Wednesday, September 30, 2015

GOP Candidates - 2015

My top 3 candidates are 1. Ted Cruz  2. Donald Trump  3. Dr Ben Carson.   There are a few that I classify as a “maybe” on my list.   Then there are some that if they are the candidate I just will not vote or will maybe find some 3rd party to vote for.  

I am not a Carly Fiorina fan.   Has anyone stopped to think why the Main Stream Media would push people like Carly or Jeb Bush – it isn’t because they are strong / good Republicans or Conservatives. 

I can’t put my finger on it but although Chris Christy says some things I like I just can’t warm up to him.  So he is on my maybe list and push come to shove I might vote for him.

I like Gov Huckabee but I don’t think he is feisty enough to get down in the trenches and fight it out with the liberal socialists.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Donald Trump Immediately Replies With These Four Words When CBS Anchor Asks Why He’s ‘Thin-Skinned’

The Blaze: Sep. 25, 2015 11:45pm Oliver Darcy

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump fought back against assertions that he is “thin skinned” in an interview set to air in full on “60 Minutes” Sunday.

“Why so thin-skinned?” CBS News anchor Scott Pelley asked the real estate tycoon.

Trump immediately responded with four words: “I don’t like lies.”

He added, “I–I don’t mind a bad story. If you did a bad story on me for 60 Minutes, if it were a fair story I wouldn’t be thin-skinned at all.”

Trump said that some reporters are “among the worst people” he’s ever encountered in his life.

“I mean a pretty good percentage is really a terrible group of people. They write lies, they write false stories. They know they’re false. It makes no difference. And frankly I don’t call it thin-skinned, I’m angry,” he told Pelley.

“But a reporter asks you a couple of tough questions and the first debate and the whole week after that its war on that reporter,” Pelley replied.

“Well, I don’t think those were fair questions,” Trump said.

Pelley told Trump that “an impression is created though that you like to dish it out but you can’t take a punch.”

“Oh I think I can take it,” Trump answered. “I–I could take it if it’s fair. Again, if people say things that are false which happens a lot with me — if people say things that are false I will fight, like, harder than anybody. If I do something wrong, and that happens, and they write a fair story that I did something wrong, there’s nothing to fight about. I can handle that. I don’t like lying. You know I’m a very honorable guy, I don’t like lies.”

Trump earned himself a reputation for being sensitive to media scrutiny by way of blasting news outlets and reporters who are critical of his campaign. The billionaire has gone after multiple Fox News personalities, National Review’s editor and Politico in recent days.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Church Memory – St John Presbyterian in Tampa

One day after church a small group of men were standing outside talking.   Manuel Beiro said to my dad “Henry, you are a cracker and I am a Cuban, and we’re going to be friends”.   And they were great friends in their church life and in their personal lives.  Today’s church lacks that friendliness, that willingness to reach out to everyone, anyone.    Today we just want to get out of the church and get home perhaps to watch football or some such thing.  Manual and my father and lets not forget Mike Cassanueva were great friends through the years and the world could sure use more men like that.  I miss all of them.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Fox News – So Disappointing

This has certainly been an eye opening year.  The GOP debates showed me that Fox news is certainly not “Fair and Balanced” and I have started to pay attention once again to the other news sources.  Now today I see where a Fox news guy called Christians “Haters” – sorry guys but I can’t tolerate this anymore and am looking for an alternative news source. 

Besides “Political Correctness” the thing that is really killing our country is the news media.   What happened to those days when the news media “reported” the news instead of making it?  It seems that the people working for the various news sources are trying to make a name for themselves instead of reporting the news.   I stopped listening to talk radio many many many years ago when I realized that the host was sitting there preaching at me for 3 or so hours instead of taking callers and discussing the topic with them. 

 

 

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Upper Room Devotional – 9/10/2015

Read Isaiah 40:25-31

Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.

- 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NRSV)

Today's Devotional

The day before our Harvest Festival several sisters from church and I decorated the sanctuary with flowers, berries, and trailing shrubs. Our work went smoothly. Soon, bright arrangements were everywhere! When the main decorative work had been completed there were some “leftovers” on the table — broken branches, unattractive flowers, unopened buds. As we gathered all this together to throw into the trashcan, the caring hands of one woman took a few items from the pile of garbage, wrapped a ribbon around them, and crowned her masterpiece with a shiny bead. A charming bouquet appeared before our eyes.

