Same old heathen, different day

1Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." I try to remember this when dealing with worldly people. I WAS as the list that preceeds that one verse. Look it up to see what I mean. Thankfully, I "were" but now "are".

There is one abject heathen that is a borderline stalker on a forum I frequent. He is an ardent evolutionist and atheist. I am about the ONLY one on that forum who has the guts to stand against stuff he writes. I occasionally get reprimanded for being bold enough to lay it on the line.

This man is a self styled evolution expert and belittles anyone who believes differently. Then he is arrogant enough to deny his belittling and pettiness. He private messages me, cusses at me, and accuses me of being the very thing that he is, only from the opposing point of view. Of course I am wrong and he is correct. He is often wrong in his characterization of what Christianity is and is not. And yet he accuses me of being judgemental while judging me. I let him know the hypocrisy of his position, but it doesn't matter. He is only going to see his carnal point of view.

1Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Basically that means that anything I stand for based upon spiritual principles are going to be foreign to him. He therefore mocks me. Hey, Matthew 5:10-12 is still true. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

The fact is that he has no idea about spiritual things. He can't understand them. When I stand up for what is just, I get persecuted. It's small potatoes compared to what some really go through for their faith.

The last skirmish came about as a result of a discussion that someone started about Jesus vs. Allah. He mocked religious beliefs. The funny thing is that atheism is a religious belief, though he refuses to admit that. The theory of evolution is a religious belief, not necessarily scientific. It requires faith, which he admits. But then anyone who has faith in what he believes is contrarian philosophy or view of scientific evidence is a moron. I called him on the hypocrisy of his mockery, but I was and continue to be characterized as having no "Christian charity" in his words. It is fine if he makes personal attacks, belittling statements, is condescending, or stands up for his beliefs. Let a man who knows the Godly perspective comment, and he is branded as a fool. Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

The discussion was about Islam versus Christianity. This evildoer used the forum to bash religious beliefs and mock participants. Oddly enough, I stuck with the topic at hand. I have a rudimentary understanding of the Koran and know where to find all the research materials I need. This individual stuck his nose in a discussion about which he knows little if anything, hijacked the discussion, and blames me. He of course took the opportunity to private message me and tell me how again, he believes that I exhibit no "Christian charity", as if he would actually know what it is.

I replied to his rant with the following:

"And I am sure that all of your assessments are also based upon your extensive years of study and relationship with the foundations of Christianity.

The wonderful thing about Chrstianity is that it is not defined by those from without such as yourself. YOU do not set the standard by which I am judged or what the beliefs are or are not.

Since you are not an adherent and are not familiar with the precepts, you are not qualified to judge what is charitable or not. To use a professional example, someone who just surfs the internet is in no way qualified to be able to set up, maintain, or specify corporate network security. By the same token, since you are not a Christian, do not pretend to be one, and obviously are not familiar with its precepts, you are not able to pass a credible nor accurate judgement. Talk to me about it again after you have spent fifteen years studying and walking it.

I once believed much as you do about a lot of things, including religion, science, and the like. Fortunately, I was not so close minded to arrogantly assume that I know more than God.

That is what amazes me about those who would judge what is "Christian charity". Nowhere in the Bible are men called to be pansies, tolerant of sin, or act as doormats. Because a man has the gonads to stand up for truth, you are willing to be his judge and condemn him. You may not consider it to be truth, but then again, you don't have the final say as to what is and is not truth. I don't either. I just, to use your term, "by faith" accept that it is truth. Whether you choose to dismiss evidentiary support is to your own damnation. Hey, your choice.

I have to chuckle at the "be nicer than Jesus" crowd. Often they cry about how people need to have "Christian charity" and follow the teachings of Christ. These same people then ignore the other half of the teachings of Christ, his declarations of sin, his criticisms, his naming names, etc. He called men snakes, whitewashed tombs, and hypocrites. He called women dogs. But oh, no, we have to be nicer than Jesus.

The Apostle Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament had the balls to call out sin, condemn it, name names of false teachers and prophets in public, and admonish his own followers as well as the heathen. Oh, but we must be nicer than Jesus or Paul. People like you would have accused Jesus and Paul of not being "Christian".

Why not just take the red pill and find out just how deep the rabbit hole goes?"

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I realize that I was strong in my response. If you knew the history and saw his messages online and the private messages, you would understand why I am not taking his garbage. A soft answer may turn away wrath, but I am not concerned about his wrath in the least bit.

I know that I will get a condescending, know-it-all reply, as usual. Of course it will be void of understanding about anything I just wrote. He will judge according to what is right in his own eyes, not according to what the author and finisher of my faith has to say. There is a standard laid out for me to follow, and thankfully it is not that of some liberal, godless, middle aged man in California.

Proverbs 21:2 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts." This is why the Lord will judge my heart and not what natural man has to say. Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." If I shall ignore the counsel of the Lord and take that of the worldly man, I am not worthy of His kingdom.

Revelations 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Being fearful of what this heathen would have to say about me is equally as bad as his unbelief.

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UPDATE: I was more than right about his response. He was again belittling, critical, extremely hypocritical, and even name calling. He went on to tell me how Christians in his family could kick my butt, as if this was a school yard.

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Another update: This liar continues to insult, make accusations, fails to acknowledge any truth in anything I have written, and continues the name calling. I have been just referred to as "a barely-tolerated piece of crap". Oooh, now that is mature. He also just told an obvious lie about a past interaction we had. He has totally rewritten the facts and then calls me "blatantly self-serving and dishonest" for calling him on it. Should I expect anything but that from a child of "the father of all lies"?

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Yet another update:He continues to fib about things, but at least he is settling down in his rhetoric. He is still doing the typical liberal thing and rewriting history, though.

