2022_07_02-- USA Independence related items
The Fourth of July is not about barbecues, fireworks or even patriotism. It's about this…
We celebrate the Fourth of July because that's the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, 242 years ago. You might call July 4 America's birthday. The Declaration didn't just declare our independence from Britain; it vowed to create a government that respected all people's rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It said nothing about patriotism. Or making America "great".
America became great because the Declaration (and the Constitution that followed) set down rules that kept government small and out of the way. That let creative individuals flourish. When the Declaration was signed, the founders didn't know what America would look like. They knew, though, that they were sick of being bossed around by the British king, so they worried about government having too much power. Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues wrote the Declaration to assert that our "natural rights" could not be taken away by any government, and to set the stage for the creation of a government through which people could rule themselves. At the time, America was considered a backwater. Just a few years later, America had become the most prosperous, and probably the freest, country in the world.
The Fourth of July is not about barbecues, fireworks or even patriotism. It's about that idea: that people have the right to rule themselves. Ironically, government has grown so much since the founding that you might not even be able to buy fireworks where you live. In much of America they are now illegal because government officials have declared them to be too dangerous. Yet the Declaration and Constitution weren't written to make government provide for public safety. The founders assumed that was something adults would do for themselves. The founding documents are about freedom -- about limiting what government can do. "Trust no man with too much government power," wrote Jefferson. "(B)ind them with the chains of the Constitution."
It's good that the Declaration and Constitution have those "chains." No matter how insistent the state's busybodies get, they may not arbitrarily search our homes or jail us. We have a right to bear arms, to practice whatever religions we choose, to exercise free speech and more. Growing government has eroded some of our freedoms, but we still have more freedoms than most countries in the world. Consider the country we declared independence from, Great Britain. Authorities there recently locked up a man merely because he made a Facebook live video outside a courthouse. He wanted to draw attention to child abusers on trial, but Britain's government puts limits on what reporters may cover. England has no First Amendment.
Some people who write critical things on Facebook or Twitter get visits from police. Great Britain also has no Second Amendment, and has far more restrictions on guns than we have. That hasn't stopped crime. London had more murders than New York City this spring.Now London's mayor wants "knife control." Really. One British police department even bragged about its "weapon sweep" that confiscated "scissors and pliers." But don't worry, tweeted the Regents Police Agency, they were "safely disposed and taken off the streets." I'm glad I live in America, where I can carry pliers around. And speak freely.
Of course, the Constitution has more limits on government power than just the ones stated in the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution divided government in ways meant to limit authoritarian politicians from any party. President Donald Trump's own Supreme Court nominee rebuked the man who appointed him, ruling that a Trump-advocated law making it easier to deport some immigrants was too vague. The Court stopped President Obama almost a hundred times. It's a good thing we have both the Declaration and the Constitution, with their curbs on power-grabs by presidents and legislators -- curbs on judges, too. Unfortunately, those limits on government haven't exactly kept government small. Thomas Jefferson wanted "a wise and frugal government" that leaves people "free to regulate their own pursuits." Now we've got 180,000 pages of federal rules and $21 trillion in debt. Still, the Constitution and the Declaration have helped keep us mostly free. That's something to celebrate this Fourth of July.
John Stossel is the author of "No They Can't! Why Government Fails -- But Individuals Succeed." Click here for more information on John Stossel.
P.S. President Reagan summed up well the important role parents have in helping their children learn to appreciate our great country: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be … handed on for them … or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our … children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Quotations About George Washington and Religion
(by Stephen McDowell)
https://www.nordskogpublishing.com/george-washington-an-instrument-in-the-hands-of-providence/
George Washington is one of the most significant men in all of history. Regarding the direct advancement of civil and political liberty in the earth, he may well be the most significant champion in all history. Certainly he was the central figure of bringing a new era of liberty to the world in modern times. Abraham Lincoln observed: “Washington is the mightiest name of earth — long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name no eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it.” Founding Father Fisher Ames said that Washington changed the standard of human greatness. One biographer wrote, “Washington was without an equal, was unquestionably the greatest man that the world has produced in the last one thousand years.” Thomas Paine observed: “By common consent, Washington is regarded as not merely the Hero of the American Revolution, but the World’s Apostle of Liberty.”
In his famous “Oration on the Death of General Washington,” Gen. Henry Lee said that Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” “Vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always felt his fostering hand; the purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.” Washington was first because, as Lee said, he was “the man designed by Heaven to lead in the great political, as well as military, events which have distinguished the area of his life. The finger of an overruling Providence pointing at Washington was neither mistaken nor unobserved.”
