Impossible. As the movie began, the characters brought to life the grief of an untimely and inexplicable death. The suicide of a teen is at the heart of the movie To Save A Life and the lives that are dramatically affected by it, are followed through out the two hour film. The lead character, Jake Taylor, played by Randy Wayne, of Dukes of Hazard fame, is a senior in high school, with the world as his oyster. The handsome star has the beautiful girl, the letter of intent to his dream university and popularity stemming from his basketball career. But his life is shattered when his childhood friend kills himself in the high school hallway. He begins his search for answers and carries around the “what-ifs” that haunt him.

The movie deals with the raw makings of a high school campus.  The popular kids get invited to the parties, the loners get mocked, and one day, a lonely boy has had enough, and takes his life.  There is nothing sugar coated in this Christian film, but a reality based look at what teens across this nation deal with as they walk out their front doors.  Topics like suicide, cutting, drinking, sex, pregnancy, and divorce are not what one would expect from a Christian film, yet they are dealt with in a manner that will in fact save a life.

Not only are the harsh realities of the secular world explored, but also the realities of Christian hypocrisy found in the youth group of the church that Jake Taylor seeks answers and solace.  He boldly stands up, during a youth event and asks the teens in the youth group if they really give a “damn” or if they are going through the motions.  He is convinced that there has to have been something he could have done to stop his friend Roger from taking his life. He begins to live for others, specifically reaching out to the loners on campus, in spite of the hostility he gets from his former friends.

I, at this point, must admit, that I was a very proud, card carrying Christian.  The movie was living up to what the trailer had enticingly promised and doing an artful job as well.  But perhaps the most authentic aspect of the film is found in the end, when the star isn’t found riding off into the sunset living happily ever after, but is shown living with the consequences of pre-marital sex and an un-planned pregnancy.  His dreams are sacrificially laid aside for his girlfriend, as he stands by her side through the pregnancy, delivery and adoption of their baby.  This is where real life meets real Christianity.

The producer and writer of the To Save a Life is Jim Britts, a pastor at  New Song Community Church in Oceanside, California and a film major from Biola University.  He states in an interview for Biola Magazine,

“It only came from this real experience of working with teens,” Britts says, “Looking back on it, I think He (God) had a plan for me being a screen-writing major and to get a heart for that and then to go into ministry and get a heart for that….The two really connected.   I don’t think I could have written the script if I didn’t do both.”  Brittany McComb

Britt’s love for God, for teens and his passion to see lives saved through the acceptance of God’s love during incomprehensible pain is deeply portrayed in this film.  As much as I tried to remain set apart and unbiased, I was unable to remain unmoved.  The God that is so boldly proclaimed in the movie, is the God that has boldly showed His love for this world by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for sinful man.  This fact alone moved me to tears and cheers at the end of the showing.

The reviews may be mixed, but the Miami Herald said, “It features good acting, excellent production values and even a solidly eclectic musical score that ranges from rap to alternative.  Gary Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “…appealing, poignant and inspiring in ways that are gentle and quite real…. not only potentially healing and elevating, but also kind of cool…. deftly acted, generally absorbing cautionary tale…” Others were not as generous, Andy Webster wrote in the New York Times, “Teenage martyrdom — the piety of it all…. But forget the lame performances and arch, preachy sentiment; the movie’s sham hip-hop and spurious alternative music alone should keep teenagers away. Thank goodness.”

The most important reviews however don’t come from news men sitting alone in a dark theater, but rather from those lives that are truly changed.  One girl stated on the To Save a Life website,

Rachel - Posted on January 31, 2010  ”Just saw this movie yesterday, and I cried so hard! I am somewhat depressed, and have considered suicide in the past. This movie expressed how I felt…alone, like no one cared. I loved the part where Jake is in the youth group and starts telling the kids not to be judgemental! I felt like it was so true. Thanks for impacting my life! Thanks to God and His redeeming love! Save a life!”

Another young man shared,

Geoff (Name changed for privacy) - Posted on January 31, 2010  ”I am 17 years old and I am a recovering cutter. For the longest time I relied on cutting as a crutch to keep me going; even though I was slowly killing myself along the way. Without all of the prayers, my scars would mean nothing but a sign of hatred and depression. But today, I see that they’re trophies that say God can help anyone through anything. Even a sexually confused, depressed, 17 year old outcast like me. God Bless.”