I finally broke down and got one

I have been asked numerous times if I had a myspace account. After yet another friend of mine got onto myspace, I went ahead and signed up. Click on the button to take you to my site there.

Headlines

I am reading over The Drudge Report right now and am finding some story lines that just make me chuckle or shake my head. Here are a few. Yes, these are actual story lines from today's Drudge Report. It was one of the most entertaining I have seen in a long time. My comments are in red.

Gay couple rebuked for 'kissing, touching' on flight... (That is inappropriate behavior for heterosexuals, too. Glad I wasn't there, unless of course they were two hot lesbos going at it, but not in this case. I would have needed the Jaws of Life to get that scene out of my head after that flight.)

Rogue Squirrels Attacking People in California... (squirrels, California...need I say more?)

VIRGIN TO MAKE 'ASTRONAUT IDOL' SHOW... (Just the headline is funny, but it isn't what you think)

NOW -- WIGS FOR BABIES! http://www.babytoupee.com (And the infant didn't even work out an advertising trade at WBZB to get the rug)

Animal Olympics: The disturbing 'sport' of kangaroo boxing... (Self explanatory and oh, so worthy of space on one of the biggest news web sites in the world.)

Carter: Bush has brought U.S. 'international disgrace'... (The irony of that statement coming from that individual astounds me)

GORE: CIGARETTE SMOKING 'SIGNIFICANT' CONTRIBUTOR TO GLOBAL WARMING... (I hate cigarette smoke more than most people on this planet. However, this man is just plain whacko. Why does ANYONE listen to Al Gore...EVER?)

Shakira - Hips Dont Lie

OK, so I look like one of the people in the video and own one of the guns being shown. Coincidence? I hope so. I do sort of like the real Shakira, though, and this song. Go to the official shakira spoof homepage at www.myspace.com/shakiraspoof

Mental meanderings about a past career

I was reflecting earlier today about my current employment, what I did before that, and about the various radio stations I have worked for. Twelve years ago, I helped launch a Christian radio station, WTIK. That station had been around for a long time, but it had floundered for quite some time before being purchased by The Positive Radio Group.

At the time, I was working for two different Christian radio stations, WRTP and WPJL, both on a part time basis. When I went to work for their sworn enemy, I was asked to leave both other stations. I understood. The problem at the time was that I had just left a job as a sales rep for a burglar and fire alarm company and had no full time employment. Even though WTIK was offering full time work, it was only minimum wage. Hey, I needed more hours to make more money, and although the other stations were paying a higher per hour wage, I could not get full time hours.

Positive Radio Group was anything but what the name implies. Their management philosophy was to put anything they could on the radio, recruit churches and ministries to pay for fifteen, thirty, or sixty minutes of air time, and take no thought for quality.

This opened my eyes to a lot of things. First, not all "ministries" pay the bill but expect special treatment because they are ministries. So called Christian businesses are not necessarily owned or run by Christians. The owner of the radio chain was not a professing Christian. He bought run down stations and made them into Christian programming because it was an easy format to do, the programs are recurring revenue. That means that you don't have to constantly sell the time over and over again as you do with spot advertising. Many churches and religious groups will purchase time on more than one station in a group. That is easy money. Most Christian stations claim poverty and pay paltry wages. They inspire and encourage little if any creativity or professionalism in their staff.

WTIK had a sister station, WFTK, which eventually moved into the same building. The Positive Radio Group philisophy was to spend as little money as possible on improving equipment. They used cheap equipment that did the job. They even put two radio stations in the same room, even though other studios were available. That would offer the opportunity to run two stations with the same operator, if that person did nothing but play button pusher. They invested no money into production facilities, since all ads and tags were made in the same monotone voice by the same no talent managers.

The lack of quality at WTIK really annoyed me. It is one thing to call yourself a Contemporary Christian station. It is entirely another to have no Contemporary Christian music. They started to have some trickle in. We played some Praise and Worship music, some Adult Contemporary music, and then I brought in some from my own collection. The stuff I had was often better than the stuff they had, so I got some listener requests for my music. When I was not there or did not bring my own collection, they got complaints from some listeners who wanted to hear the stuff I played.

One manager there knew nothing to speak of about radio. That does not surprise me, since few people really get it. The general manager there must have made decent money, especially when he started selling for WTIK after its acquisition by PRG. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no talent for radio and his annoying voice was on most ads, tags, and announcements on both stations. There was no production music or quality facility, so the production values were horrid. This made for bland radio and poor quality.

That same station also would literally do the "dollar for a holler" thing. Anyone with money could buy time. It didn't matter if the preaching was heretical or not. We had one program that was just so pathetic, I actually stopped it from playing one day and went to music. It was full of heresy, but the station didn't care until he stopped paying his bills.

Another time, the station leased several hours a day to a Hispanic company. They brought in their own announcers and played mariachi music. The sales reps never bothered to check the content of the programming. The show was sponsored by a Mexican restaurant chain. They were helping promote secular Mexican music, concerts, and were playing a lot of beer ads. I found that out by talking with one of their promoters who came in to the studio one day. I relayed the info to the management, and they claimed to not know about it. When the sales rep from a Charlotte station called (he actually sold the time), he claimed that everyone knew about the secular nature of the programming and that all gave their assent and approval. Go figure.

I eventually became music director for that station. I took the music format I inherited from the previous operations manager and tweaked it a bit. I reworked the rotation system to where it was actually doing much better than it used to. Of course I was programming a losing proposition, since music was just a space filler until that block of time could be sold and a long form program put in its place.

