Friday, December 14, 2012

Amenable to God


While respecting authority and laboring in accordance with wisely laid plans, every worker is amenable to the Great Teacher for the proper exercise of his God-given judgment and of his right to look to the God of heaven for wisdom and guidance. God is Commander and Ruler over all. We have a personal Saviour, and we are not to exchange His word for the word of any man. In the Scriptures the Lord has given instruction for every worker. The words of the Master Worker should be diligently studied; for they are spirit and life. Laborers who are striving to work in harmony with this instruction are under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and need not always, before they make any advance move, first ask permission of someone else. No precise lines are to be laid down. Let the Holy Spirit direct the workers. As they keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith, the gifts of grace will increase by wise use.
God desires that we shall come into right relation with Him. He desires that every voice shall be sanctified. He wants all there is of us—soul, body, and spirit—to be fully sanctified to do His will. It is time that we begin to know that we are fastened to the Lord Jesus Christ by a living, working faith; it is time for us to lay hold of the help proffered by the Spirit of God, and let our words reveal that we are under divine control. Let us believe in God, and trust in Him; and we shall see His mighty power working among us. 

In 1895 I wrote to my brethren in the ministry, as follows:
“I must speak to my brethren nigh and afar off. I cannot hold my peace. They are not working on correct principles. Those who stand in responsible positions must not feel that their position of importance makes them men of infallible judgment.
“All the works of men are under the Lord’s jurisdiction. It will be altogether safe for men to consider that there is knowledge with the Most High. Those who trust in God and His wisdom, and not in their own, are walking in safe paths. They will never feel that they are authorized to muzzle even the ox that treads out the grain; and how offensive it is for men to control the human agent who is in partnership with God, and whom the Lord Jesus has invited: ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.’ ‘We are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.’
“The Lord has not placed any one of His human agencies under the dictation and control of those who are themselves but erring mortals. He has not placed upon men the power to say, You shall do this, and you shall not do that....
“No man is a proper judge of another man’s duty. Man is responsible to God; and as finite, erring men take into their hands the jurisdiction of their fellowmen, as if the Lord commissioned them to lift up and cast down, all heaven is filled with indignation. There are strange principles being established in regard to the control of the minds and works of men, by human judges, as though these finite men were gods....
Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men; and fraud and guile will bear the semblance of zeal for truth, and for the advancement of the kingdom of God....
“God will not vindicate any device whereby man shall in the slightest degree rule or oppress his fellowmen. The only hope for fallen man is to look to Jesus, and receive Him as the only Saviour. As soon as a man begins to make an iron rule for other men, as soon as he begins to harness up and drive men according to his own mind, he dishonors God, and imperils his own soul and the souls of his brethren. Sinful man can find hope and righteousness only in God; and no human being is righteous any longer than he has faith in God and maintains a vital connection with Him. A flower of the field must have its root in the soil; it must have air, dew, showers, and sunshine. It will flourish only as it receives these advantages, and all are from God. So with men. We receive from God that which ministers to the life of the soul. We are warned not to trust in man, nor to make flesh our arm.

The foregoing was printed in Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, Series A, No. 2, 1897. 

In 1903, I wrote to the president of a conference:
“By means of one agency, Christ Jesus, God has mysteriously linked all men together. To every man He has assigned some special line of service; and we should be quick to comprehend that we are to guard against leaving the work given us in order that we may interfere with other human agencies who are doing a work not precisely the same as our own. To no man has been assigned the work of interfering with the work of one of his fellow laborers, trying to take it in hand himself; for he would so handle it that he would spoil it. To one God gives a work different from the work that He gives another. 
“Let us all remember that we are not dealing with ideal men, but with real men of God’s appointment, men precisely like ourselves, men who fall into the same errors that we do, men of like ambitions and infirmities. No man has been made a master, to rule the mind and conscience of a fellow being. Let us be very careful how we deal with God’s blood-bought heritage.
To no man has been appointed the work of being a ruler over his fellowmen. Every man is to bear his own burden. He may speak words of encouragement, faith, and hope to his fellow workers; he may help them to bear their special burdens by suggesting to them improved methods of labor; but in no case is he to discourage and enfeeble them, lest the enemy shall obtain an advantage over their minds—an advantage that in time would react upon himself.
“By the cords of tender love and sympathy the Lord linked all men to Himself. Of us He says, Ye ‘are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.’ This relationship we should recognize. If we are bound up with Christ, we shall constantly manifest Christlike sympathy and forbearance toward those who are striving with all their God-given ability to bear their burdens, even as we endeavor to bear our appointed burdens.

“In our several callings there is to be a mutual dependence on one another for assistance. A spirit of authority is not to be exercised, even by the president of a conference; for position does not change a man into a creature that cannot err. Every laborer entrusted with the management of a conference is to work as Christ worked, wearing His yoke and learning of Him His meekness and lowliness. A conference president’s spirit and demeanor in word and in deed reveal whether he realizes his weakness and places his dependence on God, or whether he thinks that his position of influence has given him superior wisdom. If he loves and fears God, if he realizes the value of souls, if he appreciates every jot of the help that the Lord has qualified a brother worker to render, he will be able to bind heart to heart by the love that Christ revealed during His ministry. He will speak words of comfort to the sick and the sorrowing

“If he does not cultivate a masterly manner, but bears in mind always that One is his Master, even Christ, he can counsel the inexperienced, encouraging them to be God’s helping hand.
“The feeble hands are not to be deterred from doing something for the Master. Those whose knees are weak are not to be caused to stumble. God desires us to encourage those whose hands are weak, to grasp more firmly the hand of Christ, and to work hopefully. Every hand should be outstretched to help the hand that is doing something for the Master. The time may come when the hands that have upheld the feeble hands of another may, in turn, be upheld by the hands to whom they ministered. God has so ordered matters that no man is absolutely independent of his fellowmen.” 


Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp.492-496.


Sunday day of mourning



On the occasion of the today's headlines:

America's worst school shooting: Gunman kills 20 children and six adults in Connecticut primary school shooting, say police

I am grieved by this senseless atrocity, and my sympathy goes out to all the fallen children's families. But, because of the Massacre I foresee that this Sunday will be a NATIONAL day of mourning; an Ecumenical Sunday when the nation will be compelled to come together in prayer and worship.
I hope this doesn't happen; yet, if it does I know it will mean that the Latter Days Bible prophecies are systematically being  fulfilled right down to the smallest details. (Right before our eyes).  


Matthew 24

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.


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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge ...


1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.

3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.

8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

Hosea 4:1-10

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Christian appeals Sunday working decision

Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2012, 11:08 (GMT)



Celestina Mba has never worked on a Sunday




The case of a Christian who resigned from her job after being forced to work Sundays is to come before an Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Celestina Mba had worked at the Brightwell Children's Home in Morden, London, for three years and her wish to not work on Sundays was respected by her employers.

When the leadership changed their policy and told her she would have to work Sundays, Mrs Mba felt there was no other alternative than to resign from her job.

"Everything that I suggested, they said no," she said.

Mrs Mba lost her claim for constructive dismissal at a hearing in February this year after the judge ruled that it was acceptable for her employer to make her work on the Sabbath.

She is challenging the decision at an Employment Appeal Tribunal with the support of the Christian Legal Centre.

The CLC asked Christians to pray that the freedom of Christians to not work on a Sunday would be recognised.



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Obamacare Architect Leaves White House for Pharmaceutical Industry Job

Published on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 by The Guardian/UK


Few people embody the corporatist revolving door greasing Washington as purely as Elizabeth Fowler
by Glenn Greenwald


When the legislation that became known as "Obamacare" was first drafted, the key legislator was the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, whose committee took the lead in drafting the legislation. As Baucus himself repeatedly boasted, the architect of that legislation was Elizabeth Fowler, his chief health policy counsel; indeed, as Marcy Wheeler discovered, it was Fowler who actually drafted it. As Politico put it at the time: "If you drew an organizational chart of major players in the Senate health care negotiations, Fowler would be the chief operating officer."