Finally, a young girl’s decision to not settle, but to live a changed Christian life,

Camille - Posted on January 30, 2010  ”I saw this movie with my youth group, and was litterally bawling by the end. This movie absolutely changed my life. Ya, I thought I was a good Christian before, but after seeing this, I know I can’t settle. There is always something more to do that will help in this world. The part that moved me the most was when Jake is in the youth group, and everyone is whispering and Jake stands to say something. My absolute favorite part of the movie is when he says, “What’s the point of all this if you’re not gonna let it change you?” and to me it is totally true. I also love the part when Jake brakes free from the security guard saying, “I have to make things right!”. These quotes inspire me. Don’t pass up the chance to make a difference. By tomorrow, it may be too late.”

These are the reviews that truly matter, because these are the ones who heard the message of the movie and decided to let it save a life.   Don’t let poor press keep you from taking a teen to this film; it will, in fact, impact your life.

In researching my own book, What’s The Matter With California, I had no intent in waging any such argument. In the California spirit, I shied from judgments like “good” or “evil” or even “just plain stupid.”

Instead, I looked at outcomes from a material perspective, namely how does a given phenomenon affect the economy and the ecology of the state and the well being of its citizens.

In doing so, however, I stumbled upon one very powerful rationale for Christianity and, in the stumbling, I stumbled upon one more powerful rationale still.

The stumbling began when I visited Michael and Deborah Grumbine and their family of nine children, now aged 11 to 31, in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier. I wanted to see how a large family could live on a median income in an area where such an income can buy only 2 percent of the homes on the market.

In Kansas City, by contrast, a family of median income can buy 87 percent of the homes on the market.

What I saw was that a family, bound together by a deeply held belief in God, could live on almost anything, anywhere, even in Los Angeles.

Michael himself grew up in Whittier in a deeply Christian family of twelve children, eleven of whom survived to adulthood. I asked him if he would survey his siblings to see how their 47 children had fared, and he graciously obliged.

As I report in the book, 43 of the 47 have lived their lives with a father in home. Only two of the 47 receive any kind of public assistance. Of the 35 old enough to have graduated from high school, 35 have graduated. None has been to prison. And the many Grumbine cousins have all had to work their way through school and college doing the jobs Americans allegedly won’t do.

I concluded that material poverty does not seem to cause crime. Michael Grumbine grew up in the same metro at the same time as Stanley “Tookie” Williams, whose story I also tell. Tookie was the one with his own bedroom and eventually his own cell on San Quentin’s death row. Michael was the one with his own father.

Obviously, however, there is more to a God-centered life well lived than a civil, self-supporting society. This I saw clearly in reading Michael’s response to the chapter I wrote on the Grumbine family. It speaks for itself:

Dear Jack,

You gave a great deal of joy, comfort and pride to a little bed-ridden lady, covered with sores, and racked with pain from several serious diseases.   My dear mother, who will not likely be with us much longer, and who has all too few joys left in life, was smiling from ear-to-ear as I read to her the Whittier chapter from your book.  She could not stop say “My, oh my” during and after the reading.

And I must also tell you about the difficult moment you presented her with, when I reached the parts where you say:  “If all the materially impoverished children in California had grown up with the support of faith and family that the Grumbine cousins did, California could virtually eliminate serious crime. . . . When all is said and done, the state’s future depends on the Grumbines.”

At that point, I looked over at my mom as she lay stretched out in her bed, her life and purpose now nearly complete.  I watched as her frail and well-worn lips trembled with emotion.

Here was a woman who had lived all of her life in her home as the very antithesis of the militant feminist ideal.  She had never left her children for strangers, and was truly valiant in her self-sacrifice and dedication to her husband and family.  But according to feminist logic, she had wasted away her life on the humdrum and the unfulfilling.

It was truly, truly wonderful, then, to see this humble and dedicated heroine get some public appreciation and honor for the great work she has actually done, before she passes on.

I watched her eyes sparkle with nearly uncontrolled pride and delight, to see her singular life’s work acknowledged to the entire country — she truly had made a difference.  It left me with tears in my eyes.

But I could not help but chuckle inwardly at the dilemma you had given her.  For mother is also one of the most completely humble people you could ever know.  And as is typical of such self-effacing saints, they are uncomfortable in moments of high praise.

But soon the “crisis” passed, and once more she graciously rose to the occasion and resumed her graceful demeanor.  She did what she always did – provide me with a lesson in virtue.  For despite her debilitated condition, she has never stopped teaching her family about grace, and the ways of Christian virtue.

