Not from my bible

We complain when a television show is tilted to the left, or to the right, we wonder why some commercials are allowed to be aired. Sometimes, we even find ourselves so disgusted that we change the chanel. Our office conversations center around what a horrible show that was last night, or maybe how great a piece was. What we do not do, it seems, it carry our indignation to the next logical (or necessary) step: Do something!

I did not watch The Book of Daniel on NBC last Friday night; the previews and teases were plenty of an affront to me without subjecting myself to any further ridicule by the producers. I have found several who share my beliefs who did watch, as much as they could anyway, and have discovered that it is indeed worse than I expected.

The following is an excerpt from the release by the American Family Association:

Viewer Says We Were Wrong! Book of Daniel Is Worse Than We Reported!
The Book of Daniel was aired by NBC on Friday night. Several NBC affiliates did not carry the program including those in Beaumont, TX; Tupelo, MS; Meridian, MS, Little Rock, AR; and Terre Haute, IN. In addition, NBC lost several million dollars when advertisers pulled out. NBC ended up selling the time for pennies on the dollar. The review below before sums up the emails we received by those who watched the program.

"I watched the Book of Daniel show on NBC tonight just so I could see if it was as bad as you said. Mr. Wildmon you have it wrong - it was worse than you described. The so called pastor takes drugs, smokes, drinks, takes the Lord's name in vain. He supports homosexuality and drug use. He broke the law by giving out prescription drugs to a Bishop. Two Bishops were committing adultery. They mis-quoted the Bible. The program portrayed our Savior in a joking way. There was a corrupt Catholic priest. The maid smokes pot. The Bishop drinks, the pastor's wife is a drunk and her sister is a lesbian and the son is a homosexual. One son sleeps around. I found this program very offensive to my Christian beliefs. They were poking fun at our Savior."

WBIR in Knoxville invited ministers in to see the program. Here are some of their comments. Rev. Brian Kearns, minister of Lighthouse Christian Church: "I think it's very demeaning to Christianity. If this is their view of Christianity, it's going to be as a joke. It's an assault on the Christian faith." Rev. Tom Seay, pastor Bearden United Methodist Church: "It's just a pretty sorry piece of work." Dale Powers from the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville: "You're portraying something as normal that is just absurd." Rev. John Stuart (no church identified): "Christ is at the center of my worship. What the show has done is demean my faith. You've diminished the person I worship...you've wounded me."

These comments are typical of those who watched the first episode. Since the tone and content of the show is now known, call your NBC affiliate and ask them not to carry any more episodes of the program. Very important: Ask your local advertisers to pull their adverting from your NBC affiliate if they continue to air the program.

TAKE ACTION Click Here to print out the NEW Pass Along sheet. Copy it and pass it out at your church. [ http://www.afa.net/passalong/pdf/nbc_bookofdaniel2.pdf ]

Click Here to send a letter to the handful of advertisers who bought ads for pennies on the dollar. [ https://secure.afa.net/afa/afapetition/takeaction.asp?id=178 ] The advertisers include Combe (Just For Men products), Mazda, H&R Block, and Burlington Coat Factory.

Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and ChairmanAmerican Family Association
www.afa.net

It seems, sometimes, that our beliefs and values are under assault. They are. It is easy to blame the "radical left" or the "mainstream media" or even "modern culture." The real enemy here has been the enemy of our God for eons: Satan. Our job is to spread the Word and combat the evils of the enemy. If you are a Christian, you are under attack. It is time to stand and do something about what you spend your time complaining over. Start here, or choose another avenue, but do something.

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27

Oh, Such Weighty Matters

Let’s see, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)wants to investigate the Philadelphia Eagles’ dealings with and suspension of their employee, Terrell Owens; Representative Joe Barton (R-Tx) wants to check into college football’s BCS format. Nothing else to do in D.C. I suppose.

I am a Texan. For that matter, Joe Barton is my representative from the Sixth Congressional District. Further, I am a conservative (some liken me to a Republican, but I wonder about the Republican/conservative link these days). While I agree that most times, the less that is being done by congress, the better. This is not one of those times, though.

