Lessons from Gettysburg

By Dale Weckbacher

When I was in school, I did not understand why they made us study history.  Why would I want to learn about the past?  The past after all is the past and there is nothing we can do about it.  However, as I have grown older I now understand that the reason for studying history is so we can learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure not repeating them. 

This week marked the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.  It was a celebration attended by thousands (1) but not the current president.  (2)  Instead, Obama participated in a video recitation of the address but even then failed to recite the address as written by Lincoln by leaving out the words under God.  (3)  Let us take a moment and look at what we can learn from Gettysburg so we are not destined to repeat its mistakes. 

The Battle of Gettysburg was part of the Civil War, a time when the very fabric of our nation was torn in two.  The point of contention dividing our nation that had escalated to hostilities was the issue of slavery.  This issue was a point of contention for our nation from its inception with many of our nation’s founders expressing their abhorrence of slavery.  (4)

Slavery was a hotly debated topic at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  (5) (6)  Liberty was the main theme of the convention but there was disagreement among the members as to the definition of liberty.  A majority, mostly representing northern states, believed in liberty for each individual, which meant the abolition of slavery.  However, some, mostly from the southern states, believed liberty meant protecting the right to own slaves.  Unfortunately, the block of southern states supporting the protection of the right to own slaves prevented a two-thirds majority necessary to adopt the new constitution and language abolishing slavery was dropped from the final draft of the constitution to insure its adoption.  (5)  This contention over slavery continued to escalate and eventually led to succession and the Civil War.

The bloody battle of Gettysburg lasted for three days from July 1 to July 3, 1863.  (7)  The Confederate troops had gained an upper hand in the first two days of the battle.  This led General Lee to believe his troops were on the brink of victory.  On the third day of the battle, Lee only sent in three divisions (preceded by an artillery barrage), or fewer than 15,000 troops.  Under the leadership of George Pickett, (7)  in what would become known as Pickett’s charge, the Confederate troops began their charge starting with the artillery attack.  However, the Union army followed with an artillery barrage of their own.  Barely half of the Confederates survived the Unions barrage and the Confederate troops had to retreat to shore up their defenses after the failed assault.  (7)

This defeat was demoralizing for the Confederacy and even led to General Lee offering up his resignation to President Davis.  President Davis refused his resignation but the damage was done.  The now demoralized Confederate Army retreated to Virginia.  (7)  The now encouraged Union Army was able to go on and defeat the Confederacy, which eventually led to the abolishment of slavery in the Constitution with the adoption of the thirteenth amendment, thus correcting the mistake of the Constitutional Convention’s failure to address the issue in 1787.  (8)  Unfortunately, it took a bloody war and bloody battle at Gettysburg for the leaders of our nation to realize they needed to address this issue. 

Not unlike the divisiveness of the issue of slavery, we are now a nation divided.  Even though many on the liberal left would want us to believe slavery still exists, we have settled that issue legally in our nation as evidenced by the election of the first black president.  The divisiveness of our nation today is class warfare.  Rather than bettering themselves to improve their economic status, many today would rather enlist the help of the government to take income from the producers of our nation and have the government redistribute it to them.  Left unresolved, this divisive issue could lead to another Civil War with those desiring the wealth of the producers of our nation resorting to force to confiscate their wealth.  This is where we must learn from the lessons of the Civil War and deal with this situation now. 

Unfortunately, opportunistic politicians from both parties in Washington DC are empowered and receive votes from those desiring the wealth and income of our nation’s producers.  In the 2012 Presidential election, Republican candidate Mitt Romney was maligned for his comment about the 47%.  In his comment, Romney stated that 47% of Americans pay no income tax.  Romney actually understated the number as the real numbers indicate that more than 50 percent of Americans actually pay no income tax.  (9)  The 2012 election results also demonstrated the accuracy of Romney’s comment with a majority of the nation voting for Obama, the candidate promising more wealth distribution. 

Is it any wonder we see companies and individuals seeking ways to park some of their wealth and income overseas in an effort to escape the liberal progressives wealth distribution strategy in our nation.  So how can we convince the elite in Washington who benefit from this class warfare to change course?  The answer lies in our states. 

Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution allows amendments to the U.S. Constitution through two different methods.  The first method, and the one that has led to all of the current amendments to our constitution, is that by two-thirds vote of the congress, amendments are sent to the states for ratification.  When four-fifths of the states ratify the amendment, it is added to the Constitution.  (8)

However, our founders, envisioning a time in our future when Washington would no longer be in touch with the interests of the citizens, devised a second method for amending the Constitution.  Instead of two thirds of the Congress proposing the amendments, the amendments would be proposed by two thirds of the states at a convention.  These amendments would then be sent to the states and upon four fifths of the states passing the amendments the amendments would become law, thus bypassing Washington DC.  (8)

Mark Levin, in his most recent book “The Liberty Amendments” outlines how this process would work and proposes various amendments for the convention to consider.  I have provided a link to purchase the book from Amazon in the upper right hand portion of this page and highly recommend purchasing and reading the book.  I also understand that the book is available at some public libraries so people can check it out and read it for free. 

