From: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com (roc-digest) To: roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: roc-digest V2 #303 Reply-To: roc-digest Sender: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-roc-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk roc-digest Tuesday, November 23 1999 Volume 02 : Number 303 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 21:48:17 -0600 From: Joe Sylvester Subject: ATF profiling school children See also www.nra.org and click on NRA Live. This has been covered there for few days now. - -----Original Message----- From: The Ritcheys Newsgroups: rec.guns Date: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 5:56 PM Subject: ATF profiling school children >The next step to big brother: >http://www.washtimes.com/opinion/ed3.html > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Please find out about rec.guns at http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/rec.guns >!! rec.guns supports MPFO Rifle Raffle at http://www.direct-action.org !! The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution. ---Doug McKay" Joe Sylvester Don't Tread On Me ! - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Nov 99 13:16:31 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Re: K-Mart Dumps Rosie!!! If this is true write and tell them!!!! (fwd) On Nov 19, Bowden Russell wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Don't know if this is true guys but if it is, buy some ammo from K-mart this weekend!!! I head on Fox News Channel today that Rosie O'Donnell will no longer be doing ads for Kmart! While she claims that she quit because she disagreed with KMart selling guns, sources inside KMart told Fox News that they fired her because they were sick of having to deal with the negative publicity generated by her anti-gun position. KMart still sucks, but I will go buy some ammo there this weekend just to show support of their decision. [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 15:38:33 -0600 From: Joe Sylvester Subject: Clinton Calls for Sharing Wealth & "Brave" New World Yours of course. To every vermin infested, socialistic country on earth. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991121/wl/clinton_italy_4.html Also see. Sunday November 21 9:56 AM ET Clinton, European Left Embrace Brave New World http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991121/ts/politics_socialdemocrats.html The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution. ---Doug McKay" Joe Sylvester Don't Tread On Me ! - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Nov 99 12:26:29 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Heads Up #159 (1/2) (fwd) On Nov 20, Doug Fiedor wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Heads Up A Weekly View from the Foothills of Appalachia November 21, 1999 #159 by: Doug Fiedor fiedor19@eos.net - --------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous Editions at: http://www.uhuh.com/reports/headsup/list-hu.htm - --------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITICAL CENSORSHIP IS SYSTEMIC No matter what we think, censorship is part of the news. It can't be helped. That is a fact of life. Rush Limbaugh found that out early in his career. Every reporter in the world knows it. Last week, even the popular Matt Drudge learned the lesson. We cannot use newsprint and the airwaves to say every little thing we want to say, no matter how true it may be. For instance, if I wanted to get in trouble, all I would need do is write a truth nearly every official in Washington knows but cannot seem to do anything about. That is that the little country of Israel has been on our welfare list so long, and received so many billions of American taxpayer dollars, that we have bought and paid for that little country at least twice over. Yet, their huge umbilical cord to our treasury is protected in halls of government because, out of the $3.5+ billion we send them each year, they return over a hundred million dollars for use as lobby money. Which means, they return a large portion of our money to contribute to Congressional campaign funds every year. Also, they spy on our public officials and have very interesting records on many politicians. But, to write that as an employee of a news organization would mean instant dismissal. So what if it's true. It may not be said publicly. That's the unwritten rule. Here's another story that shall not be reported: It's now well established that agents of the CIA illegally imported tons of cocaine for sale on the streets of our inner-cities -- they needed the money. A CIA inspector general report even verified some of that. Reports also show that there was a "special arrangement" made between the CIA and the Justice Department to protect some of the operatives, at least for a while. Yet, suddenly, Congress dropped that issue like a hot potato. The story behind the story was when the illegal imports started and who (collectively) was involved over the years. One popular fellow was CIA Director for a time, Vice President for a time and then President. He had to know. Because, if he didn't, he would have had to be totally and completely incompetent -- which he isn't. That being the case, we will not need to state who, in the National Security Council, also acquiesced. The deal is, some things cannot be said in the popular news. Government covers up these matters under the guise of "national security." That's because the security (the careers and possibly the freedom) of