This Week at Baptist Press: "There is still hope for America"

I'll be honest (of course I always try my best to be honest at all times, it's just that sometimes I choose not to comment on some items in the news, believing I need to be careful in "picking my battles"). But, here's an honest confession, I like to spotlight "First Person" columns written by Kelly Boggs, columnist for "Baptist Press," because Boggs often cuts bluntly to the bare bone of important issues.

Boggs says things that other people ought to be saying, ought to be screaming, and ought to draw battle lines regarding.

Boggs column this week is such a column. He says things that others know, he says things that many people want to close their ears to and put their hands over their eyes to because, to hear what is going on and to see what is going on in our nation would force us to react, even if that reaction is non-action. Remember, non-action is an act, in itself, when it is the result of realizing there is a wrong that needs a remedy and yet, because we lead busy lives or don't want to alienate our friends, or don't want to be interrupted in our current pastime, we choose to ignore the problem.

This week, Boggs tells America we are a nation of blind people being led by blind leaders. I think more and more people are opening their ears and uncovering their eyes to the fact that our Country is being blindly run into a ditch but, it's still happening. The ditch gets closer and closer and the wheels of our wagon are getting squeakier and squeakier as they get all the more wobbly.

Boggs pointed out several specific cases of the deaf and blind leadership of our nation:

"President Obama is pressuring Congress to pass health care legislation before it recesses in August. Representatives admit that when it comes time to vote they likely will not understand all the bill entails and how much it will cost. And yet they still plan to vote on it....

The House of Representatives passed legislation known as cap and trade which was drafted to address environmental issues and "global warming." The original bill was in the neighborhood of 1,500 pages. However, at 3 a.m. the day of the vote, Democrats added an additional 300 pages. Though representatives had no clue what was in the bill or how much it would cost, they passed it.

...a similar scenario occurred in reference to the so-called stimulus package. The same was also true for the bank bail-out bill passed at the end of 2008. In each case, Congress approved legislation with little or no knowledge of contents or cost."

Boggs also touched on the media, "Rather than asking congressional leaders or the president tough questions concerning the reality of recent legislation, the media -- with rare exception -- has acted like a mere spectator simply repeating the congressional or administrative spin," Boggs wrote. "When they are not accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative of proposed legislation, most media outlets are trumpeting the trivial."

So, today, I've done my part to take action. Since what I do is report and write about things, I feel it is fair to report and write about this "thing" as my form of action.

It is not acceptable that our elected legislators are passing critical legislation before they have even read or studied what the long term effects of the legislation they are passing will be. In some cases, there are rare reports from experts about how far reaching and damaging some of this legislation will be to the future of our country but, those reports fall on deaf ears. Those reports cannot capture the attention of the populace of these United States. We truly are a nation of the blind leading the blind and because no one wants to open their ears and uncover their eyes to do something about it someday, someday not in the so distant future, there is going to be a majority of our American population who will be apologizing to their children, apologizing to their grandchildren, for not doing their due diligence to protect our nation.

These are the sad facts. How will you react?

One of the questions I asked of the Council candidates before the April election this year was, will you read the bills that are presented to you for approval or denial before you vote on them? I asked that question because I recognized the importance of our elected officials reading and understanding (and asking questions about) what is placed before them for approval. An incorrect answer would surely have ruled out any candidate I might be considering. If such reading and understanding of legislation is important in our City, how much more so, in our federal government?

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This Week at Baptist Press: Celebrity Worship; Call to Prayer for Military

The celebrity worship of Michael Jackson alledgedly led to the death of at least 12 Jackson "followers"

Baptist Press (BP) weekly columnist Kelly Boggs got a bit philosophical this week as he took a look at celebrity worship.

With the recent death of Michael Jackson and Boggs' note that 12 Jackson fans, as of July 2, had reportedly committed suicide over the death of a pop music star they likely, never met, Boggs may have a righteous point.

