Paul LeGrand's Blog

Those who cannot remember the past...

2011-10-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

I wasn’t quite sure how to start off this article, but George Santayana’s quote seems to connect the dots. A book that’s been my late night companion, Weimar Germany, Promise & Tragedy, by Eric D. Weitz, really made for some enlightening reading the last few weeks. The history buffs among my readership are perhaps already starting to connect the dots. The Weimar Republic was a period in German history with a gradual beginning in the post World War I era, and an abrupt end on the day the Nazi Party seized power, January 30, 1933. If we consider areas outside of politics, it was a time in Germany when the arts flourished, amazing modern architecture was created in Germany by people like Walter Gropius and Erich Mendelsohn, who were fully the equal of Frank Lloyd Wright in America. It was also a time of new media. The photographs of Lazlo Moholy-Nagy and August Sandler captured iconic images, and photographic works were widely published. Readers who opened magazines were taken on a new realm of adventures, and for the first time, the Leica 35mm camera opened up the medium of photography to the masses, not just professionals who shot glass plate negatives.

Photojournalism had technically been around since the American Civil War, but only became a form of mass media during Weimar. In reality it was only one of several forms of new media that all became part of the social media explosion of the 1920’s. The technology of the gramophone migrated into affordable record players for the middle class, and the development of microphones and loudspeakers enabled mass gatherings where anyone in the crowd could hear, no matter how large the assembly. The new media gave a sense of connection to anywhere in the world, and when that iconic symbol of German manliness, boxer Max Schmeling defeated a champion in the United States, the German people experienced it almost instantaneously via the most powerful new social media of all, radio broadcasting. In addition to being a time of media explosion, it was a time of cultural revolution, including a strong element of homoeroticism, though “the siren song of sexual pleasure and the bustle of bodies in motion also inspired deep misgivings. Even those on the left expressed fears about what this frenetic movement signified.”[1] Altogether, it was a time of free expression and rapid cultural change.

When I said I was going to write about the Weimar Republic, however, you probably weren’t expecting to hear about art, architecture, photography, and social media. For all of its successes, Weimar Germany is best known today for its failures. Rarely in the history of the world have cultures experienced the aftermath of total war. The aftermath of World War one, internal debt, disputed borders, and something called the Treaty of Versailles all played a part in creating what Weimar Germany is best known for, hyperinflation. During the summer of 1923, inflation was so great that people literally had to carry satchels of money just to buy bread, and the living circumstances of large parts of the population became desperate. The nation was drowning in the debt of war reparations compelled by the Treaty of Versailles. For the poor, it was catastrophic. For those who held their currency in something other than Reichmarks, it was a windfall. Dutch farmers, for example, bought entire herds of cattle and simply drove them across the border. Inside Germany, social welfare programs including unemployment insurance flourished, and unlike the

United States

at the time, leftist factions grew without government repression. A confusing cacophony of Democratic Socialists, Communists, Marxists, and the political left, dominated by trade unions, held considerable power during the crisis times from 1918-1923. Along the way, the country seemed to have picked up a penchant for banners, flags, and political marches of people in uniform. Back in the United States, the agricultural economy went into an economic depression earlier, but the German recovery continued until the 1929 New York Stock Exchange crash brought an end to Germany’s “Golden Twenties.”

Fueled by war veterans and popular writers like Ernst Junger, a culture that ennobled male combat, heroic battle, and violence as a means to a higher existence arose. The radicals on the right like Ernst Junger were fundamentally anti-Christian, but the center right found common ground with both Protestant and Catholic Churches when it came to family and sexual matters. Christian theology was clearly opposed to the racial ideology being espoused by the left, the center right and radical right. In the end, the dominant Lutheran and Catholic churches frequently used the word “volkstum,” which carried profound racial connotations of an Aryan bloodline. All too easily, the churches fell into a trap of lumping urban, moderate, degenerate, and Jewish all in one.

With the notable exception of a Lutheran Pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the church during Weimar became complicit, and placed being politically correct over being biblically correct. By 1933, Hitler forced new church elections and the overwhelming majority of key church positions went to Nazi party members.

By the closing phases of the Weimar Republic, the Christian center right deceived themselves about the Nazi’s hostility toward Christianity, and joined forces with the radical right enough to allow the Nazis to receive 37% of the vote in July 1932, the highest they ever received in a free election. On January 30 of the following year, President Paul Von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor, and his ensuing 12 year reign brought on the death of 50 million people.

Why do I care about something that ended 68 years ago? Because today we live in a world that is in the midst of a huge revolution in social media, and America, with $15 Trillion in national debt, is as dependent on the robust economy of China as Weimar Germany was on the pre-1929 economy of the

United States

China

’s own economy is in a real-estate driven bubble that may very well burst. The US economy has experienced a continuing stock market bubble thanks initially to a congress that repealed protections like the Glass-Steagall Act, which stood in effect from 1933 to 1980. Our political culture makes Washington politicians beholden to those who fund them. Trade unions for government workers gorge themselves at the public trough, while Wall Street maneuvers like credit-default swaps provide government sponsored socialism for corporate hedge funds but leave small business capitalists holding the bill. America may very well be facing the same sort of economic crisis Weimar faced, albeit without the hyperinflation. Unemployment insurance that continues for years may be feasible at 10% unemployment, but at 20 or 40% becomes untenable. Churches today are awash in bad theology, including mass numbers of churches that choose to believe that abortion is not the taking of an innocent life, choose to believe that marriage is not the union of one man and one woman, or choose to believe that their racially segregated congregations are going to end up in a heaven of the same ethnicity when they die.

People here will become upset when things do not go well for them. A generation raised on violent video games and used to having things given to them will not adapt well. The propensity toward violence is just beginning to manifest itself in the occupy everything movement in America, though it has already become violent in Greece and other areas under more financial duress.

The candy coated gospel of today’s “politically correct” church is as toxic as the “volkstum” gospel of the Weimar churches.

America

is turning its back on God, and the day will come when biblically correct American pastors will be jailed for preaching Genesis 19, and Christian schools will be collapsed like houses of cards through civil tort claims and activist judges. Like Weimar, this close of the era will come suddenly, only this time, biblically correct Christians that still stand firm may be in the crosshairs.

Oh, the inscription on the wall in the photo above, it's a cross with a bible reference, 2nd Timothy 1:7, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self discipline."

It stands where Dietrich Bonhoeffer was shot against a wall in "Konzentrationslager Flossenburg."

Now go out and make a difference in the world and tell someone who's lost that God loves them, be prepared to give your own testimomy about how the Lord has worked in mighty ways within your own life, and invite them to join you at a biblically correct church.

[1] Weitz, Erich D. – Weimar Germany, Promise and Tragedy, p.321

Connections, 1932 to 2001

2011-09-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

This poem, originally written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932, was inspired by the plight of her friend Margaret Schwartzkopf, who's mother was ill in Germany. Margaret Schwartzkopf desparately wanted to return to her mother in Germany, but had been warned not to return because of increasing anti-semetic unrest. Frye's poem was originally composed on a brown shopping bag. Frye had never written any poetry before. She circulated the poem privately but never copyrighted it. Over the years, the poem was occasionally recited at funerals, but remained in relative obscurity until it recieved a great deal of attention when the father of a British soldier killed by an IRA bomb in Northern Ireland read the poem on BBC radio in 1995 in rememberance of his son.

You may ask "What does this have to do with the picture?" There is a definite connection. In the picture, volunteer CJ Alviar is putting together a tribute flag. The particular flag that CJ is assembling in this picture is for Capt. Charles "Chic" Burlingame, USNR. A 1971 Annapolis graduate, and an honor graduate of the Navy's Top Gun fighter weapons school, Capt. Burlingame fought in the Gulf War, and spent time working at the Pentagon. After completing his tour of duty in 1996, he took a job with American Airlines. On the day before his 52nd birthday, Capt. Burlingame was in the pilot's seat of his Boeing 757 when the cockpit door was breached. Capt. Burlingame's throat was cut with a boxcutter as he sat belted in his seat on the fight deck of his airliner.

This poem was found on a prayer card printed for Chic Burlingame's grandmother's funeral. The paper card survived the immense fire generated when the airliner, fully loaded with fuel for a transcontinental flight, impacted the E-ring of the Pentagon at 530 miles per hour. It survived the fire in good enough condition to be identifed and returned to Burlingame's next of kin.

While the enemy takes control of evil men filled with anti-semetic hate, God has also given us watchmen at the gate. Whether is is Adolph Hitler in 1932, or Hani Hanjour in 2001 who is the enemy, we are all called to be watchmen at the gate, and cannot be afraid to blow the trumpet when the enemy is at the gate.

Capt. Burlingame's remains are interred at Arlington National Cemetery. I don't know if I could stand at his grave without a cry, but I know that God uses people like Poet Mary Elizabeth Frye and U.S. Navy Captain Charles "Chic" Burlingame to inspire the hearts of good men to continue to stand as watchmen at the gate.

A Decade and a Gathering Storm

2011-09-03T02:12:00.000-07:00

Ten years… It’s been ten years since that morning when I was driving out to work a surveillance assignment in Canyon Country, and I heard a breaking news story on the radio that some sort of a light aircraft had hit the World Trade Center. About 20 minutes later, I remember listening to a radio announcer breaking the news that a second aircraft had hit, and that this had to be some kind of terrorist attack. A call to my wife alerted her of what was going on, and the dramatic nature of the events unfolding before us painted a much more abrupt picture for her than it did for me, as I was stuck in my vehicle working an assignment, while she was watching a live television news feed from New York. As a follower of global politics, I knew the moment I heard about the attack, that a man named Osama was going to be the prime suspect. My brother, a JAG Officer, had been prosecuting national security cases for the Navy, and had been the White House Liaison for the JAG Corps during the aftermath of a 1983 VBIED (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device) attack on a Marine Corps Barracks at the airfield in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 Marines. That particular attack, executed using the equivalent of six tons of TNT hidden in a truck, was the work of a radical Shia terrorist organization called Hizbollah. The next round of anti-American attacks would come from a very different sector. By 1998 the landscape of terrorism had changed. Ayman al-Zawahiri and his Egyptian Islamic Jihad partner, Osama bin Ladin, were definitely at the top of the threat profile, having conducted highly lethal VBIED attacks on American Embassies at both Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The 2000 attack on the USS Cole brought the number of bin Ladin’s large scale VBIED attacks on high profile US targets up to four. So it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was likely for VBIED attacks number five through seven, which occurred over a 77 minute interval on my son’s first day of Kindergarten, 9/11/2001.

Shortly after 6:37 that morning, the news broke of the attack on the Pentagon. If there was any doubt in my mind that our nation was at war, it evaporated at that moment. You can't get any more of a military target than the Pentagon. The attack on the Pentagon also did something else for me, it made the fight personal. Though my brother had since retired from his Navy career and taken a job as the Legal Advisor to the DEA’s Deputy Administrator, the old office where his former staff worked was incinerated at the hands of a 29 year old Saudi Islamofacist. Along with 4 Saudi “muscle hijackers,” a licensed commercial pilot named Hani Hanjour used a Boeing 757-223 airliner fueled for a transcontinental flight to kill 125 of my brother’s co-workers, and 59 innocent air travelers.

We are now ten years down the road. The Muslim calendar recently finished the month of Ramadan, a holy period where Muslims fast and abstain from smoking and sex during daylight hours. During the month of Ramadan this year, 785 people were killed in 180 different attacks in the name of Islam. It is worth noting that while the Bible teaches us to love our enemies, about 19% of the Quran is devoted to the violent conquest and subjugation of non-Muslims. While Muslims will explain the concept of Jihad to westerners in terms specifically avoiding violent struggle, it is important to recognize that Hani Hanjour’s interpretation of his faith as he lowered the nose and advanced the throttles of his Boeing 757 is not condemned by most clerics of Islam.

Today, Americans consider it ideal to accept and promote tolerance and freedom of thought, and that is a genuinely good value that is in many ways similar to what our nation's founders desired when they established our constitution. In our efforts to be all things to all people, many of us have lost sight of the fact that Islam itself solidly opposes these values. Though political movements have made strange bedfellows in the past, perhaps none is stranger than Muslims trying to piggyback on the success of the radical left. Within this alliance, we even have a joining of the GBLT community and the Muslim community to call any criticism of their religion or their behavior hate speech. Astounding, especially when you consider that the Quran mandates Islamic ecclesiastical law. There is no room within this legal structure for Democracy, much less Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, gay rights or women’s rights. Amazingly, with the "Arab Spring" in full bloom, most of the west is missing this point. Egypt, in particular, has gone from a Thug-Ocracy under Hosni Mubarek, to a military junta under Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and while a portion of the country danced in the streets, the door toward the democracy they were expecting was predictably slammed in their face.

At the same time in America, Muslims and GLBT activists are finding common ground teaming up against the Christian right. This type of false teaming is very foreign to Evangelical Christians. We don't have Taqiyya, and we don't subscibe to a belief that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." While Christians cannot deny Christ, under the Quran, Muslims can deny their own faith when it’s politically expedient to do so. Under the concept of Taqiyya, Muslims are given a legal dispensation whereby they are allowed to deny their faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts while they are under threat, persecution or compulsion. Christians might mistakenly relate this to Peter’s “Woman, I don’t know him” statement heard every Easter as churches across America put on the Passion Play. There's a difference between Peter's denial, and and Islam's concept of Taqiyya. In the Synoptic Gospels, Peter is following a loving, forgiving God. This is a totally different God than the God of Islam. In Islam, everything is either surrendered to the will of Allah, or in opposition to the will of Allah. All that is in opposition to the will of Allah must be subjugated.

The founding fathers who wrote our Constitution from the viewpoint of a Judeo-Christian framework believed in a personal, loving God, and opposed the state’s endorsement of any specific establishment of religion. Sharia Law was written from the viewpoint of a military conqueror who believed in a vengeful god and mandated the state's endorsement of a specific establishment of religion. Ground zero for that set of beliefs is Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a country with a 100% Muslim population, and no churches or synagogues in the entire nation.

No doubt, some will accuse people who call attention to the differences between Islamic and American viewpoints on faith hate-mongers, and say "Why can't we all just get along?" Unfortunately, the answer is that we can't because Islamic Ecclesiastical Law prohibits it.  Islam has come to America the same way it has come to the rest of the world. Their system of beliefs includes a religious mandate commanding that Sharia shall replace the US Constitution. Under their rulebook, the Quran, Muslims don’t have a choice, just like we as Christians don’t get to choose whether we should love our enemies.

After the attack on America on 9/11, then President George W. Bush decided to take the fight to an enemy who turned out to be very elusive. There was much that he did which I personally disagreed with.  Invading Iraq was not a big tactical problem for the most powerful military force on the planet. The problem was figuring out what to do once coalition forces were in charge. There were many things about the Iraq war that were handled poorly. Given America's current economic situation, continued military might is not going to solve our conflicts in the Islamic Crescent. In fact, our elected leaders' penchant for spending money that they don't have has virtually assured that the age of the US being a superpower will draw to a close within the next ten years.

