Ladies and Gentlemen...

...Senator Barack Hussein Obama:

"... My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody. ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

"I want to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. Now, it is true that my friend and supporter, Warren Buffett, for example, could afford to pay a little more in taxes... in order to give additional tax cuts to Joe the plumber before he was at the point where he could make $250,000. Then Exxon Mobil, which made $12 billion, record profits, over the last several quarters, they can afford to pay a little more so that ordinary families who are hurting out there -- they're trying to figure out how they're going to afford food, how they're going to save for their kids' college education, they need a break.
"So, look, nobody likes taxes. I would prefer that none of us had to pay taxes, including myself. But ultimately, we've got to pay for the core investments that make this economy strong and somebody's got to do it."

Your honor, I have nothing more to add. The defense rests.

"Expelled" Out on DVD the 24th

“Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is not your typical movie. But then again, it’s not your typical documentary, either. Through the course of this packed, hour and a half film, I went from laughing at the ludicrous positions of Darwinian advocates to nearly weeping at the somber tours of concentration camps and “mental hospitals” of Nazi Germany. But perhaps I should back up first.

Expelled is the long-awaited response to the expelling of credentialed, well-educated members of the academic and scientific world for questioning the sacred ideas behind evolution. The brainchild of the film is Ben Stein, a man whose wide and varied career has ranged from speechwriter and lawyer for presidents to gameshow host to the dry and boring teacher in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. But in his latest venture, he seeks to investigate why the debate over the origin of the universe is being stifled by the Scientific Establishment. To do this, Stein brings us along on his worldwide journey, talking with both the expelled and the expellers to learn more about this growing problem.

Along the way, we are treated to one-on-one interviews with a host of ousted “malcontents” who dared to challenge, in varying degrees of the word, the monolith of Darwin. Their “offenses” ranged from writing a book exploring Intelligent Design (ID), to printing an article in the Smithsonian Newsletter written by someone else who supported ID, to mentioning ID in a classroom lecture. Many came forward boldly, describing what happened, but a whole host of others had to be filmed in shadows from fear of retribution. However, Stein doesn’t just talk to the expelled, he sets out to learn from the leaders of the Neo-Darwinian movement as well, interviewing heads of universities, Smithsonian scientists, and Oxfords outspokenly anti-God Richard Dawkins.

But the film itself isn’t just a string of boring interviews, one after the other, with Stein’s rather dry voice narrating in between. The film intersperses a host of grainy, black-and-white clips to illustrate points, giving it a more comic overtone. For example, a segment where an expelled scientist describes what he was called after he openly supported ID (creationist, Christian, etc) is intermixed with clips of a man getting shoved around. When another scientist talks describes being intimidated into shutting up, moviegoers are shown a clip of a bully demanding a boy give in to his side. As a professor talks of how she was informed she was to be “disciplined” for mentioning ID in the classroom, the film cuts to the image of a guillotine. And when an interviewee describes Darwinism as “colorful smoke” and more than it is cracked up to be, a clip of the Wizard (“I am the great and terrible Oz!”) from the timeless film is played.

Yet the clips aren’t always fun and games. One of the overarching themes of the movie is how the Darwinists seek to seal off the debate through the ridicule and expulsion of dissenters. In a poignant and well-chosen illustration, clips of the events surrounding the Berlin wall are interspersed throughout, from the solemn construction during the opening credits to the jubilant destruction during the final moments of the film.

Stein journeys from universities, to the home of Charles Darwin, to concentration camps in Germany, and it is here that we are reminded of the consequences of Darwinian thinking. When asked if Hitler was a madman, the director of the memorial in Dachau answers with a resounding “No!” He goes on to explain that the dictator believed he was actually helping the world. As Stein explains it, illustrated with brief images of the horrific results of the Nazi regime, he was simply carrying out Darwinian thought to its natural conclusion. And nowhere is this better illustrated than in an excerpt from Darwin’s book The Descent of Man, which Stein reads aloud:

"With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised (sic) men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed."

In the end, Stein concludes that Darwinism is the precursor to men like Hitler, who thought they were doing the world a great service by practicing eugenics—that is, eliminating “inferior animals” and breeding a super race. And as several interviewees point out, there are direct links from Hitler to eugenics to abortion and euthanasia.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the film, though, is the fact that the audience is never told what Ben Stein thinks. He asks questions, challenges ideas, and researches history, yet viewers aren’t informed as to which side of the debate he’s on. He presents the evidence then leaves it up to the audience to decide, instead of hammering his viewpoint into viewer’s heads over and over again. For the record, though, Stein is a staunch pro-life supporter and creationist.
Overall, the film was a great catalyst. I left thinking, “Wow, what can I do to change things?” And its controversial subject matter has made it an article of interest for both sides of the issue, giving it plenty of free advertising. Surprisingly, Expelled is the most widely-shown documentary ever, opening in more theaters than either Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, with only four theaters, and Fahrenheit 9/11. It was number nine in the April 20-21 weekend box office, grossing almost three million dollars in the opening weekend. Stein and his project were thrust even further into the spotlight when it won a lawsuit brought by Yoko Ono, who claimed the filmmakers used her husband’s song “Imagine” without permission. But beyond the numbers and hype, one fact still remains the same: this film is a must-see for Christians who want to be well-informed and to make a difference.

So who wants to watch it?

Anyone...?

Anyone...?

Town Hall Debate

So...

What'd you think?

The Quote

As suggested by Stardust257 and confirmed by george grant, the quote from the last post is indeed from C.S. Lewis. I find myself using this one more and more. FEMA, anyone?

