Pressing questions I'd like our politicians to answer....Pleeeezzzz.

Here are a few questions I'd like our politicians (on both sides of the aisle and both houses of Congress) to answer:

• Why are we working on an immigration bill to secure the border when we are not enforcing our current immigration laws? A federal judge ruled that border agents can proceed with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of DHS directives ordering the agents to break the law — or have their careers threatened.

In other words, the Obama administration doesn't want our border agents doing their job.

• The current immigration bill is nothing but a sham. Why? One aspect of the bill is to double the number of border patrol agents. But in reality, these agents have been reprimanded by their superiors and told the not obey the current laws. ICE has pretty much given orders that any illegal alien under the age of 31 is to be "let go." 

So my question is this: Why bother with border security if we aren't enforcing our current laws?

Another question: We were told in the 1986 immigration bill that the border between the U.S. and Mexico would be secured. How'd that work out? Why should we believe that the Senate and House Immigration bill will do anything different? It's all just smoke and mirrors. The Democrats and some Republicans have no intention of securing the border. All they want is AMNESTY for 12 million illegal aliens.

Our wise, all-knowing vice-president, Joe Biden,
with his hand on officer's leg.

• Regarding new gun control laws, why aren't we enforcing all the laws that we currently have on the books?
• Here's what our Vice-President, Joe Biden, recently said: 

 “We Don’t Have Time to Enforce Existing Gun Laws, Let’s Add New Ones” Doesn't it scare you just a little bit that that this guy is one heartbeat away from being our president? Maybe not because he couldn't be any worse or more dangerous than Obama.

Here's another question that demands an answer: 

• Why is it that the cities with the most draconian gun-control legislation (strictest): Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC and New Orleans also have the highest murder rates? If their gun laws are not stopping murders and criminals, why should we think that more gun laws will change anything? 

Finally, Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, is now being sought by the U.S. on espionage charges. 

NSA leaker, Edward Snowden

• Question: Why is there a double-standard? The Obama administration leaked classified information to the New York Times. From leaks about Osama bin Laden to those detailing cyberattacks on Iran--all designed to give Barack Obama a political boost. Under this president, our enemies don't need spies, they've got the help of the Obama administration and our complicit media.

If our government wants to put Edward Snowden in prison for leaking sensitive information, then there are those in the President's cabinet who have done the same thing and need to be brought up on charges of espionage. I am no fan of Edward Snowden, but he has exposed the politics of our national security where you can leak secrets to the NY Times if it will make Obama look good, but otherwise, you are considered a traitor who must be demonized and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I for one am happy that Edward Snowden is revealing the hypocrisy of the Obama administration.

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire!

Is it just me, or does everything that I hear from this administration seems to be an outright lie? It's almost like a game of who can get away with the most lies and there's no concern about being caught because it now seems like a perverse joke: Who can tell the biggest lies and still keep a straight face? They tell lie after lie with no shame or remorse when they get caught.

Here's some of the evidence that I've gathered thus far:

• Almost all the IRS officials have lied about their unlawful targeting of conservative groups. It was not
  the sole work of a few misguided agents in Cincinnati. They were only following orders from higher ups in Washington.
• Attorney General Eric Holder has lied under oath to Congress. He swore that he had no knowledge of any effort to go after individual reporters. But an official Justice Department statement shows that Holder signed off on a search warrant to monitor the communications of Fox News reporter James Rosen. He LIED.
• Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Oregon) recently asked James Clapper, Dir. of National Intelligence whether the NSA collected the phone and email records of millions of ordinary Americans. Clapper said "NO, it did not." He LIED. 
• Last November, White House press secretary Jay Carney, was asked point blank whether the administration had altered CIA produced intelligence memos to fit it's narrative of a spontaneous riot
  