Former WellPoint VP Elizabeth Fowler sits behind her boss, Sen. Max Baucus, as he announces in 2009 that the health care bill will have no public option. (Photo: screen grab, Bill Moyers' Journal)

What was most amazing about all of that was that, before joining Baucus' office as the point person for the health care bill, Fowler was the Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs (i.e. informal lobbying) at WellPoint, the nation's largest health insurance provider (before going to WellPoint, as well as after, Fowler had worked as Baucus' top health care aide). And when that health care bill was drafted, the person whom Fowler replaced as chief health counsel in Baucus' office, Michelle Easton, was lobbying for WellPoint as a principal at Tarplin, Downs, and Young.

Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry; as Wheeler wrote at the time: "to the extent that Liz Fowler is the author of this document, we might as well consider WellPoint its author as well." Watch the five-minute Bill Moyers report from 2009, embedded below, on the key role played in all of this by Liz Fowler and the "revolving door" between the health insurance/lobbying industry and government officials at the time this bill was written and passed.

More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose . . . Liz Fowler. That the White House would put a former health insurance industry executive in charge of implementation of its new massive health care law was roundly condemned by good government groups as at least a violation of the "spirit" of governing ethics rules and even "gross", but those objections were, of course, brushed aside by the White House. She then became Special Assistant to the President for Healthcare and Economic Policy at the National Economic Council.

Now, as Politico's "Influence" column briefly noted on Tuesday, Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry:


"Elizabeth Fowler is leaving the White House for a senior-level position leading 'global health policy' at Johnson & Johnson's government affairs and policy group."

The pharmaceutical giant that just hired Fowler actively supported the passage of Obamacarethrough its membership in the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) lobby. Indeed, PhRMA was one of the most aggressive supporters - and most lavish beneficiaries - of the health care bill drafted by Fowler. Mother Jones' James Ridgewayproclaimed "Big Pharma" the "big winner" in the health care bill. And now, Fowler will receive ample rewards from that same industry as she peddles her influence in government and exploits her experience with its inner workings to work on that industry's behalf, all of which has been made perfectly legal by the same insular, Versailles-like Washington culture that so lavishly benefits from all of this.

It's difficult to find someone who embodies the sleazy, anti-democratic, corporatist revolving door that greases Washington as shamelessly and purely as Liz Fowler. One of the few competitors I can think of is Adm. Michael McConnell, who parlayed his military and intelligence career into a lucrative gig at Booz Allen, one of the nation's largest private intelligence contractors; then became George W Bush's Director of National Intelligence (where he spearheaded a huge gift to the telecom industry - retroactive immunity shielding it from all accountability for its participation in the illegal Bush NSA eavesdropping program - as well as continued his Booz Allen work of privatizing intelligence and surveillance functions); then returned to the loving arms of Booz Allen, where he now exploits his national security credentials on behalf of industry interests (by, for instance, spearheading the fear-mongering campaign about cyber-warfare in order to advocate for security programs that would amply enrich Booz Allen's clients).

This is precisely the behavior which, quite rationally, makes the citizenry so jaded about Washington. It's what ensures that the interests of the same permanent power factions are served regardless of election outcomes. It's what makes a complete mockery out claims of democracy. And it's what demonstrates that corporatism and oligarchy are the dominant forms of government in the US:

What happened to jobs, jobs, jobs?


The dust of the Presidential election has finally settled...  

Where are the JOBS



A few years ago and right up to the 2012 Elections a popular political hot button issue, a catchy euphemism was JOBS, JOBS, JOBS.
Yet, barely a month after the election we are consumed with preoccupation over the approaching FISCAL CLIFF.
According to the latest info (12/7/12) the unemployment rate has dropped UNEXPECTEDLY to 7.3 %.  Unexpected, unexpected, unexpected?
Why are the EXPE-rts surprised with the change in the figure?  I thought they were the ones that knew what was supposed to happen?  That's why they are considered expe-rts!
As I mentioned before the focus has changed to The FISCAL CLIFF.
What has taken center stage is the change of TAX rates that will take place at the beginning of 2013, and the  Bush Tax Cuts that will expire at the end of 2012.
Yet, I wonder once more:  Where are the JOBS, JOBS, JOBS?

Revenue, REVENUE, revenue is all that I hear.

Where are the JOBS?

"Tax the rich... those that make more than $250,000 a year have to pay their fair share"...

But, where are the JOBS?

Decades after hundreds of thousand JOBS have been shipped overseas due to NAFTA and GATT.

Where are the JOBS?

Scores of years after the Kissinger-Nixon Shuttle Diplomacy to Red China... trying to bring Mao's Utopia  into the 20th Century.
Well, they achieved their goal!  Look under that Christmas tree and you will see.

But, where are the JOBS?  

Wasn't this what they intended to happen?  Isn't this what they wanted GLOBALIZATION? One big happy planet?

Is this not partially achieving the MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS?

Was this not the intended purpose? The transfer of wealth from the productive Haves to the THIRD WORLD HAVE NOTS?

So, to break from the obsession over the FISCAL CLIFF that has taken hold of this government...
Instead of bringing up the diversionary topics of Morsi's Egypt, Assad's Syria, or NORTH KOREA's rocket technology.

Let me again break the monotony by reiterating a question that is haunting me:

Where are the JOBS, JOBS, JOBS?


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UK Waging Endless Wars: Home and Abroad



by Finian Cunningham / December 12th, 2012


Last week, in his latest budget statement, the Tory Chancellor George Osborne unveiled a program of cuts in public spending. The cuts represented the most draconian of their kind ever embarked on by any British government since the World War II.

Some GBP 30 billion (USD 50 billion) in savings are to be wrenched from social welfare entitlements and other public services, such as health and education.

This economic blitzkrieg is on top of the GBP 80bn (USD 130 billion) austerity barrage that the dubiously-elected Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government had earlier rolled out two years ago (recall that neither of these parties has a popular mandate from the 2010 British election).

The result? Austerity is here to stay in the United Kingdom, lasting until at least 2018 and more likely beyond that year. It is a shocking peremptory order when you think about it. The people are being told, “Poverty is your miserable lot and don’t even question it.”

In turn, the grim result will be blighted lives. The bottom half of British society is being forced to carry the burden of Britain’s record national debt levels – a debt that was imposed by its financial oligarchy in order to pay for its decades of looting and parasitism.

It truly conjures up a callous image of modern Britain and its ruling class. The lower orders are being stamped on and kicked in the teeth by the privileged wealthy in order to buoy up the sinking ship that is the fetid British economy.

Permanent austerity is just another way of saying “class war.” The British ruling class has given notice, through its mouthpiece chancellor, that war is now openly declared on the majority of workers, unemployed, pensioners, infirmed, and students. To be fair, the so-called opposition Labor party offers no alternative as it too has become a derisory servant of the rich.

While the top one percent of wealthy and corporate elite is lavished with tax subsidies, the majority of people will pay for this largesse through enforced material hardship, sickness, and death. When pensioners, for example, are forced to turn off their home heating this winter in order to scrimp some savings to pay for basic food items many more of these elderly will die from hypothermia and deprivation. That is the heinous reality behind all the glib economic statistics articulated by Osborne in the British House of Commons last week as he pontificated, “It’s a hard road, but it leads to a better future.” (Yes, it’s hard road all right for the millions of poor who are cushioning the millionaires like Chancellor Osborne.)

Meanwhile, it was rather apt in the same week that a separate report showed that Britain and the United States military have together launched some 1,200 drone strikes over a five-year-long period to date. These strikes have occurred in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Undisclosed information may well show that Britain has also participated in known American drone attacks elsewhere, such as Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

According to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, British forces are playing an increasing role in assisting America’s worldwide drone assassination campaign. With countless thousands of deaths from such aerial attacks, it is a stark reminder that Britain – along with the US and other NATO powers – is in a state of permanent global war. A state of war that, like its economic austerity at home, seems to have no end.

The primary cost of these drone strikes and wars are the millions of innocent lives obliterated. Over a million in Iraq alone, 20,000 in Afghanistan, and countless tens of thousands elsewhere.

But let’s look at the financial cost of Britain’s permanent state of global war. In dollar terms and for the UK only, the bill for its 13-year-long illegal occupation in Afghanistan ending in 2014 is reckoned to reach USD 33 billion; while that for Iraq and Libya is calculated at USD 16 billion and USD 430 million respectively.

