Justice Dwells Not In A Willing Civil Slave Or His Master

 Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

How is it possible for one man, with a battery of loyal henchmen, who each control a battalion of egocentric hacks who, in turn, enlist and pay their own regiment of greedy mercenaries, can dominate an entire nation of citizens who hate and outnumber them a hundred or a thousand to one? That scenario has repeated itself over and over again throughout human history. The answer is, the average person will exchange his freedom quickly for safety, food, and comfort. "I'll obey you without resistance, and even defend you if you will feed me, house me and not hurt me." It stems from the basic human flaw of cowardess and selfish greed. Our founding fathers rose up against the one man, England's King George III, his henchmen and their battalions. Patrick Henry was one of those American heroes who feared God and cherished the freedoms our Pilgrim fathers fled Europe to the Americas seeking. Patrick Henry is almost unknown by our younger generation but was every child's hero when I was a boy because our teachers taught us well of America's founding history. I challenge you to be a Patrick Henry at this critical moment in our nation and teach your children to be brave and love freedom. RB


 Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for the ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Thank God For Fridays At The Pentagon

Common Sense Commentary: Did you know this? Has it ever been reported in the Liberal News Media? Are Hollywood "stars", or Castigating Trump, or defending Socialism more important news? You decide. RB

Every Friday At The Pentagon 

It really breaks your heart to know that we didn't know this goes on every Friday, well at least I didn't know Instead, I guess the media feels it's more important to report on Hollywood stars as heroes. I hope this article gives you a sense of pride for what our men and women are doing for us, every day, as they serve in the armed forces here and abroad. 

Mornings at the Pentagon By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY McClatchy Newspapers 

Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded and facing months or years in military hospitals. 

This week, I'm turning my space over to a good friend and former roommate, Army Lt. Col. Robert Bateman, who recently completed a yearlong tour of duty and is now back at the Pentagon. 

Here's Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony that fills the halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause, and many tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of media critic and pundit Eric Altermanat the Media Matters for America Website. "It is 110 yards from the "E" ring to the "A" ring of the Pentagon. This section of the Pentagon is newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some civilians, all crammed tightly three and four deep against the walls. There are thousands here. 

This hallway, more than any other, is the `Army' hallway. The G3 offices line one side, G2 the other, G8 is around the corner. All Army. Moderate conversations flow in a low buzz. Friends who may not have seen each other for a few weeks, or a few years, spot each other, cross the way and renew. 

Everyone shifts to ensure an open path remains down the center. The air conditioning system was not designed for this press of bodies in this area. 

The temperature is rising already. Nobody cares. "10:36 hours: The clapping starts at the E-Ring. That is the outermost of the five rings of the Pentagon and it is closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is low, sustained, hearty. It is applause with a deep emotion behind it as it moves forward in a wave down the length of the hallway. 

A steady rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the soldier in the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with his presence. He is the first. He is missing the greater part of one leg, and some of his wounds are still suppurating. By his age, I expect that he is a private, or perhaps a private first class. 

Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels meet his gaze and nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago when I described one of these events, those lining the hallways were somewhat different. The applause a little wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in the burden ... Yet. 

Now almost everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the wheelchair, also a combat veteran. This steadies the applause, but I think deepens the sentiment. We have all been there now. The soldier's chair is pushed by, I believe, a full colonel. "Behind him, and stretching the length from Rings E to A, come more of his peers, each private, corporal, or sergeant assisted as need be by a field grade officer. 

"11:00 hours: Twenty-four minutes of steady applause. My hands hurt, and I laugh to myself at how stupid that sounds in my own head. My hands hurt. Please! Shut up and clap. For twenty-four minutes, soldier after soldier has come down this hallway - 20, 25, 30.. Fifty-three legs come with them, and perhaps only 52 hands or arms, but down this hall came 30 solid hearts. 

