Month: May 2014

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Our Daily Thread 5-28-14

Good Morning!

Today’s header photo is from Cheryl.

This one is from Janice.

rose and baby

On this day in 585 BC Thales Miletus predicted a solar eclipse. 

In 1774 the First Continental Congress convened in Virginia. 

In 1892 the Sierra club was organized in San Francisco, CA. 

In 1929 Warner Brothers debuted “On With The Show” in New York City. It was the first all-color-talking picture.

In 1934 the Dionne quintuplets were born near Callender, Ontario, to Olivia and Elzire Dionne. The babies were the first quintuplets to survive infancy. 

And in 1999, in Milan, Italy, Leonardo de Vinci’s “The Last Supper” was put back on display after more than 20 years of restoration work. 

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Quote of the Day

“Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish; Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal.”

Thomas Moore

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Today is Thomas Moore’s birthday. The quote is from this, “Come, Ye Disconsolate”.

And it’s Larry Gatlin’s birthday.

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 5-28-14

Who would like to share a praise or request?

Today is Wednesday, so don’t forget The Gambia.

I’ll start with a Welcome Home! to Joanne. And praising the Lord for her safe travels. 🙂

Also, I’m praying God will grant her a restful and enjoyable time with her family, church, and friends. 🙂

Psalm 117

¹O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

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News/Politics 5-28-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. Not surprising. This has always been part of the liberal playbook/plan. This way it’s easy to override the will of the people without suffering for it at the polls.

From FoxNews  “State-approved bans on same-sex marriage have been falling at a rapid clip since the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last year. 

The changes — gay couples can now wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia — reflect shifting social and political attitudes toward same-sex marriage. But they also reflect, in several cases, the opinions of Democrat-appointed judges who single-handedly struck down state-approved bans.   

In a testament to the influence of judicial appointments, most of the judges responsible for the decisions over the past year were appointed by either President Obama or, two decades ago, Bill Clinton.”

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2. It’s also the reason for this.

From TheHill  “The federal judiciary has swung to the left as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has confirmed President Obama’s judicial nominees at a torrid pace in recent weeks.

Reid has put his foot on the gas to ensure that Obama will leave his imprint on the courts even if Democrats lose control of the Senate in November, which some political handicappers say is probable.”

“At the start of Obama’s first term, 10 of the nation’s 13 circuit courts had a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents and only one, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California, had a majority of Democratic appointees. The 2nd and 3rd circuits were evenly split.

Currently, nine circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges while only four have a majority of Republican picks. The data was compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a group that tracks the third branch.”

It will be years before they’re finished with their activism, and Obama’s true legacy is known. It won’t be pretty.

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3. Interesting question, and yes, they clearly are. Just ask the guys from Duck Dynasty, the Clippers owner, Mozilla’s former CEO, Paula Dean, those 2 Christian brothers with the TV show, etc., etc., etc……

From TheDailyCaller/ViaYahoo  “Last week, Michelle Obama made headlines when she exhorted graduating high schoolers in a commencement address to monitor their families for politically incorrect thoughts and behaviors.

To one journalist, this was more than an off-hand comment made by the first lady. In the opinion of Cheryl Chumley, a reporter for The Washington Times and the author of “Police State USA,” Michelle Obama’s remark reflects a growing trend in America to target and attack individuals for committing “thought crime.”

“Michelle Obama’s push for kids around the nation to monitor their family members for perceived racist comments is just another way the government seeks to inject itself into an area it doesn’t really belong — the American home,” Chumley told The Daily Caller Monday.

“Having the first lady wag her finger at us and send America’s youth on some sort of quest to scour the homes and backyards of our nation’s families for any mention of a racist joke, slur or slight is nanny-governance run amok — something that belongs in a George Orwell novel, not the White House, Chumley said.”

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4. This could get really interesting. This was the problem many had with the Patriot Act. They predicted that sooner or later it would be used against the population, instead of to protect them. The critics had that part right.

My question though, and I hope it’s answered, is this. Did they use this to target conservatives and their political enemies as I suspect they did? After all, it seems every other agency has, so why not this one too?

From RealClearPolitics  “The man who helped bring about the most significant leak in American intelligence history is to reveal names of US citizens targeted by their own government in what he promises will be the “biggest” revelation from nearly 2m classified files.

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who received the trove of documents from Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, told The Sunday Times that Snowden’s legacy would be “shaped in large part” by this “finishing piece” still to come.

“One of the big questions when it comes to domestic spying is, ‘Who have been the NSA’s specific targets?’,” he said. “Are they political critics and dissidents and activists? Are they genuinely people we’d regard as terrorists?