The total financial cost for just those three military adventures is approximately USD 50 billion. That sum is equivalent to the cost-cutting in public spending unveiled last week by the British government.

The brutal irony is that Britain’s reign of death and destruction abroad is to be paid for by a reign of death and destruction imposed through austerity on its own population over the next six years.

And just like the enforced economic austerity, there seems to be no end in sight to Britain’s warmongering around the world. While the British government claims that it has no money to pay for pensioner fuel bills or unemployment food stamps, it nevertheless somehow can find the financial wherewithal to fund armed groups in Syria to the tune of USD 80 million. These are the same groups that are trying to subvert the sovereign government in Damascus by killing thousands of Syrian civilians with no-warning car bombs and raiding villages to massacre women and children.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has been one of the Western politicians calling most vociferously for increased foreign-backed criminality in Syria, although, the plumy-accented Hague does not put it in quite those stark terms.

Last week, Hague claimed that he was privy to secret information purportedly showing that the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad were preparing to deploy chemical weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, according to his twisted logic, Western powers must launch a military attack on Syrian immediately. Tellingly, Hague could not reveal any specifics to support his threadbare scaremongering and warmongering pretext.

But the point is that the British government is itching for yet another bloody imperialist adventure, in Syria, to add to its already long list of war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. And this is at a time when the British population is being bludgeoned with economic austerity.

The seeming contradiction in the British government’s policy is not a contradiction. It is entirely consistent. The military war on hapless foreign populations is but an extension of the economic war that is being waged against the majority of Britons. This is the function of capitalism – the exploitation of others for the benefit of elite rulers. It has always been so, but in this time of history, it has become transparently so.

This is not unique to Britain, of course. We see the same perverse logic and priorities being played out in the US and elsewhere in Europe. The French and German governments, for example, are crying poverty to their populaces, yet these same governments are readying to deploy drones in Mali and Patriot missiles in Turkey.

However, one thing is for sure: Economic and foreign policy run on the basis of inflicting suffering and death is doomed to fail. It is digging its own grave. Sooner or later the corrupt rulers will fall, or preferably be pushed, into the graves they are digging.


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Proof of Noah's Biblical Flood Under the Black Sea

Travel



Published: Dec 12, 2012, 6:21 PM EST weather.com


Proof of Noah's Biblical Flood Under the Black Sea



GETTY IMAGES


He's the man who found the Titanic in its deep underwater grave.

Now, famed ocean archeologist Robert Ballard believes he's uncovered evidence that the story of Noah's Ark and the biblical flood were based on real events.

It all starts with a controversial theory that the Black Sea was once a freshwater lake surrounded by land, until it was flooded by a massive amount of water from the Mediterranean Sea.

Ballard was intrigued, and took a team to the area to investigate.

"We went in there to look for the flood," Ballard tells ABC News. "Not just a slow moving, advancing rise of sea level, but a really big flood that then stayed…The land that went under stayed under."

Ballard is convinced an ancient shoreline they found under the water is proof that a violent flood happened in the Black Sea.

As for finding Noak's famed ark, Ballard doesn't believe that's happening.

"It's foolish to think you will ever find a ship. But can you find people who were living? Can you find their villages that are underwater now?" he tells ABC News. "And the answer is yes."


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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Our New New Tone: ‘There Will Be Blood!’ ‘Civil War!’



The Campaign Spot

Election-driven news and views . . . by Jim Geraghty.



By Jim Geraghty
December 12, 2012 7:48 A.M.


From the midweek edition of the Morning Jolt:


The New ‘New Tone’ of Our Politics, From Michigan: ‘There Will Be Blood!’

The massive public tantrum of Wisconsin’s unions didn’t work in that state in 2011, but labor unions are willing to try the same in Michigan.

Conn Carroll:

“There will be blood,” State Representative Douglas Geissthreatened from the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives today as the body debated legislation that would make Michigan the nation’s 24th right to work state.

“I really wish we had not gone here,” Geiss continued. “It is the leadership in this house that has led us here. The same leadership that tried to throw a bomb right on election day, leading to a member switching parties, and came in at the 11th hour with a gotcha bill. For that, I do not see solace, I do not see peace.”

But wait, there’s more!

Jimmy Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said Tuesday he expects Michigan unions and lawmakers to break out into “civil war” after the state’s legislature passed right-to-work bills that would weaken unions’ power.

“This is just the first round of a battle that’s going to divide this state. We’re going to have a civil war,” Hoffa said on CNN’s “Newsroom.” The Republican-controlled state House passed two bills that had already been approved by the GOP-dominated state Senate. Gov. Rick Snyder, also a Republican, is poised to sign the bill, which would allow workers at union-represented employers to forgo paying dues.

“There will be blood!” “We’re going to have civil war!” Meanwhile, outsidethe state capitol:

Tempers flared Tuesday morning here at the state Capitol as police — some on horses — moved into to break up a mob scene as the Republican-controlled House approved a contentious right-to-work bill.

Thousands of union members and friends of organized labor gathered to show their opposition, at times heated, to the legislation that prohibits unions from forcing unionized employees to pay union dues or join labor groups.

Gov. Rick Snyder had not yet signed the bill into law, although he has signaled that he would.

By mid-morning, the Capitol was a scene of chaos as union members and organizers from pro-right-to-work Americans for Prosperity got into a shouting match. Wisconsin Reporter’sRyan Ekvall, at the scene, said right-to-work opponents grew increasingly agitated over AFP’s signs.

“There was some pushing and shoving. At one point, I was in the middle of the crowd; it was like a mosh pit where you couldn’t control yourself. You were being moved with the crowd,” Ekvall said.

He saw two lines of police officers forming, “marching like military,” with four officers mounted on horses. They dispersed the crowd and restored peace to the section of the grounds. Before doing so, union members pulled up the tent stakes, and the tent collapsed with some AFP members inside, according to witnesses at the scene.

Our Christian Schneider spoke with David Fladeboe of Americans for Prosperity, who was working security outside the tent:

Fladeboe said the tent, for which AFP-Michigan had received a permit a week earlier, held between 30 and 40 people before protesters began stabbing at its straps with knives. He said that at first, protesters were targeting random straps to avoid being caught — then, finally, they focused on one corner of the tent in an effort to pull it down. Fladeboe said that even once several of the straps were cut, the local police on the scene did little to help the volunteers re-secure them.

Eventually, protesters were able to snap one of the tent stakes in half and pull it from beneath the tent, causing it to collapse. Fladeboe said that despite reports that the tent had been cleared of people before it went down, there were about a dozen people still trapped inside after it had fully collapsed. “You could see people inside of it trying to get up, and you could see the tent moving,” he said — a problem exacerbated by the fact that protesters began “stomping” on top of the collapsed canvas while volunteers tried to help those trapped inside.

Before it had collapsed, the tent was held up by two 20-foot poles, which had to have fallen for it to collapse; volunteers were worried that those poles could have landed on someone stuck inside the tent. There also was hot coffee and hot chocolate served inside the tent that could have burned people if tipped over.

Fladeboe said that once the tent was clear of people, the protesters began pushing and shoving them — it was only then that the police got involved.

Here’s what’s left of the tent. A sports feature writer at Detroit Free Press characterizes the union mob’s reaction to the AfP tent as “taking the bait.” I suppose that’s one way of looking at it; it says something about those union members that all it took to “bait” them into a frothing mass of violence was someone being present and expressing a different opinion than them.

And then poor Fox News contributor Steven Crowder, best known for making funny videos, got punched in the face repeatedly and chipped a tooth.

“Even if you hate me, nothing I could have done warranted being suckerpunched and threatened with murder,” Crowder said.

Instapundit reader Michael Lotus writes:

No matter what Obama does, there is going to be a lot more of this.

These guys are out of ideas, out of money, and have no sane argument to make for what they want everyone else to pay for.

Thank God for camera phones. Even ten years ago, they would have done a lot worse, and gotten away with it.

And to answer your question, my guess is Obama says nothing and the news media does not cover it, which means it never happened.

Or it would mean that if it weren’t for camera phones and the Internet.