"They pass down this corridor of officers and applause, and then meet for a private lunch, at which they are the guests of honor, hosted by the generals. Some are wheeled along. Some insist upon getting out of their chairs, to march as best they can with their chin held up, down this hallway, through this most unique audience. Some are catching handshakes and smiling like a politician at a Fourth of July parade. More than a couple of them seem amazed and are smiling shyly. 

"There are families with them as well: the 18-year-old war-bride pushing her 19-year-old husband's wheelchair and not quite understanding why her husband is so affected by this, the boy she grew up with, now a man, who had never shed a tear is crying; the older immigrant Latino parents who have, perhaps more than their wounded mid-20s son, an appreciation for the emotion given on their son's behalf. No man in that hallway, walking or clapping, is ashamed by the silent tears on more than a few cheeks. An Airborne Ranger wipes his eyes only to better see. A couple of the officers in this crowd have themselves been a part of this parade in the past. 

"These are our men, broken in body they may be, but they are our brothers, and we welcome them home. This parade has gone on, every single Friday, all year long, for more than four years. 

Did you know that?  I didn't. Don't send it back to me, just be a Patriot and send it on its way as you see fit. 


O. F.  McLemore proudarmyofficer@gmail.com 
ofmclemore@aol.com

3 Little Pigs, 3 Blind Mice, 3 Senseless Monkeys Tale

 All went up Capitol Hill With Jack And Jill

Common Sense Commentary: Common Sense abides not in the same brain as a Socialist. 

Three little pigs, three blind mice, and three senseless monkeys ...
went up Capitol Hill with Jack and Jill... alias Bill and Hill, to rule the U.S. money mill. The three pigs rode atop the taxpayers' load and their democrat donkey's rear. 

After Bill fell down and broke his crown, Hill grabbed up the crown, donned her royal gown, slipped quickly down and came tumbling after Bill. Then her little herd of pigs found much sloppier digs in a nastier pigsty than hers ... when Obama twice fried  Hillary's leathery hide and flipped her donkey ride into a Demo disaster slide. So the third little pig cried wee wee wee and burned cars, all the way home from the palace throne.

Meanwhile, the GOP, "establishment" Monkeys rode with sharp elephant goad, demanding their colleague mice-shills take monkey pills. But low and behold the mice proved bold, monkey blood ran cold ... when these super mice wouldn't play dice and get in the ole boys' establishment mold. A few mice, at least, morphed into Kings of the Beasts and threatened the Monkey kingdom's fancy frills and counterfeit Congressional bills.

 So now the news, on these RINO Monkeys' views, is that their Cool-Aid's fizziness has caused their political dizziness in their cross-eyed Monkey Business. They see no evil, hear no evil and speak evil like Democrats. Forgive me, I'll do better next time. RB

Our Departed Friend, Jim Pound's, Legacy Lives On

Common Sense Commentary: Jim Pound, a geologist, and a committed American patriot and strong U.S.Constitutionalist, came to the church I had just established, in a storefront building, in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1963. He was attracted to our little church to hear a sermon I had advertised in the Tallahassee Democrat titled "None Dare Call It Treason", That was the title of John Stormer's book on the rise of Atheistic Communism in Christian America. Jim was saved in our church and served there, as my partner and friend for 25 years. After we had moved to a permanent location, Jim came to me and said, "Pastor, what do you think about starting a Christian School?" My answer was, "Will you run it". He said yes and the rest is, as they say, history. Temple Baptist Church, now North Florida Baptist Church, founded North Florida Christian School, under Jim's leadership, first as Principal and later as Superintendent of three schools we founded. The first in Leon, then in Gadsden, and  Jefferson Counties (Tallavana and Aucilla); Kindergarten through High School in all three counties. Long after I had retired and returned to Texas, Jim called me, in 2002 and said, "Pastor, I'm starting another school". I said, "where? We already started one in Leon and the two adjoining counties?" Jim said, "No, there is one more, Wakulla County." Jim was as old as me, but he still had another school in his heart... he had to get out. So he founded and ran Wakulla Christian and got it going strong enough to survive and then God called Jim home ... where he is probably God's man in charge of inspiring more Christian Schools down here amidst the dust and grime of the world. We named the football stadium at North Florida Christian, Jim Pound Field and I see Wakulla Christian has named their baseball field after him too. Here, reported by the Tallahassee Democrat Newspaper, is what is happening at Jim's last of four schools God used him to set in motion. Talk about a life that has been used of God for good. I love you, Jim. You were a true friend. And, by the way, somebody is still doing things right at Wakulla Christian School. RB

