What Is Our "Manifest Destiny" And "American Exceptionalism"?

Common Sense is the simple, accurate summation of a thing's true meaning or worthiness which is essential in the best use of knowledge. RB

Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 1800's of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. The phrase was first employed by John L. O’Sullivan in an article on the annexation of Texas published in the July-August 1845 edition. (From History.com).

If the United States ever had a "Manifest Destiny", ordained by God, imagined by appearances or assumed by ambitious aspirations, what is now "manifest" is a radical change of course from the original meaning of the term. We are now in "Manifest Survival" mode with unpayable debts, a flood of illegal aliens, a scourge of drug addiction, racial riots, record crime, unemployment and blatant violations of our Constitution by our President and Supreme Court. Our "Manifest Destiny" now seems to range somewhere between mere survival and a much lower standard of living. It is China who now believes it is their "Manifest Destiny" to be the world leader in exports, which it already is, and to be the world's primary reserve currency, which its yuan is rapidly becoming. Right or wrong, "Manifest Destiny" obviously doesn't last forever. But way before our claim of "Manifest Destiny" was our claim of "American Exceptionalism".

It is hard to deny the fact that God had his hand upon our Christian pilgrim fore
fathers and Christian founding fathers ... and mothers. American Exceptionalism was clearly ordained of God from our nations discovery, early Christian emigrants, Declaration Of Independence, Constitution, freedom of religion and miraculous rise to the most Christian, successful and powerful nation on earth. However, it is also clearly obvious that since the turn of the millennium, our country has been loosing it's God given exceptionalism. God did not have to take it away, we have frittered it away like a 17 year old boy who joined the Marines, finished boot camp and is turned loose in San Diego's Bar-fly, Skid Row with a pocket full of money. On his way to the bus station ... in this red light district ... he wakes up in a bordello with a hang-over, globe and anchor tattoo, empty pockets and a wench with bad breath breathing on him.  Like that young Marine, we, as a nation veered off course with a false religion, a prostitute of failed political policy known as Socialism. Socialism is no more exceptional than a street walking, dope addicted, $20 dollar harlot. Karl Marx pimped it, Lenin pumped it, Hitler, Stalin, Mao. Kim Jung-il, Castro, the Democrats and half the Republicans went to bed with it. But no true Christian with an ounce of Common Sense likes it. American Exceptionalism is either terminal or already dead and our only hope is probably a nation wrecking calamity which turns us back to God ...or the Rapture. The fact is that if the best candidate running for President is elected, he cannot get this country back on its track. That is an impossible job for any man ... or woman. Only God can do that ... and ... why should He? RB

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American Exceptionalism Of The Past

Thomas Paine Common Sense - January 10, 1776

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.

John Adams  - June 9, 1776

Objects of the most stupendous magnitude, and measure in which the lives and liberties of millions yet unborn are intimately interested, are now before us. We are in the very midst of a revolution the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of nations.

Benjamin Franklin  - May 1, 1777

[I]t is a common observation here that our cause is the cause of all mankind, and that we are fighting for their liberty in defending our own.

James Madison  - 1829

The happy union of these states is a wonder; their Constitution a miracle; their example the hope of liberty throughout the world.

Thomas Jefferson  - 1785

I shall rejoin myself to my native country, with new attachments, and with exaggerated esteem for its advantages; for though there is less wealth there, there is more freedom, more ease, and less misery.

George Washington  - March 31, 1779

Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!

James Madison The Federalist Papers  - November 20, 1787

Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society. They reared the fabrics of governments which have no model on the face of the globe.

John Winthrop - 1630

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.

G. K. Chesterton What I saw in America - 1922

America is the only nation in the world that is founded on creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature.

Trump Is Either A Genius, A Con-Artist, A Mental Case Or An Idiot

Common Sense Commentary: His interview below, on "60 Minutes", of his platform or plan for America, is so far removed from that of any other candidate that it boggles the mind.

Considering his success in the business world, it is obvious he isn't an idiot. To discover which of the other three defines him, we will use the mystery solving sleuth's approach of elimination. Instead of seeking to understand which he is, we will work backward and first decide which he is not. I have already eliminated idiocy. So next, is he a "mental case"? That choice is almost as obvious as the one we have already eliminated. It would seem he isn't any crazier than the rest of the candidates, so I think we can eliminate that. So which of the last two is he not, a Con-Artist or a Genius? Those who like him would say "Genius" and those who dislike him would say "Con-Artist". Frankly, I do not know which of those to eliminate. Maybe he is both. You decide. I am almost neutral. I neither like nor dislike him, but I am amazed at what he says in the interview below. I will say this, I like him more and dislike him less than any Democrat who might want to be our President. RB


Trump: My Plans Will Work 
Because America Will Be Rich Again

From Newsmax.com

Republican presidential contender Donald Trump told "60 Minutes" in an interview aired Sunday that his plans for the country will work because he will revive the economy with his tax plan.

Trump is set to unveil his tax plan on Monday, and gave correspondent Scott Pelley a hint at what it would include. The wealthy will see taxes raised, while the middle and lower classes will see cuts, as corporate taxes will be lowered.

