Selfie, Rhetoric, and the Agenda of Evil

The Word of the Year Award* for 2013 was conferred upon "Selfie". In an age of 'it is actually all about me', as defined by other words like iPad, iPhone, iPod, iMac, and My Space, it would seem fitting that some form of self-absorbed diction would carry the banner.

The president might have given Selfie an extra push as he snapped a harmonious Selfie with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The occasion of the Mandela funeral was the backdrop for this seemingly, poorly timed pic. While it did not cause an international incident, domestically, it might have, as the First Lady looked on, most un-approvingly.

When words are hung together in sentences they can begin to produces thoughts and ideas, humor and sadness, tragedy and comedy, poetry and song, and the list goes on. Words applied one after another have given us the Holy Bible, and other earthly treasures such as the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, Hamlet, Gone with the Wind, War and Peace, and the Gettysburg Address to name a few.

Regrettably, words have also been used for the agenda of evil. Adolf Hitler was a master orator. He used the power of words for his diabolical plan to try to eradicate the Jew from all existence as he attempted to seize control of the world. Hitler had compiled many words - written and spoken. To the shame of humanity, the outside world was turned inside, and we did not listen, and we did not hear the diatribes of a mega-maniac:

“If we consider how greatly he (the Jew) has sinned against the masses in the course of the centuries, how he has squeezed and sucked their blood again and again; if furthermore, we consider how the people gradually learned to hate him for this, and ended up by regarding his existence as nothing but a punishment of Heaven for the other peoples, we can understand how hard this shift must be for the Jew. Yes, it is an arduous task suddenly to present himself to his flayed victims as a 'friend of mankind.'”**

“The destructive workings of Judaism in different parts of the national body can be ascribed fundamentally to the persistent Jewish efforts at undermining the importance of personality among the nations that are their hosts and, in place of personality, substituting the domination of the masses. The constructive principle of Aryan humanity is thus displaced by the destructive principle of the Jews, They become the 'ferment of decomposition' among nations and races and, in a broad sense, the wreckers of human civilization.”***

Words have meaning on the surface and between the lines. Confucius understood this as evidenced in this pithy wisdom from him, "Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more."

Fast-forward to 2014. Continuous words of threat have been leveled at the tiny nation of Israel. The place where the surviving Jews have reclaimed their God-given, biblically described, homeland. Hitler is a large carbon print in the annals of modern history which has recorded the wickedness of man. But another menace lurks in the shadows. The enemy of the Jew today, is the nation state of Iran.

Much has been said about the Iranian view of the people of Israel. What follows is a sample:

March 21, 2013 "Israel's leaders sometimes threaten Iran, but they know that if they do a d---n thing, the Islamic Republic will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

April 16, 2013 "According to the Supreme Leader's statement marking Nowruz, if Israel acts foolishly, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be annihilated...The armed forces are prepared with all their power to execute the orders of the Supreme Leader in minimum time."
General Mohammed Hejazi Deputy Chief of Staff

April 18, 2013 "The army of Iran can by itself destroy Israel."
Major General Ataollah Salehi, Commander and Chief of the Iranian Army

May 1, 2013 "The destruction of Israel is the idea of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and is one of the pillars of the Iranian Islamic regime. We cannot claim that we have no intention of going to war with Israel!"
Ahmad Alamolhoda Member of the Assembly of Experts

May 2, 2013 "Every Muslim who does not want to fight Israel is violating religious law and is essentially forgetting Israel's crimes over the past 60 years on Islamic soil."
Mohammad Dehghan Member of the Majlis Executive Comitttee

June 9, 2013 "As the Supreme Leader has stated, if the Zionists cause any problems for Iran, Haifa and Tel Aviv will be annihilated. "
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Leader

June 27, 2013 "If Israel launches even the smallest attack against Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be annihilated..."
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami Member of the Presidium of the Assembly of Experts

July 31, 2013 "We must spare no effort in liberating holy Jerusalem and cutting off the hands of the infidels from this holy site,"
Ayatollah Mohammd Reza Mahdavi Kani Assembly of Experts Chairman

July 31, 2013 "The day is near in which the sword of resistance and Islamic Awakening will cut off the blood supply of the occupiers of the holy land of Palestine."
Revolutionary Guards Statement

July 31, 2013 "If once the destruction and demise of occupying Israel was an impossible and unattainable dream, today, thanks to the historic and intelligent actions of Imam Khomeini, (the destruction of Israel) has become possible and is actually in the process of occurring."
Iranian Military of Defense statement.