Senator Specter, a Republican (?) can say that he wants to investigate the treatment of Owens, an employee of the Eagles, but he cannot find the time to begin hearings for that unimportant Supreme Court vacancy? Judge Samuel Alito waits around for a confirmation hearing that Specter appears ambivalent about. Priorities, folks. When Madison, Jefferson, Adams, and the rest of our founders drafted the Constitution, they set forth guidelines for the three branches of government to work within. They created the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our government. I re-read the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, and even the Declaration of Independence: I found no mention of the BCS or the NFL, no acronyms were included that I could find.

We are at war. Our troops are being belittled and berated by members of congress. Our Christian heritage and holidays are under attack. Social Security and Medicare are facing insolvency. Taxes are an out-of-control behemoth. Governments are seizing private properties from citizens for the use of other, wealthier corporate citizens. Our borders are so porous, illegals run through them quicker than water. The list of important needs confronting our nation is much too long to include all of them. Why add to them?

Does anyone really sympathize with T.O.? He will be getting paid his millions by his employer. The BCS will crown a national champion, and probably a legitimate one this year. Flaws will always be found where business is concerned by anyone wanting to find them. It is the responsibility of the business to make those corrections. There are no civil rights injustices being metered out towards Penn State football or professional athletes who violate their team’s codes of conduct. The fact is, it appears as if these men and women in D.C. are afraid of tackling our real problems.

Congress: You got your pay raise (automatic, of course). Now, go to work.

©2005, Michael A Porter, Sr., Texastude.comDecember 3, 2005

What about CHRISTmas?

“The busiest shopping day of the year!”

“ Retailers worry about slow sales this Christmas.”

“What am I going to get Mom and Dad for Christmas?”

“Those Christmas lights have to be hung soon.”

“Did we get everything we needed for everyone?”

Wow. No wonder we stress at Christmas. When you consider all of the crowds, money that we spend for gifts that the people we give them to might not even care for, regardless of whether we like those people or not, the cooking and cleaning for all of the parties, even worrying about what to do with the kids while school is out for two-and-a-half weeks, we should all be breaking down by the time that Christmas day arrives.

Every Christmas season we run ourselves ragged, as a society, and worry that we have forgotten something. And to be blunt, we have. We say merry Christmas, and we send merry Christmas cards, and we wrap Christmas presents for everyone on our list (and more in some cases), but we never give to the real celebrant, do we?

The beginning of the Advent season this morning got me thinking. My church highlights a key passage every Sunday; usually it is exactly what I need at that time. This morning was no different:

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

Again, wow! What words! Reminds me a little of what Christmas is about. What about you? Maybe if we just ponder these words, we may not be so anxious to run out and buy that “perfect” gift for someone. Maybe we will remember that that “perfect” gift has already been given; it began on the first Christmas day.

Say a prayer of thanks for whatever situation that you find yourself in, and remember those who need your prayers.

©2005, Michael A Porter, Sr., Texastude.com
November 27, 2005

ACLU Vs. America

American Civil Liberties Union. The only words that even come close to what they really stand for are "Civil . . . Unions."

Gay marriage. Pro-Muslim prayer time in our public schools. No mention of Christianity in any form in our public schools (except as mentioned in the evil crusades). No parental notification (not approval) of a child's aborting another child. No spousal notification (not approval) of a wife's decision to take a child's life. These are the recent and ongoing "liberties" being protected by the ACLU and left leaning activist courts.

Have you noticed that I have yet to find a suitable list of "American" activities that are championed by these . . . people? That is because I cannot think of any. Granted, I am no constitutional scholar, in fact I am just an American guy who was taught, in school, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the real reason for each of them. Heck, I even know a little about the Magna Carta.

I am constantly awed by the fact that these people are allowed to take our childrens' rights to an education and use it as a pulpit, along with their teacher friends, to indoctrinate the young minds into a false utopian society where all will be perfect (a little more perfect, though, for those in the lead) and everyone will be the same. Sounds familiar, huh? I read that book as well (Orwell? 1984?).