Boggs credited 17th century writer Blaise Pascal to make his case that people are filling a natural void meant to be filled by God with something other than God. Pascal said, "Inside of every man there is a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill," wrote Boggs. "...if God is not filling an individual's spiritual vacuum, the individual will seek to fill it with something or someone else," and Boggs believes celebrity worship has reached religious proportions.

"I am of the opinion that entertainment, as a whole, has achieved religion status. And, like the Greek pantheon of old, entertainers are the gods who are worshiped," he wrote.

It is a sad testiment, to be sure.

12 people were so devastated by the death of Jackson that they felt they could not continue in life without him.

12 people reportedly committed suicide over his death.

12 people who, if they had had their faith vested where it belonged in the first place, would have been more inclined to draw strength from the One they worshiped, rather than devastation and loss of hope.

What madness.

Boggs, then, drew parallels between religion and celebrity worship, in the end reminding us all that the God shaped void in our hearts is meant to be filled by Jesus Christ.

We'll always, ALWAYS, be disappointed by people but, if we spend the appropriate time getting to know and love the Savior, Jesus Christ, we will never be disappointed. Remember, "Love never fails," 1 Corinthians 13:8a, and there is no greater love than the love that God has for human kind.

Fourth of July fireworks can set off memories of war; Call to prayer for our military

Iraq Military Commander Chris Plekenpol lamented, "Fireworks remind me of an arcing transformer sending electric ash to the ground. The next thought is that of an Iraqi male about 40 years old running and screaming in Arabic, carrying a little girl who is bleeding profusely." ...Read more

And, as is always appropriate, Sara Horn, the wife of a Navy reservist and founder of Wives of Faith, a faith-based military wives support organization, called for us to pray for the military this summer.

Horn reported on a conversation she had with Army Chaplain Jim Murphy who was stationed just south of Baghdad.

"We could tell a difference when the people back home were praying for us and when they weren't," Chaplain Murphy told us. "It was like night and day."Besides the scorching temperatures, summer also brought many reports of death, when conditions were the worst and morale was the lowest. But, Chaplain Murphy said, "When people started praying for us again toward the end of August, that's when things started turning around."

Horn asked that people visit opmbrace.org to purchase a bracelet with a service member's name on it or to register a name for prayer. The Web site is a ministry of Del Rio, Texas' Northside Baptist Church.

Operation M'Brace's mission "is to bring every member of the United States Military under the intercessory prayer of concerned Christians."

To read Horn's column, recommended, click here.

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This Week at Baptist Press: Boggs Claims Qualities Obama Values on Supreme Court Differ from ADA Guidelines

and home Bible studies no longer threatened in San Diego

In its editorial feature this week, BP editorial columnist Kelly Boggs laid out what he believes are disparities between the American Bar Association's [ABA] "Black Letter Guidelines for the Evaluation of Judicial Performance" and the criteria President Obama seems to value in Supreme Court Justices. The ABA guidelines, Boggs reported, originated in 1985 and were updated in 2005.

"The "Black Letter Guidelines" make no mention of an effective jurist needing to possess any specific emotive qualities," Boggs wrote. "And while the ABA's guidelines do not mention traits like empathy, caring or understanding, President Obama has made it clear these qualities will be paramount in his selection of jurists for the federal bench."

And, Boggs has a theory as to why Obama values the qualities of empathy, caring and understanding in his Supreme Court nominees:

"If the ABA doesn't bother to mention the emotive qualities of empathy and understanding in its "Black Letter Guidelines," why does President Obama deem them as so sacrosanct? Because he wants Supreme Court justices able to discover "penumbras formed by emanations" in the U.S. Constitution in order to impose a liberal social agenda on Americans."-"Baptist Press - FIRST-PERSON: Penumbras and emanations"

[For an interesting "TIME" article about "Emanations from a Penumbra," go here, Jack.]

As far as Boggs is concerned, "Feelings of empathy and understanding belong in love songs and romance novels, not in a court of law and certainly not in the Supreme Court."

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I remembered some details of this story, or at least its existance, when I read this at "Baptist Press." I don't know if I featured it in the past or not.

