ARE STATEMENTS OF FAITH EVEN ALLOWED?

The Supreme Court made a decision recently upholding that a law school can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that won't let gays join.

The Christian Legal Society has a statement of faith that you have to sign. From an article from The Contra Costa Times,

The CLS requires that voting members sign a statement of faith and regards "unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle" as being inconsistent with that faith.

The keyword there is "regards" and "unrepentant." That statement of faith would not exclude a homosexual from joining the group. It would only exclude someone who does not regard sexual immorality as described in the Bible as sin. It so happens that along with acts of homosexuality, performing acts of fornication and adultery are also regarded as sin. If you are participating in premarital sex in an unrepentant way, there is the same problem. An unrepentant heart does not acknowledge that sexually immoral behavior is sin and should be avoided. Desiring such behavior, but realizing that you shouldn't do so, has not crossed the line of regarding it as sin. Even engaging in such behavior is not necessarily "unrepentant." Certainly, according to Christian doctrine, it is clearly sin. But, we all sin and fall short, but our mind set as to whether we think the sin is "just fine" represents whether or not someone is being "unrepentant." If the CLS exculded every sexually immoral person from their group, their ranks would be very small indeed.

While homosexual people should not be denied to enter a Christian group, they should not be given special status either. All voting members must adhere and accept the tenants in the Bible. Why else should you have a say in decisions affecting the policies and activities of the group, if you don't accept the statement of faith that the group represents. Their policy in no way rejects unrepentant gays or any sexually immoral person from participating - only voting.

Since when can clubs and groups not define their own principals of membership? Never mind sexual orientation. It'd be like saying a Jihadist radical islamist could join and change all of the rules of the clubs with their vote. That is counter intuitive. Or, back to sexual orientation, it'd be like saying someone who advocates sexually immoral behavior could vote and completely change the purpose of the group. A group like CLS is there for support for the Christian law student. There is no point in joining as a voting participant, if you don't desire adherence to the precepts of the group.

GOOD JOB AP

Hooray. A MSM wrote a fair, comprehensive, true look at what the Tea Party movement is all about. It's very refreshing to see something like this coming from the Associated Press.

Take the time to read it. It's the most refreshing piece of reporting I have read in a very long time that didn't come from a blog. I'd copy the whole thing here, but it's fairly long - but worth the read.

DISRESPECT?

Tell me. Is it disrespect for President Obama to address the US Military in Pensalcola, FL in a coat without a tie? The military men and women were dressed with respect in mind. Why wasn't our Commander in Chief?

If it's hot outside, think of our troops in the deserts in Iraq. If you're trying to somehow get down on their youthful level, that is disrespect. They deserve more respect than any big wig anywhere....and attire can demonstrate that. There is a time and a place for casual wear. In a place where uniforms and respect are paramount, he should show up in "uniform" i.e., a white shirt and some combo of red or blue tie.... with a flag pin to boot. It may be trite, but we can expect some things from our president that simply respect the office and our military. He may want to be seen as "down to earth" or something, but he's not on the campaign trail - maybe someone should remind him of that.

PEEPING TOMS?

There is an article I read from Yahoo! News called, Feds under pressure to open US skies to drones. Here is an exerpt:

The obvious risks [crashing into things, mind you] have not deterred the civilian demand for pilotless planes. Tornado researchers want to send them into storms to gather data. Energy companies want to use them to monitor pipelines. State police hope to send them up to capture images of speeding cars' license plates. Local police envision using them to track fleeing suspects.

Google Earth shows how well satellites already demonstrate the clarity at which anyone can see the exact location of a building, such as a house. It sounds like these drones would get an even closer look - to the point of reading license plates.

I'm sure that these drones would be useful in some applications, but is that worth the potential of someone becoming a "peeping Tom" on someone. There would be no privacy, even in your fenced in backyard. I'm sure there would be laws that attempt to prevent that, but they would have no muscle on the front side of the crime, even if the recordings are monitored.

Wire tapping my phone because I'm a suspected terrorist is one thing; any foul play has to be a very proactive act by placing the wire tap in the telephone (or however they do it these days). Spying on me is quite another; foul play would be as simple as "mistakenly" pointing the camera on the drone in the "wrong place" as you scan for the right object - say a theif on the run.

There are privacy issues that we are having to forfeit due to the new dangers this terror filled world presents - shoes off at airport security for instance. But, risking my privacy for weather reporting or license plate reading? I don't think the cost/risk analysis is worth it. It makes the red light cameras already in use a miniscule issue, when it comes to privacy.