In a recent development, this convention may actually become a reality with President Pro Tem, David Long of the Indiana Senate calling for an assembly of state delegations in Mount Vernon on December 7, 2013.  (10)  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and draft an agenda for a “Convention of the States” to establish rules for an Article V Convention of the States.  This is a good starting point and I urge each of you reading this to petition your state to participate in this gathering for we still have time to end this divisiveness before it escalates into another Civil War. 

1. Fox News. Thousands gather to commemorate 150th anniversary of Gettysburg Address. www.foxnews.com. [Online] Fox News, November 19, 2013. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/19/ceremony-will-mark-150th-anniversary-gettysburg-address/.

2. Wolfgang, Ben. Obama diss: President snubs historic Gettysburg 150th anniversary ceremony. m.washingtontimes.com. [Online] The Washington Times, October 31, 2013. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/31/obama-no-show-gettysburg-150th-anniversary-fete/.

3. O'Connor, Larry. OBAMA REMOVES 'GOD' FROM GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, November 19, 2013. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/11/19/Obama-Removes-God-From-Gettysburg-Address.

4. Barton, David. The Founding Fathers and Slavery . www.wallbuilders.com. [Online] Wall Builders, July 2011. [Cited: November 2013, 2013.] http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=122.

5. Confederate Past Present and Future. The Gathering Storm Debate Over Slavery at the Constitutional Convention, August 21-22, 1787. www.confederatepastpresent.org. [Online] [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.confederatepastpresent.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100:debate-over-slavery-at-the-constitutional-convention-august-21-22-1787-&catid=41:the-gathering-storm.\

6. The Constitutional Convention of 1787. law2.umkc.edu. [Online] [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/convention1787.html.

7. The History Channel. Battle of Gettysburg. www.history.com. [Online] The History Channel. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-gettysburg.

8. Hillsdale College. The Constitution of the United States of America. [book auth.] Hillsdale College. The U.S. Constitution: A Reader. Hillsdale MI : Hillsdale College Press, 2012.

9. Hobson, Jeremy. The numbers behind Mitt Romney's 47% comment. www.marketplace.org. [Online] Marketplace Campaign Trail, September 18, 2012. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.marketplace.org/topics/elections/campaign-trail/numbers-behind-mitt-romneys-47-comment.

10. Kelly, Niki. Long pushes 'Mount Vernon Assembly'. www.journalgazette.net. [Online] The Journal Gazette, November 14, 2013. [Cited: November 23, 2013.] http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131114/LOCAL0202/131119679.

The Belt of Truth: The Foundation of The Armor of God

By:  Dale Weckbacher

I was once driving in Phoenix and stopped at a red light.  I saw a young man walking across the street.  He was wearing baggy pants and running across the intersection to get to the other side before the light changed.  Since his pants were baggy, he was holding them up with his hand.  My first thought was, get a belt.  I say this to stress the importance of a belt in our wardrobes. 

In Ephesians 6:14a, Paul begins his listing of what constitutes the armor of God with a belt.  When I think of armor, a belt would be one of the last things I would think off yet Paul mentions it first.  This is because our context of a soldier is a modern soldier, which includes a gun strapped over their soldier, body armor, etc.  In order to understand why the Apostle Paul would considers a belt first in his list of the components of the armor of God we must look at the context in which Paul is writing. 

Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while under house arrest in Rome.  (1)  As such, the Apostle Paul would have been under Roman guard.  His context of what constitutes a soldier would have been the Roman guard guarding him.  Here is a picture of a Roman guard from that period to help us have the same perspective as Paul did.  (2)

We can see from this image that the belt holds the scabbard for the soldier’s sword.  The belt also provided support for the breastplate and served to take some of the weight off the soldier’s shoulders.  (3)  We also see that there are strips of leather hanging from the belt that protect the soldier’s lower body.  (4) 

The Belt also served to keep the soldiers garment up just as belts today keep our pants up.  Without a belt to secure the soldiers garment, it could fall as the soldier ran into battle and cause the soldier to trip or fall.  

Just as a Roman soldier would put on his armor before battle, we too must do as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:13 and put on the whole armor of God, beginning with the Belt of Truth.  Our sword, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), hangs on our Belt of Truth and is readily available.  The Belt of Truth also takes the weight of the breastplate of righteousness off our shoulders because the truth of the Gospel tells us we are not saved by our own righteousness (Isaiah 64:16) but by the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:21).  The Belt of Truth also keeps our lives together so we do not stumble in battle (Proverbs 4:12).

Jesus provides the perfect example for us of living a life girded with the Belt of Truth and said , "I am the way, the truth, and the life (Emphasis added).  No one can come to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 NLT) This would be an arrogant statement if it would have come from anyone else but since it came from the Son of God, it is truth.  (Matthew 16:16-17, John 1:1).  Even when Jesus faced death by crucifixion, Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king to which Jesus answered by saying that He came to bear witness unto the truth (John 18:37). 

We who believe in Jesus as our savior are also called to bear witness to the truth for Jesus said just before his ascension, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”  (Mark 16:15 NLT)  This is what Jesus meant when he taught at the Sermon on the Mount and told us we are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).  In Jesus time salt was more than just something added for flavoring, it was also a preservative because they did not have refrigeration as we do today.  We who have the truth of Jesus Christ in our hearts act as a preservative for this world when we share the truth of the Gospel with others. 