August 2, 2013 "The Zionist regime will soon be destroyed, and this generation will be witness to is destruction."
Hojatoleslam Ali Shirazi Supreme Leader's Revolutionary Guards representative

August 2, 2013 "The only way to subdue the enemies is by refusing to compromise on the goals of the resistance and to remain strong, the future of criminal nations such as the Zionists will be erased from the history books."
Hojatoeslam Mohammad Hassan Akhtari Hizbullah Operations Liaison
and former Ambassador to Syria

November 19, 2013 "we will not abandon our (armed) struggle until the annihilation of Israel and until we will be able to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque."
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi Commander of the Basji militia

November 21, 2013 "The day will come when the Islamic people in the region will destroy Israel and save the world from this Zionist base."
Hojatelesalm Alireza Panahian Advisor to the Office of the Supreme Leader in Universities****

Translation - if you tell somebody enough times that you are going to smash them in the face, it means, you eventually will. The learned sage known as Prof. History has proven this over and over again. Are we listening? Are we hearing? Will we stand by and watch with the volume down? Proverbs 18:21 captures this moment, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

I recently traveled to Israel in order to get a pulse of the people and their situation in light of the Iranian rhetoric, and  their nuclear program. Two areas were made very clear. They are:
1. Israel will have defensible borders
2. Israel will defend herself

We can pray for Israel. We can sound the alarm for Israel. We can keep the heat on our leaders to protect Israel.

The good news is this - God will have the last word, Zechariah 12:8-9 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Cool beans. God will have the last word...




*blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/11/word-of-the-year-2013-winner/

**Volume One - A Reckoning
Chapter XI: Nation and Race
www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/
‎
 ***Volume Two - The National Socialist Movement
Chapter IV: Personality and the Conception of the Folkish State
www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/
‎
****Iranian quotes taken from, Sworn to Destruction: What Iranian Leaders Continue to Say about Israel in the Rouhani Era, by Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall & Daniel Rubenstein.

Snapchat! Wait - That Was Our Money!

Bitcoins, or Bitter coins? A dollar just doesn't go as far as it used to.

The Good Book has several passages about finances. In it, we find among other things that, going after it is futile since holding on to it can be a challenge also. Consider Proverbs 23:4-5 (NASB). Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

The harsh reality though, given the current monetary policy we are on, is that money will not even have a chance to fly. The money won't get very high, but perhaps the policy makers are stoned. A crash and burn is the more likely scenario, post munchies, of course.

The monetary policy is very simple to understand, even without academic credentials from an hoity-toity Ivy League School of higher learning. More highs. Is Wacky Tobacky everywhere now? So here is the policy - print-print-print-print-again, I say, print!

Now, here is what you may not know:
We begin with history. A not too distant history, really. The history of Nazi Germany. When you compare what is happening in the United States as we breathe, with events leading up to Nazi control of Germany, we see some serious and frightening similarities. The fate of money was of one of those that we can compare.

Hyper-inflation raged in Germany in the early 1920's. Micro-wealth concentration due to certain banking policies, a poor taxation plan, and unrealistic war reparations, were among the causes. Inflation reached incredible highs (yup) such that, as of, "...November 1923, the German mark reached the dizzy figure of 4,200,000,000 to the dollar."* The policy was to print-print-print-print, and print. Presses were rolling 24-hours a day to try and keep up with the demand for the paper money. The net result was chaos, starvation, and the destruction of the lower and middle classes of Germany. Freedoms were taken away and the path to Fascism was laid wide open.

What of the U.S.? Well, there is Obamacare. Many citizens of our nation are seeing health insurance increases of 40-50%, or more, with, Oh wow man, higher deductibles. With those numbers, often comes higher than Ridgemont High, deductibles.

Couple this drama with a stock market that has bubble written all over it, because, you guessed it - it is getting too high, too fast. In addition, there is an ominous chasm of value within.

