You be the judge

So just north of Pensacola FL. the principal of Pace HS (public), Frank Lay (pictured) asked the athletic director, Robert Freeman to say a brief blessing an appreciation luncheon for those who helped move toward a new field house.

This sort of prayer/blessing is offered every day in our congress. Now, because the principal shortsightedly did something that would have been routine 5-10 yrs ago, in the face of an earlier injunction as a result of an ACLU case, he and the Athletic Director are facing fines of up to $5,000 and possibly 6 months in Federal jail. They have also been told by the state (Bd of Ed?) that they could lose their RETIREMENTS if the case holds up - for saying a prayer at a faculty/booster luncheon.

I understand that the principal and athletic director are being said to be guilty of what might at best be misdemeanor offenses by PRAYING ILLEGALLY (I cannot believe my country has come to this when we used to read Old Testament scripture in my elementary classes) - however the possible punishment and financial ramifications of this very innocent act seem extraordinarily out of line. This is a small rural HS with a very large part of the student body who have strong faith backgrounds. The prayers were said after school hours with NO STUDENTS present. The school caved to the ACLU previously by prohibiting a Christian student body president from speaking at graduation for fear she might say something offensively Christian. Once again the good of the many is being undermined for the peevishness of a very few.

At the same time, in the same America, we can have students on a college campus imitate Gitmo prisoners kneeling on an American Flag and then defacing it by drawing a swastika on it (this during a 9/11 memorial bipatisan rally) and there is no punishment.

Gitmo protest VIDEO



Article in today's Washington Times regarding the Prayer case with over 500 comments:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/14/criminal-prayer-case-stirs-protests/?feat=home_headlines

Local news article on the prayer matter - http://www.newsherald.com/articles/high-76368-administrators-pensacola.html

Liberty Council article on the prayer matter- http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1016

Local Legal Defense fund established http://www.srpressgazette.com/articles/lay-7887-frank-defense.html

When people say "I want my country back" it is because we are beginning to not recognize it anymore. Especially those of us over 50. And I have to admit there are moments when I have to remember all the current citizen and soldier warriors and the ones who have gone before to truly say I am proud of my country. I cannot believe I just wrote that.

I am proud of those who are standing up and reminding everyone who sees them who America is, no matter the smears placed on them by the powers that be. It is NOT a country that should allow the travesty that is happening to these two LIFELONG educators. If our citizens allow this we have only ourselves to blame.


-Gordon --

PS - just a note of thanks to the fine officers who peacefully dispersed a growing drug-related teen fight right outside my apartment that erupted while I was writing this. Some new "non-resident elements" are causing havoc in what has previously been a very safe place to live. Will appreciate your prayers that the leasing company gains some control of the situation.

Musings from the edge of Madness

Its one of those weeks where I have nothing profound but hundreds of niggling burr-under-the-saddle items that I just have to put on "cyber-paper" to get them out of my spinning head.

First - Regarding the Obama/Joker picture - What is that accomplishing for ANYONE? The message is obvious but also very broad and looking like an attack and I believe some would see a "reverse negative" of the old Sambo caricatures rather than the more current Heath Ledger Joker deal.

I STRONGLY believe that EVERY TIME someone uses that or other form of PERSONAL attack on the President, rather than a specific policy argument, all they do is shoot the conservative cause in the foot and add fuel to the "angry racist old white rich redneck astroturfers (etc)" labels and arguments. If we talk about policies, then we are talking about our broken Federal Government which IS quickly moving toward Tyranny... but is beginning to fear the people, so Liberty still breathes! If instead we negatively attack specific people - we are feeding conspiracy chocolate into their already biased brains.

Second - Regarding Health Care (Insurance) Reform - I believe that the cart is so far ahead of several horses! Why is this even being considered at this time? I understand that the President is determined to fulfill a campaign promise that he ramped up on during the campaign after Hillary started focusing on it again. However - a cautious man would understand that it did not need to be done this quarter when we are just catching our breath from near collapse of our economy...which is still on teetering legs. Ideas - use some of the $700 Billion unused stimulus money to create a one year pool from which the legal, working uninsured citizens of this country could purchase an incredibly low cost one year policy. Take that year to study effective pinpoint adjustments to IMPROVING not OVERHAULING our existing system. You don't have to burn down the house to remodel the bathroom.