Politically our world is currently in a very dark place.  1.2 million babies are aborted every year (5) and most of these are so the mother can continue to live promiscuously without having to be weighted down with the responsibility of a baby.  Our politicians campaign promising people who have been taught to depend on the government free and affordable health care, (6) only to find out they will be losing their insurance, doctor, and be paying more for health care.  (7) (8) (9) 

This is what occurs when people become dependent on government instead of on the one who said He was the way the truth and the life.  However, this presents a tremendous opportunity for us who have the truth in our hearts.  Jesus came to bear witness to the truth and then passed that on to us before ascending to Heaven. 

Our neighbors, the people we work with, and even people we briefly meet are hurting.  The things they believed were truthful such as their wealth or government have failed them.  They do not know where to turn for truth.  They are depending on us to give them the Belt of Truth so they too can put on the whole armor of God and withstand the onslaught of the enemy in the spiritual war we are engaged in.  Will you join me in spreading the truth?

1. Zavada, Jack. Book of Ephesians: Introduction to the Book of Ephesians. christianity.about.com. [Online] About.com. [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentbooks/a/Ephesians.htm.

2. Annoyz View. Hardships of the Roman Soldiers. annoyzview.wordpress.com. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://annoyzview.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/hardships-of-the-roman-soldiers/.

3. Dondubois. The Belt of Truth. www.dondubois.info. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://www.dondubois.info/armor/the_belt_of_truth.html.

4. Bible Study Guides. Lesson 2 The Belt of Truth. www.freebiblestudyguides.org. [Online] [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://www.freebiblestudyguides.org/bible-teachings/armor-of-god-belt-of-truth.htm

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5. Enriquez, Lauren. Abortion Statistics: 1.2 Million Babies Die Every Year From Abortions. www.lifenews.com. [Online] lifenews.com, July 1, 2013. [Cited: September 4, 2013.] http://www.lifenews.com/2013/07/01/abortion-statistics-1-2-million-babies-die-every-year-from-abortions/.

6. Ellerson, Lindsey. President Obama Continues Questionable “You Can Keep Your Health Care” Promise. abcnews.go.com. [Online] ABC News, July 16, 2009. [Cited: October 25, 2013.] http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/07/president-obama-continues-questionable-you-can-keep-your-health-care-promise/.

7. Roy, Avik. The Obamacare Exchange Scorecard: Around 100,000 Enrollees And Five Million Cancellations. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, November 12, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/11/12/the-obamacare-exchange-scorecard-around-100000-enrollees-and-five-million-cancellations/.

8. Reuters. UnitedHealth drops thousands of doctors from insurance plans: WSJ. news.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo News, November 15, 2013. [Cited: November 19, 2013.] http://news.yahoo.com/unitedhealth-drops-thousands-doctors-insurance-plans-wsj-030014903--finance.html.

9. Coca, Onan. Obamacare Fans Get Sticker Shock. eaglerising.com. [Online] Eagle Rising, October 9, 2013. [Cited: October 29, 2013.] http://eaglerising.com/2162/obamacare-fans-get-sticker-shock/.

Beware of Democrat Trojan Horses

A long long time ago in a place called the Senate, a young Jedi knight, Ted Cruz stood up for 21 hours warning the citizens of the emperor’s devious plan known as Obamacare.  After Cruz's 21-hour speech, the emperor’s minions, and even some of those supposedly in Ted Cruz’s side lambasted him claiming his claims were false and that Obamacare would be great for the citizens.  However, as the emperor’s devious plan was unveiled, the citizens began to realize that the young Jedi was indeed right and there was unrest in the realm.

This would be a very entertaining story if it were just a story but unfortunately, it is the truth even though it  may seem like it happened a long long time ago, it has occurred in less than two months.  If only we had heeded the warning of our young Jedi Ted Cruz and defunded or delayed the devious plan of emperor Obama, maybe five million people would not have lost their health insurance.  (1)  Now, the emperor, fearing an electoral rebellion in the realm in 2014, is attempting to fix the problem by offering to let people keep their illegal plans.  This may seem like he is admitting Ted Cruz was right but the emperor’s gift is actually a Trojan Horse. 

Even before Obama’s comments, Republican Congressman Upton, the same congressman that banned the incandescent light bulb (2) was proposing legislation allowing people to keep their health insurance plans if they liked them.  On the other side of Capital Hill, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and many of other Democrats in the Senate are proposing their own legislation.  Their purpose is to prevent Republicans from gaining a majority in the Senate in the 2014 election, which would result in Harry Reid losing his position as majority leader.  However, unlike the Upton legislation, the Landrieu legislation does have teeth.  (3) 

The teeth involve a little known provision in Obamacare that contains a partial bailout for insurers with losses greater than 3 percent in any of the first three years.  (4)  With Obama now allowing people to keep their plans and with the fact that insurers know they will receive a bailout when they lose money reinstating these plans, the fix is in place.  This is why I refer to these apparent gifts to conservatives as a Trojan Horse eventually costing taxpayers potentially billions of dollars. 

This Trojan Horse could also result in the implementation of single payer in three years as well.  This is because the bailouts end after three years and if insurers are still required to sell these cheaper plans while still having to cover people with preexisting conditions, they will still be losing money.  However, without the protection of government bailouts, these companies will no doubt go broke. 