After the operations manager for WTIK quit, I was eventually offered the job. I was hired and within a few days, the offer recinded. They decided to have the operations manager for WFTK take on both stations instead of paying two operations managers. I understand that concept, but it was underhanded and dishonest to do it the way in which they did. That was actually the second time that happened to me in my lifetime.

It was not long after that point that I was actually fired from that station. I harped on quality in our product. I was told that quality was not a consideration. It was explained that the station is merely a tranmission service. It was compared to AT&T. AT&T, being a phone company, provides the service of communications across their phone network. They don't care what is said, data is carried, or if nothing is carried on their network. They only care about supplying the transmission service for the customer and the customer paying for that service.

I apparently mentioned quality once too often, since when I was acquainting a new employee to the job, we had a frank discussion on quality. He was a young hot shot DJ that played Black Gospel on another station previously and thought that he was the absolute best that God had to offer to any radio audience. He wasn't all that, I can tell you. He was probably one of the cockiest guys in radio that I had met in a long time. He was talking about the great quality job that he was going to do there. I told him that I had been in radio for over ten years at that point and that WTIK was unfortunately not very interested in quality, and he would see that for himself.

It was during that summer, of 1994, that I met my future wife, Teresa. I took her to the station often while we were dating. It was actually encouraged by the man who was the operations manager at the time. He was a young man who worked at WFTK, was easy going, and wanted to build a team for a quality work for God. He was obviously at the wrong radio station for that. He quit after a while, he went back into financial planning, dropped his radio program from the station, and I rarely ever heard from him again. I remember that his first name was Scott, but forgot his last name. I remember meeting his wife, whom I liked. I can't remember her name, though.

I looked up WTIK on Wikipedia a bit ago. I don't know who wrote the information there, but it is erroneous on several facts. I was there when the station was made into a Contemporary Christian station. I was there at sign on and helped build the programming. The years listed are incorrect. Wikipedia is sometimes accurate, sometimes off. They actually have a track record that is on par with Encyclopedia Britannica, I read, so some stuff can be trusted.

Some of the stations that I have mentioned here are gone. They have changed ownership or formats over the years. WRTP acquired an FM translator in Raleigh, an AM station in Mebane, in Garner, and an FM in Roanoke Rapids. They are gone and under new ownership now. WTIK is still on the air, and I found their current coverage map online. It is a bit exaggerated. Trust me. The only station that has not wavered in the local Christian radio market is WPJL.

On a side note, another station that I used to work for, WBZB, is for sale yet again. It was under contract when I worked there. I already wrote about that some time ago. The station was sold for $1000. Yup, just a grand. The dishonest old bastard who owned the license owed me back wages, at least according to the court system. He could have given me the license and I would have called it even, but nnnoooooooooo! I had a legal judgement against him and he turned around and sold the license for $1000 instead of just giving it to me and satisfy the judgement. Figures. It ended up as a local music format (which was doomed to fail. I knew it as soon as I heard the new format concept) then it became WTSB after being sold for $1.3 million.

Lord, how I do miss radio. I don't miss the dishonesty that I ran across from different so called Christian employers or radio stations. I don't miss the lack of desire for quality, but I sure do miss the business of radio. I would rather do that than just about anything else, I do believe.

I saw these today. Thought you might enjoy them.

Pumpkins

A friend of mine sent me a nice picture of a country store with a bunch of jack o' lanterns. It is a reminder that it is now autumn. Pretty nice. Below is the picture followed by the picture I sent in return. When she got the picture I sent, I got this response via email: "You really are not wrapped very tight are you?"

Want to read something stupid?

I ran across this a bit ago on someon'e personal web site. It is a countdown clock to the next Presidential Innauguration. It ticks down the years, months, days, and hours. The caption is "Countdown to George W. Bush's last day in the White House and the restoration of legitimacy, honesty, integrity, morality and justice in Washington." Yeah, right. Like ANY Demorcrat (or Republican for that matter) will restore any of that. And, like Bush is anywhere near as bad in the ideas of legitimacy, integrity, morality, or justice as his predecessor. Does anyone REALLY believe that only the office of President has the power over honesty, integrity, morality, and justice in Washington D.C.? Try adding the other 535 voting members of Congress in addition to the 9 Supreme Court Justices and the rest of the federal judiciary. As long as we keep electing the same sorts of people (who in turn appoint or approve others, too), we will have little of the aforementioned virtues.

This bonehead's site is here.

An insomniac post

It is about 3:20 in the morning on Tuesday as I am writing this. I have tried falling asleep for a few hours now. My eyes are pretty heavy, as they have been all afternoon since powerwashing the remainder of my fence. The spray of dirt, algae, and water can really make your eyes tired.

A couple of things. I have still yet to even receive the courtesy of a response from the Etheridge campaign about an interview. Not even a "no" or a "we'll think about it". So I believe that I can effectively discount that possibility at this point.

As a result of this, I now feel comfortable with a permalink for the Mansell interview rather than the initial introduction via web download freebie services. HERE is the link to hear the interview via Real Player If you don't have the Real One Player yet, it is a decent media player, CD burner software, and the like.

I have so many ideas for civic service and things I would love to accomplish if only I had the time. These thoughts have kept me up for hours. I have also thought about things I want to do to modify an AR-15 rifle, what I want to accomplish tomorrow (actually later on today) as far as work around the house. I can choose from activities such as lawn edging, power washing the house and shed, power washing the driveway and walkways, trimming the hedges in the back yard, or nothing at all. I am on vacation this week, so I can do what I want. I do know that I will end up sleeping late today, once I finally do fall into unconsciousness.

UPDATE: It is not about 5:15 AM. I just finished writing my column for October 5th. These next two columns are either going to excite or really piss people off. They are, none the less, my opinion and truthful to the best of my knowledge and ability. The column really is about my opinions.