Sometimes I feel like one of those superfluous, broken branches, thrown away in this materially oriented world. But for our Lord none of us is superfluous or unnecessary. Each person is precious and valuable in God’s eyes. (See Isaiah 43:4.) Each of us is a unique flower in the fragrant bouquet of the Lord.

Irina Ivanova (Pskov, Russia)

Thought for the Day:

None of us is superfluous to God.

Prayer: Generous and merciful God, help us to know ourselves as your beloved children. Help us to understand that we are wonderfully made by you and that we have everything we need for life and holiness. Amen.

Prayer Focus: Someone with low self-esteem

Republican Leadership

From the “Tea Party Nation”

The Republican Leadership in Washington want Barack Obama’s Iran sanctions deal to go through.  There is absolutely no doubt about that.  Bailout Bob Corker’s bill, which turned the Senate and the Constitution on its head, would not have passed unless the Republican Leadership wanted it to pass.

The Republicans are pulling another one of their famous stunts where they publicly oppose a bill, yet set the bill up so it can pass over their objections.  

Iran screams “Death to America!” all the time.  They spend their money funding terrorist around the world.  Obama hates America and wants to hurt the nation so it is obvious why he wants the Iran deal.  Bo why are the Republicans so determined to pass the bill that let’s Iran build nuclear weapons and end western sanctions against Iran?

Find out the shocking answer to this question, now on Tea Party Nation.

Visit Tea Party Nation at: http://www.teapartynation.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Saturday, September 05, 2015

Church Thoughts

As I have grown older – ok ok, old;  I have had a lot of chance to reflect on my Christian life and church preference.   I have a lot of miscellaneous and probably unfinished thoughts on a lot of churchy things.   Fasten your seatbelts and hopefully finish reading this post.

Music,  most of todays churches use contemporary music instead of the old hymns I am used to.   I tolerate the guitars and drums as long as they are not do loud that you can’t hear the voices;  sometimes they are just too overpowering.  I do wish they would sprinkle in an old standard once in a while – I would love to sing thing like “The Old Rugged Cross” or “ In The Garden” once in a while. 

In the past people would not just say “welcome”, shake your hand and then keep walking. . . because hey there might be a football game on.    They would engage you in an actual conversation.   Maybe invite new folks to a mid week Bible study or Sunday School or church dinner.    And the older church folks would never let a newcomer stand or sit alone. 

Church folk would even hand you a religious tract booklet or also something I don’t see anymore,  a small New Testament Bible;  I still have one I was given back in 1967 when I was leaving to go to Thailand with the Air Force.  I am not saying that I always read it faithfully but it has travelled with me all over the world and I still have it and look at it once in a while – it planted the seed in Christianity in my life and I am very grateful for it. 

I remember when (60’s) the Pastor would periodically come around for a visit (usually Sunday afternoon) and maybe a meal.  That really helped to get to know everyone and not just be a face in a crowd;  plus it is nice to get to know the Pastor as a person and not just the guy who preaches.   It wouldn’t work for me in my situation as I am the only “churchy” one – but there are many folks who would benefit from it. 

In parting,  there is one thing I wish I could do is to go into the sanctuary during the week and just sit there in the quiet and think – but in todays world that just isn’t possible. . . . is it?

Today’s Generation–Relaxing

I feel that todays kids don’t know how to relax.  Unless they are bellied up to a bar in the local pub or holding one of their devices staring at the screen or just sitting on the couch watching Netflix  - they are not happy. 

 

They do not know how to truly relax.   The wife and I sometimes drive up to Schroon Lake and get a sub at the general store and a bottle of soda and we sit on the hill overlooking the public beach.   Just watching folks swimming and just plain having fun by the lake is so very relaxing.  Watching the lake, the boats the trees gently blowing in the breeze is just a pleasure.    Maybe just listening to people as they talk and laugh while just walking by or playing with Frisbee's or just watching their kids is so very relaxing. 

 

For a generation of people who are so inactive because they stay inside and just stare at one or more of their devices constantly – they never let their mind go into neutral to relax for a while. 

 

Of course one of the things they don’t do because they are always using one or more devices is that they don’t actually talk to each other or maybe meeting new people.   They live in a very small self contained world and that is sad. 

Bristol Palin Asks Barack Obama One Simple Question He Refuses to Answer

From Buzzpo website and Facebook

As a conservative activist and politically well-informed young woman, Bristol Palin is following steadfastly in her famous mother’s footsteps.