those in government who are involved would be in jeopardy if the stories came out publicly. So, such stories never get reported. After all, the Washington press corps really enjoy their synergistic relationship with those in government. "Playing ball" with the government power structure makes reporters' work easier. Rocking the boat can get them ostracized in the halls of power and they may miss a story, or not get invited to a party. Simply put, that is why there are only a small handful of good investigative reporters in Washington and so may "journalists" who only repeat messages. But, even when a good reporter gets a great story, it still must get past the editor -- who, ten to one, is on great terms with many of the politicians in power. If a juicy story gets past the editor, the newspaper's legal team looks at it. And, if it's a really important expose', the publisher will also need to give permission. The publisher, of course, must take the point of view of the corporate owners, who could, just as easily as not, be a multinational conglomerate with dozens of television and radio licenses to protect. The parent corporation will also consult their Washington lobbyists to insure that the story will not aggravate the wrong powers that be in Washington and mess up whatever deals may be in the works that are beneficial to the conglomerate's other interests. When the CIA cocaine story came out, some enterprising journalists actually dug deep. Interesting names -- names many of us would recognize -- were identified. Too many interesting names were identified as being involved, actually. So, there was no story. It's the same with the Israeli lobby. That's a very old story that has been brought up many, many times in many, many ways over the years. Sometimes the establishment press even mentions that it is improper for a foreign government to contribute (invest) in political campaigns. The part about it being illegal as hell is seldom mentioned, though. Besides, it's not just Israel doing it. There are at least ten foreign governments doing the same thing, and it affects most Members of Congress and every presidential campaign. So, with a wink and a nod, that is a non-story. Drudge recoiled when touched by just the tip of the sword of censorship. There are many political topics slashed from public view. Such are the workings of the many entangling alliances in today's political world, here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. LAUGHING AT LIBERALISM Yes, some of them traded their "sex, drugs and rock & roll" for wine, brie and chamber music. That's because they couldn't bear the thought of leaving the college campus atmosphere and getting a real job. Today we call them professors. And most of them got a haircut, discarded the love beads and generally got themselves cleaned up. That's because they soon learned that it takes hard cash to buy a home and car. There are not many places left anymore that will hire someone who looks like a burned out hippie. But not all of them had a change in attitude. Oh sure, they got over that "never trust anyone over thirty" idea on their thirtieth birthdays. But recreational drugs got cheaper, safer and more potent, so a lot of them still regularly fry their brains. And, they may not mouth the words anymore, but many of them still think "down with the establishment." Except, nowadays they are part of the establishment. And that's a problem. So, it's no wonder that liberal college professors are so much fun to watch. They have to dress and act establishment when, all along, most of them are still anti-establishment hippies at heart. They must present themselves as being the bright light in the room, when in fact most are only semi-educated. That is, they are not "worldly wise." For, how could one know much about real life when they have never participated? After all, a lifetime of campus living is hardly an education on life. Most fun to watch are those liberal professors who teach American government, history and law. Many of them have the book learning down; it's just that they are intellectually bankrupt about real life. That's why they are still liberals. For instance, how many really knowledgeable people can study the arguments of the Founding Fathers leading up to our Constitution and then accept a greatly overextended central government's control of everything in life from womb to tomb? Only those who are so insulated they are not affected is one answer. Those who think the masses are asses and need strong direction from academics and professional bureaucrats is another answer. And, those who really wish to destroy the establishment -- replace our Constitutional form of government with socialism -- is yet another answer. Most likely, though, the usual explanation would include some combination of the three. So, when I learned that Princeton University's professor of history and director of the program in American studies, Sean Wilentz, published an op-ed in the New York Times last Tuesday, I just knew that it would be fun to read. And, sure enough, it was. Impeachment watchers will remember Wilentz pontificating at the House hearings. John Hinckley's lawyer (the Hinckely who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan), Gregory Craig, was then representing Bill Clinton and called Wilentz as an expert witness on a panel with former Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and Yale Professor of Law Bruce Ackerman. Wilentz finagled himself a place at the impeachment hearing by getting 