Palin and Sanford: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

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Today's American Thinker piece "Palin and Sanford: A Tale of Two Governors" is a fascinating contrast between how the "faith" of two politicians are manifest in their public lives.

"Two Republican governors, both considered rising stars -- the "next Reagan" -- have been prominent in the news the last couple of weeks. Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin are both conspicuously religious, both defenders of states' rights, both unabashed conservatives, and both relatively young and attractive. One of those two, Mark Sanford, lied to the people of South Carolina, lied to his wife, and had an illicit affair. He is now, presumably, intending to remain Governor of South Carolina -- at least until the Almighty, his wife, and enormous political pressure compels him to resign. Sarah Palin has been the subject of odious slanders, hit with frivolous ethics charges, and remained committed to her family throughout. She has resigned from office and only hints at what her political future may be."

I believe that in Christ, any and all sins are forgiven. That being said, there are some sins, particularly PUBLIC ones, that disqualify a person from leadership - both in the pulpit and in politics. Good leaders lead by example, and if the example is EVIL, well, figure it out. Should be a "no brainer". Mark Sanford should resign and go away permanently, to spend the rest of his life repenting before God, his wife, his children and seeking the Lord to heal his heart, now shattered by his professed "love" of his mistress "soul mate". Until he realizes that this is not "love", but lust, idolatry and self-seeking, there is little hope of reconciliation with his wife. Who is kidding? His refusal to resign only serves to further illustrate a bad example of leadership:

"Sanford seems to be relying upon conservative strength to keep him personally afloat. Sanford seems to be placing his own, private interests above everything else.Is Mark Sanford truly conservative? Anyone who wanted to win political office in South Carolina had better present himself as a conservative. But Mark Sanford might simply be a poseur who finds the advocacy of conservative principles the most convenient road to power. Actions speak louder than words, and right now Sanford's actions speak office above honor."

With respect to honor, thank you Mrs. Sanford, thank you for modeling forgiveness without hypocritically "standing by your man" for political expediency. That is the province of liberal so-called "feminists" like Hillary Clinton whose highbrow comments in a 1992 "60 Minutes" interview, proclaiming, “I'm not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette” ended up being exposed for the deceitful hypocrite that she is. Back in Arkansas, she covered up her husband's serial adultery (Gennifer Flowers), criminal acts of sexual harassment (Paula Jones/Kathleen Willey) and the alleged rape (Juanita Broderick), without which America would not have been subjected to his disastrous presidency in the first place. How about Democrat Gov. McGreevey's wife who groveled in spite of the shame of being rejected for other men's anuses? And what about Sen. John Edward's wife, who cares so little for her own life, that she stood by a man who fathered a bastard while she was dying of cancer? Disgusting hypocrites. I HAVE YET TO HEAR ANY OF THESE MEN REPENT OF THEIR SEXUAL BETRAYALS!! Yes, Hillary was paid for her political WHOREDOM with the currency of national power, payment for subjecting our nation to the treasonous disasters of that Presidency, publicly embroiling all of us in their marital scandals, and giving our enemies eight years to ramp up their Jihad against us. And we have not yet seen the bitter poison fruits of his policy with respect to Red China. May Hillary and Jezebel meet the same fate - eaten by dogs.

As for Gov. Palin, my prayers are with her and her family, regardless of what she chooses to do, or not do, and that she would seek the Lord's will for her life, and His alone.

"What about Sarah Palin? Her resignation as Governor of Alaska hurts, really, no one (except, perhaps, herself.) The voters of Alaska gave her their highest office to clean up a corrupt state, and she has largely done that. Although happy to be the first woman the GOP has put on its presidential ticket and the first Alaskan either major political party has put on its ticket, that honor has made it harder, not easier, to be a good governor. Sarah Palin ran for the office of governor to help Alaska. If Sarah runs for the Republican nomination in 2012, and if she had remained Governor of Alaska, Palin would need to spend most of the rest of her term in the lower forty-eight states. She could not spend as much time in her government job as Alaskans needed her to do. Her family would suffer the most, as Governor Palin tried to hold one office while running for another office."

