Category Archives: America

June 6th… Would We Do It Again?

d day

Seventy-two years have passed since the pride of the Allies, 156,000 strong, stepped out of landing craft and jumped out of airplanes into the mouth of a monster ready to eat them alive.

Seventy-two years have passed since young men from America, England, and Canada (and we must not forget Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland) landed on beaches called Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Seventy-two years ago, long before the fancy rock-climbing walls which are so popular in today’s health clubs and gyms,  the 2nd Ranger battalion “led the way” up the 100 ft. cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

Seventy-two years ago, on the 6th of June, 2,499 American and 1,914 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4,413, gave their lives for the sake of freedom.

Seventy-two years ago men were stepping on the backs of their comrades as they sloshed through red water, breathed in the mist of war, and wondered if they would live to see the ground only yards (meters) in front of them.

On June 6, 1944, seventy-two years ago, it was said of those who landed:

They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio broadcast, June 6, 1944

It is June 6, but are we a people with the stomach to liberate? If we were the ones living seventy-two years ago, where would we be today?

Ask those in pajamas talking on free smart phones. Ask the protesters who don’t even know why they protest. Ask those who are burning the American flag because “America was never great.”

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It cost a lot to buy seventy-two years of freedom. Would we do it again?

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Filed under America, Countries, Culture Wars, current events, General Observations, Life Lessons, Struggles and Trials, World View

The Price of Freedom

Memorial Day

Today is the day on which we Americans pause to remember and honor those who have fought and died for our country. We also honor those who have served and are serving.

Unfortunatly, most people use this day to only focus on the celebration aspect of the holiday, not the memorial. But had it not been for those men and women who bled in the trenches and fell from the sky, there might not be a place to hold a barbecue. We celebrate because we are free, but that freedom came with a price.

Visiting Memorials

Over the past week I’ve been visiting Washington, D.C.. with my family, and one can’t visit D.C. without going to the memorials.

It has been a long time since the last time I was here, and new monuments to the fallen have been erected. One of them, which is probably the most impressive, is the World War 2 Memorial, and I took a little while to explore it.

One place at the WW2 Memorial is pictured below. It shows gold stars on a wall above a reflective pool. Each star represents 100 who died in the war to defeat the Axis powers.

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On this day let us pause and remember the lives sacrificed so that we (and the world) might live in freedom. Remember also that those stars represent mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and scores of children whose loss purchased our gain.

 

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Filed under America, Life/Death, Vacation

The Bathroom Controversy: It’s Not that Simple

My Two Cents

I have to drop my two cents into the toilet (dropping them into the urinal would mean I might have to take them back).

Seriously, I feel compelled to share my thoughts regarding the current debate over allowing transgender and transexual individuals into the bathroom of their choice, and not necessarily the one which corresponds with their anatomy.

It might even turn into 3 cents.

What You’re Not Hearing

People are giving North Carolina all kinds of grief over HB2, the law that requires one who uses restrooms in public buildings and rest stops to choose the one which corresponds to the individual’s sex at birth (or what’s on the birth certificate). Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert; Paypal cancelled plans for a facility; and a whole bunch of politicians in other cities banned public employees from going there on public money.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about it by now, especially since President Obama has now sent a prime directive to all public schools and universities.

But what you’ve probably missed is that it’s not just about a guy who’s had a sex-change operation going into a woman’s restroom, or a young person who is totally convinced he is a she and looks and dresses the part to perfection.

It’s not just about the teenage girl who’s won the legal right to be called a boy because she’s always lived as one, dressed as one, and thought she was one.

It’s not even about the psychological term Gender Dysphoria (a mental disorder) which describes most of the above.

No, it’s about the fact that a small percentage of society are doing their best to render any traditional classification of gender and sexuality irrelevant. It’s about eroding any taboos regarding erotic behavior and forcing morality to conform to the image of immorality. This is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed from its filthiness (Proverbs 30:12).

It’s not about the less than 1% of society having a safe place to relieve themselves; it’s about the rape of morality and common sense: “We’re going in, no matter what.” And when there’s no more fight left, they’ll just grin and move on to another ideological victim.

The Camel In the Tent

Do you remember the story about the camel (or it could have been a horse) that wanted to come inside the tent? He was cold, so he asked his owner to allow him to come into the tent where it was warm. The owner refused, but that’s when the camel said, “Oh, please! What about just my nose? How bad could that be?” Long story short, once the camel’s owner allowed the camel to stick its nose inside the tent, the head came next, followed by the neck, then the front legs, and then the whole body.

All we hear in the news is that transgender and transexual students are being denied their civil rights. They say it is wrong that these pitiful folk should be harassed by being made to go into the bathroom or shower which corresponds to their anatomy.

But it’s FAR more complicated and convoluted than that! Do you seriously think that once you’ve let the transgender/transexual nose into the bathroom the rest of the gender-confused will be denied? Of course not!