Meanwhile, Muslims in the US continue to build isolationist communities in places like Dearborn, and symbols of conquest like the Cordoba House, a Muslim community center 2 blocks from the World Trade Center site. The project, now renamed "Park 51" is a thinly veiled attempt to cast off the reference to the Cordoba Mosque in Spain. The Cordoba house name comes from Cordoba, Spain. There was originally a Visigothic Christian Church in the town center until the Ummayad Moors conquered it in the 8th century and converted it to a mosque.  Whichever name they use, the backers of Park 51 will no doubt take advantage of any opportunity to sound of the Muezzin's call within earshot of the Trade Center. It is part of a conquest mindset that speaks to the heart of their historical accomplishments.

Under our Constitution and Bill of Rights, we’re allowed to talk to Muslims about the good news of Jesus. That's a good thing to do, as many people from Muslim nations have been denied the opportunity to hear about a loving God who forgives and comforts them. Teaching the good news of Jesus as our Savior is illegal under Islamic Ecclesiastical Law. Some of the bravest people in Christian ministry are those who are reaching out to the people in Muslim nations. While the mention of certain aspects of Christianity, like the cross, or the crusades, will be met with revulsion, their hearts are actually quite open to Jesus. Their scriptures consider him to be one of a line of many prophets, and Christianity, Judiasm, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions origniating from a common Old Testament bond.

As America continues to lose it's moral compass, it's struggles get worse, but there is also an increase in the outpouring of love from our Savior, and an increase in opportunities for all of us to answer the call.   The next decade will probably be even more trying than the last, but if we preempt any attempts to insert Sharia law into our constitution and our culture, remain vigilant watchmen over our flock, reach out in love to our neighbors, and do it all on bended knees, our nation will be blessed.

66 Years Later

2011-07-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

When somebody does something really special for you, it touches your heart. One of our ushers at Shepherd of the Hills was very touched when he got to know an older gentleman named Charlie Bergin. As they got to know each other, the usher realized his new friend was no ordinary man. So the usher took it upon himself to coordinate something with a few of his co-workers, so they could thank Charlie. On the 4th of July holiday, approximateley 40,000 spectators converged on Shepherd of the Hills church for their fireworks spectacular. As the sun was getting low in the sky, some dramatic music was keyed up in the background, and the usher, and a platoon of the usher's friends came up the hill from near the 118 freeway dressed in digicammies, and with rifles in hand, took the hill that was the bandstand for the event. They moved like real soldiers, with silent signals to each other, and with trigger fingers outstretched alongside the lower recievers of their weapons. These are the kind of details men like Charlie would recognize. The men in digicammies weren't actors. Each one was an active duty Marine who volunteered to come to the event in order to honor Charlie for his service. Over the course of a few minutes they advanced up the stairs of the bandstand and secured the top of the hill. Charlie, now in the twilight years of his life, recognized the scene all two well. Sixty six years ago, Gunnery Sergeant Charles L. Bergin was a few hundred yards down from the summit of Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima, in one of the fiercest battles in the history of the United States Marine Corps. Gunnery Sergeant Bergin watched the scene unfold, and as the sun dipped below the horizon, four vintage AT-6 combat trainer aircraft flew over the stage in formation, then looped around for a second pass, coming over the stage in the missing man formation, a military honor reserved for fallen heroes. As the sun set, Congressman Brad Sherman came up on stage, along with a Marine corps Lieutenant in his dress uniform. The congressman showed the audience a flag flown over the US Capitol, and handed it to the Lieutenant to present to Gunnery Seargent Bergin. I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to a man who's shoes so few of us could fill. God bless men like Gunnery Sergeant Charles L. Bergin, a man with kind, gentle eyes and nerves of steel, who make America proud. And God bless the brave men who never made it home.

Color Guard - Civil Air Patrol

2011-07-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

The Civil Air Patrol provided the Color Guard for the Shepherd of the Hills Fireworks Spectacular!

The Heart of the City

2010-11-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving.

It's a traditional meal of turkey,

but this year, more than anything else,

Thanksgiving brought cold temperatures.

To the between 50,000 and 85,000

people in LA who are living outdoors,

little else mattered.

But someone will say, "you have faith, I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show my faith BY my deeds - James 2:18

A Trendy Thing To Do On Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving. A day to feast, a day to pause and give thanks to God, and a time of year when the seasons are turning. The fall colors are peaking in the trees, the evening temperatures are dipping down as winter approaches, and the daytime air is crisp.

To be frank, right from the start today, I felt pretty conflicted inside. I have a heart for people that are hurting, but frankly, Thanksgiving isn't the day to feed them. When you go to skid row on Thanksgiving, there are picnic tables lined up outside, streets blocked off, bandstands and baloons, and a predictable turnout of politicians and celebrities dressed up in their aprons passing out turkey dinners.

Skid row. 6th and San Julian. We show up at ten something. Puts us there after the soup kitchen closes for breakfast but before the lunch seatings are in full swing. The road ahead is caution taped off, and there's traffic behind the big box trailer we're pulling. A guy from one of the missions is telling us to pick a different spot, and eventually we're able to back the trailer up with a couple of our people walking alongside as spotters. Even though there's more food there on Thanksgiving than any other day, it's already a big scene before we lower the ramp. "Watchya got?" "Sack lunches" We ask the crowd to quiet down and ask a blessing over the meal. The crowd is well behaved as we pass out food, but as soon as they see the first blankets being given out, problems with pushing and line cutting start happening, and a few minutes later we're shouting to the crowd that we don't have enough blankets for everyone, so we're only giving them out to the ladies. It takes a little tactical planning to get the door up and the trailer moving, but we're able to gracefully exit, and we move from the heart of skid row to the fringe, stopping on a side street in the toy district. Here we can take boxes off the truck and walk to a street corner, where the people we see are a little more polite. Many of them are wearing clean clothes. Here we see more families. A young hispanic mom lets her kids go first picking out lunches. Mom looks like she used to be kind of plump, but now her elbows are bigger around than her bicepts. Finally a group of us pile boxes and people into the back of a pickup and cruise skid row handing out sack lunches from the bed. A guy in a brown pendleton steals a sack lunch away from a kid and a couple of the guys intervene and repatriate the stolen lunch. The thief moves on. We round a corner and half way down the block, Paul, the driver suddenly puts the truck in park in the middle of the road and jumps out, leaving the driver's side door wide open, and exiting with a sack lunch in his hand, running over to the curb. He hand the sack lunch out to a man in his 60's, and in a heartfelt tone, tells the older man how God loves him. The man looks back at him with a blank stare. As traffic backs up behind us the guy sitting in the back of the truck next to me asks "what's the deal?" so I point out the brown pendleton the old man's wearing. "That's the thief."

Once I got back in my own car, I made it all the way to the freeway before the tears came.

Making A Difference In The World

2010-11-20T21:57:00.000-08:00

Church isn't a building. If it were, the Brewline Fellowship wouldn't be a church. The truth be told, it looks more like an empty warehouse, with open trusses overhead, concrete walls, and roll up doors like the apparatus room of a firehouse. Located in the heart of downtown San Fernando at 1245 San Fernando Road, they meet at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday mornings. It doesn't look like a church, and the name Brewline doesn't sound like a church, and not everyone's inside had breath that's minty fresh like a church. I hang around the door where Ronnie is greeting people coming in. Ronnie's a hard core warrior for Jesus Christ. Ronnie's hoping that during the week one of the Sergeants at the police station around the corner will see the wisdom in letting him inside to counsel some of their "guests." It's by no means a done deal, because the rap sheet Ronnie himself left behind when Jesus Christ came into his own life years ago still technically might preclude him from getting in to talk to the arrestees.

Both Ronnie and George are tough, natural leaders who knows the dark side of human nature up close and personal, and chose to turn to the light after hitting bottom in their own lives. As Ronnie greets the stragglers, George is calling out "one minute," and trying to get people to take a seat. There's no worship band today. A skinny college-age kid in a ball cap stands ready to feed iPod tunes into the smallest mixing console I've ever seen at a church, while at the same time, a guy in a black Brewline tee shirt sits in a folding chair and wraps his arm around some guy in a hoodie and prays with him. I have no idea what the conversation between the two of them and God was, but it's pretty intense. George calls out "ten seconds," and the crowd settled down. George is the worship leader and he opens up in prayer, then calls out "Who doesn't want to pray?" Next thing I know George has handed the mic to a guy in the row in front of me and that guy's leading the opening prayer. He gets to Amen. Now the mic's back in Georges hand. He's headed straight towards me, and the mic is in my face. I don't know what to say, and my own voice sounds funny to me coming over the PA system at a reinforced level. I don't care anymore. Jesus Christ takes over. He lets the words find their way to the people in the room. Not me living with Christ, not me living as Christ, but Christ living through me. The mic is taken from my hand and another man leads us in prayer, then a guest speaker stands at the pulpit, one of the local pastors I've seen around, but who's name I don't remember. He stands in reverence before a pulpit made out of wrought iron and two swords, in reference to a bible verse in Joel 3:9-16. The preacher gives an illustrated sermon using a piece of iron and a sledgehammer. Proverbs 27:17, As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. No lukewarm gospel here. Lives are turned around every day these guys meet. In the span of an hour I see a man in a new, never been washed tee shirt from Recovery Outreach shuffle past me to the restroom. Since I'm right by the door, I hear muffled noises inside and it sounds like he's dry heaving. He come out, goes back to his seat, and with tear filled eyes lifts holy hands to Jesus. After the sermon, one of the leaders is approched by a guy who shows off the freshly bubbled skin that results from a laser tatoo removal. The leader praises him and says he can get him in to the doctor that day to get more work done. I call him a leader here, but he without a doubt would choose the word "server" instead. A few minutes later I find one of the other servers looking for some people to help give out 1200 sandwitches to some small part of the 85,000 men, women & children who are "living outdoors in L.A." So today I understand the old John Wesley quote, "Some want to live within the sound of chapel bells, but I want to run a mission a yard from the gates of hell."

The Brewline

2010-11-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

Got up early this morning for a refreshing change. No "Churchianity" here. These guys are on fire for Jesus Christ and are changing the San Fernando Valley by their presence. The Brewline Fellowship is feeding the hungry in more ways than one. This men's ministry recieves resources from several different churches in the community, and reaches out to the lost in ways you can't even imagine. They're serving the word of God, and breakfast on Saturday mornings at 7:15am. The Brewline Fellowship is located at 1245 San Fernando Road, San Fernando, CA

4th of July

2010-07-13T20:33:00.001-07:00

The team lighting off the fireworks

The team running around behind the scenes

The team of artists bringing you entertaining faces

The team providing the four basic food groups

Future team members!

Oooh, aaah, mmmmm, oooh! I hope everyone appreciates the teamwork that it took to put on a great show!

It's Deja Vu all over again

2009-11-20T21:54:00.000-08:00

He just won his first presidential election a year earlier, and the President is indecisive about ramping up a military conflict. His military advisers are asking him to put an additional ten divisions into a low level conflict that's starting to simmer. The seasons are starting to change and weather conditions are going to bring on the bad weather, making air support for our troops in the field difficult. The Joint Chiefs are pushing for a dramatic increase in our military commitment, but this doesn't really provide an opportunity to win. It's more like taking away the other side's opportunity to win. The level of "boots on the ground" is escalating, but the president is leery of where his popular support will go, and frankly isn't interested in a full out war, as the public really isn't happy about the outcome of the last one. The theater of operations doesn't have any natural resources that are of particular value to us, and this particular conflict's really not about the country where the fighting's going on. The threat is seen as more of a regional confict, and the conflict is beginning to spread across the border regions where the enemy operates with relative freedom of movement. If this situation sounds familiar, dust off your history book and look back 44 years ago. We were in a military action with a newly elected Democratic President. Public support for the war was lukewarm. The idea of a victory was ellusive. The enemy operated freely outside the national borders with relative impunity. Yesterday it was an indecisive Lyndon Baines Johnson, today it's an indecisive Barack Hussien Obama. Yesterday it was SECDEF Robert Strange MacNamara, today it's Robert Michael Gates. Yesterday it was the monsoon season of Vietnam, today it's the Afghan winter. Yesterday it was Saigon and Da Nang Airfield, today it's Kandahar and Camp Phoenix. Yesterday it was the Ho Chi Mihn trail through Laos and Cambodia, today it's Taliban supply lines through Pakistan. We fought to a draw in Korea and in Vietnam, and now we're trying the same thing again. The United States does poorly when it goes into a RETURN EQUIVALENT FIRE DOCTRINE. Military history is full of bold leaders who waged successful campaigns. Alexander the Great looked at Afghanistan, determined it to be ungovernable, and didn't attempt to conquer it. General Stanley McChrystal looked at Afghanistan, and told the President "you have to navigate from where you are, not from where you want to be," and told the President what he thought was needed to do the job. The silence of the President's indecision is deafening. In a time when casualties should be dropping as the war goes into the relative quiet of winter, instead they're mounting. It's going to be ugly in the spring, especially with the apparent return of the MacNamara Doctrine. Whether you believe in the government's doctrine or not, pray for a soldier, they need a higher power than man to save them from the enemy. - - - He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. - - Ps. 144: 2

Two Different Walks

2009-10-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Mbabazi (her name means Faith in the local dialect, Runyoro)

For those of you who don't know much about my family, I have a sister who is a missionary on a long term mission in Masindi, Uganda. Every once in a while I, along with the rest of the eMail chain, get a newsletter from her. The last one I read broke my heart. I'm so selfish with God's blessings.

I complain that my water & power bill is $311. Janine writes "Life here is full of challenges." by that, she means that the power is off as often as it is on, and when it's on, you only to get enough current to light one light bulb. I complain about the supermarket as I walk between aisles of sliced deli meat. Janine writes "I've figured out where to buy pork, it's tucked away, not at the regular market square due to the large Islamic presence here."

Here in America, I joke about "killer bees" Janine, who's been afraid of bees since she was a little kid, faces a threat from real African bees, as well as two legged predators. At zero-dark-thirty in the morning, the night guard Thomas shouts from outside the house. This is the first time a swarm has attacked the house at night. Janine braves the outside and brings the guard dog in while Thomas bravely attacks the bees swarming the house using a sprayer filled with a chemical called "Ambush." Wisely, Thomas does not swat the one bee that stings him, a decision that perhaps saves his life. Other bees will attack en masse if they smell the chemicals released by the swatted bee. When it's over, Janine, the dog, and Thomas the night shift Guard come out OK, but there are dead bees fallen like raindrops outside the house. Bees in Uganda commonly kill dogs, and less commonly kill people.

Here in America, I complain that I've had an exhausting week between photo shoots, office paperwork, and late night sessions on my laptop. Janine writes "some of the challenges are emotional." By that, she means a woman with a malnourished two year old baby girl named Mbabazi came in for help, and even though she was able to get the baby hospitalized, when Janine came back two days later Mbabazi was dead and another malnourished infant was in the crib.

God could care less that I have a Jet Ski and a sports car in my driveway.

An Act of Submission

2009-10-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

Did you ever date for the food?

2009-10-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, did you ever date for the food? I showed up in church for the music. I don't know every church down the road feels, but at Shepherd of the Hills you can come just for the music. If you feel that this whole idea of God is just a crutch for people who are weak to lean on. If you like living your life just the way it is without God, please feel free to come on down and listen to some free Gospel music just for the sounds. It's a great way to hear some live music without having a cover charge and a two drink minimum and our doors are open on Saturday Night at 5:00 and 6:30, and nobody's going to thump you with their Bible... We're in Porter Ranch across the street from Wal-Mart

Vacation Bible School!

