V for Vendetta is like A for Apathy...

Or is it America... I forget, oh well.

The movie V for Vendetta is a 4th of July tradition of mine, and its story is becoming more and more inspirational.

We look to our government to provide for us, instead of providing for ourselves. We cast responsibilities on our government, that belong to ourselves; and then complain that we dont like how they are performing. We fear what our government will do to us, instead of them fearing what we will do to them.

Complaining without action is useless, and useless is something we have invested in. America the proud, has become America the country squandered by its population. Where have our intelligent citizens gone? Have they moved on to countries that still promote capitalism?

I hate to sound like a silly high school student yelling "Anarchy!" and carving the famed "circle-A" into my school desk, but lets take a look at our government. Is it serving our purpose? Do they meet our agenda? Do they have our best interest's at heart? At this point in time, I would question if they even have a heart. Thats another topic entirely.

What will it take to get American's to stand and protest in the face of our governmental officials? I read in Europe where people protest outside the homes of their elected officials... Why don't we do that?

I cannot imagine what would happen if Michigan's governor woke up to an angry crowd outside her bedroom window. Yah, it is a little disturbing to see the angry mob at the capitol steps, I have been there, I have done it. I believe our politicians are starting to believe that this scene is "work as usual".

They are not listening to us. They continue to push their own agenda, in Michigan and in Washington. I think we need to raise the stakes a little bit. Why not take the protest to their home?

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting violence. I will admit however, that during the civil rights movement, they needed both Martin Luther King, Jr as well as Malcolm X.

The silent majority in America has been silent for too long, we need to be vocal, we need to flex some muscle. Our economy is flushing down the toilet, and we cannot take a day off to protest? Are we unable to march against our government?

Is this it? Have we actually given up on ourselves? Have we tossed in the towel; are we going to allow our once great country become just another piece of land?

At what point do we decide to sacrifice our luxuries to fight against our government? Why havent we started?

Sure we can mail a tea bag to a government official, I'm sure that will scare them.

When do we start opposing government? When do we start forcing them to listen? When do we stop with formalities, and start with strategic aggression?

When does the time come, that American's stand up for their rights, instead of allowing their government to take them.

When does A stand for America, and no longer for apathy?

Knowing the Goal

This morning I woke up wondering, what is our goal, as a Christian? Are we merely here to accept out forgiveness and thats it? Are we going to be accepted into heaven if we merely accept the call, and then do nothing?

In Philippians 3:14 Paul says "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." I couldn't help but wonder, what the goal he is talking about.

Is it to be received into heaven? It could be I suppose, but I dont think thats it. I think heaven is the trophy, not really the goal; trophy comes after achieving our goal.

I think that Romans 5:15-17 gives us our answer. It states "But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."

The offense, would be the sin of Adam, and all men. The gift, is the sacrifice of Christ, allowing forgiveness.

The other gift, righteousness, is in two parts. The countable part is the act of the gift, that is, Christs' sacrifice. The second part is the uncountable part: the state of being righteous, holy and pure. The second part is what we become after accepting the gift.

This statement is also supported in Philippians 3:9 that tells us that we are given righteousness, through faith in Christ, from God by faith.

Righteousness then, is our goal. We must strive to uphold state of being righteous, holy and pure, at God's standard, not mans.

Now then, that does not mean that we are capable of meeting this standard alone. The gift we receive, Christ, does however meet God's righteous standard, and we offer this gift back to God, as our ticket to receive the trophy, that is heaven.

"Sow to yourselves in righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness upon you."
Hosea 10:12

South Park Does it Again

If the entire economic crisis makes your head get dizzy, let South Park dumb it down so it all can make perfect sense.

Was Ron Paul Right?

Lately I have been watching video documentaries, and seeking out broadcasts of Peter Schiff (the man responsible for calling this economic crisis back in 2006).

While watching this video (I suggest watching, its over an hour long however), I stumbled on another video with Neil Cavuto. Since I support FoxNews, and have enjoyed other braodcast by Cavuto, I thought I would check it out.

While the video didnt have Schiff in it, it had another guy I was interested in finding out more about. His name is Alex Jones, a radio personality.

Alex Jones runs a website called Infowars.com, and I guess the best way to describe it, is to call it a "conspiracy theory" page.

Back to the video, Alex and Neil are discussing the financial crisis, and Alex, who made a new documentary, gets his blurp in there about it. Its called the Obama Deception, and it got my attention. What really got my attention, is that you can watch the entire video, online, for free.

