Gadhafi, USA, And An Average Guy?

Image Source

Have you heard the news? I was shocked. Apparently, Gadhafi (yes, the Libyan dictator) wants to pitch his tent here in the USA! Can you believe it? Even more shocking is that someone (maybe the president) hasn't just said, "no, it isn't going to happen". Check out the story here, here, and here.

As a bonus check out what an average citizen had to say in 1961 about socialized medicine. This is amazing as it is so relevent today. You will probably recognize his voice. Gather the children around and wave your American flags. Click here.

Don't Tread On Me!

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Did you know that a Louisiana man was detained by police for having a "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his car. That's right... the police directly challenged this man for having an "extremist" (i.e. patriotic) bumper sticker! This is crazy! Would you have ever dreamed that would happen 10 years ago? 5 years ago? Even 1 year ago? The information below came to me in an email today. I wanted to share it with you. Join me as an official card-carrying "Right-wing Extremist"! I have already ordered mine!! Let me know if you order one too. Now, I want to get a bumper sticker AND matching flag. :-)

These are outrageous attacks and we need to throw them back in the face of our Nation's new ultra-left leadership.

=============
After all, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), you and I are "right-
wing extremists."

A recent DHS Threat Assessment specifically listed pro-life, pro-veteran, and pro-Second Amendment citizens -- as well as those who simply believe in a limited federal government --
as terror threats!

Under pressure, Secretary Janet Napolitano removed the report from her agency's web site, but she has refused to repudiate it.

This outrageous report is symptomatic of the animosity our Nation's new leadership holds toward people of faith and patriots who love this country.

The same President who changed the "war on terror" to an "overseas contingency operation" and has removed "Islamic extremist" from his lexicon has instead put the bull's eye on America's people of faith and traditional values! Now WE are allegedly the terror threats!

Well, I've decided to match fire with fire...

+ + We're sending it right back at them!

I want to invite you to join me in throwing these outrageous attacks back in the face of our Nation's new ultra-left leadership by taking a simple step...

I want you to join me as an official Liberty Counsel card-carrying "Right-wing Extremist"!

Go here to request your complimentary card:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=19197&RID=16601122

I want you to have the official laminated, wallet-sized card (personalized with your name) for two reasons...

First, our "Right-wing Extremist" card is a symbol of your personal rejection of the new administration's attacks against people of faith and those holding traditional values. You can join me in turning the tables on them by wearing the term "Right-wing Extremist" as a badge of honor!

If being pro-life, pro-faith and pro-veteran makes me an "extremist," then so be it!!

Second, I want you to have the phone number to our Liberty Counsel office in your wallet or purse at all times... just in case you are confronted in any way by a government agent who is hostile to your faith or your traditional values.

And it's already happening... just ask the man in Louisiana who was detained by police for having a patriotic bumper sticker. That's why I want you to have the card -- so our legal team can
be notified and we can stop this outrageous profiling wherever and whenever it takes place.

Go here to see a sample of what your card looks like...

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=19197&RID=16601122

+ + The card is my gift to you

Once again, there is no cost for the card. I am so outraged by the attacks that are coming from this Administration against patriots and people of faith that I feel we must get these cards into the hands of all our team members.

Of course, there are expenses associated with this national campaign, so any financial support you provide will be greatly appreciated and put to immediate use in advancing and protecting our precious liberties.

So please...

Take a moment right now to take a stand with me against these attacks and request your Official Liberty Counsel "Right-wing Extremist" Card.

Thank you and God bless you,


Mathew Staver, Founder
Liberty Counsel

P.S. The card will be personalized for you... and it's free. But to begin processing your card, I must hear from you. Please go here now:

http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?u=19197&RID=16601122

...and may you further join us in annoying federal bureaucrats who have the audacity to try to label law-abiding, every day Americans as being "extremists" and "potential terrorists"!Image Source-Navy Jack

After reading this be sure to visit this web site. I found it to be an interesting read. You can read more about the story mentioned above here. You can also order some other goodies. Flags are here,
shirts are here
stickers, mugs, hats, and more are here.

Check out Gadsden.info

Blessings or Burdens? Part 2

Some things to think about.

What Does Managing a Large Household Look Like in the Real World?

Can I Really Afford Children?

The second major issue pertains to practicality: Assuming that children really are a blessing and the fruitful womb “is His reward” (Psalm 127:3), how does that concept work in the real world where economic resources are scarce and time is at a premium?

Sometimes people pose the question this way: “I can barely manage and afford a family with one child. How could I possibly handle three or four, let alone (gasp!) seven?”

But there is another question that needs to be asked: Are there practical, economic, and spiritual blessings for the family that flow from an economy of scale?

I believe there are. And these are precisely the types of blessings and benefits that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have modeled for all of us in their beautiful new book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting: Raising One of America’s Largest Families — How they do it.

From a practical perspective, this book offers definitive answers. And it is absolutely delightful, transparent, hands on, and full of humor. After reading it, you will walk away loving your own family more and will gain great ideas for household management. My wife gobbled it up:

This is a totally delightful book, easy to follow, and full of personal stories about their life as well as practical, tangible information about THEIR family which can be easily adapted into MY family, or anyone else’s. It is honest, humorous, humble, and completely in earnest. . . . You will read about their life story, from Michelle and Jim Bob’s childhood up to right now, their many businesses, their solution to laundry, education, music, and even food preparation. (Read more of Beall’s review here.)

There is a reason why this family has captured the imagination of America through their top-ranked television show, 17 Kids and Counting. They are communicating a Christ-exalting vision of home. And they are the real deal! A family that loves their children — all eighteen of them. There is so much negativism in the world, but the Duggars are using their life as a large family to show the beauty and practicality of the Christian household to a generation where many children never even experience the blessing of sitting down with their whole family for dinner.

What Does the Bible Say about the Blessing of Fruitfulness?
Does this Apply Today?