Thus, here is the scenario:
The lower and middle classes get crushed under Obamacare, Extreme wealth concentration protects the few over the many. What follows next is a massive stock-market blow-out. The currency gets devalued in a desperate attempt to get the markets back to some order. It fails. The knock-out game is replaced with much greater brutality as chaos reigns in the streets. Israel must strike nuclear sites in Iran and war breaks out in the Middle East due to our flawed peace deal with the Persians. Gas rockets to $250.00 per barrel. The rank and file make a mad scramble for commodities, but there are just too many dollars chasing too few goods. Demands sinks supply. Then the hyper-inflation monster rears its ugly, green head. The dollar collapses. Martial law is ushered in, and welcomed. A Dictator who refuses to entertain dissent leads out. Freedom, as we know it, becomes a memory, and then a Pollyanna myth in the ash-heap of history.

Lesson:
The money we print today, will be the wall-paper of tomorrow. It might even be good for rolling papers.

What to do:
We cannot put our hope, nor our trust in any one man, or any one system. Our hope has to be in the Lord and His promises. What follows is not a likely scenario. This is coming to a theater near you.
2 Peter 3:10-13
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Heaven. Hmmmmm. A place where righteousness dwells. You can't get any higher than that.


* Koppel S. Pinson quoted in The Rise of Nazi Germany, p.55.

 

ObamaScare and the Spreading of Infectious Ideology

 

Ripe for the season of Zombies we have the roll-out for the ObamaScare Dancing Medicine Show, or what I call the OBSDMS.

The first thing to do is to take a pulse on the program. I believe a good doctor asks the right questions. So what do we hear?

Echoing across the land we hear medically incorrect questions. Questions like, ‘What did we know?’ and ‘When did we know it?’ Sound familiar? These questions, and more like them, are now being asked because the OBSDMS roll-out has become a fold-up. The patient is flat-lining. How could this happen? Who did it? Thus the Capitol Hill hearings go on in search for the truth.

We have been told that, once again, our president was misinformed. You see, the buck can’t stop at the Oval Office if it never gets there. In the end, that’s probably a good thing since the buck is worth a whole lot less than it was back in the days of Harry Truman. Web Sites For Dummies is now all the rage. And to be honest, I really could use a copy of that book myself. P.S. Okay, Snowden, you can come back now.

Since we have a Dancing Medicine show in the OBSDMS we must ask, what is the dance of choice? Well, tap-dancing, of course. Our current performer is none other than Kathleen Sebelius. Will she make the final final of Dancing with the Stars? Maybe, but employment in the future may be difficult for her. The good news though, if she loses her job, she will be able to get health insurance…if she can get through on the website.

Sebelius joins a notable list of other tappers who have become the fall-guy, I mean fall-gal, for failed presidential leadership. Consider the following:

Nancy Pelosi – OBSDMS: “So, that’s why I was saying we have to pass a bill so we can see so that we can show you what it is and what it isn’t.” These few chilling words may say more about the extreme infirmity of our democratic republic than anything else.

Susan Rice – Benghazi: “This is a response to a hateful and offensive video that was widely disseminated throughout the Arab and Muslim world…” Two weeks after the attack she was clinging to this story. By that time, even my Blue Heeler dog knew the ‘film that nobody ever saw’ story was BALONEY.

Hillary Clinton – Benghazi: “What difference at this point does it make?!” Perhaps we should ask the families of four dead American soldiers what difference it makes. Meanwhile, justice weeps tears of blood.

Lois Lerner – IRS: “One of the basic functions of the 5th Amendment is to protect innocent individuals. And that is the protection I'm invoking today.” Translation: ‘I will hide behind what is left of the very document we have been shredding.’

Kathleen Sebelius – OBSDMS: “Yes, he is.” Her response when asked if the president was keeping his promise.

Tap-dancing, or just give me “Taps”?

I know that the rules of engagement in the 21^st century include women on the front lines. Clearly, not only is the president leading from behind, but he is hiding behind these women. But what is even more troubling is that they are covering the destroyer, so he can continue to destroy. In other words, they are promulgating a culture that would please the leader, and further the cause. You do remember the cause don’t you – “Change is coming to America.” You have to admit, that campaign promise has been kept.

World history has not been immune to this infection. We saw this behavior of promoting and anticipating the thought processes of an ideologue permeate Nazi Germany. For example, in John Toland’s classic book, The Last 100 Days, p. 74, Toland shares private letters between Hitler’s private secretary, Martin Bormann, and his wife, Gerda. It is near the end for Nazi Germany, yet they both hold out a false hope for Hitler’s Nationalist Socialist agenda. In one of those letters from Gerda to Martin, she writes, “…the Fuhrer has given our idea of the Reich, which has spread-and is secretly still spreading-throughout the world. The unbelievable sacrifices our people are making-sacrifices they are capable of making only because they are imbued and possessed with that idea-are proof of its strength and show to all the world how just and necessary our struggle is.