"But overall it's going to be a tremendous incentive to grow the economy and we're going to take in the same or more money," he said. "And I think we’re going to have something that’s going to be spectacular." Special: Could this alarming video cost the Democrats the White House in 2016? Many individuals will pay no taxes at all, Trump said.

"I will say this: There will be a large segment of our country that will have a zero rate," Trump said. "And that's something I haven't told anybody."

Many people in lower brackets already don't pay income taxes he said, but that number will become larger.

But the economy will grow so much that the net result will be more taxes taken in because more people will be earning more money, he said.

His campaign also released a statement looking ahead to his Monday announcement:

Essentially, the plan is a major tax reduction for almost all citizens and corporations, in particular, those in the middle and lower income classes

Likewise, a major beneficiary will be corporations and job producers, with an emphasis on businesses in the United States and bringing money back into the United States, which is locked in other countries (Corporate Inversion).”

In his "60 Minutes" appearance, Trump also repeated his pledge to take jobs from other countries.

A skeptical Pelley, warned he could be starting a trade war. The president doesn't have the ability to stop China from devaluing its currency, Pelley said, and would be in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement if he prevented American companies from building plants in Mexico.

Trump said NAFTA should either be renegotiated or broken.

"Because, you know, every agreement has an end," he said. "Every agreement has to be fair. Every agreement has a defraud clause we're being defrauded by all these countries."

Trump also said he will be able to work with Congress just as he has worked with politicians his whole career.

Pelley noted that Trump himself has said he has worked with politicians by donating to them, and he won't be able to do that as president. Trump assured Pelley he would be able to befriend members of Congress.

Among other issues, Trump said he would: Make the U.S. military "so strong, so powerful, so modern, has the greatest equipment in the world and that everybody says, 'We're not going to mess with them.' Let Russia fight ISIS in Syria, and put U.S. ground force in Iraq to wipe them out. Consider dropping a bomb on North Korea's nuclear reactor to gain the respect of China, who backs the communist dictatorship. Repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that would cover all, with government paying for the poor and others able to negotiate for cheaper coverage.

Boehner Limps Off The Field In Tears After Leading His Team To Disgrace

Common Sense Commentary: Boehner, the Republican House quarterback wept when he got the job, wept when he was challenged, broke out in tears at the Pope's speech. Now, after fumbling the football 40 times, to the other team, in the third quarter, he runs off the field bawling like a ten year old caught reading porn. He looks like a Conservative, not a Democrat, but acts like Reid and votes like Pelosi. He is either a closet Liberal Democrat or Obama has something serious on him to threaten him into line with the Democrats. In fact, I think Obama has a long list of Republicans with their secret sins beside their names and telephone numbers. How else can you explain the lack of action by silent Establishment Republicans and RINO's? RB

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This from The Gateway Pundit...

SHOCK POLL: 62% of Republicans Feel BETRAYED by their Party (VIDEO)

Jim Hoft Sep 24th, 2015 7:45 pm 

62% of Republicans feel betrayed by the party.
And, two-thirds believe the GOP leadership has not done anything to stop the Obama agenda.

That’s what likely primary voters told FOX News in their latest poll. Dana Blanton, VP of FOX News public opinion research, shared the results tonight on The O’Reilly Factor.

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This from USA Today...

Amid revolt, Boehner steps aside to 

avoid 'irreparable harm' to Congress 

Deirdre Shesgreen, USATODAY 12:07 p.m. EDT September 26, 2015 

It took a visit from the pope, a brewing conservative rebellion, and a good night’s sleep for John Boehner — the son of a bartender and a devout Catholic from Cincinnati — to decide that Friday morning was the right moment for him to end his tumultuous five-year speakership and bring his 25-year career in Congress to a close. 

“This morning, I woke up and I said my prayers and I decided today’s the day I’m going to this,” Boehner told reporters in an emotional news conference on Friday afternoon, a few hours after he stunned Washington by announcing that he planned to resign, effective Oct. 30. “It’s as simple as that.” 

But of course, it was not that simple. 

Boehner disclosed his decision less than 24 hours after he revealed in the first-ever papal speech to a joint session of Congress, something he has dreamed of for 20 years — and as the government was on the verge of another shutdown, with Boehner's fractious caucus battling over a bill to fund the government beyond Sept. 30. Conservatives were threatening to oust Boehner from the speaker’s post if he did not take a hard line in using that spending bill to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, a reproductive health care provider that has come under scrutiny for its handling of fetal tissue.
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And then there is the latest.....

Did Boehner sell out?

From Patriot Update

Boehner May Have Cut Deal With Pelosi Before Resigning–

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke at the Values Voter Summit this morning. The crowd reacted with a standing ovation with the news that Speaker John Boehner was resigning in October.

Cruz cheered the news of Boehner’s resignation telling the conservative crowd:

“You want to know how much each of you terrifies Washington? Yesterday, John Boehner was Speaker of the House. Y’all come to town and somehow that changes. My only request is — can you come more often?”

Ted Cruz also broke the news that Boehner may have cut another deal with Pelosi on the way out the door.

I will say, the early reports are discouraging. If it is correct that the Speaker, before he resigns, has cut a deal with Nancy Pelosi to fund the Obama administration for the rest of its tenure, to fund Obamacare, to fund executive amnesty, to fund Planned Parenthood, to fund implementation of this Iran deal — and then, presumably, to land in a cushy K Street job after joining with the Democrats to implement all of President Obama’s priorities, that is not the behavior one would expect of a Republican Speaker of the House.