I have been thinking about starting a monthly gathering, maybe every other month. I have been wondering about maybe having an open discussion and social gathering night at a local establishment. The whole idea is to foster a sense of community. I have even thought about inviting a speaker to come once in a while. Whether that speaker is a candidate for elected office, a town official who will take Q&A, a community leader of some form, or whatever, I don't really care.

I was thinking that if we just gather, get to know one another, discuss common issues, and act like neighbors over a meal, a snack, or an adult beverage, then we can come together more as a community. If you are a Selmite and are interested in something of the sort, let me know. My email and phone number are on the right side of this blog.

Anyway, off to take care of a few things then maybe fall asleep. Please don't wish me "sweet dreams". Actually, no dreams would be preferrable. I rarely get out of REM sleep and into deep sleep. A sleep study confirmed this, but my bonehead doctor offered absolutely no suggestions for alleviating it.

Every time I watch it, I get choked up

I am sitting in the living room with the laptop on my lap and am watching "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". I own the DVD and it has recently been on the premium cable channels. We went to see the movie in the theater when it first came out. I read the book a few times years ago.

Every time I see this movie, I get choked up over the parallels to Christ and the love demonstrated by the character Aslan. I also enjoy the family interaction in the movie. I always feel a strong tug on my heart about fighting for what is just and righteous and against the forces of evil when I see this movie.

Few movies actually move me to being a bit emotional. This is one, and Mr. Holland's Opus is another. For those who have not seen "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", I do highly recommend it.

It's just a classic skit

E! television ranked this skit as the #5 most memorable moment on Saturday Night Live. The countdown was running repeatedly over the past week.

Check out the new "LaPlante's Rants" store

I worked some on an online store for stuff with the LaPlante's Rants logo to help promote the column. Feel free to take a look at the online store and get yourself a calendar, tote bag, mug, or shirt. I guarantee that the prices on the site are not gouging for profit. I wish I could afford to just give them away, but I can't.

East Coast Old Furniture Festival

The wife and I went to "uptown" Selma today to see the East Coast Old Furniture Festival. There were some booths along Railroad Street and at TWM Antique Mall (the former Pepsi plant) grounds. We did meet a few people who are column readers. One individual did not seem overly interested in introductions, but did call out a barb at me, which is fine. If you ever watch the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), one thing that wrestlers want is either a huge positive or negative reaction. Neutrality or indifference is death in that industry. I sort of look at it in that same way.

I saw one thing that interested me, which was an ancient Eastman Kodak camera from early in the 20th Century. It was cool to see that. Other than that, nothing else really interested me, certainly not for the prices asked.

We left uptown and went to the Cotton Mill to the auction house. We drove away from there with a station wagon full of items for under $40.

While sitting inside the nice dry auction building, the town got douched with a huge downpour. I kept thinking that I was glad that I was not at the Old Furniture Festival at the moment, but feeling bad for all the dealers, visitors, and others involved with the show. A lot of furniture and other assorted items were all outside. Many were under tents, but the wind was strong and the rain heavy. I hope that all went well.

Pursuant to that trip uptown, I have written my next "LaPlante's Rants" column. This should be interesting.

Decent interview

A few days ago, I watched an episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher". Normally, I find myself wanting to throw a brick through the television when I see Bill Maher. This time, I noticed that Benjamin Netanyahu was a guest on the show. Surprisingly, Maher gets it right on a good many things during the interview. He is of course biased in his skewed view of what Christians believe. However, he did allow Netanyahu to speak the straight forward truth.

You can watch the full interview online here. I saved the video file, so if anyone needs a CD copy, let me know.

The interview goes to the heart of Israel's battle with Iran and to their relationship with the U.S.

Still no answer from Bob Etheridge

As you readers know, I interviewed Dan Mansell, candidate for U.S. Congress. The interview is available online. I can also provide the interview on CD if anyone wants. It was posted in this blog about the interview and where to find the interview.

Thus far, I have not heard anything from the Bob Etheridge campaign. I extended the same offer to the Bob Etheridge's office as I did to the Mansell campaign. I left messages for his press secretary, but no reply yet. I realize that Mr. Etheridge is a busy man. Even a note of decline would be proper. Oh, well.

I know that someone has been searching blogs for entries about Bob Etheridge and found my blog as a result. The metric tool I use showed me the web search.

Meth labs

OK, so meth lab busts are supposedly down because of enforcement and restrictions on purchase of common cold remedies. But now foreign drug cartels are filling the void with massive production in Mexico and Central America. Now can I finally go back to purchasing some Pseudafed to relieve nasal congestion without having to sign a log book like I am a citizen of a communist state or a convicted felon?

Here's the article.

Islamic feedback

Here is some feedback I got on a post on this blog. You should be able to see it in the comments left on the individual post. Following the feedback, you will read my response, which was emailed directly to the individual.

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polaristar wrote:

As a blogger, I suggest to you to read the Quran and the life of Prophet Muhammad saw. And try this website- http://www.answering-christianity.com/ac.htm

http://www.harunyahya.com/


http://www.thisistruth.org/

Thank you

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My reply:

I have already read all I need to on the subject, thank you.

Muhammad declared Jesus to be a prophet. By definition, a prophet speaks the truth of God. Jesus declared "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the father except by me." (John 14:6) Either Muhammad was wrong in saying the Jesus was a prophet, therefore making himself a false prophet; or Jesus was correct and Muhammad was wrong in saying that Islam is the truth. Either way, Muhammad was a false prophet and Islam is a false religion.