High School Baseball
As reported in The Tallahassee Democrat Newspaper

Wakulla Christian more than an 

afterthought in the  first year

BRIAN MILLER

DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Blink and you miss it. Don’t blink and you still might.

Wakulla Springs Baptist Church is the only thing you see from Crawfordville Highway, nestled between pines that hide its existence.

Behind the church lies Wakulla Christian School, a small and unassuming community of buildings, some portable.

Behind that, with another set of pines to block its view from the road, is a baseball field.

It’s not rundown in any sense. Rather, there’s easily distinguishable craftsmanship in new brickwork, new fencing, and lighting.

The grass is bright green. The infield dirt is manicured. Sponsors signs line the outfield fence from end to end as if the program has been in existence for decades.

But this is the first year of varsity baseball and only the second overall.

And the Wakulla Christian Saints, an afterthought at the beginning of the season if a thought at all, are good.

"It’s really neat to come out on the field every day," senior Jaren Lawhorn said. "We were out here every day for two years building it. When we got here, it was nothing but dirt. We worked, more and more people came, and it is what it is now.

"It’s definitely something special. We come out to play against schools that you know have hundreds more kids and hundreds more times playing, and we’re showing what we’re made of. That’s cool."

‘Field of Dreams’

Wakulla Christian has existed for 13 years, first as a K-3 program and adding a class all the way up until this year, leading to a 12-person graduating class.

Saints athletic director Travis Bolin started an athletic program five years ago from an athletic club he created to simply teach basics of sports.

Volleyball, soccer and track and field were the first programs to operate, all at a middle-school level.

In summer of 2014, Bolin grew tired of managing a large dirt field at the back of the property, so he prayed over it. Three months later, Jaren Lawhon’s father Jason, walked up to Bolin and said, "Let’s build a baseball field."

Lawhon, an engineer, got to work immediately. Three months after that, Wakulla Christian hired Bubba Dempsey, a former Wakulla High baseball player, as coach.

"We were still in the stages of getting the field prepared," Bolin said. "We didn’t have any grass. We didn’t have anything other than dimensions and an irrigation system. Two years later, this is what we’re looking at."

Trade skills emerged from anyone and everyone at the school as the field was being pieced together. Tractor work, digging, lining fence, grass and field maintenance, irrigation knowledge, crane operation – all of it existed in some fashion from Wakulla’s Christian’s people.

"I had a dad who’d built ballparks before so he could give us dimensions and how to lay things out," Bolin said. "It was one person after the next after the next. Every time we hit a setback, something would come up to help us out of it."

The field was named Jim Pound Field after the school’s founder, who also founded North Florida Christian and helped found Aucilla Christian and Tallavana Christian.

On April 10, Wakulla Christian played its first night game and beat St. John Paul II Catholic in the bottom of the seventh inning.

That opportunity came about through the donation of lights at an estimated cost of $50,000. The crane work was done in-house.

"This whole field is a ‘Field of Dreams,’" senior Peyton Bennett said. "It has been built in two years. We’ve been out putting up the lights and working on every other detail. We can say we have a field, we have lights and we have a winning team."

Win, win, and win some more

The Saints are 17-3-1 at the moment and on a! 10-game win streak.

Wakulla Christian has two regular season games left this coming week against Franklin County and Niceville Rocky Bayou, teams it has already beaten this year.

On Thursday night’s first senior night, the Saints shut out Taylor County for the second time in a week. With two wins already over Panama City’s North Bay Haven, Wakulla Christian has four wins against District 2-4A teams this season.

