. I went ahead and predicted she will ruin her own credibility. Finally, another blogger in The Washington Post agrees. But Jennifer Rubin says it much better and with greater authority. Take a look and stop listening or watching Christine Amanpour -- her travels have impacted her ability to present anything fairly and without a hidden agenda in my opinion -- unless of course you're looking for an excellent example of bias reporting when it pretends not to be. At least, I'm telling my readers I'm bias towards the right.

Christiane Amanpour: Her latest inanity - Right Turn - The Washington Post

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Liberals Fail At Calculations Never Mind Business.

The Liberals and Mr. Iggie better get a new abacus before they go mouthing off against the Conservative policies and proposing preposterous plans of their. Take a look.

Canoe.ca | Iggy likely short on cash for campaign promises | Canada Election 2011

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Liberals Take Science Liberally.

Coulter does an incredible job of exposing how liberals misuse science even though they don't understand it. Take a look. This is Coulter at her best.

Liberals: They blinded us with science

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Trudeau, Like Papa, Like Son, and Why the Liberals in Canada Are Lost

The more I listen to Liberals, the more I realize how lost they are.   They are so out of touch with what Canadians are thinking and feeling.  Ignatieff really needs to move back to States and allow someone to lead the party who is a serious statesman/woman and can control his/her team.

Also, take a look the issue and the stupidity of Justin Trudeau's concern.   Please.

Meanwhile, Mr. Harper and his Conservatives are having a heyday.  They're singing in unison, "Stay Iggie, Stay!"  

Honour killings term angers Trudeau | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

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Canada is going in the 'right' direction, except for our . . .

For some 'unknown' reason, Canadian voters seem to be leaning towards the 'right' -- conservatism. That's true nationally, it's true in Ontario (normally a liberal province federally and often locally). It's true of males and females, and it's true of adult voters with up to college/technical education (or less).

The only place it is not true is in the group with 'university' education. That should tell us something about what kind of philosophies people are learning there and from whom -- the liberals, the socialists, and the like. If not, how would you explain the data as provided by very liberal media source.

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Tories surge ahead of Liberals, poll finds - thestar.com

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Abortion and Blacks and Liberals and Freedom and Us

I am indeed ticked again.    Let me give you the background.  An association buys, as part of a national campaign, billboard space.  The billboard agency approves the advertisement which basically says, "the most danger place for an African American is in the womb."   The connection is obvious.  It points to the very high incidence of abortion among Blacks in America and is part of an anti-abortion campaign.  One of these billboards is in New York City.  Now, let's see what takes place next.

It so happens the New York billboard is on a building where there's a restaurant.  The staff complain they are being harassed by patrons who are against the billboard's message.   Really?  Why would a server be harassed because of a paid advertisement on their building?   I thought America was a free country.  Wrong again.

In addition, the agency hears there's going to be a protest by those against the message in the ad.  (That was scheduled for today.)  Well, yesterday they decide that both these situations raise concerns about "public safety" and down comes the ad.   Wait a minute.  Somebody paid for that advertisement.  It's perfectly legal and they had a deal.   If there's some public safety issues, that's why we have thousands of NYC police officers.  But no, the billboard ad comes down.

Before you go to the link below (and I recommend you do and watch the short video therein too), let me ask you one question:  Suppose for a moment that the ad was a legitimate legal advertisement for the gay and lesbian lifestyle or about "free information on, and discount rates for, abortion".   And this time the conservatives threaten to protest and bugged the servers in the restaurant about the ad.  Suppose that and then answer this question:  Would the ad come down?  No.   Would police be called on to control the protesters?  Yes.

So, what's wrong with this picture, folks?   Are you angry yet?  I hope so.  Because this is the new America.    And now it's my turn to start attaching some blame.  I blame ourselves -- the conservatists, and in particular the conservative Christians that can't get our act together to peacefully but in total unity get together and say "enough is enough".  Instead, we pick on each other and unless someone believes in exactly everything we believe in, we refuse to join hands with them and stand up for what is moral, what is right, what is godly.