When the economy has TRULY rebounded - because Congress has at least provided tax cuts to those who are working REALLY hard for 30-60K a year, incentives and a decrease of regulations for small/medium businesses - when unemployment has dipped below 7.5% for at least a quarter AND when Tort Reform has been passed on a stand-a-lone basis......THEN and ONLY THEN should this administration move forward with Health Care IMPROVEMENT.

Third - Regarding Death Panels If there is no "pull the plug on granny" policy planned - why in the world does H.R. 3200 specify the following? You would think if they were serious about really ADVISING people as to options for long term care etc rather than controlling how and when the end happens, they would want all discussions and information while the person is in good health and in full possession of their faculties. But instead they said this on page 142 (Sec 1233)

(3)(A) An initial preventive physical examination under subsection (WW), including any related discussion during such examination, shall not be considered an advance care planning consultation for purposes of applying the 5-year limitation under paragraph (1).
`(B) An advance care planning consultation with respect to an individual may be conducted more frequently than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual, including diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or a hospice program.

Yeah, Charles Grassley says that part is dead in the Senate. However - Millions of Americans will carefully search out any sign of this nonsense in whatever version of Health Care Reform eventually makes it to a vote in the House and then the Senate. If this or many other questionable policies in H.R. 3200 are included and the bill becomes law..... THOSE Senate and House offices will have new occupants in 2010.

Fourth- Regarding Back to School
I know, I know big change on the subject board but actually connected. This summer I have been able to deal with the all of this madness WITHOUT losing my mind, but it has been close some days. Now, in one week, I will begin teaching 500 students twice a week each with all of the planning and home research that entails. My weekday computer time will be very limited. I truly don't know how I will deal with what is happening to my country without my nightly Twitter marathon with the MOB, without having the time to research and compare information. Without having Fox News in the background during all waking hours so I can hear the other shoe dropping.

Yes my Christian friends - I know where my help comes from and I depend on it. I know who is in control. BUT even walking faith, this nightmare just appears to get deeper by the moment. Next protest stop, Orlando Florida United anti Health Care Reform Rally 8/22.

--Gordon--

A Whirlwind of Discontent

Note to the Obama/DNC- You will be incredibly sorry you dismissed and insulted America's largest volunteer force and called out the SEIU/ACORN thugs on them. Nah, I'm not talking about me and my co-conspirators in the WORKING mob. We are an auxiliary of the real MOB. The ones who grew up during WWI, survived the truly GREAT and life-altering Depression, fought in or served at home during WWII and Korea, sent their children to VietNam and their grandchildren and great grandchildren to the wars in the Mid-east.

Do you really think that the generation who lived through watching Hitler destroy a continent through his propoganda (along with special domestic forces, brainwashing of the youth, and oh yeah, genocide of millions) are not going to be a LITTLE suspect of you trying to take over an industry that they depend on and completely alter its make-up? Do you really not understand that this is the generation that reads and if possible highlights every word of every thing they sign and usually ask for 24-48 hours before doing so?

They GET that you are moving way too fast and they have some serious questions. They arrived there all on their own. The greatest generation are NOT ignorant sheep that must be led by mass media. They actually grew up reading books! Do you really think they are too stupid to see that medicare will eventually disappear and they will be forced under this system? Or that all of your advisors see little "productive unit" value in anyone over 60 with health challenges?

If there's a national or local emergency or disaster, who shows up? Senior citizens. Low-paid poll workers? Senior citizens. Library, hospital and school volunteers? Senior citizens. Hardest workers in any church, synagogue, lodge or civic organization? Senior citizens. Why? They grew up with a spirit of volunteerism that was inbred. It reached searing strength fighting great evil in the last century. They WILL get organized in a heartbeat and - note to AARP - THEY DON'T NEED the DNC or you.