The Saints’ only losses this year are twice to Port St. Joe and an 11-10 loss on the road at Class 1A No. 4 Chipley.

"People in baseball are finding out real quick that we’re not a pushover," Dempsey said. "There were schools that thought they had two wins, we go over and get off the bus and hit them in the mouth. All of a sudden, they’re in a dogfight and don’t know how to get out of it. These kids don’t quit."

Wakulla Christian was granted membership status by the FHSAA this school year, so next year it will join District 1-2A with Aucilla, Tallavana and Robert F. Munroe. The Saints have beaten all three of those schools this year as well.

Since it cannot compete for a district title this season, Wakulla Christian will head to Bradenton’s Inspiration Academy on May 5 to play in a two-day Florida Independent Christian Athletics tournament with three other schools.

After a 12-11 junior varsity season last year, the Saints want to hit the 20-win mark and perhaps end their first-ever varsity season on a high note few expected.

"For the size school we are, we’re as good defensively and at the plate as there is," Dempsey said. "We play some sub-par pitching, I get that, but we do face good pitching. We drive the ball in gaps. We run and try to put pressure on people.

"They’re having fun, they’re winning games, and they’re beating people they ain’t supposed to beat. We’re playing to play and trying to make a point. I’ll put them up against anybody."

Band of brothers

Bolin said there’s not some exquisite draw to attend Wakulla Christian and there are plenty of people within the county that don’t know the school exists.

What the school does offer is a family feel. And that carries over to the baseball field, which has drawn transfers from Wakulla High and added home-schoolers from outside the county.

The reasons vary – cut from the War Eagles’ program, told there wouldn’t be varsity playing time at another school, or simply wanting a change of scenery.

Bennett, who had played three years on varsity at Wakulla High, had a different reason.

From the age 4 of when his parents divorced, he split time living with his parents until he began living with his grandparents a few years after until now.

His mom was a drug addict that he saw once or twice a month. When she died from an overdose in July 2016, it triggered something in Bennett.

"I started looking for things to cope," Bennett said. "I had people coming into my life and I was introduced to Christ. I’d been hearing about Wakulla Christian and knew I probably wanted to be a part of something special like that. I saw the brotherhood they had."

! From the moment his mom’s death happened, every one of his current Saints teammates reached out to him before he’d even transferred. The response wasn’t the same among his previous teammates, solidifying his decision to make a change for his senior year.

He’s hitting .354 with 11 stolen bases and has just one defensive error.

"All of these guys have been there for me the whole time – from before when I was at Wakulla High and when we played in middle school, so they all knew about it," Bennett said. "When it happened, they all came to me and they didn’t have to.

"I want to be around people that care about me, especially guys that are great players, great athletes. We’re full of great athletes, but we’re full of great guys and that makes a difference for sure."

Jacob Estes, whose father and brother played at Wakulla High – Jay Estes is now a starting outfielder for Auburn – also transferred after three years with the War Eagles.

"It’s the best move I’m made," said Estes, who is hitting a team-best .468 and is 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA pitching. "This team is closer than any team I’ve ever been on, by far. I’ve played on teams in the past where everyone argued and bickered, but you can’t win like that."

A bright future

Estes, Bennett, Lawhon (.442 average) and Dempsey’s son Jacob (.407) will all graduate.

They will be big losses for the Saints, given what they’ve accomplished on the field and in leadership.

But it’s not the end of Wakulla Christian baseball. Far from it.

"I think it’s an exciting beginning to a journey," Bolin said. "We’re building something, and it’s just built around an idea of family and hard work. God has given us a ministry to reach our community and give kids an opportunity to do something they might not have been able to do.

"It’s neat to see what these boys have accomplished when we just started with a dirt patch and a prayer."