That alone tells me a few things, watch it understanding that they are promoting their perspective, truth or not. It also tells me they believe what they are talking about enough to give out their information for free... The way information and knowledge should be given, in my opinion.

So I look into it more, I watched the video, and cant help but think back to Ron Paul, and his supporters. (Ron Paul's brother, is also in the video.)

What caught me off guard, was in the beginning, they had a hip-hop artist, from long ago, who caught my attention. I actually have some of his albums, merely because of his style and method. He isn't like other hip-hop or rap artists, his music promotes thought, and intellect. His style is old school, but his lyrics teach a higher education.

Known as "The Teacha", and "The Philosopher" KRS-one, is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received for his work with the "Stop the Violence Movement".

This alone enticed me to continue watching, even through random rants and recorded protests by Alex Jones.

The video "unravels" the true power behind the President of the United States of America: The Federal Reserve Bank, and other world banks. "The Federal Reserve Bank is no more 'Federal' than Federal Express" is a common denominator within the movie, because they are suggesting that these bank leaders are truly running our country, and not the American population.

Truth be told, they do have some pretty convincing evidence, including the majority of Obama's staff. Which brings me to another point, this isn't just against President Obama, they attack Bush as well.

The Obama Deception is almost 2 hours long, but really could have been 90 minutes but I think Alex Jones wanted to show an abundance of protesting where they yelled at cars... could have been edited out... easily. I digress, the video can be seen here: The Obama Deception.

I encourage you to watch it, but dont forget the Peter Schiff video at the beginning of this post, he was more entertaining to watch. In a time line fashion, what the documentary predicts, would fall in line after the events of Peter Schiffs video.

Watch 'em both if you have the time.

We The People Stimulus Package

I personally, do not believe that mailing a teabag will help, we are far beyond that. The silent majority has remained silent too long, and are at the brink of losing the option to be silent, or vocal.

People are too caught up in their lives, trying to make things work, we have lost our morals, which has brought many obstacles. These obstacles, distract us from promoting a positive lifestyle to our children, friends and family.

Apathy has set in, and now we are facing an economic crisis, yet another obstacle to distract us from what our government is doing.

I fear the worse.

Are you punch-drunk Obama?

Steve Kroft had the opportunity to interview U.S. President, Barack Obama, on 60 minutes.

“You're sitting here. And you're— you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this and say, ‘I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money—’ How do you deal with— I mean: explain. . .” Kroft asks at one point.

“Are you punch-drunk?” Kroft says.

“No, no. There's gotta be a little gallows humor to get you through the day,” Obama says, with a laugh.

The interview is Obama’s most detailed explanation yet of his view of the world economic crisis, and he makes clear that he’s afraid the nation hasn’t seen the worst of it – even invoking the possibility of a “depression” if a series of financial institutions collapse all at once.

This comes as no new news to me, or my wife... See this is something we actually expect. Not only does Peter Schiff discuss this in his book "The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets" but it is something I have read in Biblical prophesy.

Interesting thing I have in common with Mr. Schiff, we both have been scoffed at for suggesting such events. Schiff looking at if from a financial perspective, I look at it from a Christian perspective, however both perspectives have an expectation of economic collapse. Note: I didnt say recession or even depression, I said collapse.

Schiff actually advises people to having a plan to moving to another country, when and if the time comes.

My wife and I haven't made plans, however we do have our passports, and have discussed different situations. Personally, I believe that living in a rural area, we have a bit more advantage than someone in a large city.

I also have my CPL, or permit to carry, which in a collapse scenario does little, except to someone who knows what it is. It tells them the same thing it tells a police officer: I am a law abiding citizen.

This is of course in the extreme situation, but its wise to plan for the worse and be wrong, than the opposite.

With the Russians talking about a global currency, and Europe pushing for a global economy, its not as far fetched as it used to be scene. Now is the time to stand up and shout for your rights.


Resources:
Obama's Punch-drunk article

Investment Game

I know I havent been posting much lately, so I am going to give you the reason why.

UpDown.com: Its best described as fantasy football meets wall street, meets facebook. When you sign up for a free account, you are given $1 million dollars to invest into the market (no mutual funds yet, however I am told, improvements still to come).

The site offers communication through messages, groups and a message list similar to the "wall" on facebook.

When you invest your $1 million, you are investing in real market numbers. So if you buy "Gold" at $50.00 a share, you will see your invest grow or decline just like it would in a real investment. This provides a real stock investment experience, without the worry of losing. This is a very, very great learning tool. From the highly experienced, to those completely new to the market, you will walk away with something, possibly even real cash.