Read more at http://patriotupdate.com/boehner-reportedly-cut-insidious-deal-with-democrats-to-fund-obama-admin-before-resigning/

What Is A Black Swan Event?

Common Sense Commentary: Ten years ago I had never heard the term, "Black Swan". You never saw it in newsletters, blogs or other news sources. Times have changed; I read the term now at least once every week associated with present, critical  dangers arising out of a rapidly disintegrating world order. Nothing surprises me any more, no matter how radical or unbelievable it might be. Some of these unthinkable developments I call, "Evil Miracles". RB

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.

The theory was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain:

1. The disproportionate role of high-profile, hard-to-predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations in history, science, finance, and technology.
2. The non-computability of the probability of the consequential rare events using scientific methods (owing to the very nature of small probabilities).
3. The psychological biases that blind people, both individually and collectively, to uncertainty and to a rare event's massive role in historical affair

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My Comment: A perceptive eye, willing to lift itself up from studying the ground, will now see a huge flock of Black Swans ... darkening the sky like an impending storm hanging heavy over us. 

One might illustrate the power of even a small Black Swan event by using a huge ledge of snow sitting high on the side of a mountain ready to begin sliding down, as an avalanche, on to the village below. At some point, a last snowflake adds the last bit of weight that tilts the balance ... and the avalanche is triggered. The timing of it is impossible to predict, but every wise and experienced person in the village knows it is going to happen ... and packs up and leaves the village with a warning to the others. 

Though nobody can predict what The fatal trigger might be, here are some of the possible Black Swans which might trigger it.

• These points gleaned from InternationalMan Communique. RB
• Creditors dump US debt back into the US market
• Commodity prices spike
• A crash occurs in the stock or bond market
• A backlash occurs from countries sanctioned by the US
• European countries default on their debt
• The US dollar ends as the petrocurrency (causing a sale in US treasuries)
• The US or EU introduce significant tariffs, diminishing world trade
• Interest rates rise, as they did in 1929
• The "paper" gold and silver markets crash, when the shortage of physical gold and silver is revealed. Paper promises of gold & silver are over 100 times greater than its physical availability..
• Banks freeze or confiscate deposits
• FATCA   (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) accelerates the demise of the US dollar as the default currency
• A credit collapse occurs (followed by dramatic inflation or hyperinflation)
• A war breaking out almost anywhere on Earth.
• Iran attacks Israel 
• Israel preempts such an attack by an attack

This is, of course, not a complete list of BLACK SWAN events which could trigger a series of critical failures leading to a monetary collapse and world-wide chaos.  
___________________________________ What can you do? Be prepared mentally, physically and spiritually and leave the rest up to God. But that is about all you can do. RB

Few, Of Retirement Age, Can Now Retire On Their Savings. WHY?

Common Sense Commentary:  It is an abstract fact. Let me say, first of all, that the Federal Reserve Banks (FED) are no more "Federal" than "Federal Express". It is owned by multinational bankers. However, the U.S. President appoints its members, here, and thereby has influence over it. Presidents and Politicians, as an elite class, have learned well how to raise the people's taxes without actually raising what is called "taxes". By doing so they separate themselves, abstractly, from a direct connection to these "secret" taxes. So how do they do it? They have two ways. The first way is by secretly having the FED  hold interest rates near zero. This helps our government pay its own huge national debts ($18 thousand billion or 18 Trillion, in the U.S.) with practically no interest on that debt. At the same time they give banks government loans at 1 or 2% interest to loan out at 4 to 26 % interest to their customers. That also helps all debtors, private and public with low-interest loans on homes, cars etc. But the vast majority of retiring and retired people cannot live on earned interest rates that low (1 or 2%). Tiny interest rates is a secret, unseen tax on savers, and an income benefit for debtors. The second way Politicians get the money for all of their high living and funding for foreign aid and other give away programs, to buy votes, is by simply printing as much money as they want out of thin air. No silver or gold backing it up. Today they actually print it digitally and spend it out by punching a computer key. This method also, is too abstract for people to understand that it is actually a hidden tax on everyone, especially savers and the old. How? It's called inflation. Retiree's income goes down and younger people's income usually goes up a bit until the whole system gets out of control and they lose those jobs. You see, every time a new dollar or billion dollars is printed, the dollars in your savings or checking accounts are diminished in buying power and your salary doesn't go quite as far. So when groceries, gas and everything goes up, the people blame the grocer, oil companies and every other business instead of blaming the Politicians who did the evil deed in the first place. So the politicians join in and blame businesses who were forced to raise prices to offset increased costs. Here is an excellent article on the subject. RB

International Man.com

Nick Giambruno
Senior Editor

One of the biggest robberies in the history of mankind is happening right now.

Strangely, few seem to notice.

Maybe that’s because the perpetrators are wearing suits and ties instead of ski masks. They use complex economic jargon instead of guns. And the media treat them with respect.

None of this changes the nature of their actions. They’re still taking without consent. The result is no different than if a thief picked your pocket.

Here, though, most victims don’t even realize they’re victims. The most prominent victims are retirees.