Officials in San Diego had issued a cease-and-desist order on a pastor and his wife while attempting to seek their compliance in applying for a permit which might have cost them thousands of dollars. What was interesting about it was, the order was issued because of a home Bible study the couple were hosting in their home. They were ordered to stop hosting the Bible study unless they applied for a permit.

June 5, BP reported San Diego officials have now apologized and rescinded the order:

"In a letter to the Joneses [the pastor and his wife] and Broyles [their attorney] June 3, the county's chief administrative officer said the order was wrongfully issued and the county would conduct a review of its code enforcement officer training."

According to the BP report, the issue was originally raised by a San Diego county official who, apparently, over-zealously sought to categorize the home Bible study as a "religious assembly."

"On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly and in violation of the code in the county," David Jones, pastor of South Bay Community Church in National City, told Fox News." -"Baptist Press - Apology issued for S.D. Bible study threat"

You can read both of these "JackeHammer" featured articles at Baptist Press, and much more.

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This Week at Baptist Press: NH Gay Marriage bill; Boggs on Abortion

Following up on last week's "Baptist Press" (BP) posting, there is more news developing in New Hampshire as relates to gay marriage legislation. Read "NH 'gay marriage' bill heads back to legis," written by assistant BP editor Michael Foust, to follow the issue.

Then, "Baptist Press" editorial columnist Kelly Boggs continues to pull no punches when it comes to where he stands on the topics of the most heated debates of the day.

In this article Boggs wrote:

"...Research indicates that 90 or more percent plus of all abortions in America are motivated by convenience and that 90 percent of U.S. babies identified as having Down syndrome are aborted. If a baby is conceived at the wrong time in a woman's life or is found to be less than perfect, then, society says, its life can be exterminated on a whim.

"A developing fetus is biologically alive. It grows and changes rapidly, but these characteristics do not make it alive as a person," wrote Steven Maynard-Moody in the book "The Dilemma of the Fetus: Fetal Research, Medical Progress and Moral Policies." To abortion advocates, babies in the womb are alive alright; they are just not persons....

...The Nazi's had a term they used to justify the killing of innocent life. It was "lebensunwertes Leben" which means "life unworthy of life." Anyone the Nazi's deemed were "not persons," like the disabled or Jews, were simply killed and disposed of like garbage. Sound familiar? It should, as it is the same calloused, hard-hearted position that supporters of abortion in America take right now."

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Better Late than Never? This Week at Baptist Press: On Pollster Bias and Autism

This week, at "Baptist Press" (BP), Kelly Boggs laid out the reasons liberal bias in the media is now, more or less, an accepted and foregone conclusion but, he didn't stop there. Media bias, wasn't the entire point this week. While he pointed to several journalists' admissions about the liberal bias that taints reporting, Boggs pointed out another area that hasn't been so forthcoming in admitting a similar bias. Polling organizations.

In "Pollsters can spin their data too," Boggs pointed out, "...a recent report on a poll conducted by Gallup organization reveals that poll takers can spin their results with the best public relations firms in the land."

After citing Obama's approval rating after his first 100 days, Boggs noted Obama's rating was not compared to past presidents' approval ratings in the same way George W. Bush's approval rating was compared to past presidents after the same time period in office.

"Gallup was careful to put Bush's first 100 days into "perspective" in an obvious attempt to downplay his positive poll numbers by comparing him to all elected presidents since Eisenhower. In fact, Gallup sought to further qualify Bush's positive poll numbers by saying, "In general, the rating a president receives early in the term are quite favorable, but decline over time." No such comparisons or qualifiers were offered for Obama's poll numbers." -Kelly Boggs, BP

Boggs also looked at the headlines after Obama's first 100 days in office, with a 56 percent approval rating, and after Bush's first 100 days in office with a 62 percent approval rating.

Obama headline:

"In First 100 Days, Obama Meets or Exceeds Expectations"

Bush headline:

"After 100 days, Bush's Job Approval Rating on Par With Previous Presidents'."

Boggs made a very good case for his conclusion. Read his conclusion and the whole article, for yourself, by clicking the story link provided above.