Instead of recognizing the integrity of her action, the political hyenas and media jackals have the utter audacity to criticize her for not finishing her term. As I recall, they looked the other way as part-time State senator Obama quit to run for the U.S.Senate, and again looked the other way as part time U.S. Senator Obama voted mostly "present" and quit to run for President". When has he EVER finished anything he was elected to do by the people of his state? Will he quit half way through his term to run for Secretary General of the U.N.? To ascend into universal godhood???? Bah. This would all be so ridiculous if it were not so deadly serious.

"We live so much in an age of spin, an era in which cleverness is pronounced victor over character, and in which giving up power or office is unfathomable to many, that many pundits cannot accept the notion that Sarah Palin may actually need to think and to pray about what to do with the rest of her life. That sense of proportion, the willingness to live life out of the limelight, a devotion to family whatever the costs -- those are the values millions of Americans seek to find again in our life as a people. "

"We do not really need new theories, innovative programs, imaginative legislation, or rock star politicians in America. We live in a nation that once worked. Now we live in a nation that seems so much like the rest of the world. What made our nation great was never Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, or other grand figures. What made our nation great was the character of our people. "

"Sarah Palin represents what Americans once were. She is a traditional American in a political universe of chic Europeans. That is her greatest strength. What will Sarah Palin "do" next? Ah, we can all ponder that, strategize, calculate, and gaze into our political crystal balls. But when we exercise our minds that way, we miss the point. With no special gift for prognostication and no way of reading the mind of Mrs. Palin, I can tell you -- with as much certainty as I can say about anything in public life these days -- that Sarah Palin will do what she believes in her heart and in her soul is right."

This then, is the essence of the matter:

"This Tale of Two Governors is very much like the chasm in the Republican Party or, indeed, the chasm in the Republic. We do not need glib words or exciting novelties in politics or in governance. We need honor, courage, faith, and clarity. Those virtues are not just the key to winning elections: they are the reason why winning elections matter."

Stand in the Evil Day

Well folks, if you visit Sillie Lizzie's Rock on a regular basis, you might have noticed that the blogging has been sparse. After almost four years and more than a thousand posts, I guess I've already said everything I felt I needed to say. Many things I've said more than once. Consequently, the "fight" has sort of gone out of me, at least on matters political. Spiritual matters are another story, of course, of which I have an endless supply. :-) So, at this point, the future direction and focus of this blog is very much in doubt for several reasons.

Primarily, I don't think our country is going to survive in its present form for much longer. Freedoms we have taken for granted are being curtailed every day that this Usurper sits in the White House, aided and abetted by those lawless Comrades in Congress and the Supreme Court. Disaster is brewing, and I can't escape the feeling that the best thing we can do now is hunker down for a rough ride. Teach the next generation what is being stolen from them and hope they catch the vision, but I think its time to prepare ourselves for resistance.

I am not speaking of political resistance, or any kind of armed rebellion. Perish the thought. I speak of the strengthening of the "inner man", the personal spiritual resources that each of us will need to carry us through the evil days ahead. Ephesians 6:13 says:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

I find it appalling that so many "professing" Christians lack the most basic level of discernment as to the nature of the "evil day". As for me, I've spent years doing everything I can to "put on the full armor of God". Now the evil day is upon us and its time to stand our ground. Have you put on your "FULL" armor? Do it now. Need to learn what it is? Find out, quickly. Those who stand in the power and presence of Jesus Christ WILL overcome. The rest will dissolve like chaff in the wind because they "stand" for NOTHING. Nothing enduring. Nothing of value. Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything. But we stand on the Solid Rock.

Perhaps in God's infinite wisdom, He allows the cycle of bondage to liberty to apathy to bondage and back to liberty to recycle itself. Each generation must choose to preserve, reject or reclaim for themselves the timeless principles, values, and the faith on which human freedom and dignity rest. And be blessed or cursed accordingly. Sadly, the vast majority of nations never recover it once it is lost, unless they snatch it right at the brink.