  in Benghazi fueled by a YouTube video. Jay Carney answered unequivocally that the Obama administration had made only ONE small stylistic change. That too was a LIE. In fact, we later learned that there were at least 12 different drafts that reflected substantial changes.
• The Obama White House lied about the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi just to get elected. Obama sent UN ambassador Susan Rice out on 5 Sunday talk shows with the official line that the attack on the Libyan embassy was sparked by a YouTube video. On the night of the attack, Beth Jones, acting secretary of state of the Near Eastern division, sent an email to the State Dept that the group that conducted the attacks on the embassy was Ansar al-Sharia, affiliated with Islamic terrorists. 3 days later the White House prepared talking points for Susan Rice to report that the attack on the Libyan embassy in Benghazi had nothing to do with terrorists. It was in response to a YouTube video. Lies. Nothing but lies.
• Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, on "Face the Nation" was caught in an out-and-out lie saying that because of the sequester, nearly 40,000 teachers would lose their jobs. A week later, he was forced to admit that he had lied.  
• Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior and his Energy Czar Carol Browner lied about and used fraudulent claims to impose an offshore drilling ban in the wake of the BP oil spill, then were rebuked by a federal judge.
• During 2008 campaign, Sen. Obama said, "Public Will Have 5 Days To Look At Every Bill That Lands On My Desk." Lie.
• During the same campaign, Sen. Obama promised that he would have the most open and transparent administration that Washington has ever seen. Lie
• In his attempt to distance himself from the evil Pres. Geo. W. Bush, Obama declared that there would be no illegal wire tapping of American citizens. Now we all know this was a lie.
• Here's an audacious statement from Obama:  "For the first time since 1990, American manufacturers are creating new jobs." Lie.
• "We've excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs." The Tampa Times found at least four.
• Obama: "We import more oil today than ever before." Politifact reports that oil imports are down.

What is the point of this laundry list of lies (which is just the tip of the iceberg). As Victor Hansen writes in the National Review, deception and lies infect every corner of the executive branch, eroding the trust that is necessary for democracy itself. 

The arrogance in Washington is seen in the justification that any means necessary is "ok" even if one has to tell a lie to stop the Tea Party or Fox News, then it's not seen by this administration as a lie.

Where does God stand on the subject of lies? He hates lies and liars. One of the titles for God is the God of Truth (Isaiah 65:16). God says, "The one who does deceitful things will not stay in my home." The one who tells lies will not remain in my presence.(Psalm 101:7).

Proverbs 19:5 (GW) ⁵ A lying witness will not go unpunished. One who tells lies will not escape.

Paul writes 1 Timothy 1:10 (GW) that ¹⁰ Laws are intended for people involved in sexual sins, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for those who lie when they take an oath, and for whatever else is against accurate teachings.

We all get caught in a lie sooner or later. The Lord is not looking for perfection, He's looking for those who have honest and contrite hearts, who are not lifted up with pride or conceit and who can admit their sins and ask for His forgiveness. The problem God really has is with those who practice the art of lying, and do so on a daily basis. They are in grave danger as far as their eternal destiny because they are in bed with the Devil, whom Jesus said is "the father of lies."

The Sound of Silence

Try this experiment. Un-tether from your smartphone, your tablet and all other electronic devices for a few hours so you can experience something called SILENCE. To "untether" means to pull out your earbuds, turn off your smartphone, your iPad, tablet or laptop. You might also try coupling that with a few hours of SOLITUDE. Be alone and be still.

It seems that just about everyone is "connected" today. Whether you're walking down the street, in the supermarket, at school, work or even the gym, everyone is looking down a their smartphone either sending or reading the latest text message. We are driven by this need to be connected 24/7, compelled to tweet our latest experience or thought. We  update Facebook about our latest escapade, or even something as mundane as what we ate for breakfast.

Thoreau said,

 "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." 

That desperation is played out everyday on Facebook, Twitter, and other websites. We are desperate to be connected; we're desperate for significance;  we want people to know that we matter. But we're also afraid of being known. Don't get too close...especially if you happen to be the Creator, the God of the Universe who started all this. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we're naked and God really sees our nakedness, but we are still hiding behind bushes, or text messages, or tweets, or our latest Facebook update.

Elizabeth Scalia writes in Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life, In "those rare moments when we find ourselves alone and the gadgetry silent, we feel we are at a loss." She says that "silence can be terrifying, but only because it lays bare our loneliness , our self-recriminations, and our doubts. Possessing nothing that is equal to those depths, we sense the need to distract ourselves and the cycle begins to churn again."

Scalia called these our "strange new idols"--our iPhone, iPad, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

I also think we are afraid of silence and desperately try to keep from experiencing it because it might allow us to hear the voice of our Creator. His voice is best heard when we aren't immersed in a cacophony of noise and mindless activity.

We need to allow ourselves to hear from the One who knows us intimately, even if we don't know ourselves. He knows what makes us tick. He is the only One who can give true value and meaning to our daily existence.We allow our smartphones and other electronic idols to stand between us and God. We nourish these idols and give them an elevated place in our daily existence. But at the end of the day, no matter how much we've fed them and no matter how many tweets we've sent out, we're still face to face with the emptiness of our souls.

We visit websites of those who think like we think, vote like we vote, believe what we believe and we live in our own little cultural ghetto. As Elizabeth Scalia says, "We begin to serve the idol of the idea, alone." Even our thinking becomes idolatry. We need to have a mindblowing experience, to have our thinking elevated to new heights and see people and this world through the eyes of God. To realize that those things that are impossible with man, are possible with God.