Retirees depend on the investment income earned from their life savings to pay the bills. The amount of income generated depends on interest rates.

You see, market forces don’t set interest rates. A politburo of central planners—who call themselves central bankers—set them. The Federal Reserve is the US’s central bank.

Central banks make the absurd claim that they operate independent of politics. In reality, they’ve always existed to please politicians. Their actions usually come at the expense of prudent savers.

For years the Fed has set interest rates lower than they would have been absent its intervention. It does this in the mistaken belief that it will benefit the economy by boosting spending. But encouraging spending just for the sake of spending isn’t sound economics.

Debtors also benefit because lower interest rates mean lower interest payments. And there is no bigger debtor on the planet than the US government.

Artificially low interest rates pump massive distortions into the economy. The results are disastrous for retirees.

Back in the year 2000, a five-year certificate of deposit would pay out about 6%. If you had $1 million, you could generate $60,000 per year with little risk.

Fast forward to today. The average CD now pays a meager 1.5%.

You now need $4,000,000 in retirement savings to generate that same $60,000 in annual interest income.

Saving money is four times harder than it was just 15 years ago, and the Fed is the culprit.

The Fed is siphoning money from savers by setting interest rates lower than what the free market would. It’s an enormous—but hidden—wealth transfer from savers to debtors. It amounts to one of the biggest swindles in world history.

I Have To Agree With Dr. Ben Carson Not Ted Cruz On This Argument

Common Sense Commentary:  Though I like Ted Cruz for President, he just didn't think through his disagreement with Dr. Ben Carson's statement that a Muslim is not qualified to be President of the United States. Of course, Ted Cruz is right about the Constitution specifying 'no religious test for Candidates' for public office. What that means is, he can't be required to have a certain religion or any religion at all. But logic and reason must be a test for the sincerity and judgement of a person who claims a religion which commissions its adherents to break the laws of that worshiper's nation of citizenship. The very word, "religion" is from the Latin "religio" meaning "restraint" from certain things in the worship of God. It is not "the worship of God or a false god" which disqualifies a Muslim from the Presidency. It is elements within that religion's dogma... Sharia Law, abuse of women and terrorism in the name of their god.

It may sound like a moot point or a distinction without a difference, but it isn't a Muslim's "religion" which disqualifies him any more than it disqualifies a Mafia criminal who is also a Catholic, which disqualifies him. Even as it is not the Savage's worship of crocodiles that disqualifies him to be President, but it is the tenet of his religion that requires him to appease the crock by feeding it a live baby. The same would be true of a candidate who worships Satan by witchcraft. The doctrine of a religion which requires it's adherents to support "jihad" which is war against all non-Muslims, disqualifies that person from being President of our country by his criminal intent.

Brother Cruz, you would have been wise not to insert your opinion into this argument. This will cost you support from common Americans with Common Sense regardless of the fine points of the Constitution. RB


Ted Cruz Zaps Ben Carson on 
'Muslim President' Views.

Sen. Ted Cruz is at odds with Dr. Ben Carson's view that a Muslim should never become president, saying it flies in the face of the U.S. Constitution.

"You know, the Constitution specifies there shall be no religious test for public office and I am a constitutionalist," said the Texas Republican during an interview with Iowa Public Television airing later this week, The Des Moines Register reports.  On Sunday, Carson told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he would "not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

The remark spurred a Muslim group, The Council on American-Islamic Relations, on Monday to demand that Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, drop out of the race.

Carson's campaign said the soft-spoken physician has nothing to apologize for, and in an interview with The Hill, Carson reiterated his position.  "I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country," he told The Hill, in a reference to Islamic law.

"Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that's inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution."

He said the only exception would be if a Muslim candidate "publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that. Then I wouldn't have any problem."

Senator Rubio Says Obama's Iran Deal Compels U.S. To Defend It Against Israel.... I Agree

Common Sense Commentary: AMAC is a Conservative senior citizens service in direct competition with AARP which promotes the Liberal Socialist agenda.

The following news story from AMAC reflects Obama/Kerry/Clinton's continuous turning of American Moral Standards, Foreigh Policy and Constitutional Free Enterprise  system to a Communistic agenda.  RB

 Isaiah 1:4   Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, 
they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 

AMAC Asks:
Does the Iran Deal Commit Us to 
Defend the Mullahs Against Israel 

By AMAC Authors

Whose side will we be on?  Do we stand by our most l
loyal ally in the Middle East? 

