I have a confession to make, I'm a junkie. A news junkie. It started out innocently enough: a friend hooked me up with a subscription to a financial news e-mail list and I immediately went out into orbit. Pretty soon though I needed something harder: The Drudge Report. Then came Real Clear Politics. Then came... oh the shame of it all! I can't bring myself to admit all the news outlets I'm hooked on.

It wasn't until a loved one suggested that I might have a problem that I started to consider how involved news was in my everyday life. I started seeing the classic signs and decided to sign up for Newsaholics Anonymous that very day.

Through this great support group I've found that I don't HAVE to have news to get me through the day. If that link on my toolbar to the Drudge Report is tempting me, I call my accountability partners and they help me overcome the urge and we go to meetings and group therapy. It's been great.



There is a balance somewhere when it comes to staying informed, but not overly informed. A huge part of staying informed has to do with the sources we draw from for news. If you leave the TV on all day on the news channel, you're going to be brainwashed. If you visit only conservative leaning or liberal leaning blogs, you're going to have a bitter outlook on life because you'll always be concerned that "the other side" is just getting out of hand.

To be properly informed, the citizen needs some breathing space when it comes to media coverage. To be informed means to be able to understand how current events fit into our current lives, but not getting caught up in ratings driven sensationalism and the voyeurism of pop culture.

Being informed sometimes means knowing when to shut the news feed off.

R.I.P Michael Jackson

You've probably heard that Michael Jackson died yesterday. It's sad to see what show business can do to a person. Jackson had one of the tougher journeys in the business and regardless of whether you liked his music or not (I don't care for it even though I think he had talent), yesterday was a sad day.

The Greco-Roman culture of icon worship that both made and broke MJ has claimed another victim. I believe that's what killed Michael Jackson; he died broken hearted because he never could be at peace with who he really was.

Scandalous Scandalistic Scandalism

It seems like there has been a lot of sex scandals in the public arena lately, or at least the way the news media is reporting there has anyway.

Ho-hum... nothing new there. People seem to think they can do anything they want when they're in public office or famous, but it turns out they have to face the music too just like the rest of us. Imagine that!

I do think it's hypocritical to pass judgment on those caught in those sins, whether they be preachers or politicians. Were it not for the grace and mercy of God, there could go us if the sins we struggle with were as unsavory as the sins they struggle with.

Remember, it's those who set themselves up, or are set up by a worshipful mob, as having a handle on morality that have the farthest to fall. Humility is the main antidote to moral failure because as Proverbs says "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall".

With a heart for purity must come a heart of humility because pride is just as bad a sin as adultery.

On that note, let's get out there and live lives worthy of being called Christian! Changing the world for the better is up to us.

Oops... I just remembered I have a Newsaholics Anonymous meeting to go to...

"Fred" is a smart guy. To prove it, he has 3 degrees and is working on his 4th.

But some say he's dumber than a rock.

When it comes to matters of everyday life, he can barely balance his own checkbook and has trouble holding a conversation with an average person. He's the kind of guy that when you ask him to fill the salt shaker with salt, he'll get a toothpick out and start trying to get the grains of salt in the little holes. In his field he's a genius, outside of it, an utter incompetent.

Politically, he's rabidly liberal. Why? "Because a college professor of mine was liberal and I really liked what he had to say" says he.

Just another quality product of our modern educational system.

And I'm starting to wonder about that education system these days; is it really higher education or is it just glorified brainwashing?

Sure, the information you gather on your field of study is no doubt high quality (depending on what school you go to of course), but the worldview being taught by most professors- is it actually going to make for a stronger America? Judging from the likes of "Fred", I think not.

You have no idea how many people I meet who before they went to college were nice, kind and decent folks. When they came out it was like they had undergone a brain switch with a robot: a really arrogant liberal robot. It hadn't enlightened them at all, in fact their minds are more closed now than before they entered Academia! And we thought education was supposed to open your mind...

It's as if the more educated you become these days, the more dumbed down you have to get. Political correctness has become the drug of choice of former free thinkers, an addiction of hypocrisy and delusion.

