Obama; the Antichrist? (Personally; I'm Holding Out for 'Zuul'....)

(Proof that things just can't get any weirder comes this, a piece from my all time favorite website of the Tinfoil Hat Brigade, World Net Daily.

In case you're not familar, WND was founded in 1997 by a husband-and-wife team in the heart of Oregon's 'survivalist country'.   With 'offices' [I use that term loosely] in Cave Junction, WND offers a mixed-bag of 'conservative viewpoints' [read:  Batshit].


This article purports to prove, through some hocus-pocus and some liberally-translated Hebrew, that Barack Obama is, indeed, the Antichrist.  

Personally, I'm holding out for Zuul.

Y'know.  That critter from 'Ghostbusters'.)


TESTING THE FAITH
Posted: July 30, 2009
9:50 pm Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

For centuries, many have wondered about the identity of a biblical leader who will do Satan the devil's bidding, trying to thwart the plans of Jesus Christ shortly before His prophesied return to Earth.

That character has come to be known as "the antichrist," even though the Bible never uses that word to describe any single person.

Now, after endless speculation suggesting Presidents John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush could possibly be the End Times Bad Boy, there's a new viral video placing the current occupant of the White House into the club.

An American Christian has produced a brief film for YouTube that connects one statement by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke to President Barack Obama.

His 4-minute video focuses on the direct quote: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18).



"When I started doing a little research, I found the Greek word for 'lightning' is 'astrape', and the Hebrew equivalent is 'Baraq'," said YouTube contributor "ppsimmons," a self-described Christian with a theological education and many years in the ministry, who spoke to WND under condition of anonymity. "I thought that was fascinating."  

As he continued looking into the rest of the words in the phrase, he focused on "heaven," and found that it can refer not just to God's dwelling place, but also "the heights" or "high places."

He then recalled Isaiah 14:14, where Lucifer, another name for Satan, is quoted as saying, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

"I wondered what the word 'heights' is," said ppsimmons, "and I looked it up in the dictionary, and it's 'Bamah'."

Thus, on the video, the announcer notes, "If spoken by a Jewish rabbi today, influenced by the poetry of Isaiah, He (Jesus) would say these words in Hebrew ... 'I saw Satan as Baraq Ubamah.'"

"Gosh, was Jesus giving us a clue or was this just a freak coincidence?" thought the filmmaker at the time of his research.

"I want to emphasize I'm not ashamed of what I put there," he told WND. "I'm not proclaiming he is the antichrist, or that I'm some kind of a Hebrew expert, but the word associations are indisputable. The Hebrew word for lightning is 'Baraq' and the word for heights or high places is 'Bamah.'"

The movie has a prominent disclaimer stressing the film does not declare "BHO" [Barack Hussein Obama] to be the antichrist, but is merely pointing out the Hebrew words and their "striking" correlations to Jesus' statement.

Obama is far from being the first public figure to have his identity tied to Bible prophecy. For instance, President Reagan was considered by some to be a potential merely because each of his names – Ronald Wilson Reagan – has six letters, prompting some to think of 666, the 'number of the beast' in the Book of Revelation.

Modern books such as "Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession" and "Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil" have chronicled a wide variety of other suspects, including Henry Kissinger, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Italy's Benito Mussolini, Juan Carlos of Spain, Israel's Moshe Dayan, Egypt's Anwar Sadat, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Elvis Presley and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, perhaps for his famous birthmark on his head that some thought could be "the mark" of the beast mentioned in Revelation.

When WND asked if people should take the video seriously or with a grain of salt, its producer said, "I take the middle road. I don't take it with a grain of salt, but I don't use the Bible like a Ouija board either. It's not like a magical crystal ball. Clear prophecy is one thing. Making word associations is another. Just look at it. I wouldn't take it super serious and say that's the proof we need. It's a little weird."

_______________________________________

(Does anyone see problems with this?  How about this, for a start:  The languages used today bear no resemblance to what was used contemporaneously with the Biblical quotes being offered here.  Obama's name is a combination of Arabic and Swahili - languages which simply didn't exist in Biblical times.  