Crowder showed good restraint. If he had thrown a punch, he’d have been stomped to death.

Glenn adds, “We need to identify this guy and make an example of him. And his union bosses. I’ve pledged $1000 toward the reward fund.”

“Obviously this is just another example of the Koch brothers’ inciting violence,” groans Jonah, with a good video posted in the Corner.

Our Jillian Kay Melchior was at the capitol and found:

Few of the protesters I spoke to argued against right-to-work on the merits. Instead, their complaint seems to boil down to the suggestion that this is an attack on representative government. Many of them seemed to think that if they don’t get to exercise their political rights through direct democracy, they are being denied their freedoms outright.

That’s a profound misunderstanding of the American political system (and most every political system, ever).

Iowahawk summarizes, “What’s the difference between Mafia and unions? One threatens to kill you if you don’t give them money, the other dresses snappy.”


Source


Related:
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Dem Rep. Doug Geiss threatens from house floor "THERE WILL BE BLOOD"



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Texas man carves pentagram on son's back for '12-12-12'


MAN CARVES PENTAGRAM


DECEMBER 12, 2012

BY: BRUCE BAKER

Image of an inverted pentacle or pentagram
Credits:
Wikimedia Commons




To signify 12-12-12, North Texas man allegedly carved a pentagram into his 6-year-old son's back on Wednesday. Stranger still, the Forth Worth resident called 911 operators and told the dispatcher he committed the heinous act to commemorate the day.

According to a Dec. 12 Fox News report, investigators from the Richland Hills Police Department say Brent Troy Bartel (pictured here) is under arrest and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Furthermore, a judge set his bond at $500,000 over the allegations.

Read: "Pa. woman shot over cigarette by teens dies"

Also read: "Boy killed at gun store accidentally by father"

Reportedly, Bartel phoned emergency operators and said he shed "innocent blood." When asked why the Texas man carved a pentagram into his son's back, he said, "it's a holy day."

Obviously, 12-12-12 is a significant day and has various meanings to people. Some see it as a day of celebration because the milestone will not come around for about another 89 years. Others see it as a day to get married, take a leap of faith and make a large investment or start a business. Still, others think the day has some religious significance, as did the Forth Worth man.

Police say the majority of the child's back was covered with the image that carries multiple meanings. A box cutter, thought to be used to scribe the image, was found on the scene.


"This is something you normally hear about in the movies, not something you expect to see," said Sgt. Nathan Stringer.

WFAA said the child was taken to Cooks Children's Hospital where his condition was listed as stable. Child Protective Services and a victim liaison group are investigating the developing story.

Ironically, the Texas man who carved the pentagram into his son's back has no history of assaulting others.

What could have really motivated this man to take part in this act? At this time, there is no mention of drug or alcohol influence.


Source
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Senator Rubio Marks Human Rights Day On The Senate Floor




SenatorMarcoRubio

Published on Dec 10, 2012

No description available.

.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus



1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.


Philippians 2:1-16
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

12-12-2012 - Just Another Day NASA

James Parks

Published on Mar 8, 2012

NASA scientist debunks 2012 end of the world doomsday scenarios.
.

Cayman Islands premier arrested for corruption misused government credit card'

SIMON ENGLISH



TUESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2012






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It is famed as a sun-soaked tax-haven, a home to hedge funds, and as one of the glamorous locations for the Tom Cruise film The Firm. But today, the Cayman Islands came into world view for a different reason as its premier, McKeeva Bush, was arrested on suspicion of corruption.


For a place trying to shed its image as a home to ill-gotten gains, the news that its premier is accused of theft – misuse of a government credit card – and the importation of explosive materials could hardly be worse. Mr Bush, 57, is one of the most prominent figures on the islands.

However, the islands' 700-member Chamber of Commerce said the arrest "demonstrates Cayman's robust law enforcement and anti-corruption systems and the islands' intolerance (of) any alleged unethical behaviour or corruption even at the highest level of political office".

Meanwhile, Leonard Dilbert, Mr McKeeva's chief of staff, said the premier will continue working as the three-island territory's leader amid the ongoing police investigations. "There have been no charges," Mr Dilbert stressed to the Associated Press.

The islands – a British protectorate – are home to around 9,000 hedge funds that invest money from around the globe.

Mr Bush led the government between November 2001 and May 2005 and won power back again in 2009.

A glossy magazine promoting the islands a few years ago ran a profile of Mr Bush that described how he had risen "from humble beginnings" to become "the most powerful leader in the history of the Cayman Islands".


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Vatican calls for world government and a New World Order


Monday, December 10, 2012




Andrew Puhanic, Contributor
Activist Post

The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for the establishment of World Government and a New World Order.

In a speech made at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace on Monday December 3 2012, the Pope called for the “construction of a world community, with a corresponding authority,” to serve the “common good of the human family”.
As a means of defending global peace and justice, the pope’s vision for the establishment of World Government and a New World Order is supposedly not to create a new superpower, but a new governing body that offers to those (politicians) who are responsible for making decisions, criteria for judgment and practical guidelines.

The Pope was quoted as saying:

The proposed body (World Government) would not be a superpower, concentrated in the hands of a few, which would dominate all peoples, exploiting the weakest.The Pope also described his vision as a “moral force” or moral authority that has the “power to influence in accordance with reason, that is, a participatory authority, limited by law in its jurisdiction.”

These latest remarks made by the Pope and the Catholic Church come as no surprise considering that in 2010 the Catholic Church sought the establishment of a new Central World Bank that would be responsible for regulating the global financial industry and the international money supply.

It was reported that the Vatican sought “a supranational authority” which would have worldwide scope and “universal jurisdiction” to guide and control global economic policies and decisions.

China’s new push for closer ties with Russia, the growing intrusions from the United Nations with regards to control of the Internet and the latest remarks made by the Catholic Church all point to anew world order that will set in stone a path the world may not be able to recover from.

Andrew Puhanic is the founder of the Globalist Report. The aim of the Globalist Report is to provide current, relevant and informative information about the Globalists and Globalist Agenda. You can contact Andrew directly by visiting the Globalist Report


Dutchman launches life-sized replica of Noah's Ark


By TOBY STERLING | Associated Press – Mon, Dec 10, 2012




Johan Huibers poses with a stuffed tiger in front of the full scale replica of Noah’s Ark after being asked by a photographer to go outside with the animal in Dordrecht, Netherlands, Monday Dec. 10, 2012. The …



DORDRECHT, Netherlands (AP) — Just as the first storms of winter roll in, Dutchman Johan Huibershas finished his 20-year quest to build a full-scale, functioning model of Noah's Ark — an undertaking of, well, biblical proportions.

Huibers, a Christian, used books 6-9 of Genesis as his inspiration, following the instructions God gives Noah down to the last cubit.

Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 427 feet (130 meters) long, 95 feet (29 meters) across and 75 feet (23 meters) high. Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth, two by two, as described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair elephants to dance a tango.

Johan's Ark towers across the flat Dutch landscape and is easily visible from a nearby highway where it lies moored in the city of Dordrecht, just south of Rotterdam.

Gazing across the ark's main hold, a huge space of stalls supported by a forest of pine trees, visitors gaze upon an array of stuffed and plastic animals, such as buffalo, zebra, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears, you name it. Elsewhere on the ark is a petting zoo with actual live animals that are less dangerous or easier to care for — such as ponies, dogs, sheep, and rabbits — and an impressive aviary of exotic birds.

"This boat — it's amazing," said Alfred Jongile, visiting from South Africa with his Dutch wife.

For Huibers, a builder by trade, it all began with a nightmare he had in 1992, when the low-lyingNetherlands was flooded, as it has been many times throughout its history.

Huibers thinks that new floods are possible, not least due to global warming. He cites a New Testament passage prophesying that "the cities of the coast shall tremble" near the end of times.

But he's not worried the whole Earth will ever be flooded again. In the Bible, the rainbow is God's promise it won't be.

"I had a call from American television," he says, laughing. "This has nothing to do with the end of the Mayan calendar," he said.

He said his motivation is ultimately religious, though. He wants to make people think what their purpose is on Earth.

"I want to make people question that so that they go looking for answers," and ultimately find salvation through God and eternal life, he said.