So I'd like to propose a revolution in American education.

Let's convince some of our schools to hire actual successful people to go back to college for a year or two to teach their young people. They always say, "those who can't succeed, teach others how to succeed" and I think it's time this changed. We have a bunch of elitist professors sitting in tenure who don't know the first thing about real life outside a textbook, while out in the real world there are thousands of qualified individuals who can teach students something that actually works.

I have great hopes for the future of education in America, but the Academia I see in my mind's eye doesn't look anything like what we have now.

What do you think? Do you see the same trend, or am I just worked up over a few isolated incidents?

Thirteen year old Daniel Hauser and his parents knew something wasn't right; something was wrong inside young Daniel's body. The symptoms were not good. They knew Daniel needed some form of medical examination or treatment, and soon.

The expected thing to do in cases like this is to go to your doctor to find out what's wrong. Usually the doctor will be able to find what's going on within a reasonable amount of time and prescribe something, whether it be a drug, an operation or therapy to make you well again.

That is, MOST of the time.

Actually, maybe I should say, SOME of the time. The mainstream medical profession does have it's pitfalls, chief among them their desire to treat symptoms rather than finding and treating the causes of illness. This practice is driven mostly by consumerism; make the patient feel better and they keep coming back, but tell them they're overweight and they'll go find another doctor that will tell them what they want to hear.

In the case of more serious illnesses and things like tumors or internal problems, the all powerful scalpel is the answer. Cut 'em open, cut it out and sew 'em back up is the motto.

In the case of cancer, of which I remind you there is NO official medical cure, chemotherapy or radiation are the only acceptable methods of treatment. Never mind that these treatments alone can kill a healthy person outright, they are the only acceptable measures as far as Western medicine is concerned and anyone who says otherwise is officially labeled an extremist.

Daniel's mother Colleen is one of those people who don't fully trust Western medicine. As far as is known, she doesn't have mental or emotional issues, she just loves her son and believes there are better treatments for him than the scalpel and chemotherapy.

But the State of Minnesota doesn't think she has a right to seek alternative treatments for her son and has mandated Daniel receive chemo, or else.

So Colleen did the only thing any distraught mother would do, she took Daniel and ran. Authorities believe the duo are headed to Mexico to receive alternative treatment for Daniel and are treating the situation as an endangered kidnapping by a negligent parent.

Doctors say there's a 90% chance that Daniel can be cured by chemo and I don't contest their views, but there's also a good chance he can be cured by more natural methods as well.

My own Grandmother suffered with ovarian cancer for 13 long years. She received just about every treatment known to man, including chemo and radiation. I watched that regal woman suffer at the hand of the culture of cancer; the sickness itself, the endless doctor visits, the fear and the effects of the treatments all had a hellish tinge to them.

She tried an operation that helped for a while. She tried a clinic in Mexico that helped her for a while. She tried small doses of chemo and radiation that helped for a while. She tried dietary changes that helped for a while, but because she could hardly eat anything she loved, was in danger of dying of starvation and not the illness. She tried everything and surprisingly, it all helped her live longer than the doctors expected.

But the key is that she thought for herself. She didn't just do things because the doctor told her so, she did things because she had studied them and because she, better than anyone else, knew how much her body could take of any particular treatment.

In the case of Daniel Hauser and his mom Colleen, she simply wanted to find an alternative treatment to the very invasive and toxic treatments of Westernized medice. The Hauser family believes that putting toxic chemicals in the body has spiritual effects and because of these religious convictions, wish to seek a non toxic treatment. However, her government thinks she has no right to seek those treatments for her child and has sided with the medical "profession" (remember, they're ALL practicing) in dictating what treatments she can and cannot seek for her son.

That is totalitarianism my friends, and as the new socialized medical system takes shape, we're going to be seeing a whole lot more of it.

I'm not knocking chemo or Western Medicine here, I myself believe we need both Western and Eastern / Natural methods to have a well rounded medical community. What I am railing against is the government getting so deeply involved in our personal lives. They have NO right to dictate what kind of medical treatment we seek.