One day the Reich of our dreams will emerge. Shall we, I wonder, or our children, live to see it?...”

Back when president Clinton was ensnared in his Impeachment hearings, I was asked what I thought about the whole mess. My response should not surprise. Like so many other people, I was greatly saddened by events which led to the Impeachment trial. But I was concerned about a greater threat. I said that while we watch the circus, because that is exactly what that trial was, while we watch, our enemies are gathering against us. Recent history has shown us that is exactly what Al Qaeda was doing.

Well, folks, step right up. The circus is back in town. And we are distracted. Gerda's dream has become our nightmare. Our enemies, external and internal, are gathering. Women with a bully-pulpit are fodder for an idea that is imploding all around them. The rest of us, well,... we have become a nation of Zombies.

Mambo anyone?

 

Prayer Alters the Equation

 

In my devotional time today I read about how an angel set Peter free from prison in Acts 12. So Peter is free at last, and he goes to the disciples who are gathered together and are praying Acts 12:12. Yet they are amazed to see him as described in Acts 12:16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.

Well then, what were they praying for? The devotional I read concluded with these words, “The most powerful position on earth is kneeling before the Lord of the universe.”

This all directs me to the deception and destruction of abortion. Our weekly prayer vigil remnant is coming upon our third year at the Urbandale, Iowa, Planned Parenthood location. It is a place, on a hill, where we pray for the insanity of abortion to cease, and we pray for all the people who are involved.

Days turn into weeks, weeks become months, months turn into years, and all of it gives you cause to wonder. Are we having an impact? And now, of course, the thermometer is reminding us that winter is already lurking…

Yet, there is cause for celebration.  There have been some pro-life victories here and there around the country. And in our corner, God has provided a few more prayer warriors over time. Slowly yes, but they are coming.  All of which has inspired me to relay the solution I believe is a game changer for the cause of pro-life.

It’s a simple answer, and one you may recognize immediately. Adoption – but not what first comes to mind when you hear that word. This plan is adoption in two phases.

Phase 1: You – not someone else – but you – adopt an abortion clinic. Don’t burden yourself with all of the abortion locations. Rather, select one. Make a long-time pledge with the Lord to pray for the workers there; to pray for the people who go in for services; and to pray for that location to close down. Go to your adopted location and pray. Be consistent. Be persistent. Go inside and bring the workers coffee and donuts. Also, take the advice of the apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love.

Phase 2: Pray. Prayer alters the equation because it alters us initially. Now we may be ready to take the word abort, and change the b to a d, and the r to a p, and we come up with adopt. The same works if you take abortion and turn it into adoption. Two phases and two letters, and we just might see a spiritual earthquake.

I don’t know about you, but I am very thankful that my parents were pro-lifers right about the time the Lord had me scheduled for the ride of a lifetime through the birth canal. So prayers of thanksgiving are appropriate too.

None of us when we die, and stand before our Creator, will say, “Ya know, I spent way too much of my earthly life in prayer!” Prayer and adoption – that’s the ticket. And when we pray, let’s pray with more expectation than amazement.

The IRS are Coming! The IRS are Coming!

From the Declaration of Independence:

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Despotism: noun

1. the rule of a despot; the exercise of absolute authority.

2. absolute power or control; tyranny.

3. an absolute or autocratic government.

4. a country ruled by a despot.                        Dictionary.com

 The Founding Fathers, among many things, were visionary men. They were a people who could peer through the thick dark fog of future events, and craft the King’s English accordingly. One has to wonder if, back when the symphony of words we know as the Declaration were penned and embraced, they were able to have a glimpse of 2013 America.

 What if today was the day they saw? What of the ‘Big Three – the Unalienables - Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

 How about Life?

 God created the womb to be the safest place on earth for a baby to be nurtured and to grow. As we look at the stunning pictures of babies in the womb which available to us now through technology, we see all of the gentle and magnificent handiwork of God underway. Life however, is not safe in the womb. In fact, since 1973, 1/3^rd of our population has seen the womb become their tomb. 4,000 human beings per day are denied Life. The ideals and promises of Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness don’t mean a whole lot to them now do they?

 We press on for the survivors. So, what of Liberty?