The New Testament was written in Greek.   Jesus himself likely spoke Aramaic - an afro-asiatic language which was used from around [if memory serves] 500BCE-70CE.  Aramaic is one of the precursors to modern Hebrew - but actually bears little real resemblance to it [Aramaic is actually more-related to Phonecian and Babylonian].

The author's 'research' here is laughable.)

Nope.   I don't buy it.  I'm still holding out for Zuul:

Requiem in Nothing-Flat....

...Being the Somewhat-Brutal Autopsy of a Failed Relationship.....
(Published November; 2007)

I had lunch with a friend today.

He’s ending the year on a sad note – he broke up with his woman-friend last week, after dealing with manic-behavior, overspending, constant fight-picking, name-calling, and recriminations. 

I’d seen this gal’s “Facebook” page – there wasn’t a single photo on it that wasn’t of her; the content was self-absorbed, and included continual bragging about the intensity-level, specific activities, and general satisfaction of her sexual experiences.

“You’re better off, pal,” began my commentary. I’m not known, either here or in real-life, to mince too many words. “You want ‘there-there’ and sympathy; call one of your women-friends. You called me for a dose of reality, right?”

“Well, yeah, Will. I did.”

I ordered another round of drinks.

Continuing, I said, “Are you familiar with a breed of dog called a ‘Rhodesian Ridgeback?’

“Vaguely,” he said. I could see I had his attention – which was, after all, the point.

“Well, every now and again, someone with more money than brains actually goes and buys one of these critters when it’s still a puppy. They’ve got a glowing owners and aficionados website, and a lot of ‘fans’ in the U.S. 

Thing is, while they’re cute puppies, they grow up to be dogs. Most of the folks who buy these pooches don’t know from squat about their history – just that they’re exotic; look cool, and you can buy ‘em from puppy-breeding outfits or whatever.”

His attention continued. So did I.

“In truth, they’re bred in Africa to hunt lions. Farmers use ‘em to keep down everything on four-legs what kills their livestock - -and in Africa, that’s a lot of four-legged critters. They’ll also take down anything on two legs what doesn’t belong in the immediate area. See, they’re bred to ‘print’ on their owners and immediate family.

This works on a huge farm where even the mail has to be fetched – but in civilization, it’s another story.

They’re often sold as ‘making good guard dogs’ - -and so would a wolverine, or any of the large semidomesticable cats, if your only concern is that the critter (1) patrols the property, and (2) takes out anything that’s on it during said-critter’s hours of patrol. Get my point?”

“Well yeah, I suppose. But what are you really saying?”

“I’m saying you can never confuse a wild animal with a housepet. People routinely wind up being sued here in Oregon and all over the country because their fully-grown Ridgeback attacked everything from the neighbor’s dog to the mailman.”

I continued, “What you had there was a predator, carefully disguised as a girlfriend. She saw that you had something she wanted – then she moved in, made herself at home, hooked you with her not-inconsiderable sexual skill, and then proceeded to eat you, alive.”

His response was, while unprintable, was a comment of the barnyard variety. He followed that by ordering another drink.

“Next time you want to live large, go buy a Ridgeback. Only thing it’ll cost you is some dog-food and some insurance money when it goes back to its internal-wiring. Heartbreak is harder to cure.”

“Is it me, Will? I mean, what’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “Just don’t fall victim to the whole ‘self-improvement’ gig. It’s a way for unemployable psychiatrists to make money writing books with common-sense as the only theme. Most ‘self-improvement' is just mental masturbation.”

I managed a laugh out of him, which was the point. 

“You going to need a lift home?”

“Naw. Just sit with me a bit.”

I ordered coffee and some spinach-dip, and asked him about work. The combination of a little bar-food, caffeine and company lifted his spirits, sobered him up enough to drive, and made for a more-pleasant conversation.

As I saw him off in the parking-lot, I thought, “That’ll be $250.”

Therapists have it made. No malpractice; huge hourly rates, and they don’t have to do squat to make a living except talk to people.

I missed my calling.