2009-08-08T07:38:00.001-07:00

This blog post is more about pictures than words. A mountain of backpacks with school supplies for kids in need. A week of salvation messages and good old fashioned running and jumping. Music, dancing, snacks, and more. Five hundred plus kids, and a lot of very tired and very happy volunteers!

War Is Not Healthy For Children And Other Living Things

2009-07-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

War is not healthy for children and other living things. This phrase was bumper sticker theology in 1971 when our President was playing dodge ball on the wall at Punahoe School. By the time our President was completing his undergraduate studies at Occidental College in 1979, the bumper stickers had faded, literally, into obscurity. I can still picture that bumper sticker in my mind, though. I shoot video for a really big evangelical church. Between Greeters and Hospitality and Groundskeeping and Outreach and Pastoral Staff and all the other ministry things that happen in a mega-church, it’s easy to feel lost in the shuffle. My team, in the video broadcast portion of the ministry, tends to be pretty tightly connected. Like any team that’s aiming to do the Lord’s work, we try to pray together as a group. The other day, before our group prayed, I selfishly announced a prayer request for a minor problem of my own. We went around the circle, and one of the other camera operator’s mentioned, “oh yeah, and pray for Caleb, (one of the other members of our video team,) he’s just starting Marine Corps Basic Training.” Caleb chose the service voluntarily, and he will be a fine Marine. But Caleb, in my eyes today, is a child. Not to say that he’s childish, or immature, or irresponsible, or anything like that. Quite the opposite. Caleb is a fine, upstanding gentleman who’s morals and values are more intact than most of the adults I know, even though Caleb just graduated high school. Just like the other recruits in his platoon, he is a youth who is now having his body and mind pushed beyond what he imagined were his limits. He will go from Christian kid at home, to intimidated recruit hoping he won’t endure the consequences of failure to perform to the drill instructor’s specifications. Then just when he’s got a handle on close quarter drill, there will be a new wrinkle. He’ll get bashed with pugil sticks, qualify with his M16, endure the crucible, and when his parents come see him on the parade field at MCRD San Diego 70 days later, he’ll get 10 days liberty ‘till he starts the next phase of training at Camp Pendleton. After that, he’ll most likely get dropped in harm’s way in a desolate, far away place where the situational awareness and combat readiness of the young Marines in his platoon, or squad, or fire team will determine whether they live or die. These days most Marines are going to Afghanistan. Some will not come back. Caleb’s seen the pictures on the wall of our church a hundred times. Four men from our “home front ministry” have made the ultimate sacrifice. We live in frightening times. Young men, really just kids, are shouldering an awesome responsibility on their shoulders while the rest of our culture piddles away. You can live in the San Fernando Valley without ever realizing we are a nation at war. It is much harder to live in Oceanside, or Beaufort, or Fort Benning, or Annapolis and stay so oblivious. Which brings me full circle to my leadoff statement, “war is not healthy for children and other living things.” Our soldiers coming back from the barren ridges of Afghanistan may not experience the disdain of being physically spit on by the political left like the men who returned from the rice paddies of Vietnam did, but they are being hurt equally badly in a way only a few people are beginning to realize. They are so young, and so few, and the slots they’re filling are so hard to recruit for in today’s political climate. Deployments today have virtually no safe “R&R,” and there’s no way to decompress “in country” and get away from it all. On top of this, experienced soldiers who’ve seen more suffering than any one man should have to witness in a lifetime are lured into additional tours with irresistibly large reenlistment bonuses or opportunities to become “private military contractors.” And don’t even get me started on the shameful way we misclassify and mistreat our wounded warriors. This whole situation is a bubble that’s just about to burst. We’ve got worn out artillery, and worn out armor, and worn out infantrymen. What we don’t have are properly rested soldiers who get to do short tours and then rotate back to the world intact. The way we are headed, we are going to have a manpower shortage in the military. And we are going to address it the same way we did between 1964-1975, when the military conscripted about 2 ¼ million men. Especially if the White House keeps trying to backroom deal it’s way out of hostage situations instead of going out and punching the hostage takers in the nose. America is facing conflicts. They will not go away under the current administration. If anything, the conflicts will get worse because our adversaries know that the economic engine that fuels our war fighting machine is on the verge of a breakdown. The conflicts will get worse because too many of our leaders want to act like Neville Chamberlain when they should be acting like Winston Churchill. So when you see one of these fine young men like Caleb, thank them and pray for them, for they chose their vocation knowingly, And pray that they do their job well, because America’s freedom depends on them, and the line they’re trying to hold is stretched very thin. Thinner than most of us realize. - - - - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Psalm 91

Independence Day

2009-07-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Today we’re going to look at how our nation was founded. I just got through reading a website full of revisionist history, which opened with the phrase "The U.S. Constitution was written by rich, white men." So I thought it was time to stick it to the revisionist historians with my own personal version:

The evil Christian bigots set up a government that was very minimal compared to what we have today. It basically had an army, a navy, a postal service, a congress, a patent office, a supreme court, and a president. The evil Christian bigots didn’t believe we needed “entitlement” programs to feed people who weren’t willing to work. They didn’t even think we should tax people’s incomes, or take over the banking system, or spend trillions of dollars we don’t have. The evil Christian bigots often came from religious whacko families who left Europe because they felt the nice Kings in Europe took away their religious freedom. The evil Christian bigots who came here believed government shouldn’t spend money it doesn’t have. As the evil Christian bigot colonies became financially successful, the nice King of England tried to bankroll his own government off this success. An evil Christian bigot named Patrick Henry and his co-conspirators met in Virginia and formed a terrorist network to take over the colonies. The evil Christian bigots claimed they were sick of living under the oppressive thumb of the English government. A series of “intolerable acts” passed by the English government made the nice King and his friends a lot of money, but it made the evil Christian bigots angry. The nice King collected more and more taxes and wouldn’t let the evil Christian bigots speak for themselves. The nice King regulated who the evil Christian bigots could trade with, and added tariffs on the things the evil Christian bigots needed for everyday life. The nice King also forced the evil Christian bigots to buy their goods exclusively from English traders. Eventually, the evil Christian bigots realized that a gentle English government big enough to give you everything you want is a gentle English government big enough to take everything you have. In 1773, the evil Christian bigots tried protesting the gentle government of the nice King by boycotting everything the English traders were trying to sell. One day, in Boston, agents from the evil Christian bigots’ terrorist network boarded the nice King’s sailing ship in Boston harbor and threw a valuable cargo of tea overboard. A little while later, some powder and cannons disappeared from the nice King’s armory. The nice King sent soldiers called redcoats to find the evil Christian bigots. The nice king’s soldiers were murdered by terrorists outside two evil Christian bigot strongholds. These strongholds were towns named Lexington and Concord. After this terrorist killing of innocent redcoats, the evil Christian bigots called their neighbors to arms. Using a ragtag army armed with hunting rifles, the evil Christian bigots organized themselves into volunteer regiments and defeated the nice King even though the nice King’s redcoats were by far the most powerful military force on the planet.

I'm No Expert On Theology, But....

2009-06-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today a lawsuit was filed against a televangelist with a broadcast ministry on the east coast. A California businessman filed suit in Los Angeles County, alleging the reverend stole a business idea to text devotional messages to followers for $71.88 a year. The plaintiff's lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, interference and misappropriation of trade secrets, to the tune of $50,000,000 a year. I won’t attack the preacher by name. I will, however attack the “prosperity gospel.” This message is old. It’s been through prior iterations as “name it and claim it,” and other variants. The basic premise of the prosperity gospel is that GODLIENESS and PROSPERITY have a CAUSATIONAL relationship. The prosperity gospel is just one avenue where church leaders who already knew better, or should have known better, have been seduced into trying to conform scripture around their lives, instead of conforming their lives around scripture. SURRENDERING YOUR HEART TO JESUS DOES NOT COME WITH A PROMISE OF PROSPERITY. IF YOU LOOK AT THE EARLY CHURCH, IT MEANT JUST THE OPPOSITE. The believers in Acts chapter two “were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” I’m not going to try to prove my point by quoting individual passages of scripture. It is all too easy to form arguments for either side of the prosperity gospel that way. I will say this: All of us, including Christians, fall short of the glory of God. If you want the perfect teacher, you cannot turn to man. The church has been made of up of medical missionaries who gave up their lives treating Ebola patients even though they had run out of gloves, and it has been made up of politicians who burned heretics at the stake. I might be wrong about the prosperity gospel, but there’s good cause to reject it. Life is finite. When we’re standing before the Lord hoping to hear “well done my good and faithful servant,” it would be nice if we didn’t have our pants around our ankles and a fist full of money in our hands.

My Father's Day

2009-06-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

My Dad- He’s no longer here where I can call him on the phone, but his heart and mine are still connected. He got his college degree, married the woman he would spend his life with, and raised children, in that order. He was an officer in the United States Navy who had a close brush with death in World War II when the mast of the Destroyer he was serving on fell a foot from where he was standing on the deck. When I got a speeding ticket at the age of 16, he asked me if I was speeding. I told him that yes, I was speeding, but I also knew how I could beat the ticket on a technicality. He told me that I was going to court and pleading guilty in front of the judge. Our family had two cars, and Dad knew the new that his decision to take a stand for truth would cost him a big insurance rate hike. So my father chose to pay a debt he did not owe, for a sin he did not commit. In looking back over the years, I’ll never forget that he did that. It’s been five years since he passed away. He died a prolonged death from Parkinson’s Disease. My sister became his live-in nurse in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and I would go take care of him two weeks out of the year so she could go on vacation. He was in diapers and couldn’t walk. At the age of 87, he told me his biggest regret was that we hadn’t spent more time together. The last time I saw him, I kissed him on the forehead and told him I loved him, and got into a car for the airport knowing almost certainly that I would never see him again. Five months passed ‘til I got the inevitable phone call from my sister. Our life on earth is finite. Treat it accordingly. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. - - - Ephesians 5:1-2

The REAL Iran Scare

2009-06-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

OK, all you news junkies who got your fix on the Iran election crisis from the mainstream media- where is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad now? They didn’t tell you? No kidding. That’s because he’s away at something really scary. But don’t worry, Iran’s not without a head of state, that job goes to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the real shot caller of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s “thugocracy.” While the mainstream media is looking off to the left showing us how controversial the election results were, and how protestors in green bandanas took to the streets without cellular coverage and twitter, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been off doing important work. The portly but outspoken Islamofacist holocaust denier is busy attending a top level meeting of the SCO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Most of you have heard of the Warsaw pact but many of you’ve never heard of the SCO. It’s an intergovernmental military alliance that’s frighteningly similar to the Warsaw Pact, but has south central Asia at its epicenter. Ahmadinejad’s at the SCO summit in Moscow meeting with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and top level politicians from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, discussing intergovernmental mutual security issues. Iran’s not a full fledged member of the SCO yet, but they’re certainly aspiring to be one. Iran’s also petitioning to be admitted to the CSTO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, another key Warsaw Pact type military alliance. If Iran gets in, they’ll be the first nation that isn’t a former Soviet Socialist Republic to be admitted. That potential alliance means a cooperative security agreement with real teeth backed by a military with real horsepower (meaning Russian paratroopers in division strength, with full airmobile capability and logistics support needed to react to rapidly developing situations.) It also means that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s puppet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will get some face time with that other supreme leader, Vladimir Putin’s puppet, Dimitri Medvedev. When you put it all together, you get a nasty brew that could mean two major things that could be VERY bad for America. First, the resurgence of a new, more capitalistic, more economically viable military threat that could potentially become equivalent of the old Warsaw Pact pumped up on the steroids of middle east oil. Second, the start of a global shift away from the Dollar and towards the Yuan, Ruble or Euro as the world’s currency. Either one of these things are bad, but combine the two, couple it with a potential power vacuum in Iraq as U.S. forces are starting their drawdown, mix in a Israeli pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuke program (essentially their only survival option if the Iran-SCO-CSTO hookup starts) and you’ve got the potential makings of World War III. Especially if there’s a Iran backed ground invasion into Israel as part of Khamenei’s response. Anybody who thinks the U.S. could hold onto it’s interests in Iraq with an SCO Alliance projecting military might into the region has a fundamental lack of knowledge of military history. With a large scale middle east conflict requiring the U.S. to replenish through air and ship logistics, while the SCO Alliance can easily replenish through ground logistics, we’d find ourselves tying up so many of our own resources we’d be hard pressed to hold on to Alaska, much less Iraq. My suspicion is that the current election sham in Iran will really tweak the nose of the Iranian people, 70% of which don't like the guy, but in the end Khameini will still be the shot caller. If we don't see a revolution that takes him down, he'll come back stronger than ever and team up with the new Warsaw pact. That would make both Ali Khamenei and Vladimir Putin happy but it's very bad for us. The sharks are smelling blood in the water over there. They’re seeing the U.S. in fiscal crisis over toxic assets and laughing as we try to solve our recession by pouring currency into it. They see another looming fiscal crisis in the U.S. as soon as consumer credit defaults start kicking in. They’re seeing Obama lose “the war at home,” in the same way Nixon and “Vietnamization” preceded our fall in Vietnam. So what’s their end game? It’s Warsaw Pact style regional control of oil fields from the Caucasus to the Straits of Hormuz, and an unholy alliance fully capable of wiping Israel off the face of the map as America stands by on the sidelines wagging its finger. - - - - - - Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

White House Appoints Czar

2009-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have a Czar. How historically appropriate. Perhaps Ivan the Terrible? No, sorry, Ivan the Terrible's dead and gone, but the White House has a new Czar to oversee executive pay. Czar Kenneth R. Feinberg is alive and well and now has broad discression to control executive pay of 175 top mangers at seven of the nation's largest corporations. WAKE UP if you think your government is going to limit their hand to CitiGroup, AIG, Bank of America, Chrysler, General Motors, and the like. It will start with companies stricken by the collapse of their securitized mortage assets, but the power grab will spread like wildfire to companies trying to avoid TARP funding like the plague. Look for financially solid energy companies to be next on the hit list, especially if the middle east ignites and it becomes clear to the world that Israel's one "unshakable ally," the U.S., has abandoned them in exchage for an open tap into $300/bbl Saudi oil once war closes the Straits of Hormuz. . If America is ready to hand over the keys to the U.S. economy with barely a whimper, the White House, and the likes of Tim Geithner, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Nancy Pelosi are not going to stop at the TARP relief recipients. Look for the next round of meltdowns to come in areas like alternative energy, where the stimulus plan has pumped in about 21 BILLION dollars. Everybody who was around in California in 2000 when cronies of Gray Davis fleeced Californians with electrical bills that sometimes turned out higher than their mortgage payments knows where this is going to go. But have no fear! By that time a new energy Czar will save you by nationalizing the evil, wicked, profitable oil companies (even though the government already is makes a lot more money off of taxing oil than the oil companies are making by refining it.) Watch big government push this one through fast, because at some point, people are going to catch on. Oh, wait, there's a plan for that too. Through changes in the way music royalties are paid and the potential implementation of the "Fairness Doctrine," with the stroke of an executive order, the administration already has the power to emasculate Christian and Conservative talk radio using the stroke of a pen. They already hold the keys to closing down most Christian and Conservative talk radio and they will in all likelyhood soon hold the keys to locking up conservative Christian pastors who preach "hate speech" from their pulpits across America, even though they're quoting passages verbatim out of the bible. This type of arrest HAS ALREADY HAPPENED IN CANADA. With the radio and the pulpit out of the way, getting the American "sheeple" to agree to giving up their capitalism should be a piece of cake, because you sure as heck can't count on ABC, CBS, NBC or CNN and the likes to break ranks with the powers that be and tell the American people the republic their founding fathers envisioned will be stolen out from under them within the next year if the current climate in Washington goes unchecked. - - - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. Isaiah 9:6

Are we Magog?