 While things are real bad for the unalienables, it seems the alienables have it legit.  They are allowed to hold a rally on closed, shut-down, slimmed-down, parcel of government property. And actually, they are quite popular currently, as they have been able to attract political animals to their event. There was a time when a party like this would have been a sting operation and illegals would have been hauled away. But not these days. The alienables have it totally legit.

 Not too far from the alien illegals Liberty gala, the Veteran’s climb out of their wheelchairs, and ferociously attack the barbed-wire barrycades that menacingly confront them. They have experience cutting through barbed-wire, only they do much better when there is gun-fire and bombs exploding all around them. Was this what they fought for they wonder…? Meanwhile, we discover that there are very many Park Rangers that may actually qualify for the TSA. Liberty we have learned, is a slippery eel.

 O for two. That happens. How about the pursuit of Happiness?

 O for three. O-bamaScare. It is very difficult to run after something when there is a millstone around your neck. Consider: in an economy where you are unemployed, or underemployed, do you buy food for your family? Or, do you purchase your free medical insurance, death panels and all, in hopes of avoiding a fine, and or prison time?

 Is it just me? Are we journeying rapidly to ‘a perfect storm’?

If George Washington could see 2013 America he might think it was Amerika. Then he would turn to his rag-tag, weary and faithful soldiers, men who had stayed the course against all odds and a multitude of deprivations, he would turn to them, and General Washington would say, “Forget it men, throw down your arms and go home to your farms. It’s not going to be worth it. There is a generation out there that just doesn’t care.”

The Greatest Generation cared. Too bad, we don’t. The truth hurts. It hurts so much the IRS will probably be giving me a call soon.

Oh Where Have All the Peeps Gone, Oh Where?

Do you remember those Chicago Bulls and their incredible Championship run in the 1990's? I lived in the Windy City during those dream years. Even a hockey/football fan like myself had to appreciate Round Ball at its finest. Air Jordan really could fly. Once, we had free tickets to a Bulls games for seats in the row behind the Bull's bench, and we didn't go. What were we thinking?

Dennis Rodman was a part of that basketball lore then, even though he could not make a basket. Maybe he couldn't stop thinking about Madonna. Still, orange hair and all, Rodman almost always got the rebound.

Fast-forward. Jordan stayed close to the game all these years. Sure, there was a baseball stint in there for him. Too bad Jordan went with the Sox instead of the Cubs. Things might have been different. Throw in some tee times out on the golf course and life has been good. On the other hand, Dennis Rodman has been chasing after friendship in all the wrong places. He claims now to be a number one palomino with Kim Jong Un. Lil' Kim is the brutal dictator of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Prison.

Kim comes from an impressive stock of Kim's. Grandpa Kim il-sung led the attack against South Korea and thus gave us the Korean War, err, a, ...conflict,...I mean...police action. Papa Kim Jong-il also carved out a name for himself in the litany of repressive regimes. So there is the progeny.

You know the line - those who do not read history are destined to repeat it. Rodman would do well to look back at the psychedelic 60's Asian tour that Jane Fonda went on in Vietnam. She has spent the rest of her life apologizing for it, and no doubt has had a few sleepless nights over it.

Now, if Kim is such a great free-throw pal, perhaps Rodman would like to move to that paradise of free-speech and opportunity in North Korea. The timing might be just right. NBCNEWS.com is reporting that there are about 22,000 souls that are unaccounted for at Camp 22 at Heangyong in the northeastern part of North Korea.

 How about a large parcel of property, with several unoccupied out-buildings for a brand new crib? There would be plenty of room for basketball camps. Maybe camps isn't the best word to use here.

What happened to all those people? With the blood-letting track record of the Kim Dynasty, the answer cannot be good. We know bits and pieces of the horrible conditions that people live and die under in North Korea, but we don't have the whole picture.

So we look to history and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's, The Gulag Archipelago for gulag goulash. The G. A. is probably one of the most powerful books you will ever read, other than the Holy Bible - if you dare. Don't worry, if you say it, you can read it.  Honestly, you haven't really lived, unless you have read how other people lived and died, in 20th century Russian gulags.