Do you really think the generation that saved America from the Nazi's and the Japanese emeror is going to be afraid of a few thugs from Chicago and some beat up "finally got a chance at power" aging commies/socialists/progressives? THINK AGAIN! If they have not been educating their children and grand-children they will now. You will soon see Senior Rallies. I dare you to see the reaction of ALL Americans if you bring out your thugs against them. Hey Mom - I'm speaking up for you here - love ya. If you haven't met my Mom - be very afraid.

SEIU hoping to make us look like Montgomery?

Tampa, FL - Smiling faces of all colors speaking total lies about conservatives, calmly telling me that I was a goon for the big drug companies, a racist and a moron. Another told me that if I went to the emergency room without insurance I would get care because "my skin was white" whereas she wouldn't "because her skin was black". I calmly explained that was illegal and if she allowed herself to be turned away, she was not claiming the rights she already had by law.

I had someone violently smack my hand and tell me to "stop trying to poke my eye out with your f**ing finger!". Another person walking down the sidewalk saw a "Don't Tread On Me" flag and said - "Oh don't walk buy them - we might get hit!". Heard another say about a white male protestor "Look at that idiot redneck with the potbelly - he don't know crap".

It's enough to make you angry (along with all the FISHY things that the GOVERNMENT is doing and all the lies told in the media). But I work VERY hard at not showing that anger. I do that purposely.

Why? Well I have a scenario that keeps popping in my head. Because a majority of those (definitely NOT all) who are showing up to protest Health Care Reform and ask questions happen to be Caucasian or Asian - well actually, we're just Americans, but I guess that doesn't matter - I believe we have a real danger emerging as the ACORN and SEIU thugs appear. And it's not violence.

I am going to speak the unthinkable. I was raised in the Northeast and do not have a prejudiced bone in my body. My place of work is in a very poor community However, I am just getting an image of someone catching this scene on camera - I give in and shout "Answer the question!" while black SEIU workers are lining the front of a room and a politician is spouting talking points and not answering any questions. And the photograph would not be pretty.

Most people are not attractive when they yell. Pictures of white people yelling while blacks stand calmly? Not very pretty at all. And, I believe, just what SEIU is hoping to see. Then there will be a reason for violence - because we will be "just like all them rednecks who held blacks down for a hundred years!". Anyway, remember we have a president who does not believe that the Supreme Court has done enough to redress the grievances of slavery. Making us angry is one of the "Rules for Radicals".

Let's not give the opportunity for that falsehood to run rampant. At any event I attend I am simply going to stand silently - whether with a sign or without. I will not interact. I will not answer questions. Just stand and represent my country and my fears and hopes for the future.

Tampa Town Hall - from the outside

MY FIRST-HAND REPORT - As I was walking around the block people were coming the other way saying it was closed (right at 6 pm). But I persevered and was in the flow as the line move around the building. I was able to get almost to the doors when police said no one else could go in - even to the air conditioned anteroom. Throughout the hour they continued to not let anyone in even though others were coming out.

This is a video I made from a few pictures I was able to take. More video follows at end of post.




Yes there was chanting out side from both sides - "read the bill!" "Obama! "Just say NO!" "Public Option!" "Bring it outside!"

If there were opponents banging on windows as has been reported, it must have been on the other side of the building, where reportedly supporters were being let in the back door.

Yes, half of the room was reserved for SEIU.

If there was violence, from everything I have seen, it all came from ObamaCare supporters.

I saw one man come out to try to make a police report. He was right in front of me. His shirt was half torn off and he had a large deep scratch on his chest. Said someone inside twisted his arm, ripped his watch off. I could not hear what he said about his shirt and the scratch. I later learned that he was forcibly pushed out the doors to the actually meeting room before the doors were closed to people in the anteroom even being able to hear and see. He is the one in the green shirt by the closed doors in the video below from YouTube.

I was confronted by two ObamaCare supporters who demanded why I could not find a GOP town hall to attend. I told them that as a citizen of Tampa, Florida and America I had every right to be there. They kept a running "what a bunch of hired goons" commentary going behind me.

Another supporter with a handmade ObamaCare sign asked me a question. When I tried to answer she violently slapped my hand and told me to "stop trying to put out her eye with my f**ing finger!". My finger WAS pointed but my hand was at MY waist next to MY body.

