The Father of Our Country

Today is George Washington's 277th Birthday. I stand in awe of this man.
His courage and integrity have shaped my thinking. Where would we be if not for him?

Born in Virginia on February 22nd, 1732, George was a bright and busy boy.
He learned to do things early in life and by the age of 16 was a surveyor, making meticulous maps. He began keeping a journal early in life, and this thankfully became a lifelong habit. We know much of his character through his own words.

I believe George Washington was called of God to be the first president the United States of America would know; to set the standard by which all future leaders of this country would be measured.

An example of Providence in the young colonel's life:

Early on the morning of July 9th, 1755, during the French and Indian war, Washington watched with pride as the British troops marched together, preparing for battle on the banks of the Monongahela river. The French were not willing to give up Fort Duquesne, and were unevenly matched against General Braddock's troops; the French therefore planned an ambush, convincing the Indians to join them.

As the ambush progressed, the British were unprepared. This was not the way gentlemen fought, and the ambush caught them by surprise. The Indians in the company even laughed at their victims, powerless due to shock.

As the cacophony rose, confusion reined.

Colonel Washington had been ill, but was there that day, ready to fulfill his duty of carrying the Generals orders to the troops in all parts of the field. His presence on the field in his scarlet regimentals made him an easy, conspicuous target; the enemy did not fail to take advantage of the circumstance. Two horses were shot from under him, four times his coat was torn by musket balls, but Washington was not injured. They even found a gold medallion he had been wearing on the battlefield; it had been shot off of him by a bullet.

The Indians later testified that they had singled him out; shot repeatedly AT him; they couldn't hit him. They became convinced that he had Divine protection. I am convinced as well.

In fact, Washington never was wounded in any battle.

George Washington was spared that day; protected by Divine intervention. He went on to be protected and uplifted as a Revolution was waged against his former brothers in arms.

Our Heavenly Father had a special plan for General Washington. He became the "Father of Our Country".

Here is his Farewell Address, I didn't type it up, it's quite long, but worth the time it takes to read it:

George Washington's Farewell Address

This is a beautiful example of his character, his love for this country, and gives us a benchmark by which we should be judging our candidates today.

Everyone also needs to read:

George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior .

Let this good and decent man influence your life. We need heroes in our day, here is one of the best.

Who's Next?

I was reading over at Townhall.com this morning, and came across Cal Thomas's offering for today:
How About a Stimulus for Life .

I feel so very sad and actually frightened at the coming storms. I know I don't need to be, I'm working hard to be prepared, both physically and Spiritually. I know God will win the battle.
What Mr. Thomas describes is evil, pure and simple.
If someone is not allowed medical care, and they die before their time, what eternal lessons will be lost? What won't that person know or learn, that they may have needed to know or learn before they pass through the veil? What won't those around them learn about compassion and love?

I know with every fiber of my being that there is more to us than this short span of earth life. We are sent here to grow and learn, to see if we will be faithful and trust our Heavenly Father. People are murdered everyday, and the murderer will have to answer for whatever the victim didn't accomplish, I know all this.
But what about the person who is left to die at the hands of those he or she trusted.
There are lessons to be learned for them, and for us, those who care for the dying and otherwise infirm. Patience, charity, long suffering, love; all these lessons and more. Heavenly Father is in charge. The Lord told Joseph Smith in D&C 121 "All these things shall give thee experience and be for thy good." The Lord knows what he's doing. We have to stop playing god.

We have for over 30 years let the most vulnerable among us be killed. "They" are stepping up their efforts with partial birth abortion, or worse yet, letting those born alive during "botched" abortions die.

Who's next? I'm overweight and have high blood pressure. Yes, easily prevented by my actions, or better said, inaction, but when will Big Brother decide I'm a liability?
My dad is also heavier,and 70. When will he be deemed a liability?
I have some friends who have a darling son born with Downs Syndrome. Is he next?

When will the madness stop? Obviously the picketing of hospitals and clinics doesn't work. It saves a life here and there, and that is miraculous in itself, but more is needed. A change of heart; a change of attitude.

One thing we need to do, is to learn all we can about alternative medications and the herbs and plants that Heavenly Father has given us. It's no accident that the earth is abundant in vegetation that will help us, heal us. Start learning what you need to know about them, because you DO need to know; you may come down with something that is not 'cost effective to treat'.
Second, treat your body right. Feed it good foods, and yes Dad, that means broccoli occasionally ;) Whole grains, grass fed beef, pure foods. Our bodies aren't supposed to wear out so easily, let's make sure we become a burden to Big Brother by defying all the odds.

Next, we must oppose those who have even the slightest leanings toward Eugenics of any kind, and those who support abortion in any form aside from the life of the mother being in danger, or in cases of rape and incest; abortion for convenience sake must stop. We can't sit by and watch them be elected to positions of importance or policy making.

Lastly, but most importantly, Pray. Pray for a change of hearts and minds. God can work mighty miracles, he just wants to know that we want them, and that we appreciate them.

Abraham Lincoln

Today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday.

I've just begun learning about him. He was a man of dedication and conviction.
He was also funny and could be stern; a principled man.