So, there you have it.  I said.  I feel better.  But it doesn't change anything.  Denominational leaders you need to get your people off their butts, stop worrying about your ability to give out charitable tax receipts, and bring people together for the Truth and what is Moral.   You'll have a lot to answer for one day if you don't.

Please pass this blog on to others who may feel the same way. 

Billboard focused on African-American abortions was taken down - CNN.com

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We Used Busing to Integrate Black Students; Now We May Use It to Segregate Poor Kids

This story is about ten days old.  But somehow I cannot get it out of my mind.  Let me give you the background.  The Niagara District School Board in Ontario is planning to open a school for low-income students whose parents don't have a college or university education because they argue "poor students often struggle in school and have a higher dropout rate."   It would have about 150 grade 6 and 7 students to begin with, growing by 75 students a year peaking at 575 students when the grade 6'ers get to grade 12.  And the board is not open to canceling it, but will listen to other suggestions.  Very nice.

What will the school do differently?  Well, it will spend extra time with students on developing learning skills and building self-confidence; it will do this during an extended school day.  Some local politicians are upset.  The Ontario Minister of Education is watching the situation carefully but not yet prepared to ban it.  The big issue is will the children be stigmatized as a result of attending this school?

The school is associated with the education program of a nearby university, the YMCA, and the elementary teacher's union.  That's a good start.  According to the article below, the program is aimed at reducing the board’s high school dropout rate, which at 10.6 per cent is above the provincial average of 9 per cent.

That's the background.  Now let's think about this a little realistically for a moment.

First, I'm not sure what the education of one's parents has to do with it?   My mom and dad never went beyond grade 6, and although neither of my parents could help me with my studies in Canada from the time I was five until I finished my three degrees, I can assure you their role models in reading (the newspapers for my dad -- with his very broken English --  and the Bible for both of them) made a big differences to what I pursued.  Discussion also played a big role.  We didn't talk about television, sports, car, and beer.  We talked about history, faith, politics, and what's right and wrong.

And who says that being educated is a guarantee for being wealthy enough to provide all that young children need to compete these days?  How soon we forget the days when nearly every taxi driver in New York had a Ph.D. (granted from outside the country) but still.  Education is no guarantee as to being a good parent or role model or even providing for your children's educational needs.

Second,  being poor is not something that children notice when they are in grade six or 11 years old -- they notice it way before that.  They know in grade two if not earlier whether they are rich or not compared to their school friends.  They know that when they can't go away to Europe each summer or go to Florida each winter break or even go skiing on the weekends.   They know it when they can't get to see the same shows that local children's theatre puts on.  They know it when they get second-hand clothes -- sometimes from the older siblings of their very own friends.  They know it when they don't have their own computer or their own cell phone and their car is a van rather than an SUV with a Lexus or M.B. symbol on it.  They know when they get one gift at Christmas and their fiends get way more than they can use.   And they know it when some children won't even come to their birthday parties or worse still, they dont' have a birthday party.  And so much more.

The proponents of this plan suggest that since poverty is already a stigma, a separate school like this is not about "where they're coming from" but "where they can go".  Try telling that to a little girl who doesn't have a new dress for the Christmas (or any other) program these days.  [As an aside: Yes, I know we don't have Christmas programs any more.  Maybe that's part of the whole problem.  We forget to teach kids that others have needs and to share not only our things, but our sincere love and our care.  And of course, you can do it outside Christianity -- many religions do, but since we're still primarily Christian, maybe we should have thought a little more carefully about caving in to the liberal left and throwing God out of the classroom altogether.  Let's save this for another blog.]

Third, one supporter cites  a 12-year-old pupil who was exhausted one recent morning after caring for a sick brother all night because their parents work as overnight office cleaners.  But this school won't change that.  The girl will still need to stay up all night taking care of her sick sibling.   You can keep encouraging these kids, but do you need to do it in a segregated school.   Instead of equalizing what students are allowed in schools, the Ontario government, led by its Liberal Premier, was recently encouraging kids to bring cell phones to school to help them in their education -- complete with links to the Internet.  Now, there's brainpower to spare.