WASHINGTON, DC, Sep 18 – Prominent investigative reporter Ken Timmerman revealed this week that the controversial Iran nuclear pact “commits the United States to actively help Iran to defend its nuclear facilities against cyberattacks from Israel or others and to provide Iran with nuclear technology to modernize its facilities.” Lending credence to Timmerman’s interpretation of the deal is an exchange between Senator Marc Rubio and Secretary of State John Kerry during a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.  Rubio asked for an explanation of a particularly obscure section of the agreement that calls for the U.S. to help Iran defend against sabotage of various types. “If Israel conducts an airstrike on a physical facility, does this deal…require us to help Iran protect and respond to that threat,” Rubio inquired.  Kerry responded: “I don’t see any way possible that we will be in conflict with Israel with respect to what we might want to do there, and I think we just have to wait until we get to that point.” “It sounds to me that we might have to do just that—defend Iran against Israel.  How does that square with President Obama’s promise to have Israel’s back in the event of conflict?  It doesn’t and it makes you wonder what would happen if and when the Iranian mullahs decide it’s time to keep their promise to wipe Israel off the map,” Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature Americans, said. The rhetoric in Teheran has grown louder and meaner in recent weeks and months with Iran’s leadership time and again calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state.  Meanwhile, Israel has not ruled out a pre-emptive strike if Iran gets too close to building a bomb. “Whose side will we be on,” asked Weber.  “Do we do the unthinkable?  Do we come to the defense of Iran, our own sworn enemy, or do we stand by our commitment to our most loyal ally in the Middle East?  It’s a no-brainer, of course, but it begs the question: if Timmerman’s clarification is true, why would Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry agree to such a contradictory commitment in its deal with Iran in the first place?” It’s not the kind of thing that a president would want to have at the top of a legacy list. “All of Israel believes that the Iranians are deadly serious when they proclaim that they are bound and determined to wipe the Jewish state off the map.  It follows that once Iran acquires the means to make good on this genocidal commitment, each side will be faced with only two choices: either to rely on the fear of a retaliatory strike to deter the other from striking first, or to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own,” Norman Podhoretz wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently. Weber concedes that Congress is unlikely to come up with a way to kill the Iran deal, but he challenges President Obama to make public “each and every condition” of the pact. “Our elected representatives in the Senate and the House have a right to know.  We have a right to know.  Mr. Obama has an obligation, on the other hand, to be forthcoming and confirm the details of the Iranian negotiations.  So far, he’s taken an ‘it’s for me to know and for you to find out’ attitude, which is decidedly unacceptable.  If he wants to have a foreign policy legacy when he leaves office, it is okay with me as long as it doesn’t make the U.S. a pariah while he’s at it.  Right now, It appears he’s made a pact with the devil—a pact with dire consequences,” he said.

ABOUT AMAC The Association of Mature American Citizens [http://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital senior advocacy organization that takes its marching orders from its members.  We act and speak on their behalf, protecting their interests and offering a practical insight on how to best solve the problems they face today.  Live long and make a difference by joining us today at http://amac.us/join-amac.

Trump Has Some Presidential Class Literary Experts On His Campaign Staff ... Read This

Common Sense Commentary: I have to give Trump credit for knowing what American buttons to push and how to word his Presidential policy plans. He, or his literary experts, have put out some of the most succinctly worded policy releases I have ever seen. This perfectly worded "U.S. Gun Plan" is right in line with the Constitution and hungrily palatable to every Constitutionalist. RB

From  WesternJournalism.com

Trump Just Announced His Gun Plan

Trump Just Announced His Gun Plan, And It Includes 3 Huge National Changes

In his second policy position paper, presidential candidate Donald Trump called for a restoration expansion of gun rights in America.

In the document published on his campaign website, Trump stated: “The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period.”

He added: “It’s been said that the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom. That’s because the Right to Keep and Bear Arms protects all our other rights.”

In that light, the candidate called for at least three major changes:

National Right to Carry: “The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states. A driver’s license works in every state, so it’s common sense that a concealed carry permit should work in every state. If we can do that for driving – which is a privilege, not a right – then surely we can do that for concealed carry, which is a right, not a privilege.”

Military Bases and Recruitment Centers: “Banning our military from carrying firearms on bases and at recruiting centers is ridiculous. We train our military how to safely and responsibly use firearms, but our current policies leave them defenseless. To make America great again, we need a strong military. To have a strong military, we need to allow them to defend themselves.”

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To make guns illegal and confiscatable would mean that only criminals, cops and politicians would have them. That is why our founders penned the 2nd Amendment .... politicians are dangerous. RB

This Crime Of The Century Is In Contention, For "Most Diabolical", With The Nazi And Communist Holocausts

Common Sense Commentary: The strategy of Liberals is to justify the evils of aborting babies and marriage of homosexuals as their "right", and branding Bible believing Christians as evil, narrow minded, hypocrites. The Pharisees did the same to Jesus.... and crucified Him. But He still lives and they are in hell.

The crimes of the century are the mass murders of basically innocent people. The numbers of lives taken by these three dictators are listed in order of magnitude.
Mao Zdong - Approximately 60 million, Joseph Stalin - Approximately 40 million, and Adolph Hitler - Approximately 30 million. Because of their record numbers of lives extinguished, for political reasons, these three stand out as extreme examples of the ultimate in evil, cruelty and diabolical crimes against humanity. But in terms of the murder of absolute innocents, is the murder, by abortion.  Since the Roe v. Wade supreme court decision in 1973, in the U.S. alone, nearly twice as many human beings have been cruelly aborted as Adolph Hitler murdered and nearly as many as Joseph Stalin eliminated. Since 1973, Roe v Wade, "Legal" U.S. abortions have executed nearly 55 million totally innocent human lives.... babies who have committed no crime, no sin and no offense and are completely helpless to defend themselves. That is in the United States alone. Worldwide abortions, in 2008, according to the Guttmacher Institute,  were 44 million babies. If that is the average, since 1973, the worldwide number of babies aborted would be 1.76 Billion or 1300 % more than all three of those mass murderers above. Innocent human beings whose lives are taken, with intentional injury, is murder, unless it is the legal execution of convicted felons, guilty of extremely evil crimes such as murder, kidnapping and treason.
For you ladies who have had an abortion ... even murder is forgivable if repented of, as God forgave Paul of accessory to murder and made him an Apostle of Jesus.