The final issue is the most important one:

What does the Bible say about having babies?

For Christians, the Bible is our standard for faith and practice. Everything necessary on the subject of having babies is found in God’s Holy Word. It is both the starting place and the “final court of appeal” for prayerful Christians who desire to make wise decisions regarding the womb.

Related issues include: Why are children a blessing? What does it mean to be fruitful? How does the Bible specifically link low birthrates to national judgment? Does the Bible promote, condone, or encourage baby banning? Is it a good idea to have babies in times of economic hardship?

These questions and others are answered in our CD, Children and the Dominion Mandate, and the book Be Fruitful and Multiply, both of which are included in this week’s special offer. If you have ever found yourself wondering how to respond to such questions, or if you have friends or relatives that disapprove of the number of children in your family, these indispensable tools will help you to use Scripture to reason through the many complex issues which are on the table.

Don Feder noted, "In 30 years, worldwide, birth rates have fallen by more than
50%. In 1979, the average woman on this planet had 6 children.
Today, the average is 2.9 children, and falling." He explained the situation
noting, "demographers tell us that with a birthrate of 1.3, everything else
being equal, a nation will lose half of its population every 45 years"

This article was from Vision Forum.

Another interesteing blog post here.

Blessings or Burdens? Part 1

What do you think?



As the world faces a potential demographic winter of underpopulation, political leaders move to clamp down on babies, and liberal social commentators use the language of hatred and fear-mongering to further anti-family campaigns aimed at proponents of fruitful families, many Christians remain undecided as to whether or not babies are a blessing or burden in troubled times.

After more than fifteen hundred years, Japanese culture is on the verge of extinction. There are not enough children. And similar fates may be in store for France, Italy, and elsewhere. These nations and others are on the brink of a demographic implosion with far-reaching economic implications — and they know it! There are simply not enough babies being born to maintain their economies.

But they are not alone. In the United States, the birthrate has been experiencing a dramatic and steady twelve-year decline. Despite this fact, last week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi defended her proposal that an important ingredient of the nation’s $825 billion “economic stimulus package” would include a taxpayer-subsidized effort to prevent the birth of more children. Why? She argues that children are bad for the economy. [For a more in-depth look at this international crisis, click here]

Three Key Issues Addressed

Are babies a blessing or a burden? This is a simple question, but one fraught with tremendous controversy and significant implications for nations and families.

There are really three issues on the table: First, the demographic implications of having babies; second, the practical issues concerning babies and the family during a recessionary economy (or at any time); and third — and most importantly — the scriptural foundations for a Christian worldview of the womb.

What May Happen to America and Other Nations Because of the Dramatic Decrease in Childbirth?

This first issue goes right to the heart of the present culture war: Will we be a self-indulgent nation with little regard for the sanctity of life, or will we recognize the God-ordained blessing of the biblical institution of the family with its emphasis on fruitfulness and the blessing of children?
As a nation, we have chosen the former. Now the question is this: What are the practical implications of our selfishness and disobedience? What happens to a country when the Malthusian dream is realized, and women have fewer and fewer babies?

The ultimate result is a culture-eradicating phenomenon and economic catastrophe called “Demographic Winter” — where the selfishness of a generation of families who refused God’s gift of children leads to a national birthrate that is insufficient to replace its aging population.

Don Feder put it this way:
Demographic Winter is the terminal stage in the suicide of the West — the culmination of a century of evil ideas and poisonous policies.
Here is how one demographer described the imminent catastrophe that will result from declining birthrates:

The ongoing global decline in human birthrates is the single most powerful force
affecting the fate of nations and the future of society in the twenty-first
century. —Phillip Longman, The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten
World Prosperity.

This perspective may be a shocker for those raised during the libertine ‘60s and ‘70s with the message of the Pill and population control, or for those spoon-fed on a diet of Green theology in the ‘90s. It is not comfortable to radical feminists who have made the “right” of a mother to destroy her own child the highest virtue a society can embrace.

But the facts are inescapable.

And this is the subject of the documentary, Demographic Winter: The Decline of the Human Family, one of the most important and groundbreaking films of the last year, maybe of the last decade. This is the first significant film to explore the most overlooked crisis of our generation: the rapid worldwide decline in birthrates.

The data presented is chilling. Columnist Don Feder summarizes the important issues raised by the film (i.e., how “demographic winter” will impact many areas of our lives):

• What will happen in the First World as fewer and fewer workers are called on to provide pensions for more and more retirees? At what point will the burden become so onerous that young workers will simply rebel and refuse to support a system that they couldn’t possibly hope to benefit from?

• How will Russia, which is expected to lose a third of its population by mid-point of this century, defend its borders? If Russia, which occupies the largest territory of any nation, dissolves into enclaves of squabbling ethnic groups, it will destabilize both Europe and Asia.

• Due to falling birthrates, at some point in the century, the world’s population will begin to decline. Then the decline will become rapid. We could even reach population free-fall.

• Throughout the course of history, there is no instance of economic growth accompanied by population decline. How can an industrial society be maintained with fewer and fewer workers and consumers? [1]

This film does not pretend to be a Christian film with a biblical analysis, but it is so full of carefully-researched data that is indispensable to this critical culture battle that Christian parents around the nation need to own it, and watch it, and then watch it again.

This article was from Vision Forum.

"Why They Don't Get It" Part 5

Part 5 (and the last) of the article from yesterday.

4. Confront them with, rather than isolate them from, the major cultural battles of our day.

Challenging students to love God fully by thinking deeply, discerningly, and truthfully about His word and His world is foundational to what a truly Christian education is. Any other educational means and methods that do not include this as a goal cannot, in my opinion, really be considered Christian education (even if there is a plethora of rules, Bible references, and verses to memorize).