Oregon Couple Acquitted (Great Victory for God-Sponsored Child Abuse)....

Remember these morons?

They're Carl and Raylene Worthington; the Oregon City, Oregon couple who were accused by County child-welfare workers of deliberately withholding medical care in favor of 'prayer' when their daughter came down with a treatable case of pneumonia.

If you remember my prior post on this tribe, they belong to a church in Oregon City which does not permit the use of physicians.   Over a hundred children and more than a few mothers have died in infancy or childbirth, respectively - the statistics being consonant with 19th century medical care.

Yesterday, the jury (having deliberated for a week and having been deadlocked twice over the verdict), acquitted Carl and Raylene of manslaughter under Oregon's faith-healing law.

(Oregon law subjects parents who withhold medical care from a minor child for religious purposes to the same punishments as for parents who withhold care for non-religious purposes; in this case, the Worthingtons were liable for manslaughter when their daughter died).

One of the jurors - a woman named Ashlee Santos - who chose to speak with reporters, stated  “Just because something isn’t normal to you. It doesn’t mean it’s bad or doesn’t work. As parents we all make our own decisions and sometimes they’re not the best. But I really do feel like they were loving people who cared about their kids and truly didn’t mean for anything to happen so tried not to judge them on beliefs and religion, they’re just like everybody else, just a little bit different.”

Words don't fail me - they're just unrepeatable.

This woman is a moron.

She went on to say,  “Everybody’s entitled to their own beliefs and religion. And we all think it’s amazing the way their community is with each other. But I think when it comes to children I think there’s different steps."

'We all think it's amazing....'   Excuse me while I vomit.

It's 'amazing' that they killed a 15-month-old in the name of 'religion'?   That's not 'faith'.  That's child-sacrifice.  You've got to go to the darkest, most-backward, unenlightened and completely-savage parts of the world to even find people who practice that sort of barbarity nowadays.

While defense attorneys pulled a typical shuck-and-jive and said "...there are no winners in this case....", I'll come out and side with Steve Duin, a longtime reporter for the Portland, Oregonian:   "The parents who would not summon a doctor to their home to save their child called a doctor to the witness stand to save themselves.  Carl Brent and Raylene Worthington relied on half-baked spiritual remedies when their daughter was at risk, but their lawyers have resorted to garden-variety defense tactics in an effort to spare these parents the cost of discipleship."

In other words, it's quite all right when a minor child, who can't speak for itself, gets 'the treatment' at the 'hands of god' -- but when Dad's ass is on the line, he's more than happy to call a physician - this time, to bail him out of trouble.

The Worthingtons also have a kick-ass legal team -- it appears they have no trouble calling on 'the world' for help - when it's to keep their sorry-but-holy asses out of jail.

While the Oregonian is happy that Carl was convicted of a lesser charge, the gates are already open -- another faith-healing trial will commence; based on the actions of members of the same church in Oregon City - in a few weeks.   The green-light was given, thanks to morons like Ms. Santos, to make Oregon the capital of child-abuse in America.

I wish I'd've been on that jury.

(Update: It turns out that Raylene Worthington is pregnant again -- gotta replace the one that died [another 19th century philosophy, I suppose.....]).

More of the Same....

Meanwhile, in sleepy Salem, Oregon, Oleksandr Kozlov and Lyudmila Kozlova have been arrested for child abuse, after three of their seven children, ages 13,14, and 15, used a pay-phone at a shopping mall to call Oregon child-services personnel to report serious abuse.

Showing fresh marks on their backs and buttocks from beatings with either ropes or cords, all seven are now in protective custody. 

The mother, Lyudmila, flatly stated that she had beaten the two older girls because they had 'cut their hair', and that 'according to god's law, they were not to do so.'

Upon going to the home, sheriff's deputies found the four other children, ranging from 11 years to 6 days old, along with evidence of implements used for regular beatings - including a leather leash, a wooden spoon, wire loops and sticks from the yard.

I can see it now.

The Oregon Development Commission can throw their "Oregon is for Dreamers" campaign in the garbage can - they can start advertising for Fundies.   There are plenty of them.