Oh, I know the ignorant will claim that the Bible is corrupt, such as on http://www.answering-christianity.com/contra.htm. That sort of unscholarly and ignorant approach is so far from the truth it isn't funny. Considering that there are more early copies of the Jewish and Christian scriptures found in their original languages than any other manuscript on history, your supposed Muslim scholars merely parrot atheist claims.

If you expect me to give any sort of credence to a supposed prophet like Muhammad (shame be unto him) that came nearly six hundred years after the Messiah was sacrificed for my sin; that worships the pagan moon god (allah) of his tribe; and demands my conversion, death, or taxation, forget it.

This is coming...every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL. (Romans 14:11)

How much more do we need to close the border?

If this isn't enough lip service to get the United States to act and actually do something about our porous border with Mexico, I don't know what it will take. Probably another actual attack on the country. Click here for the full article.

Al-Qaida warns Muslims: Time to get out of U.S.
Afghan terror commander hints at big attack on N.Y., Washington
Posted: September 17, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

The new al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan is calling for Muslims to leave the U.S. – particularly Washington and New York – in anticipation of a major terror attack to rival Sept. 11, according to an interview by a Pakistani journalist.

Abu Dawood told Hamid Mir, a reporter who has covered al-Qaida and met with Osama bin Laden, the attack is being coordinated by Adnan el-Shukrijumah and suggests it may involve some form of weapon of mass destruction smuggled across the Mexican border.

"Our brothers are ready to attack inside America. We will breach their security again," he is quoted as saying. "There is no timeframe for our attack inside America; we can do it any time."

A few thoughts

I'm sorry, but this is not at all sexy. On The Drudge Report, I see a few articles on how some European nations want to ban size zero fashion models. These women are not representative of the populace as a whole, give a bad representation to all women as to how they need to look, and are just plain not attractive. Skin stretched across a skeleton is not at all beautiful. Someone give this woman a sammich.

I travel all around eastern NC, sometimes towards Charlotte. Twice this week, I was in Elizabeth City. Why is it that gas prices in Elizabeth City are twenty six cents less than they are here in Selma? We have the pipeline and fuel terminals right here in town, so it can't be because of transportation costs compared to Elizabeth City. I don't get it.

Yeah, right.

Looking for something at which to shake your head, chuckle, and think to yourself, "Wow, is that a stupid statement!"? Here you go.

This quote comes from the article I just linked you to:

"The pope and Vatican proved to be Zionists and that they are far from Christianity, which does not differ from Islam. Both religions call for forgiveness, love and brotherhood"

The Clinton Whitehouse couldn't have come up with lies that bad. The Vatican has NEVER been Zionistic. Actually, they are pretty anti-semitic. Islam calls for forgiveness, love, and brotherhood"? Kill the infidel. Yeah, that, is forgiveness and brotherhood.

According to jihadwatch.org, the perspective of Islam is "Christianity does not differ from Islam," that is, in its Qur'anic form, which rejects the doctrine that Jesus is the Son of God and says that those who hold it are under Allah's curse (9:30). From the Islamic perspective, true Christianity is identical to Islam; it just doesn't happen to exist anywhere in the world today."

In another entry on the same web site, I read "Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, tells us that there's no such thing as a moderate Muslim, because, you see, "we follow the true teachings of the religion and the true teachings do not teach us to bomb and kill people without reason...The West tends to blame religion, they blame Islam for whatever happens and associate Islam with terrorism".

Well, all the hijackers on 9/11/2001 were Islamic. The insurgents in Iraq are Islamic. The acts of terrorism in Indonesia, London, Paris, and numerous other cities were Islamic. I don't see anyone taking over airplanes in the name of Jesus. Who is this guy Allah, and what does he have against airplanes? Jesus was nailed to a cross. I don't go ballistic whenever I am on something made of wood.

Here are some sites that are resources on the evils of Islam.
Answering Islam
The Islamic Threat
Terror Tracker
Victims of Jihad
The Religion of Peace

I have to disagree with Sheriff Steve Bizzell on this one

A drug dealer gets busted in Smithfield for selling drugs from his place of business. The business is right next door to the court house and the Sheriff's office. The sheriff says "It never seems to amaze me how stupid drug dealers can be sometimes." I tend to think the other way around. The man must have been pretty smart, since he sold drugs right under the nose of the largest law enforcement agency in the county. He obviously kept the business going and was able to peddle his poison as deputies walked right by. Tell me again...who was the stupid one?



Police: Downtown Cocaine Distribution Business Busted - Police have shut down a cocaine distribution business operating in the same block as the Johnston County Courthouse, in downtown Smithfield . Hyper Innovations, at 221 East Johnston Street , Suite C, shared the same lobby with the Department of Juvenile Justice. Police claim the owner, Ronnie Eugene Whitley, 49, of Smithfield was using the computer repair business as a front to distribute cocaine. There were also signs the business had been used for prostitution, according to investigators, but there was not enough evidence to charge the owner. A customer inside Hyper Innovations, 46-year-old Linwood Earl Wiggins of Smithfield , was caught with cocaine and ecstasy in his possession, when agents raided the business on Monday. Officers said from Whitley's office window he could clearly see sheriff's deputies cars parked outside the Johnston County Courthouse. Sheriff Steve Bizzell told WMPM, "It never seems to amaze me how stupid drug dealers can be sometimes. They go to any length, and apparently anywhere, to sell their products." Whitley was charged with maintaining a store to sell a controlled substance. Wiggins was charged with possession of cocaine and ecstasy.

In the paper

In today's "The Selma News", I can finally read what I missed on Tuesday night. It seems that town management is resolute in the intention to do away with the water tower behind Selma Cotton Mill. I am still perplexed at this insistance. I hear from others who are just as bewildered.