Washington was the great, great grandson of Lawrence Washington, an Anglican pastor. Difficulties between Lawrence Washington and the Church may have ultimately resulted in his heirs moving to Virginia. Thus the reason Washington was born in Virginia may have been related to religious developments. The First Great Awakening was taking place in England in the years leading up to Washington's birth, and played a significant role in the ethos of a growing American religious environment in the eighteenth century. However, the influence of the Great Awakening was felt strongest by Baptists and Presbyterians, and was less influential in the Anglican community that included Washington. An Anglian family headed by a mother who was devoted to personal spirituality raised George Washington, which may have had an influence on Washington's own sense of religion.
Regarding direct church participation, Washington was a devoted member of the Anglican Church. In 1762, Washington became a vestryman in Truro Parish, overseeing the affairs at Pohick Church. He served as a churchwarden for three terms, helping to care for the poor. Washington's church attendance varied throughout his life, with his attendance becoming sporadic for periods of time and then picking up again during his presidency. However, one former pastor at Pohick did state that "I never knew so constant an attendant at church as Washington.
In regard to personal spirituality, Washington was generally private about his religious life. Washington is reported to have had regular private prayer sessions, and personal prayer was a large part of his life. One well-known report stated that Washington's nephew witnessed him doing personal devotions with an open Bible while kneeling, in both the morning and evening. It is clear that when it came to religion, Washington was a private man, more so than with other aspects of his life.
Notably, Washington did see God as guiding the creation of the United States. It is also possible that Washington felt he needed to discern the will of Providence. These facts point to belief in a God who is hidden from humanity, yet continually influencing the events of the universe. This does not illustrate conclusively that he was a devout Christian, however. Washington never explicitly mentioned the Name of Jesus Christ in private correspondence. The only mentions of Christ are in public papers, and those references are scarce. However, Washington's lack of usage may be due to the accepted practice of his day; Jesus was not typically referenced by Anglicans or Episcopalians of Washington's generation.
https://faculty.wts.edu/posts/the-invisible-hand-in-george-washingtons-leadership/
by Peter Lillback
Our era is marked by political correctness and efforts to downplay Western civilization. Yet Americans still recognize George Washington as a great leader. Washington’s sweeping contributions include:
Securing American independence as General in the Revolutionary War
Presiding over the framing of the U.S. Constitution
Protecting and advancing religious liberty for all, inclusive of minority faiths
Establishing the precedents of the American presidency
Modeling the orderly and peaceful transition of power
But a key element of Washington’s leadership often remains unacknowledged or unrecognized: how the Bible shaped him as he shaped America. Washington’s biblical knowledge ranged from Genesis to Revelation, with well over 200 biblical allusions or citations in his writings including numerous references to Christianity, God, heaven, prayer, and the Ten Commandments, to name a few. Consider a letter he wrote in April 1789. Its classic style bristles with Biblical and theological concepts: “The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institutions may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest of purposes.” Washington’s leadership often reflected Scriptural emphases. Consider three examples of Biblical ideas that impacted Washington’s leadership: providence, perseverance, and humility.
https://providenceforum.org/story/george-washington/
George Washington was placed on the One-Dollar bill for good reason. He was the champion of the Revolutionary War, and more. He was already being called “the father of his country” during his lifetime. At his funeral, he was eulogized as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” As the hero of the nation, his views were especially important. His deep commitment to the providence of God is thus particularly significant.
Washington’s earliest dramatic experience of God’s providential protection occurred during General Braddock’s defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela, near modern day Pittsburgh, in 1755. Following the Battle, Washington wrote to his brother, John A. Washington on July 18, 1755: But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me. Consistent with Washington’s early experience of God’s providential aid at the battle of Monongahela are his remarks penned on August 20, 1778, as the commander in chief of the Revolutionary Army. Referring to recent instances of divine intervention during the War for Independence, Washington wrote to Brigadier-General Nelson, describing himself as a man of faith and as a preacher of providence! “The hand of Providence has been conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. But it will be time enough for me to turn preacher when my present appointment ceases; and therefore I shall add no more on the doctrine of Providence.”
This remarkable story prompted the colonial Presbyterian preacher Rev. Samuel Davies of Hanover Virginia, and later President of the College at Princeton, N. J. to declare in a sermon entitled “Religion and Patriotism the Constituents of a Good Soldier”, “I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preserved him in so signal a manner, for some important service to his country.” Moreover, Washington’s grandson relates an astounding story of a subsequent encounter by Washington sixteen years later in 1770 with some of the very Indians that had sought to kill him at Braddock’s defeat. Twenty years after Washington’s experience of “the all-powerful dispensations of Providence” at Monongahela, he would be selected as the General of the Continental Army. The leaders of the new nation committed their military commander to the protection of Divine Providence.