As the light of truth flickers out in our nation, I will watch, wait and pray for the rare passerby with "ears to hear and eyes to see" with an open door. God always preserves a remnant according to grace that does not bow the knee to Baal. Email me, I want to hear from you. But the "foolish virgins" will have to go and buy their own oil.

"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut."
(Matthew 25)

Henceforth, I stand.

Fourth of July: The Art of the Hero

Here's a July 4th article from my friend, PackRat Daddiator, reminding us of what real heroes are made of!

June 2009
The Art of the Hero for the Fourth of July
by Michael S. Shelton

Let me tell you about a former Marine I know, who, if I mentioned his name, would be uncomfortable for you to know his story. In fact, he specifically asked me not to mention his name. He shall remain anonymous.

First, what’s a hero? Today, in America, we have cheapened, abused, and overused the word “hero.” You may recall at the beginning of the current Iraqi war, back in March 2003, that PFC Jessica Lynch of the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company was captured when her convoy was ambushed by the bad guys in Nasiriya. In the ensuing battle, she was severely injured and taken prisoner to a local hospital by the insurgents.

A few days later, she was rescued in a superbly-planned and performed mission on April 2. In the printed and electronic news media for weeks and months afterward, she was portrayed as a “hero” (heroine), when actually the rescue forces were the heroes. Lynch was helpless and unable to escape. She was at the complete mercy of her environment.

And the Iraqi doctor, who risked his life and those of his family members, walked several miles to meet U.S. forces, told them what was going on and her location, and then returned to the hospital in Nasiriya. Talk about guts. That doctor was also one of the heroes. I believe it was Gen. Omar Bradley who said that “Bravery is doing the right and courageous thing when you’re scared half to death.”

I do not wish to play down what Lynch went through and the months of her painful medical recovery, but despite all that happened to her, she has publicly set the record straight that she was not the hero.

If I perform after-school tutoring three times per week for inner-city, underfed, and poor children, well, sorry, I’m not a hero. Maybe I’m a nice guy giving of my time, but I’m not a hero. But such good-Samaritan people are often, inappropriately, called heroes.

Second, there are numerous medals and ribbons that a Marine may be awarded. The Bronze Star with the Valor Device is the United States military's fourth highest award for valor. This is the criteria for the Bronze Star:

The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the military of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

My Marine friend, whom I work with on an occasional basis, was awarded the Bronze Star and Combat “V” for valor, along with a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained.

My Marine friend was sent to Iraq to conduct a satellite communication terminal site survey at several of the Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). This would greatly increase the communications capabilities at the FOBs. It was an in-and-out survey, get in, do the surveys, and get back out with the results. Piece of cake, a straight-forward job, no screwing around. Or at least that was the way it was supposed to be.

To conduct the site surveys, he had to visit several FOBs. At that time, there were very few helicopter flights, so most travel was done by convoys, and everyone traveled at night when it was safer.

He joined up with a convoy to travel to the next camp. He wasn’t the senior Marine in the convoy and he wasn’t the Convoy Commander. He was just catching a ride – a strap hanger. He was assigned a HMMWV (Hummer) seat in the convoy and the Convoy Commander gave him a M16A2 rifle, just in case. Every Marine a rifleman.

The convoy started down the road; it was pretty quiet along the route. There wasn’t much traffic and there were few people on the streets – that should have been a warning sign.

My Marine friend was still fighting jet lag and recalls talking to the driver to stay awake when it happened.

The insurgents sprang the ambush with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), machinegun fire, and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). My Marine friend’s HMMWV was hit by an IED. He and the driver were injured in the blast and the driver was attempting to stop the vehicle, but he reached over and pushed the accelerator to the floor to get out of the kill zone. If you have ever been in a HMMWV you know how difficult that is.

Of all military operations, the ambush is the most unique. If the enemy has done everything correctly, you should be dead. In this case, they did not, and my Marine buddy, the driver, and the other occupants of the vehicle had survived. The convoy did what it was suppose to do – it drove through the ambush site and regrouped down the road. Several vehicles had to be pushed rather urgently out of the kill zone.