According to the way the Scriptures describe the grand narrative of God's redemptive plan for creation, Christianity is neither a religion of ascetic withdrawal nor a dualistic philosophy that denigrates certain human activity as less than spiritual. Rather, followers of Christ are called to dive deeply—and hopefully headfirst—into the significant historical and cultural issues of the human situation. As G.K. Chesterton once said, "If Christianity should happen to be true—that is to say if its God is the real God of the universe—then defending it may mean talking about anything and everything."

This is what ought to be meant when the language of worldview is used in education. Historically, Christians have sought to understand, and respond to cultural crises. They understood that these crises were the site of the battle of worldviews. Unfortunately, many Christians today are unaware of, disinterested in, or avoiding of issues like embryo-destructive research, euthanasia, emerging technologies, the arts, film, fashion, legislation, human trafficking, politics, and international relations. In Gethsemane on the evening before His death, Christ prayed these astounding words for his followers: "Father, do not take them from the world, but protect them from the evil one" (John 17:15). Our prayer, and preparation, for our children should be no different.

One final word about the spirit from which we approach the next generation: a few months back, I received a thoughtful and appropriate criticism to a talk I often give which I call "Why Students Walk Away from their Faith (and what we can do about it...)." The letter asked if I was coming at this issue from a position of fear—fear of the world and the enemy—and very appropriately suggested that Christians should not be fearful.

I must say that I fully concur with this point. The fear of God casts out all other fear. As the late Richard John Neuhaus wrote: "We have not the right to despair for despair is sin. And, we have not the reason to despair for Christ has risen." I hope I am not approaching this issue from fear, though I can certainly see how it could be seen that way.

I hope I am approaching this issue from a perspective of realism, for students really are walking away from or checking out of the faith they were raised with, and we should confront this reality as Biblically and resourcefully as possible. This is not something we can ignore. As the historian Will Durant aptly noted: "From barbarism to civilization requires a century. From civilization to barbarism takes but a day."

I can say in all truthfulness that as I write this, I really do have hope. Fundamentally, I have hope in Christ—He has risen. The day He died was actually the day that death died, and nothing can ever undo that reality. I also have hope in the Church, despite my critical words about it. I am part of this institution which Christ established and announced that against it the gates of Hell could not stand. (My reading of Church History has done more than anything else to secure my belief in those words).

Finally, I have hope because annually I work with many students—both here and abroad—who do, or are fighting to, "get it." They want their lives to matter for Christ, they want to take the Gospel into all the world (including every corner of culture), and they want to think well about and in this world. They will be better than my generation has been. They will love God better, serve others better, care more deeply, and think more clearly. They want to read good books, and they want to live for something bigger than themselves.

This article came from here. Be sure to visit this great web site.

"Why They Don't Get It" Part 4

Part 4 from the article from yesterday.

2. Give them a thorough education in worldviews and apologetics.
Because everyone has a worldview—a basic way in which they see, understand, and interact with the world—education is at its most fundamental level a worldview-shaping enterprise. It is the responsibility of a Christian institution to challenge students with the Christian view of life and the world, while exposing the non-Christian worldviews that others hold and which are behind historical movements and cultural expressions.

First, students need to know what they believe. Many see Christianity as merely a private faith rather than as a robust view of reality that offers a tried and true map for life. If students are convinced that the core of the Christian faith is how they can get to heaven and have a happy life, rather than as the Truth about all of life and the world, they do not know what they believe.

Of course, there simply is no substitute here for equipping students to dive deeply into the Scriptures. At the same time, however, it is important to help them dive into the Scriptures in the right way. Unfortunately, many students have only seen the Bible handled poorly by other Christians. Often, their only experience with the Scriptures include it being replaced by therapeutic clichés, utilized and memorized completely out of context, tacked on but not central to a lesson, strangely pieced together with other verses to make a point, proof-texted to supplement a devotional book or song lyric, or largely ignored.

When the Scriptures are handled this way, bits and pieces of the Bible only get co-opted into the student's existent worldview. They may know the Bible, but they don't think Biblically. Rather, the student remains as the central arbiter of truth and interpretation.

The goal is that the Scriptures would transform the student's mind (i.e. worldview). I fear we may have a generation of students who see the Bible through the lens of their culturally inherited worldview, rather than seeing the culture through the lens of the Bible.

Second, students need to know what others believe. There are non-Biblical worldviews that are battling for hearts and minds as well as our culture. Historically, Christians from Justin Martyr to Augustine to Pascal to Edwards to C.S. Lewis, not to mention the Apostle Paul, exhibited a strong understanding of the competing worldviews in their culture.

We at Summit Ministries contend that, at minimum, students need to have a handle on at least six major Western worldviews before going to college: secular humanism, Marxism/Leninism, postmodernism, Islam, New Age, and Biblical Christianity.

Third, Christians must know why they believe what they believe. Too many Christians cannot answer, and are even afraid of, the challenging questions about God, Jesus, the Bible, morality, or truth. Unfortunately, too many adults dread the moment that a student asks them a tough faith question they cannot answer. This avoidance, of course, does not remove the question. It merely delays the question until the student is an environment where the question will be entertained (like college!). We ought to see these questions as opportunities for the student, and ourselves, to dive even deeper into this faith we claim is true. Plus, God is big enough for the question.

3. Show them that Christianity is not just about what we are against, but what we are about.
Proverbs says that without vision, the people "cast off restraint." One of the main reasons that students are casualties of immoral choices is that they lack a big vision for their lives. While they may know what they are not supposed to do, they fail to understand the life of meaning, purpose, and impact Christ calls them to. Christian students often get the impression that we are merely saved from, and not "to."

The picture of redemption in Scripture is far broader than this, however. We often forget how many words used in the Scripture for redemption are "re" words: renew, regenerate, reconcile, redeem, re-creation, etc. The implication is that salvation is a return to the real life God intended for us before the fall. Christ not only came to save us from death, he came to save us to life—an abundant life at that!

This life is not merely our "spiritual" lives either. Rather, the Scriptures offer us the true Big Story of the world: from creation to new creation.