Frequently throughout his career, Washington asserted the reality of divine providence. On the first of May, 1777, the American camp learned that France was joining the war on the side of America. Announcing this most significant French decision to his Army, Washington proclaimed at Valley Forge: “It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the universe to defend the cause of the United American States, and finally to raise up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our liberty and independence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the divine goodness, and celebrating the important event, which we owe to His divine interposition.”
Washington’s opportunity to become a preacher of providence occurred at his Inauguration as the first President of the United States under the American Constitution. A portion of Washington’s First Inaugural Address is as follows: “It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, [and] who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States.” On October 3rd in 1789, mindful of the many blessings God had bestowed upon America, President Washington proclaimed a Day of Thanksgiving:
“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” Washington, who assured the synagogue in New Port, Rhode Island that the American government “…gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance…,” also saw the duty of America to acknowledge and adore the care of divine providence for the American people. In his First Inaugural Address, he declared, “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency . . . We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
George Washington was nearly impossible to kill
by Blake Stilwell
Posted On September 12, 2019
Despite having two horses shot out from under him, history would have been much different if George Washington was born a 90-pound weakling. As it was, he was an abnormally large man, especially for the American Colonies. At 6’2″ and weighing more than 200 pounds, he was literally and figuratively a giant of a man. This might be why nine diseases, Indian snipers, and British cannon shot all failed to take the big man down. It’s not just that the man was fearless in battle (even though he really was). Washington suffered from a number of otherwise debilitating, painful ailments and diseases throughout his life that would have taken a lesser man down — but not the man who founded the most powerful country ever to grace the Earth.
“Let them take cover in the woods! We’ll fight the indians in straight lines, in tight formations. That’ll show them who’s boss.” It didn’t show them who’s boss. He should have died at the Battle of the Monongahela. Near what we today call Pittsburgh,a British force under General Edward Braddock was soundly defeated by a force of French Canadians and Indians during the French and Indian War. Braddock died of wounds sustained in the fighting, but Washington survived despite having two horses shot out from under him. When all was said and done, he also found four musket-ball holes in his coat.
“C’mon guys… let’s make this quick. Suuuuuper quick.” He had dysentery the whole time. During much of the French and Indian War, Washington reported bouts of dysentery, an infection that causes (among other things) persistent diarrhea. He suffered from this while dodging bullets at the Monongahela River. The discomfort from it actually made him sit taller on his horse. “This is way easier when you don’t have dysentery!” He trotted 30 yards from enemy lines. During the 1777 Battle of Princeton, Washington rode on his horse as bullets fired from British rifles 30 yards away whizzed around him. When troops worried about their leader getting shot, he simply said, “parade with me my fine fellows, we will have them soon!”
America would get two more epic swings at German troops. Trenton was cold as hell. Crossing the Delaware was actually much more dangerous than the stories would have you believe. Giant chunks of ice were in the dark water that night and each threatened to overturn the longboats. Washington set out with three boats to make the crossing, and only his made it. Falling into the water likely meant a slow, freezing death for any Continental, even if they managed to get out of it. Two Continental soldiers who survived the crossing stopped to rest by the side of the road and were frozen by morning.
He had six of the most lethal diseases of his time. Normally, if you’re reading about someone in the 1700s contracting tuberculosis, dysentery, pneumonia, malaria, smallpox, or diphtheria, it’s because that’s how they died. Not only did Washington survive all of these conditions, he knew how to inoculate his army against smallpox, claiming the British tried using as an early form of biological warfare. It was the first mass military inoculation in history — and it worked. In the end, Washington was felled by what modern doctors think was a case of epiglottitis, an acute bacterial inflammation of the little flap at the base of the tongue that covers the trachea. Like the Rebel Alliance finding an exhaust port in the Death Star plans, life found a way to take down one of history’s greatest. It took 67 years and whole lot of trial and error.