2009-06-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Let’s chock up another blog article to the category of “kids ask the darndest questions.” If you’ve been interested in biblical end times prophesy, there are lots of sources out there to educate you. The easiest source to find is probably the whacko blog contingent. They supplied the map above, which somehow ended up putting Persia in Saudi Arabia! Go figure. The source that’s most accurate is probably that book your pastor is always having you drag to church with you. Well, technically, it’s a collection of 66 books. When it comes to end times prophesy, people in the secular world typically think of the Book of Revelations first. In reality, you can probably find more Eschatology (study of the destiny of humanity -end of the world stuff) in the Old Testament books like Daniel and Ezekiel. Ezekiel 38 tells of the “war of Gog and Magog,” which could involve various factions, depending which sources you believe. Certainly the dominant belief among knowledgeable people seems to be that Gog is Russia, or at least the land around that area. The Ezekiel 38 verses indicate that Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Torgarmah from the far north with all its troops. So the bottom line is that Ezekiel 38 predicts there should be a massive regional confederation that will try to destroy Israel. It will include Russia (Gog) and Iran (Persia,) as well as other nations. While eschatology scholars holding to a viewpoint called Preterism believe this conflict already occurred in the first century, many others feel the battle of Gog and Magog is today an unfulfilled prophesy. Some feel it marks the beginning of the seven year “tribulation period” where lots of bad things happen to us. While that strip of land we call modern day Israel has certainly been hot real estate over the millennia, there does not appear to have ever been a battle on the scale prophesized in Ezekiel. So if the battle of Gog and Magog represents a conflict yet to come, the contestant with the white trunks in the corner of the ring representing God’s chosen people is Israel. The contestant in the opposing corner of the ring, wearing the dark trunks, is a confederacy against Israel named Gog and Magog, which includes Russia and Iran . We’re not Magog, but if America moves over to the dark side, then we could potentially become Magog in the future. We’re nowhere near participating in a confederacy against Israel, but given the the way we’re distancing ourselves from Israel, I wouldn’t be surprised if World War III started with a fight between Iran and Israel, and both the USA and the EU decided to try to “sit it out.” As it stands today, America has gone through “CHANGE” from a staunch ally of Israel to a lukewarm one at best, but we haven’t gone over to the dark side. If you don’t believe the Israelis think we’ve sold them out, maybe you should start reading the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz. If you don’t know who’s going to win the battle, the answer’s in Ezekiel 38. "And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD." - - Ezekiel 38:23

Those Who Cannot Remember The Past Are Condemned to Repeat It

2009-05-19T08:09:00.001-07:00

Operation Opera and Operation Orchard. Sound familiar? Probably not to most of us. Perhaps a better hint would be Osirak, Iraq, June 7, 1981 and Deir ez-Zor, Syria, September 6, 2007, and something called the Begin Doctrine. Israel will not allow any hostile country in the region to acquire nuclear weapons. Prior to 1981, Israel correctly assessed Saddam Hussein as a high level threat. Saddam’s nuclear development program at Osirak was underway using a reactor purchased from France to produce plutonium for a nuclear weapons program. The facility was destroyed and eleven people were killed by an Israeli air strike consisting of 8 F-16’s and 6 F-15’s. In the months leading up to the operation, at least three Iraqi nuclear scientists died in mysterious circumstances. Skip ahead another 26 years. The Syrians, under Bashar Al-Assad are constructing a nuclear facility with a military purpose in Deir ez-Zor region of Syria. Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice prefers a public condemnation of Syria and the U.S. exerts its influence to delay the Israeli’s military operation. The CIA assessment indicates the facility is a North Korean reactor design, and when push comes to shove, the Israelis destroy the facility before it goes operational, with the tacit approval of the United States. Now skip ahead to today. We have a new dynamic and an old dynamic in clash. Actually we have four dynamics in clash. Dynamic #1 is the U.S. military alliance with Israel. The United States has been a staunch ally of Israel since day one, but now we appear to have entered uncharted territory. Whatever has been worked out behind the scenes between the United States and Israel remains to be seen, but the statements made publically seem to indicate we’re heading into trouble. Especially troubling is President Obama’s statement that he intended to “gauge and do a reassessment by the end of the year” on whether the diplomatic approach was producing results. Mr. President, this whole thing is going to blow by October, especially now that you’re on the record with an end of the year timetable. Iran's top military priority is to bring their newly acquired Russian S-300V’s online, whether the U.S. waffles on its historic pro-Israel stance or not. With it’s waffling stance on Israel, the U.S. can probably expect to receive advance notification of a pending Israeli air strike, but it has very little say over whether the green light gets turned on. Dyanmic #2 is the pressure for a two-state solution that’s coming from the E.U., the U.K. and the U.S. With Gaza still fresh in the Israeli minds, a two state solution means billions of dollars spend on resettling Jews, and shorter rocket range to hit Tel Aviv. The E.U., the U.K., the U.S. and Israelis on the left like this, but hard liners in the IDF and Netanyahu probably aren’t going to walk this path any time in 2009. Dynamic #3 is the moderate Arab states. The gulf states and the Israelis have something in common. They’re justifiably afraid of Iran and they aren’t especially anxious to help the Palestinians. Remember, the people of Iran are Persians, not Arabs, and there’s no love lost between the two. It is becoming increasingly more plausible for the Israelis to receive permission to overfly Arab states to get to Iran. Dyanmic #4 is the mission itself. This is not a squadron of fighters into Osirik or Deir ez-Zor, where a few aircraft will neuter the adversaries’ nuclear program with light casualties. We’re looking at using approximately 100 aircraft, hitting fortified targets at extreme ranges, with air to air refueling on both legs, full electronic warfare, SAM suppression, and F-15F's with GBU- 28 bunker buster smart bombs weighing 2,268 kilos each. The most mission critical facilities are probably the main reactor at Natanz, the heavy water plant at Arak, and the research reactor and laboratories at Isfahan. Possible secondary targets include the uranium enrichment facilities at Gachin, Ardekan, and Lashkar A’bad. The elephant in the room, however is the large reactor complex at Bushehr. A strike on this facility would be a ecological disaster which would result in the immediate death of perhaps 1000 people, and possibly 100,000 subesquent cancer deaths, with radiological contamination potentially affecting not only Iran, but the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar as well. Even an attack at the low end of the scale, hitting only Natanz, Arak and Isfahan, would require commitment of almost the entire Israel Air Forces. Right now, the air strike’s casualty rates would be relatively low, but once Iran has their SAM batteries fully on line, the IAF could expect to lose about 25% of their aircraft. Israel isn’t going to wait for that to happen, and if the IAF fighters overfly Iraq on the way to their targets, the U.S. isn’t going to shoot them down, which puts President Obama hip deep in the fight whether he wants it or not. A Natanz/Arak/Isfahan air strike will likely turn into a conflict on the scale of the Six-Day War (1967,) and will shut down shipping out of the Persian gulf. How will we know this war is coming? The best pre-incident indicators will be deaths of key nuclear scientists in the months preceding the operation. This will be a little war instead of a big war, but the whole world will feel it. With 23% of U.S. oil imports coming from the Middle East, a war that shuts down the straits of Hormuz isn’t going to send a ripple through the U.S. economy, it’s going to send a tidal wave. That’s bad, because any good student of economic history can tell you that the best pre-incident indicator of a really big war is economic depression. But there’s a bright side to everything. Nothing will wean us off producing those nasty greenhouse gasses faster than $300/barrel oil. The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12 1-3

Calling It Like I See It - Realistic Toy Guns

2009-05-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

A quick note to all of you that aren’t parents. You think that those of us who are parents can ACTUALLY CONTROL OUR CHILDREN. Surprise! We can’t. We can try to set down rules, we can try to act as good role models, and we can oversee their activities, but that’s about it. Our kids will come to understand that actions have consequences. If they don’t learn that lesson early on from us, the reality of the street will teach it to them in a much harsher way. A breaking news story was carried last night throughout L.A. Some of the media have led off with “Sheriff’s Deputy accidentally shoots 15 year old boy with toy gun.” They also indicate that the boy was shot in the back. Before we have our knee jerk reactions, I want us all to put on our thinking caps. First of all, this story is a tragedy all around, and the only saving grace to be found was that the boy wasn’t killed in the incident. I pray that he and the officer both recover from what happened. The worst nightmare of many people who carry firearms on the job isn’t being shot and killed in the line of duty; it’s the thought of killing an innocent bystander. Contrary to the way some members of the news portray the story, the boy, who apparently took a round through the shoulder, was by no means shot accidentally. If the basic facts of the case as reported are correct, the Sheriff’s Department’s use of force investigation will most likely find the shooting was both justifiable and within policy. The shooting may be a lot of things, but it was neither “unintentional” nor “accidental.” The officer, a ten year veteran, intentionally responded with lethal force against a perceived lethal threat. He shot to stop the threat, and there were apparently only two rounds fired in the incident. From what I read and saw on TV, the officer appears to have had good firearms handling skills. He hit his target, and most importantly, he immediately stopped firing once the threat had been neutralized. The position of the entrance wound in the “side or back, ” is what you would expect in a situation where an officer approached to the rear of a potentially armed suspect on a bicycle and the suspect turned toward the officer with an object in his hand. While the Sheriff’s department PIO uses the term “realistic looking black semi-automatic handgun replica with brown grips,” and the grandmother uses the term “cap gun,” the reality is that this is a case of a parent or guardian who either wasn’t aware or didn’t intervene when the kid was doing something “felony stupid,” by choosing to ride around at night on his bicycle brandishing a toy gun. A good number of men, and a few women, have spent some part of their lives on the “sharp end of the stick,” in either military or public safety. If you’re one of these people, you already understand that the officer reacted the way he was trained. The rest of you are still in “they didn’t have to shoot him” mode. Get over it. They did. The fact that the gun wasn’t real doesn’t enter into the equation unless the officer could perceive it wasn’t real. The fact that the boy holding the object in his hand was fifteen years old, if anything, makes him a higher risk to officer safety than if he were an adult. The fact that 50% of the rounds fired hit the boy in the center body mass, and the officer ceased firing after two rounds were fired, shows that the officer was proficient with his weapon. Given the circumstances, the main reason the boy is alive today is the officer’s fire discipline. Had a less competent officer “sprayed and prayed,” emptying half a magazine during the encounter, the poor kid wouldn’t be around to watch his next of kin try to collect ten or twenty million taxpayer dollars from the inevitable lawsuit the County of Los Angeles will now have to defend. Ironically, the day of the shooting was also the day of one of L.A. City’s most successful “gun buy back” days. Almost 1700 weapons were voluntarily surrendered to police at various parts of the city. In this public / private sector partnership sponsored in part by Ralph’s Market, people turning in guns got supermarket gift certificates worth $100 per gun, and $200 for “assault weapons.” Gun Control proponents like this. The NRA does not. Since it’s a voluntary surrender program, I really don’t have a big problem with it except for the fact that our bloated government probably doesn’t belong in the scrap gun purchasing business. If somebody has a gun sitting around that they don’t want, don’t need, or don’t know how to use, they should do one of two things, dispose of it, or obtain the skill at arms needed to handle the weapon. Today, the second amendment, and the whole bill of rights, may very well be at risk in America, but not from this. If the person with the $10,000 Luger who turned it in with no idea of its value wants to surrender it for a bag of groceries, it may make gun collectors cringe like Jay Leno watching a ’63 split window Corvette going through a crusher, but it doesn’t water down the 2nd amendment. If the realtor who’s carried an old Beretta .32 caliber single action auto loose in the bottom of her purse for years with a live round in the chamber decides to voluntarily turn her gun in, she isn’t going to hurt your constitutional rights either. What will hurt your constitutional rights are politicians who don’t belief in your right to self-defense, people who act stupidly with real guns, and activist judges, but that’s the topic of a whole different blog article. As far as the toy gun thing is concerned, the two categories of people I know who are most likely to NOT let their kids play with toy guns are teachers and combat veterans. Teachers, because they see guns as evil, and combat veterans, because they respect skill at arms, see people as either good or evil, and see guns as tools requiring high proficiency to operate. So, to both of these groups, a gun is not a toy. Personally, I’ve chosen to allow my son to play with the typical orange and yellow super soakers and nerf guns, but not with realistic looking toy guns. Even the orange and yellow ones are not to be used after dark, and he knows that if he’s holding anything that resembles a firearm and the police show up in the vicinity, he should place it on the ground and step away from it. My son is also one of the few city kids today that has actually been trained in firearms safety, range procedures, and target marksmanship. Most importantly, my son understands the golden rule of gun safety. “ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED,” which means that unless you have personally determined that the weapon is inert, you presume the weapon has a live round in the chamber and is ready to fire. Just like the officer did who is now going to bed with nightmares and waking up at 3:00 a.m. in a cold sweat.

A Dangerous One Sneaks Under The Wire

2009-05-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

Politicians come up with some pretty dangerous stuff sometimes. My son and I watched a video of The Hunt for Red October a while back, and one of the actors says “I’m a politician, which means when I’m not kissin’ babies, I’m stealin’ their lollipops, but it also means I like to keep my options open.” The movie quote hits the nail on the head. Politicians are wary, and have pretty strong self-preservation instincts. Politics, however, makes for strange bedfellows. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff figured out that Indian casino operators and anti-gambling conservative Christians had something in common. They both wanted to eliminate the casino’s competition. Abramoff got caught stealin’ the Indian's lollipops and ran out of ways to keep his options open. Jack wasn’t a whacko, he was just an ambitious and unethical lobbyist who got caught after he ran out of options. Abramoff played the blood sport of politics and lost. He'll be realeased from Cumberland Federal Prison in 2011 if everything goes his way. Politicians. They’ve got strong opinions, and occasional pet bills that are so far out nobody else in congress is willing to co-sponsor them. Usually, what happens to these far out bills is they get referred to some subcommittee. The committee chairman keeps them cubbyholed, and they never see the light of day. Take Rep. Blair Holt’s H.R. 45 – Firearms Licensing and Record of Sale Act. It’s a bill that would require gun owners to apply for five year licenses to own firearms. Even though the bill’s from the political left and the left is in power, H.R. 45’s such an obvious assault on the bill of rights that Democrats and Republicans alike see it as the third rail, and nobody want's to touch it. H.R. 45 has no co-sponsor, and will likely never get out of committee, much less see a house vote. It’s too radical a change and too near and dear to a large block of single issue voters, but I’m not here to debate H.R. 45. It’s dead in the water and I’m just using it as an example. The bill I really want to talk about is called H.R. 645. In January 2009, Florida Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings (a former judge who was impeached and removed from office in 1989 for corruption and perjury) came up with a bill that was way out in whacko land too. H.R. 645 would establish no fewer than six FEMA camps nationwide to corral civilians on military bases. Sounds like another assault on the bill of rights that nobody else would want to touch, but a while back the bill got co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Gerlatch, a mainstream Republican from a Pennsylvania safe district who’s on the Transportation subcommittee, and Artur Davis, a liberal Democrat on the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. This happened in the end of April. Whether it was the fear of H1N1 swine flu, or some other factor, this bill went out of whacko land and into a bill with real potential to go somewhere. It’s still hung up in committee, and probably won’t be able to get past Bobby Scott, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. If it somehow does, it will be a serious and credible threat to our freedom. Politics is a whole new game since the new congress was sworn in. Things can move very quickly, sometimes with silent voting, and often with zero coverage from the mainstream media. Politics in America has changed. Whether you lean toward Republican or Democrat values, this is a dangerous one, especially with a public righteously upset over an unsustinable appetite for government spending. Maybe we should ask our older friends who where around in 1933 if this stuff looks familiar.