For those who wonder why God allows “old people” to painfully linger in this world, I wish they could meet my mother.  For that matter, I wish you had the room in your book to list all of the heroic mothers who have dedicated their lives to their family, and through their selfless efforts and example, allowed culture, civilization, and yes, goodness itself to exist, in a fallen world.

But as Dad used to say, “Life isn’t fair.”

Perhaps not this life, but I dare say that when the final reckoning comes, and all of humanity stands before their Creator with His Son at His right hand reading from the Book of Life, we will finally be able to witness and rejoice aloud in the glory of those unsung heroes.  Indeed, I can’t wait to sing!

Blessings,

Michael Grumbine

Dinesh D’Souza could not have said it any better.

© Jack Cashill
WND.com – November 1, 2007

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There has never been enough money to go around during the holiday season. We always have more year, more month, and more day at the end of each paycheck. We always have more Christmas wishes and guests than our finances can afford, and this year our house will be full again with family and friends, full of love and joy. Each year my heart is filled with the desire to make everyone’s wish list come true and an inability to do so; and now I have the most famous guest of all arriving on December twenty-fifth. How am I to prepare of this? The King of the universe is coming to my humble dwelling. Royalty will be sitting on my old couch. Nothing in this house is clean enough for my Lord. Nothing will ever make my home worthy of such an arrival.

A week is all the time I have to clean, bake, decorate and shop.Only a week to prepare for Immanuel. How have the chosen few from Bible stories of old prepared for this type of visitation? The women during Passover so thoroughly clean their homes that no dust remains even in the darkest corners. Do I have time for that? I must! Jesus can’t enter this house with cobwebs in the eaves and fingerprints on the window panes.

What kind of meal should I prepare? Traditional? Gourmet? Or perhaps something Jewish in flavor? It has to be perfect. Nothing less will do! But I am far from a gourmet chef, so perhaps I should have this momentous meal catered. I better get a cookbook, as well as a restaurant guide, when I go to the store. Who will have the honor of sitting on either side of Him at the dining table? Should I draw straws as each family member enters the dining room? Jesus, of course, will sit at the head of the table. We will request His blessing on our feast, whatever we end up eating. Oh, who will monitor the topics of conversation? What if someone says something wrong? What if somehow we dishonor our Guest?

Finally, what kind of gift should I buy? What does a person wrap up in Christmas red and green for the owner of all the cattle on the hills? What could I possibly give the Give of Life?

So you see my dilemma. I am so honored, yet so unworthy, so unready. I have spent three days spring cleaning my home in the dead of winter. It has never been so sanitary. The carpets are clean, the windows Windexed, an the children’s toys have been wiped down and put in the proper places. Any sign of a mess will result in some form of discipline!

All the customary Christmas decorations are put in place. I wondered if I should put any Santa Clause decorations out, or leave them packed away for next year? Is there anything in my traditional Christmas that would offend my Guest?

I now face the challenge of a lifetime, the mission impossible, the task of finding the perfect present for God’s perfect gift to me. Ironically, I end up at the mall with a mass of humanity also looking for their perfect gifts as well. I wander through the shops and realize how ludicrous it is to search here for a gift for God. What would He want from a mall? A tie? a Sweater? After-shave? How about a monogrammed stationary set? I can just see it now, embossed in gold, “GOD” in the center of the page. Perhaps something from His creation would be more appropriate: a perfect poinsettia or basket of fruit might make a lovely gift. Yet after three days of frantic searching, I still haven’t found anything to wrap up for the King of kings. As I sit at the foot of our Christmas tree, looking at all the other gifts, I weep because of the loss I feel not having something for my Savior.

Christmas morning arrived and the children rushed out happily to ransack their stockings. I was caught up in their smiles and happiness as we sat down to read the Christmas Story from the Bible. As the story unfolded, and the children sat quietly listening to the part where the angel told the shepherds about Jesus’ birth, a quiet rap came from the front door. All became silent as we realized Whom the knock represented. I quickly surveyed the room and the children, as my husband and I made our way to the door. Were we ready to welcome the Birthday Guest into our home? Before I could answer the knock however, my youngest child reached the entry way, threw open the door, and jumped into the arms of Jesus.