How can we escape from this delusion, this ghetto of our own making? By shutting off the iPhone and all other devices for a few hours and allowing yourself to BE. Not doing something, but just sitting in silence by yourself. It might be scary at first because it's so foreign, so strange. But you might actually hear another voice that will begin to feed your soul.

Can you hear me now? The NSA says, "Yes we can!!"

President Obama was commenting last Friday on the National Security Agency's anti-terrorist monitoring program, and said this, 

"We've got congressional oversight and judicial oversight. And if people can't trust not only the executive branch but also don't trust Congress and don't trust federal judges to make sure that we're abiding by the Constitution, due process and rule of law, then we're going to have some problems here."

Duh. You think? 

Trust is earned, Mr. President, not assumed. The trust factor between this administration and the American people has been broken. We've been lied to on a daily basis. Too many people, telling too many lies, on too many subjects. The trust locker is bare.They tell lie after lie and have no shame or remorse when they get caught. Why would anyone believe anything they say. If they told me it was a beautiful day I would have to go check for myself and if it was I still wouldn't believe them. 

Do you trust the President? Do you trust the Attorney general? How about Congress? Character matters, and for the past five years, we've put a man in the White House along with his cronies who lacks character. He is a man without a soul, without any conscience.  

Believing Obama and his minions including Hillary Clinton, James Clapper, Jay Carney, Eric Holder is like being asked to purchase a $19.99 video entitled "Gov Gone Wild!" He claims to know nothing about anything. He learns about the latest scandal when you do, by watching the evening news.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on March 12 of this year, Ron Wyden asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper a simple question: “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”

“No, sir,” Clapper shot back without a pause. 

This message, an explanation to Congress of what the executive branch was up to, was crystal clear: Don’t worry, the NSA is not allowed to track Americans — and it’s not going to. The primary problem with this, as the revelations of last week have demonstrated, is that it was not true.

Now we learn that James Clapper was lying.

Yesterday, Army General Keith Alexander, Director of the NSA, testified before Senate and said the NSA's warrantless, data-mining, secret surveillance program had prevented dozens of terrorist attacks in recent years. Course we can't tell you about them because they're classified. So you'll just have to take our word for it. And we're from the government so we would never ever lie.

Gen. Alexander, do you pinky swear that you're telling the truth? 

NSA Director,  General Keith Alexander with a pinky swear
that he's telling the truth.

The NSA collects all of this data on everybody, but somehow, the government can't track down illegal immigrants. How come meta-data didn't detect the Boston bombers or Maj. Hasan? The Obama administration was also monitoring four Americans fighting for their lives in Benghazi and begging for help. He let them die. Obama let them die!!

Our government is spying on all of us because they refuse to do the sensible thing called "profiling". Why not monitor the calls and emails that go in and out of every mosque in America. Currently, the NSA will not monitor a mosque, church or synagogue. But it would be fine with me if they dropped this wall of separation between the religion and state. Why? Because they would get nothing worthwhile from any church or synagogue, but I suspect that there would be lots of chatter and intel coming from some mosques in America that would help us stop future terrorist plots.

Rather than profile Dearborn, Michigan which is 95% Muslim or those who have secured student visas from Saudi Arabia over the last 5 years, they instead subject every American to scrutiny. This is patting down a 4 yr old in a wheelchair at the airport, rather than focusing on those who are Middle-eastern and fit the profile of just about every terrorist act that we've had in this country since 9-11. We also need to stop giving student visas to Muslims.

James Madison, fourth president of the United States and father of the Constitution wrote: 

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

Benjamin Franklin, one of our Founding Fathers, wrote:

 "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

170 languages spoken in the NYC public school system: Multiculturalism run amok!!!

I've always wanted to visit Sweden, but now I discover I can immigrate to Sweden and they'll provide for my needs with food, medical care and free housing. What a deal! This must be paradise. No...this is multi-culturalism, Swedish-style!

Stockholm rocked by 5 nights of rioting

Recently, in Stockholm, Sweden, police have been called to quell riots where immigrants were torching cars with Molotov cocktails. When police and firefighters arrived, they were greeted with a barrage of rocks. Over 200 cars were set on fire as well as schools and other buildings. 

Welcome to multi-culturalism in Sweden, a perfect example of how to destroy a nation from

Over 200 cars torched in Stockholm rioting

within!

Not too many years ago, Sweden was among the most ethically-homogeneous nations. Today, ten-percent of its population is comprised of recent immigrants. 