The 54,559,615 abortions, in our country, since 1973 is based on data from both the Centers for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute, in a former Planned Parenthood research, as of Jan. 18, 2013. No doubt 55,000,000 by today, 32 months later, on Sept.18, 2015. Even worse, Planned Parenthood is now selling baby body parts and being given over half a Billion dollars per year, by our Government.

Here is an article with the testimony of a great Christian lady, who was aborted and lived, by God's grace, to tell the world her amazing story....

Posted in Abortion and Life Issues 
by Julie Roys

“If abortion is about women’s rights, 
then what were mine?” 

Gianna Jessen asked a House Judiciary Committee that question today — and with good reason. Thirty-eight years ago, Jessen miraculously survived a saline abortion. This morning, she told her remarkable story to a House Judiciary Committee investigating Planned Parenthood’s practice of harvesting and selling the body parts of aborted babies — even from those that may have been born alive. Fellow abortion survivor Melissa Ohden also shared her own gripping testimony. Below are the video and transcript of Jessen’s testimony, including some photographs she submitted as evidence. Listen and weep, and pray that God ends this evil.

Transcript of Gianna Jessen’s Testimony 
to the House Judiciary Committee 

Good morning, My name is Gianna Jessen, and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. My biological mother was seven and a half months pregnant when she went to Planned Parenthood, who advised her to have a late-term saline abortion. This method of abortion burns the baby inside and out, blinding and suffocating the child, who is then born dead, usually within 24 hours. Instead of dying, after 18 hours of being burned in my mother’s womb, I was delivered alive in an abortion clinic in Los Angeles on April the 6th, 1977. My medical records state: “Born alive during saline abortion” at 6 am. Thankfully, the abortionist was not at work yet. Had he been there, he would have ended my life with strangulation, suffocation, or leaving me there to die. Instead, a nurse called an ambulance, and I was rushed to a hospital. Doctors did not expect me to live. I did. I was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, which was caused by a lack of oxygen to my brain while surviving the abortion. I was never supposed to hold my head up or walk. I do. And Cerebral Palsy is a great gift to me. I was eventually placed in foster care and later adopted. I forgive my biological mother. Within the first year after my birth, I was used as an expert witness in a case where an abortionist had been caught strangling a child to death after being born alive. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, said the following: “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” – Margaret Sanger, “Woman and the New Race”

Reasons to De-fund Planned Parenthood 
“The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.” – Adolf Hitler. Survivor of botched abortion, Melissa Ohden, tells Congress: Planned Parenthood makes sure “failures” like me don’t happen We often hear that if Planned Parenthood were to be defunded, there would be a health crisis among women without the services they provide. This is absolutely false. Pregnancy resource centers are located nationwide as an option for the woman in crisis. All of their services are free and confidential, and they can be reached by texting: “HELPLINE” to 313131. There is access to vital exams for women other than Planned Parenthood. We are not a nation without options. Planned Parenthood receives $500 million dollars of taxpayer money a year, to primarily destroy and dismember babies. Do not tell me these are not children. A heartbeat proves that. So does 4-d ultrasound. So do I, and so does the fact that they are selling human organs for profit. Do not tell me this is only a woman’s issue. It takes both a man and a woman to create a child. And to that point I wish to speak to the men listening to me: You are made for greatness, not passivity. You were born to defend women and children. Not use and abandon us, nor sit idly by while you know we are being harmed. I am asking you to be brave. In conclusion, let me say, I am alive because of the Power of Jesus Christ alone. In Whom I live, move, and have my being. Without Him I would have nothing; with Him, I have all.

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Folks, isn't it about time for every born again Christian to speak out against the Mao Zedongs, Joseph Stalins, Adolph Hitlers and Abortionists of this world?
If every Christian would take a firm stand against this crime against humanity and against God, we could put a stop to this holocaust against innocence. And generally, the same people who support abortion are against the execution of convicted murderers. RB

Men Who "Understand The Times Know What Their Nation Ought To Do"

"Now these are they that came to David ... because of Saul ... and they were  among the mighty men, helpers of the war...... "And of the children of Issachar,  which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do......." 
1 Chron. 12:1&32

Common Sense Commentary: Let it be known that in the most troublesome of times, there are always those who love God and the men of God who will lead them in the truths of God and fight for right against evil men dominating their nation. Those good and faithful men ... and women are always in the minority, but they are more "mighty" and courageous in the "war" of freedom against tyranny, good against evil and God against the Devil. Among those valiant men are those who observe and study national and world events and are, after the order of Issachar, "men that have understanding of the times, to know what their nation ought to do ..." who will pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor in that Holy Battle Of The Ages. America's Founding Fathers pledged themselves to such a sacrifice and paid that price with their Declaration Of Independence for themselves and their 13 United States.