Thats right, you can earn money on this site. UpDown.com has contests every month and year, where you can earn cold hard cash, depending on your investment gains. It most likely wont be significant money, like the $3000 advertisement you see, that is unless your top dog, but if you do well, you can pick up anywhere from 1 cent to a few bucks a month.

Now while that doesnt sound like a heck of a lot of money, you get it from playing a game, or depending on your investment style, a strategic one time investment, of fake money.

If you have ever been curious about investing, the stock market, or how you would fair in the markets, here is your chance.


Resources:

The Money Hole

Kremlin to Pitch Global Currency

The Kremlin published its priorities Monday for an upcoming meeting of the G20, calling for the creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system.

The International Monetary Fund should investigate the possible creation of a new reserve currency, widening the list of reserve currencies or using its already existing Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as a "superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community," the Kremlin said in a statement issued on its web site.

The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement the existing official reserves of member countries.

The Kremlin has persistently criticized the dollar's status as the dominant global reserve currency and has lowered its own dollar holdings in the last few years. Both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have repeatedly called for the ruble to be used as a regional reserve currency, although the idea has received little support outside of Russia.

Analysts said the new Kremlin proposal would elicit little excitement among the G20 members.

"This is all in the realm of fantasy," said Sergei Perminov, chief strategist at Rye, Man and Gore. "There was a situation that resembled what they are talking about. It was called the gold standard, and it ended very badly.

"Alternatives to the dollar are still hard to find," he said.

The Kremlin's call for a common currency is not the first in recent days. Speaking at an economic conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, last week, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed a global currency called the "acmetal" -- a conflation of the words "acme" and "capital."

He also suggested that the Eurasian Economic Community, a loose group of five former Soviet republics including Kazakhstan and Russia, adopt a single noncash currency -- the yevraz -- to insulate itself from the global economic crisis.

The suggestions received a lukewarm response from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday.

Nazarbayev's proposal did, however, garner support from at least one prominent source -- Columbia University professor Robert Mundell, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999 for his role in creating the euro.

Speaking at the same conference with Nazarbayev, he said the idea had "great promise."

The Kremlin document also called for national banks and international financial institutions to diversify their foreign currency reserves. It said the global financial system should be restructured to prevent future crises and proposed holding an international conference after the G20 summit to adopt conventions on a new global financial structure.

The Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries will meet in London on April 2.


Resources:
Kremlin - Article

President Obama is a twit.

Thats right, Mr. Obama, is a twit. He has lost his way... assuming he had one.

"I am obviously an object of this constantly varying assessment. I am the object in chief of this varying assessment." Obama said when asked by Richard Parsons, Chairman of Citigroup Inc, if he could offer some help in a national battle "between confidence and fear."

What kind of a response is that??? You consider yourself an "object of this constantly varying assessment", no kidding, YOU"RE THE PRESIDENT! You are the CEO of America, Inc. If you show projections of a downward economy, people are going to hesitate during investing.

If this is somehow, some kind of new idea, we are in more trouble than I thought... We might as well hand things over the Pelosi, seems she is driving the crazy bus anyway!

The bus she drives is constantly making u-turns, her most recent seems to be the sequel stimulus. Oh, and dont forget that the sequel is never as good as the first, which truly isnt saying much here.

Speaker Pelosi, played down talk that Democrats would consider a second economic stimulus bill, saying: "I know that people have made suggestions that we should be ready to do something, but I really would like to see this stimulus package play out," Pelosi said. "It's just not something that, right now, is in the cards," she added later.

Wasn't she the first person to suggest a sequel??

Twit: stop pushing your own agenda, and fix the crumbling downfall. Your so busy trying to do everything, except the financial sector, that you worsening the original problem.

Obama's budget would raise taxes, starting in 2011, on individuals earning more than $200,000 and on households earning more than $250,000. The increases are expected to kick in after the economy seems to be in recovery. Good luck, the only way we seem to be going is down, and taxing the ones who make the money, is not going to help.

Hold on to your money folks, this is going to be a long ride. I can't help but wonder if the market is going to reflect negatively tomorrow, but I suspect it will. (I hate putting it in writing, but its the only way I can say "I told you so" if I am correct.)

Resources:
Twit - Article

Special envoy to negotiate Shalit's release

Special envoy Ofer Dekel was in Cairo Tuesday for negotiations aimed at releasing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit from captivity.

Unconfirmed reports from Egypt say that Dekel visited Cairo on Sunday, and met with Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who heads mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas on the topic of Shalit.