Come back tomorrow to read the last part of this article or go here to read the whole thing.

"Why They Don't Get It" Part 3

Part 3 from the article yesterday.

Helping Students "Get It"
by John Stonestreet

In my previous article, I argued that a major project for those of us who work with students is to help them "get" Christianity. While a significant number of Christian students reject Christianity during their university years, far more struggle to embrace a faith that is not really authentic or orthodox. Theirs is a "moralistic therapeutic Deism" as Christian Smith put it; a tame faith that is privatized and perhaps personally meaningful but which is not publically true, culturally significant, or fundamentally informative to the rest of their lives.

Rather than trying to make Christianity as attractive and entertaining as possible, we ought instead to be sure that what we are communicating to them is actually Christianity. As I noted, this is very challenging in a culture of information overload, where students are bombarded daily with a multitude of messages, most of which, encourage them toward a mentality of adolescence.

Still, there is good news. Adolescently minded cultures like ours inevitably have a leadership vacuum. So, there remains a terrific opportunity for influence for those who produce the leaders, especially if they produce networks of leaders who can think deeply and contribute broadly to a wide variety of cultural institutions.

How can we do this?

1. Challenge students, instead of coddle them.
Frankly, it is my opinion that we aim too low with teenagers. Students do not need more entertainment, whether it is from the television, the Wii, the iPod, or the youth group. We will never effectively prepare students to engage our entertainment-driven culture by replacing it with Christian entertainment.

It is foolish to expect students to take Christianity and the world seriously if all they have been exposed to at youth group is games, pizza, and mindless mini-therapy lessons that may or may not come from the Scriptures. The church should be the place where we no longer believe (and students no longer experience) the myth of adolescence.

Instead, students need (and want) to be challenged: with the Scriptures, theology, tough questions, and cultural dilemmas. We see this every year at our Summit student leadership conferences—students endure 70+ hours of lecture and instruction on worldviews, apologetics, culture, and character. Then they call home and ask for more money, so they can buy books!

I think there is something of the imago dei in these students that screams in rebellion against the low expectations they face everywhere. For proof, see the movement of teenagers started by Brett and Alex Harris' recent book Do Hard Things.

Come back tomorrow for part 4 or read the whole article here.

"Why They Don't Get It" Part 2

Part 2 of the article from yesterday.

3. The cultural identity crisis.
Darwinism was the central battleground of worldviews in the late 1800's, the reliability of Scripture in the early to mid 20th century, and truth for the Gen X'ers. While these issues are still very important, most of the contemporary worldview battles are rooted in a basic disagreement of what it means to be and live as human.

Today's students enter a world of runaway biotechnology, postmodern social constructions of gender, virtual online identities, family redefinition, distorted understandings of beauty, and multiple sexual orientations, each of which fundamentally challenge our concept of humanness. Further, our culture has largely embraced Darwin, trivialized Scripture, and relativized truth, and therefore left few stable resources to negotiate this corporate identity crisis.

At the same time, clear teaching on what it means to be imago dei is largely neglected in the church. Conservatives, as Nancy Pearcey noted, [4] often begin the redemption story in Genesis 3 rather than Genesis 1. The fall, though taught, lacks context (from what have we fallen? To what will we be redeemed?) On the other hand, liberalism replaces the rule and responsibility endowed upon humanity by God with muddy concepts of "freedom" and "self-image." The depth and breadth of the fall is trivialized or ignored.

What it means to be human is a critical touch point for students vis-à-vis the Christian worldview.

4. The issue of definitions.
The battle of ideas is often the battle over definitions. Asking students, "What do you mean by that?" has never been more crucial. Assuming that we share definitions, or that traditional definitions will go unquestioned, with the emerging generation is a mistake with significant consequences. Among the more crucial words needing careful definition include God, human, truth, faith, Gospel, Kingdom, evil, tolerance, male, female, pro-life, justice, marriage, family, freedom, rights, responsibility, and the good life.

Further, the concept of worldview needs clear definition if it is to be preserved. Having been used and misused in a variety of ways, it is dismissed as a modern concept from one side and in danger of dying the death of the "we already tried that program" from the other side. Abandoning the concept would be wrongheaded, given its rich history and its Biblical foundations.

I have attempted to highlight several barriers to communicating the full Gospel to the next generation. Articles like this that list trends tend to appear pessimistic. I am, however, encouraged by the commitment and courage I have seen from this current generation of students once they "get it."

Part 2 of this article will address what we can do as adult influencers to help them "get it." If students accept or reject Christianity, that's one thing. If they "don't get it," that's another.

Come back tomorrow for part 3 or read the whole article here.

"Why They Don't Get It" Part 1

The following is a really great article I read. I think all parents should
read this for sure. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment. ~Kim

Helping Students "Get It"

by John Stonestreet

Source Here

If Christian Smith and Melinda Denton are correct, our key concern in regards to the next generation is that they "get" Christianity. Our primary focus should turn from whether Christian students like church, or whether they think of Jesus as their best friend, or even whether they know why they believe what they believe (though that has been a useful tag line for Summit Ministries for years). Primarily, if Smith and Denton are correct, our focus should be teaching them what Christianity is because, simply put, they don't get it.

My experience working with students, most having strong histories in conservative evangelicalism (and representing almost evenly home, private Christian, and public schooling), suggests Smith and Denton are right. I often hear students describe their experience of Christianity in these terms: "I've been a Christian my whole life, but I don't really get it." Or, "I prayed the prayer when I was four, but I don't think it stuck." Or, "I committed my life to Christ when I was fifteen, but I am not sure it stuck."

How is it that students who are so deeply engrossed in church culture and who have more access to the Bible, Christian literature, youth programs, and other resources than any generation that has lived since the founding of the church, can be so confused about what Christianity actually is and why it matters? How is it that they possess such a truncated, neutered view of the Kingdom? How is it that these students just don't "get it"?