Under this scenario, people will once again be losing their insurance plans since their insurer will go out of business.  However, this time, they will have nowhere to go since all but a few insurers will remain in the market.  With less competition in the market, premiums will rise along with deductibles and copays.  Of course this scenario is perfect for those wanting single payer, with the government being the single payer. 

Opportunistic Alinskyites that cannot let a crisis go to waste will step in to save the day by providing free health coverage through the government.  Of course anyone with any commonsense left understands that nothing from government is free.  Government run single payer health care will come at the expense of decreased liberty, higher taxes, and rationed care. 

I am therefore urging the Republicans in the House and Senate to reject both the Upton and Landrieu bills by revealing to the public the Trojan Horse imbedded in these pieces of legislation.  They also need to inform the public about the unconstitutionality of the President’s actions.  Granted, the President's actions may temporarily fix the problem of those losing their insurance but they will have a detrimental long-term effect on insurance markets.  This will eventually lead to the collapse of the private insurance market and the implementation of government run single payer health insurance. 

I urge everyone reading this to go back and look at what Ted Cruz was trying to say in his 21-hour speech.  Obamacare is a disaster and the only solution to the problem is a complete repeal of the legislation.  However, I am not foolish and understand that the current Harry Reid run Senate will not even consider repeal legislation and even if they did, Obama would never sign the legislation. 

This is why Ted Cruz was proposing defunding and delay of the legislation.  Even though his words fell on deaf ears and were ignored by RINO Republicans in the Senate, things have now changed as the American People have experienced first-hand the disastrous train wreck of Obamacare.  Since Ted Cruz’s speech, the American People have experienced the incompetency of their government to develop a simple ecommerce website even after spending $634 million.  (5)

Proponents of Obamacare were quick to claim that the $634 million figure was high citing that the contract with CGI only totaled $93 million.  (6)  However, the $634 million figure also includes the cost of a massive data hub, call centers, network security, training and support, financial management systems and all other information technology services that support the website.  (5)

Since Ted Cruz offered his warning on Obamacare, we have seen an estimated five million people lose their health insurance coverage (1) and being turned over to an overpriced website that does not work and when it does offers them plans costing more than what they had.  (7)  The chance to defund, delay, or even repeal this disaster has never been better. 

I urge conservatives in the Tea Party and political avengers reading this posting to once again flood the emails and phone lines of Congress calling for defund or delay of this legislation before the end of the year.  We must do this before December 31 for after then, people will begin filing their 2013 income taxes and either be fined for not having health insurance or receive a subsidy if their income is below the threshold.  If delay or defunding occurs after December 31, people will either have to file an amended tax return to get back any fines assessed on their tax return or receive a letter from the IRS telling them their subsidy was declined. 

Ted Cruz has been proven right even beyond what many of us could have expected.  Let us not let his efforts go to waste for there is still time to end this disastrous train wreck before it is too late. 

1. Roy, Avik. The Obamacare Exchange Scorecard: Around 100,000 Enrollees And Five Million Cancellations. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, November 12, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/11/12/the-obamacare-exchange-scorecard-around-100000-enrollees-and-five-million-cancellations/.

2. Erickson, Erick. Just Say No to Fred Upton. www.redstate.com. [Online] Red State, November 9, 2010. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/11/09/just-say-no-to-fred-upton/.

3. —. Yes, It’s a Trap. www.redstate.com. [Online] Red State, November 16, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.redstate.com/2013/11/14/yes-its-a-trap/.

4. Freddoso, David. Now we find out what’s in it: Obamacare’s taxpayer bailout for health insurers - See more at: http://www.conservativeintel.com/2013/10/25/now-we-find-out-whats-in-it-obamacares-taxpayer-bailout-for-health-insurers/#sthash.mSugnzLU.dpuf. www.conservativeintel.com. [Online] Conservative Intelligence Briefing, October 25, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.conservativeintel.com/2013/10/25/now-we-find-out-whats-in-it-obamacares-taxpayer-bailout-for-health-insurers/.

5. Flahos, Kelly. Just how much did HealthCare.gov cost? www.foxnews.com. [Online] Fox News, October 11, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/10/11/just-how-much-does-healthcaregov-cost/.

6. Kessler, Glenn. How much did HealthCare.gov cost? www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, October 24, 2013. [Cited: November 16, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2013/10/24/how-much-did-healthcare-gov-cost/.

7. Coca, Onan. Obamacare Fans Get Sticker Shock. eaglerising.com. [Online] Eagle Rising, October 9, 2013. [Cited: October 29, 2013.] http://eaglerising.com/2162/obamacare-fans-get-sticker-shock/.

We Are In an Unconventional Battle for the Heart of Our Nation

I have to admit, there are times when I feel like giving up in the fight to save our nation.  Also like all of you, I work hard getting out the word on the issues, which candidates I believe offer the best solutions, and most importantly, leadership to lead our nation in the direction it must go.  Then either my candidate loses or he or she does not govern as he or she campaigned. 

However, the more I look at what is going on in our nation and the direction it appears to be going, the more I realize that this battle we are in for the heart of our nation is not just a conventional battle.  As such, waging war in this battle requires unconventional weapons and an unconventional strategy.  The good news is that we have access to these weapons and are not alone in waging this unconventional war. 