Johan's Ark also contains a restaurant on the topmost level and a movie theater capable of seating 50 people. Around the edges of each level of the craft are displays on ancient Middle Eastern history and dress, scenes from the life of Noah, and games for kids, including water pumps and a system of levers to lift bales of hay.

Down below there is a honeycomb system of hatches, each opening into an area where food could be sealed in for long-term storage.

There is an outdoor space near the stern with a dizzying series of stairwells. Walking around, Johan points out features such as the curvature of the upper deck, which he said would have been used to collect rainwater for drinking, as well as for letting animals such as horses out to exercise where they could run around.

Another visitor, Martin Konijn, said he was impressed with the level of detail.

"You might know the story of Noah, okay, but if you see this you begin to get an idea of how it would actually have worked in practice."

Huibers says he's considering where to take the floating attraction next, including European ports or even across the Atlantic — though the latter would require transport aboard an even bigger ship.

But Huibers is also working on a new dream, perhaps even more unlikely than the first one: he wants to get Israelis and Arabs to cooperate and build a water pipeline from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea.

"If you have faith, anything is possible," he says.


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The Sunday is the Seventh Day Calendar


Just in case you haven't seen the calendar in which Saturday is not the last day of the week, the seventh day and Monday is the first?  Here it is:



December 2012
MTWTFSS




.
12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31

Michigan Right-To-Work Protests






Published on Dec 11, 2012

FOX News Radio's Jennifer Keiper shows the right-to-work protests from the steps of the Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan
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Counsel Regarding Labor Unions


These unions are one of the signs of the last days. Men are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. They may be church members, but while they belong to these unions they cannot possibly keep the commandments of God, for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself" (Luke 10:27). These words sum up the whole duty of man. They mean the consecration of the whole being--body, soul, and spirit--to God's service. How can men obey these words and at the same time pledge themselves to support that which deprives their neighbors of freedom of action? And how can men obey these words and form combinations that rob the poorer classes of the advantages which justly belong to them, preventing them from buying or selling, except under certain conditions? How plainly the words of God have predicted this condition of things. John writes, "I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. . . . And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev. 13:11-17).--Letter 26, 1903, pp. 2, 3. (To Elder and Mrs. J. A. Burden, Dec. 10, 1902.) Released January 23, 1960.

Manuscript Releases Volume Two, p. 179.
.

Facebook Outage Blamed on DNS Issue







By Damon Poeter
December 10, 2012 10:31pm EST




Facebook on Monday blamed a DNS infrastructure issue for a widespread site outage that lasted between 15 and 25 minutes for some users, according to reports.

The outage, while brief and quickly fixed, generated a flurry of media reports and complaints on other social networks like Twitter. Facebook reached 1 billion active users in October and even short disruptions of service on a site that huge can have substantial ripple effects.

At the very least, they don't go unnoticed.

Here is Facebook's explanation for the outage, which occurred during the early evening and reportedly affected users in North America and Europe, as related by Business Insider:

"Earlier today we made a change to our DNS infrastructure and that change resulted in some people being temporarily unable to reach the site. We detected and resolved the issue quickly, and we are now back to 100 percent. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Those who reported being affected by outage described disruptions ranging from pictures not loading properly to the entire site being unavailable. CNET's Zack Whittaker reportedthat evidence suggested the disruption "was near to or was a global outage," though beta.facebook.com and the mobile version of the site accessed via mobile device apps was reportedly unaffected.

Facebook's back-end problem bookended a rough day for Internet consumer service giants.

Earlier on Monday, Google's Gmail experienced an outage, with some users reporting that the problem extended to the company's Chrome browser and to Google Drive as well.

Gmail started experiencing problems around noon Eastern. At PCMag, Gmail failed to load, and then produced a 502 error page. "The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request," the error noted. "Please try again in 30 seconds. That's all we know."

Google declared the issue resolved just after 1 p.m.

With additional reporting by Chloe Albanesius.



For more from Damon, follow him on Twitter @dpoeter.


.

Gmail in widespread outage, also caused Chrome browser crashes



Summary: Gmail suffered a widespread outage earlier today. It's not yet clear what caused the problems, but in many cases it also caused Chrome browsers to crash worldwide.


By Zack Whittaker for Between the Lines | December 10, 2012 -- 17:39 GMT (09:39 PST)




Gmail was hit with an outage at around 12 midday ET. Screenshot: ZDNet

Gmail is down... and it's up again, in what may be the strangest, shortest outage the company's cloud-based email service has suffered in memory.

Gmail suffered from a widespread outage earlier today. First reported from social media services -- such as Facebook and Twitter -- many were unable to access their Google-based email accounts for minutes.

At 12:30 p.m. ET, Google said that it was "investigating reports of an issue with Google Mail," and said it would provide more information shortly. It did not offer anything else, except marking it has a "service disruption," rather than a "service outage."

At 1:10 p.m. ET, Google gave the all-clear and said that the "problem with Google Mail should be resolved." Google also noted a problem with Google Drive, which has also been fixed.

ZDNet's Rachel King said that her personal email account was down, while our Google Apps-powered email system remained "spotty." All in all, it appears that Google was down for only a few minutes -- perhaps no 15-20 minutes or so -- but it certainly left its mark on social media feeds.

Many users received 502 server errors when visiting their Gmail. So far, there's nothing from Google on the official Twitter accounts and no word back from the company. (Perhaps their Gmail is down? I jest...)

Google Apps was not reporting any outages at the time of writing, suggesting that Google Apps for Business, Government and Education users were not affected.

However, Eric Harrison on Twitter said:

EricGHarrison@EricGHarrison


@zackwhittaker I can confirm that Gmail for businesses is being impacted by the outages.
10 Dec 12



CBS Interactive's email system, hosted by Google Apps, was also impacted. However, it did not hit everyone in all of our offices, but seemed patchy for few. Others were left out in the cold for 20 minutes or so.

At the same time, Twitter suddenly spiked with a number of reports that Google Chrome was crashing. (I experienced it myself. I had to write much of this report three times due to crashes.) It could well be that a bug co-exists between Chrome and Gmail that is causing the crash, and may somehow relate to Google Sync.

Matthew Ebel@matthewebel


WTF, Chrome? RT @Dragoneer: Four separate people I was talking to had their Chrome crash all at the EXACT same time.
10 Dec 12



There have been a few reports of other Google services failing to work, such as Google Calendar, Google Drive and Google Docs, although it seems to be mostly focused on the firm's cloud-based email service.

According to Ian Danforth on Twitter:

iandanforth@iandanforth


WARNING: Google chrome latest has a bug that will cause it to crash while in gmail. To reduce frustration use another browser today.
10 Dec 12



Also, Google Drive was causing problems. It appears likely that global Google site code was conflicting somehow with Chrome, or Chrome's synchronization service, that was causing the crash.

CNET's Danny Sullivan said:

Danny Sullivan
✔@dannysullivan



wow. google drive is now crashing chrome. wow. and i'm not the only one this is happening to.
10 Dec 12


The last major outage with Gmail was back in April where up to 35 million customers were affected, or roughly 10 percent of Gmail's global user base. Many were left unable to access their personal email accounts, and in some cases, their Google Apps-powered email accounts.

We've checked in with Google but did not hear back at the time of writing. We will report back when we have more.


.

Monday, December 10, 2012

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Saturnalia




(December 4, 2004)

Thanksgiving is nearly forgotten, Sponge Bob Square Pants has floated off into oblivion and the Santa Maria has been replaced by the Santa Claus. The stores are a symphony of Christmas spirit orchestrated by the shopping elf. The presence of Christmas is, indeed, presents. Everyone goes "buy buy." Tis the season to run up credit card debt.

On Black Friday, the Malls became mauls as the word SALE turned the counters into grab bags. Scraggly Santas coaxed children onto laps while cameras clicked a remembrance of this special occasion.

Every year, brains are racked with the annual Christmas quandary........"who" will receive "what." How much can we afford to spend and how much will we wind up spending. Nobody wants to appear cheap. Don't give cash...it's tacky. Gift certificates are a suitable subtle replacement. And, more importantly, they can be charged.