USA was a Christian nation-- https://app.box.com/s/s6daabfhl9s3or9y4ykbdfe0y47snasa
Foundational Documents of the Genesis of the United States of America logically indent formatted:
https://app.box.com/s/o6jb1cewahe9uouc07z6zfonjjy8vby2
Educational statue about the establishment of liberty in the USA--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument_to_the_Forefathers
miscellaneous secular quotations in ETRLF-- https://app.box.com/s/zf9ilm46hb5q4l98hyrocysgwnrh6dnm
***Good advice for USA-- https://app.box.com/s/xm6yr
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In Congress, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands
which have connected them with another
and to assume among the powers of the Earth, the separate and equal station
to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them,
a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires
that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —
****What rights does God give Christians? What rights does the United States Constitution give? What rights are most of the Democrat political leaders and the liberal media wanting to make laws for? What rights do the just mentioned power-hungry individuals want taken away from Republicans and Christians?
Harvard Student Condemns Anti-Americanism in Senior Speech
https://www.prageru.com/video/harvard-student-condemns-anti-americanism-in-senior-speech
****Did you hear the famous musical titled “Hamilton” about the Founding of the USA is only having Black and Mexican actors and actresses now! Do you know about what is being promoted in USA schools?--
****Turning Point Movement-- Exposing CRT and Political Truths--
https://www.facebook.com/turningpointusa/videos/401625814834033
https://news.yahoo.com/discovered-critical-race-theory-public-000019874.html
https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/critical-race-theory-fight/
https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/fatal-flaw-of-the-1619-project-curriculum/
https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/review-the-1619-project-curriculum
My USA Glads
(by Bill Stevenson, November 26, 2004)
Note: Recently I was told that during the upcoming trip with my wife and mother-in-law, I must share USA with pride as if I have become un-patriotic since moving to Germany last year. But the Apostle Paul wrote that we should not boast about anything except about our Lord. So, I decided to write a list of what I am glad about in relation to the USA. They are not in order of importance. They are in sort of chronological order as I realized them from December 20, 1946 to June 7, 2003 (my time in the USA). This list will show that I am still glad to be a United States citizen. Via the Internet and CNN, daily I read a lot of the USA news and do a lot of praying for people in the USA. In my view, there are still more “goods” than “bads”, especially in the remaining freedoms, but the “bads” are rapidly increasing because of fears and selfishness. The USA is in danger of being conquered or destroyed.
1. The United States of America had the most wonderful beginning in world history because its Founding Fathers were believers in religious freedom, God, and the Bible. (Most nations at that time were Roman Catholic Church and were not to read the Bible personally. The Queen of England protested against that church by promoting the Calvin Bible in all English homes.) The Founding Fathers also realized from history that they should form a federal government with checks and balances of political power called a republic. They realized that every democracy had become either a dictatorship or anarchy. Their first attempt to write an agreement to create a republic form of national government was The Articles of Confederation which was quickly rejected. But their second attempt in The Constitution with the Bill of Rights provided a way for a Federal Government that has never had a violent change of power in over 200 years. Also, the flag of the United States is unique and symbolic. I am glad about all of what was mentioned in this paragraph, but the goodness of the Founding Fathers and the religious aspects of early USA history have been omitted in most school textbooks. I am also saddened that now the political leaders and most of the people think the USA has always been democracy (it actually started to become one in 1914) and are for socialistic changes along with lying and slander in election campaigns. I hate politics now.
2. I am glad about most of the history of the United States up to the Civil War in the mid-1800s. There were many examples of compassion and there was a wonderful pioneer spirit for exploring westward showing so much courage. Also, I am glad that so many people of various religious faiths were able to peacefully begin churches throughout the country. But I am concerned about the increasing religious prejudices. I have been a victim of such many times.
3. I am glad that the Civil War did not ruin the United States and that reconciliation between the states was accomplished.
4. I am glad for all of the soldiers in the wars that USA has been involved in who were fighting in order to help others have freedom too.
5. I am glad that the USA became the leading country in the world to provide for missionary work in all other countries. And that it helped Europe and Japan recover from World War II. I believe that God blessed the USA more than any country because of all of the unselfishness the USA showed in its beginnings, in its missionary work, and its foreign aid. All but one country have not paid the USA back for the loans given to them after World War II.
6. I am glad that so many people of different cultures have been able to succeed in the USA and for all of the inventions created by them. The USA has become spoiled with conveniences and low prices for so many things compared to most all of the other countries in the world. That is why so many want to relocate to the USA.
7. I am glad that non-Caucasian individuals have more rights and opportunities in the USA than in any other country in the world.
8. I am glad that I was born into a family which manifested a lot of good morals and ethics, and that I had parents who stayed together for 43 years.