We, Americans today, still live under the protection of that God ordained instrument of our national freedoms and rights, but we too have internal and foreign enemies who would destroy it and enslave us and our future generations.
We, therefore must pledge with our Founders our lives, fortunes and sacred honor to defend what they established under the leadership of our God. RB

Here is the introduction and final paragraph 
of that God honoring, American instrument.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

___________________________________

Now it is our turn to stand up, speak out and take action with Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Hancock Paine, and all those other brave and committed men,
to preserve this nation they were willing to die for. RB

"Now these are they that came to David ... because of Saul ... and they were  among the mighty men, helpers of the war...... "And of the children of Issachar,  which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do......." 

Who Won The Republican Debate According To An Old Grumpy Mountain Man

Common Sense Commentary: Common Sense would stop me from taking a position on this, but I am still a bit dizzy from a party argument last night.

This is the morning after the second Republican debate and I'm still a little wobbly with a hangover, but I will give you "my opinion" of the results plus other subjective observations. I am dropping the 6 candidates who garnered the least number of votes in the NewsMax poll of viewers after the debate. That leaves 5 of the 11 on stage. I will first list those 5 in the order of the votes they got as of this minute. Voting is still going on and will change somewhat.  Where there was a tie of percentage, I list the one who got a few more votes than the other. After that listing, I will give my opinion of how each of the 5 rate on "Likeability", "Intelligence", "Integrity", Debating Ability", "Electability" and my "Personal Preference". You may disagree with my opinion  or be agitated by it or think I am biased or maybe just dumb, but it is my opinion ... not yours. Time may prove me wrong, but here it is:

1. NewsMax debate poll results
Trump - Fiorina - Rubio - Carson - Cruz
 (46%) - (20%)  -  (9%)  -   (9%)   - (6%)

2. Likability
Carson - Rubio - Fiorina - Cruz - Trump

3. Intelligence
Cruz - Fiorina - Rubio - Trump - Carson

4. Debating Ability
Fiorina - Cruz - Rubio - Trump - Carson

5. Integrity
Cruz - Carson - Rubio - Fiorina - Trump

6. Electability
Trump - Fiorina - Rubio - Carson - Cruz

7. My Personal Preference
Cruz - Carson - Rubio - Fiorina - Trump

The only way I would vote for Trump is against any Democrat.
He is winning because he is simply saying what I and disgusted Republicans want to hear. To his credit he is saying it more loudly than the other candidates. He has been all over the board on what he really believes and changes regularly.

Trump already has 31% of national polling results and 46% of those watching the debate which would be far more Republicans than Democrats. I think, however, that he would pull over a good number of Democrats since his temperament and narcissism (boasting and self-centered) is more like a Democrat than a Republican. Even with that, he would be better than any Democrat running. At least he is taking the right positions on most of the issues. whether he believes it or not.

Fiorina is extremely well spoken. intelligent and knowledgeable politically, on the issues. But her greatest advantages are as a terrific debater and she is a woman and would draw many women's votes away from Hillary or whoever the Democrat might be. Thank goodness she is not beautiful, but slender, almost attractive, sharp-witted and likable. In time, I think she would beat Hillary. She would wring Hillaries neck in the debates.

Carson is the nicest guy up there, has great integrity and is intelligent but his meekness would come across in a debate as weakness. He is good on social issues but not on political issues where he is just an average guy. He would draw maybe 20-25% of the black vote of the 95% of them who voted for Obama.

Rubio is another nice guy. His compassion for illegal aliens almost overwhelms his logic and reason concerning the "illegal" and costly nature of the immigration problems. He seems solid on most other issues, is highly intelligent, likable and a good debater. He also understands world affairs better than most.

Cruz has taken the strongest stand on Social issues, Terrorism, Immigration, Defending the Constitution and is a committed Christian. He has been a thorn in the side of the Republicans In Name Only (RINO's). He has led this Conservative rebellion for the longest time. However, even he cannot fix the problems in our country and if elected would be blamed when it collapses monetarily and otherwise.  Cruz is not handsome nor warm and fuzzy like Carson and Rubio, but he is, in my opinion, the best candidate.

I am in a dilemma. If there is any chance at all for our nation we must elect a strong, Conservative, Honest, Constitutionalist in 2016 to stop the hemorrhaging of all that is good about America. But, it is impossible to repair the moral, monetary, spiritual and political damage which has brought us to the precipice of disaster. Whoever is elected President or to the Congress next will bear the blame for the terminal mess other politicians have been creating for years. But the party that is in power when it crashes around us, will be blamed for many years into the future. I fear that will be Republicans and other Conservatives. Do nothing Republicans deserve it but Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Feorina do not. Even Trump doesn't deserve the blame for that. RB

So What Or Who Is Causing This World-Wide Rat Problem?

Common Sense Commentary: It is about time non-Muslim world leaders wake up and smell the rat in the global woodpile. RB

U.S. And Other Governments 
Still Not Able to Pin Point The 
Source Of The Problem ....