The Council voted to allow detectives to take home their work vehicles rather than pay a monthly fee. I see nothing wrong with that. We are talking a paltry sum for their availability after hours.

The town has enacted a 2% hotel occupancy tax. I normally am not in favor of any tax increase. This type of tax is probably the least heinous that can be levied. A two percent tax is not bad. A $50 hotel stay will cost just $1 more. I have stayed at hotels in many towns and cities. Two percent is not bad compared to what I have seen elsewhere. Try staying in Charlotte and see what kind of tax you get hit with. The tax is not going to be paid by local residents, since locals usually don't stay at local hotels. As long as we don't jack up the tax rate to a punitive level that would deter hotel visitors, then we should do fine.

Rosie, you ignorant lesbo!

Yes, we live in a fallen world. I expect worldly people to say and do worldly things. The best we can hope for is to be salt and light to the rest of the world. Every once in a while, I hear something so blatantly ignorant that I make note of it.

Rosie O'Donnell. Now I could stop there and just leave it alone and everyone would understand what is blatantly stupid. But she is at it again, this time with a statement so blindly ignorant and bigotted, it is inconceivable to my mind.

I remember the old Saturday Night Live news parodies when Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd were doing the "Weekend Update" bit. Ackroyd had a catch phrase, "Jane, you ignorant slut!" In our day, we can say, "Rosie, you ignorant lesbo!"

Check out this web page on newsbusters.org. It shows how just yesterday, Rosie was on "The View" and said "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America."

Rosie O'Donnell obviously knows nothing about either Christianity or Islam. That has to be one of the stupidest statements I have ever heard in my entire life. For more, just see web page I linked you to for other stupid quotes that the liberal ignorami on that show have been spouting. It will really make you wonder, "Where did my country go?"

Be glad that Jim Hunt is NOT our current Governor

OK, so I just posted the Hazleton, Pennsylvania ordinance about illegal immigration. Every so often you see something so incredibly stupid that you just want to scream. I was doing some surfing this evening and found the below news bite about former NC Governor Jim Hunt wanting to give illegal immigrants in state tuition rates in our state university system.

Mr. Hunt, just what part of the term "illegal alien" do you NOT comprehend? These people do not belong in this country, much less in this state. The Hunt administration encouraged waves of illegal immigrants in this state by inept policies. Under his watch, North Carolina became a national security risk by freely handing out drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. His policies have allowed many illegals receive government subsidies at taxpayer expense.

Illegal aliens already abuse our health care system, flood our hospitals and clinics, get welfare, food stamps, and some are trying to give the Social Security benefits. Why in the world should we continue to subsidize them by helping with their higher education? Of course in state tuition rates will be at taxpayer expense.

Legal citizens in Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, or any other state can not get in state tuition rates here in North Carolina. These potential students may have been born and raised here in the United States, already held jobs and payed taxes and payed into the Social Security system. They may be spectacular athletes, exemplary citizens, totally law abiding, and even wonderful scholars. However, someone who broke the law by entering this country and continues to scoff at the law by remaining here will get lower tuition rates than any of these students if Mr. Hunt's idea is undertaken.

When are the citizens of this state and nation going to firmly stand up and tell our lawmakers "NO FREAKIN' WAY!" Why do people even think the way that Jim Hunt does? It is totally beyond my comprehension that anyone would want to give away the entire farm, so to speak. Why do we allow ourselves to literally be invaded and then give the invaders food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, and accommodate them with materials and services in their own language?

The whole idea of giving in state tuition to illegal aliens is just plain unfair to our legal citizens, our taxpayers, and any student that has to pay out of state tuition rates in North Carolina. It is also unfair to every alien waiting to legally enter this country for a better opportunity. Rewarding criminal behavior is not only unfair and fiscally irresponsible, it is just plain morally corrupt.



Hunt Wants In-State Tuition Rates For Illegals
(WPTF)--Former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt says colleges need to be more affordable for children of illegal immigrants.

Hunt told higher education experts at a conference that those children should be able to pay in-state tuition at the state's public universities instead of the nonresident fees.

The four day conference in Chapel Hill saw Hunt proposing affordable college for illegal immigrants as a way to get a more educated work force.

Dave Haley - WPTF News
Copyright: Curtis Media Group
Wed Sep 13, 5:35:47 PM EST

Travelling and lack of time

Last night was the monthly Selma Town Council Meeting. I didn't get to attend, since I was on the interstate on the way home when the meeting began. Actually, the meeting seemed to still be going when I passed by on the way home. I have no idea whether I missed anything of major importance or not. I guess that I will just have to wait to read it in the paper like everyone else if there was. If anyone reads this and knows what I may have missed, please drop me a line. I looked for a meeting agenda on the town's web site, but didn't find one.

Since I am not even on the council and it is not my job to be at the meetings, I don't feel too bad about not being there. I don't want to end up like Jimmy Fallon's character in his passion towards The Boston Red Sox in "Fever Pitch" (a cute movie). I do, however, want to have an active role and interest in town affairs. I thought about postponing my day trip one more day just so that I could attend the meeting, since I was not sure what time I would be home. At one point, it looked as if I might just make it on time for the start of the meeting. Instead, I missed it by over an hour. Oh, well. That will not be the case if I am ever on the council, however. Work will just have to wait or be scheduled around council affairs.

Mixed in with all of this is my desire to have a life of my own. I am often pulled in many different directions with civic duties, work, friends, and those who desire my assistance. To some things I need to learn to say "no" and to others merely be patient and continue to perform.

Illegal immigration ordinance

For those who have read my recent column in "The Selma News" about illegal immigration, I wanted to post here the content of the Hazleton, Pennsylvania ordinance. Here is the entire ordinance, which can also be found online here. I wish that the Town of Selma had the fortitude to do the same. There are a few reasons as to why the Town Council, with its current population will not pass such an ordinance. One of which is that under Hazleton's ordinance, they themselves would get fined by the town.