If you think it’s just as simple as male/female/trans, think again!

The following are a consolidation of the 56 (yes, 56!) gender options offered by Facebook. You can read the whole article at Slate.com.

1. Agender/Neutrois — These terms are used by people who don’t identify with any gender at all—they tend to either feel they have no gender or a neutral gender. Some use surgery and/or hormones to make their bodies conform to this gender neutrality.

2. Androgyne/Androgynous — Androgynes have both male and female gender characteristics and identify as a separate, third gender.

3. Bigender — Someone who is bigender identifies as male and female at different times. Whereas an androgyne has a single gender blending male and female, a bigender switches between the two.

4. Cis/Cisgender — Cisgender is essentially the opposite of transgender (cis– being Latin for “on this side of” versus trans-, “on the other side”). People who identify as cisgender are males or females whose gender aligns with their birth sex.

5. Female to Male/FTM — Someone who is transitioning from female to male, either physically (transsexual) or in terms of gender identity.

6. Gender Fluid — Like bigender people, the gender-fluid feel free to express both masculine and feminine characteristics at different times.

7. Gender Nonconforming/Variant — This is a broad category for people who don’t act or behave according to the societal expectation for their sex. It includes cross-dressers and tomboys as well as the transgender.

8. Gender Questioning — This category is for people who are still trying to figure out where they fit on the axes of sex and gender.

9. Genderqueer — This is an umbrella term for all nonconforming gender identities. Most of the other identities in this list fall into the genderqueer category.

10. Intersex — This term refers to a person who was born with sexual anatomy, organs, or chromosomes that aren’t entirely male or female. Intersex has largely replaced the term “hermaphrodite” for humans.

11. Male to Female/MTF — Someone who is transitioning from male to female, either physically (transsexual) or in terms of gender identity.

12. Neither — You understand this one: “I don’t feel like I’m fully male or fully female. ‘Nuff said.”

13. Non-binary — People who identify as non-binary disregard the idea of a male and female dichotomy, or even a male-to-female continuum with androgyny in the middle. For them, gender is a complex idea that might fit better on a three-dimensional chart, or a multidimensional web.

14. Other — Like “neither,” this is pretty self-explanatory. It can cover everything from “I’d prefer not to specify how I don’t fit in the gender dichotomy” to “My gender is none of your damn business, Facebook.”

15. Pangender — Pangender is similar to androgyny, in that the person identifies as a third gender with some combination of both male and female aspects, but it’s a little more fluid. It can also be used as an inclusive term to signify “all genders.”

16. Trans/Transgender — Transgender is a broad category that encompasses people who feel their gender is different than their birth sex—sometimes known as gender dysphoria. They may or may not choose to physically transition from their birth sex to their experienced gender.

17. Transsexual — Transsexual refers to transgender people who outwardly identify as their experienced gender rather than their birth sex. Many, but not all, transsexuals are transitioning (or have transitioned) from male to female or female to male through hormone therapy and/or gender reassignment surgery.

18. Two-spirit — This term refers to gender-variant Native Americans. In more than 150 Native American tribes, people with “two spirits”—a term coined in the 1990s to replace the term “berdache”—were part of a widely accepted, often respected, category of gender-ambiguous men and women.

Summary

Let me summarize this nonsense. If I, a grown man with children, decided I felt like I had a few female feelings, then I could literally walk unabated into a women’s locker room, disrobe, and stroll into the open showers, genitalia showing, and have the full force of Obama’s Justice Department backing me up (more like spooning).

“But that’s crazy!” you say. “Someone would stop you.” Oh, really? And whom would that brave soul be? Should you stop me, then I would sue you for violating my civil rights. Who are you to judge me by my looks? Technically, I’m a Native-American (really, I am), so how could you say I’m not Two-spirited? Even more, it’s all about how I self-identify, right? So if I claim to be Gender-fluid, how can you tell by the way I look naked? What would that matter, anyway?

Have you ever seen the movie Starship Troopers? Remember the shower scene? That’s where we are headed if this lunacy is not stopped. The only difference is that this isn’t science fiction; it’s reality.

Here’s the naked truth: When nothing’s sacred, NOTHING will be sacred. That much is simple.

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Filed under America, community, Culture Wars, current events, World View

Bug Spray Warning!

A Reasonable Idea

There is a suggestion floating around the internet on places like Facebook, Twitter, etc. The suggestion is to get yourself a big can of wasp & hornet spray (a pesticide) for protection – not from bug, but from criminals.

wasp sprayYou see, it is getting more and more difficult for honest, law-abiding citizens to own and carry firearms. On the other hand, criminals are becoming anything but more friendly. Therefore, some are suggesting that using a can of wasp spray is a good alternative to a gun. Here’s an example from a post on Facebook…

[Wasp spray] can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate [than pepper spray], while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. [A church secretary] keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn’t attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection.