A letter from President Lincoln to Colonel Robert Allen. Dated June 21, 1836:

"Dear Colonel,
I am told that during my absence last week you passed thorough the place and stated publicly that you were in possession of a fact or facts which, if known to the public, would entirely destroy the prospects of N.W. Edwards and myself at the coming election, but that through favor to us you would forbear to divulge them. No one has needed favors more than I, and few, generally, have been less unwilling to accept them; but in this case favor to me would be injustice to the public, and therefore I must beg your pardon for declining it.
"That I once had the confidence of the people of Sangamon County is sufficiently evident; and if I have done anything, either by design or misadventure, which if known would subject me to a forfeiture of that confidence, he that knows of that thing and conceals it is a traitor to his country's interest.
"I find myself wholly unable to form any conjecture of what fact or facts, real or supposed, you spoke; but my opinion of your veracity will not permit me for a moment to doubt that you at least believed what you said. I am flattered with the personal regard you manifested for me; but I do hope that, on mature reflection, you will view the public interest as a paramount consideration and therefore determine to let the worst come..
"I assure you that the candid statement of facts on your part, however low it may sink me, shall never break the ties of personal friendship between us.
"I wish an answer to this, and you are at liberty to publish both if you choose.
"Very respectfully,
"A. Lincoln."

Now I don't know if Colonel Allen ever published his remarks, for this discussion I don't care. What I care about is Mr. Lincoln's integrity.
It was more important to him that the people judge him accurately, than to win an election; that the people have all the information they needed to make an informed choice.

I also read once recently that President Lincoln had prayed for help in securing the Union and that if God should help him succeed, then he would free the slaves. He was a man of his word. Something sorely missing in today's politicians.

Happy Birthday Mr. President.

Constitutional Restraint?

Here is a great article by Walter Williams today: The Hell With Our Constitution

Now, I'm not saying that I want John Doe to suffer; to lose everything. That's not what I desire for anyone. However, I can't see how making the rest of us PAY for Mr. Doe's mistakes helps anyone.

There is an old maxim that says "If you give a man a fish, he eats for today; if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." Now this is a general truth regarding welfare, but suppose you substitute a different word or phrase for 'fish'. Let's put in money: "If you give a man money, he eats for today; if you teach a man to use his money [properly], he eats for a lifetime." What about "If you [tell] a man [about the Constitution] he understands for today; if you TEACH a man to [understand the Constitution] he [understands] for a lifetime." I imagine you could substitute others with equal veracity.

If we aren't teaching people about the Constitution, can we expect them to understand it? If we are only playing lip service to it, how can we expect others to revere it? Nothing is going to change unless we begin to teach correct principles.

Way back in the 1930's people began to expect that the government would solve their problems. John Doe doesn't seem to know that the government isn't supposed to be involved in the minutiae of his daily life. He hasn't been TAUGHT properly about the Constitution. This is one of many problems with the public educational system we have today.

I would like to encourage you to go to The National Center for Constitutional Studies and see about ordering a hand full of pocket Constitutions. If you order in bulk, you can get a discount; share an order with a friend maybe. Start handing these out to people. We have to start getting these into the hands of friends and strangers. The message that our elected officials are circumventing the Constitution and trampling our standards has got to be spread.

Sad Day for America

Today our elected officials have robbed us, and our posterity of their future financial security and numerous freedoms as well.
The great French political economist Fredric Bastiat, in his work "The Law," calls taxation "legalized plunder". After today I know fully what he means. The Stimulus Package was passed in all it's bloody glory.
This will not be a good thing for this country. This will not be a good thing for the rest of the world. Socialism marches forward.

Two good things may come from this however: When it fails, no Republicans will be culpable, and therefore able to remind them they asked for a better way, and it will be a lightning rod for the Democarts, their constituents will hopefully complain in droves.
This indeed could bode well for Conservatives everywhere.

NO Republicans voted for this egregious trampling of our Liberties, and eleven of the Democrats also saw reason.

Please write to them. 177 Republicans voted no; it may be too hard to write to EACH of them, but write to YOURS, or better yet, CALL them. The White House Switchboard number is 202-224- 3121. Then, Please, call ALL of the Democrats as well!! We have to let them know they did the right thing. It can be a form letter, a call, whatever, but THANK THEM! They did good, and need to be reminded.

Obama thinks because he won the election that it means everyone is ready to play his game.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
He won the election because: 1.) It was a vote against Bush, and 2.) He's Black.

If you take the very large percentage of blacks and Hispanics who voted FOR Proposition 8 in California, it will give you some idea of the magnitude of the problem. Blacks and Hispanics came out in overwhelming numbers to vote FOR Obama. They also vote in overwhelming numbers to uphold the sanctity of Marriage between a man and a woman. This leads me to the conclusion that just because they wanted a black man in the Oval Office, it doesn't mean they agree with him. So, Obamas supposition that because he won everyone else needs to do it his way is the biggest fallacy on the planet at present--aside of course from Al Gore's scare tactics, but that's another post, for another day :)

So my request to everyone is to please write. Write to every Democrat who voted no. Write to your Republican representative. Thank them for their common sense and ask them to stay the course.
The eleven Democrats are listed below. These should be hot links to their own pages.
Allen Boyd, Bobby Bright, Jim Cooper, Brad Ellsworth, Parker Griffith, Paul Kanjorski, Frank, Kratovil, Walt Minnick, Collin Peterson, Heath Shuler, Gene Taylor