Egyptian reports say the two met to discuss a list of terrorists to be released in a prisoner swap deal. Officials in Israel declined comment.

But unofficial sources in Israel, including high-ranking officials, told Ynet that Israel and Hamas are currently at odds over the release of hundreds of terrorists.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirmed reports that Israel offered Hamas an alternative list of terrorists through Dekel and Egyptian mediation. However It remains unclear whether Hamas has considered the prisoners Israel has offered to release.

The alternative list was comprised as a substitute for terrorists demanded by Hamas. The names were approved a number of months ago by a committee responsible for easing restrictions on prisoner release, headed by Vice Premier Haim Ramon.

The committee has not convened since the alternative list was compiled, and Ramon's office stated that no future meetings had been scheduled. Officials in Jerusalem claim the committee will not reconvene because Ramon objects to the release of the hundreds of terrorists demanded by Hamas.

Shalit's father Noam told Ynet he was unaware of the details of Dekel's current visit to Cairo, and had no information on the negotiations. He was speaking from his protest tent in Jerusalem, where he said he believed over a thousand people had visited to show their support.

Article from here.

Radiant Church in Richland

Not long ago, I wrote about why I do not like churches. I commented on Radiant Church in Richland, after I visited it.

I had an "Anonymous" visitor defend the church, who must be someone very active in the church, for multiple reasons. First, they are very knowledgeable about the goings on in their church, to the point it makes me wonder if it was not an elder, or Pastor Lee himself, either way, its not important.

I said I would visit the church again, and I have. Within the first 10 minutes of the start of service, my mind started to wander. Maybe yours does it too: you'll be singing a song and your mind starts to ponder the lyrics, considering different things. Well thats what was going on "up stairs".

On a side note, our group on facebook, Lansing Christian Talk, has been discussing denominations, which is part of where my mind is heading.

I have never really attended a church for worship, they have never really "fit" with my preference. I prefer old hymns sung at the correct tempo, and sing the entire song, not just a chorus... this has not changed. However, Sunday morning, before church, I was listening to Weezers' "Say it ain't So", a great song, and then other songs by the same.

It really just helped put me in a good mood. So I go to Radiant Church, sit down, and shortly after, service starts. My mind starts to wonder, why does God want us to go to church? I know its not for the sermon, because if you depend on spiritual growth only on Sundays, your wrong. You ought to be feeding yourself daily. (by no means am I suggesting the sermon be eliminated, I just dont see it the main reason for church)

With the sermon being eliminated, it leaves me with two options: fellowship, and worship. I know that fellowship is important, and have been told worship is important also. With the understanding that fellowship is important, I look to worship.

I am forced to ask myself, what do I want out of worship? While this may be very simple to many, it came across as profound to me. Radiant Church is high energy, concert-ish styled service, something I have never been a fan of. For some reason I just never liked this style... which is the problem here.

I like going to concerts, I love a variety of music, but I cannot help but think, why do I ONLY enjoy old hymns in church. Why can I not worship with anything but them? That tells me, theres something wrong with my heart. How is it, that I can tell God, I will worship you, but it has to be with specific way, or I wont do it.

Talk about limiting God: God, I will follow your laws, as long as it doesnt interfere with my lifestyle.

So the songs had this undertone that reminded me of "Say it aint so", by Weezer... crazy, yah, I know. I am sure the musicians would even tell me I was hearing things, however this is what God wanted me to hear. As I stand there thinking over this, I am struck by the idea that I can worship God in any manner, and why not in the same style that I sing to my "normal" music?

Does worshiping God have to be performed in one style? No, and thats not new to me, however being able to is a completely different story.

I remember growing up, while still in middle school, attending Pennway Church of God (Church of God from Anderson, Indiana), and getting really excited to worship. I dont know that I would call it dancing, I cant dance, but I certainly wasnt standing still either. Whats changed?

I grew up? Is that an reason? Arent we supposed to be like children? (Matthew 18)

I cannot help but think, somewhere along the lines, I hardened my heart to God, and decided not to worship on His terms, but on mine.

I still love the old hymns, and listen to them, and worship to them, but to limit myself only to them, is very harmful. To pick a church based solely on the sermon is also damaging. Worship is needed, for Christ to be our Lord, we must worship Him.

I guess what it all came down to, for me, was that I can worship God on Sunday, using the same style of music I listen to every other day of the week. I am, however, still not a fan of singing the same chorus 10 times, but I guess I can have some wiggle room there too.

Lastly, I am excited to see what kind of fellowship Radiant Church provides.