ORDINANCE 2006-10
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION RELIEF ACT ORDINANCE

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HAZLETON AS
FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. - TITLE
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “City of Hazleton Illegal
Immigration Relief Act Ordinance.”

SECTION 2. - FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE
The People of the City of Hazleton find and declare:

A. That illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, contributes to overcrowded classrooms and failing schools, subjects our hospitals to fiscal hardship and legal residents to substandard quality of care, contributes to other burdens on public services, increasing their cost and diminishing their availability to lawful residents, and destroys our neighborhoods and diminishes our overall quality of life.

B. That the City of Hazleton is authorized to abate public nuisances and
empowered and mandated by the People of Hazleton to abate the nuisance
of illegal immigration by diligently prohibiting the acts and policies that
facilitate illegal immigration and punishing the people and businesses
that aid and abet illegal aliens.

C. This ordinance seeks to secure to those lawfully present in the United
States and this City, whether or not they are Citizens of the United States,
the right to live in peace free of the threat of illegal alien crime, to enjoy
the public services provided by this city without being burdened by the
cost of providing goods, support and services to any whose presence in the
United States is contrary to its laws and to be free of the debilitating
effects on their economic and social well being imposed by the influx of
illegal aliens to the fullest extent that these goals can be achieved
consistent with the Constitution and Laws of the United States and the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS

Whenever used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
“City” means the City of Hazleton.
“Contract employer” means any person who obtains the services of one or more
individuals through a day labor agency.
“Illegal Alien” means any person whose initial entry into the United States was illegal and whose current status is also illegal as well as any person who, after entering legally, has failed to leave the United States upon the expiration of his or her visa.
“Legal Work Status” means that a person’s employment is not in violation of any law of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or this Ordinance.
“Vehicle” means a vehicle as defined in Pennsylvania Vehicle Code as the same now reads or may hereafter be amended.

SECTION 4. BUSINESS PERMITS, CONTRACTS OR GRANTS
Any entity or any parent, affiliate, subsidiary or agent of any entity (other than a charity recognized as exempt from federal income taxation under Sec. 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and which has obtained and continues to have in force an exemption from federal income taxation), that employs, retains, aids or abets illegal aliens or illegal immigration into the United States, whether directly or by or through any agent, ruse, guise, device or means, no matter how indirect, and even if the agent or entity might otherwise be exempted from this section, or violates any provision of this Ordinance, shall from the date of the violation or its discovery, whichever shall be later, be denied and barred from approval of a business permit, renewal of a business permit, any city contract or grant as follows:
(1) For the first violation for a period of five years,
(2) For any subsequent violation, for a period of ten years.
A. “Aids or abets” includes, but is not limited to:
(i) hiring or attempted hiring of illegal aliens,
(ii) providing, renting or leasing real or personal property to illegal
aliens,
(iii) funding or providing goods and services to illegal aliens, except as
provided in Sec. 4 C.,
(iv) funding, providing goods and services to or aiding in the
establishment or continuation of any day labor center or other entity
providing similar services, unless the entity acts with due diligence to
verify the legal work status of all persons whom it employs, provides
job assistance for or in any way assists or facilitates in obtaining any
employment.

B. Except as provided in C., any action or failure to act done within the
boundaries of this City that aids and abets illegal aliens or facilitates their
avoiding detection and apprehension anywhere in the United States, its
territories or possessions violates this Ordinance.

C. This Ordinance shall not be construed to prohibit rendering emergency
medical care, emergency assistance or legal assistance.

SECTION 5. RENTING TO ILLEGAL ALIENS

A. Illegal aliens are prohibited from leasing or renting property. Any
property owner or renter/tenant/lessee in control of property, who knowingly
allows an illegal alien to use, rent or lease their property shall be in violation of
this section.

B. Any person or entity that violates this Ordinance shall be subject to a fine of
not less than $1,000.00.

C. A separate violation of this Ordinance shall be deemed to have been
committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.

SECTION 6. ENGLISH ONLY

A. The City of Hazleton declares that English is the official language of the City.

B. Unless explicitly mandated by the federal government, the state of Pennsylvania
or the City of Hazleton, all official city business, forms, documents, signage
will be written in English only.

SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY

If any part of provision of this Chapter is in conflict or inconsistent with applicable provisions of federal or state statutes, or is otherwise held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such part of provision shall be suspended and superseded by such applicable laws or regulations, and the remainder of this Chapter shall not be affected thereby.

ORDAINED by Council this 13th day of July, 2006.
ORDINANCE PASSES JULY 13, 2006

WTC and September 11th

A lot of press is being given to the Sept. 11 anniversary. I have no problem with that whatsoever. I am glad that we are remembering the occasion. More importantly, I am glad that people are being reminded that we have enemies in this world.

I watched the ABC movie, "The Path to 9/11" last night. Part 2 is on this evening. It is a factually based "docudrama". ABC was threatened by Bill Clinton and his camp if the movie was shown without editing out scenes that made his administration look bad. ABC executives had the guts to air the whole movie, anyway. The movie can be seen online here, as well.

I read some comments from liberals that said that this movie is just propaganda by right wing extremists. Sorry, but ABC isn't exactly a right wing organization. Facts are facts. ABC worked to base their dramatization on facts, not pure fiction, as Michael Moore tends to do.