To be fair, not all teachers are recruiters in their war on our moral foundation. Many are even fighting on their own. Most will lose their job, not gain tenure (a wonderful practice in its own right), or be supported in any way by those of us who agree with them. Why? Maybe because we do not really know who they are because of their fears of reprisal? Probably.

When America wakes to a fair dawn of liberal ideas in control and a complete -CLU victory, we can finally eliminate any and all mention of American values and morals, pray to any god but a Chritian Lord, slow the growth of our species by allowing same-sex-marriage, and finally get those evil parents out of the way, we will live in that oh-so-wonderful decadence that is cherished by those who faught so hard to bring us our "Civil Liberties."

May the Lord bless and keep the children in harms way.

Such Fine Leadership

So, Friday our elected "leaders" showed their complete and utter contempt for us, the electorate who sent them to do our work. Not only did they make asses of themselves on the floor by accusing one another of such things as "cowardice" and being "pathetic," but they passed another pay-raise (easy enough when they do not have to vote on the measure).

Maybe if they were held accountable, these things would not happen. Oh, I forgot, we do not hold our elected "leaders" to account for their actions.

Madison and the original fathers of this nation had a vision of citizen lawmakers who would go to do their duty, elected by the citizens because they were to be trusted and, hopefully, act for the constituency, and when done return home to their real jobs as bakers, lawyers, smiths, etc. They were not intended to become professional politicians whose job becomes one of getting re-elected.

Republicans and Democrats alike have hijacked the system and taken what was the greatest experiment in history and turned it into a system akin to the ceasars of the Roman Empire.

God bless and protect this great nation. And may God bless our troops who valiantly protect us.

Eminent Domain or State Theft?

In the matter of “Kelo et al v. City of New London, 04-108” the United States Supreme Court has effectively reduced the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution a wordy but meaningless sentence. The Supreme Court has ruled that private business is now in the public interest, and that individual cities may decide which people will be uprooted and robbed for the enrichment of both the city coffers and the corporate bank accounts.

By deciding that a city may, without any guidelines, decide that a “project” will be a benefit to the community, even though it is a private venture that will benefit a private business (usually given a tax abatement as well), the court has opened the door to the deprivation of a citizen’s private property without just compensation. Just compensation does not mean strictly a monetary or economic figure that is arrived at by means of what a neighbor is willing to settle for. Just compensation, as cities define the term, does not consider the desires of or the undue hardship placed upon an individual American citizen. Just compensation, it seems, means only that the city is willing to “give” an amount for a property, regardless of the investment by the homeowner of time, money, sweat and dreams, and then turn it over to another private entity for use in a venture designed to make money for that entity.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor dissented with the comment: “Today the Court abandons this long-held, basic limitation on government power.” She continued, "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. . . . The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms." More and more often we are faced with the ever increasing usurpation of the individual citizen’s rights to own property.

Terms such as “eminent domain” and “environmental concerns” prevent the individual from owning and utilizing his property in a manner which is consistent with legal, moral and historical use. The Fifth Amendment is the same which guarantees that no individual may “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” as well as the private property portion. Most disconcerting is the thought that by interpreting an entirely new definition to this part of the amendment, the way has been cleared to redefine the entire amendment. It is an insult to any American who believes that this nation is a special place, with special meaning, to say that the very documents that forged our tremendous heritage are nothing but pieces of paper with arbitrary sets of guidelines set upon them. The Constitution is systematically being rewritten to mean anything but what the framers intended. From God to property to individual thought, the constitutional protections that so many have fought for and died to defend are eroding into an indiscernible mix of anything but the original intent. The document is firm and without fluidity. It is alive because of the thoughts within it, not because it is easily changed and interpreted to mean new things. The continued assault on the original brilliance of the men who created this great nation and set forth a document by which we would continue to survive as a nation can only result in the ultimate downfall and destruction of everything that they risked all to create.

June 23, 2005
© 2005 Michael A. Porter, Sr.