The children, having been groomed by televisions ads, are no longer merely requesting their "two front teeth, " but rather, they have donated their lengthy Christmas "wish lists" to Santa's surrogates.....Mom and Dad. Visions of X-Boxes, rather than sugar plums, dance in their heads. Billions of dollars will be spent on gifts, wrappings, candy, decorations, and greeting cards in the frenzied spending spree that appears to begin earlier every year.

Christmas trees ride on hoods of cars en route to rooms where they will be adorned, ornamented and lit. Christmas stockings enjoy their yearly hangout by the fireplace waiting to be stuffed.

In the midst of this manic merriment and joy to the world, the more contemplative ponder "What is the reason for this season?" Is it the birth of Jesus the Christ, who was born in a manger in Bethlehem on December 25th? How did Christmas devolve into little more than a mandatory ritual of gift exchanging done under the guise of family togetherness and pleasing the kiddiepoos?

Nowhere in the Bible is there any mention of the disciples singing "Happy Birthday Dear Jesus." Nowhere in the Bible is there a command to honor this day. The Bible is strangely silent. And yet, The American Book of Days, George W. Douglas, p. 658, speaks loudly on the topic. "The observance of birthdays was condemned as a heathen custom repugnant to Christians,"

Some well placed googling reveals that the origins of this holiday date back over 4000 years, centuries before the Christ child was born. The twelve days of celebrating, the Yule log, the giving of gifts and carolers going from house to house can be traced back to the early Mesopotamians.

The Mesopotamians were polytheistic. Their chief god was Marduk. Each year, as winter arrived, it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monsters of chaos. (I cannot help but wonder if Marduk frequented the Palisades Mall in West Nyack) To assist Marduk in his struggle, the Mesopotamians held a festival for the New Year which lasted 12 days.

The ancient Persians and the Babylonians also had a similar celebration which they called Sacaea.

As daylight grew short and the Winter Solstice approached, the early Europeans feared that the sun would not return. Rituals were held to lure back the "Prodigal Sun." In Scandinavia, the return of that warm hearted orb was celebrated with a festival called Yuletide. A feast would be served around a fire burning with a Yule log.

According to some legends, "Christmas" was invented to compete with the pagan celebrations in December. The 25th of December was a sacred day for both the Romans and the Persians, whose religion was Mithraism, one of Christianity's main rivals. The Church adopted many of the Pagan rituals in their attempt to make the religion more attractive to converts.

Google as one may, there is no record of the date of Christ's birth. However, the computer of logic reveals that it is improbable if not impossible that it would have been on December 25th. Since the Biblical account states that the child was born when shepherds were "abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night" ( Luke 2:8 ), it is unlikely that shepherds in Israel would have been sleeping outside with their flocks during the month of December.

It was not until 350 AD that the Bishop of Rome, Julius 1, chose December 25th as the observance of Christmas. This was obviously influenced by the ancient Romans year end festivities to honor Saturn, their harvest god and Mithras, the god of light. The Roman feast of Saturnalia was a seven-day festival in honor of the deity Saturn. It began on December 17. Saturnalia was considered a fun and festive time for the Romans. As Christianity spread, the Church became alarmed by the continuing practice among its flock of indulging in customs such as this Saturnalian feast. If you can't beat 'em ...join 'em. Slowly but surely, the pagan ritual of using greenery to decorate homes, moved from being prohibited as idolatry to becoming an accepted custom of the festivities. Another tradition at the Saturnalia, involved exchanging candles, clay dolls, and other small gifts.

Did someone say "small?" There's an endangered word and an endangered tradition. "Small" these days describes the size of ones bank account as the calendar flips into January of the new year and people line up at the return counters of their favorite stores.

"Here she goes again, Grinch Andreas"

Not at all. Whether the reason for the season is secular or spiritual, "giving" is a separate issue. With all due respect, however, let's not confuse runaway materialism, avarice and gluttony with the spirit of generosity. Gifts come in all shapes, sizes and elements and are not necessarily located in the material. Gifts need not break the family bank nor the family's back.

Is it difficult to imagine how the gift of time must feel to the lonely?

One year I worked in a soup kitchen in New York City. Watching the endless lines of hungry people coming for their small brown bags broke my heart over and over again. And the only thing I was giving was my time.

Websites such as Giving @ Home suggest a variety of services that provide help for people whose cries would otherwise go unheard. A gift can be something as simple and economical as "listening."

Holidays are Holy Days. There are many ways that we can honor them and one another. Perhaps a little thought might be given to how these occasions can best be spent. A trip to Walmart need not be part of the ritual.

Copyright Judy Andreas 2004


.

The Jesuits


Les Jésuites, maitres du nouvel ordre mondial... by dusvi

An Approaching Spiritual Storm!



Volume XXXI Issue XII December 2012
Last Trumpet Ministries, PO Box 806, Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Fax: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org



An Approaching Spiritual Storm!


"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men."   

Daniel 4:17

"I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."

Isaiah 66:4

"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."     

Psalm 118:6-9

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"

Mark 4:37-40


In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will thoughtfully consider the recent events of our day and examine the implications that such events may have on the future of the United States and the entire world. At this present time, the world is undergoing a profound transformation as we continue to see the United States transmuted into a socialist country, wars and turmoil in the Middle East persisting, and the European Union continuing to suffer the consequences of an unstable economic system. I believe the forthcoming years may be the most significant time in the history of mankind, which will culminate in the destruction of Satan's kingdom and the return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In late October 2012 with Election Day drawing near, a massive storm began to approach the East coast of the United States. This storm, which was known as Hurricane Sandy, was the largest storm by diameter ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean with the reach of its winds stretching 1,100 miles from one end to the other. "Its circulation is enormous; it's affecting one way or another, the entire eastern third of the country. The storm is the largest tropical storm in the Atlantic," said Rob Carolan, a meteorologist from Nashua, New Hampshire. Mr. Carolan further went on to say, "I have never seen a storm this large in regards to wind flow. So many bad things had to come together all at once. It is going to make the 'Perfect Storm' look small. It's remarkable what an impact this is going to have." (1) On October 29, 2012, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley issued a dire warning. "The days ahead are going to be very difficult," Governor O'Malley declared. "There will be people who die and are killed in this storm." (2)

Remarkably, Hurricane Sandy accomplished feats that would have otherwise seemed impossible. For example, not only did the storm wreak havoc on air travel around the world while causing nearly ten thousand flights to be cancelled, it also resulted in the shut-down of the New York Stock Exchange, as well as the cancellation of all meetings that had been scheduled at the United Nations building. (3)

In the aftermath of the storm, millions of people in the states of New York, New Jersey, and the surrounding regions were without power. (4) Facing a sprawling power outage and widespread gasoline shortages, the people of New York and New Jersey grew increasingly frustrated and began to lash out against the authorities. "This is America, not a third world nation. We need food, we need clothing," said Staten Island borough president Jim Molinaro. (5) The unpleasant circumstances prompted one New Yorker to say, "I feel like a victim of Hurricane Katrina. I never thought it could happen here in New York, but it's happened." (6)

The damage caused by the storm was significant. In fact, a report by the Associated Press indicates that thousands upon thousands of trees have been uprooted, some of which were over 120 years old. "These are perfectly healthy trees, some more than 120 years old that have survived hurricanes, ice storms, nor'easters, anything Mother Nature could throw their way. Sandy was just too much," said Todd Forrest, a vice president at the New York Botanical Garden. (7) An estimated 10,000 trees were destroyed in New York City, while 113,000 were reportedly destroyed or damaged within the state of New Jersey. (8) Sadly, Hurricane Sandy also claimed the lives of over two hundred people within the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean region. (9)

For several months I had felt in my spirit that Barack Obama would be given four more years as President of the United States. As I watched the news of Hurricane Sandy, I could not help but feel even more certain that Obama would be re-elected. A storm of such significance, which occurred right before the election, hardly seemed like a coincidence. I believe that Hurricane Sandy was symbolic of the approaching spiritual storm which will soon engulf the United States and much of the world.