400 or so "historians" to sign a paper criticizing the effort to impeach Clinton. Anyway, Wilentz showed us how far out of touch he is in the summer 1999 issue of "Dissent," when he wrote: "one of the dirty secrets of impeachment may be that the Republicans had nothing better to do. By setting their sights on removing an already besmirched Bill Clinton, Republicans unwittingly exposed their party's intellectual bankruptcy, especially at the national level. And by pursuing impeachment as zealously as they did, they compounded that bankruptcy by alienating millions of voters." Let's face it, the guy just hates Republicans. So, in the New York Times piece he writes: "From voter surveys to the floors of Congress, we see abundant evidence that Americans are embracing sensible activist government. This swing of the pendulum represents more than a correction of conservative excesses." He must have been polling the socialists of the House's Progressive Caucus if he thinks we want an activist government. Such statements demonstrate a complete disconnect from the true feelings of the vast majority of American people. Later, he tops that by writing that a "Pew poll showed that Americans are markedly less cynical about government than they have been in many years." Apparently, he justifies that because a Times/CBS survey showed that "voters rate health care (13 percent) and protection of Social Security (8 percent) as their chief concerns, while only 2 percent cited defense." Yeah, 13% and 8% only! That's the new "abundant evidence that Americans are embracing sensible activist government." With that justification, he claims that we are in a "revival of a liberal tradition" and states: "What conservatives condemned 30 years ago as creeping socialism [is] an accepted part of the American Way." It was a good article. Well written and very [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Nov 99 12:25:44 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: [slickplus] FOX Censors News too (fwd) On Nov 22, RichSlick@aol.com wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] The graphic FOX-TV refused to allow Matt Drudge to air, was aired by FOX in a medical setting. It is therefor fair to conclude that it wasn't the graphic being censored, it was the message, a message of pro-life. If a first tri-mester fertilized-embryo has a hand to say thank you, abortion is not an option. Of course it could be argued that the infant hand that gripped the docs finger was not a cognizant act, simply a reflex (which sounds reasonable to me) then FOX is guilty of intentionally misleading viewers by inferring otherwise in the medical presentation. They can't have it both ways. I like the FNC too much to say boycott it, but I will tell you this. Now that I know how they are coloring their newscasts, I will take that into consideration when I do watch. For instance, how much is O'Reilly tailoring his program to meet FOX standards. >>> In a message dated 11/21/99 11:24:10 PM US Eastern Standard Time, spiker@amnix.com writes: << LIFE at 21 weeks is precious http://www.freedomcorner.com/life.html Hand of 21 week-old 'Fetus', named Samuel, grasps surgeon's thumb; "Thank you, doctor". http://www.freedomcorner.com/1.images/life_drudge.jpeg The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from the mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. In the procedure, a C-section removes the uterus and the doctor makes a small incision to operate on the baby. During the surgery on little Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed, hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life." Source: Free Republic http://www.freerepublic.com/ All Out of Love (little Samuel holds onto his doctor) http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a38325f683276.htm MIDI - ALL OUT OF LOVE http://www.christeen.net/music/general/alloutoflove.mid It's twenty one weeks and the baby is ill But what is the doctor to do? He's there in the womb and there isn't much hope A miracle soon comes true Mom says "Operate 'cause Samuel needs help" The whole thing is very well planned The doctor's surprised when his finger is grabbed "My God, it's Samuel's hand tiny hand They're not tissue mass they are not a choice, now Come join if you will by raising your voice now They're not tissue mass my God, they are babies Abortion is wrong it's got to be stopped somehow For too many years many babies like him Are ripped from their safe mother's womb Purveyors of death taking innocent life Hell waits for those in that room They're selfish and cruel they're evil indeed How many more children must die? We can't turn our heads we all have to stand up We hear the angels cry angels cry They're not tissue mass they are not a choice, now Come join if you will by raising your voice now They're not tissue mass my God, they are babies Abortion is wrong it's got to be stopped somehow Oh, how many more must die can't you hear angels cry? How many more must die can't you hear angels cry? They're not tissue mass they are not a choice, now Come join if you will by raising your voice now They're not tissue mass my God, they are babies Abortion is wrong it's got to be stopping They're not tissue mass they are not a choice, now Come join if you will by raising your voice now They're not tissue mass my God, they are babies Abortion is wrong it's got to be stopping They're not tissue mass they are not a choice, now Come join if you will by raising your voice now They're not tissue mass my God, they are babies