Maybe that's the point. Reach further and further into our personal lives so that the formerly taboo actions seem like no big deal. Whether it's the point or not, it is a result.

FORTY DAYS CATCHING ON

I was amazed today to find an L.A. Times article that really wripped President Obama for his leadership. I think they might have gotten a hold of the same day planner that the fellow in my previous "Forty Days" post did.

In the nearly eight weeks that the ancient oil has been escaping its subterranean imprisonment, Obama has found....

...time for a couple mini-vacations with golf, a dose of party fundraisers, healthcare town halls, TV interviews, a high school graduation, a festive White House lawn picnic with members of Congress, a Paul McCartney music hoedown, an ABC July 4th TV taping and a session with a key Palestinian leader.

Thursday Obama issued important statements celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau and King Kamehameha Day, and mustn't forget, Portugal Day.

This article has the harshest words I've heard from the MSM to date. They even utilized Palin's, "hopey changy" line using it as if it was their own.

Polls show Americans now seeing Obama less as the hopey-changey, swell-talking guy of 2007-08 but instead as a standard partisan Democrat. They are also more seriously disapproving of the White House CEO's handling of the spewing stuff.

The crux of the article was why Obama hasn't talked to BP's CEO yet. Following is a big chunk from the article that references back to Matt Lauer's interview on the Today Show, as well as some advice for the president.

RealClearPolitics' brilliant Tom Bevan noted, the real question is not can Obama handle an urgent 3 A.M. call anymore; it's why hasn't Obama initiated one to Hayward? Here's the excuse Obama gave NBC's Matt Lauer earlier this week:

"I have not spoken to him directly – and here’s the reason: because my experience is when you talk to a guy like a BP CEO, he’s going to say all the right things to me. I’m not interested in words, I’m interested in action."

The Harvard-educated inquiring legal mind doesn't need to talk to someone because he knows what they're going to say? The president who took four months of meetings to figure out his second Afghan troop surge doesn't appreciate words?

An incredulous Lauer pressed Obama, who also said he was looking for some "ass to kick." Obama replied:

"Look, this has been the main critique of the administration, is “giving a piece of my mind” to these guys. Look, I would love to vent. I would love to just shout and holler because I’m thinking about this day in and day out. But my main job is to solve the problem."

But you know what? Truthfully, that's not the main critique at all. The main critique is Obama's constant reaction to crises like a campaigning pol, not like an elected leader.

This is silly simple to have to do, but if solving the problem really is the president's Job One, here's a hypothetical Obama-Hayward conversation the day after the leak began:

PRESIDENT: "Tony? Barack here. I'm terribly sorry about the loss of your people down in the gulf. That's awful. But listen, Rahm tells me we've got a pretty darned serious new problem down there right now. Well, Rahm used other words. But you get the point.

"And it could be August before that stuff stops leaking. I know my Justice Department has launched a criminal probe and your lawyers are probably listening in nervously right now. (Nervous laughter).

"But, look, why don't we let the investigation find whatever it finds later? We may be kicking your company's ass in public someday.

"But right now, I'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse. From a legal and PR point of view, it's to your short and long-term advantage and the nation's advantage and, Lord knows, the wildlife's advantage -- and, let's be real here, mine too -- to get this spill stopped asap. This is new territory for all of us. I and my people propose to publicly work and speak with you and your people jointly for now to make that happen and get this job done as quickly as humanly possible. What do you say?"

HAYWARD: "Yes, sir."

To be fair, there is a political price to such a practical ploy. A politician like Obama would have to forfeit, for now, having another corporate suit to blame as the bad guy.

But it would be leadership.

I think I can safely say that Obama's honeymoon with the press (at least the LA Times) is officially over.

SEVEN

Psalm 12:6,
"And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified 7 times."

I read this today and I noted the number 7. I know that the number 7 is an important number in the Bible, but I wanted to know better, why that is so. I googled, "seven bible" and found a very thorough and informative text that satisfied my understanding.

The gist is that the number 7 represents completeness. Read the whole text. It's amazing.

40 DAYS

I found the following list of events of the 40 days proceeding the gulf oil spill in a comment from an excellent article written by Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal, called "The Alien in the White House." The comment speaks for itself.

Glenn P Morris replied:

There is a crass detachment in the man in the White House which jumps out at you when you see how he actually spends his time - playing!