The battle for the heart of this nation goes beyond what we can see with our natural eyes because it is not just a battle for the nation and its constitution but also a battle for the hearts of individuals.  Since we are not God and unable to look into the hearts of men and women, conventional weapons are not sufficient.  Granted, we may be able to win a few elections and battles but in the end, our efforts fail.  This is because the hearts of men and women are inherently evil (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6).  However, the good news is that there is free heart surgery available that is not subject to Obamacare (Romans 10:9-10). 

I know secular thinking teaches us that men and women are born innocent and good but that is actually not so.  Any of you reading this that have children know this.  We may be the best parents on earth and yet our children will misbehave at times because of the inherent evil or sin in their hearts.  This sin and evil in their hearts is not our fault and has its root back with our original parents, Adam and Eve.

When God created the earth and everything in it, including Adam and Eve, God declared that it was good (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,24).  God put Adam and Eve in the perfect Garden of Eden and gave them one simple command "You may freely eat any fruit in the garden except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die.”  (Genesis 2:16-17).  (NLT)  Unfortunately for all of us, Adam and Eve did not heed the Lords warning for they fell for the serpent, Satan’s, deception. 

The deception began when the serpent twisted God’s words to mean he would not let Adam and Eve eat from any of the fruit in the Garden (Genesis 3:1).  Eve responded by saying that they were only forbidden from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center of the garden (Genesis 3:2).  Satan responds by telling Eve she will not die but will become just like God and know everything, both good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5).  The deception was complete, Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, and evil entered the world and the hearts of men and women.  However, even in the middle of this tragedy, God provided hope when he told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."  (Genesis 3:15 NKJV)  Since the woman does not have the seed, the man does, this must be speaking of a special man and a special birth.  That man is Jesus the Messiah who was born of a virgin just as foretold in Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23) and it is only through Him and his death burial and resurrection that the evil and sin can be removed from the hearts of men and women. 

The deception of the serpent in the Garden of Eden has not changed.  The evil we see in our world, including in the politics and government of our nation and other nations of the world is rooted in pride and a desire to know everything and be in power.  This is why our efforts alone using the conventional political system of elections and government are insufficient to solve the problems with our government because it does not address this inherent lust for power.

In Ephesians 6: 11-12 we are told, “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.  (NLT)

God’s armor consists of the following

1)      The belt of truth

2)      The breastplate of God’s Righteousness

3)      Shoes of peace that come only from the Gospel

4)      The shield of faith

5)      The helmet of salvation

6)      The sword of the Spirit

This does not mean we are to totally abandon the conventional parts of the battle (i.e. elections, rallies, etc.) but we must also engage in the underlying spiritual battle for the heart of our nation.  This will be the purpose of Wednesday’s postings for the next six weeks.  These postings will take an in depth look at each of these weapons and how we can become more effective in their use.  Let us consider it spiritual weapons training.  Until next Wednesday, continue praying for our great nation.  

The Coming Electoral Earthquake.

It is true that election results mean something but off year elections are always hard to gage.  This is because unlike Presidential elections where there is a massive advertising blitz and national attention, off year elections are typically local and have low turnouts.  This brings me to the elections in New Jersey and Virginia this week and what I believe they are telling us. 

In Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe won the election for governor with 48% of the vote.  Republican Kenneth Cuccinelli received 45.5% and Libertarian, or so called Libertarian, Robert Sarvis received 6.6%.  (1)  Many of the so-called election experts interpret this election result to mean that the Tea Party is finished and cannot win elections.  They arrive at this interpretation because Cuccinelli ran as a Tea Party Republican.  I believe this is a shallow knee jerk reaction to what occurred in this election. 

First, a look at how much money each candidate spent reveals that McAuliffe spent $32,838,441 whereas Cuccinelli spent $19,125,620.  (2)  McAuliffe spent almost twice as much on the campaign as his Republican opponent.  Since this is an off year election that does not get the attention of elections occurring in a presidential year, it is possible many voters were unaware there was even a Republican on the ballot.  Even if they were, it is also possible they did not understand Cuccinelli’s stance on the issues and based their votes on the smears they heard from the McAuliffe ads. 

McAuliffe also spent much of his money during the last three weeks of the campaign as the Cuccinelli campaign began to run out of money.  (3)  I understand that this is usually the case in campaigns where one candidate massively outspends his or her opponent but the most telling part of this election lies in why the Cuccinelli campaign was out spent by the McAuliffe campaign. 

Cuccinelli staffers pointed to a lack of financial support from the national GOP establishment and a series of public opinion polls suggesting the race was unwinnable.  (4)  This demonstrates the failure of the moderate establishment in the GOP to support its conservative base.  Their belief is that conservatism cannot win elections.  This belief goes back to the landslide defeat of Goldwater in the 1964 election.  I guess the two landslide wins by Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and the taking over of the House of Representatives in 1994 and 2010 do not count.  (5) 

There is also the fact that there was a third party candidate, a so-called libertarian, on the ballot that earned 6.6% of the vote.  I doubt seriously if any of that 6.6% would have voted for McAuliffe so it is highly possible that he siphoned enough votes away from Cuccinelli to cost him this election.  Even staunch libertarian Ron Paul called anyone voting for so-called libertarian Robert Sarvis insane.  He based his opinion on Sarvis’ support of a “mileage tax” in Virginia that would require people to install a GPS device in their own personal vehicles, hardly something a true libertarian would support.  (6) 

In addition, most of Sarvis’ funding came from a known Democrat bundler.  (7)  Following the money in this case reveals that the Democrats knew McAuliffe could not earn more than 50% of the vote and needed to plant a fake libertarian in the election to insure victory.  This reveals a dangerous strategy the Democrats might use in the 2014 and 2016 elections that conservatives and tea party candidates must be on the lookout for.  We must be sure to follow the money that reveals the third party candidate’s true stance on issues, revealing that they are not genuine. 