Some Great Advice

Based on the financial crisis we are now in, despite attempts by congress and the president to save us, I think this piece of advice is one Americans need to listen to. I forget who actually said it, unfortunately, but it runs like this.

"If ever a man says to you: 'I am from the government, and I am here to help!' Run for your life and hold on to your wallet."

Who am I?

Who am I?

The question might be better asked: Who are we? You see, I’m not alone. There are thousands of other likeminded individuals, and we’re ready to take on the world.

We don’t buy the revisionist history being fed to us by propagandizers who are seeking to fit the past into their ideology. Instead, we are committed to discovering the truth about our Christian legacy. We realize that no historical event is as “clear” as it is portrayed today.

We don’t buy the idea that God “is not a conservative or a liberal.” Rather, we know the conservative principles are more aligned with God’s than those of liberals, and thus are committed to being true conservatives, not just in name only.

We don’t buy the idea of “common ground,” which seems to inherently mean abandoning our principles to join the other side for the sake of “agreement.” Rather, we believe in “standing our ground.” If the other side would like to join us, they may feel free to do so.

We know the Bible—66 perfect books—is God’s Word, and it is the basis of our worldview. Through the Bible, God shows us what truth is. It is in God’s Word that we can find standards for every issue there is.

We know the world is not adiaphoristic—that is, filled with shades of moralistic grey. Instead, there is antithesis—clear-cut standards for all of life that are found in the Bible. There is Black, and there is White. There is Right, and there is Wrong. Unchanging. Concrete. Forever.

We know that man is, by nature, sinful and given to evil tendencies, and thus is separated from God forever. We know that on his own, man can never “find” God. Rather, God calls us. We are his elect, chosen before there was time. We know the only way our relationship with God can be restored is through belief in His Son. We are saved by grace through faith, not through our good deeds, which are worthless in the light of the evil we are.

We know God designed intimacy to occur only within the confines of marriage, and are committed to remaining pure (protecting our virginity), not only in the loosest definition of the word, but in all of our actions, words, and thoughts.

We know that abortion is the murder of a living, unborn child and is a sin in any and all situations. We know that marriage is designed by God to be a covenant between one man and one woman only—no exceptions.

We know that God created the earth in six, 24-hour time periods. He crafted each and every living and unliving thing to reflect His glory, but created man alone in His image, with His characteristics. Each individual is carefully and wonderfully created and loved by God.

We know the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it. We understand that God is in control over everything—including the environment. Though we must be good stewards of the earth, it must never become our idol, and it is not in danger.

We know, understand, and appreciate the value of a historical rootedness. So many who have gone before us have faced the same challenges as we, and we are committed to learning from their lives.

We know the separation of church and state championed by the Founding Fathers was intended to protect the church, not the state

We know the importance of politics and its role in our daily lives, and are committed to becoming involved at every level in the political system.

We know, however, that real change does not start with policies, but with people. We understand that if we are to change our country’s laws, we must first change our country’s thinking.

We know the importance of liberty and self-government. Each person has the legal right to do whatsoever he or she desires, as long as those actions do not harm others.

We know each person has the right to own private property, be it land or material goods, and to be free from taxation of those properties.

We know that being rich is not a sin, and that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. We understand that wealth is the result of hard work, whether it be the owner’s or his ancestors’, and oppose any attempts by politicians to penalize him for it.

We know the Constitution and Bill of Rights must be read as it was understood by the writers, not by judges drunk with power and reveling in relativism.

We know the threat of socialism, communism, and fascism, all of which are far-left and increasing levels of application of the same ideology.

We know the value of hard work and that laziness is a sin.

We know the teenage years are not a time to party, but a time to prepare and to act. We are offended by and reject the low expectations and standards set for us by our culture—both secular and sacred—and believe that teenagers are capable of much more than most think.

We know the history and importance of the fight against “radical” Islam, and understand that Islamic terrorists are not “extremists” or hijackers of the “religion of peace” but rather fundamentalists adhering to the core principles of their religion, a fact many today gloss over.

We know that the best market is a free market, operated by laisez-faire economic policies and unfettered by governmental regulations and obscene taxes.

We know that some in our own political party are conservatives in name only, and realize the necessity of calling them on it.

We are the heirs of the tradition passed on to us by Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, William Buckley, Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Adams, and a whole host of others who have laid the groundwork for us today.

We are committed to finding mentors who will disciple and help us grow our biblical worldview—men and women like Dr. George Grant of Franklin Classical School (http://www.kingsmeadow.com/).

We are most likely—but not necessarily—Ditto Heads.

We are committed readers and listeners of great conservative pundits, such as Rush and David Limbaugh, Michael Medved, William F. Buckley, Ann Coulter, Walter Williams, and Thomas Sowell, yet we are free to think for ourselves, even if this means disagreeing with the commentator.

We are most likely—but not necessarily—educated by our parents in our homes.

We are deeply involved in our local church, both to be built up and to build up others through our words and deeds.

We are, above all else, committed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who loved us before we even began loving Him. He is both God and the Son of God. He chose us before the foundations of the earth, came to dwell among us, lived a perfect life, died on the cross—taking the punishment for our sins we rightly deserved—and rose as victor the third day. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us and ruling the earth. Without Him, we would be nothing.


We are the future leaders of the world in our homes, churches, and local, state, and federal government, and we know that the time take action is now. I hope you’ll join us!

A Perplexing Observation

It's common knowledge that congress's approval ratings are incredibly low. But that makes no sense whatsoever. You picked them. Why don't you like them? How is it that, in a country run by elected officials, we always end up with the politicians that less than ten percent of the population approve of?