1. The distraction factor.
The age of information presents two unique challenges to this generation of students. First, they encounter daily an overwhelming amount of information. Of course, information isn't neutral; it contains, argues or embodies ideas. Students today swim in deluge of information. Whether or not there is an absence of the true or the genuine, there is often an inability to find it amidst all the noise and distraction.

Second, they experience this information, with the inherent ideas, differently than previous generations. Information today (especially via the internet) comes without context, without a clear source, and often without narrative. Their lives look more like a random episode of Seinfeld than the start-to-finish Cosby Show. They are not a linear generation.

The result? Neal Postman argued a long time ago, without understanding the full impact of the Internet, that the west had become a silly culture. [2] Entertainment had destroyed our ability to think and prioritize. We lack discernment. We care about irrelevant things, and ignore what is actually important.

Unfortunately, the Christian community often responds by heaping "Christian" noise on the rest of the noise. Attempting to be "relevant" to students, we instead contribute to their appetites for distraction. Entertainment has made us silly and Christian entertainment has made our students silly Christians.

2. The grip of adolescence.
"There was a time, literally, when there were no teenagers." [3] In virtually every other culture in the history of the world prior to late 20th century Western culture, kids became adults. Not anymore. Now, they become teenagers or, as we call them, adolescents.

Despite its rather recent history, adolescence goes largely unquestioned as a fixed stage of development. It is fully expected that students will lose their minds from ages 13-18. "Kids will be kids," we say. Only, we aren't referring to kids, we are talking about those who buy, vote, and drive automobiles.

Further, the grip of adolescence continues to forcefully expand. On the front end, we now talk about "pre-teens" (with marketing engines quickly spotting the financial potential). On the back end, whereas eighteen was once considered the end of adolescence, it is now the middle. Adolescence now refers to ages 11 to 30.

But, that's not all. Adolescence is now, and this must not be missed, the goal of our culture. Somewhere along the way, we ceased to be a culture where kids aspire to be adults and became a culture where adults aspire to be kids.

Often, our approaches to youth ministry sanctify adolescence. Whereas teenagers have the capacity (and thus, I would argue, the calling), to think deeply and broadly about their culture, confront evil and injustice, and champion the truth, they instead are encouraged in their adolescent narcissism. It's a neutered Gospel, only about them and their needs, lacking vision (Prov. 29:18).

Come back tomorrow for part 2 or read the whole article here.

Join the Patriotic Resistance

Image Source

I am not going to sit by silently as Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosiand Harry Reid re-make our nation in their liberal image.That's why I just joined a grassroots conservative effort to RESIST President Obama's liberal agenda. Please go here to join with me:

http://www.grassfire.org/111/petition.asp?PID=19544414&NID=1

The Resistance States: As an American citizen, while I will show respect to President Obama, I oppose the far-Left and socialistic elements that comprise the centerpiece of his agenda, including the massive Government spending spree that is being pushed as an economic “stimulus.” I recognize that it will take a patriotic and resilient Citizen Resistance to block implementation of this agenda and I join with others who oppose these threats to our liberties

Specifically, I Resist:

Socialistic wealth redistribution including any and all tax increases and big-government welfare programs. Silencing conservatives through the Fairness Doctrine and other efforts that restrict free speech.

Open border anarchy including amnesty for illegal aliens and promotion of multi-nation “unions”. Government-run health care that weakens our system and imposes more tax burdens on citizens.

Weakening of our military through rapid pullback from Iraq, defunding our troops and overall disarmament. Social liberalism including radical pro-abortion agenda, the end of marriage and the homosexual agenda.

Liberal court activism that undermines faith, family and liberties while expanding government control. Post-American globalismthat diminishes our global role and threatens our national sovereignty.

Environmental extremism, the CO2 tax, undermining coal and nuclear, and bans on
exploration. Weakening the 2nd Amendment through unconstitutional gun laws that take away or penalize us for owning firearms and our right to defend our family, our property, and ourselves.

Silencing conservatives through the Fairness Doctrine and other efforts that restrict free speech.

Government-run health care that weakens our system and imposes more tax burdens on citizens.

Social liberalism including radical pro-abortion agenda, the end of marriage and the homosexual agenda.

Post-American globalism that diminishes our global role and threatens our national sovereignty.

Weakening the 2nd Amendment through unconstitutional gun laws that take away or penalize us for owning firearms and our right to defend our family, our property, and ourselves.


From the Desk of:
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org Alliance

+ + Sign the petition saying "No" to the bogus stimulus
and Obama's socialistic agenda. -- Steve

If you are as outraged as I am by the Obama-led rush to force the so-called stimulus bill through Congress, then please take action with me today.

The Senate is debating the bill right now and I want to rally tens of thousands of citizens in the next 48 hours to oppose this bogus big-government spending plan -- and then announce the grassroots opposition to the national media.

Please join Grassfire's Patriotic Resistance to this massive government spending spree and Obama's socialistic agenda:

This citizen petition rejects the bogus, big-government spending spree and also announced our unified Patriotic Resistance to Obama's agenda of higher taxes and more government control.

+ + Sign the petition, then call your senators!

Far-left groups like MoveOn.org are actively lobbying members of the Senate urging them to vote for this bloated spending bill. And President Obama is doing a full-court press with his allies in the liberal media.

Now with debate underway and a vote highly likely, your calls and faxes are more important than ever!

Judge Rightly

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I have heard many times from many Christians (and was guilty of this thinking myself) that we are not to judge. However, I would like you to take a look at some scriptures on this topic. There is an excellent article here that will shed some new light on that way of thinking. NO, this is not some new revelation but I am concerned that we have been misguided in our thinking on this matter. Let me know what you think. To whet your appetite here is a short excerpt

Christ kept repeating this theme in His ministry. “Hypocrites,” Jesus said, “why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?” (Luke 12:56-57). Still, His own followers have mostly ignored the Lord’s harsh rebuke: “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to [judge, i.e., to] remove the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Mat. 7:5). “Judge Not” is the Hypocritical Oath.

and a bit more here.....

“Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren?”

(1 Cor. 6:2-5).

To read it all click here.

Below are a few more places that address this issue. After doing some research, leave a comment and let me know what your conclusion is now.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44270

http://www.gotquestions.org/do-not-judge.html

http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~cmadd01/shouldju.html

Government In Charge of Political Balance on Radio?

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Recent polling data now suggests nearly half of Americans agree
that the GOVERNMENT SHOULD MANDATE political balance on radio
and TV airwaves!

While some American people actually believe re-instatement of
the "Censorship Doctrine" (aka the Fairness Doctrine) would
accomplish political balance, the stark reality is, in the
interest of showing both sides of a controversial issue, people
will get neither!

It's not a stretch to think that broadcasters, intimidated by
the FCC, will run from anything close to controversial. Programming
like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and scores of others would
vaporize because of government censorship...

..and we can't allow that to happen.

Click here right now to help:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?u=13663&RID=11827900


++ Change is Coming...

You may have read recent reports (posted right here
on MRC) suggesting liberal leaders aren't terribly interested in
moving this Censorship Doctrine forward.

We're not buying it. Not for a minute. In fact, we are
fully convinced that this bolstered, heavily-muscled
liberal- controlled Congress will move quickly to censor
and ultimately silence conservative speech...

We believe this because conservative talk radio represents
the last stumbling block to liberal domination of the airwaves.

That's why we've started the Free Speech Alliance, and have made
a commitment to dedicate every possible resource at the MRC's
disposal to fighting this effort to silence the conservative voice.

We're calling on all concerned citizens to join us and make a strong
statement that we will not tolerate this blatant attempt to censor
and silence the conservative voice.

Perhaps you missed our first call to action, so please stand with
us right now by clicking here:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?u=13663&RID=11827900


After signing, forward this message to 25-30 friends, and carefully
explain to them why the "Censorship Doctrine" is so dangerous.
Urge them to join the fight against it by clicking here:

http://www.mrcaction.org/r.asp?u=13663&RID=11827900

Thank you in advance for your help, and for standing with the
MRC to stop these attacks on our free speech rights.

The Media Research Center is a research and education organization
operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Contributions are tax-deductible for income tax purposes.

I believe that the information above is VERY important. (I did not write this of course, it came to me in an email from The Media Research Center.) This can NOT happen. 99% of what we see on tv is unbalanced in the favor of liberals. Talk radio is all that conservatives have left. We have to fight against this. Every time I have heard "we want equal rights" it eventually has turned into for many "special rights" above every one else. (Think about extreme feminists, extreme laws for only certain races, and the radical ones in the homosexual community attacking churchse.) When they start talking about making talk radio equal or balanced it will be the same way. It will get a lot of people off the air including Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Those are in the top two from what I last heard. The liberals had a chance at radio and it flopped. It just wasn't good. Conservatives can do it and do it well. That is why they are a threat. Also, if this attempt is successful how long do you think it will be before they go after the Internet. I for one am going to do all I can to keep this from happening. At this point we know this attack on our freedom is coming. If we do nothing we can't say we didn't know or we didn't know how to take action.

"Talk radio tends to be one-sided. It also tends to
be dwelling in
hyperbole. It's explosive. It pushes
people to, I think, extreme views
without a lot of
information ... I'm looking at the [Fairness Doctrine]...
Unfortunately, talk radio is overwhelmingly one way."

Dianne Feinstein

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce and brave man, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

Mark Twain

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President."

President Theodore Roosevelt

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke

Vote Today & A New King?

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The big day is finally here. Can you believe it? It will be over soon....one way or another.

I told my husband that I would like to go on vacation until it is over. Of course, that would be AFTER I vote. Then I want to go on a vacation where I don't hear anything about the election. I don't want to deal with the emotional roller coaster! Just give me the bottom line at the end. Just tell me who won and how close it was. That's it! I don't need a minute by minute analysis or that kind of stress in my life.
However, I am sure my curiosity is going to get the best of me. :-(

Don't forget to vote today and vote early. To get an idea of how my readers are doing, please leave a comment below after you have voted. Spread the word that you are voting!


A lot of places around here are giving away free things (coffee, chicken, donuts) if you wear your "I Voted" sticker.

I was reading my friend's blog today. Part of something she had on there really jumped out at me. The whole post is excellent but this part really stopped me in my tracks. This is part of a post regarding a black mans attitude toward Obama and why he will NOT vote for him. I am sure you will find it very interesting.


You will find her post here

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the
beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king.
First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 “Now listen to
them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over
them will do.”

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 ” When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have
chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.”



19 But the people refused to listen to
Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.



20 Then we will be like all the other
nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our
battles.”



21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he
repeated it before the LORD.



22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give
them a king.”




In America, I see this king as "The King of Change" Of course, he would also be the King of Change at any cost? That is what amazes me. A lot of people have to be going against their very core beliefs and values to vote for this man. They are willing to put aside their morals on the hope of change.
What kind of change though?
That is the frightening part.

Now, hurry up and go vote!

Friend of Planned Parenthood

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Go to Mrspsycho's Pub blog and check out this post.

Have you ever heard of Margaret Sanger's American Birth Control League? That is what eventually became what we know today as Planned Parenthood.

"Margaret Sanger spoke of sterilizing those she designated as "unfit," a plan she said would be the "salvation of American civilization.: And she also spike of those who were "irresponsible and reckless," among whom she included those " whose religious scruples prevent their exercising control over their numbers." She further contended that "there is no doubt in the minds of all thinking people that the procreation of this group should be stopped." That many Americans of African origin constituted a segment of Sanger considered "unfit" cannot be easily refuted."

That and more information on this topic can be found here.