The Virginia election was winnable by the GOP if they would have supported their candidate and done a better job of revealing the funding and agenda of the fake libertarian candidate.  Now let us look at what the New Jersey election really meant. 

Governor Chris Christie easily won re-election by a 60.5 to 38 percent margin over his Democrat opponent Barbara Buono.  (8)  This wide margin of victory has prompted the GOP establishment to begin the coronation process for Chris Christie as the 2016 GOP nominee for President, claiming his wide victory margin demonstrates he is the best candidate to retake the White House. 

However, exit polling where pollsters asked voters if they would vote for Christie or Hillary Clinton for president revealed that Hillary Clinton would defeat Christie in New Jersey.  (9)  In other words, the GOP pick, the one they believe has the greatest chance of retaking the White House in 2016 cannot even take his own state, the state in which he is governor.  What would really be interesting is to poll people in Texas to see if they would vote for Christie or just stay home.  With Texas being critical to a GOP Electoral College victory in 2016, I believe this poll would be more revealing. 

The real reason for the large margin of victory by Christie in New Jersey is due to the lack of support by the Democratic Party for Buono.  There was also an extremely low turnout in the election.  (10)  Most of those staying home were probably Democrat voters since the Democrat Party did little to turn out their vote.  This will not be the case in 2016. 

The New Jersey victory by Governor Christie is not indicative of how he would perform as a Presidential candidate in 2016 because the turnout was low and little support was given to the democrat candidate.  The exit polls also show us that the blue state of New Jersey will most likely remain blue in the next presidential election.  Since Romney lost the 2012 election including New Jersey, Christie’s victory in New Jersey is not indicative of his ability to carry states like Ohio and Florida in the 2016 election and due to his speaking out against Senator Cruz during the recent shutdown, we have doubts that he would even perform well in the crucial red state of Texas. 

The bottom line in my opinion is that the Tea Party is alive and well indicated by the near win of Cuccinelli in spite of the lack of support from the GOP and a fake libertarian third party siphoning off votes.  In addition, the strength of Governor Christie is shallow as indicated by the New Jersey exit polls that show that in a presidential election, Christie will not even be able to win in his own state casting doubts on his ability to appeal to Republicans in states like Texas, Ohio, or Florida. 

So take heart fellow Tea Partiers and Political Avengers.  We are going to work hard and shock the electoral world in 2014 and 2016. 

1. New York Times. Va. Governor. www.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, November 6, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.nytimes.com/projects/elections/2013/general/virginia/map.html.

2. Kaplan, Rebecca. Could Ken Cuccinelli have won the Virginia governor's race? www.cbsnews.com. [Online] CBS News, November 6, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57611186/could-ken-cuccinelli-have-won-the-virginia-governors-race/.

3. Cillizza, Chris. The single most telling chart of the Virginia governor’s race. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, November 4, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/11/04/the-single-most-telling-chart-of-the-virginia-governors-race/.

4. Kunkle, Fredrick. Finger-pointing after Cuccinelli’s loss in race. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, November 6, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/finger-pointing-after-cuccinellis-loss-in-race/2013/11/06/7e7b57e2-4736-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html.

5. Winchester, Richard. Country Club Republicans Must Go. www.americanthinker.com. [Online] The American Thinker, October 5, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/10/m-country_club_republicans_must_go.html.

6. Lee, Tony. RON PAUL: 'INSANE' TO VOTE FOR 'LIBERTARIAN' ROBERT SARVIS. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Brietbart News, November 4, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/11/04/Ron-Paul-to-Virginians-Insane-to-Vote-for-Libertarian-Robert-Sarvis.

7. Beard, Sterling. Libertarian Candidate in Va. Gubernatorial Contest Bankrolled by Obama Bundler. www.nationalreview.com. [Online] The National Review, November 5, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/363138/libertarian-candidate-va-gubernatorial-contest-bankrolled-obama-bundler-sterling-beard.

8. Real Clear Politics. New Jersey governor - Christie v. Buono. www.realclearpolitics.com. [Online] Real Clear Politics, November 6, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2013/governor/nj/new_jersey_governor_christie_vs_buono-3411.html.

9. Montanaro, Domenico. Exit polls: Clinton beats Christie in N.J. in potential 2016 matchup. firstread.nbcnews.com. [Online] NBC News, November 6, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/05/21324042-exit-polls-clinton-beats-christie-in-nj-in-potential-2016-matchup.

10. Star-Ledger Staff. Christie-Buono race draws record low turnout for N.J. governor's election. www.nj.com. [Online] NJ.com, November 7, 2013. [Cited: November 8, 2013.] http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/11/christie-buono_race_draws_record_low_turnout_for_nj_governors_election.html.