Politically Incorrect Offences That Have Lost Our Senses

Fakes, Flukes and Fantasy Land
How many times, over the last 15-17 years, has Ophra Winfrey bloated up and then been rescued by Weight Watchers? 15 times? She has lost an average of 40 pounds on each of those 15 times for a total of about 600 pounds. Each of those 600 pounds has probably been worth about $1500 to Ophra for ad spots, and several million dollars to Weight Watchers in new customers. Famous people, actors, professional athletes and lifetime politicians know all of the ways of selling favors, fleecing the public and, or, selling their faces and testimonials to advertisers and news organizations. And how come those who do it best are at the top of the Sodom and Chicago popularity polls in America, like the Clintons, Obamas, Ophra Winfrey and lesbian Ellen Degeneres?

Drug Addiction A Disease
If, as many "experts" insist, drug addiction is a "disease", it is the only disease that creates its own need, is self-inflicted, non-communicable, is voluntarily paid for to get it, makes criminals and prostitutes of most of its victims, and whose only remedy is to stop doing it.

Prostitutes Are "Working Girls"
They may be prostitutes because they do not have a job, don't want a job, or hate working, but calling them "working girls" is just another liberal, democrat misnomer. Although, what she does is surely more tiring, boring and aging than physical labor.

Undocumented Immigrants
Yet another liberal, democrat misnomer of political correctness. In truth, they are undocumented, illegal aliens who have broken U.S. immigration laws ... which they and their law breaking sanctuary city-minded, liberal sponsors know is true ... but do it anyway. When they push their way to the head of the line, in front of legal immigrants, they become law breakers and therefore criminals. Do
I feel sorry for them? Most of them, yes, but that does not give them a free pass to violate our laws. 

Solialists/Communists Are Patriots
The definition of a patriot is, " a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors."  To "support and defend our country against enemies and detractors" means every able bodied citizen is to work and pay their own way, pay taxes so our leaders can neutralize our enemies and deal with "detractors" foreign and domestic, support to the death our foundational law, the Constitution, and support or serve in law enforcement or national, military defence. Our country is the sworn enemy of all Communist governments and the hostile, determined target of Socialists whose struggle is against the Constitutional, free form of government our Forefathers and Founders established. Communists, Socialists and all forms of tyrants are a contradiction of American Patriotism. They are not Patriots any more than Satan wrapped in Old Glory.

Smoking Marajuana Is Cool
Any kind of smoking is harmful to your health. Marijuana smoking is not only illegal but even more harmful to your health than tobacco. For several hundred years smoking was accepted as fashionable and cool and made its habitants feel more manly or sexier, as a woman and become addicted to it. But time proved smoking tobacco turned healthy, handsome people into jaundiced, leather skinned, coughing, cancerous and smelly, dying ugliness. It was thought to be cool but is was not. Now the same old story is playing itself out again with drugs like, or worse than, Marijuana. 

Coca-Cola (often referred to simply as Coke) is a carbonated soft drink produced by The Coca-Cola Company.
Originally intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton and was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The drink's name refers to two of its original ingredients, which were kola nuts (a source of caffeine) and coca leaves. From Wikipedia.

Because of its stimulant effect, coca leaf was originally used in the soft drink Coca Cola. In 1903 it was removed and a decocainized coca extract is now one of the flavoring ingredients. So until 1903 even cocaine, in coca cola, was cool. But now we know the truth.... it is not cool, it is hell hot and a sure route to rot.

Living Off Other People's Labors Is A Right
Welfare, of every kind, is not a "right" or "entitlement", it is a charitable gift originally intended to be strictly for mentally or physically disabled adults or abandoned children. Working people were not originally intended to pay taxes to support able people who would not work, as is now being done. When the handicapped or temporarily disabled people can't get help, it is because the system has been so abused by undeserving, lazy human slugs, soaking up the taxpayer's labors, and giving them plenty of time to riot, hang out on the street corner, cause trouble, and use and sell illegal drugs.  A tolerant society has never been as stupidly self-destructive as the American public is today. This is not only contrary to the American Way, it is a violation of Holy Scripture.  
"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread." 1 Thess.3:10-12.