Abortion is wrong it's got to be stopping >> - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Accurate impartial advice on everything from laptops to tablesaws. http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/1701 To subscribe to the Slick e-zine, send e-mail to RichSlick@aol.com for details. eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/slickplus/ http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Nov 99 12:27:27 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Heads Up #159 (2/2) (fwd) On Nov 20, Doug Fiedor wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] funny. I really don't think it belonged in a major newspaper, though. WE TAKE ORDERS WELL What a clever web government has spun. The American people are turning into a bunch of little automatons, with bureaucrats pushing the buttons. We obey their rules without question, even when their "rules" are not laws. Think not? Here are just a few "rules to live by" mentioned at a gathering of middle aged adults last week: When stopped for a traffic violation, keep your hands on the wheel where they are in plain sight. Don't make any sudden moves and never say anything to the officer except "yes sir" and "no sir." We wouldn't want the nice officer to shoot us, thinking we might be a threat to his well being, after all. Is that what we've come to nowadays? Everyone is a potential suspect of assault on a police officer now? Apparently the rule is that we are to act so as to please the public servant, rather than the other way around. We are to confine our speech and movement to conform to the wishes of the constabulary, even when we are as legally clean as the new snow. Another interesting common maxim was that one must never question the wisdom of an airport clerk or an airport rent-a-cop. No matter that these are characteristically minimum wage (or thereabouts) paid workers without an overabundance in the aptitude department. They are in charge. And if you don't want them to call men with guns to harass you, you must comply with every order without question. Whatever happened to the business/customer relationship here? Wasn't the customer always right? I mean, we pay big bucks to catch an uncomfortable plane ride somewhere and we now have to accept orders from the hired help, too? Things are not like that with other businesses. How the hell did that ever happen with air transportation? Oh yeah. Congress got involved. I almost forgot. Another thing people mentioned is that one should not take cash money to an airport. Most workers at the terminal are watching for people with a lot of cash because they know that they can get some of it as a reward for fingering the traveler. Apparently, if a person has over a thousand bucks, or so, the airport cops will come and take it. Potential drug money, they use as the excuse. No honest person needs to carry cash anymore. It's still legal for an American citizen to have and hold cash, of course. It implies so right on the money. Still, if anyone with a badge and a gun sees it, it is probable they will take it. There's nothing we can do about that, and they know it. So, they take the money. There was big talk of abuse by social workers, too. Many social workers are very liberal and demand that parents raise their children to love socialism. So, if a social worker catches a parent disciplining a child, some will try to have the parent arrested and the child removed from the home. There is no law stating that a parent must answer a social worker when questioned. According to some local folks, it's best to not even give them your name. Else, they may start all kinds of silly legal problems. Where'd they all come from, anyway? Apparently, someone in government started a "make work" program for social workers without asking the taxpayers if they wanted that. Now they're everywhere -- most paid with tax dollars. Then come the Regulation Mounties. Some bureaucrats now think they can violate our Fourth Amendment right to privacy of home, papers, effects and businesses with impunity. Except, that pesky Fourth Amendment requires that all government agents first get a search warrant labeling exactly what is to be searched before visiting us. There are no exceptions listed in the Fourth Amendment. Inconvenient as it may be, the Founding Fathers intended for all employees of government to conform. Yet, if one mentions that Fourth Amendment thing to an agent from the IRS, EPA, EEOC, or BATF and tells them to bug off without a warrant, they stand a great chance of being attacked some night by a Gestapo looking squad of men called a SWAT team. It's all very legal nowadays. Bureaucrats, who just a few years ago brandished nothing more ominous than a clip board, now attack citizens with automatic weapon armed squad fire teams. It's not that the American people are any more dangerous than they were, just that the federal government started allowing minor bureaucrats to carry guns. And, since they had guns, they figured what the heck, might as well do it right and form SWAT teams, too. So, today, even Smoky the Bear's boys have SWAT teams out in the forest. All this stuff is a blatant violation of our rights, of course. There's even a federal law against most of it: 18 Sec. 241 states that, "If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States ... they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both." However, it takes the government to enforce that law and government is historically inept at enforcing the violation of laws by government