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Then, because I know I have at least one avid reader who has an interest in autism research, check out "God's gift of hope in a struggle with autism," written by Richard Nations. It's a heart warming story about one family's expectations of their son, who was diagnosed with asperger's syndrome, and how they got so much more than they expected.

"God promises "For I know the plans I have for you" -- [this is] the Lord's declaration -- "plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB)"

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This Week at Baptist Press: Boggs on "T-E-A Bagging"

It seems appropriate to note that Kelly Boggs of Baptist Press weighed in on the Tea Party tempest this week. Boggs never seems to mind rolling up his sleeves and punching the partisan air. He pulled no punches with Janeane Garofalo this week.

Boggs took Janeane Garofalo to task for her myopic pronouncement:

"Let's be very honest about what this is about. It's not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea Party was about," Garofalo opined, "They don't know their history at all. This is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up...."

"...The protests took issue with the president because it is he that is leading the way of the expansion of government. Racism had nothing to do with it." Boggs wrote, by way of explaining why the TEA party protests were going on across the country. He also explained what the acronym TEA stands for, "...the letters T-E-A were an acronym for Taxed Enough Already. I know Ms. Garofalo might find it hard to believe but we ignorant conservatives actually know what an acronym is."

Read the article here.

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Baptist Press (BP): Obama Vindicates Bush Iraq Policy; Boy Receives a Cussing for Starting a No Cussing Club

Southern Baptist ethics leader Richard Land disagrees with many of President Obama's policies but, was pleased that Obama's recent Iraq speech had 'vindicated' President Bush's Iraq policy.

The BP article discusses Land's reaction to a Wall Street Journal article which quoted Obama's Iraq speech. Land read the editorial during the broadcast of one of his recent radio programs. The BP article quoted Land from that program:

"'... more important than Mr. Obama's implicit repudiation of his own positions as a candidate (and the implicit vindication of Mr. Bush's position, to say nothing of John McCain's)," the editorial said, "is his decision to maintain a sizeable U.S. military presence in Iraq -- in the range of 35,000 to 50,000 troops -- past the August 2010 'withdrawal' date. That 'transitional force' is roughly the size of the U.S. military presence in South Korea through the Cold War. And its mission, involving training of Iraqi forces, U.S. force protection and 'targeted counterterrorism missions,' largely describes what the U.S. is already doing in Iraq....

"'Good for Mr. Obama," Land said after reading part of the president's speech. "I want to give Mr. Obama credit where credit is due. I appreciate that he has acknowledged what our military has done. I applaud him for acknowledging what the Bush administration has handed off to him in Iraq, and that is an opportunity to help stabilize that region with a democratic ally named Iraq."'

In another BP story, Kelly Boggs, a BP weekly columnist and editor of "The Baptist Message," told a story about a 15 year old boy who started a "No Cussing Club."

What will get you cussed more than starting a no cussing club?

Boggs revealed:

"He (McKay Hatch) has received more than 60,000 pieces of hate mail in the past seven weeks and profanity-laced e-mails daily fill his inbox. Teaming with the torrent of written abuse has been scores of threatening voice messages."

Later, Boggs quoted President George Washington:

"'The foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing is a vice so mean and low," said George Washington, "that every person of sense and character detests and despises it."'

Based on the abuse Hatch has received for simply starting a no cussing club, which one chooses to voluntarily join, if one joins, there are a lot of people with no sense and character?

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Recommended Reading 33: Take up your Sword, the 2008 Christmas Wars have Begun

Kelly Boggs, weekly columnist for Baptist Press, took a bit of the bait in the Christmas wars in a battle kicked off by atheist Dan Barker this week.

Barker placed a provocative sign at the Washington State Capital, not as a symbol of his own atheistic belief but Barker, himself, admits he placed it there as an attack on religion.

Boggs reported that Dan Barker told Seattle's KING-TV, "It is not a religious display. It is an attack on religion."

Click this link to read the entire article: An atheistic Grinch

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