I shared this photo several times in the past. I want to share it again. Over the past five years, there has been a lot of talk about rebuilding the World Trade Center. There have been artist renderings, memorials planned, and a lot of just plain hype. I do believe that there is an artist rendering for a proposed replacement WTC that I find the most appropriate. It gives the sentiment to Islamic fascist terrorists that WE ARE STILL HERE and are NOT GOING ANYWHERE. If only we had the guts to build this building with a message to those who oppose us.

Interview

Earlier today, I got the chance to spend some time with Congressional candidate Dan Mansell. We talked for over an hour and recorded an interview.

If you want to download the interview, you can get the Real Audio version, which is about an 8 meg file, or the mp3 version, which is 64 megs of audio.

I enjoyed talking to Mr. Mansell. He is a Republican, but certainly is more conservative than most Republicans I have ever spoken to. That was a refreshing change. He had a lot to say and took a decent amount of time to express himself.



If you would like a CD copy of the interview, contact me.

I made the same offer to the Bob Etheridge campaign. It will be interesting to see if Congressman Etheridge's office accepts the offer.

I would be real upset if I lived next door

On Highway 70, not far from here, there is a church that is going to build a new building on an empty field/lot. Right next door, there is a house that is no the market for over $600,000. There are other houses that are in the half million dollar range in the immediate vicinity.

I am all for freedom and especially for freedom of religion. However, it is pretty darn irresponsible of the church leadership to 1. spend the sort of money that they are on a new building. Church is not a building. THE Church is people. I don't care if The Church meets like bears with furniture in a cave. To saddle a congregation with debt for such a purchase and a new building program is man's plan, not necessarily God's. 2. To build a church edifice in the middle of a residential neighborhood such as this is just plain irresponsible and gives the rest of "churchianity" a bad reputation.

If I owned one of the neighboring houses, especially for the price they go for, I would be livid. My property value would go down and the resale would be very difficult. There is one house that has been for sale a few times in the last year. The asking price is, as I said, over $600,000. There have been three or four realtors representing that property over the past year. No wonder they can not sell that house. Who would want to buy that place with a construction site about to open next door? And the view being totally ruined? And heavy traffic in and out of your neighborhood, especially when the road dead ends in your driveway?

Speaking from experience, I know that congregations of the one I assume will be building there that they can be rather loud on Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings, and whenever the choir/praise team has practice.

Sorry, but this is just damn irresponsible. I don't know who the elders of this congregation are, but I hope you read this blog entry. If they do, this next part is for them:

You are irresponsible in that you are squandering the money that sheep are giving to you, and that money was given in the belief that it is "for the work of the Lord". You are fleecing the sheep for your own little kingdom. You are being incredibly irresponsible in that you are inflicting undue and very inappropriate financial harm upon your new neighbors. You are setting yourselves up for an unhappy relationship with those around you and are about to sow strife and animosity towards you, all "in the name of the Lord". Give up your plans for this abomination, find out what the Body of Christ really is, and stop stealing from your parishioners and neighbors.

Check out the site

In my upcoming column, I address some of the issues that are on this web site, such as immigration. Look over this site for information on what is heading your way.

Water tower stuff

My wife was reading the news today and reminded me about a news story I read yesterday and even emailed to myself. I have written about the water tower in town that the town's management wants to tear down. I have a problem with the idea of spending thousands of dollars just to take down a water tower that is sitting harmlessly and has for years. It costs nothing to let the tower stand.

The argument is that the tower is an eyesore and that the town is hypocritical by demanding that property owners clean up their eyesores. Sure, we have our own. However, the town has already done a lot to improve the looks around town. We have layed off employees and cut spending. Now the town still wants to spend thousands on the demolition of a water tower that is not bothering anyone. I find that to be a bit arrogant in thought that regardless of these circumstances, that tower is coming down one way or another.

There are still other creative ways of taking down this tower. Let explosive ordinance teams for the military or even with bomb disposal crews of larger city police departments practice on the tower. Find a scrap metal dealer who wants the metal after the tower is taken down to come and get the heap of what was the tower.



We still have not tried govdeals.com yet for anything, including the tower. I have looked in times past and seen water towers for sale from different municipalities. Just don't waste my tax money on something so stupid as this. There is no public outcry to have the tower removed. It is just one or two peoples' pet project, contrary to the will of most everyone I have talked to in town. Most people do not see the need to spend the money to take down a stupid old water tower that is not bothering anyone. So why do it?



Old Selma Water Tank May Be Removed - An old water tank in Selma , out of service for a number of years, needs to come down, but officials haven’t decided on how. Estimates range from $6,500 to push it over and dismantle it piece by piece, to $12,000 to remove it with a crane. Some residents would like to see the water tank restored, but those estimates are around $120,000. The town owns the Anderson Street property the tank is situated on. Officials say if they want other Selma residents to take care of their property, the town must do its part and take care of their own eyesore. The town board will discuss what to do with the old water tank during their next meeting, on September 12.

Either they are a bunch of wussies or they want to globalize the U.S.

I have been sounding the trumpet about illegal immigration for a long time. Seemingly, little gets done. I am seriously considering joining with The Minute Man Project in a patrol of the southern border for my vacation.

This article just proves exactly what I wrote in my latest column in The Selma News, which will be printed Thursday.

Here are just the first few paragraphs of The New York Times' article.

September 5, 2006
G.O.P. Sets Aside Work on Immigration
By CARL HULSE and RACHEL L. SWARNS

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 — As they prepare for a critical pre-election legislative stretch, Congressional Republican leaders have all but abandoned a broad overhaul of immigration laws and instead will concentrate on national security issues they believe play to their political strength.

With Congress reconvening Tuesday after an August break, Republicans in the House and Senate say they will focus on Pentagon and domestic security spending bills, port security legislation and measures that would authorize the administration’s terror surveillance program and create military tribunals to try terror suspects.