The Shoe Bomber was a Radical Muslim
The Beltway Snipers were Radical Muslims
The Fort Hood Shooter was a Radical Muslim
The underwear Bomber was a Radical Muslim
The U-S.S. Cole Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Madrid Train Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Bali Nightclub Bombers were Radical Muslims
The London Subway Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Moscow Theater Attackers were Radical Muslims
The Boston Marathon Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Radical Muslims
The Iranian Embassy Takeover, was by Radical Muslims
The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Radical Muslims
The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Radical Muslims
The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Radical Muslims
The Kenyan U.S, Embassy Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Radical Muslims
The Besian Russian School Attackers were Radical Muslims
The first World Trade Center Bombers were Radical Muslims
The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Radical Muslims
The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Radical Muslims
The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Radical Muslims

The result of that leads to this ....

Radical Muslims living with Hindus = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Buddhists = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Christians = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Jews = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Sikhs = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Baha'is = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Shintos = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Atheists = Problem
Radical Muslims living with Muslims = BIG Problem!

On the other hand ....

Buddhists living with Hindus = No Problem
Hindus living with Christians = No Problem
Hindus living with Jews = No Problem
Christians living with Shintos = No Problem
Shintos living with Confucians = No Problem
Confucians living with Baha'is = No Problem
Baha'is living with Jews = No Problem
Jews living with Atheists = No Problem
Atheists living with Buddhists = No Problem
Buddhists living with Sikhs = No Problem
Sikhs living with Hindus = No Problem
Hindus living with Baha'is = No Problem
Baha'is living with Christians = No Problem
Christians living with Jews = No Problem
Jews living with Buddhists = No Problem
Buddhists living with Shintos = No Problem
Shintos living with Atheists = No Problem
Atheists living with Confucians = No Problem
Confusians living with Hindus = No Problem

So who is responsible for the problems ?

Islamic Jihad: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
ISIS : AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Qaeda: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Taliban: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Hamas: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Hezbollah: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Boko Haram: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Nusra: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Abu Sayyaf: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Al-Badr: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Muslim Brotherhood: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Lashkar-e-Taiba: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Palestine Liberation Front: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Ansaru: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Jemaah Islamiyah: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION
Abdullah Azzam Brigades: AN ISLAMIC TERROR ORGANIZATION

And, somehow, our leaders       
just can’t “figure out” what 
is causing the problem!?

From Whence Cometh That Light in Some Few People?

Common Sense Commentary: I print David Brooks' column from the New York Times on my Common Sense Blog rather than Salvation Nation because it verifies and gives insight into the heart and mind, of a man of the world, toward those who show Christian "light" to those around them. Mr Brooks is no doubt a fine man. He recognizes sincere kindness, mercy, and love in those few people who have it, of whom he says he meets one  "about once a month". Here is a man who sees what he wants to be ... clearly, but just doesn't understand where that "light" he sees in  a few people comes from. Like most of the rest of the world, he assumes "he must somehow do it himself, make it happen or change himself".  But I believe what he is seeing in those who have that special "light", is Christ in them and not they themselves.

All studied Christians know that it is Jesus who is the "light of the world" and He lives in his disciples who are simply reflectors of Christ's light, who lives in them ... so that they then become "the light of the world." It is similar to the moon reflecting the light of the sun on to the dark side of the earth. We speak of it as "moonlight" but it is, in fact, "sunlight". Jesus, who was God in the flesh, could say, without boasting, that He is that light ....  "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.  Then he passed that light on to his disciples, by His very presence in their lives, and said ...."Ye are the light of the world...." Matt.5:14. I believe what this sincere man was seeing in the lives of about one person a month was Christ in them. I like this man for his sincerity. RB

The Moral Bucket List

The New York Times
SundayReview | OP-ED COLUMNIST David Brooks

 APRIL 11, 2015

ABOUT once a month I run across a person who radiates an inner light. These people can be in any walk of life. They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. You often catch them looking after other people and as they do so their laugh is musical and their manner is infused with gratitude. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.

When I meet such a person it brightens my whole day. But I confess I often have a sadder thought: It occurs to me that I’ve achieved a decent level of career success, but I have not achieved that. I have not achieved that generosity of spirit, or that depth of character.

A few years ago I realized that I wanted to be a bit more like those people. I realized that if I wanted to do that I was going to have to work harder to save my own soul. I was going to have to have the sort of moral adventures that produce that kind of goodness. I was going to have to be better at balancing my life. 

It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral — whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?

We all know that the eulogy virtues are more important than the résumé ones. But our culture and our educational systems spend more time teaching the skills and strategies you need for career success than the qualities you need to radiate that sort of inner light. Many of us are clearer on how to build an external career than on how to build inner character.

But if you live for external achievement, years pass and the deepest parts of you go unexplored and unstructured. You lack a moral vocabulary. It is easy to slip into a self-satisfied moral mediocrity. You grade yourself on a forgiving curve. You figure as long as you are not obviously hurting anybody and people seem to like you, you must be O.K. But you live with an unconscious boredom, separated from the deepest meaning of life and the highest moral joys. Gradually, a humiliating gap opens between your actual self and your desired self, between you and those incandescent souls you sometimes meet.

So a few years ago I set out to discover how those deeply good people got that way. I didn’t know if I could follow their road to character (I’m a pundit, more or less paid to appear smarter and better than
I really am). But I at least wanted to know what the road looked like.
_______________________________________

I must conclude, by Mr. Brooks' sincere humility, that he is very near finding what he is looking for... Jesus Christ as his Savior and a glimmer of "Christlikeness"....   RB