My heart stopped as I watched Jesus walk through the door with my child hanging on His arm. This wasn’t how I planned this moment. Was Jesus offended by such a rambunctious and an utterly un-worshipful welcome? I was mortified at what it said about my child’s behavior and my parenting!

The moment of entry seemed to last an eternity, until the shrill squeals of my brood restarted the hand of the clock. I realized that I had been holding my breath, as I sharply exhaled. I then caught a glimpse of Jesus’ face and the delighted twinkle in His eyes, as He reached down to touch each child. How I wanted to weep and repent, dance and laugh, at my foolish heart. I recalled the verse in an instant, that says, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not.” I had been so worked up about how to make my home, my children and my life acceptable, that I had forgotten that He only requires my love. Nothing more, but my love. All else had been done for me two thousand years ago on the cross.

He looked at me as He entered the room and held His arms open wide. I walked to Him and embraced Him with every ounce of love and devotion a hug could convey. He wiped the tears from my face and led me to the couch. We sat down and Jesus began to tell us about His Christmas Story. We were mesmerized as the familiar Sunday School lesson was told by the Author Himself. Awestruck, the children hardly moved as they listened to Jesus. The perfect Christmas gift sat on our couch and we worshiped Him.

As other guests arrived, the peace, joy and love that permeated our humble home, filled each heart. No other Christmas will equal the one spent with Jesus as the Honored Guest. Never will I forget how He played with the new train set or teasingly put on the princess crown and feather boa. Always will we remember the laughter over Christmas dinner and the reverent thanks offered to God our Father.

However, my greatest memory was the forgiveness, unconditional acceptance and the love His smiling face, twinkling eyes and warm hug conveyed to me. Merry Christmas my Lord! I am honored to have You in my house each and every day!

Written by Mary Selby for her children Christmas 2003.

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ATTACHED: Oil and water – Senate and House health care bills – Oct 16 2009
The healthcare reform bill has passed the House and must now make it through the Senate before it can move on to Obama’s desk. As of mid-October, 49% of likely voters nationwide felt that passing no health care reform bill this year would be better than passing the plan currently working its way through Congress. Only 39% disagreed. 57% were opposed to any plan that included a single-payer system. Only 32% favor such a system.

But that single-payer system (government-run health-insurance plan) is the treasured baby of the ultra left that currently dominates the Democratic Party and the most powerful Democrats in Congress. The prospect of having that and tax-payer funded abortions foisted on us are the reason I have been feeling so bummed. But …

ATTACHED: Lieberman NO on Reid plan – Nov 24 2009
A former Democratic vice presidential nominee, now an independent, Senator Joe Lieberman is one of the 60 votes Democrats will need to force a final vote on health legislation. He absolutely opposes any health-care overhaul that includes a public option which the current bill does. His opposition is strong enough that Mr. Lieberman says he won’t vote to let a bill come to a final vote if a public option is included. So, good news. And when combined with the following, possibly even great news.

ATTACHED: HillBuzz talks about Burris and healthcare – Nov 23 2009
The HillBuzz Boys are big supporters of Senator Burris, the black fellow who was appointed to the Senate by disgraced Gov. Blagojevich to fill Obama’s seat. Burris is leading the cause FOR public option, but Hillbuzz thinks it’s his way of killing the disastrous reform bill altogether AND damaging the White House to boot. Read it. It’s only 3 pages and very interesting.

——————–
SOURCE:

49% Say No Health Care Reform Better Than Current Plan – October 23, 2009
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/october_2009/49_say_no_health_care_reform_better_than_current_plan

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
2 Chron. 7:14 in God’s Word, He states, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

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A book review By D.

As a fan of the “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Laura is someone I always admired. Some really terrible things happened to Laura over the course of her young life, yet she persevered and “poor but happy” seemed to be her mantra in life. No matter how bad things were Laura didn’t seem to let it get her down.

Reading Sarah Palin’s book “Going Rogue, An American Life” reminded me of Laura Ingalls. I think Sarah Palin is as close to a modern day Laura Ingalls as you can get. And I believe that is why she in part, like Laura, is so admired. While Palin denies in her book that her life is like “Little House on the Tundra” that’s the way it came across to me.

The book did not strike me as all that political in nature. Although I think there was definitely an undercurrent need to explain to her readers her side of the story as far as the criticism she has received from the liberals. But why bother? Supporters will continue to support, no matter what, and detractors will continue to detract, no matter what.