Even though immigrant unemployment is high, these violent outbursts can't be blamed on any austerity measures. The Swedish government has poured billions into caring for its immigrants including free health care and other services. A family of four in Sweden is entitled to around $3000. in welfare benefits each month. Last year, every middle-school pupil in the public schools received a brand-new iPad. 

So why has Sweden failed to integrate new immigrants despite extraordinary tolerance and generosity? According to Tino Sanandaji, a Kurd immigrant growing up in Sweden from the age of 9, the answer lies in

Sweden's unconditional tolerance itself.

She writes in the National Review (Torching Utopia) that "Multiculturalism itself is an even bigger impediment to integration. Multiculturalism teaches that natives have no moral right to impose their culture on immigrants. Instead, immigrants are encouraged to cling to the culture of their home country. This approach impedes integration into both the Swedish way of life and the Swedish economy. The Swedish establishment has embraced multiculturalism perhaps more wholeheartedly than any other country has."

She goes on to say, "It is simply not true that Afghan culture equips one for success in the West as much as Swedish culture does. Some integration naturally occurs despite multiculturalism, but the overall failure is hard to deny. Even second-generation immigrants do not fully integrate, if we measure in terms of fundamental cultural traits such as interpersonal trust.

Making matters worse, multiculturalism morally privileges Third World cultures over Western culture. It preaches a modern version of original sin, damning Western civilization for historical crimes such as colonialism and racism."

Multi-culturalism has failed in Sweden and everywhere else. When we teach that all cultures are equal and need to be respected, we are falling prey to political-correctness. The culture of western Europe and America has made more contributions to the advancement of civilization than any other culture in the world. Visit Africa and ask them about their contributions to world civilization. 

Did Africa or the Muslim culture in the Middle East give us hospitals, universities, the Red Cross, penicillin, the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, the computer, modern drugs to fight disease and sickness? No, of course not. Did Africa or the Middle East defend the world from Hitler or Japan during WWII? Yet in our government-run schools today, teachers are educating our children to believe that the culture in Africa and Afghanistan is equal to that of the United States. In fact, our public school teachers and professors are purposely lying about America's achievements and contributions to the world and consistently portraying the U.S. as the worst civilization in world history.

In some university classrooms, the Taliban is held in greater esteem than U.S. culture which is castigated as the worst evil in the world, along with Israel and Christianity.

Finally, multi-culturalism is a failure because we are a nation comprised of individuals who wanted to come here because of the American dream, for freedom and liberty.

The glue that once held all the citizens of America together was their love for democracy and liberty. They knew that in America, they had a future and a hope. They didn't want to identify with the country they had left. They wanted to do whatever it took to become an American, and not a hyphenated American either.

But today, we are receiving a steady influx of immigrants who don't want to become Americans. They despise the American culture and want to identify with the country they left. They want to carve out their own little culture in the midst of American. This can be clearly seen in Dearborn, Michigan, which looks more and more like a Middle-eastern city.

Sadly, our government and our leaders think this is wonderful because they too have bought into the multi-cultural lie that we can be a nation of many cultures, where English is not necessary, such as in the NYC public school system where over 170 languages are spoken. Did you get that? 170 languages are spoken in the NYC public school system!! No wonder, nobody is getting an education and can't speak English or read or write. 

Instead of expecting people to learn English here in America, we are so accommodating: Press 1 for English; Press 2 for Spanish; Press 3 for Swingali; Press 4 for Arabic; Press 5 for Hindi; Press 6 for Portuguese; Press 7 for Russian; Press 8 for Hebrew; Press 9 for Chinese.......and you get the picture.

The torching of utopia that we are seeing in Sweden is headed our way. We have allowed too many immigrants to enter America in recent years without educating them concerning America's greatness and her contributions to the world. Instead, we downplay, minimize our greatness as though we are ashamed of all that we have done to liberate peoples around the world. 

For more insight into why multi-culturalism has failed in Sweden and is failing here as well, Read Tino Sanandaji's excellent article, Torching Utopia. 

Spy on the Press? Yes we can!!

Obama's pathetic excuse
for Attorney General,
Eric Holder

As they like to say here in the south before they "diss" you, "Bless his sweet little heart, President Obama is so phony." At a recent press conference, he was answering a reporter's question about Fox News reporter, Jame Rosen's emails and phone records subpoenaed by the DOJ on trumped-up charges of espionage.

President Obama, always wanting to have it both ways, always wanting to be on both sides of the issue so as to appear reasonable and above the fray, tells the assembled journalists that he's for freedom of the press, but he also WON'T STOP his own Justice Dept. from investigating Fox reporter James Rosen on charges of consorting with the enemy. 