What we need is not segregated schools for the poor.  Instead we need to provide optional programs for parents to attend to get the skills they need for helping their children succeed.  We're not just talking learning a language.  We're also talking about helping them recognize and identify what the issues are that impede their children's education -- the issues they can impact with some help.  We need to offer these programs during the days and evenings to cover all parents.  We need to be working together with other agencies to make this happen.  We need to offer some parents that need it "day or night care" in order to attend these classes.   None of these people addressing this issue, for or against, know anything about poverty.  You can address it at the child's level and soon fail or you can find the parents that want to make a difference and help them.  [As a person involved in a Canadian Mission that works from our four year-round ministry centres and camps across Canada with children whose families would well qualify under the criteria suggested for this school, I can assure you -- children will change very quickly when they are shown love and caring and consistency and fairness.  But all is almost always lost when they return home.  Who will be with these Niagara children on the weekends?  Who will be with them on breaks and especially during the long hot months of summer?  For my tax money, take action that will get closer to the cause rather than the symptoms.


So, how do I really feel about this whole thing?  I really don't know.  I guess to be fair I should ask myself whether or not I would send my children to such a school if our family "qualified"?  Okay, self-examination time.  And the answer is:  "No, I would not."   I would do all I could to sacrifice whatever I needed to sacrifice -- time, purchases, sleep, cigarettes, beer, entertainment to give my kids the best chance at an education they could have.   And to bolster that up, I would spend a lot of time with them helping them understand that in God's economy, being poor is not a sin.

But what's more important is what you think.  Tell us.

Debate heats up over Niagara school for poor kids - thestar.com

 

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Illinois Supreme Court rules in favor of breaking rules for B.O.'s pal, Rahm Emanuel

Breaking News:  Illinois Supreme Court ruling clears Rahm Emanuel to run for Chicago mayor; he's expected to take part in debate tonight.

Did anybody think otherwise.   No chance.  As predicted.   Rules go hang when it comes to liberals and
Democrats during the B.O. reign.

 

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Canada - U.S. Defense Heads Meet - And I have a question for them.

We can all rest assured, the relationship between the United States and Canada is valued by both countries and is necessary to defend our people (in both countries) in the future from external threats.

The big issue is of course the participation in a program to build and purchase F-35's, the latest version of what kind of aircraft we both need to stay ahead in the military's attempt to defend our external borders.

Here's the rub: the Canadian Liberal Party under Michael Ignatief, is said to have indicated that if they get elected, they will pull out of the program, wheras Harper's Conservatives will stay in the program.

I don't know about you, I'm a little tired of being or trying to be a "free-loader" in our own defense.  I don't think we are now by any means and I don't want us to move in that direction at all.  The Liberals will indeed move us that way, but worse than that, they are prepared to weaken our defensibility.  And even worse than that, they are prepared to join the "other side" in moving away from our only, albeit it not perfect, real neighbor (neighbour) and friend.  How short-sighted can that be.

Is an election coming in Canada?  Likely, but I'm not sure.  However, bring it on and let the Conservatives either win a majority or maintain a very comfortable minority for another four or five years.

What was disappointing about the press conference following the meeting was the continued silence on the march of radical Islam across the face of the earth.  Although, I must admit that right now from what I see or read, it is Canada that seems to be the strongest opponent (thanks to Mr. Harper) to such advance across humanity.  But they need to step it up and start convincing their allies to do likewise.  I'm not against people and their faith, but I am very weary of terrorism and the killing of others because they do not agree in my faith or in anyone else's faith.  Clearly, the world wants Human Rights to be exercised with people of genders, ages, backgrounds, sexual orientations, and religions.  All that is, except where any violations are a result of a religion that seems to think it is imperative for them to eliminate others who don't believe what they believe.  Under that condition, we all cower, do we not?

Perhaps, that would have been a question I would have asked Secretary Robert Gates or Defense Minister Peter MacKay.

-- Thanks for dropping by.   Sign up to receive updates.  --  Ken B. Godevenos, Church & Mgmt. Consultant, bringing you relevant information from all sorts of sources.  Subscribe free to Epistoli or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar.  An don’t forget to “share” this blog with your friends by clicking the “Share” link on your Navigation Bar.