One thing I believe I gained from this book is a firmer grasp of her personal seemingly unapologetic conservative philosophy. But the most important part of the book for me is on page 46 in the second paragraph. Palin is explaining what she admired about Ronald Reagan. Palin’s description of his appeal to her actually succeeded in explaining her own appeal to Conservatives;

“I appreciated Reagan’s passion and conviction, and the way he so plainly articulated his love for our country. Like millions of others, I related to him personally-he was one of us. I liked him, and I liked the fact that he was never afraid to call it as he saw it.”

When I read it, I smiled because if we took the name “Reagan” and the word “he” out of the paragraph and substituted name “Palin” and the word “she” it seems to me we could perfectly define her appeal to the millions.

While it is not the type of book I would normally read, I’m glad I read this one because of page 46 – I realize that Americans need to believe in their leaders and in order to do so they need to identify with them, apparently Palin, like Reagan, realizes that too.

Palin proves to me that Americans still love pioneers like Laura Ingalls, most of them love solid folks who share their beliefs, speak plain and have the courage of their convictions. Understanding Palin’s continued success, despite their best efforts to bring her down, will continue to elude the liberals because she seems to understand what they do not; the way most Americans think.

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To be sure, no one has ever accused Sarah Palin, a defeated vice presidential candidate, of creating her reputation thusly. One has to wonder, then, why her book, Going Rogue, would merit a fact check by no fewer than eleven Associated Press reporters when neither the AP nor any other mainstream outlet has spent a moment vetting the books of the “author in chief,” as President Barack Obama was anointed in a November GQ article, “Barack Obama’s Work in Progress,” by Tom Draper.

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/200911/barack-obama-writing-books-writer-robert-draper?printable=true

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/11/the-road-to-bali.html

In an observant piece, the Road to Bali, blogger Tom Maguire addresses the implicit media balance. He does so by calling attention to just one relevant question that the media might have profitably asked our president: did you take new bride Michelle to Bali with you in 1993?

In the course of asking that question, not terribly significant in and of itself, Maguire sheds light on a more substantive question: why have the media paid so little attention to how Barack Obama came to write the book that would make his reputation, his acclaimed 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father.

As source, Maguire turns to Draper, who has spent time with Michelle and Barack and written the most detailed account to date of the genesis of Dreams. Blinded by Obama’s light, however, Draper fails to see the gaping holes in how own story line.

As Draper tells the story, a February 1990 New York Times article telling how Harvard has elected Obama president of the Harvard Law Review attracted the attention of a young agent named Jane Dystel. Draper implies that Obama’s “irresistible” writing skills netted him the position, which is not at all true.

In fact, the election was a popularity contest held in racially charged environment. The culturally ambiguous Obama won on his race-healing talents, not on his literary ones. He would contribute only one leaden, unsigned case note to the HLR and has not written another legal article since.

According to Draper, on November 28, 1990, Poseidon Press, a Simon & Schuster imprint, issued “a six-figure contract” to Obama for a book tentatively titled Journeys in Black and White. In his recent book, Barack and Michelle: Portrait of An American Marriage, Christopher Andersen specifies the amount at $150,000.

In the hope of recruiting Obama, the University of Chicago Law School offered him an office in the law school to use for finishing the book, and there he spent 1991 and 1992. Nearly two years passed, and Obama could not produce. “I just can’t get it down on paper,” Draper quotes an Obama confession to confidante Valerie Jarrett in 1992. “I’d much rather hang out with Michelle than focus on this.”

Although Draper would never say so, this represented a failure of character as much it did a failure of talent. Obama had pocketed $75,000 of that advance and promised in return a manuscript by June 15, 1992. He had more than eighteen months to complete a memoir, the easiest of all genres. It required minimal research, no footnotes, and a narrative that needed not be factual as long as it was plausible.

As a point of comparison, I was offered a contract in April 2005 to write a memoir with a deadline of September 1, 2005. In other words, I had four months to do what Obama could not do in eighteen. To complicate matters mine was to be a story of growing up in the age of Muhammad Ali. So, in addition to writing, I read roughly 30-40 books on boxing and related subjects during that period and watched scores of fight films and documentaries.

I set as a goal a thousand words a day, and I made the September 1 deadline. It would have helped a lot if I had ever learned to type, but to me missing the deadline was unthinkable if for no other reason that I, like Obama, had signed a contract and accepted an advance. Although Sucker Punch was my fourth published book, I can assure you that my advance was considerably less than that of the untested Obama.