I found this post, the 40 days of Obama, lifted from the daily agenda of the current occupant in the WH:

40 DAYS OF OBAMA

Day 1 – April 20
Explosion in Gulf
Obama returns from L.A. - fundraiser for Baraba Boxer

DAY 2 – April 21
Obama attends reception for G-20 Labor Ministers

DAY 3 – April 22
Obama hosts Rose Garden reception to honor earth day
Obama flies to NYC to push Wall St Bill

DAY 4 – April 23
Hey, let’s go on vacation to Ashville North Carolina
Lunch at Twelve Bones for ribs and mac & cheese
No worries! How about a mountain hike?
Obama squeezes in a round of golf!

DAY 5 – April 24
Let’s go golfing again — at Grove Park Inn
A nice gourmet dinner at the Biltmore

DAY 6 – April 25
A scrumptious brunch at Grove Park Resort

DAY 7 – April 26
Obama hosts NY Yankees for White House event

DAY 8 – April 27
Obama visits Iowa for rhubarb pie at Jerry’s Diner

DAY 9 – April 28
Obama flies to Missouri for lunch at Peggy Sue's Diner

DAY 10 – April 29
Obama attends DNC fundraiser at swank DC residence

DAY 11 – April 30
Obama flies to MD to view Secret Service binoculars

DAY 12 – May 1
Obama joins Leno for comedy routine at WHCD

DAY 13 – May 2
Obama finally visits Lousiana

DAY 14 – May 3
Obama hosts the Navy football team

DAY 15 – May 4
Obama private lunch with Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel

DAY 16 – May 5
Obama hosts Cinco De Mayo party at White House

DAY 17 – May 6
Just chillin’. Summers gives updates on economy

DAY 18 – May 7
Wizbangs give Rose Garden speech on ‘economy’

DAY 19 – May 8
Obama hits links at Ft Belvoir
Dining out at ritzy DC restuarant — Komi!

DAY 20 – May 9
Obama gives commencement speech at Hampton U.

DAY 21 – May 10
Hey, during a crisis, let’s pick a SCJ!

DAY 22 – May 11
Private (golf?) lunch with Joe Biden

DAY 23 – May 12
Obama hosts private reception for President Karzai

DAY 24 – May 13
Obama flies to Buffalo for Duff's hot wings

DAY 25 – May 14
Obama finally makes speech on oil spill in Rose Garden

DAY 26 – May 15
Enough of the oil spill stuff… Obama off to golf!

DAY 27 – May 16
Obama golfs (again!) at Fort Belvoir

DAY 28 – May 17
Obama hosts UConn women’s basketball

DAY 29 – May 18
Obama tours plant in ‘Ohio’ (um, oil spill’s in LA!)

DAY 30 – May 19
Obama hosts glitzy state dinner for Calderon
Dance the night away!

DAY 31 – May 20
Obama meets with Bono for some reason

DAY 32 – May 21
Obama Rose Garden speech on… Wall St reform

DAY 33 – May 22
Obama goes golfing again at Andrews Air Force base

DAY 34 – May 23
Obama discusses basketball with Marv Albert

DAY 35 – May 24
Obama hosts Asian American celebration

DAY 36 – May 25
Obama flies to San Fran to party with Getty Oil family
…And raise millions for Barbara Boxer

DAY 37 – May 26
Obama spends day 2 in CA — with fellow economic wiz Gov. Schwartznegger

DAY 38 – May 27
Obama welcomes the Duke Blue Devils
Obama, Clinton hang with the U.S. World Cup team
Obama hosts party for Jewish Americans
Obama family heads off for a weekend vacation

DAY 39 – MAY 28
Obamas back in Chicago for weekend vacation
…Obama interrupts vaca for some PR

DAY 40 – MAY 29
Obama leaving U Chicago after some basketball…
…The Obamas heading out for an evening of barbecue

DAY 41 – MAY 30
After a night of barbecue and beers, let’s hit the gym!

Truly, I do understand that the president of the United States has a very tough, taxing, and stressful job. A round of golf or two makes sense to decompress once in awhile. OTOH, the list shows the things Obama is comfortable with: sports, campaigning, enjoying the luxuries and privileges that come with the office (such as plane trips to dinner and visiting with national stars from music to sports), and generally being in the limelight. For the heavy stuff, he assigns czars and committees with very high profile people to figure it all out. At least we know that tax payer money isn't overspending on hand soap, because this president doesn't like to get his hands dirty.