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When You're a Liberal, You Can Continue Defying a Law or Rule While Appealing Ban To Do So

Maybe it's not just liberals, maybe it is everybody -- but it sure seems odd that one can break a rule or a legitimate requirement, be stopped, and then claim he can't be stopped, lose the claim, then appeal, and ask that he not be stopped during the appeal.   That's amazing in itself.  And that's exactly what the Illinois Supreme Court has done for Mr. Emanuel, the former chief of staff for B.O., who now wants to run for mayor of Chicago but who does not qualify because he didn't live in Chicago last year.  The supreme court of the state has ordered the Chicago election people to print the ballots with his name on them until this is settled.

Maybe the rule is simply there because one needs to be intimately familiar with what's going in Chicago right now or recently before he tries to lead Chicago.  I think that's a good rule.

Anyway, I don't know all the pros and cons of this from a legal perspective, but I do know that if you or I wanted to break a condition that has stood the test of time, we simply couldn't just say "let us keep violating the rule" while our Appeal is heard.

Let me give you an example (which I know will be criticized by the opposition as most examples are criticized by any opposed to the point being made).  Let us suppose that a university had a club (I don't know what you call a club that is compliant with all the laws of the land -- it does not discriminate against sex, age, sexual preference, religion, etc.).   Anyway, this club has one key criteria for membership: members must have taken a full degree program and graduated from that university.  So, I come along and I argue that I took 51% of my graduate degree at that university, so I want to be a member of that club and furthermore, I want to run in the upcoming elections which allow any member, even though they have been a member only one day, to run.  The local powers say "no" -- 51% does not equal 100% and you can't join.  The University supports the findings.  I appeal.  But now the appeals court says, I may well be a member until they rule otherwise, and I can run for office -- so please print the club's ballots accordingly.   What's that you say?   How absurd!   You got it.   Welcome to America run by the liberals and the leftists -- courts making decisions that won't upset the "elite" and their friends in higher office.

And you think Christianity and the Jewish people really have a chance?  Just saying.

 

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Noon Time (EST) Musings - January 15, 2011

Has Vladimir Putin been rather quiet lately, or is it just my imagination.  I wonder what the old boy (and further head of his country's secret service) has been up to lately?  Well, for starters, I just noted that BP and Russia have signed an arctic oil deal recently and there's some global concerns about that.

And you want to go to Mexico for a vacation because????  Even though there were 15,000 killings there in 2010 because of the drug wars going on.  Now the locals are thinking of trying new approaches like 'negotiating with the drug gangs".  That's comforting.

Chief Justice Roberts Jr. on the intention of what the Constitution authors intended for the Supreme Court: "The Framers were not the sort of people, having fought a revolution to get the right of self-government, to sit down an say, 'Let's take all the difficult issues before us and let's have the judges decide them.'  That would have been the farthest thing from their mind."  Amen to that.  Yet today liberals want the Supreme Court (when it is weighted with liberals) to do just that.  And for years they did just that knocking down every law they disagreed with.  And of course, the conservatives want the opposite.  Now with the conservatives in the majority, or so it seems, the liberals are crying foul.  I think Roberts is bang on.  Let's see what happens as he now oversees a conservative court.

Conservatives should be 'ogres'.  Writing in Fortune magazine recently, Roger Parloff says that Chief Justice Robert's humor and charm fooled liberals on his confirmation committee to support him and think he was really a moderate.  He quotes one Supreme Court advocate to say, "In Washington, people expect very conservative people to be ogres."  And Roberts wasn't coming across as one.  So he got confirmed.  My thoughts: a) hog wash  b) it's too sad that we conservatives are perceived that way.  And since most of us may happen to be Christians, it is even sadder.  So, one word of advice to us all: "Lighten Up!  But Don't Compromise."  In fact, somebody should make that a motto. 

Just musing.

-- Thanks for dropping by.   Sign up to receive updates.  --  Ken B. Godevenos, Church & Mgmt. Consultant, bringing you relevant information from all sorts of sources.  Subscribe free to Epistoli or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar.  An don’t forget to “share” this blog with your friends by clicking the “Share” link on your Navigation Bar.

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