9. I am glad that the USA used to have a good public school education system (up until 1970). I was mostly educated before the liberalizing of it. We did not need prayer and Bible teaching in schools because we had mostly responsible teachers and parents who exemplified and taught proper learning and relationship ethics.
10. I am glad that I have never had my life threatened by others or disasters (earthquakes, weather-related), which are common in many countries. I have been amazed by how so many citizens have helped in times of disaster in the USA, like in Florida after hurricanes, in the Midwest states after flooding, and after the 9/11 attacks in New York City. And look how San Francisco rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake caused fires and how quickly New York City is again the most popular tourist place again.
11. I am glad to have lived in a country that had so many wonderful places to see: museums etc. in cities, National Parks, and amusement parks, etc. I have been able to see a lot of such in my 56 years in the USA.
12. I am glad that I have been able to enjoy sports and marriage. In many countries, many individuals cannot afford the former and the latter is arranged by their parents. But I am very sad that there are so many problems in both of those areas now mainly because of the wrong uses of money and selfishness. Most pro teams have such a high turn-over (changes of personnel) because of free agency and trades. Most marriages end up in divorce or at least unhappiness because they were started for the wrong reasons. But still there is a lot of good in both sports and marriage.
Concluding remark: 1 Corinthians 10:13 indicates that God knows how much we each can take in challenges and temptations. He knew that I could not take the dangers and oppressions found in most countries and so He had me born in the United States of America so that I could live in the best time of its history. I am forever grateful for that. So many more good experiences than the bad experiences. The USA has been the best country in the world for many reasons and I have always been a loyal thankful citizen. I will never be against the USA, only against the obvious wrong in it. I hope that there will be Christian revival to help return the USA back to a republic, but I doubt that such will happen because of the increasing selfishness and hatreds. The just mentioned daily grieves me. I tried to help go against such, but was not given ministry opportunities to do so. I am now using the Internet to do a small effort of sharing about what pleases God. What displeases Him is obvious. I want to help others have proper desires and goals in their thinking and doing. If I did not have the life that I was very blessed to have in the United States of America, I would not have the just indicated compassionate desires. I believe such was so prevalent in many citizens of the early USA population and that was greatness in history.
Prelude to Tyranny? Twilight's Last Gleaming?
(by Chuck Missler)
With an election coming next month - and one that may prove to be a "watershed" for the future of the Republic - it is an appropriate time to review the realities we are facing.
The Life Cycle of Democracies
There is a view among some historians that a democracy is an intrinsically unstable form of government:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse...from the public treasury... The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years...
And the cycle is surprisingly predictable:
...from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again into bondage. -Alexander Tyler, 1750
Studies of the predictable decay of empires and cultures generally discern three primary aspects of their decline: Social Decay, Cultural Decay, and Moral Decay.1
The first, Social Decay, is characterized by the crisis of lawlessness, the loss of economic discipline, and the rise of bureaucracy.
This is associated with Cultural Decay: the decline of education, the weakening of cultural foundations, and the loss of respect for tradition.
All this is, of course, the result of Moral Decay: the rise of immorality, the decay of religious beliefs, and the subsequent devaluation of human life.
Where do we stand in this cycle? Let's take a brief inventory.
The State of the Union 2000
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. -Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities
Things would seem to be going well: our stock indexes are at unprecedented highs. People are buying their third and fourth cars. Almost every home has a computer. It's hard to find anyone without a cellular phone on their belt. Our fuel costs less than the water we drink. "It is the best of times...."
However, we murder babies that are socially inconvenient. We change marriage partners like a fashion statement. We seem to have abandoned the sanctity of commitments in all of our relationships: our marriages, our business relationships, etc. Homosexuality is just an "alternative life-style."
In the Bible, God rebuked Israel for its brutality, murder, and warfare. But we have had Waco and Columbine High School. New York City has recorded more crimes than England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark, combined.
Immorality and deceit have come to characterize the highest offices of our nation as well. Our politics have condoned and covered up more murders than we dare list. Our public enterprises have been prostituted to the convenience of the elite.
Our entertainments celebrate adultery, fornication, violence, aberrant sexual practices, and every imaginable form of evil. We have become the primary exporters of all that God abhors. From His point of view, "It is the worst of times."
Lest we forget, our present administration has brought us the deaths of Vicky Weaver,2 Paul Wilcher,3 Vince Foster,4 Ron Brown,5 William Colby,6 Admiral Jeremy Boorda,7 and over 100 other mysterious deaths. And, of course, the shocking events in Oklahoma City and Waco.