A Legal Problem

Having an inexpensive form of self-defense sounds all fine and dandy, especially if you are the type who either cannot or won’t own a firearm. The only problem with using a can of bug spray is that it would be illegal. Yes, illegal.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why would I worry about using a can of bug spray on an attacker trying to harm me or take my life?” In a normal universe, it would seem perfectly acceptable to use anything at your disposal to defend your life, correct? Well, we don’t live in a world ruled by common sense, but by lawyers.

If you were casually walking through your house one day, and a burglar broke in and chased you through the garage, and you picked up the first thing handy, a can of bug spray, and shot him in the face, you might be OK. On the other hand, if you have a can sitting on your desk, or beside your bed, or in your purse, then you could get in real trouble.

bug sprayTake a look at the highlighted portion of the picture. There you will read the following: It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” As any trained pest control technician would tell you, the label is the law.”

So, if you are ever forced to use your bug spray on an attacker, bear this in mind: a good defense attorney will have your skin for the premeditated illegal use of a potentially deadly substance. If your attacker is harmed in any way, don’t think for a moment that a sleazeball lawyer won’t take advantage of you “violating Federal law.” Your attacker may even get off without jail time, all because you hurt his feelings with anything but a double-barrel shotgun.

Law and Grace

When the law is all there is, legalists will seize any opportunity. There will always be someone willing to twist the law to his (or his client’s) own advantage.

Paul told Timothy, “we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully” (1 Timothy 1:8). Unfortunately, in this day and age, there are those who don’t always use the law for good, but for gain. Therefore, be careful.

Thank God for grace.

My advice…get a Glock or shotgun.

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Filed under America, General Observations, legalism

7 Words that Distinguish Our Founding Fathers from Modern Americans

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…” – Founding Fathers (Declaration of Independence)

If there were ever any words that are so antithetical to today’s culture, these stand out above them all.

Believe it or not, the founding fathers of the United States of America firmly held to the belief that there are absolutes, that there are transcendent truths, truths by which we are to judge between right and wrong.

They not only believed that there are “truths,” but they believed that these truths are “self-evident.” In other words, they believed that these transcendent truths, rooted in the nature of God, were not hard to find, but were plain for all to see should they only open their eyes. Hence the term self-evident.

Today’s culture has totally rebelled against the concepts of truth and anything that is self-evident. The truth is that God created male and female (Gen. 1:27; Mark 10:6), and what is self-evident are their differences. Yet, modern Americans cannot bring themselves to admit what is obvious, no matter how self-evident.

Not long ago a man named Joseph Backholm went to the University of Washington and claimed to be a 6′ 5″ Chinese female. Not one single college student dared challenge his claims, even though the self-evident truth was that he was a caucasian male.

People wonder how long America will survive. My contention is that it can’t survive much longer. How can it when the very foundational truth on which our liberties are grounded has been reduced to shifting sand?

“We hold no truth, and nothing is self-evident; all is relative to self-identification.” – Modern Americans

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Don’t We Want the REAL Definition? {the truth of who a woman is}

I am not a woman, and I never will be. That is why you will never see me do at least two different things.

First, you will never see me walk into a woman’s bathroom or locker room – my gender orientation is not “fluid.”

Second, because I am not a woman, you will never see me write anything like what I’m reposting from Robin L. Lewis. The following is just a wonderfully inspiring  – and biblical – look at the true definition of womanhood.  Please take the time to read it and let her know what you think.


Have you ever looked up a word to find that the real definition was quite different than what you had believed it to be?  How did that change your understanding of the sentence or the verse?…

Source: Don’t We Want the REAL Definition? {the truth of who a woman is}

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Filed under America, Guest Posts, Marriage, ministry, self-worth

Whatever Happened to a Woman’s Right to Privacy?

The “Right to Privacy.” It’s something the left has argued for decades as one of our most important rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Yet, when it comes to a woman’s right to privacy in a restroom or shower, the staunch defenders of Roe v. Wade are silent.

I find it interesting that Roe v. Wade affirms and guarantees “a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy” (410 U.S. at 152-53), yet the very “zones” where some of the most intimate and private moments of a woman’s life takes place are being allowed to be violated.

What about women’s health? In the abortion debate, “health” is not limited to the physical, but includes all facets of psychology. Therefore, according to the left, abortions cannot be limited only to those births which could pose a risk to a woman’s life, but must also include those which could have the potential of bringing about mental and psychological stress.

Essentially, proponents of Roe v. Wade have argued that abortions should be kept legal because a woman could risk becoming embarrassed with her body should she start gaining unwanted weight. Well, then, what’s wrong with trying to protect a woman from the mental anguish of having her genitals exposed to uninvited male gazes?