employees. Congress is too busy "cracking down on crime" and "plugging loopholes" to worry about our rights. Besides, they like us doing exactly as we are told, like a bunch of programmed automatons. FOUNDERS MADE THE PEOPLE SOVEREIGN If the Second Amendment were erased from the Constitution, it wouldn't change anything. That's because, nowhere in the Constitution is a power given to the federal government to regulate our personal arms in any way whatsoever. Washington snatched that power unconstitutionally. It's the same with States rights, protected by the Tenth Amendment. The Constitution takes away a handful of powers from the States and delegates them to the central government. All others are to remain with the States. James Madison explains some of that in The Federalist Papers No. 45: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State. "The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger; those of the State governments, in times of peace and security. As the former periods will probably bear a small proportion to the latter, the State governments will here enjoy another advantage over the federal government. The more adequate, indeed, the federal powers may be rendered to the national defense, the less frequent will be those scenes of danger which might favor their ascendancy over the governments of the particular States. "If the new Constitution be examined with accuracy and candor, it will be found that the change which it proposes consists much less in the addition of NEW POWERS to the Union, than in the invigoration of its ORIGINAL POWERS. The regulation of commerce, it is true, is a new power; but that seems to be an addition which few oppose, and from which no apprehensions are entertained. The powers relating to war and peace, armies and fleets, treaties and finance, with the other more considerable powers, are all vested in the existing Congress by the articles of Confederation. The proposed change does not enlarge these powers; it only substitutes a more effectual mode of administering them." Interestingly enough, our nation actually ran like that for a while. Long enough for the small country to grow and become strong, anyway. Alexander Hamilton asks in The Federalist Papers No. 33: "Who is to judge of the NECESSITY and PROPRIETY of the laws to be passed for executing the powers of the Union? I answer, first, that this question arises as well and as fully upon the simple grant of those powers as upon the declaratory clause; and I answer, in the second place, that the national government, like every other, must judge, in the first instance, of the proper exercise of its powers, and its constituents in the last. "If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify. The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded. Suppose, by some forced constructions of its authority (which, indeed, cannot easily be imagined), the Federal legislature should attempt to vary the law of descent in any State, would it not be evident that, in making such an attempt, it had exceeded its jurisdiction, and infringed upon that of the State? Suppose, again, that upon the pretense of an interference with its revenues, it should undertake to abrogate a land tax imposed by the authority of a State; would it not be equally evident that this was an invasion of that concurrent jurisdiction in respect to this species of tax, which its Constitution plainly supposes to exist in the State governments? If there ever should be a doubt on this head, the credit of it will be entirely due to those reasoners who, in the imprudent zeal of their animosity to the plan of the convention, have labored to envelop it in a cloud calculated to obscure the plainest and simplest truths." The People, then, are the defenders of the Constitution. And, according to Hamilton, it is The People who are to "take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify." Interesting, those Founding Fathers. ~ End ~ [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Nov 99 21:32:57 PST From: roc@xpresso.seaslug.org (Bill Vance) Subject: Giving Thanks With A Grateful Heart (fwd) On Nov 23, Exegesis wrote: [-------------------- text of forwarded message follows --------------------] Exegesis A Compass For Moral Excellence Published Worldwide From Washington http://www.sm.org/exegesis Thanksgiving 1999 __________________________________________________ PAGE 1 NEWS: Real News From The Real World Your daily online newspaper http://www.page1news.com __________________________________________________ ExTel See our expanding range of deeply discounted phone services http://ld.net/custom/?sm.org =46eaturing Unitel: NOW just 4.9 cents a minute anywhere in the US.=20 Your own toll-free number for just 4.9=A2 a minute - and no monthly=20 fees! http://unitelagent.com/?sm.org and Prepaid Calling Cards at 5 cents a minute. Check it out: http://ld.net/custom/?sm.org ________________________________________________ Giving Thanks With A Grateful Heart Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with=20 gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Enter his gates with=20 thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and=20 praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;=20 His faithfulness continues through all generations. =46rom Psalm 100 I really love Thanksgiving. If I had my way, I'd make it a worldwide=20 holiday, preferably every week! It isn't just the delicious food,=20 reassuring though a wonderful meal can be in these transitory times.