Esteemed journalist, James Rosen, Fox News

Then, in an effort to placate the press and show how magnanimous he is, President Obama tosses them a bone and says he's proposing a MEDIA SHIELD LAW that would protect journalists from having their emails and phone records subpoenaed by the DOJ or any government agency.

In case you've been living in a cave for the past month, the Dept. of Justice headed up by Eric Holder shopped phony, trumped up charges to 3 different judges before they found one stupid enough or ideological enough to sign a court order allowing them to seize Fox reporter James Rosen's emails & phone records. They told the judge that Rosen was a flight risk and that he was a criminal co-conspirator engaging in possible espionage against his own country! How's that for serious charges?

Of course, you know it would have to be a Fox News reporter. Obama and Holder wouldn't go after any reporter of the NY Times, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC--because they're ALL in the tank for the Obama administration. In fact, the mainstream media are nothing more than stenographers for Obama. They report whatever the Obama administration wants. That's why they all have the same talking points, using the same words, because they're ALL reading it from the same White House script.

Jump forward to today, June 6. As of today, we learn that Attorney General, Eric Holder, told reporters this past Tuesday in a "candid", closed meeting, that James Rosen wasn't aiding the enemy--he was just reporting the news. So which is it? If he was just reporting the news, then why were his phone & emails sought by the Dept. of Justice with phony, trumped up charges?

Back to Obama's suggestion that we need have a Media Shield Law to protect journalists from evil men like Eric Holder, who BTW, is only doing Obama's bidding. And Obama says he's proposing that just such a law like a Media Shield Law be enacted by Congress.

I have a news flash for our President who is supposed to be a constitutional scholar (of course we'll never know since his academic records are sealed and we don't even know if he ever attended one day of classes or graduated from any school including Harvard) regarding the Media Shield Law--We already have it and it's called the FIRST AMENDMENT.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

What does "salt of the earth" have to do with a gymnasium?

Sardis, located in present day Turkey

My wife is always telling me that I use too much salt, and when I have my yearly visit to the doctor, this is also confirmed by elevated blood pressure numbers. Before there was refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative. Along these lines, Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its saltiness, it's no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on the ground by men."

In the book of Revelation, Jesus issues a strong warning to the church at Sardis which has lost its saltiness. "I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God" (Revelation 3:1-2).

What led Jesus to say such strong words to this community of faith in Sardis? Was it because they were slowly compromising what they believed with the pagans among them? Or where there other reasons that Jesus' words became such a powerful teaching for those believers who chose to live at the crossroads of their world?

One of the most impressive ruins in Sardis (located in present day Turkey) is that of a Greek gymnasium and Roman bathhouse. The gymnasium was the center of Greek culture much as our fitness clubs, athletic centers and gyms are today. But for the Greeks, their gymnasium also served as the center for instruction in literature about the Greek gods, philosophy, math and medicine. They also enjoyed the pleasures and vices of the Roman baths.

The Sardis Gymnasium Synagogue

Here is the amazing thing--In one corner of that immoral, self-glorifying gymnasium, archaeologists have uncovered the largest synagogue of that time period ever found. They discovered defaced pagan symbols on the walls of the synagogue as well as images of the goddess Cybele.

I've always thought that it would be cool to have a church service within a gymnasium and then during the week, the gym would serve to benefit the community with basketball, volleyball, etc. But obviously, there was more going on in the Greek gymnasium than a simple pickup game of basketball.

Here's the question: Did the Jews in Sardis place their synagogue within the walls of the Greek gymnasium in order to influence the Greek citizens or did they adapt to the pagan way of life so much so that they saw no discrepancy between worshiping God and the pagan way of life? In other words, did the believers at Sardis lose their saltiness? Did they compromise with the culture of their day to such an extent that they would be seen by the Lord as asleep or dead? Are we making similar compromises? Are we losing our saltiness? Would the Lord utter similar words about our state of slumber or appearing to be dead? Just wondering?

Follow the Rabbi website

If you want to read more about Sardis and "The Salt of the Earth", go to one of my favorite sights: Follow the Rabbi.

 At Follow the Rabbi, you can learn about the world of Jesus, and journey in the footsteps of the disciples. You'll be able to study the Word in the original context, and explore the culture of Jesus' day. This website is a seminary education in itself since it opens your understanding to the Word of God and it's actual meaning to us through the context of the prophets and the apostles. 

Check it out. You won't be sorry. Follow the Rabbi will help you to better understand the Bible and bring you to a closer relationship with Jesus, the Rabbi of all rabbis, our Lord and Savior.