Thankfully, we have a Saviour who will guide us through this storm, and with His strength we will have the power to endure until the end. In the book of Mark, chapter 4, we read of Jesus Christ rebuking a storm and uttering the command, "Peace, be still." In like manner, our Lord is ready and willing to give us the strength and wherewithal to withstand the spiritual storms of this life. Even as the waves are crashing all around us and the world sometimes seems to be a bleak and hopeless place, our Saviour can speak to our souls and tell us, "Peace, be still." For as the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:7, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." If you have not yet completely yielded your heart to God, I urge you to do so now.

The Ramifications Of The 2012 Election!

On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was declared to be the winner of the 2012 presidential election. As news of the election results were announced, the political divide in the United States became fiercely pronounced. While Obama's supporters reacted with great jubilation, his opponents responded with disgust, and in some cases, incendiary remarks. In fact, upon learning that Obama would occupy the Oval Office for another term, real estate mogul Donald Trump declared the following, "This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!" Mr. Trump then suggested that the American people should stage a revolution. (10)

A large contingent of the American people are so angry over the election results that they have filed petitions with the White House requesting that their respective states be allowed to secede from the United States of America. Although every American state has some signatures requesting the right to secede, the state of Texas exceeds all others by far with over 115,000 people signing the petition as of this writing. (11) While it is safe to assume that the Federal government of the United States would never allow a state to peacefully secede from the Union, these petitions serve as an indicator of how unhappy and angry many Americans have become. It is interesting to note that Texas Governor Rick Perry made an allusion to the possibility of state secession during a speech in 2009. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that," Governor Perry stated. (12)

I believe the 2012 election is an indicator of a shift in the values of the majority of the American people. This change in ideology will likely become even more noticeable as the older conservative generations are replaced by young people who have been taught from the time they were little children to embrace liberal values such as socialism, abortion, and homosexuality. A liberal writer by the name of Andrew Sullivan, who is widely known to be one of Obama's biggest supporters, wrote the following words after the conclusion of the election, "And one felt something tectonic shift tonight. America crossed the Rubicon of every citizen's access to healthcare, and re-elected a black president in a truly tough economic climate. The shift toward gay equality is now irreversible. The end of the prohibition of marijuana is now in sight. Women, in particular, moved this nation forward - pragmatically, provisionally, sensibly." (13)

Barack Obama has become well-known for enacting oppressive new regulations such as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which allows for the indefinite detention of American citizens. Now that he has been given another four years as President of the United States, it seems likely that he will continue to enact new rules, regulations, and executive orders, which will expand the size of the government, expand its powers, and continually strip the American people of their rights and freedom. Here let it be noted that the Obama Administration has published an average of sixty-eight new regulations and notifications per day over the last three months. (14) It is also worthwhile to note that Barack Obama signed an executive order on October 26, 2012, mandating the expansion of the Department of Homeland Security by means of a Security Partnership Council, which will establish partnerships between sectors of the Federal government with non-government organizations. A portion of the executive order reads as follows: "We must tap the ingenuity outside government through strategic partnerships with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and community-based organizations. Such partnerships are critical to U.S. success at home and abroad, and we will support them through enhanced opportunities for engagement, coordination, transparency, and information sharing." (15) This executive order will establish a mechanism by which private organizations may become tentacles of an ever-expanding government.

Although the re-election of Barack Obama is difficult for most conservative Americans to swallow, we must remember that God allowed this to happen for a reason. For as it says in Daniel 4:17, "This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." I do not pretend to know the mind of God; however, I do trust Him implicitly and fully believe that in the end all will be well through his mercy and grace.

A New Wave Of Layoffs!

As Barack Obama hit the campaign trail in 2012, he boasted that his economic policies are working and that the rate of unemployment was improving. Yet, in the days immediately following the election, the United States was hit with a deluge of job layoffs. One such example is Murray Energy, which received attention in the media after the chief executive officer of the company led a prayer just before he began laying off his employees. "Lord, please forgive me and anyone with me in the Murray Energy Corporation for the decisions that we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any of the enterprises that you have helped us build," prayed CEO Robert E. Murray. (16)

Another expansive loss of jobs came at the hands of Hostess Brands Inc., which announced on Friday, November 16, 2012, that it would shutter its operations permanently, including 565 distribution centers, 33 bakeries, and 570 bakery outlets. It was also announced that approximately 18,500 workers would be laid off. (17) Meanwhile, numerous companies have also announced layoffs, including Energizer, Exide Technologies, Westinghouse, Research in Motion Ltd, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, and US Cellular amongst various others. (18)

A large proportion of the layoffs now being announced are the result of an increase in operating costs caused by Barack Obama's forthcoming healthcare reforms, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, some companies have chosen more creative ways to make up for the lost revenue. For example, Jon Metz, a man who operates about forty Denny's restaurants in the state of Florida, has announced that his establishments will be adding a 5 percent surcharge to every customer's bill in an effort to cover the increase in expenses. It was also announced that the restaurants would reduce the hours of many employees to twenty-eight per week to keep them under the threshold which require they be provided with insurance. Explaining the rationale for his decision, Metz was quoted as saying, "Obviously, I'd love to cover all our employees under that insurance. But to pay $5,000 per employee would cost us $175,000 per restaurant and unfortunately, most of our restaurants don't make $175,000 a year. I can't afford it." (19)

Even as numerous companies struggle to remain profitable, the United States Postal Service had a record loss for the fiscal year 2012, totaling 15.9 billion dollars. The dire situation has caused great alarm for Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe who was quoted as saying, "It's critical that Congress do its part and pass comprehensive legislation before they adjourn this year to move the Postal Service further down the path toward financial health." Donahoe further went on to say, "We cannot sustain large losses indefinitely. Major defaults are unsettling." (20) Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat from the state of Delaware, has also expressed concern over the fate of the postal service. "The U.S. Postal Service is clearly marching toward a financial collapse of its own. I am hopeful that now that the elections are over, my colleagues and I can come together and pass postal reform legislation so that a final bill can be signed into law by the end of the year," Senator Carper said. (21) Art Sackler, co-coordinator of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, also expressed worry regarding the postal service. "If Congress fails to act, there could be postal slowdowns or shutdowns that would have catastrophic consequences for the eight million private sector workers whose jobs depend on the mail," Sackler said. (22)

The Strong Ties Of Obama And Planned Parenthood!

In Matthew 19:14 we read, "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." This verse is just one of many that demonstrate the love and affection God has for children. Conversely, we know that Satan has inspired men to slaughter children throughout the ages, including the time of Moses' birth in Egypt and the time of Jesus' birth when Herod ordered the slaying of all male infants, age two and under, found in Bethlehem and the coastal areas. Sadly, this same satanic influence is present today in the United States where millions of innocent babies are aborted every year.

One of the staunchest proponents of abortion in America today is none other than Barack Obama, who implied on the campaign trail in 2008 that he would prefer his daughters to seek abortions rather than to give birth in the case of unwanted pregnancies. "I've got two daughters, nine years old and six years old. I am going to teach them about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby," Obama declared. On July 24, 2012, Obama again mentioned his daughters as part of the reason he supports Planned Parenthood, an organization which proudly butchers babies when given the opportunity. "Mr. Romney wants to get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood. I think that's a bad idea. I've got two daughters. I want them to control their own health care choices. We're not going backwards, we're going forward," Obama said. (23)

Obama expressed his support for Planned Parenthood multiple times on the campaign trail in 2012 and even mentioned the organization four times during a presidential debate in October. The praise for the group prompted Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards to say, "Never in their life would they imagine Planned Parenthood would be mentioned with such pride by a president speaking to millions, praising the work of Planned Parenthood. This has long-term consequences. This is a day to remember." (24) Frances Kissling, a scholar from the University of Pennsylvania, declared that there has been "a shift in the political climate" and that "the president and others now think associating themselves very publically with Planned Parenthood is favorable in the public eye." (25)

In the United States, approximately 40 percent of all abortions are performed at Planned Parenthood clinics. This slaughter of innocents is reportedly a very lucrative business, which earns the group 51 percent of its revenue, or about $164,154,000 each year. The group also receives 487.4 million dollars each year from taxpayers. (26)