"Are you a dreamer with a creative religious bent?   Come to Oregon!  We love Dreamers - and Fundies.   You can beat your kids.   Hell, you can even kill them.

It's Time To Pick A Side (Extremists, America, and You)....

I ran across this graphic and its accompanying article today on a friend's page.

It calls for the defeat of Sonya Sotomayor as the next Supreme Court justice.   The poster was created by "Operation Rescue", the militant and extremist anti-abortion organization created by Randall Terry.

In this, and his recent statements, Terry goes over the line.  

He makes it clear - "Let all those in government be warned: They cannot order people to pay for the murder of babies, and betray God Himself, without horrific consequences."

He goes on to state that "...the sheer horror and frustration of such an evil policy will lead some people to absolutely refuse to pay their taxes. And I believe -- if my reading of history from America and around the world is correct -- that there are others who will be tempted to acts of violence."

In other words, 'throw-in with us and ban abortion, or risk "action" up to and including the targeting of government officials; general violence; refusal to support the government in any fashion - up to and including the killing of officials who don't agree with and support this agenda.'


Spreading Fear as an Instrument of Policy....

This kind of talk is intended to threaten and scare government officials into not performing their duties.

I'm going to call it what it is - Fascist-based domestic terrorism.

Terry goes on: "...If the government of this country tramples the faith and values of its citizens, history will hold those in power responsible for the violent convulsions that follow."

Randall Terry is making some horrific statements here, and more than a couple of gross generalizations leading to some blanket conclusions.

First, he assumes that the United States hold a majority of people who believe as he does, and that this belief is some form of national mandate. 

Secondly, he makes the assumption that his 'god' is (1) real, and can (2) take real, positive action against the U.S. for its legal stance on abortion.

While the second one can be debated endlessly without resolution, the first one is incontrovertible -- the United States has people of many different belief-systems (or none at all).   It was founded this way (the First Amendment guarantees this).  

Randall Terry's actions are not just extremist - they border on sedition.  Ironically, he's taken a position of saying, "I don't want this to happen, but it's going to happen - because 'god' says it will, and enough people are willing to pull the trigger.  Just don't blame me."   How convenient!

I'll say it plainly - not only is Randall Terry fanning the flames of hate and violence, he's a coward, also.  

He's already responsible for the death of a physician in Kansas who performed late-term abortions - while he's quick to point out that he didn't pull the trigger and considered the crime heinous, he also screamed 'fire' in the crowded theatre-of-the-mind.


The Clock Ticks on Health Care....

Obama's proposed health-care plan is in the process of being sabotaged by Neoconservatives in Congress.   While 71% of Americans oppose this action, the Neocons are proposing an amendment to any health-care bill which would forbid payment for abortions.  

It's worth remembering something here.

Randall Terry advocated praying for the death of abortion physicians.   Terry and his followers - and many others, besides, advocate any means necessary to achieve their goals.

Meantime, unless we start writing our Congressfolk, there's a chance that any form of national health care will tied up for months by a dedicated group of people who want to roll women's health care back to the 1950's.


It's Time To Pick A Side....

Extremist organizations like Terry's count on one thing above all else -- that those of us on the Other Side are going to be passive about our stance.

I think it's time to change that.

I'll guarantee this:   If Randall Terry were found hanging from a lamppost with a sign around his neck reading 'Retroactive Abortion', two things would happen, in a hurry:   First, his followers would wail and howl; they'd split the heavens, begging their 'god' for vengeance.

(Nothing would happen, of course, because their 'god' is no more powerful than Isis, Hathor, Jupiter, or any of the rest of the phantoms created by humanity over the centuries).

Second, you'd hear a lot less from "Operation Rescue".

And that's fine by me.

__________________________________

Personally, I'm just about halfway-tired of these people.   I want my country back.   I want a nation run by reason and law, not by batshit-crazy Fundies.  

Who's with me?

Crossing the Rubicon - 'Oath Keepers' and the Constitution....