Here is one example of existence in the Lubyanka gulag as told by Solzhenitsyn, p. 208, "The prison doctor was the interrogator's and executioner's right-hand man. The beaten prisoner would come to on the floor only to hear the doctor's voice: "You can continue, the pulse is normal." After a prisoner's five days and nights in a punishment cell the doctor inspects the frozen, naked body and says: "You can continue." If a prisoner is beaten to death, he signs the death certificate: "Cirrhosis of the liver" or "Coronary occlusion." He gets an urgent call to a dying prisoner in a cell and he takes his time. And whoever behaves differently is not kept on in the prison."

That is just a very small sampling of the horrors from behind a dictator's walls of hopelessness.

The Game Plan for Dennis Rodman: I suggest Proverbs 23:1-3 (NASB) When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you, 2And put a knife to your throat If you are a man of great appetite. 3Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.

The Game Plan for the global community: Turn away from Syria, where all sides want to kill us, and consider the people that are left in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Prison. They are a defenseless people in need of liberation.

We have seen many instances of God seeking to move His people to assist those in dire need. As in Zechariah 7:8-11 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah 9"Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother, 10 and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. 11"But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing."

So Israel had a stubborn shoulder. President Obama, like Michael Jordan, can be distracted by golf. No need for a red-line at this point. It has already been drawn. It is a red-line drawn in human blood. And then the United Nations is, well,...the United Nations. Thus, this call to human decency may fall on deaf ears. But who knows, maybe it's still not too late for Dennis Rodman to learn to shoot a basket.

Syria-ous, and A Great Fall

The image is stark. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Hawk, pleading for muscle in Syria. Contrast a much younger John Kerry the Dove, seated with Jane Fonda, speaking against force in Vietnam. It is not uncommon for the political views of people to do a 180 from their season of youth to their more 'mature' years. Perhaps Ralph Kramden understood it all best when he said that it's really too bad youth has to be wasted on young people.

Or how about Senator Barbara Boxer in the forum this afternoon? Waxing eloquently. She said it's a good thing we have seen the terrible videos of dead women and children who were gassed to death. As horrific as those images are she noted, they certainly will cause us to act to stop the slaughter. However, we will not watch an abortion video and count the 4,000 dead, here in America, yesterday, today, and scheduled for tomorrow. After all, we will allow innocent women and children to be displaced, starved, to be gunned down, and or, be hacked to death - but chemicalocide is not permissible. Unless of course they are used internally, to stop a beating heart inside the womb.

Senator Rand Paul seemed to ruffle some feathers. Ah, the search for truth. Pilate was interested in truth. In John 18:38 (KJV) in a sensational moment of good and evil in private conversation, Pilate asked Jesus directly, "What is truth?" Pilate never figured it out.

Rome burned, Nero fiddled, and Senator John McCain played video games during the antebellum, Senate Hearing speeches. And once again, our nation, that is our leadership, seems to be caught up in the aura of war. I remember a few years back when Colin Powell warned president Bush that if he broke Iraq, he would own it. How many Dinars does an acre cost in Iraq these days?

That was then. What of now? Could a 'we're not going to put boots on the ground missile attack' on Syria break things in the Middle East? While you ponder that query, you might also think about why it is called the Middle East. It is quite possible the damage which could result from our liberal, egocentric-tinkering type intervention, could resurrect the story of Humpty Dumpty. Remember fence-riding HD? He had a great fall.

One particular section of the Old Testament calls our attention at such a time as this. It is Isaiah 17:1-3 The Burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for the flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 3The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

There are some who will say this one doesn't count. They will point to 732 B.C. when Damascus was ravaged by the Assyrians (See 2 Kings 15:19-29; 16:7-9). The Assyrians went on to see their fortunes fade in 612 B.C. Yet, they are believed to be the first country to have become a Christian nation.

Those who hold the position that Damascus has her bad hair day many centuries ago do so at their own peril. They fail to recognize that the biblical story has many instances of partial fulfillment, with the same episode to be repeated in the future. Clearly, Damascus survived to fight another day. In addition, the rabid spirit of anti-Israelism in the world will cause many to miss the Hand of God at work.

Now I am not claiming this is necessarily, the Damascus moment of fulfillment. Only the Lord knows when that is slated for historical fact. However, events in that region of the world could spiral out of control very quickly. Especially when the president leads from behind, and the Merry Men follow along. Jesus had some harsh words for flawed leaders who rejected wisdom and the truth. He said in Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. I must confess, it is difficult to leave them alone. One thing I do know, if we done broke it, there won't be anybody who can put poor Humpty Dumpty back together again.