What are the metrics and calculations that go into choosing those targets and what is done with the surveillance that is conducted? Those are the kinds of questions that I want to still answer.”

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5. Hospitals are hiking costs on the poor thanks to ObamaCare.

From HotAir  “There are multiple levels of irony in this New York Times report on the impact of ObamaCare on poor patients in the nation’s hospitals. Congress demanded the power to revamp the health-insurance industry and expand Medicaid in order to help the poor get better medical care for less money. In reality, the opposite appears to be happening, as hospitals attempt to force the poor into ObamaCare:

Hospital systems around the country have started scaling back financial assistance for lower- and middle-income people without health insurance, hoping to push them into signing up for coverage through the new online marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act.

The trend is troubling to advocates for the uninsured, who say raising fees will inevitably cause some to skip care rather than buy insurance that they consider unaffordable. Though the number of hospitals tightening access to free or discounted care appears limited so far, many say they are considering doing so, and experts predict that stricter policies will become increasingly common.

Why did this unintended consequence occur? In part, because ObamaCare penalizes hospitals for extending charitable assistance:”

 Add this to the long list of lies and expired promises from Obama and Democrats.

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Our Daily Thread 5-27-14

Good Morning!

On this day in 1668 three colonists were expelled from Massachusetts for being Baptists.

In 1813 Americans captured Fort George, Canada. 

In 1907 the Bubonic Plague broke out in San Francisco.

In 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic.

And in 1969 construction of Walt Disney World began in Florida. 

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Quote of the Day

“The strokes of the pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness.”

Julia Ward Howe

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She gets the quote, and the first song, since she wrote it. Performed by Johnny, the Carters, and the Statlers. 🙂

Now I can’t let that teaser at the end go without hearing it all.

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 5-27-14

Anyone have a request or praise they’d like to share?

Psalm 116

¹I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.

3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.

4 Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.

7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.

8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

14 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

16 O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.

17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.

18 I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people.

19 In the courts of the Lord‘s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

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News/Politics 5-27-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. First up, a good story.

From FoxSports  “Three years ago, U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer lost his left leg while on duty in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, he was standing in victory lane with co-driver Tom Long after winning the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.”

“Dwyer, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was severely injured on May 22, 2011 when he stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D) while clearing a compound in Sangin Province. The blast sheared off his left leg above the knee and caused damage to his right leg and right arm. Four other Marines were also injured in the explosion.

The 32-year-old returned home where he underwent intense physical therapy after being fitted for a prosthesis on his left leg.”

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2. Just a reminder of where some of the blame for the VA scandal should fall.

From BizPacReview  “Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., sits on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the House and she told [Larry O’Connor] Wednesday on WMAL radio in Washington, D.C., that the House has passed a dozen bills for reform of the VA and they are collecting dust on [Sen.] Harry Reid’s desk:

O’CONNOR: Are your colleagues in the House doing something about this decades-old problem so we can get something done for the vets?

REP WALORSKI: In the past 18 months, since I’ve been a member of Congress, we’ve passed, on the House floor, at least 12 reform VA bills. Mandating the VA to fix different things, mandating the VA to report different things, mandating them to fix their website, bipartisan bills that went to the Senate, and they are DOA on the Senate side

The Indiana freshman went on to say, “We can pass bills all day long here on the House side, but if the Senate doesn’t get in gear and be held responsible and be held accountable for these veterans, it’s not going to work. … These things have been dead on arrival. Harry Reid has not moved one of these bills.”

Must be that do nothing Congress Harry always whines about. And here I thought he meant Republicans. 🙄

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3. Not shocking. Everyone knows this came from the top, and that it was a coordinated effort.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “Republicans on a House oversight panel say the Justice Department asked former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in 2010 to help them build criminal cases against nonprofit groups conducting political activity.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and subcommittee chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have requested an interview with Jack Smith, who heads the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Unit, after a subordinate revealed the department meetings with Lerner in a closed-door interview.”

““The Justice Department convened a meeting with former IRS official Lois Lerner in October 2010 to discuss how the IRS could assist in the criminal enforcement of campaign-finance laws against politically active nonprofits,” Jordan and Issa said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. “This meeting was arranged at the direction of Public Integrity Section Chief Jack Smith.”

“Issa and Jordan said they believe the Justice Department, “contributed to this pressure” on Lerner and other IRS officials to stop right-leaning organizations from achieving tax-exempt status, following a Supreme Court ruling lifting restrictions on their activity.”

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4. A new low for Planned Parenthood, and that’s saying something.