Post Mortem Exam of a Character Assassination

2009-05-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

In a day where the greatest challenge facing the beauty pageant industry is irrelevance, it only makes sense for them to stir up a PR firestorm. And who better to stir it up than Perez Hilton. With the possible exception of passenger airlines experiencing what the government refers to as “mass casualty incidents,” the adage that “there’s no such thing as bad PR” holds true. Controversy makes people remember your product. With the looming threat of irrelevance, the Miss California and the Miss USA pageants could use a little name recognition, and of course Hilton wouldn’t mind a little bit for himself. Was the homosexual marriage question a sucker punch? Yes. Was there a "right" answer? No. It was only a few years back when the Miss America pageant de-throned another contestant by the name of Vanessa Williams after some photos of her naked with another woman showed up. So any contestant in her right mind would be fearful of veering too far to the left. So what's the "visualize world peace" happy horsecrap, safe answer for an aspiring Miss USA to give? The answer? There is none. It’s like a recruit in basic training having his drill instructor ask “Do you like me?” Whichever way you answer, it’s not going to turn out pleasant. I realize that hindsight is always 20-20, and I’m afraid I wouldn't actually fit in Carrie Prejean's shoes, but if I were in her shoes and I had my heart set on winning the tiara, my answer would probably be something along the lines of "That's a question with a very strong political agenda behind it. I don't think it's really appropriate for this forum, and I respectfully decline to answer it.” One of two things would have happened. Either they would have accepted the answer and moved on, or they would force her to step on the political land mine question. For what it’s worth, Carrie Prejean answered the question brutally honestly, and seems to be doing just fine with it. But don’t expect the drama to go away any time soon. With the “legs” that a story centered around hot damsel in distress has, don’t expect to see the end of this one soon. Think Natalee Holloway here. How will the attempted character assignation of Carrie Prejean unfold? They’ve already scoured the existing photos, and the trashiest photo they could come up with was mild enough to run in Good Housekeeping. Also, it looks like http://www.thedirty.com/ is about the only one running it, so it’s probably digimarked and photographer who holds the copyright is going to be laughing all the way to the bank. Also, how controversial can it be having been taken when she was 17, with the required “model release for minor” signed by a parent or legal guardian. Next step for Perez Hilton and the pageant activists? Probably legal rumblings about contract violations because Prejean spoke on camera at her church, and for the non-profit National Organization for Marriage. But PR people know its one thing to threaten lawsuits, but it’s a whole other thing to actually litigate. Especially over free speech occurring inside a church. Right now, Carrie Prejean is likely the one holding the aces. She’s the only one who knows her life and how much of her has been photographed. She’s undoubtedly got people lined up who would defend her pro bono in a legal action. That’s not going to happen because Prejean’s got a pretty good countersuit. You see, there’s that little matter of pageant officials releasing personal and private medical facts, arguably both intentionally and with the intent to defame Prejean. So the activist pageant organizers will go through the motions of fanning the flames, but will most likely hold short of actually lighting that fire. Which leaves them with two options. Option number one is to keep up the negative PR statements, drag out new photos and risk a low key public backlash. Which brings them to option number two, stripping Carrie Prejean of her crown. Hello, in case you pageant officials haven’t figured it out, she’s outgrown it. She’d undoubtedly be happy to Fed-Ex it back to you with the cameras rolling. Oh yea, there’s always option three, pick a new target. Let’s see, where can we start our search for another high profile media figure who’s got the audacity to go on record saying “I believe marriage is the union of one man, and one woman.” Oops, that search would start at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A Naval Academy Speech

2009-05-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

A firebrand speaker stood at the front of the audience of young officer candidates at the Naval Academy. He was a highly regarded Admiral who had started his career as a gunnery officer before specializing in naval aviation. He had studied at Harvard. He had been a naval attache in Washington, and he clearly understood America's industrial might. The Admiral realized the words he spoke could enrage some members of the officer corps in both the Army and his own branch of service. Willingly, he chose to go against the grain of the most powerful leaders in his country. Though he was a patriot from a family of warriors who was true to his nation, the message he was about to give was "politically incorrect." The Admiral was clearly qualified to speak the words he spoke. He loved his country and he knew his adversary better than the leaders around him. He was a bold military strategist, and while he often expressed his thoughts, he left the final decisions to the political leaders. At the moment of his speech, some may have thought of him as a reluctant warrior, though he would go forward to become a brilliant tactician. When he later died in the line of duty, he would be awarded his nation's highest honor posthumously. Here's an excerpt of the Admiral's speech on the American spirit: Most people think the Americans love luxury, and that their culture is shallow and meaningless. It is a mistake to regard them as luxury-loving and weak. I have lived among them, and I can tell you that they are a people full of the spirit of justice, fight, and adventure. what is more, their thinking is very advanced and scientific. Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic is the sort of valient act typical of them- a typical American adventure, based on science. Do not forget, American industry is much more developed than ours. And unlike us, they have all the oil they want. Japan cannot beat America. Therefore, she should not even think of fighting America. Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) That was an accurate assessment of the America of 70 years ago. The men who fought for our country in World War II were hardened, yet compassionate men who grew out of the hardships of the great depression. A great percentage of them earned their living by the sweat of their brow, and they all lived in a society with a much stronger sense of morality. Men were raised in a culture that respected skill at arms and the Word of God. History would go on to categorize this group of men as "the greatest generation." There culture was anything but "shallow and meaningless." They were not "luxury loving and weak," yet the perception of General Tojo and the high ranking army officers who wanted open war with the United States was that they could win a decisive battle in the Pacific and go on to march on Washington. Most people today take the security of our nation for granted. They don't even think there's a difference between national defense and foreign policy. Foreign policy is about who your friends are and it can change overnight. National defense, which generally doesn't change overnight, is about tracking who has equipment and manpower capable of killing your people and breaking your things. What do America's potential national defense adversaries of today think? I'm not asking about Bin Ladin or Ali Khamenei and their like who might willingly engage in assymetrical warfare and mutually assured destruction to welcome the coming of the 12th Imam. I'm asking about the more qualified adversaries. What do the world leaders who could potentially have the tools to take on an America military of the future think? Men like Vladimir Putin or Wen Jiabao. Most people on the outside see Amercans as luxury-loving and weak. They don't see our inner strength. We're still "a people full of the spirit of justice, fight and adventure." The American spirt lives on. While America was at war with Japan, there was a kid, barely a teenager, named Neil in Wapakoneta, Ohio who had fallen in love with flying. He worked odd jobs around town to get money for flying lessons. In 1947, he studied Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue on a scholarship. He earned his Naval Aviator wings at NAS Pensacola, and in 1950 he flew a fighter jet in the Korean War. He flew 78 combat missions and won three air medals. In 1955, he completed his degree in Aeronautical Engineering. But that's not what we know him for today. Today that American kid is best known for a statement he made at work on July 20, 1969: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Today, he lives quietly on a farm in Lebanon, Ohio, and so does the American spirit. - - - By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. - 1 Corinthians 3:10

Separation of Church and State

2009-05-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

A few words on the separation of church and state, not from me, but from one who speaks with a higher authority. The letter shown here in italics is a historically significant document that was written on January 1, 1802 to Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, who were members of a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in Connecticut. The man who wrote it was not really as "big" on Christianity as a number of the other founding fathers, but he was certainly big on freedom and he recognized that the roots of our nation were planted by people fleeing religious persecution in Europe. The intent of the framers of the bill of rights was to protect the church from the state, not the other way around. America is now very close to having an official religious viewpoint, and that religious viewpoint is ATHEISM. As I write this, our lawgivers are inching closer to legislating a "performance tax" that will, along with a faltering economy, force many Christian radio stations out of business. When these stations do go under, one of the most likely buyers for them will be NPR. Our lawgivers are also looking toward enacting hate crime legislation similar to Canada's, which has been widely used to suppress and intimidate clergy from expressing biblical values from the pulpit. The implications of this secular political agenda are absolutely huge for the evangelical church. This is not the America I knew before. In the words of Associate Justice Hugo Black in his 1947 Supreme Court opinion in (Everson vs. Township of Ewing Board of Education ” 330 U.S. 1, 15-16) "It is not the place of the government to force or influence a person to go to or remain away from a church against his will, or to profess or a belief or disbelief in any religion." I agree with Justice Black, and I agree with the man who wrote the attached letter to the Danbury Baptists 145 years earlier. The letter to the Danbury Baptists is significant because it has been used by secularists arguing against nativity scenes and other public displays of Christianity. I just though many of you would find it interesting that the letter uses the term "separation of church and state," but there is nothing in the letter that suggests keeping religion out of government and the public square whatsoever. The founding fathers wanted everyone to be able to worship as they pleased and opposed having an official state religion even though the overwhelming majority of them were Christians who knew their Bible and took inspiration from it. If you read Isaiah 33:22, you'll see where the U.S. Constitution's idea of triune government was taken from: The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. The first amendment was written to ban government infringement on the free exercise of religion. Here's the opinion of one more qualified than me on these matters: Gentlemen, The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Thomas Jefferson

Pandemic Flu

2009-04-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Right now the hype about pandemic flu is pretty big. People in stores, restaurants, and other places are talking about it quite a bit based on my personal observations today. So, as individuals, what should we do, besides move away from people who are coughing? First, don't overreact. This virulent flu is a problem, but it's not the end of the world as we know it. It's more of a problem than seasonal flu, but it's not the start of a Steven King novel. So realistically, what should we do? First, we should center our hearts on God. I don't profess to know God's will, but I do have a little bit of special insight on God and medicine. In 1999, I had a sudden onset of what I can only describe as "the worst headache in my life," centered on the right side of my brain. Three days later, I was suffering severe dizziness, nausea and vomiting. A crainal CT scan revealed a lesion in the tempo-parietal region of my brain. In layman's terms, that diagnosis meant I had a 3 in 5 chance of dying. I was at home, praying, resting, and reading everything I could about neurovascular disease. I wrote a will and an advanced healthcare directive, and reflected back on my life. I realized that at the age of 39, I had successfuly done most of the things I wanted to in my life. I decided that if the doctors chose to do surgery, I would shave my head ahead of time so my son, then 2, wouldn't be scared when he saw me afterwards. I went to the cross where I first accepted the Lord and prayed and repented for my sins. I prayed my heart out. Most of all, I spent every minute I could with my son. I lived through the experience, and when it was over, my faith was significantly changed for the better.

So what does all of this have to do with pandemic flu? Very little, except for the very important fact that just like I wanted to be close to my son, our Heavenly Father wants to be close to us in times of need. He's there right now, and he's listening. So the first thing you need to do to get through a flu pandemic is to open your heart to God.

The second thing you need to do is basic, generic emergency preparedness. There are plenty of sources for clinical information about pandemic flu, and the CDC's website at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/ is a good place to start. Living in LA, you should already have an earthquake kit on hand. Go to http://lafd.org/ and download their 40 page booklet on emergency preparedness. That's a great start to prepare for any emergency.

Third, get the basic stuff together that you need. With a good kit of basic supplies on hand, I decided to add a couple more things on the medical side. My list was pretty short, I got some generic anti-diarrheal medicine, some multivitamins, and a small bottle of antibacterial soap. We already have N95 face masks because we're in the middle of a painting project at the house, and when we go grocery shopping, we'll probably buy a little more non-perishable food.

Realistically, if a pandemic becomes widespread, your odds of dying are pretty small.

Even with a really lethal pandemic H1N1 flu like the one that hit in 1918, the odds of it killing you were only 2.5 out of 1000. So far, nobody's calling this one a pandemic, though that might change. Personally, my first line of defense is Christ the Risen Savior, but if the problem graduates to the pandemic level and the government calls for shutting down schools & churches & bars & restaurants, and issuing masks and Tamiflu, I'll assume God wants me to stay home for a couple of weeks and finish painting the house.

3:16

2009-03-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

3:16 - You've see it on tee shirts, bumper stickers, and just about everywhere else. John 3:16 is probably the most well known passage in the Bible. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." It's a great passage, and it gets right to the heart of the matter. It's what makes Christianity different from all the religion in the world. Muhammed didn't have a relationship with a loving, patient God who was quick to forgive, and slow to anger. Nor did practitioners of the other major religions of the world. So the message of John 3:16 really does stand out. Still, there are well meaning, gentle, caring people who may have spent a lot of time in church, but they still haven't really taken the 3:16 message to heart. Is there only one path to God? I have a friend who's not a Christian, and we were talking one day while on a long car ride. He said to me "I'm OK with Christians, I just don't like the kind of Christians who tell you that you're going to hell if you don't believe in Jesus." So there I am. He's my friend. He's definitely NOT a Christian. We're in the middle of a long car ride together. So where does this leave me? I'm no rocket scientist when it comes to memorizing scripture, but I remember the John 3:16 passage in context. I know the very next verse says something like "but God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." So I try to sugar coat the message a little bit, pointing out that Jesus is trying to do something really good, even though I realize that the "you're going to hell if you don't believe in Jesus" statement is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT from a doctinal standpoint. Now, if there's any chance that I'm going to be able to win another heart for Jesus by planting a mustard seed of faith with my friend, it's not going to come from my thumping him over the head with my Bible. He needs to know a loving God cares for him before his heart is going to be ready to recieve Jesus. Which brings me to a totally different 3:16. In 2 Timothy 3:16, you'll see that "All scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. OK, to be honest with you, I really AM bad at memorizing scripture, and I only know the passage because I spent a week photographing a band that plays Christian rock and roll who wrote a catchy tune about 2 Timothy 3:16. But hey, I remembered enough. And so will you. So live your life, and quit being afraid to reach out to someone who needs the gospel message. It may not feel safe, it may not feel comfortable, and you may not feel like you know your Bible well enough to share the message. But you do.

What to do when you're having a bad month

2009-02-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I went out with our church's blanket ministry for the first time. All week long I had known about the upcoming event and I was really looking forward to it, and I really felt God had put it on my heart to go get pictures. But that morning, I had a different feeling.

It was a rainy day. I didn't really feel like driving, I was running a little late and I really hate showing up to things late. There was no reason I had to go. But I went. I'm a photographer. My photographer mind was thinking about the visual opportunities that would be there during that justaposition of people donating things and people marginalized by society. And perhaps I was also thinking of my own desires to be the next Dorothea Lange or Lewis Hines.

Funny thing about being a photographer. It's like being the paramedic who can show up at a horrific car crash to do his job, put on a pair of nitrile gloves to keep the blood and guts off of him, and go have a cheesburger afterwards. Just like a Paramedic or EMT can stay in "clinical" mode, a photographer can kind of keep that piece of glass up between him and the reality in front of him.