=20 What could be more comforting than a table groaning with turkey and=20 all the trimmings topped off with Grandma's apple and pumpkin pies?=20 Only the presence of God Himself, and that's why I love it so. There is a multitude of reasons to be thankful. For this column, I=20 will leave to one side the grubby business of politics, and I won't=20 even go into detail about how thankful the American nation is that=20 Bill Clinton will, please God, be gone from the White House in just=20 over 400 days (but who's counting?), even though that prospect alone=20 warrants at least a week of national rejoicing. Across America this week, the busy rush of life is briefly calmed as=20 families and friends gather to eat and to embrace one another, and to=20 prayerfully celebrate God's goodness as we thank Him for His many=20 blessings to us. Of course, the po-faced liberals wouldn't dream of=20 thanking God. Presumably, they just sit there in smug=20 self-satisfaction like the proud Pharisee in the Temple who prayed:=20 "God, I thank You that I am not like other men." (Luke 18:11) That's=20 the approximate viewpoint of the socialist ruling class these days.=20 But take heart, folks: their days of power are numbered! It is good=20 to pause, in the midst of the mighty battle for America's soul, to=20 thank God for all He does for us. Some seem less than convinced that we should be thankful to God.=20 Instead they thank some nebulous and unnamed provider of our=20 blessings. Yet William Bradford, one of the Mayflower pilgrims and=20 Governor of Plymouth Colony, wrote of the first settlers in 1620:=20 "What could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of=20 wilde beasts and wilde men? And what multitudes of them there were,=20 they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save=20 upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in=20 respect of any outward object." Nonetheless, they found it in their=20 hearts to be thankful. Abraham Lincoln, in his 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation, wrote: "In=20 the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, peace=20 has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the=20 laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed. No=20 human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these=20 great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who,=20 while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless=20 remembered mercy." Lincoln also lamented: "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have=20 become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and=20 preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It=20 behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to=20 confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."=20 His words were true in 1863, and they are true today. We need to=20 repent. Throughout history, our forebears have faced incredible challenges.=20 Life for them, and often for us too, has presented more burdens than=20 we can easily face. We sometimes feel overwhelmed, and there is a=20 great temptation to cave in to despair. Yet, opportunities to be=20 thankful for our blessings always seem to present themselves. You=20 may know the saying: The optimist proclaims that this is the best of=20 all possible worlds, and the pessimist fears this is true." There is=20 always room for optimism and faith, no matter how difficult the=20 circumstances may be. That is true in our national life, and it is=20 true in our homes as well. There is a special reason to give thanks this week at one New Orleans=20 household. I've just spent a few days with the young people of=20 Teenpact, a Georgia-based ministry which teaches teenagers devotion=20 to God and country, and responsible citizenship. There I met John,=20 a 17 year-old, who shared his struggle with brain cancer, which=20 according to his doctors, would end his life in about a month from=20 now. John underwent brain surgery on May 24 and May 25, 1999, at Lackland=20 Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. On May 27, he received the=20 worst possible news: he had a very aggressive form of cancer known=20 as medulloblastoma. On June 7, he flew home to New Orleans, where=20 his parents, three brothers and three sisters all joined in praying=20 for him. He was prescribed extensive radiation and chemotherapy to=20 prevent the development of more large tumors. He declined their prescription, and instead decided to trust God for=20 his healing. He began alternative therapies such as changing his=20 diet and taking vitamins, believing that fervent prayer and natural=20 remedies work more effectively than man-made solutions. For several=20 months, things looked brighter. On October 26, 1999, during a medical checkup, the doctors found=20 another brain tumor. He says: "I was crushed." The doctors=20 prescribed the same treatment as before but he asked them to wait one=20 month before starting, knowing that each day he waited made the tumor=20 closer to becoming inoperable. He says: "I wanted God to heal me,=20 and this time I was ready to yield to Him in anything and=20 everything." We know "God has said, 'Never will I leave you, never=20 will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) John was forced to abandon his=20 college plans, and lost part of his vision as the tumor impacted his=20 optic nerves. Friends had asked that he be allowed to attend the=20 Teenpact weekend to give him one last surge of happiness. John is a talkative, outgoing