A Strong Nation is Built on Strong Godly, Moral, and Virtuous Principles:

I work in the downtown area of Phoenix Arizona.  Like most big cities in our country, there are several tall buildings in the downtown area.  The tallest building in downtown Phoenix is the Chase Building, which is 40 stories tall.  These tall building stand in spite of the numerous dust storms and high winds that hit Phoenix regularly as they do all cities built in the middle of a dessert.  I have lived in Phoenix since 1964 and in that time none of the tall buildings in downtown Phoenix has ever fallen down because they are built on a solid foundation.

Likewise, our nation was founded on a solid foundation.  Not a foundation of the documents of the Declaration of Independence or Constitution for as documents, they are merely words written on paper.  No, our nation was foundation on the Godly principles mentioned in those documents.  Unfortunately, we now find ourselves at a time in our nation where these Godly principles are challenged and we find the solid foundation upon which our nation was founded being weakened.  Just as a tall building would fall in a storm if its foundation is weakened, our nation is now in danger of falling as its once solid foundation continues to be weakened. 

The founders of our nation warned us frequently of the potential fall of our nation if its moral Godly foundation crumbled.  John Adams said the following:

[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.  The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.  (1)

[W]e have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.  (1)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.  If "Thou shalt not covet," and "Thou shalt not steal," were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.  (1)

John Adams understood that a people free to elect their leaders who were not living their lives under the guardrails of Godly morality and virtue would elect leaders to office that would not honor the sacredness others property.  They would then be able to force people to surrender their property to government through governmental taxation and regulation and have it redistributed to them. 

For example, there are several cases coming to the Supreme Court this year that involve whether a Christian based company can be required to offer health insurance to their employees that covers contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs.  (2)  The reason this is even an issue is because we have a large segment of our population living immoral lives and as a result, they have unwanted pregnancies.  This voting block is able to elect leaders that pass legislation (i.e. Obamacare) that requires Christian based companies, and their employees, to cover their immoral lifestyles by paying higher health insurance premiums.  They see no problems with outsourcing thievery to the government to pay for their contraceptives and abortions. 

The Republican establishment always scolds conservatives that speak up on social issues such as abortion or gay marriage.  They tell conservatives to dwell on the economy and jobs for people vote with their pocket books.  I have one thing to say to the Republican establishment, social issues do affect the economy.  Faith based companies facing higher health insurance premiums will either close their doors, raise their prices, cut wages, or cut hours to pay for these increased expenses. 

Gay marriage is also an economic issue for the main reason gay couples want gay marriage legalized is so they can file a federal tax return as a married couple, which carries the lowest tax rate.  In addition, low-income gay couples will qualify for a larger Earned Income Tax Credit.  In addition, it will not take long for people of the same sex who may not be gay to figure out they can obtain a marriage license and file taxes as a married couple.  Of course this reduction in tax revenue will have to be made up by either raising taxes or cutting spending.  With big government liberals and RINO’s in power, which choice to you think they will make.  Once again, this social issue will have an economic effect on us all. 

It does not matter what the issue is, there is always an economic component, and usually when we determine the economic component, we discover the truth behind the issue.  For example, the environmental movement is not about saving the planet but about fleecing the producers in our country of their wealth and transferring it to environmental wackos in the form of research grants.  Once again there is an economic component in their agenda. 

Our country was founded and became great because moral and virtuous leaders governed it.  Granted our leaders have not been perfect and have had problems but for the most part, they have governed this country according to a firm moral foundation.  However, as a nation we have abandoned our moral compass and removed the guardrails of morality from our nation.  This has left a leadership void in our country that has been filled with immoral politicians interested only in staying in power, voted in by a people that have also lost their moral compass and are only interested in the goodies promised to them by their government. 

Fortunately, not all of us have lost our moral compass and these are the people I am talking to now.  It is time for us to speak up for what we believe in and ignore those trying to tell us to ignore the social issues and focus on the money (i.e. jobs and the economy).  There is nothing wrong with money but we must remember that money is only temporary.  Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount urged us to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).  We can build these treasures in heaven by giving money to our churches but I also believe we build treasures in heaven when we point people back to the Godly moral foundation that made our country great.  When we point people back to this solid foundation, we will begin to end this death spiral of dependency we currently are on as a nation. 

1. Wall Builder. Importance of Morality and Religion in Government . www.wallbuilders.com. [Online] Wall Builders, January 2000. [Cited: October 30, 2013.] http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=63.

2. Geidner, Chris. 11 Supreme Court Cases That Could Change The U.S. In The Coming Year. www.buzzfeed.com. [Online] BuzzFeed Politics, October 6, 2013. [Cited: November 5, 2013.] http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/13-cases-at-the-supreme-court-that-could-change-the-country.

Obamacare, A Bridge to Single Payer Health Care

Reality shows are taking over the airwaves.  I look at some of these reality shows and shake my head because they are often as far from reality as you can get.  About the only reality show that I like watching, besides sports, which is the ultimate reality show to me, is Duck Dynasty.  This is in large part because Duck Dynasty shares my Christian values.  If Obamacare were a reality show, I would probably think is was fantasy instead of reality.  Unfortunately, Obamacare is a reality, a reality we are all forced to live with. 

The ridiculous testimony of Secretary Sebelius this week would provide ample material for a season of the Obamacare reality show.  Here is just a sample

1)      “Men often do need maternity care.”  (1)  I guess the Obamacare reality show will feature a man giving birth and needing maternity coverage.