About Half Of Voters Are Adolencents In Adult Bodies

Common Sense Commentary: Immature little children and adolescents most often misinterpret what they see and hear. They are, indeed, great recorders but poor interpreters. Mature adults enjoy the cute and innocent conclusions children come to about what they see and hear. Their confusion is due to their lack of experience and wisdom which usually come with age. Bad judgment, so common in a childish and the adolescent mind, is the reason parents are usually held responsible for their children's bad, and damaging actions. Society, therefore, restricts children from driving, voting, and making life-changing decisions. We expect children to think and act like children, but when an adult, with the mind of a child, makes immature, childish decisions, mature adults usually attribute it to some sort of insanity, stupidity or even wickedness, when it is really the person's lack of maturity and resulting confusion. The problem is, they look like mature adults in their size, age, clothing and even white hair, but in truth, they are mentally... little children or adolescents. RB

. ge


It is those who FOOL the adult 
children who are wicked or stupid.

The Illusions Of The Devious World Of Pretenders

There is more than a brick wall behind the curtain... 

Common Sense Commentary: I understand the world's obsession with entertainment. It is, to many, an escape from reality. For others, it provides a source of temporary hope for a better life. For some, it is a fantasy of heroes or beautiful stars ... idols to adore or even worship.... instead of God. And then there are those who are just bored with empty time and fill it up with pretension of love, adventure and meaning in life. Acting is just that ... pretension. When I grew up, heroes were all the good guys, honest, clean cut and courageous, and actors pretended to be them. In today's world the popular hero is most likely to be an anti-hero, lawless, promiscuous, and dishonorable.

Strangely, it seems, most of those who pursue high political office are simply the best actors... pretenders. They either have no real moral standards and honest convictions or if they have any, they are so thin and fluid that they are soon forgotten in the farce the devil has made of world politics. 
           
God instituted three things, the Family, His Church and Civil Law. All three were intended to be aids and protection for the welfare of every individual. That is why Satan spends all his time in seeking to corrupt, undermine and destroy those three entities.... if they are doing their intended purpose. He infiltrates all three with amoral, convincing actors pretending to be something they are not and deeply hiding their true nature ... sociopaths with their own self-centered agenda. We see it in individuals, religion and in politics. These sociopaths lie habitually, deceive, and misrepresent so convincingly that they cultivate a loyal, though naive constituency. That is how so many of them wind up in politics and over time become more and more deeply embedded and influential. Their lust for power and privilege drives them to build higher and higher towers of Babel to control more and more people. They sell those blind followers, of the spiritually blind, the illusion of freedom while they draw the chains of steel tyranny tighter and tighter. Their victims thus cling desperately to the hopeless illusion of their freedom from work, morals, responsibility, and judgment while the lie eats away at their soul and carries them farther and farther from reality into their own illusory existence on their way to a real hell. 

Even an unsavory character, like Frank Zappa, sometimes has short flashes of truth burst upon his mind. One of those rare moments came to light when he said .... "The illusion of freedom will last as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At that point, where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery; they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater." That is what life was for Zappa and he had nothing else to cling to but a dead end. It is sad that so many people can't see on the other side of that brick wall of pretension to where God's universe opens up into a glorious eternity of all that is true and holy for those who reject the illusions and turn to the reality of God, His forgiveness, and life in Christ. 

April Memories Of Nick The BARman 66 Years Ago

Common Sense Commentary: Foxhole buddies, brothers in arms have a love for each other few people ever have the privilege of experiencing. It is a human relationship which is born in the deep desperation, fear, valor and survival from within the true battle... not a single shot fired at you or even a single day of war, but a long series of days and nights, filled with hunger, thirst, dirt, blisters, blood, pain and death. Here is my Marine friend, Nick the BARman's memory, scared upon his soul, of a typical day in the Korean War, he and his foxhole buddy endured.... and was called up yesterday from his archive of similar days they shared so long ago. RB

A NOTE TO JAMES KEE TOM, MY FOXHOLE BUDDY AND FIRETEAM LEADER THROUGH 5 MAJOR CAMPAIGNS 

THE HISTORIANS OF THE WORLD REMEMBER THIS DATE AS THE DAY TRUMAN FIRED Mc ARTHUR.