young man, very much aware of God's=20 presence and totally surrendered to His will. Last Saturday, he=20 bravely shared his story, and said he had prayed only for God's will=20 to be done. Afterwards, I took him aside with four others, and asked=20 them to pray for his healing. As the scripture directs: "Is any one=20 of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over=20 him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer=20 offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise=20 him up." (James 5:14-15) I felt it was time to take the scripture at=20 face value. Imagine us this past weekend at a peaceful campsite next to a=20 beautiful lake, inside a National Park near Atlanta. I shepherded=20 the teenagers to a quiet place and told them honestly that I do not=20 possess the gift of healing, but that I was willing to join with them=20 in asking God to heal this young man, who had just four days before=20 he would have to begin chemotherapy or face the prospect of death=20 within a few weeks. Just last night, I received the following e-mail, which I read with=20 astonishment, awe and joy, and which, with John's permission, I share=20 with you now: Dear Mr. Myers, I have great joy in that I am able to write you and tell you I=20 haven't a brain tumor any longer. This is an awesome thing to be=20 able to tell you ... I had no doubt in God's ability but had resigned=20 myself to what I thought was a reality. God has proven to me in a=20 very intimate way that man hasn't a clue as to the nature of God or=20 His ways. I can't begin to express the joy and the affirmation in=20 God's goodness to man despite our nature being everything but=20 faithful and good to Him. When I had my MRI test done this morning I had prepared myself for=20 the worst: to spend my 18th birthday on December 12, Christmas and=20 the New Year in the hospital at best (and probably worse). At 2:30=20 this afternoon, the doctor called and said, in a very disturbed way,=20 "The tumor that was there isn't there. I have gone over this with a=20 few other doctors and they are in agreement that you no longer have a=20 tumor growth in your brain." Talk about a shock, I could hardly think of what to say ... ummm ...=20 I still don't know for sure. God is awesome and he DOES reign on=20 high with dominion over all the earth. The tumor is gone ... the doctors try and explain it to me but have=20 no answer as to what happened. They compare it to the other MRI that=20 shows the tumor and nothing is there now. This is a miracle. Thank=20 God, for He alone is worthy of praise. Praise be to God for He surely does deliver all that trust in Him.=20 Thank you for hearing God and praying for me as you did. God bless=20 and keep you. In Christ, John I'm not sure how you would react to receiving a letter like that from=20 a great teenager with a new lease on life. As regular readers know,=20 I am not often speechless. All I can do is pour out grateful thanks=20 to God. I am amazed at His faithfulness to us, when we are obedient=20 to Him. God's will is not sickness and pain, even though we can=20 learn from such difficulties. God's will is wellness, rejoicing,=20 purpose and blessing. Let each of us count our blessings this Thanksgiving, for in so=20 doing, we shall draw strength for the fierce battles yet to come. If=20 I could consolidate my thoughts into a single prayer, it would be=20 this: "America! America! God shed His grace on thee; and crown=20 thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!" And if I may summarize my reason for thankfulness on this special=20 day, it would be in the awesome words of Keith and Melody Green's=20 song, There is a Redeemer: "Thank you, O my Father, for giving us=20 your Son, and leaving Your Spirit 'till the work on earth is done."=20 This Thanksgiving, may God bless you and your family and friends, and=20 may God bless America. =87 Steve Myers =D7 Editor ________________________________________________ PAGE 1 NEWS: Real News From The Real World Your daily online newspaper: http://www.page1news.com __________________________________________________ ExTel See our expanding range of deeply discounted phone services http://ld.net/custom/?sm.org =46eaturing Unitel: NOW just 4.9 cents a minute anywhere in the US.=20 Your own toll-free number for just 4.9=A2 a minute - and no monthly=20 fees! http://unitelagent.com/?sm.org and Prepaid Calling Cards at 5 cents a minute. Check it out: http://ld.net/custom/?sm.org ________________________________________________ Please visit our Web Page at http://www.sm.org/exegesis where you can=20 update or delete your mailing address, read back issues and much more. ________________________________________________ =A9 Exegesis 1999 Post Office Box 789, McLean VA 22101, USA Subscriptions: Fax $32.95, E-Mail $16.95 E-Mail exegesis@sm.org [------------------------- end of forwarded message ------------------------] - -- - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RKBA! ***** Blessings On Thee, Oh Israel! ***** RKBA! - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- An _EFFECTIVE_ | Insured | All matter is vibration. | Let he who hath no weapon in every | by COLT; | -- Max Plank | weapon sell his hand = Freedom | DIAL | In the beginning was the | garment and buy a on every side! | 1911-A1. | word. -- The Bible | sword.--Jesus Christ - ----------------+----------+--------------------------+--------------------- - - ------------------------------ End of roc-digest V2 #303 *************************