DISTURBING

It is fairly common knowledge among the right of center people that the MSM heavily favors their own leftist agenda and even proactively hides or mischaracterizes anything that opposes or contradicts its validity.

We've seen it vividly with the Tea Party protests, and then in other ways that happen daily, such as the hypocritical demonizing of infractions of someone on the right and then giving a pass to someone on the left for the same infraction - small or big.

Today, however, another instance came up that I find hard to rationalize, even for the MSM. It has to do with a protest at Ground Zero yesterday that was asking that the Mega Mosque not be built so close by. Around 8000 people showed up. I first saw it at Atlas Shrugs via Instapundit.

I was expecting to see it on the Today Show this morning, but there wasn't a peep. Their building is in New York. This story should have hit a close nerve and be an obvious big time story.

I googled "Ground Zero Protest" and found it reported at a number of independent blog type of sites. The only MSM I saw was at CNN and the NY Daily News.

It makes me so sad. I read the CNN and New York Daily News articles b/c they will be seen by a bigger population than the bloggers would. As you can imagine, the bloggers are sympathetic. Ever an optimist, I expected the bigger news outlets to treat this protest with more compassion.

Mimicking the same under estimating of crowds, CNN said,

Geller said the NYPD and security at the rally told her about 5,000 demonstrators were there. But NYPD spokesman Sgt. Kevin Hayes said the police department's policy is to not provide crowd estimates and that he could not confirm Geller's number.
CNN iReporter Julio Ortiz-Teissonniere, who attended the rally and sent photos to CNN, said the number was closer to 200-300 while he was there for the first 45 minutes of the event. All three said the protest was peaceful.

The builders claim that they're trying to boost Islam relations with the community,

The Cordoba Initiative aims to improve relations between Muslims and the West.

I believe that even the speculating of doing this will only aggravate any hostility that is already there. I think that people have been very disciplined about not placing the hate on the non-radical Muslim. But, I don't think this will have a positive effect on relations - it is more likely to cause a riot or actual hate among anyone who utilizes the building. And, they couldn't resist implicating the Tea Partiers, in a racist light,

Local political leaders turned out in support of the community last month after Mark Williams of the conservative Tea Party Express reportedly said the mosque was for "the worship of the terrorists' monkey-god."

This should not be a political issue. It is an emotional one. 9/11 brought our country together in a way we haven't seen a very very long time. It was a time of unprecedented unity (in my generation, anyways). This should be a no-brainer. If 5000-8000 people showed up, that is 1-3 people per victim on 9/11. The MSM is either ignoring or mischaracterizing the event. Knowing how much this offends me, 3000 miles away and not personally knowing any of the victims, I can only imagine the outcry of the negative coverage. Just add a zero or two to those numbers.

If the supporters of the building of this Mega Mosque truly desire better relations between the Muslim community and others, they should voluntarily cease the planned construction, and apologize to the victims, acknowledging that providing this community center is not fostering the good will that they intended. No harm intended. The continued demonization of the "good guy" is disheartening.

"To make room for peace there can be no room for hatred, bigotry or prejudice," City Councilman Robert Jackson said at the May 20 demonstration.

Admittedly, this blog entry has been one-sided in showing the reporting. That is because the tone and/or lack of coverage offended me. And, I know I'm not alone in that. I am not trying to be a news outlet. I express my opinions. If you want to read the whole article to get the full context, follow the links above.

APPEAL FOR PRAYER AT CC

As I reflect on the fact that America has lost its way, in terms of trusting in God for the big problems and direction of our country, I looked back to the Constitutional Convention to see how and if they appealed to God. It wasn't hard to find. Benjamin Franklin made an appeal to seek God's guidance in the big task of creating the man made government. His words are eye opening, as to the similar difficulties that mere man faces in governing themselves. The difference then is that they did indeed appeal to God, and the US Constitution was born. That document has carried our country a long way. It's only now when it is being ignored or misunderstood that we are losing our way as a country. We must return to appealing to God for help in our self governance and embrace once again the ideas He inspired in the founding of this great nation.

Benjamin Franklin's Constitutional Convention Address on Prayer
American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank ^ | June 28, 1787 | Ben Franklin
Posted on February 7, 2010 3:28:48 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege

Mr. President:

The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other -- our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own wont of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.

In this situation of this Assembly groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. -- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance.

I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall be become a reproach and a bye word down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human Wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.