In any case, the June 15, 1992 deadline came and went without a manuscript from Obama. As Draper blithely notes, Obama had other things on his mind, namely his impending October 3rd marriage to Michelle. On October 20, 1992, according to Draper, Poseidon terminated Obama’s contract.

Andersen adds a detail that mythmaker Draper chooses to omit. Obama feared that Simon & Schuster would demand the $75,000 already advanced. Writes Andersen, “But when Barack informed them that he had spent the money—and that he and his wife were still chipping away at their massive student loan debt—the publisher agreed not to press the issue.” In other words, Obama asked for and received an undeserved bailout. A pattern was developing here.

The tenacious agent Jane Dystel managed to find another publisher, Times Books, and secured a smaller advance, $40,000.Draper tells us that Obama used the advance “to fulfill his outstanding financial obligation to Poseidon.” Andersen’s take sounds more credible.

“Now he’s got to produce,” writes Draper. “But how?” Although the sanctuary at the University of Chicago and a previous retreat to a friend’s Wisconsin farm had done no good, Obama hit upon the idea of going to Bali to unblock. (For Sucker Punch, I went to my cabin on Lake Erie).

As blogger Maguire notes, the pre-election myth, advanced by the New York Times and others, is that Michelle accompanied him. Wrote the Times on May 18, 2008, Obama “eventually retreated to Bali for several months with his wife, Michelle.”

A more recent and less romantic version, advanced by Draper and by the Times as well, is that Obama went by himself. “For a month,” writes Draper, “he is a lone figure pacing on the white sand and hammering on his laptop. . . . “

Andersen describes the Obamas as “drowning in debt” during this period. How either Barack or Michelle could have afforded to go to Bali during this period, for one month or three, remains something of a mystery. Mysterious too is how the media could leave unresolved such glaring contradictions in the biography of the world’s most famous man.

Maguire highlights still another hole in the Draper narrative. Incredibly, in a 5,000-word article on Obama’s development as a writer, Draper says nothing about what happened between early 1993 when Obama returned from Bali to June 1995 when Dreams was published. Draper leaves the impression that the month-long Bali high was just what Obama needed to fire his synapses.

Andersen is much more credible here. As he tells it, Bali proved no more helpful than any other retreat. At the urging of Michelle, the “hopelessly blocked” Obama finally turned to “friend and Hyde Park neighbor” Bill Ayers to help him.

Andersen’s details are specific. The Obamas were convinced of “Ayers’s proven abilities as a writer.” Barack particularly liked the novelistic style of To Teach, a 1993 book by Ayers. The key sentence in Andersen’s account is the one that follows: “[The Obama family] oral histories, along with his partial manuscript and a trunkload of notes were given to Ayers.”

Adds Andersen, “Thanks to help from veteran writer Ayers, Barack would be able to submit a manuscript to his editors at Times Book.” Based on my own research, I would argue that Ayers actually wrote the book’s best sections. Obama’s published efforts before Dreams show not a wisp of the skill on display in Dreams. Not surprisingly, Draper overlooks those early efforts.

With his man crush trumping his critical insights, Draper chooses not to relate the fate of plucky agent Dystel. That story was hard to miss. The proudly liberal but seriously disgusted publisher Peter Osnos went public three years ago. According to Osnos, Obama dumped his devoted long time agent after Dreams took off and then signed a seven-figure deal with Crown, using only a by-the-hour attorney.

Obama pulled off the deal after his 2004 election to the U.S. Senate but before being sworn in as Senator, this way to avoid the disclosure and reporting requirements applicable to members of Congress. Osnos publicly scolded Obama for his “ruthlessness” and “his questionable judgment about using public service as a personal payday.”

But that was in 2006, when Obama was mere mortal. Today, Obama is a literary god, however false, and challenging the gods is apparently above the AP’s pay grade.

©Jack Cashill
AmericanThinker.com – November 18, 2009

Editor’s note: For a more complete account of this phenomenon, read Jack Cashill’s amazing new book, “Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture.

Nov 5, 2009: VIDEO – President Obama Speaks about Natives, Then Fort Hood [5:03]

Except Crow is not a Congressional Medal of Honor winner; he is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, something the smarter than us president might have been able to remember, since he personally chose Crow for the award and personally handed it to him just TWO MONTHS ago! And … maybe this is too nitpicky, but awards like these are not won. They are bestowed. Maybe the average guy needn’t be aware of the nuance, but the President? Yeah. I think he oughta get it right.