I showed up, but God showed up too. And for the majority of the time I was there, my camera stayed in the bag and I talked with people. The people from the blanket ministry parked a car in the lot and gave the first guy a blanket. He was polite and thankful. He walked away a little bit, kind of around the corner of the lot where other people were waiting to be fed, and he shouted out to the gathering "hey, free blankets!" He was sharing the good news! The good news of free blankets. I took a bunch of pictures over the course of the next few minutes, but then I put the camera away for a while.

I talked to Bob, who has been homeless for five years and is living in a burgundy Dodge van. Bob knows Jesus Christ as his lord and saviour. According to him, the hardest thing about being homeless is finding food. Bob pointed out another guy arriving at the food pantry, and told me "that guy coming in is a drug dealer and I don't like him because I know what the stuff he sells does to people."

I talked to John, a clean, well groomed hispanic man in his 60's who was a server on the rescue mission staff. John was a gentleman, and when I first approached him, I was away from the rest of the blanket ministry group. My camera was tucked away in the bag. I made some small talk, and John offered me something to eat, which I politely refused. I continued to make small talk with John and he kept circling the conversation back towards getting me to eat. Eventually I told John I was with the blanket minstry taking pictures. John's a cool guy. He's really helping out the clients. John wears an apron and looks really clean cut, and not too many people realized he's actually homeless too.

We had a pretty good crowd inside by now, mostly men, some young, but a lot of them older. Bob, the Christian who lives in a burgundy van, was taking a seat next to the drug dealer he had earlier said he didn't like and was engaging him in conversation.

The crowd wasn't as marginalized as you would think. Granted, they might not have as many teeth as I do, but overall, they weren't any different from you and me. A few of the people weren't "daisy fresh" but only one of them reeked. A occasional client had a buzz on, but nobody showed up who was wasted until a guy came in during the pastor's speech talkin' smack. The pastor called him forward and put his arm around his shoulder and stood side by side with him in front of everyone, pausing without saying a word. His arm around the addicted man spoke louder than any words that could have come from the pastor's mouth.

The pastor went on to preach on Proverbs 30:9. He called on those clients who are used to being homeless to help the new people who are still learning the ropes. The people running the shelter are trying to keep their heads above water. One of the supermarkets that has been a major supplier to them recently cut their food pantry donations in the wake of the downturn in the economy. The dow may be down, but here business is booming. Last month they had 60 clients. This month they had 155.

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8-9

Satan's Top 10 Fieldworkers

2009-02-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, we're doing this one a little differently than the rest of the top ten list, keeping them in roughly chronological order, but telling a little about their deeds. These are the biggest architects of evil deeds in recorded history:

Emperor Nero of Rome (persecuted Christians, killed innocents)
Emperor Diocletian of Rome (made Christians vs. Lions an arena sport)
Genghis Kahn (Mongolia - brutal military leader)
Margaret Sanger (USA - 1920's advocate of "negative eugenics")
Adolph Hitler (Germany - genocide of 11 million people)
Adolph Eichmann (Germany - principle architect of the Holocaust)
Mao Zedong (People's Republic of China - killed 35 million)
Joseph Stalin (USSR - killed 20 million)
Kim Il Sung (North Korea - killed 3 million)
Pol Pot (Cambodia - killed 1.4 million)
Theoneste Bagosora (Rwanda - genocide, massacres of Tutsis)

OK, if you're wondering why your own candidate you love to hate isn't on the list, here are some who were excluded in the final rounds. Usama Bin Ladin - (Saudi Arabia - architect of Islamofacism) Brian A. Skates (USA - founder of Klu Klux Klan) and Joseph Kony (Uganda - brutal guerilla group LRA's leader.) Evil to the last, but didn't kill enough innocent people to make the top ten.

10 Most Influential Leaders since 1776

2009-02-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, here's the next top ten list: The most influential leaders since the formation of the United States in 1776. Please note that this is based on their scope of influence and not on the merit of their accomplisments, and that they are again ranked in order of birth:

Benjamin Franklin (born 1706)
George Washington (1732)
Thomas Jefferson (1743)
Alexander Hamilton (1755)
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769)
Karl Marx (1818)
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin [Ulanov](1870)
Joseph Stalin (1879)
Adolph Hitler (1889)
Mao Zedong (1893)

10 most influential leaders before the USA was formed

2009-02-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here's another top ten list: Leadership; The Top Ten Movers & Shakers before the United States of America was formed, again in chronological order by date of birth:

Alexander the Great (356 BC)
Julius Caesar (100 BC)
Jesus Christ (6 BC?)
Muhammed (570)
Charlmange (742)
William the Conquerer (1027)
Genghis Khan (1155)
Hernán Cortés (1485)
Louis XIV of France (1638)
Frederick the Great (1740)

Top 10 Movers and Shakers in Christianity

2009-01-31T21:53:00.001-08:00

I came across some listings of people percieved to be the most influential people in history, and I decided to come up with a list of my own. The twist is, I didn't put them in order of importance, I put them in chronological order based on their respective dates of birth. So here's the list of top 10 movers and shakers in Christianity, in order of birth:

Eve
Noah
Moses (~ 1500 B.C.)
King David (1085 B.C.)
Elijah the Prophet (900 B.C.)
Jesus Christ (6 B.C. – 27 A.D.)
Saint Paul of Tarsus (10?-67)
Johannes Guttenberg (1400-1468)
Martin Luther (November 10, 1483)
John Calvin (July 10, 1509) So who did I forget?

From George W.'s Farewell Address

2009-01-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

"Thou hast warned us in the Scriptures, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" As George Washington reminded us in his farewell address, morality and faith are the pillars of our society. We confess these pillars are being eroded in an increasingly materialistic and permissive society. The whole world is watching to see if the faith of our fathers will stand the trials and tests of the hour. Too long we have neglected Thy word and ignored Thy laws. Too long we have tried to solve our problems without reference to Thee. Too long we have tried to live by bread alone. We have sown to the wind and are now reaping a whirlwind of crime, division, and rebellion. And now with the wages of our sins staring us in the face, we remember Thy words, "If my people who are called by my Name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (Quoted from Prophecy in the News / U.K. 1-25-09)

I Rarely Write About POLITICS..

2009-01-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

I rarely write about politics in this forum because I'd rather see people praying for our leaders than aguing over them. I do, however keep a pretty close watch on what's going on and I we are at an absolutely critical time TODAY. There are may events brewing that are not in the mainstream media. The world may be about to go on a roller coaster ride. While the Los Angeles Times leads off with slow news day articles like the pending treasury secretary's tax issues and "Bush Defends Legacy in Final Press Conference," there is a growing crisis on the world scene. The Russian Navy has moved the Admiral Kunetzov's carrier battle group into the Syrian port of Tartus. Syria and Iran are the main backers of Hamas, and this action is a significant provocation toward Israel. Iranian aid ships are attempting to breach the 40 km naval blocade of Gaza and are being intercepted and turned away by the Israeli Navy. Iran Judiciary Spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi has just announced the trial of 4 Iranians charged with seeking to topple their government with US State Department and CIA backing. The arguments have been concluded and the verdict and sentencing will take place in the next few days. According to a June statement by Int'l Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradi, Iran could have a nuclear weapon in as little as six months. That six month period has now passed. Late last year, over 100 Israeli jets took part in a full scale exercise widely seen as a dress rehearsal for an air strike on Natanz and other Iranian nuclear faclilities. There are 32 US military bases within striking range of Iranian missiles. Though many of the people of Iran like the US, radical Islamists in their government are fanning the flames of hatred in the wake of the Gaza conflict as Israel presses it's miliary operations in urban terrain as it closes in on Gaza City. We are 6 days away from the transition from a stauchly pro-Israel President to a brand new administration. The Bible says in Ephesians 3:6 that "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Please pray for our nation and our leaders like you never have before. Today.

The Envelope Stuffers

2009-01-13T09:45:00.001-08:00

Such exciting action! Sometimes editorial photography just bursts at the seams with opportunities for action shots. Then, you have the envelope stuffers. Some stories tell themsleves. This was not one of those times. I had to really look to find the shot that portrayed the story. These guy and gals who sit in a room and stuff envelopes are really special, and there's a lifetime of wisdom to be had from each one if you can coax it out of them. When a church needs to fill a position like a praise team singer or an leading actor in the Passion Play, it always seems like volunteers line up for a shot at their own 15 minutes of fame. These guys are just the opposite. Some of them are retired folks who've been quitely pitching in behind the scenes for 15 years. They come in on Fridays before the weekend services at their church and stuff inserts in all the church bulletins. Thousands of inserts. Week after week. On the surface, there's nothing in it at all for them at all. And that's the real story. An unselfish love. The come because they want to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I got done with my shoot, I had a pile of outtakes. Faces of the volunteer workers, closeups, even a group photo with everybody holding bulletins in their hands. But it was the over the shoulder shot of this anonymous, older gentleman's hands at work that best told the story.

The Pastor's Posse rides

2009-01-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

Wow! The pastor got to go for a motorcycle ride to church with a bunch of motorcycling friends from the Christian Motorcyclist's Association, the Sons of God / New Jerusalm MC, and an assortment of other riders!

What a fun ride. There was the cruise to church, a sermon on success measured God's way, and a beautiul trip up the coast highway with a stop at D'Amore's pizza in Malibu for a lunch with a view of the Pacific ocean.

Bible School is FUN!

2008-08-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Learning the Bible can be fun! These kid at Shepherd of the Hills Vacation Bible School are having a blast at a laid back, musical, intense week of fun.

The Missing Man Formation- Jeff Miller 1955-2008

2008-07-03T16:31:00.001-07:00

Today I said farewell to a friend. He died at the age of 53, which at one time would have seemed old to me, but no longer does. There are many great lessons in life, and we all learn them along the way. It's important to work hard and play hard, and to use the talents God gives you.

A good life lesson, once paraphrased by Bill Gates, is "life's not fair. Get used to it." Jeff's greatest love in life was flying. He was a commercial pilot with 7000 hours flight time, when a trip to the the flight surgeon pulled the plug on his career overnight. He had been diagnosed with diabetes.

Re-starting his life, he did some entrepreneurial things to make a new career for himself. He got involved in volunteering, and found himself hanging out of helicopter doors in a harness, holding a camera instead of a stick and throttle. He helped organize the Heroes Airshow, and shot photos for the fire service, including the LA City and LA County Fire Departments. The diabetes eventually took one of his legs. When Jeff went to the County Fire Department to renew his fire line credentials, there was a new fire department official at the desk who was skeptical as to why a disabled man in a wheelchair would need a departmental ID. Today, that same official spoke with pride of how Jeff didn't quit. One of the photos on display showed Jeff in the door of a helicopter, flying over a scene with his camera. One leg was against the helicopter's skid bracing his position, the other leg was still freshly bandaged from his then recent leg amputation.

Life is finite. As you come to terms with that reality, you learn to worry less and pray more. He had passion, and he was organized. He never spent a moment of his life drunk or on drugs. When he died, he wasn't rich, and he wasn't famous, and he had little in the way of material posessions. His most treasured posessions were probably a flight harness and his camera, but he lived his life to the fullest and he made the most of the talents God gave him.

When helicopters come in for a landing, the ground controller will raise both arms vertically to signal the pilot that he's on the right heading. At the memorial service, I took this picture as three LAFD Huey's flew the missing man formation over us. As they came in, Jeff's sister raised her arms overhead vertically, giving the same signal I've seen Jeff give time and time again on the airfield. I took the picture you see here.

Jeff, you're on the right heading.

Amen.

Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

2008-03-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Resurrection Day! Today we have been forgiven by the Lord for all our shortcomings, whether we have jaywalked, or broken ALL of the Ten Commandments, a loving God has given up his own life in the person of Jesus Christ to pay the price of all our shortcomings. The price of our own salvation has already been paid in full. All that is left for us to do is to ask Jesus into our hearts.

A LOT of people decided to give their hearts to Jesus this Easter weekend. I made the same decision years ago, and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made in my life.

Off to a Clean Start

2008-03-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well, they couldn't clean up the town, but they did a really nice job at the Town Center. More Community Days volunteers hit the road Sunday and cleaned the new Gymboree Play & Music store getting ready to open in Simi Valley's Town Center Mall.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

-1 John 3:1

Community Days

2008-03-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw hundreds of people of faith lining up to get their hands dirty. Squad of volunteers spread out across the valley from Taft High School and the Park-N-Ride lot by Shepherd of the Hills Church at the crack of dawn. Pulling weeds, planting flowers, and sprucing things up. Today, public school kids at Mayall Street Elementary School will arive to see that a new flower garden was put in while they were away, and the 4 year olds at the Family Nurturing Center will see a nice patch of soil that has been cleared, tilled and mulched. It's ready for a garden, but the kids are getting to do the final step of putting the seeds in the ground themselves, so they can experience the small miracle of life. Seeds turn into flowers, and people of faith raise up a generation that knows the small miracle of that old bumper sticker cliche, a random act of kindness.

And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

-Genesis 2:9

Just a quick thought

2008-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking through a blog today. A photo blog of Paris and the surrounding area. Lots of architecture. The cathedral at Notre Dame, lots of other really gorgeous gothic architecture. Many edifices of Christianity, built to be houses of God. Most of these architectural wonders in Europe are no longer serving as houses of worship. Their builders are long dead. The believers gone, they are no longer Churches. The real Church is in the truck driver who brings supplies overland from Nairobi to Kinshasha to keep medical missionarie's clinics open. It's in the angel of the Lord who shows up at the emergency room to pray with a stranger. It's in the man who reaches out a hand to save a troubled friend from eternal separation from God. It's in the third world country doctor who lays down his life for an infected patient and in the SWAT team officer who goes up against a demon posessed psychopath to protect his fellow man. It's in the child who gets on his knees and prays to Jesus that his parents will work things out. It's in the public school where Christian students gather around the flagpole to pray. It's in the countryside of Tibet where the faithful gather in a small group with a contraband bible that could get them imprisoned or executed. THAT'S where the Church is.

Seeing The Light

2007-12-17T18:30:00.001-08:00

A big part of successful photography is pre-visualization. PBS put together a documentary on Ansel Adams where Ansel talked about his images. Instead of using the phrase "take" a picture, he described how he would "make" a photograph that would capture the image he saw in his mind's eye. In this photograph, elements of strong lighting and linearity bring together dramatic elements that help make the image pleasing to the eye. When I pre-visualized the picture, the elements that stood out to me in my mind's eye were the two triangles formed by the sides of this "urban canyon" as it recedes back to the vanishing point. Shape and balance and depth all play a role in making this image aestheticly pleasing. None were obvious to the casual bystanders, who for the most part took snapshots of their friends with their backs up against the railing instead.