In a recent blog post, she criticized President Obama’s renaming of Mount McKinley in Alaska to Denali, after years of protests from indigenous tribes.

“Renaming a mountain is not going to make up for all the other ways he (Obama) has let down the Alaskan people,” Bristol wrote.

“Why doesn’t he check out our oil fields? Why doesn’t he open our pipeline so we can supply our own natural gas instead of buying it from our enemies in the Middle East … This is just a joke … The next election can’t come any sooner.”

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

A Mom's Letter To Her Daughter About Miley Cyrus

From “Chicks on the Right”, Wednesdaay 8/28/2015

Written by  Mockarena

There's a letter from a mom to her daughter that's going all viral like. And it's no wonder, because it's awesome.

Yes, this is what happens when you constantly hear everything you do is awesome. This is what happens when people fawn over your every Tweet and Instagram photo. This is what happens when no responsible adult has ever said the word “no,” made you change your clothes before leaving the house, or never spanked your butt for deliberate defiance.

If you ever even consider doing something like that, I promise you that I will run up and twerk so you will see how ridiculous twerking looks. I will duct tape your mouth shut so your tongue doesn’t hangout like an overheated hound dog. I will smack any male whom you decide to smash against his pelvis – after I first knock you on your butt for forgetting how a lady acts in public.

Why would I do that? Because I love you and I want you to respect yourself. Miley Cyrus is not edgy or cool or sexy. She’s a desperate girl screaming for attention: Notice me. Tell me I’m pretty. See how hot I am. I know all the guys want me. All the girls want to be me.

You probably know girls who will emulate this behavior at the next school dance. Don’t do it with them. You are far too valuable to sell yourself so cheaply. Walk away. Let the boys gawk and know in your heart that they see only a body that can be used for their pleasure and then forgotten.

According to the sourcelink, "The mother also apologized to her daughter if she has ever 'felt sad because I haven’t gushed over everything you’ve done.' The job of a mother, she writes, is to 'praise when praise is due, but also to offer constructive criticism and correction when it is needed as well.'”

“Dear daughter, I am going to fight or die trying to keep you from becoming like the Miley Cyruses of the world,” she concludes. “You can thank me later.”

OH SNAP.

What good is the Republican Party in Washington?

Posted by Judson Phillips on September 2, 2015 at 6:59am in Tea Party Nation Forum

Does anyone remember 2009? The Republicans in Washington were desperate.  They were a minority in the House of Representatives, where Nancy Pelosi ran that Chamber like her own personal dictatorship. In the Senate, the GOP had shrunk to the point where they could not even filibuster a bill.

The Republicans begged and pleaded with the base.  If you just get us back into power, they said, we will do everything you want.

Six years later, conservatives have given the GOP their wish.  The Republicans now control the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Absent a stunning series of events beyond anyone’s control, the Republicans will gain control of the White House after the 2016 election.

But now, because of things going on in Washington, conservatives are asking, “What good is the Republican Party in Washington?”

What is happening?

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has announced that there will be no government shutdown at the end of the month.  There will be no attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.  Planned Parenthood has been rocked by scandals that show how evil that organization is.  These videos show executives joking about selling body parts so one of them can buy a Lamborghini. Another horror story involves them talking about cutting through the face of an aborted baby to get the brain.  The understory here is that for some of these aborted babies to be usable for medical purposes, they are basically born alive.

Planned Parenthood should be defunded and abolished just as a matter of general principle.  But there is a more practical issue here.  The abortion industry is one of the largest funders of the Democrat Party. The Republican Party should take on Planned Parenthood for that reason alone.

Yes, Barack Obama is threatening to veto any budget bill that does not include funding for Planned Parenthood.  Because he threatening to do so, is no reason for the GOP to surrender.  But that is exactly what they are doing.

The Republican Party in DC will not fight for anything. Despite their promises, they are not fighting to repeal Obamacare. Despite their promises, they are not fighting to cut spending or reduce the size of government. 

Some fights you win and some fights you lose.  But you always lose if you never fight. 

The base is sick of Republicans who will not fight for anything they claim they believe in.

Is it any wonder many Republicans are now looking at Donald Trump as a candidate?  There is no telling what a President Trump would really do but he is willing to fight the other side.

That is certainly more than the current Washington leadership is willing to do.