ATTACHED: Joe Medicine Crow receives Medal of Freedom – Aug 8 2009
I thought Obama could maybe be forgiven for a goofy slip of the tongue until I saw this photo – you’re gonna forget those feathers? — and read how very different the two medals are.
The PRESIDENTIAL Medal of FREEDOM — the highest CIVILIAN award in the U.S. — is bestowed by the President of the United States. It recognizes individuals who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
The CONGRESSIONAL Medal of HONOR — the highest MILITARY award in the U.S. — is most often awarded posthumously and only on members of the United States armed forces who have distinguished themselves “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of … life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”

Nov 6, 2009: Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lamented some offensive signs he saw at an anti-health bill rally.

ATTACHED: Robert Gibbs – Nov 6 2009
“Imagine five years ago somebody comparing health care reform to 9/11. Imagine just a few years ago had somebody walked around with images of Hitler. Hopefully we can get back to a discussion about the issues that are important in this country that we can do so without being personally disagreeable and set up comparisons to things that were so insidious in our history that anybody in any profession or walk of life would be well advised to compare nothing to those atrocities.”

Seriously?! We don’t have to IMAGINE. We can just click and scroll:

http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=612
http://www.ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20090816
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Bush%20Hitler&w=all

ATTACHED: Small sampling of Bushitler protest signs
You will be scrolling for a LONG time before you exhaust the Hitler images about Bush that the Left brandished for years.

ATTACHED: Grayson likens health crisis to holocaust – Sep 30 2009
Interesting how Gibbs wasn’t particularly stunned or appalled by an elected official — Alan Grayson — making Holocaust references on the floor of the House.

Nov. 7, 2009: President Obama said about Fort Hood that while “we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America.
“We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades, tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured, using blouses as tourniquets, taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.
“We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad — skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America.”

We also saw Obama snub the grieving, traumatized survivors – the men and women who serve at his pleasure — to relax out at Camp David. I’m guessing maybe going to church to pray for the victims also isn’t on the agenda, since they’ll be at Camp David all weekend.

Meanwhile, former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura went to Fort Hood. There was no fanfare or photo ops. They were just there for the troops.

While George and Laura were comforting the bereaved, President Obama suffered through another brutal day as the most powerful man on the planet. He addressed the House Democratic Caucus at 11:25 am and then, after lunch, made a statement to the press on Health Care. After the presser, the Obamas took that long, long walk from their back door to where Marine One sets down in their back yard and then zipped off to catch up on their rest and get in some quality family time out at Camp David.

But, hey! It’s not like he doesn’t CARE. I’m sure that’s why he’s so tired, after all. And he does plan to go down on Tuesday for the memorial service. Isn’t it nice to know he can squeeze it in … next week? Heck, if he went now, the bereaved and the heroes would be the center of attention. Next week will be better. The mess will be cleaned up and people will have stopped all that uncomfortable crying. Even better, at the memorial service there will be a podium and a teleprompter and a chance for The One to make yet another “I’m so fine” speech.

ATTACHED: America Can Take Pride in Historic Disaster – Nov 6 2008
I MISS GEORGE!

[Addendum: The House just passed the Dem’s health care bill. God help us all.]

SOURCES:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-bates/2009/11/06/obama-gives-shout-out-congressional-medal-honor-winner-who-isnt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_honor
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/gibbs-laments-images-statements-from-tea-party-crowd-as-stunning.php
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27769.html
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2009/11/obama-to-camp-david-not-fort-hood.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/obama_snubs_ft_hood_to_relax_a.html
http://twitter.com/blogho/statuses/5510599407
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/07/obama-hails-ended-fort-hood-violence/
http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/11/07/president-obamas-saturday-schedule/

Though we as a family don’t “celebrate” Halloween, we are looking forward to a night of family fun, food and friends. The stew is in the Crock Pot, Ghost Busters is ready for a Premier viewing with the kids and the slumber party guest has a pillow waiting for her head.

Turning the clock back seems to usher in the Holiday Season with earlier bedtimes, the scent of fall flavored candles and the desire to turn the oven on and bake, putting a smile on one’s face and creating anticipation for the first slice of pumpkin pie , eaten with family and friends, tonight perhaps, and then again for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But the commercialism that this time of year brings, beginning with Halloween lights of orange and black, to Christmas lights of green and red, for many is the catalyst of the holiday season, wholly lacking in meaning and purpose.