Veteran's Day Thought- America Loves A Winner

2007-11-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

Wow. I've generally stayed away from the devisive political questions that split us apart, but if I wanted to pick a question that would be the last one a new employee at the company Christmas party should ever open his conversation with, it would be "do we belong in Iraq?" It really is a complicated question. The decision to go into Iraq was made in a time when America was a different place than it is today. Tom Daschle announced the house's unanimous support. The Clintons, Bushes, and Carters were all lead in prayer by Billy Graham and others during a National Day of Prayer and Rememberance. The President stood atop "the pile" next to an exhausted fire chief, announcing over a bullhorn that "I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these building down will hear from all of us soon." So lets get real here for a minute. Whether we had a Democrat or a Republican in the White House that day, America had just been punched in the nose, and somebody was going to get hit back. Whether we had a Democrat or a Republican in the White House that day, they would have whispered under their breath, "Bin Ladin." as soon as they got word of the attack. Our strategy was to build a coalition, mostly of western nations, do the best we could with target selection, and open fire in Afghanistan and Iraq. The big concern from a national security standpoint was that, by destablizing Iraq, we could destabilize Pakistan. Pakistan is a real national security concern to the United States. They have an estimated 50 nuclear warheads, and a government that could potentially fall, turning the country into "Talibanistan." Today, Republicans don't talk of winning in fear of being painted with the "Mission Accomplished" banner. Democrats, on the other hand, are vested in the "lose now" strategy in an effort to take the presidency and congress in the upcoming elections. Which is a shame. Bagdad's shopping districts are coming back to the point where they have traffic jams. Sectarian violence is down to levels we haven't seen since before the Feb. 2006 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra sent Sunni v. Shiite tensions into overdrive. Most importantly, representative government is being built from the local level up, not from the green zone down. This combination of political and economic recovery means there is a very real possiblility that we can have a stable, moderate Iraq government ready to stand on it's own two feet within the next year. This is good for the region. A moderate, predominantly Shia state between Iran and Saudi Arabia could potentially be a buffer zone giving long term stability to the region. Once the Iraq government gets to the point where they feel they no longer need coalition support, the coalition will be able to leave. The people over there don't want an occupation force, but they don't want out of control insurgents either. We're getting better and better at counter-insurgency. The pressure is on American troop commanders to produce real results while Bush is still in the presidency, because Iraq is either going to stabilize, or the whole region will descend into chaos within the next two years. The "support our troops, bring them home" bumper sticker crowd has it wrong. We need to think in terms of winning (establishing a stable, moderate Iraq.) That way the generation of eleven year olds growing up now can worry less about being drafted to fight in a bigger war likely to involve Islamic Facists with nuclear warheads, the fall of the House of Saud, and a mass exodus of an Israel threatened with fire in the sky over the plains of Megiddo.

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon -Revelation 16:16

Three Favorite Things

2007-10-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was picking up laundry on the floor, and I came across a draft copy of a paper my 6th grade son wrote for school, answering the question "What are your three favorite things about being a Christian?" His reply:

One: I'll get to heaven when I die. In John, the Bible says "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But I have come so that you might have life." John also says in 3:16, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Two: I know that Jesus will be with me wherever I go. In Psalm 23, David says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." During the Roman Empire, just after Jesus went up to heaven, the Romans began to crucify Christians to eliminate this "new" religion. Christians knew that God would be with them no matter where they were, even if they were in a Roman prison awaiting their own execution.

Three: God has a plan for each and every one of us, but unfortunately, so does Satan. In Genesis, God created the heaven and the Earth. The world was without sin back then, until the serpant told Eve to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. Then sin entered the world. This was not God's plan. It was Satan's. God has given us the ability to choose. We can choose right or wrong, but God has given us the ability to to know what is right or wrong. When we choose to do wrong, we drift farther from God, but God will always forgive us if we ask him.

Billy Graham and POTUS

2007-10-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

POTUS, it's not a name, it's his job title, President of the United States. I was looking through a magazine article the other day reviewing a biography of Billy Graham. Along with the narrative, there were pictures of Billy Graham with every man who had been President of the United States during my lifetime; Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. Some of the presidents turned out to be good leaders, some of them turned out to be poor leaders. It's not my place to judge, but I'm sure that God looked down on each of the presidents and knew exactly how much of their Christianity was "worship activity," and how much was true spiritual worship. And while Reverend Graham, now 88 years old, may not be around to minister to the next president, I know that God will not let Reverend Graham's shoes go unfilled. The old adage that there are no atheists in foxholes makes sense. I don't see how any person could shoulder the responsiblities of the foxhole known as the oval office if they were separated from God. That's one reason I pray for our President and our troops. Proverbs 5:21 - For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.

Little Plastic Soldiers

2007-08-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

My son was playing with his little plastic soldiers, and had been having fun doing it for a while. While I was away in the house, he found an old cardboard box. I came back later and this was the scene my son had created. Across the yard from the little field where the fighting was going on, there was another field. A field of honor. As the rest of his plastic soldiers were carrying out the mission, a solitary soldier was standing post over his fallen comrades. Their cause was not forgotten. The Commanding General of the Plastic Army didn't have politicians back home licking there chops in anticipation of the next bad SITREP. The Commanding General of the Plastic Army didn't have civilian contractors doing pork barrel jobs his own men could do better for a third the price, or a political party back home focused only on sandbagging their Commander-in-Chief. He just did his best to carry out the mission. The plastic soldiers fought and died, sometimes in the heat of mock battles, and sometimes when big kids stepped on them. But the backyard stayed free because of the little plastic soldiers who were willing to fight, and if necessary, pay the ultimate price. The ten year old Commanding General of the Plastic Army supported their mission, and the little plastic people of the back yard understood that freedom isn't free. If only more of the adults could get it.......

Doing the Wash at the Beach

2007-07-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've always loved the beach. Cruising along the coast in a convertible with the top down, enjoying a gentle cool breeze on a hot summer day, sharing a picnic lunch with friends and family, seeing a rainbow of tee shirt and swimsuit colors, and maybe even a concert in the park with some hot local talent playing. What could be better? How about a trip to the beach where you came back cleansed from your sin? Can water baptism really do that? If being hit by the water was all it took, I hear our pastor would be down at the mall with a squirt gun trying to save as many souls as he could before security kicked him out.

We don't see pastors trying to sneak super soakers into Dodger Stadium to save hundreds of us at once, so the secret's not in the water. What's it all about then? The bible teaches us that John the Baptist was directed by God to baptize those who accepted His message. When John the Baptist baptized people, the people were repenting of their sins and professing their faith that through the coming Messiah they would be forgiven. John the Baptist prepared the way, but he was not the Christ. In Luke 3:15, the Bible tells us that people wondered in their hearts if John the Baptist might be the Christ, but John answered "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

The ritual of water baptism is about acknowledging our sins and professing our faith in Jesus. The water itself is ordinary. The seeker's decision to be baptized is a powerful public proclaimation of their own faith. We identify ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ. Christ died, was buried, and was resurrected. So are all these people at the beach who pinched their nose, got dunked underwater, and got pulled up again changed? Perhaps not all, but judging by the intense emotions I saw today, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of them decided to take a step forward in their own obedience to God, had an emotional experience in the baptism ritual itself, and came away from it with a new sense of awe for the salvation experience of a man who, thousands of years before them, led a sinless life, but chose to die on the cross to pay a debt he didn't owe.

And that is where the real reward lies.

1 Peter 3:21- and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand- with angels, authorities and powers in submision to him.

Independence Day

2007-07-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate Independence Day!

When John Hancock boldly signed his name on the Declaration of Independence in 1776, we saw that Americans would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under colonialism.

When soldiers held up the flag on the ramparts of Baltimore's Fort McHenry in 1815 through a fierce 25 hour bombardment by the British Navy, we saw that Americans would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under British rule.

When sailors aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown fought the battle of Midway in 1942, and when Marines raised the flag over Mt. Suribachi in 1945, we saw that Americans would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under Japanese imperialism.

When firefighters cut the mast from a motor yacht and stuck it on the top of what was left of the World Trade Center in 2001, we saw that Americans would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under Islamic facism.

Over the last 231 years, there have been millions of Americans who would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under the forces of evil, but one stands out to me in particular, not because of his accomplishments as a warrior, and not because of the medals pinned to his chest, but because of his accomplishments as a man.

A man of kindness and strength, a righteous man and a leader of others, who stood watch over his family, and stood watch over America.

Now his soul is in heaven, and his body is interred at Arlington National Cemetary. For an American Serviceman, there is no higher honor. Thank you to my brother Biff LeGrand, and to all Americans who would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under the forces of evil.

Quotable Quotes from Washington & Hancock

2007-07-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

Some day, following the example of the United States of America, there will be a United States of Europe -George Washington There, I guess King George will be able to read that. -John Hancock

8 1/2 Seconds of Faith

2007-06-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you guys know me by now, and you're alredy thinking, is this going to be a Jesus thing, or are we talking horsepower. The race boat. JN316?? Like JOHN 3:16 in the BIBLE?? What's the deal... John 3:16 is the part of the bible that even Christians who hate to memorize have memorized: For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever belives in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. So what's JN316 doing on a race boat?

In a racer's world where there's a definite culture of party animals, you would expect that all the racers would jump back away from the stack of Bibles Mike keeps at his pit area. But you would be wrong. If you came to a race early, before the spectators arrive, and before the mandatory driver's meeting, you would see Mike, and his fellow prayer warriors of Racers For Christ, bonded together in prayer.

There's this thing about racing. You can't change the laws of physics. Whether the drivers have a relationship with God, or they're living in the world, they all know that when they're covering a quarter mile in eight seconds, all it takes is a gust of wind, or a fatigued piece of metal, and their life could be over. The old timers have seen friends die in their raceboats. The newbies are going to see friends die in their raceboats, or racecars, or race bikes. All of them know the eerie silence, and the pit you get in your stomach as you come to the line.

A few years back, a fellow racer had his throttle stick open and the race boat hit the shore hard. At the hospital waiting room, when the doctor told the family members that the racer's injuries were fatal, Mike wasn't down at the lake in his boat. He was there at the hospital waiting room with the racer's family. That's what TeamRFC is about. It's about showing up when there's a calling. It's about giving a Bible to somebody who doesn't have one. It's about a faith walk that might start with you trying to live with Christ, and progress to you trying to live as Christ, until a day comes when you realize it's about Christ living through you. Whether it's Athletes In Action, or Coach Tony Dungy leading the Indianapolis Colts to the superbowl, or Mike's Comp Flat drag boat taking first place at last weekend's race, it's about doing it God's way.. So when you see a Racers for Christ sicker on a drag boat, or a formula car, or a dragster, or a hot rod at a show and shine, know that there's some serious horsepower behind the sticker.

Enough horsepower to take Mike's boat to first place last weekend? Apparently yes. Great job Mike! You did it God's way.

A coincidence that Mike's race number is 316? No. The racers have a fair amout of say in the numbers they get.

Mike's boat, named FLAT FEVER, used to be known as "415," which, as all you cops and firefighters know, is the California Penal Code section for disurbing the peace. After he became a follower of Jesus Christ, Mike went to the sanctioning bodies of racing and petitioned for the number change. Now both Mike & FLAT FEVER are new creatures in Christ doing the Lord's work together.

Quote of the day

2007-05-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'll just be glad it's Clark Gable falling on his face, and not Gary Cooper.

-Gary Cooper, on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind"

We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.

-Decca Recording Company, rejecting the Beatles, 1962

The concept is interesting and well formed, but in order to earn better than a "C" the idea must be feasible.

-A Yale Management Professor, responding to FedEx founder

Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service

A Place Where Blood Runs Thick

2007-05-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

There really are two Americas. In my work, I have to travel around a fair amount. I’m writing this blog entry from Oceanside, a military town just outside Camp Pendleton. I’m hard pressed to think of a town that has been harder hit by the Iraq War than Oceanside. Camp Pendleton has paid an unusually high price in American blood. With my day’s work done, I went out to a local hamburger joint for dinner. There were families, and a few tables full of college age kids. A group of these young men sat at a table near me, enjoying some burgers and brew. The group was ethnically mixed, some white guys, some Asian, some Hispanic, but they all wore haircuts that marked them as American soldiers, and each one looked like he could run a five minute mile. They joked around, and said a few four letter words, but whenever there were families with kids around them, they acted respectfully and made sure to tone it down so the kids wouldn’t hear. As they left, I noticed their cars had no bumper stickers. In the corner of the windshield, though, each of them had blue and red base stickers subtly indicating they were Marine Corps enlisted men stationed at Camp Pendleton.

After dinner, I stopped at the local Barnes & Nobel bookstore. I saw another kid with a high and tight haircut, wearing a wedding ring. He looked about 19. He was trying to help his wife find a book on parenting and childcare. You can tell a lot about a community by the layout of the local Barnes & Nobel. The political science section was smaller than most, however the military history section was quite a bit larger. There were books by early tacticians like Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, books on military operations in certain types of terrain, and biographies of warriors.

As I was walking back toward my car, I ran across one of the Marines I saw earlier at the hamburger joint. He was sitting in the bookstore café quietly studying a well worn textbook. No doubt because his quarters didn’t allow him the peace and quiet he needed to get the job done. With shortages of base housing, and sky high rental rates off base, privacy and peace and quiet can be hard to come by on an enlisted man's salary.

As I worked my way to the parking lot exit, I noticed only two stickers on the backs of cars. One said “I love my Marine.” The other was a squadron insignia. Driving toward the exit driveway, a car crossed in front of me. A second car stopped to let me in, the driver behind the blue and red base sticker motioning me through with a wave of his hand. I noticed in the two days I spent there, that there was not a single "support our troops - bring them home" bumper sticker, or any other war protest bumper sticker in sight.

The following morning, I ended up driving by a local cemetary during the course of my day. Lots of little American flags, and lots of little Marine Corps flags planted next to graves. All the flags were fresh, not a single flag with colors that ran or faded. Not because the cemetary was packed with fresh souls, but because the mourners and the cemetary took pride in their flags. Oceanside is filled with men who don't preach the brotherhood of life, they live it. I don't know any of these men’s stories. In my mind I picture them riding Humvees and searching buildings, and though they are professional soldiers, I am struck by how young they look. I imagine many of them have had at least one tour in Iraq, and have rotated back to the states. I don't know if they’ve lost friends or if they bear the burden of knowing they’ve taken another man’s life. All I know is that the side of them that I saw was kind and gentle, and that every last one of them acted with a maturity beyond their years. Like the big yellow ribbon banner outside my hotel says, Welcome Home.

Crossing America - Murrah Building, Oklahoma City

2007-04-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Driving across America, I stopped to see the memorial at Oklahoma City. 12 years ago, evil in the hearts of men manifested itself in the death of 168 innocent victims here, including nineteen children.

I went on a walking tour of the memorial. Before I even got to the entrance, I saw rows of mementos tacked to the fence, some weathered, others fresh. I walked past the reflection pool that now stands where the building once stood, and looked at the 168 metal and glass chairs that form a sculpture garden next to it. Especially touching were the 19 smaller chairs that represent the innocent children who were victims of the unspeakable evil committed by Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols demonic rage against the government.

I walked across the street on the way back to my car, noticing a statue of a man across the street from the official memorial site.

It really doesn't stand out that much, except for the fact that the statue is obviously facing the wrong way. Out of curiosity, I went to take a closer look to find out at why the statue had his back turned to us. Was it there from before the incident? Did the sculptor want us to see the backside? Then I realized what I was looking at. Jesus, dressed in robes, stood facing away from the blast zone with his head hung low, a hand clutched to his chest, and the other hand covering his face. A simple inscription at the base read "and Jesus wept."

I remember my eyes silently filling with tears as I realized what I was looking at was a message about man turning our back to Jesus, not Jesus turning his back to us.

Crossing America- Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN

2007-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

"And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. So I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man."

-Martin Luther King Jr., "Mountaintop" speech, April 3, 1968, the day before King was assassinated."