Let's say Daniel went and got chemo, but it didn't work out and he perished. Would Daniel's parents and doctors be prosecuted because they didn't do all they could do to save his life? Of course not! Everyone knows that chemo is dangerous stuff and besides, if the all powerful doctors couldn't save him, no one could.

But lets say they went the natural route and it didn't work either and the boy died. You better believe the full force of government would come down not only on Daniel's parent's heads, but on those who treated him as well.

Classic hypocrisy.

So, next time you hear a politician spouting off about "free" healthcare, keep in mind that there will be strings attached.

Studies have found that much more can be done for health through natural preventative care than through the drastic reactionary measures espoused by our society today. Yet you won't find natural medical care on any lobbying list in Washington these days, it's just too easy to claim that because it takes longer and requires more personal commitment it's not affective.

No, compared to Luther's Reformation, America's present healthcare reform is no reformation at all, it's a strong armed wallop directly back to the Dark Ages.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that most politicians could use a little more solid wisdom. I liken a career politician to many career religious ministers; incredibly talented at working within their realms, but when it comes to situations in the "real world", totally out of their league.

I don't blame the person practicing these professions, they are only filling a need and doing their job, I blame the people putting them in that profession and demanding they fulfill that need.

There once was a time in American history when politics was a part time job. Congressmen would actually be real Americans with a life other than Washington. They were selected from their communities for their character traits and good business sense, not electability and likability.

My how times have changed!

But I'm not here to write about the need of wisdom for politicians, I'm here to write about the American people's need for wisdom.

Misunderstood Outrage

A lot has been made of a memo released from the Department of Homeland security regarding the supposed threat of conservative leaning people, such as veterans, anti-abortionists, anti-gay marriage advocates, etc... In this memo the director (herself a proven hard left liberal) warned law enforcement personnel to be on the lookout for signs that these people were mobilizing against the government.


Scary stuff, especially if you're against abortion and homosexual marriage!

However, there were similar memos sent out regarding radical environmental activists and frankly, there are "wingnuts" on both sides of these issues.

So in reality it's not so much the fact that conservatives got profiled as potential terrorists, but that a wide swath of the American population got profiled at all. The real issue is that the Department of Homeland Security is profiling American citizens without any indication that they are a threat in the first place.

This is actually in direct opposition to the 4th, 6th and 10th Amendments of the U.S Constitution. That's heavy stuff!


That brings me to my purpose for writing this; anyone holding an opinion in opostition to the official government stance needs to be double sure of where they stand and have a solution to the issue before speaking out.

Are we under surveillance?

Confirmed reports that the FBI has heavily infiltrated the Tea Party movement are starting to reach the public and, with a bit of searching and asking, I've found that blogs are one of the more heavily monitored mediums in regards to domestic terrorist threats.

So everyone say hi to our guest over there in the shadows, Agent Anonymous! He's assigned to watch all our communications and yes, including email. Nice guy I'm sure, Agent Anonymous. And I really don't mind being monitored by the FBI, if in fact they see my little blog here as worth monitoring. I have said nothing that I wouldn't stand by!

So to all my Conservative friends I offer this wisdom; keep on keeping on.

Keep on writing, keep on talking, keep on debating and keep on "teabagging" as the liberal pundits love to call it. You are being heard!

However,
In this time we need solutions for our problems, not blame-shifting. We need unity in this nation, not sectarian arrogance.

Simply put, we need God. :)

Instead of ranting on about the things I was going to rant about today, I thought I'd share some cartoons that best describe my feelings instead...


As you can see I'm not too excited at how the government is handling the economy right now. Namely I'm disappointed that they're trying to handle it at all. With their amateurish touch the markets have succeeded in falling lower than the market needed to correct itself.

Even though I'm not rich, I'm still a capitalist and think the socialist wave sweeping this nation bodes evil for all who love freedom. I love America. I adore the Constitution. And I fear my government.

But lest we get tangled in the rumble strips of life, I'll end this post on a happy note!