Attempts to whitewash these outrages by the administration and the news media continue to be unconvincing. A number of the government's own witnesses and experts, who believed the BATF and FBI were at least partially at fault, have mysteriously died. Carlos Ghigliotty, the FLIR expert for the congressional investigation into the Waco carnage, was found dead in his apartment just prior to releasing his report confirming FBI gunfire into the Waco compound. The lingering questions continue unanswered: Why was an entire BATF swat team needed to serve a search warrant on the previously cooperative David Koresh? Why was Delta Force and tanks used against U.S. citizens in violation of Posse Comitatus law? Why have coroners and other officials changed their testimony in recent months?
The apparent corruption within the administration continues to be buried from review: Attorney General Janet Reno announced recently that she would not be appointing an independent counsel to investigate Al Gore's campaign fund-raising despite recommendations by campaign task force head Robert J. Colnrad (a Democrat) to the contrary.
*** I need to share the following about the country I have been in since December 1946.
I have done a lot of research and reading about its unique history.
It was founded by courageous men who believed and love God and His Word.
No other country in humankind history had such a start.
The United States Constitution is the longest government document
and the United States has the longest time of no violent power transitions.
The most arguing was about the Articles of Confederation which was created before the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers did not want the USA to become a democracy
because in history the democracies had resulted in a dictatorship or chaos.
So that is why they created a republic with
separation of powers for the 4 major parts of the Federal Government
and protections for the state governments.
United States was changed from a republic to a democracy in 1914 because President Woodrow Wilson,
who was a Presbyterian, took advice from Col. House (who actually was a communist).
The state legislature choosing of United States Senators was changed
to the direct election of the just mentioned
and the Federal Banking System was established.
Before Wilson died, he confessed orally and in writing that he was wrong
about taking Col. House's advice.
Later the Democrats have wanted a Constitutional Convention
in order to change it drastically for socialism.
President Reagan and the latter Presidents were wrong to promote democracy.
Charles de Montesquieu /
"Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal source of the theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place of the word "despotism" in the political lexicon. His anonymously published The Spirit of the Laws, which was received well in both Great Britain and the American colonies, influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States in drafting the U.S. Constitution."
***"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate tireless minority keen to start brush fires in the peoples minds." Samuel Adams
*** “Avarice, ambition”, warned John Adams, “would break the strongest cords of our Constitution
as a whale goes through a net.
Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
***”Since the general civilization of mankind,
I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people
by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpation.”
-- President James Madison (one of the USA Founding Fathers)
***”Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.
As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” - Benjamin Franklin
*** “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.” ~~Margaret Thatcher
The Pilgrims arrived in that state and were taught by Indians to survive.
They had begun with Socialism and half of them died the first winter.
*** “Socialism is
a philosophy of failure,
the creed of ignorance,
and the gospel or envy,
its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” — Winston Churchill
***George Santayana: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Prayer to Kansas State Leaders
When minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual politically-correct generalities, but what they heard instead was a stirring prayer, passionately calling our country to repentance and righteousness. The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, the Central Christian Church had logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of the prayer from India, Africa and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired the prayer on “The Rest of the Story” on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired!!
THE PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, “Woe on those who call evil good”, but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn children and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
What awesome insight!!! With the Lord’s help, may this prayer sweep our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called a Christian nation that fears the Lord! Please send this prayer to as many of your Christian friends as you can. Let us all help to get the Lord back into our lives and most importantly into the lives of our children. Amen.
A Prayer for Our Political Leaders
(by Pastor Stan A. Lindsay)
I was invited by the Indiana House of Representatives to open their legislative session on April 6, 1999, with prayer. The substance of the prayer I offered could be offered for virtually any political leader. It might even be a prayer we could slightly alter and offer for our church leaders:
Father, we pause at the beginning of this legislative session
so that our legislators may renew their covenant with You.
Your Word contains many models for leaders to follow.
Lord, I pray that, like Noah, they will have the courage
to stand for what is right,
regardless of the opinion polls.
I pray that, like Moses, they will be lawgivers
who understand that the basis of all law should be love--
love for You and love for our neighbors.
I pray that, like Queen Esther, they will use their political influence
to protect the people they represent.
I pray that, like Daniel, they will be more willing to face a den of lions
than to ever hinder a single human being
from offering a prayer to You.
I pray that, like the Apostle Paul, they will have the good sense
to recognize when they are following the wrong path.
And I pray that, like Paul, they will be willing to change
and follow the better path.
I pray that, like Your Son Jesus, they will always be humble, unselfish,
willing to sacrifice their own desires
for the good of Your children.
In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.