I REMEMBER 11 APRIL 51 AS THE FIRST TIME YOU AND I FOUND OUT THAT WE COULD TRUST EACH OTHER WHEN THINGS GOT BAD.

THE DAY WHEN A HUGE WEATHER FRONT MOVED IN OVER THE WHOLE KOREA PENINSULA.

THE FIRST TIME WE WERE WORKING AS A COMBAT TEAM....UNDER ALMOST CONTINUOUS FIRE ALL DAY LONG AS WE MOVED ALONG A RIDGELINE HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS. INCREDIBLY, WE WERE SEQUENTIALLY IN FOG, SUNSHINE, HEAVY RAIN, SLEET, AND SNOW.------NOT TO MENTION BURP GUNS.

ON A "CONTACT PATROL"-------A LONG DAY.

A GOOD DRESS REHERSEL AND A PRELUDE FOR 22 APRIL 51---ELEVEN DAYS LATER WHEN OUR PLATOON WAS OVERRUN BY A REGIMENT OF CHINESE.

I WILL GO TO MY GRAVE TELLING EVERYONE THAT WILL LISTEN, THAT YOUR LEADERSHIP, AND YOUR KILLING THE LEADING CHINAMAN SAVED GEORGE COMPANY THAT NIGHT SO LONG AGO.

I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN, MENEHUNE. I WISH THE REST OF THE WORLD KNEW.

SEMPER FIDELIS GOOD FRIEND, SEMPER FIDELIS.

NICK THE BARMAN (USMC)

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My Comment....

Doctor Nicholson, my friend, those memories, your endurance and God's grace have brought you to the zenith of a fulfilled life which others will be inspired by for years into the future. It can be said, with honest account, in the last verse words of Rudyard Kipling's "IF"....

If you can fill the unforgiving minute 

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

My friend, you are a Man! Psm.115:1, Rayburn Blair

HOME PLATE Must Be Fastened, Invariable, Unchangable And Constant

Or it will become meaningless, useless and hopeless as will those who seek to reach it, and the nation which does not secure it. RB

Common Sense Commentary: Change is only beneficial when it is for the better... If its not broke ... don't fix it.

This is a lesson for the "snowflakes" today!! Maybe someone can go to their "safe zones" and read it to them! What's  missing in society today is consistency and accountability.

In  Nashville , Tennessee , during the first week of January, 1996, more than 4,000 baseball coaches descended upon the Opryland Hotel for the 52nd annual ABCA's convention.

While I waited in line to register with the hotel staff, I heard other more veteran coaches rumbling about the lineup of speakers scheduled to present during the weekend. One name, in particular, kept resurfacing, always with the same sentiment — “John Scolinos is here?

Oh, man, worth every penny of my airfare.”  Who is John Scolinos, I wondered. No matter; I was just happy to be there.

In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching career that began in 1948.  He shuffled to the stage to an impressive standing ovation, wearing dark polyester pants, a light blue shirt, and a string around his neck from which home plate hung — a full-sized, stark-white home plate. Seriously, I wondered, who is this guy?

After speaking for twenty-five minutes, not once mentioning the prop hanging around his neck, Coach Scolinos appeared to notice the snickering among some of the coaches. Even those who knew Coach Scolinos had to wonder exactly where he was going with this, or if he had simply forgotten about home plate since he’d gotten on stage. Then, finally …“You’re probably all wondering why I’m wearing home plate around my neck,” he said, his voice growing irascible. I laughed along with the others, acknowledging the possibility.  “I may be old, but I’m not crazy.  The reason I stand before you today  is to share with you baseball people what I’ve learned in my life, what I’ve learned about home plate in my 78 years.” Several hands went up when Scolinos asked how many Little League coaches were in the  room. “Do you know how wide home plate is in Little League?”