Once regrouped, a quick defensive perimeter was established. Marines were accounted for, the injured were tended, and some of the damaged vehicles were evaluated. A Situational Report (SITREP) was called in and air and ground support was requested. It was going to take awhile for all of this to come together; in the meantime, my Marine friend, still shaken from the IED blast, organized a small contingent of Marines to patrol the defense position to determine how secure their position was.

During the patrol, they circled around the ambush site and came upon the insurgents organizing for an attack. The bad guys had commandeered a dump truck and were loading into the back of it when the contingent of Marines lead by my Marine buddy arrived on the scene. It was clear they meant to re-attack the convoy. They were pointing to where the convoy had gone and they were loaded for bear. With the element of surprise, the Marines ambushed the convoy attackers. The firefight lasted only several seconds and a quick sweep of the area revealed no enemy survivors. The Marines quickly gathered up their weapons and hurried back to the convoy.

By that time, the convoy was reorganized, personnel and equipment were repacked into operational vehicles, damaged vehicles were attached to tow bars, and the convoy continued its mission.

My Marine friend was wounded and had to be attended to. He saw death that night, and perhaps that’s why he doesn’t want to talk about it. They say that a humble Marine is an oxymoron, but the fact is, humble is the way most of them are that I know.

As we get ready to celebrate another Independence Day this Fourth of July, 233 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, let’s remember that we still have heroes. We still have men in battle who do not and will not shirk from their duty, who run TOWARD the sound of gunfire, and who display courage even when they are very afraid.

I am awed and stand inadequately amongst such men.

The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

Semper Fidelis.

My thanks to Paul Harris for additional details for this story.
Send your comments, pro or con, to tomcatdriver@comcast.net.

At Calvary - Gaithers

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One of my all time favorite hymns of the faith, an all encompassing reminder of the gospel of God's plan of salvation, grace that came down to us from His eternal throne to the cross of Calvary. Gimme that "old time religion"! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DAlFggcUXY

At Calvary
Lyrics: William Newell, 1895. Composer: Daniel Towner

Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified,
Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.

(CHORUS)
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.


By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;
Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,
Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.

(CHORUS)
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.


Now I’ve given to Jesus everything,
Now I gladly own Him as my King,
Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary!

(CHORUS)
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!
Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!
Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!

(CHORUS)
Mercy there was great, and grace was free;
Pardon there was multiplied to me;
There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary.

Obama's Progressive Utopia: The Czar of Czars?

Now that Obama has created 22 "Czars" that report only to him, why do we need Cabinet Secretaries? Senate confirmation hearings? Elections? How long until the Obamessiah declares himself "Czar of Czars"?


From the American Thinker: "

How to create the progressive utopia"

The Cloward-Piven Strategy of Manufactured Crisis:

Obama Talking BullSh****r Doll

Atheists Never Hatch the Cosmic Egg

I've been thinking about atheists lately, and how their worldview is so radically different than the Christian worldview. But is it really? I think they operate as much on faith as we do. At the risk of offending the atheist, I'm going to argue that they are guilty of the very things of which they accuse the Christians, and worse. They operate on blind faith, and one that escapes and contradicts reason and science.

"What?!" shrieks the atheist. "Explain yourself!". Okay. Let's examine it.

The atheist begins his reasoning process with the premise, "Matter exists, and it gives rise to life". At the core of all atheist thinking is the assumption that natural materialistic processes take place and evolve through time and chance, i.e. evolution. Consequently, the unspoken (and often spoken) premise is that matter itself is eternal.

So right there, the atheist has something in common with the Christian. We both assume that at the core of reality there is an eternal "something". Of course, for us it is an eternal "Someone". The atheist presumes that dead inanimate matter produces life, whereas the Christian believes that matter arose out of THE Life, God, and that He is the creator who is the source of all life and all matter.

The Christian readily admits that the existence of God is a matter of faith. There are certain "evidences" of His existence (we'll leave that conversation for another day), however, we understand that these do not constitute "proof".