2)      “The system never crashed.”  (2)  Ironically, as she was saying this a screen shot of the website said, “The system is down at the moment.”  You cannot come up with better stuff then this for a reality show but it gets better.

3)      Then Obama chimes in with “"So if you're getting one of these letters, just shop around in the new marketplace.  That's what it's for."  (3)  Mr. President are you telling people to go to the website that was down when Sebelius was testifying.  I guess the Obamacare reality show will feature people being sent to the mall to shop only to discover the mall is closed, worse yet the mall is broken down and we have no idea when it will be repaired and open for business.

It makes us wonder why the Obama Administration would put up with such incompetence. Unless, it is not incompetence at all but part of a devious plan to bring about single payer healthcare.  Watch these videos, which reveal the real plan of Obamacare.  (4) 

Obamacare is designed to fail which is why Pelosi told us we had to pass it to find out what is in it.  Yes, the law states you can keep your current health insurance plan (5)  but there is a caveat.  If your plan is modified in any way (i.e. changing the deductible, co-pay, or what is covered) you lose the grandfather protection of your plan and if the plan does not comply with the standards of the Obamacare law, your plan becomes illegal and the insurance company has to cancel it.  In an effort to reduce premiums, many of us have seen our health insurance plans modified.  I personally can attest to the fact that my insurance through my employer was modified when the deductible increased from $1000 to $1500 and is no longer under grandfather protection. 

My employer did this in an effort to keep our contribution from increasing and to minimize their cost because even though the deductible was increased, the total cost of the plan actually increased.  Unknowingly, by attempting to keep costs low, my and I employer were actually stripping our insurance of its grandfathered protection.  As of yet I have not received a cancelation notice and I pray I do not. 

However, there as many as 2 million people who have received cancelation notices already and these are just those whose coverage expires on December 31, 2013.  Others will see their plans expire during 2014, which means millions more will face the possibility of cancelation.  This will constitute a health care emergency, which will demand attention.  This is just the opportunity Obama has been looking for to propose single payer healthcare for everyone to solve the emergency, the emergency he created. 

To insure the path to single payer moves along more rapidly, they created a website that does not work and send people there.  So now we have a situation where people are losing their insurance and have nowhere to go.  Then when these people go to do their income taxes this year, they will discover they have to pay a fine for not having insurance.  However, it is not necessary to go to the government for a solution for there are private sector solutions to the healthcare dilemma. 

In 2009 when the debate was starting on healthcare reform, I conducted research and wrote a paper outlining the cause of the problem of rising healthcare costs and a solution that targeted those problems using the free market.  Click on this link to read this proposal. 

The good news is that it is not too late for the nation to reverse course on this issue.  Yes, people are receiving cancelation letters but their insurance is still in effect until January 1, 2014.  If we delay Obamacare for 1 year before then, we can prevent these people from having their policies canceled.  With Obamacare delayed, people will no longer be required to turn to the failed website thus averting a healthcare emergency.  This will them give the conservatives in Congress the opportunity to propose alternative plans such as the one I proposed back in 2009. 

We continually hear liberals demand conservatives present their plan for healthcare reform painting the picture that all conservatives want is for people to be left to die without healthcare.  Candidates running for office in 2014 can then propose free market solutions to address the real problems behind the rising costs of healthcare and take these proposals to the people that have been disheartened by the failures of Obamacare during the past month.

The conclusion of the Obamacare reality show appears to be heading towards the full implementation of a single payer system with the federal government as the single payer.  However, that does not have to happen.  We can cause a twist in the plot of the show by rising up and letting our representatives know we want this madness to stop.  We must continue to flood their email inboxes and phone lines letting them know there are alternatives out there and we want Obamacare delayed so we can consider these alternatives. 

It's time to act so let’s get in the game.    

1. Chumley, Cheryl K. Kathleen Sebelius: ‘Men often do need maternity care’. www.washingtontimes.com. [Online] The Washington Times, October 31, 2013. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/31/kathleen-sebelius-men-often-do-need-maternity-care/.

2. Cook, Christopher. “System Is Down”: Sebelius Claims ObamaCare “Website Has Never Crashed”. tucsoncitizen.com. [Online] Tucson Citizen, October 31, 2013. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://tucsoncitizen.com/in-the-aggregate/2013/10/31/system-is-down-sebelius-claims-obamacare-website-has-never-crashed/.

3. Fox News. Obama: 'Shop around' if you lose your health insurance plans. www.foxnews.com. [Online] Fox News, October 31, 2013. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/31/obama-shop-around-if-lose-your-health-insurance-plans/.

4. WND. SHOCKING OBAMA VIDEOS REVEAL REAL GOAL. www.wnd.com. [Online] WND-TV, October 30, 2013. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/shocking-obama-videos-reveal-real-goal/.

5. Kessler, Glenn. Obama’s pledge that ‘no one will take away’ your health plan. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, October 30, 2013. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2013/10/30/obamas-pledge-that-no-one-will-take-away-your-health-plan/.

6. Weckbacher, Dale. Alternative Health Care Reforms. www.althealthcarefef. [Online] September 9, 2009. [Cited: November 1, 2013.] http://www.althealthcareref.blogspot.com/.