After a pause, someone offered, “Seventeen inches?”, more of a  question than answer.  “That’s right,” he said. “How about in Babe Ruth’s day? Any Babe Ruth coaches in the house?”Another long pause. “Seventeen inches?” a guess from another reluctant coach.

“That’s right,” said Scolinos. “Now, how many high school coaches do we have in the room?” Hundreds of hands shot up, as the pattern began to appear. “How wide is home plate in high school baseball?” “Seventeen inches,” they said, sounding more confident.  “You’re right!” Scolinos barked. “And you college coaches, how wide is home plate in college?”

“Seventeen inches!” we said, in unison. “Any Minor League coaches here? How wide is home plate in pro ball?”............“Seventeen inches!”

“RIGHT! And in the Major Leagues, how wide home plate is in the Major  Leagues? “Seventeen inches!”  “SEV-EN-TEEN INCHES!” he confirmed, his voice bellowing off the walls. “And what do they do with a Big League pitcher who can’t throw the ball over seventeen inches?” Pause....“They send him to  Pocatello !” he hollered, drawing raucous laughter. “What they don’t do is this:  they don’t say, ‘Ah, that’s okay, Jimmy. You can’t hit a seventeen-inch target? We’ll make it eighteen inches or nineteen inches.  We’ll make it twenty inches so you have a better chance of hitting it. If you can’t hit that, let us know so we can make it wider still, say twenty-five inches.'” Pause... “Coaches…” pause, "… what do we do when our best player shows up late to practice? When our team rules forbid facial hair and a guy shows up unshaven? What if he gets caught drinking? Do we hold him accountable? Or do we change the rules to fit him? Do we widen home plate?

The chuckles gradually faded as four thousand coaches grew quiet, the fog lifting as the old coach’s message began to unfold. He turned the plate toward himself and, using a Sharpie, began to draw something. When he turned it toward the crowd, point up, a house was revealed, complete with a freshly drawn door and two windows. “This is the problem in our homes today.  With our marriages, with the way we parent our kids. With our discipline. We don’t teach accountability to our kids, and there is no consequence for failing to meet standards.  We widen the plate!”

Pause...Then, to the point at the top of the house he added a small American flag. “This is the problem in our schools today.  The quality of our education is going downhill fast and teachers have been stripped of the tools they need to be successful, and to educate and discipline our young people.

We are allowing others to widen home plate! Where is that getting us?”  Silence....He replaced the flag with a Cross. “And this is the problem in the Church, where powerful people in positions of authority have taken advantage of young children, only to have such an atrocity swept under the rug for years. Our church leaders are widening home plate for themselves!  And we allow it.”

“And the same is true with our government. Our so called representatives make rules for us that don’t apply to themselves. They take bribes from lobbyists and foreign countries. They no longer  serve us. And we allow them to widen home plate and we see our country falling into a dark abyss while we watch.”

I was amazed. At a baseball convention where I expected to learn something about curve balls and bunting and how to run better practices, I had learned something far more valuable. From an old man with home plate strung around his neck, I had learned something about life, about myself, about my own weaknesses and about my responsibilities as a leader. I had to hold myself and others accountable to that which I knew to be right, lest our families, our faith, and our society continue down an undesirable path.

“If I am lucky,” Coach Scolinos concluded, “you will remember one thing from this old coach today.  It is this: if we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools & churches & our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to …” With that, he held home plate in front of his chest, turned it around, and revealed its dark black backside, “… dark days ahead.”

Coach Scolinos died in 2009 at the age of 91, but not before touching the lives of hundreds of players and coaches, including mine. Meeting him at my first ABCA convention kept me returning year after year, looking for similar wisdom and inspiration from other coaches. He is the best clinic speaker the ABCA has ever known because he was so much more than a baseball coach. His message was clear: “Coaches, keep your  players—no matter how good they are—your own children, your churches,  your government, and most of all, keep yourself at seventeen inches."

And this my friends is what our country has become and what is wrong with it today, and how to fix it.

"Don't widen the plate." Authoring Coach Unknown