From LifeNews  “In a Pastoral Letter to Patients, Planned Parenthood tells women and girls in a crisis pregnancy that there is nothing in the scriptures that says abortion is wrong and that many clergy think abortion is okay:

The decision to have an abortion is personal. Though your reasons may be complicated and private, you’re not alone. As religious leaders from a number of religious traditions, we’re here to support you in your decision.

Many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders disapprove of abortion. The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures—Jewish or Christian—and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision.

The beliefs of each person are deserving of respect, and each person deserves care and compassion,
No one should be allowed to force their faith teachings on anyone else.”

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5. Your thoughts?

From CNSNews  “Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham and head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said “Christians are under attack by Islam” and that “radical” Islam has nothing to do with it because “it’s just what it is.”

Speaking at the  Watchmen on the Wall National Pastor’s Briefing in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Rev. Graham said,  “The church around the world is under attack. Christians are under attack by Islam.  They keep using this word ‘radical.’ It’s not radical, it’s just what it is.”

“Let’s stand up for our brothers and sisters in faith around the world who are being persecuted for their faith,” he said.  “Because if we don’t stand up for them, there’s no other voice for them.  There’s no other voice.”

“Rev. Graham’s remarks were part of his address “Standing Strong on the Controversial Issues,” in which he stressed the importance of pastors speaking out on controversial issues such as abortion and same-sex “marriage.”

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6. Just a reminder, as always, vote fraud is a myth.

From NewsDay  “Evelyn E. Burwell’s family was surprised to learn she voted in the 2012 general and primary elections. They knew she was an avid voter, but she’s been dead since 1997.

Burwell is one of about 6,100 deceased people still registered to vote in Nassau County, a Newsday computer analysis shows. The former Wantagh resident, who died at age 74, is also among roughly 270 people that records show voted in Nassau County after dying, a group that includes a man who voted 14 times since his death.

Newsday’s analysis of voter registration and U.S. Social Security Administration death records found more deceased registered voters in Nassau County than any other New York county, accounting for nearly a quarter of the 26,500 on the rolls statewide. Suffolk County has about 2,490 deceased people registered to vote, with roughly 50 listed as voting after their death.”

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7. The IRS has issued a ruling barring employers from dumping employees into the ObamaCare exchanges as a cost saving measure.

From TheNYTimes  ” Many employers had thought they could shift health costs to the government by sending their employees to a health insurance exchange with a tax-free contribution of cash to help pay premiums, but the Obama administration has squelched the idea in a new ruling. Such arrangements do not satisfy the health care law, the administration said, and employers may be subject to a tax penalty of $100 a day — or $36,500 a year — for each employee who goes into the individual marketplace.

The ruling this month, by the Internal Revenue Service, blocks any wholesale move by employers to dump employees into the exchanges.

Under a central provision of the health care law, larger employers are required to offer health coverage to full-time workers, or else the employers may be subject to penalties.

Many employers — some that now offer coverage and some that do not — had concluded that it would be cheaper to provide each employee with a lump sum of money to buy insurance on an exchange, instead of providing coverage directly.“

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Our Daily Thread 5-26-14

Good Morning.

And Happy Memorial Day.

Quote of the Day

“Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring our veterans, it’s honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it.”

Pete Hegseth

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Our Daily Thread 5-24-14

Good Morning

Today’s header photo is from Peter.

And this one is from Roscuro.

roscuro 3

On this day in 1764 Bostonian lawyer James Otis denounced “taxation without representation” and called for the colonies to unite in demonstrating their opposition to Britain’s new tax measures. 

In 1859 Charles Gounod’s “Ave Maria” was performed by Madame Caroline Miolan-Carvalho for the first time in public. 

In 1863 Bushwackers led by Captain William Marchbanks attacked a U.S. Federal militia party in Nevada, Missouri.  

In 1967 California Governor Ronald Reagan greeted Charles M. Schulz at the state capitol in observance of the legislature-proclaimed “Charles Schulz Day.” 

And in 1994 the four men convicted of bombing the New York’s World Trade Center were each sentenced to 240 years in prison. 

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Quote of the Day

“The prophet and the martyr do not see the hooting throng. Their eyes are fixed on the eternities.”

Benjamin Cardozo

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Today is Rosanne Cash’s birthday.

It’s Jeremy Holderfield’s birthday too.

And Steve Wiggins’ is tomorrow. From WestoneMusic

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Anyone have a QoD?

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Prayer Requests 5-24-14

Anyone have a request or praise to share?

Psalm 115

¹Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.

2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord‘s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.