If that isn't upsetting enough here is something that happened much more recently. This happened in March of this year. A UCLA student group made some phone calls. I guess they wanted to do an experiment and see what the reaction was from Planned Parenthood. I am sure most will be shocked.

Idaho donor: The abortion—I can give money specifically for a black baby, that would be the purpose?


PP Rep: Absolutely. If you wanted to designate that your gift be used to help an African-American woman in need, then we would certainly make sure that the gift was earmarked for that purpose.


Idaho donor: Great, because I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don’t want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids. I just had a baby; I want to put it in his name.


PP Rep: Yes, absolutely.


Idaho donor: And we don’t, you know we just think, the less black kids out there the better.

PP Rep: Understandable, understandable.


Idaho donor: Right. I want to protect my son, so he can get into college


PP Rep: Alright. Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I’ve had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I’m excited, and want to make sure I don’t leave anything out.


This information came from here also.

Your gift will be used to HELP an African-American woman in need? Are you kidding me? How awful is this? What she calls help I call murder....put that word in place of help above. It is very likely an African-American woman in the womb.

Doesn't this make the video I referenced above even more interesting? Very sad.

Regarding the cartoon above. Take it from a family that knows. There are so many people in this world that would love and cherish a baby. There are many people who can't have a baby. Please, don't abort, give the gift of life to your child and to a family that would love that baby.

My Top 7 Biggest Concerns...Part 3

My Top 7 Biggest Concerns Regarding A Candidate Part 3

This is a continuation. To read yesterdays part 2 click here.

# 5 "Bitter Clingers". Have you heard this new phrase? This is where it came from....what do you think?

Our challenge is to get people persuaded
that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily
lives," he said. "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot
of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and
nothings replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and
the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that
somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have
not.

"And it's not surprising then they get bitter,
they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or
anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their
frustrations." -Obama

That was certainly a slap in the face to small town people but won't he need a lot of them to win this election? Not a smart thing to say.

Click here to see some of those small town people clinging to God and their guns while being accused of being bitter.

#6 From his own mouth....spread the wealth.

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Here is the quote.

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to
make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for
success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for
folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think
when you spread the wealth around, it's good for
everybody." -Obama

It seems like there really shouldn't be a need for coments here. However, this is another example of something said that apparently has not upset as man people as I thought it would. I assumed that MOST Americans would be gravely concerned about this. I certainly am.

#7 Birth Certificate.

This is the most recent controversy I have been hearing about. Click here for a lot more details. Here is an overview.

"HONOLULU, Hawaii – Although the legitimacy of Sen. Barack Obama's birth certificate has become a focus of intense speculation – and even several lawsuits – WND has learned that Hawaii's Gov. Linda Lingle has placed the candidate's birth certificate under seal and instructed the state's Department of Health to make sure no one in the press obtains access to the original document under any circumstances....

In a startling development, Obama's Kenyan grandmother has reportedly alleged she witnessed Obama's birth at the Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya."

Friday, U.S. Federal judge Richard Barclay Surrick, a Clinton appointee, dismissed a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania attorney Phillip J. Berg who alleged Obama was not a U.S. "natural born" citizen and therefore ineligible for the presidency under the specifications of the U.S. Constitution, under Article II, Section 1.Berg told WND last week he does not have a copy of a Kenyan birth certificate for Obama that he alleges exists. In Kenya, WND was told by government authorities that all documents concerning Obama were under seal until after the U.S. presidential election on November 4.

Does it sound like he is trying to hide something? I don't want a president that is deceptive, do you? I think we already had one of those and it was a terrible embarrassment to this nation.

In closing, yeah I know, you thought I never would. ;-)

Vote people...it is urgent.

You must get the facts and then make an educated decision. I know we have all heard before how THIS election is so important. They all are really. However, this election is going to change the way America is and has been for hundreds of years of the wrong person is elected. The America that Obama wants us to "change" into is NOT the America our founding fathers came here to establish. It is NOT the America that I want my children or grand children living in either.

If you pray, then pray too but everyone should be making an educated decision and voting in a few days.

My Top 7 Biggest Concerns....Part 1

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My Top 7 Biggest Concerns Regarding A Candidate Part 1

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.”—Thomas Jefferson

One of my goals on this blog is to help Moms be informed. I believe a lot of Moms get busy with their jobs, homes, families, husbands, etc. I think that it is easy to just avoid other things that are going on in the world and especially in our country. It is not a purposeful thing but it sometimes just accidentally happens. Because of that I am going to step into some political stuff from time to time. I sure hope I don't offend but that certainly is a risk you take when discussing politics.

I have been mulling around several things about this upcoming election. Then I read an excellent post on another blog I frequent. It is a really good post so I hope you will go HERE to read it.

I have really been baffled that so many people are willing to vote for Barack Hussein Obama. They seem to think that he is the avenue of change and that all will be good if he is elected.

This is not an angry post, just the facts (and of course my comments). There are many facts that would cause me NOT to vote for him. Today and for the next 2 days I want to focus on just a few. When I say I am baffled I really do mean it. It puzzles me so that a man such as this would get anywhere close to winning the votes of Americans. If he were in another country I might not be so surprised but this is America, right?

#1 If nothing else about this man frightens you, look at his Pastor. This is the person that he & his family would support, look up to, get counsel from, be shepherded by...isn't that the role of a pastor?

Jeremiah Wright has been Obama's pastor for more than 20 years. He married Barack and his wife Michelle & baptized Barack’s two daughters.

Here a just a FEW of the things this man has said,

“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing ‘God Bless America.’ No, no, no, God damn America, that’s in the Bible for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.” (2003)

(Would this be the same America that waits YEARS to follow through with the death penalty on even the most horrific murderers? Would this be the same America that has to build bigger prisons because the penalty for murder is not death any more? Would we need these bigger prisons if the murderers were put to death? Would we have as many murderers if people knew the real penalty for murder would actually be a quick death? We treat people less than human? Come on? Have you heard about the "rights" that prisoners have these days? Isn't it nifty that we get to pay for those so called "rights"? I would imagine that he is one of the people moaning and complaining about the death penalty. Guess, what? God is NOT against the death penalty. (Read your Bible, Pastor!)

“Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!…We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.” (sermon)

Wow! It is sad that he thinks one race is superior to another and I think he really does. God made us all. None better than the others. The interesting thing is the more I hear him and others talk on this matter the more I hear them saying one race is superior. Is mine better? Is his better? I thought we were equal. That is how I feel. I guess I don't count since I am white? I know there are racist people out there and will always be. There are also people that look down on women and there will always be. People look down on others for a variety of reasons, skin color, male/female, region, nationality, religion, financial, etc. That is a common theme for mankind. By looking down on someone else they think it makes themselves better. Wise people know better. I am so tired of people looking for ways to separate us instead of bringing us together. We are ALL Americans. Let's act like it!

I don't want a president that follows this kind of person, do you? By the way, I have had the same Pastor for about 21 years. I KNOW that if he had these kinds of opinions I would know about it. There would be no way for me to deny that.

#2 His wife. This woman frightens me. There are many things I could say about her. However, I will limit my comments to one quote.

“For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” she told a Milwaukee crowd today, “because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”

For the first time in her adult life she is proud of her country so she has NOT been proud of it for a long time. That is the idea here. She wasn't proud of her country when she was able to go from being the child of a city water employee and secretary to going to Princeton or Harvard Law School? That ability is not even available in some countries. Wasn't she proud of her country when her husband became a Senator? I would have been proud of my husband AND my country at that moment in time. There are many times in my life that I have been proud of my country. What about the TONS of money that our country sends to other countries? She isn't proud of all the aid that our country gives to other countries?

Since this post could get really long I am dividing it into 3 parts. Come back tomorrow for part 2.

I could make a list much bigger but I am trying to limit myself to 7.

If you watched the Obama show last night be sure to check out this post over at Nice Deb...well, even if you didn't check it out anyway because it is funny!

"Fireproof"

Speaking of movies....I have been hearing about another great movie called Fireproof. Under the title it says , "Never Leave Your Partner Behind".

You can go to the website and watch the trailer or watch it below. It looks really good. Click here. If you are tired of all the immoral movies then you will want to see this one. When you do leave a comment letting us know what you thought.

Click here to see how great this movie is doing.




On their blog they have listed 12 reasons to go see this movie. I am listing a few.

We believe in the mission of the producers, who are trying to influence the culture positively from a Christian perspective through mainstream media.

Fireproof reaffirms the sacred institution of marriage in a culture plagued by divorce.

The movie strongly advocates faith, family, and Christian values.

It dramatically displays the power of forgiveness

Fireproof reminds us that no situation is too desperate for God to redeem—that with God, all things are possible.

Any movie that has in its credits a "prayer coordinator," you should see.

I love this short interview with the star of the show. Click here and find out the little secret Kirk Cameron did regarding "the kiss" in the movie. Amazing and beautiful.

An American Carol

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I am really excited. The movie is finally in theaters. It kind of snuck up on me since it came out on the 3rd. Has anyone seen it yet? I am talking about "An American Carol". For more information about it click here. You can watch the trailer there too.


I am excited that Kelsey Grammar is in it. I really like him. It turns out he is one of the few real life CONSERVATIVE actors. Can you believe it? There are some that exist. I think we should support this movie. Those of us with conservative values need to let Hollywood and others know we are NOT in the minority. Let's show them that a movie about our great country and the people that love it will bring in the bucks! Hollywood wake up! We don't support your liberal views!

If you have seen this movie please leave a comment. I want to hear what you think. This is your chance to play movie critic.

Since I am on the topic of movies I have to talk about one that just makes my blood boil. There is a new movie out by one of my least favorite people (Bill Maher) called "Religulous". I know I need to pray for him but when I think of him I imagine him holding hands with the devil.

I encourage you to NOT see this movie.

Here is an excerpt from Roger Ebert during his review of the movie.

"Between them, they cheerfully dismiss wide swaths of what are widely thought to be Catholic teachings, including the existence of Hell. One of these priests almost dissolves in laughter as he mentions various beliefs that I, as a child, solemnly absorbed in Catholic schools. The other observes that when Italians were polled to discover who was the first person they would pray to in a crisis, Jesus placed sixth."

You can read the whole thing here.

I know if I dig into this much more I will be furious so let's go back to "An American Carol" shall we? Let's go see that movie! I hope it is GREAT!

Let's Hear It For Modesty!

I found this amazing post on a new blog I discovered. You MUST read it. Read it until the end. I was dumbfounded by the end. Come back here and leave me a comment. I want to know if your reaction was similar to mine or not. Let's not give up on modesty. :-)

To read it click here.

Speaking of modesty, have your heard about "Moms for Modesty"? Check it out here. I love what it says. I pasted their mission below.

Moms for Modesty Mission Statement

As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.

I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.

I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.

I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.

I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls' and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

Vote YES for Sarah!

This may come as a shock to you but the National Organization for Women (NOW) has officially endorsed Obama. (OK, you caught me, that was sarcasm!) You would think they would be thrilled that she could be our first female VP but that is not the case.


Please vote on this!

This literally takes ONE SECOND to do - click on "YES" if you think Sara Palin is qualified to be V.P. and show the NOW group what you think.

Simply click on the link below.

VOTE YES - National Organization for Women Poll on Palin!


Click HERE to vote and pass this on to your friends. ALL women should vote on this.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) has put a poll on the PBS
website which says, so far, that 60% of people think that Palin is not qualified
as a VP. Of course, they have sent this to all their pro-death people to vote on.

I have counter acted by giving it my YES
vote. Will you do the same?
No requirement for name, address, etc.



Update: I voted today and the tables are turning. It is NOT 60% anymore. :-)