We've been clobbered with bad news for over a year - the economy is doing its best to keep from circling the drain one last time; the only thing the government can do is to shovel printed-money at the problem, raising the spectre of either Weimar or Zimbabwe; we can't seem to figure out how to get out of Iraq, and the nation is, by any measure, politically paralyzed.

Lost in all of this is a very, very disturbing trend - an increase in extremism in the military.

Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, Aryan Nations graffiti appeared on the walls of buildings in downtown Baghdad.   Recent reports affirm that with recruiting quotas going up and actual recruitments going down, military recruiters are relaxing their standards - including looking the other way at extremists.

Meanwhile, Army recruiters are reporting their commanders are hurling insults, threats, and punishment for failing to meet quotas.

Through all this chaos appears a crisis of confidence - with reports of detention camps being prepared for American 'dissidents', and a growing belief that much of what the Bush administration has done was illegal, there is a growing movement in the American military to refuse to obey orders which they feel are illegal.

One of these is the 'Oath Keepers' - an organization which has, at its core, a ten-part manifesto which forms a 'new oath' for current members of the U.S. Military.  

The 'Oath Keepers' was started by a former serviceman and current attorney, Stewart Rhodes.  The premise of the organization is that the oath taken by a member of the military is to the Constitution; the Oath Keepers organization reaffirms this.

Rhodes is quick to say that he's not advocating the overthrow of the government; what he wants is a nation 'free from hatred - the only thing we hate is tyranny'.   However, he incorrectly states that a member of the military does not have the right to disobey unlawful orders - and that's why his organization is necessary. (Note:  The Uniform Code Of Military Justice and international law give individual soldiers the right to disobey unlawful orders - in fact, it is the duty of every military organization which sponsoring nation has signed the Geneva and Hague Conventions to provide regular instruction on international law, what is and is not permitted behavior - and individual soldiers are, in fact, required to know the difference and act accordingly.)

"Just a Goddamned Piece of Paper"....

On the surface, it would appear that the 'Oath Keepers' are a harmless group, only reaffirming what the law requires - however, below the surface lie some serious potential consequences.

The U.S. Constitution has one arbiter - the Supreme Court.   Judges, presidents, senators - none are permitted the authority to determine its meaning.   This also applies to individual members of the military.

To do otherwise will lead to chaos.

By their statement, each of these 'oath keepers' has stated his willingness to do just that - to pick and choose which orders he or she will or will not obey, from whom, and for what reason.  If you take a look below at their ten-part manifesto, it's easy to see that when the chips are down and their presence may be required to keep order, the very people we might need to do this will be laying down their arms and walking off the job, solely for political reasons.

We had a president who called the Constitution "...just a goddamned piece of paper."  He went on to behave as if that were true.   We shouldn't wonder that the military is following suit.

Crossing the Rubicon.....

This isn't the first time this has happened.

During the last years of the Roman republic (and throughout the later Imperial period), Roman officers knew that the real power of the state lie in its ability to project that power via the legions.   Generals often made themselves dictators or emperors (perhaps the most-well-known case was that of Caesar himself, returning from Gaul and setting up shop as Dictator).

These lessons were not lost on the architects of the Constitution, who put the checks and balances in the document to prevent just that.

A Crisis of Confidence....

That there's a crisis in government which has spilled over to the military should be obvious by now.   What we do about it is far less clear - because such a crisis is part of a general national malaise, not something which can be un-done with the stroke of a pen.

It's too late to put the toothpaste back in the tube and pretend - the prior administration walked on the Constitution for eight years, and incredibly, the military seems to support it.

Power corrupts. 

Absolutely.

_____________________________________

The 'Oath Keepers' ten-part statement is below.  The full text is here:

1. We will not obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will not obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people

3. We will not obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will not obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will not obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will not obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will not obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will not obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."

9. We will not obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.  We will not obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Mare Tranquillitatis....

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...."

-- J.F. Kennedy; in speech at Rice University; 1962

 
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11.

Many of my friends don't remember those events - they literally grew up with the knowledge that humans had walked on the moon before they were either born, or before they became aware.

In my case, I was 14.