The crowd outside was very large and I would say at least 3/1 Obamacare opponents. I can't report on inside but was told by others I knew who made it in that it was a complete farce. Castor did not answer any questions and left 30 minutes into the meeting by the backdoor.

The meeting was supposed to run from 6-8. Police told us to disperse at approximately 7:10. The actual words were -

"We need you to clear the premises so the people inside are able to exit"

My interpretation - "Americans - get out of the way so the select few can leave safely!"

Many continued to stand in front of the building. I am waiting for the 10 pm news to see how this is reported.

In the words of my soon coming protest song - "I will not apologize, I will not sit down. I will fight for freedom's cause and beat this tyranny down!"

This video from Fox News Tampa shows me at the beginning in the white jacket n the middle. The woman standing behind with long blond hair, sign held high saying "We want public option" is the one who slammed my hand. By the way - I am fully expecting my pick slip from the school district when they see I was there.



Last a powerful video from You Tube that happened INSIDE.

Focus, focus, focus

For my followers, a quick apology for my absence. I am, seemingly to no avail, trying to work on some balance in my life. The many political challenges of July seem to have sucked my every waking moment into their undertow. I will continue to fight for my country. However, in the awakening of my activist spirit, some things have fallen by the wayside. Like ANY sense of focus on other areas of my life that need my attention. I could get by with that during the summer, but with the school year and 5 a.m. alarms around the corner, I have to find a way to keep writing, keep fighting and still rebuild some disciplines into my daily routine.

FOCUS - Some of those disciplines are on the spiritual side. My beliefs have not changed, but my usual disciplines of prayer, meditation on the Word and just being with the One who loves me beyond measure have become less and less usual with each year that I have been teaching. I am not sure why. Except that they were always a morning routine for me, and the school day just starts too darn early. If I try at night, I am just too darn tired. I will appreciate your prayers as I try to remedy this and just ask God to draw me into his presence.

FOCUS - I am more and more aware that one of the best ways I can fight for my country is to pray for her. God is in control and he is not surprised by anything that is happening. He allowed the Pharoah to have power. He allowed Hitler. He allowed Stalin. In my humble opinion, He know how incredibly lazy and blind humans are when we are too comfortable, and how very callously we treat our freedoms. Sometimes the only way we really understand the perils of those who have no liberty is when we begin to face that evil ourselves.

FOCUS - I cannot condemn what Barack Obama believes, any more than I condemn anyone else who I disagree with. All are usually products of their upbringing (or rebellion against it) and/or their education. However, I can condemn the agenda that is a product of those beliefs. I can't condemn those who refused to see past the facade and bought into his pipe dream, but I can vigilantly pray that they will awaken soon if they have not already. I cannot condemn those who chose not to vote because they could not see a difference in candidates. But I can pray that they would see what their failure to act delivered us. As much as I did not like John McCain, I felt that Sarah would at least hold him back, and I trusted him more on life issues.

FOCUS - I cannot in good conscience "vote 'em all out" of the House and Senate. There ARE some quality people still trying to fight the good fight, like Ensi, DeMint, Cantor, Boehner and Bachmann. But 2010 is JUST around the corner and where I can pray for the opponent of an undesirable incumbent, I will. I will donate where I can. I will work locally as I am able. I will educate my neighbors in every way possible. For those incumbents who ARE cut from the right cloth, I will do the same. I will not limit myself to concerns for only my state. If we do that we lose.

I must focus on my spiritual life, getting my financial house in order, and being the absolute best teacher I can be while praying for my students (many of whom live perilous lives). I must do all in my power to help regain the House and/or the Senate in 2010, while doing everything I can do stall health care, immigration and energy legislation until that power shifts so that life and the way we live it will be protected.

It is going to be a very busy and exhausting year. God expects no less. He will love me even in if I fail. He wants me to come to him for the supernatural strength these tasks will require. His true calls are always BEYOND anything we are able to do on our own. I believe that this country was a divine experiment. I believe it will last as long as freedoms are precious enough for God's army to fight for them. Because even those that don't claim His name, somehow have that innate sense of where their freedoms come from. Those that don't have that sense - we can only pray for them and hope something will open their eyes that all manna is NOT from heaven.