Resources:
Radiant Church - Here

Iran test-fires new missile

Iranian media reported on Sunday that Iran had test-fired a new missile, but differed over its range and purpose.

The state-run Press TV said a long-range missile had been tested. But the semi-official Fars News Agency said it was an air-to-surface missile with a range of 110 km designed for use by military aircraft against naval targets.

That range would be far less than that of the Shahab missile, which Iranian officials say can travel about 2,000 km, enabling it to reach Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf.

"Armed forces experts have managed to install missiles with a range of 110 km on Iranian jet fighters and successfully fire (them)," Fars said, without citing a source. "Now these jet fighters have acquired a new capability in confronting threats."

Press TV said in a scrolling headline, without giving details: "Iran test fires new long-range missile."

The Islamic Republic often stages war games or tests weapons to show its determination to counter any attack by foes such as Israel and the United States.

Iran has often said it has missiles able to reach the Jewish state but had not previously mentioned such specific targets.

Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed Middle East state.


Resources:
Iran's Missle - Article

Obama Double-Deals On Israel

On Friday, administration officials led many Jewish leaders to believe that the president had decided to boycott the United Nation's "anti-racism" conference known as Durban II. At the same time, however, human rights organizations were being led to believe that the administration was not pulling out and was looking for a way to "re-engage."

Durban II, scheduled for Geneva in April, is the U.N.'s attempt at a rerun of the 2001 global anti-Semitic hate fest held in Durban, South Africa.

After sowing confusion over the phone lines, the State Department chose late Friday night to put the real deal in print. Their release reads: "the current text of the draft outcome document is not salvageable," and "the United States will not ... participate in a conference based on this text," but we will "re-engage if a document that meets [our] criteria becomes the basis for deliberations." A new version must be: "shorter," "not reaffirm in toto the flawed 2001 Durban Declaration," "not single out any one country or conflict," and "not embrace the troubling concept of "defamation of religion."

And by the way, it continued, the U.S. will "participate" for the first time in the U.N. Human Rights Council. Talk about Obama's gerrymandering skills, he is really showing them off!

The Durban Declaration claims that Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism; with Israel the only U.N. state charged with racism. The end game, as 2001 attendee Yasser Arafat made plain, is to analogize Israel to apartheid South Africa, pile on political isolation and sanctions and defeat Israel politically, if not militarily. The purpose of Durban II, as decided in August 2007 with the consent of the European Union, is to "foster the implementation of the Durban Declaration." In January of this year, the E.U. agreed to "reaffirm" the Durban Declaration "as it was adopted at the 2001 World Conference."

Some Europeans and Australia had been teetering on the edge of following Canada and Israel in boycotting the conference. But they were waiting for Obama to walk with them. Rather than encouraging these like-minded states, America's mixed message has sent human rights organizations and states scurrying.

Whether Obama actually stays away from Durban II is most likely to depend on his cost-benefit analysis of sacrificing Israel vs. heeding the siren's call to engage. My guess is he'll take the loss in the engagement column on Durban and the Israel column on the Council. Who said the human rights business had anything to do with human rights?


Resources:
Double-Deal - Article

Global New Deal

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (after the resignation of Tony Blair), hopes to forge a partnership with President Barack Obama in Washington this week.

As he prepares for his first White House visit since the president’s inauguration, the prime minister has hinted that he is ready to make further tax cuts to boost the UK economy, calling for a “global new deal” to lift the world out of recession.

Brown will meet Obama on Tuesday and address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. Aides say he has both to demonstrate to a skeptical British public that he commands the respect of the president, and to persuade the American political establishment that global action is needed to rescue the US economy.

Brown is under pressure to persuade American political leaders to sign up to bold aims for the G20 summit of industrial and leading developing nations, which is to be held in London next month.

Many US politicians believe economic policy should put America first, and have shown little interest in concerted global action. Brown will argue for a renewal of the transatlantic relationship, with the two powers working together to solve global economic problems.

The prime minister will borrow from the rhetoric of Franklin Roosevelt, who introduced the government-financed New Deal to tackle the US Depression of the 1930s. He will argue that his 21st century “global new deal” will also require public spending on a huge world-wide scale.

Writing in The Sunday Times today, Brown calls for “universal action to prevent the crisis spreading, to stimulate the global economy and to help reduce the severity and length of the global recession”.

His stress on continued economic “stimulation” will increase speculation about next month’s budget. No 10 sources said that, while no final decision had been taken about further tax cuts, the prime minister would do “whatever it took” to pull the UK out of recession.


Resources:
Global New Deal - Article