I'd set my alarm at age 7 to watch the pre-flight and the launch of John Glenn's historic orbital flight in his Mercury capsule, Friendship 7.

I'd sat in the kitchen at age 10 with my mother, listening to the live broadcast of Ed White's historic first American spacewalk from Gemini 4 on June 3rd, 1965.

I'd felt the chill of mortality at age 12 when, on a snowy January, Apollo 1 suffered the catastrophic fire which took the lives of Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee.

When Apollo 11 lifted off, there was more than a bit of apprehension.   The space program had not been without its problems -- several Soviet cosmonauts had died in their attempts either at suborbital or orbital missions, and the Apollo 1 fire was still fresh in everyone's mind.  

The 19th dawned warm; it was going to be a cloudless, hot day in northwestern Oregon.   Dad was taking his vacation - and we were, instead of going somewhere, catching up on some badly-needed chores and other maintenance around our small farm. 

We'd arranged our day so we could watch the landing on TV.

We didn't know - indeed, no one did, until years later, really - that the landing was far from certain; fuel was low, and they narrowly missed a large boulder.  The words, "The 'Eagle' has landed" produced spontaneous cheers from both my Dad and I.

He said, "Come outside.   Let's look."

From where we were, it was possible to see the moon in broad daylight - we stood in the large back lawn,  in the middle of Oregon farm country - and looked at the moon.

I said, "There are men on the moon, right now, Dad."

My Dad said, "When I was four, I remember seeing my first airplane.   My father still had a horse and a buggy, as well as the family car - because it was that unreliable."

He continued, "I took my first flight at age ten at a fair.   It was in a Curtiss Jenny.   I learned to fly in 1941.   In 1947, I flew my first jet.   I've lived to see men walk on the moon."


Time passes, but history itself is a living thing.  We chose to go to the moon.   I can only hope we choose to do the other things -- righting the financial ship; advancing the cause of the least of us in society - and believing in our future again.

Sally Kern, a Proclaimation, and why Gawd Doesn't Like America....

Now, it can finally be told.

What, you ask?   Why, the reason why America is in such dire straits, lately.

We now know why the economy is in ruins.   We know why we're getting our asses kicked in Iraq; why so many teenagers disrespect their elders, and why Governor Sanford ran off to Argentina for that booty-call.


We turned away from Gawd.


Gawd, as it turns out, doesn't like us very much.   Seems we won't put his Ten Commandments on every courthouse-lawn; kill off all those abortionists; root out all the gays and other immawral-peoples from society, and leave it for Gawd-fearin', gun-totin', cuntry-music lissnin' decent folks.

Or, so says Representative Sally Kern, ( R. - Oklahoma), who drafted a resolution recently blaming the current state of things on "abortion, same-sex marriage, and...other forms of debauchery."

The Oklahoma legislature, long a breeding-ground for moonbats, has outdone itself with this one.   In the tongue-in-cheek words of Constitutional attorney Jonathan Turley, "...let’s recap the current state of analysis:  President Obama triggered the economic crisis (which began in anticipation of his election under President Bush) which prompted Congress to pass the stimulus legislation that caused Sanford to fly to Argentina to sleep with a woman other than his wife."


It gets worse, folks.

The Family Research Council, a Christian-right legal/lobbyist group which aggressively campaigns Congress in favor of legislation banning stem-cell research, abortion, hate-crime legislation, and same-sex marriage, recently gave Kern their "Champion of Faith, Family, and Freedom" award.   (This same organization published white papers entitled "Hate Crime Laws - Censoring the Church and Silencing Christians", and "Obama and the Homosexual Agenda.")
Seems Ms. Kern has thrown in with some pretty extreme viewpoints - and while I've got another 'award' for her (one which involves a gallon-bucket of bat-guano), I also believe it's a good idea to hear her own words:



Below is the text of Kern's proposal to the Oklahoma Legislature:

____________________________

OKLAHOMA CITIZENS PROCLAMATION FOR MORALITY

We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government…but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people…the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord,” and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed on the second day of July in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.

Words absolutely fail me here, folks - but something tells me that this sort of thing is only going to get worse....