Global Warming Poll

2007-04-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Get Free Opinion Polls

Earth Day 2007

2007-04-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Proud sponsor of OPEC?

As much as I enjoy the sound of name brand premium and octane booster in the combustion chambers, I've got to admit that smaller is better. Also, it costs about $136 to fill up a Suburban these days, and I heard Ed Begley Jr on the radio today saying something about driving to San Francisco for 23 bucks in his hybrid. Ed, I really like the idea the idea of getting demand down to where we're not at the mercy of offshore suppliers. Just let's do it by appealing to my common sense instead of deputizing the lightbulb police. Mr. Begley, in this age of limousine liberal environmentalists, at least you and Darryl Hannah both practice what you preach, unlike some of the others who are eco-hypocrits. And remember, just like Washington has "inside the beltway" ideas, nobody outside of Hollywood cared about the "carbon credit" thing.

Your Opinion Counts!

2007-04-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

Get Free Opinion Polls

The Greatest Generation

2007-04-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

In looking back at the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I'm struck by how much we have changed as Americans. My grandfather was an Army Air Corps pilot in World War I who suffered the rest of his life from a broken hip sustained in a plane crash. My father was a Naval Officer in World War II who narrowly cheated death when the mast of a destroyer fell to the deck of his ship inches from where he was standing. They were soft spoken men of honor and courage. My grandfather kept a gun, and everyone in the household knew how to use it. My father was trained to use one, but chose not to own one. They both experienced the great depression and the death of 50 million people in World War II, and lived in a time when America was a much more morally accountable nation than it is today. They lived to see America become the greatest nation on earth. In their day, just like today, there were evil, psychotic people in the world willing to do others great harm to others if they aren't stopped. Back in earlier days, Virginia Tech had a large military contingent. Looking at the aerial photos of the campus, you can clearly see the large drill field where over the years thousands of young men "hit the grinder." Today, as the reports of the Virginia Tech massacre continue to come in, I'm struck by the fact that the dirtbag who perpetrated this evil deed was able to enter multiple classrooms, and shoot and kill 32 victims and injure perhaps a dozen more, shooting most of the vicitms multiple times using a recent issue Glock 9mm handgun, which holds a 10 round magazine. By my count, that means that the dirtbag was able to reload his primary weapon perhaps as many as 10 times. No one took advantage of the fact that it takes even an average marksman several seconds to reload, and that they can be disarmed during that interval. No one took advantage of the fact that if you grab a semiautomatic pistol by the slide and hold on to it while the perpetrator attempts to fire the weapon, the weapon will fire the chambered round only, and then jam. The next generation has hope, however. My son's Christian school teaches the students that if someone attempts to enter their classroom during a lockdown, that they are to throw scisssors, pencils, whatever they can, to fight the perpetrator. There's a great lesson in life here. The greatest generation knew it, and the coming generation can know it too. Professor Liviu Librescu, the holocaust survivor who stood up against the dirtbag was a man who knew from personal experience that: all that is necessary for evil to succeed,

is for good men to stand by an do nothing. and he acted accordingly.

A Fate He Didn't Deserve

2007-04-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Professor Liviu Librescu confronted evil. A holocaust survivor himself, he recognized evil when he saw it. He acted decisively, without regard for his own safety.

While teaching an Engineering class at Virgina Tech, the professor barred the door of his classroom while a 23 year old mass murderer armed with two guns attempted to shoot his way in. Because Professor Librescu chose to confront evil, several students in his classroom were able to jump to safety as Librescu barred the door with his own body and took the bullets intended for them. He leaves behind a wife and a son. A man of tremendous courage and conviction, he searched inside his frail 75 year old body and found a giant of a man.

What does it take to do one Easter service?

2007-04-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Using mostly volunteers, set up a venue that will hold 14,000 worshipers. Set up sound, lighting, video, catering, emergency services, security, ushers, and hundreds of other special requirements. Don't miss anything at all.

Depend on a pastoral staff that can know exactly what needs to be done. Count on them to get the job done using detailed planning, and the inspired word of God, even when they don't have enough time to sleep.

Make sure everybody gets a chance to practice, and has a fun time doing it. Keep having fun until it's perfect!

Make sure that hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers know where they need to go and what they need to do.

Remember that

the most important job

is to

lead others to Christ.

Whether you have been gifted with the ability to cry out or the ability to listen, the ability to jump about or the ability to hold a steady hand, remember that that talent you have been given is a gift from God, meant to be put to good use. The Lord didn't put you on this earth for you to leave it the way you found it!

Thank you to everyone doing the Lord's work!

The Pagan, the Bunny and the Resurrection

2007-04-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

People in the early church knew that when they invited Jesus into their hearts, that the Lord commanded "thou shalt have no other gods before Me." So what's the deal with the Easter Bunny and colored eggs? The truth is that the people were more willing to give up their gods than give up their holidays and festivals. The early church , in essence made Christianity more seeker-sensitive by incorporating Pagan practices. The predominate spring festival in the early days of the church was a Saxon fertility celebration honoring the Goddess Eastre (Ostara.) The eggs associated with this celebration are an even more ancient tradition, used in numerous civilizations as symbols of fertility, rebirth, and abundance.

Practictioners of New Age and Neo-Pagan religions celebrate the time of the equinox, the time when day and night are of equal length, as a time when male and female energies are also in balance. The Easter Bunny was introduced into our culture by German settlers in Pennsylvania, popularizing a German tradition, where children await the arrival of Oschter Haws, a rabbit who will lay colored eggs in nests to delight children.

The real mesage of Easter, to Christians around the world, is much more basic than all of this business about hares, eggs, and fertility. God loved the world so much that He gave his only begotten Son, who lived a sinless life, and was ressurected on the third day after his death on the cross. He died so that others may live, paying the ultimate price for a debt he did not owe, so that you and I can have everlasting life in His kingdom simply by accepting Him into our hearts.

I am the resurrection and the life. He who belives in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

John 11:25-26

How To: Event Photography

2007-04-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

A lot of wedding and event photography is about posed shots, but spontaneous moments may erupt at any time. The shot on the left captures the flower girl's apprehension as they get ready for their grand entrance into a room full of people at the reception.

The shot on the right came in the middle of a bunch of posed shots. On hearing "Let's do one with a kiss," the father of the bride, standing in the background with his wife, humerously announced "We can do that!," and this shot was made just at the moment the bride turned back toward the camera again after looking to see what the commotion behind her with her mom and dad was all about.

Always be ready to caputure those unexpected moments!

Galaxy Towers Fire - Long Beach, CA

2007-03-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw several firefighters / paramedics from the Long Beach Fire Department going into the local Hallmark store and buying cards. The night before, there was a terrible tragedy as a 60 year old man, John Cruz, was trapped on the 18th floor of his high rise apartment, when a rapidly spreading fire blocked his egress. Cruz exited his apartment and warned neighbors, then for unknown reasons, re-entered his apartment. Cruz, trapped by the fire, was forced to retreat to the balcony, where he jumped to his death from the 18th floor after his clothes caught fire. Five hundred miles away, his wife, Clair Carman watching the 11:00 o'clock news, saw the incident, and frantically tried to find someone who could tell them what was happening. At 3:00 a.m. the following day, she was notified of the death of her husband. I humbly ask all of you to pray for the family of John Cruz, and also for every firefighter on the Long Beach Fire Department who worked the incident. The men and women of LBFD who watched Cruz die while they could do nothing about it will be waking up in the middle of the night a hundred times, re-living the incident in their minds, second guessing their own decisions, and questioning whether their best was good enough. As they struggle with the harsh reality that they weren't there in time to save Cruz, and ask themselves if there was some small thing that they could have done differently, they need your prayers. I can't find the words to express how important this is. Just trust in your heart to follow God's will and share his love with those who are hurting.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends

- John 15:12-13

Laughter In Uniform, Old Style

2007-03-24T21:21:00.000-07:00

Actor Ernest Borgnine, (Captain McHale in the McHale's Navy television series) served in the U.S. Navy for 12 years, starting prior to World War II. Actor Don Rickles served in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer in World War II. Actor Don Adams (Get Smart) contracted malaria on the island of Guadalcanal in World War II. Producer/Director Mel Brooks joined the Army in World War II and was a combat engineer, clearing German mines after the Battle of the Bulge . Actor Tony Curtiss joined the U.S. Navy at age 17. He saw the surrender ceremonies in Tokyo Bay from the bridge of the U.S.S. Proteus.

Double Decker Counterterrorism

2007-03-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

I got a look at the new EADS Airbus A380 in person this morning. Austrialian air carrier Qantas, Germany's Lufthansa, and 13 other carriers have orders for the superjumbo. LAX has already spent $48 million upgrading facilities to accommodate the new superjumbo aircraft, and there was a rolling out of the red carpet with all the local VIP's as the new aircraft made its debut. The double decker plane was put up outside the Qantas Air Cargo terminal off Imperial Highway. Along with an airport police presence, and stepped up patrols along the Imperial Highway corridor by the El Segundo PD, there were light towers blasting high intensity light out from around the aircraft in every direction to illuminate the perimeter, making night photography of the aircraft all but impossible. When the Aussies introduce EADS Airbus A380 service to LAX, they'll need to take a few cues from the Brits, who run a pretty tight ship at Heathrow these days. Playing hardball when it comes to aviation security just makes sense. According to Austrailian Transportation Minister Mark Vaile, "These large aircraft have the potential to change the dynamics of international aviation, because they will concentrate larger numbers of people in the one place....."This will put pressure on our passenger facilitation, security and border-control processes." I'll go a step past Vaile's understatement. The American people may have forgotten that we're a nation at war, but EADS, Qantas, and LAX havn't. Finding the lights pointed out at the perimeter instead of in at the jet during a major dog and pony show tells us something important: The counterterrorism experts working the A380 implementation still have enough juice to tell the marketing people where they can stick their lights.

Privacy Rights?

2007-03-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Get Free Opinion Polls

Quotable Quotes

2007-03-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

-John Adams

Celebrities in the Fast Lane

2007-03-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the upcoming Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Celebrity race, celebrities including filmmaker George Lucas, sportscaster John Salley, actress Emily Procter, and tennis champion Martina Navratilova get in some hot laps at the Fast Lane Racing School. The "battle of the sexes" event will pit them against a host of other celebrity and professional drivers. The actual race is scheduled for April 14 in Long Beach. Over the years, the event has raised over 1.3 million dollars for charitable causes.

How To: Capturing Action with your Digital SLR Camera

2007-03-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

The key to capturing a sense of action in your shot is picking the right shutter speed, and then panning the camera to follow the action. In the shot of the motocross rider, a shutter speed of 1/250 freezes ALMOST all the action. You want a little bit of motion blur somewhere, so the rider doesn't look like he's suspended on a string. 1/250 lets the spokes of the wheels blur, but keeps the rest of the image sharp. Most digital SLR's have "continuous focus" modes and a mulifunction button on the back that will let you pick which part of the image you want the autofocus to lock in on. I selected a zone on the right side of the frame, then turned the camera vertical to get the shot. With continuous autofocus tracking the rider, the camera fired off 4 shots of him in the air, and two more of the landing, all perfectly focused. Not all shots lend themselves to autofocus, however.

In the bottom shot of a motorcycle roadracer, the bikes moving away from me at over 100 mph were more than the autofocus in my Nikon 300mm f2.8 lens could handle. I picked a spot at the apex of the corner, and prefocused the camera on that spot using manual focus. When the rider came down the straightaway, I panned with him, keeping the rider centered in the frame. When he got to the apex of the corner, making sure to keep panning, I fired off a this shot at 1/500 .

A 1/500 shutter speed usually will freeze anything, but these bikes move at airplane speeds, and there's still enough motion blur from the panning to capture a sense of how fast these guys really are.

Customer No-Service?

2007-03-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

There's something special about sitting down over breakfast and reading the paper. Today, while leafing through a front page L.A. Times piece about how Time-Warner's chief cable exec for Southern California Roger Keating got the axe after a long history of customer dissatisfaction, it wasn't the description of "dissatisfied customers annoyed by maddeningly long, and sometimes futile waits to reach a real person on the phone" that got my interest. It was the accompanying picture of the company's overloaded call center employees at their boiler room terminals, with a big sign on the wall that read:

Those

who say

it can't be done

are

usually

interrupted

by those

doing it.

People from the boiler room typically don't go up to the corner office on the top floor. Too bad Keating didn't go down to the boiler room where he could see the signs.

How To: Macro Photography with your Digital SLR Camera

2007-03-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Now that's a really big bee! Getting really close to your subject can be quite a challenge for a photographer, but you can get good results if you take a little time to practice and follow a few basic guidelines.

The first step, if your like a lot of us who are used to just setting the camera on "full auto," is to switch the camera out of the "program" mode and into "aperture priority." You want to set the f-stop to the smallest possible opening that will properly expose your image, and have the camera choose the appropriate shutter speed. In order to have the bee's body and wings both in focus, I needed to have the camera's aperture set to f-22 in order to get the depth of field you see here. That meant that there wasn't going to be a lot of light going through the lens at once, so my "model" had to stand still for the shot. Fortunately, most macro shots involve subjects that stay still, and though sometimes you'll need to have a tripod to get the shot, my "model" was basking in the sunshine, and I could hold my camera steady enough by hand. If the same shot had been taken indoors, I would have needed a very cooperative bee who was willing to stay on the same flower until I got my tripod set up. Of course, it's always possible to add light by using an electronic flash, but you'll quickly find that the camera's built in flash gives harsh, uneven lighting. The secret is to get the light source off the camera using a separate electronic flash and an accessory called a TTL cord, which allows the camera's automatic exposure controls to communicate with an electronic flash even though the flash is off the camera body. When using a corded flash, you'll have to watch what's happening with your shadow details, and you may find that the lighting is harsh. A small softbox on the flash will help soften the lighting, but in a lot of cases, you can use natural light instead of the flash, or set the flash on a lower power setting so it fills in the shadow detail, while still letting the sunlight or room light do most of the lighting. This helps give your photo a more natural look. The pure "shot with an electronic flash" look is OK for most evidence photograpy, but when you're taking pictures of the flowers and the bees, it's nice to have softer, more natural lighting.

James Madison & the Constitution

2007-03-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

Perhaps more than any of the other Founding Fathers of our country, James Madison was known as the framer of the U.S. Constitution. When I grew up and went to public school in the 1970's, we were given a somewhat watered down version of U.S. History. I was taught that the founding fathers valued freedom of religion very highly. I was taught that the first settlers were Christian Puritans escaping religious persecution. Back then, they even had the nerve to tell us the truth, that our system of government was in fact, based on Judeo-Christian values. Nowdays they omit that part from the textbooks and the lectures. Kids going to public school in 2007 are lucky just to be taught that the government has three branches, the judicial branch, the legislative branch, and the executive branch. Imagine their shock if public school kids were told that Madison's design for the architecture of our nation was based on his knowledge of a much older document, one that most of the founding fathers knew quite well... The Old Testament. Isaah 33:22 - For the Lord is our judge The Lord is our lawgiver The Lord is our King It is He who will save us. The idea of a triune government was key to the success of our nation. The idea of a limited national government, with a built in "system of checks and balances" was realized by men who brought with them a strong sense of Judeo-Christian values. Your kid's teachers today have to be willing to suppress this truth for fear of being labled politically incorrect. Today,the founding fathers may be politically incorrect, but they're still light years ahead of any politicians alive today.