It seems to me that women from both the right AND the left should be rising up against what is essentially nothing more than a male-friendly infringement upon a woman’s right to deny access to her most intimate moments.

But then again, it wasn’t really about a woman’s rights as much as it was about money and the loosening of moral restraints, was it? If not, then instead of protesters carrying posters reading, “Stay out of my uterus,” where are the ones shouting, “Stay out of our bathrooms!“?

Ladies, your “privy” is no longer private, and your safe zone is has been compromised. It would seem you have a civil rights issue powdering its nose while your rights are being flushed.

 

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Filed under Abortion, America, Culture Wars, current events

Tornado Parking Lot

Today marks the 5th anniversary of when we in the South were struck by multiple deadly tornadoes. The following is a post I wrote on April 29, 2011, just two days after the first storms came.

Tornado Alley?

I don’t know who coined the term “tornado alley,” but they need to come up with a new one…

“Tornado Parking Lot”

…or something like that. Tornadoes used to be something that was common only in mid-western, grassland states, right? Didn’t Dorothy and Toto live in Kansas? Well, it seems that tornadoes aren’t just for Kansas, anymore. They have come to like the South.

April 27-28, 2011 will be remembered as the most destructive time in the South since the Civil War. Never in my lifetime have I seen such destruction over such a wide area. Whenever we use to hear of a tornado hitting a city, there would be pictures of one stretch wiped out or damaged. This time, it is whole states involved, not just one city or trailer park, and hundreds of tornadoes.

Pray

It can’t be overstated that we in the South need your prayers. There is so much to do and so many who need help. The destruction is so wide-spread that many are overwhelmed with the logistics of providing assistance. All many could do in the first day was put every chainsaw into use clearing trees from roads, drive ways, and off houses. Now, it is the job of the professionals to try to get power lines back up. But with so many displaced, and with electricity scarce, taking care of basic needs for so many will be a monumental task.

Pray for the families of those that are missing. In one town (Ringgold, GA) not far from where I live, at least 26 people were reported missing after a tornado struck a doomed food store. There is no telling where they went. So many others were killed, as well as injured in the destruction.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14521722

Pull Together

One thing that never fails to amaze is the tendency of people to come together in a time of need. Being a good neighbor means more than lending forever a cup of sugar or hand tool. Good neighbors help pull a tree off of your roof; help locate your pet; comfort your little kids while you search for survivors; bring a hot meal to workers; donate blood; or, share a home with the homeless. Pulling together is the “neighborly” thing to do.

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. – 1Cr 10:24 NASB
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” – Gal 5:14 NASB

Protect

But before you come to the South, at least the rural parts, make sure you’re a good neighbor. Down here, in times like this, “a friend in need is a friend indeed,” even if he’s a total stranger. On the other hand, you’d better be careful if you’re not on the up-and-up.  A few blocks away from my house here in Chattanooga, a local policeman’s house was damaged, along with his car. That night, some looters came around trying to find stuff. The warning I photographed says it all. This ain’t no alley, this is a neighborhood, and we look out for each other.

I’d take this guy seriously!

Praise

It could have been far worse. As I drove around yesterday, I can’t tell you how many large trees fell just feet away from family homes. Even though many places suffered damage, many, many more were spared. One could be critical and skeptical about it all, but I choose to praise God. Many more lives could have been lost. Many more could have been injured. I shall stand among the living in the “parking lot” and give Him praise, for in Him do we have hope for tomorrow, and in the tomorrow to come.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. – Rom 8:18 KJV

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Just a Thought

Maybe it’s not the culture, the activists, or the agenda-driven erotics forcing this whole male/female/wishy-washy restroom controversy. 

 

Maybe it’s nothing more than a passive-aggressive, unacknowledged jealousy of one group by another. One wishes she could drown a fly; the other wishes he could be invited to.

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Save the Pragmatism For Later

The following is an iPost.

Today is Super Tuesday, the day when people in 13 states go to the polls to cast their ballot for the person they think should serve as their party’s nominee for President.

Unfortunately, many are not going to cast their vote based on principle or for conscience sake. No, many are going to the primary polls with a resigned sense of pragmatic inevitability. They are going to vote for the one they think is going to have the best chance of winning.

But why? Why not use the primary election to vote your conscience? Why not take this time to vote based on principle? Why not go ahead and vote for the one you REALLY want to be President, not the one everyone says in “inevitable”? If he’s inevitable, voting  on principle won’t change things, but at least you’ll have a clean conscience.

When the general election rolls around, that’s when you can be pragmatic, if necessary. You will have already voted with your heart, then you’ll be able to vote with your mind. With only two choices, one has to be better than the other in some way, so think what’s best for the country and vote accordingly.

But for today, vote for who you really want. Who knows? Others may feel the same way.

 

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