But what about the atheist? On what evidence can they assert the eternal attributes of matter? Is there any "proof" of the eternality of matter? NO! There is however, much evidence to contradict that idea based on universally accepted physical laws. Consequently, the faith of the atheist is based on ... nothing. Just blind, wishful thinking.

The First Law of Thermodynamics, known as the Law of Conservation, states that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed; the quantity remains constant even though energy/matter can change form, i.e. solid, liquid, gas, plasma. The total amount of matter/energy in the universe remains the same.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics, known as as the Law of Entropy, follows the first law. While asserting that the quantity of matter and energy remain constant, the quality deteriorates gradually over time. Usable energy is consumed in processes of productivity, growth and repair and are converted into unusable energy. Consequently, over time, usable energy is irretrievably lost in the form of unusable energy. That conversion process gives rise to increasing disorganization, randomness and chaos. Consequently, entropy is the measure of unusable energy within a closed or isolated system, e.g. the universe. The more unusable energy exists, the higher the entropy. Higher entropy is a measure of greater randomness or chaos that exists within a closed system.

For example, consider this analogy. A tree is a closed system that continues to live, reproduce seed, produce fruit, etc. as long as there are inputs into the system, e.g. food, water and sunlight. However, it does not live forever. Eventually it dies and its usable energy deteriorates. However, the dead wood contains usable energy that can be used as material for a boat, wheels, arrows, etc. But eventually, the wood will wear down, break, or rot. Again, it converts to less usable energy, but it still has the capacity for use as fuel, and even as carbon, to produce heat. As it burns, it becomes more unusable, its disorganization is increased. The tree no longer reproduces, the dead wood gives off splinters, breaks and chips, and eventually, it is reduced to ashes that blow away in the wind. The quantity of randomly scattered molecules remains constant and its atoms continue to exist, but the "tree" no longer exists as an ordered system with any usable energy.

What are the implications of these two natural laws? First, that the universe is constantly losing usable energy but gains no new energy. How then can it be eternal when it will be reduced to a state of total chaotic unusability? Does this not also imply a beginning to the universe, a moment when it had "zero entropy", i.e its most ordered possible state? And can we not also derive that it is now progressing toward an omega point of maximum possible entropy, a "death" of sorts? Does the evidence from natural law depict an "eternal" universe at all? Or is the obvious conclusion to be drawn from this that the universe is winding down, and that begs the question of what, or "Who", wound it up?

Clearly, logic and reason alone demand an explanation because it is absurd to assert that "something" progressing from a state of high order to total chaos can come from nothing! To address this, the eminent atheist astronomer/cosmologist Carl Sagan explained the origins of matter as a singularity, a "Cosmic Egg", that preceded and gave birth to the Big Bang. But lest this rabbit trail become redundant, Sagan STILL tells us nothing of the cosmic chicken that laid the cosmic egg. He, like all atheists, cannot escape the simple fact that matter itself, before, during and after the so-called Big Bang, is STILL subject to natural law.

There is only one possible escape from that dilemma. An eternal being that exists independently of natural law, and is in fact, its Creator and the one that set natural law in motion.

In his book "God and the Astronomers"(1978), the famous cosmologist/astronomer Robert Jastrow once observed:

"Theologians generally are delighted with the proof that the universe had a beginning, but astronomers are curiously upset. It turns out that the scientist behaves the way the rest of us do when our beliefs are in conflict with the evidence." (p. 16.) He went on to say "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries." (p. 116.)

In conclusion, the point of all that was to simply say this: Atheists hold their beliefs according to a blind faith that contradicts both science and reason, whereas the Christian holds their faith in accord WITH both.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.... By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible" (Hebrews 11:1,3)

Steven Lawson Defines the Doctrines of Grace

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Christian baptism immerses a new believer in the name of the FATHER, the SON and the HOLY SPIRIT because it is a symbolic representation of the salvation work that originates with the trinitarian God, and Him alone. The theology known as the "doctrines of grace" encapsulates and explains that salvation work. Saving grace is Amazing Grace..."how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!" Hear Dr. Steven Lawson explain it simply and concisely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uxVMuv3zbs