What if we could truly turn the clock back and bring back a better time in America? What would that look like? In my mind, I picture a Norman Rockwell image and the idyllic scenes of the American family spending a holly, jolly Christmas together, with the focus on family and Christ and not on the walls of Walmart decked with superfluous fluff. But what would make for a picture perfect America and how could we turn back the clock per se to attain it?

Politics will not bring back the best of what Pumpkin Pie represents in America. The first Thanksgiving gave thanks to God for His Bounty and His Provision. Politicians have never provided Pumpkin Pie. Today, I set aside time to ponder turning back the clock, pumpkin pie and a time with my family that reflects a yearning for moments gone by when America cherished what was lasting and good and understood that all Pumpkin Pie comes from God in heaven.

I originally wrote this last year, but in case you missed or forgot it, here it is again on the eve of this “All Hallows’ Eve”:

It’s almost Halloween, the time of year for scary costumes, ghost stories, horror movies, haunted houses, and the like. So, why do many people enjoy being scared (at least in controlled situations)? Well, I think there are a couple of reasons.

First, mentally and physiologically, fear is similar to exhilaration and excitement. The chemicals that go coursing through our brains and bodies when we’re scared are largely the same ones that are released when we get extremely excited about positive things, like winning a big prize. It’s “thrilling” to be scared. Interestingly, people generally seem to enjoy less-extreme thrill sensations as they get older, which probably explains why the lines outside of horror movies and haunted houses are populated predominantly with teenagers.

Another reason people like to be scared may be that “surviving” a scare gives us a powerful feeling. Exposing ourselves to the things that scare us and living to tell about it gives us the sense that we’ve mastered or conquered our fears. For some people, this requires a situation in which the threat is real, like skydiving, while for others, it can be achieved in a situation in which the threat is merely imagined, like a scary movie.

I think for some, playing flesh-eating zombies or blood-sucking vampires on Halloween is a form of exploring and exerting control over the “dark sides” of their personalities, what Carl Jung called our “shadows.” (It’s kind of like the morbid fascination that many people have with trying to understand serial killers and how a human being can be consciously, deliberately evil.)

For most though, I think the costume element of Halloween just gives them a chance to “try on” different identities or show sides of themselves that they don’t usually show, and people generally enjoy that. Think about it – haven’t you seen people get “crazier” at Halloween costume parties than they do on other occasions? There’s something “freeing” about the opportunity to attribute one’s behavior to a character for an evening. (It’s kind of like how some people drink a little, act ridiculous, and later blame their behavior on drunkenness when they weren’t even drunk, but I’ll go into that next time Spring Break rolls around!)

Personally, I’m not a big believer in the whole ghost thing, but as a kid, I always thought it would be fun to spend Halloween night in a place that’s “really haunted” (or at least purported to be). So, Saturday night, I’ll be hosting a small party and spending the night in a hotel room famous for reports of ghostly phenomena. This actually will be the third time I’ve done it, and even though nothing paranormal happened the first two times (surprise, surprise), my friends and I had fun with it, so Saturday night’s the latest sequel and if anything strange occurs, I’ll let you know.

Happy Halloween!

Note: Doctrinal deviations from the true Christian message within the church have been prophesied, though the origin of the prophecy is not specified (1 Tim 4:1-2); cf Acts 20:29-30: “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.”
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(New International Version)
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
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(New King James Version)
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving;
5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
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(New American Standard Bible)
1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.
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(The Message)
1-5 The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars. These liars have lied so well and for so long that they’ve lost their capacity for truth. They will tell you not to get married. They’ll tell you not to eat this or that food – perfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily and with thanksgiving by believers who know better! Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God’s Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.
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Read on to see how we are encouraged to conduct ourselves – 1 Timothy 4: 7, 12, 16.
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(New American Bible)
7 Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion,
12 Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.
16 Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
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(New International Version)
6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
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(New King James Version)
7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
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(New American Standard Bible)
7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
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(The Message)
7 Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God — no spiritual flabbiness, please!
12 And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.
16 Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don’t be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.
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NOTE: The New American Bible is online @ http://www.usccb.org/nab/index.shtml.

The other versions are online @ http://www.biblegateway.com/
2 Chron. 7:14 in God’s Word, He states, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”