As we consider these facts, one might wonder how Planned Parenthood came into being and how it has risen to such prominence in recent years. In 1921 a group known as the American Birth Control League, which would later become Planned Parenthood, was founded by a radical socialist and humanist known as Margaret Sanger. (27) This woman was known to espouse the virtues of eugenics, which is a belief that breeding should be carefully controlled to promote the proliferation of desirable genetic traits, while culling weak or undesirable genetic traits from the human race. She also believed that black people are inferior to whites, and she was invited to speak before groups involved with the Ku Klux Klan over a dozen times. (28) In 1939 she began the "Negro Project," which involved the hiring of influential black ministers to encourage black women to use birth control. (29) It is widely believed that this was an effort to pare down the black population in the United States. Sadly, her plan seems to have worked. Although black people only constitute about 12 percent of the population in the United States, they account for 37 percent of all abortions in the country, and 512 out of every 1000 pregnancies involving black women are now terminated by abortion. (30)

Incidentally, Ms. Sanger also held great contempt for large families. In her book entitled Woman and the New Race she wrote, "The MOST serious evil of our times is that of encouraging the bringing into the world of large families. The most immoral practice of the day is breeding too many children." In another portion of the book she wrote, "The most merciful thing that the large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." (31)

Today, Margaret Sanger is heralded as a liberal hero and a champion of "women's rights." Planned Parenthood is now bigger and more powerful than ever, and as a consequence, I believe it has brought a curse upon the United States of America. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 30, the Israelites were warned of the consequences that would befall them if they served other gods. It is interesting to note that the worship of false gods would often include child sacrifice, and even today, many women, holding a belief that raising a child would be too much of a financial burden, sacrifice their children for the sake of money, which for many people has become a false god. Deuteronomy 30:17-19 conveys a remarkable message when you consider it in the context of abortion. These verses read as follows: "But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

An Attempt By Atheists To Ensnare Your Children!

In Psalm 53:1 we read the following, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good." This verse makes it clear that there were people alive even thousands of years ago who were foolish enough to proclaim that there is no God. In recent years atheists have grown bolder, and one of their latest endeavors is a new website designed to ensnare young children and teenagers. The website, which is entitled "Kids Without God," features resources for children designed to convert them to a humanist mindset. "Whether they already made up their minds to reject supernatural explanations, or are just questioning, it's time to make available an online resource that's built just for kids without God," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director at the American Humanist Association. (32)

The front page of the website features an introduction which says, "Welcome to Kids Without God, a site for the millions of young people around the world who have embraced science, rejected superstition, and are dedicated to being Good without a God!" (33) The section of the website intended for young children features videos designed to brainwash them as well as a cute animated dog named Darwin who is supposed to teach them to be good children without the influence of God. (34) The section designed for teenagers features an advice column entitled "Dear Atheist" and articles such as "Can I date an atheist even if I'm not one?" (35)

This website is another ploy from the enemy designed to capture the minds of our impressionable youth. With the constant barrage of secularism spewing forth from popular culture, it is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to protect their children from the flood of evil now so prevalent in these last days.

Trouble On The Horizon!

The world is facing numerous threats which indicate the coming years may be very distressing for the earth's population. In November 2012, a flare-up between Israel and the Palestinians served as a reminder of just how volatile the Middle East is in these tumultuous times. In this latest conflict, one hundred and thirty Palestinians and five Israelis lost their lives as each side launched a barrage of rockets at each other. After eight days of fighting, a fragile cease-fire was announced, but there remains much animosity between the two sides. "This is a critical moment for the region. The people of this region deserve a chance to live free of fear and violence and today's agreement is a step in that direction. Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (36)

In November 2012 it came to light that the entire Eurozone, which consists of seventeen nations who use the euro currency, has now fallen into a recession. "We can dispense with the euphemisms and equivocation and openly proclaim that the euro area economy is indeed in technical recession," said James Ashley, a senior economist at RBC Capital Markets. (37) Austerity measures in several European nations have sparked protests, and experts have warned that more protests are likely in the coming days. "The likelihood is that this anger will continue to grow unless European leaders and policymakers start to act as if they have a clue as to how to resolve the crisis starting to unravel before their eyes," said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets. (38)

Meanwhile, economists are also warning that the United States will likely enter into another recession in 2013 if something is not done to prevent the nation from falling over a "fiscal cliff," which is a term coined by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to describe potential economic strife brought on by tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take place next year. "The fiscal cliff impacts the economy both by creating uncertainty and by imposing austerity. If we go over the cliff for an extended period of time, a recession is likely," opined Ethan Harris, an economist at Bank of America. (39)

In closing, I want to encourage each and every one of you to fully put your faith and trust in God. This world is not always a pleasant place, yet through the mercy of our Saviour we can truly be at peace. When I consider the trouble in this world, I can't help but think of the words of the Apostle Paul, written in II Corinthians 4:6-9, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."

Thank you to all who so generously support this ministry. This issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter concludes the 2012 volume of publication. If you subscribe to the paper edition of this newsletter and would like to be included on the mailing list for the year 2013, please remember to mail us your renewal form. As always, if you have any prayer requests, we will gladly carry your petition before the throne of the Almighty on your behalf. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel David Meyer

Acknowledgements
01. Bloomberg News, October 29, 2012, By Brian K. Sullivan, http://bloomberg.com.
02. Associated Press, October 29, 2012, By Associated Press, http://chicagotribune.com.
03. Ibid.
04. Associated Press, November 3, 2012, By Jocelyn Noveck and Michael Rubinkam, New York, NY.
05. Natural News, November 2, 2012, By Mike Adams, http://naturalnews.com.
06. Associated Press, November 3, 2012, By Jocelyn Noveck and Michael Rubinkam, New York, NY.
07. Associated Press, November 18, 2012, By The Associated Press, New York, NY.
08. Ibid.
09. Reuters News Service, November 16, 2012, By Robin Respaut, Dhanya Skariachan, Andrew Longstreth, and Barbara Goldberg, http://reuters.com.
10. Huffington Post, November 7, 2012, By Nick Wing, http://huffingtonpost.com.
11. Petition to the Whitehouse, November 9, 2012, http://petitions.whitehouse.gov.
12. WCPO News, November 20, 2012, By WCPO Staff, Cincinnati, OH.
13. The Daily Agenda, November 7, 2012, By The Daily Agenda, http://dailyagenda.org.
14. CNS News, November 9, 2012, By Penny Starr, http://cnsnews.com.
15. Official Executive Order, October 26, 2012, By Barack Obama, http://whitehouse.gov.
16. The Washington Post, November 9, 2012, By Steven Mufson, http://washingtonpost.com.
17. Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2012, By Alana Semuels, New York, NY.
18. The Blaze, November 8, 2012, By Mike Opelka, http://theblaze.com.
19. The Daily Mail, November 15, 2012, By James Nye, http://dailymail.co.uk.
20. Associated Press, November 15, 2012, By Hope Yen, Washington, D.C.
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.
23. Life Site News, July 27, 2012, By Jill Stanek, http://lifesitenews.com.
24. The Daily Beast, October 18, 2012, By Allison Yarrow, http://thedailybeast.com.
25. Ibid.
26. Life News, September 5, 2012, By Matthew Clark, http://lifenews.com.
27. Wikipedia, Margaret Higgins Sanger, http://wikipedia.org.
28. Ibid.
29. The National Review, June 24, 2008, By Jonah Goldberg (excerpt from the book Liberal Fascism), http://nationalreview.com.
30. Ibid.
31. Woman and the New Race, by Margaret Sanger, http://bartleby.com/1013/5.html.
32. The Blaze, November 13, 2012, By Billy Hallowell, http://theblaze.com.
33. Kids Without God, Official Website, http://kidswithoutgod.com.
34. Kids Without God, Official Website, http://little.kidswithoutgod.com.
35. Kids Without God, Official Website, http://kidswithoutgod.com/teens.
36. ABC News, November 21, 2012, By Colleen Curry, http://abcnews.go.com.
37. Associated Press, November 15, 2012, By Pan Pylas, London, United Kingdom.
38. Ibid.
39. CNBC, October 19, 2012, By Jeff Cox, http://cnbc.com.

Special Note: A new tribute website for Pastor David J. Meyer can now be accessed at http://pastormeyer.org.


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