How intelligent are you

How smart are you? I bet you are smarter than you think. While you might not necessarily be smart in one area, you are smart in another. I always joke with my friends that I'm "not as smart as the average man." When I said this to a patient the other day, he introduced me to the philosophy of Mr. Howard Gardner and "The Nine Types of Intelligence."

1. Natural Intelligence: I don't have the ability to relate things to my natural surroundings, so this is not me.

2. Musical Intelligence: I don't even need to go here. I have none of this.

3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart): This included scientists, mathematicians and detectives. That is not me.

4. Existential intelligence: Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here. I have this. My blog is all about this. In fact, all my blogs tackle this.

5. Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart): I'm not this in the slightest.

6. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart): This is the ability to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. No, I'm not athletic, although I might pretend to be.

7. Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart): This is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. I definitely am this.

8. Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self Smart): This is the capacity to understand oneself and one's thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directing one's life. This involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologists, spiritual leaders and philosophers. Well, I consider myself a philosopher of sorts, and therefore I am definitely this.

9. Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart): This is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence may be fascinated with mazes or jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing or daydreaming. I typed this all out because I initially thought this was not me, yet now I'm thinking about it. Although I'm not necessarily picture smart per se, I do spend free time drawing and daydreaming. Likewise, I am a writer of fiction and I once took an advertising class in which my teacher told me I had one of the best creative minds in the class. Likewise, on the top of one of my A+ advertising campaigns, he wrote, "You have a visual head, Bothead."

So, there you have it. You can head on over and check out where your intelligence stand. Click here.

The duties of men

All men have certain duties they must perform in life, wrote W. Cleon Skousen in "The 5,000 Year Leap" There are basically two types of duties, which the founding fathers would refer to as unalienable duties. We are all indebted to these duties to keep society together.

There are essentially two duties

1. Public duties: You should be moral when serving the general public. They are usually supported by local and state ordinances which can be enforced by the police power of the state. These are principles of public morality.

2. Private duties: Those that exist between the individual and his creator. These are principles of private morality, and the rules are created and enforced by the individual. You may create any private rules for yourself so long as they do not supersede your public duties.

A good example here is drinking. Say you like to drink. If you drink at home you can drink as much as you want and act how you want. Yet once you are out in public, you will need to obey your public duties. If you do not, public laws will deal with you.

Here are some examples of duties as provided by Cleon:

1. Honor God
2. Not to kill
3. Not to steal
4. Not to destroy another person's property
5. Not to trespass
6. To respect other people
7. Children must honor their parents
8. Parents must do right by their children
9. To support laws to keep peace
10. Help the helpless
11. To honor contracts (pay your debt)
12. Not to get angry
13. To be economically self-sufficient
14. Keep your family together
15. For married men not to seek out other women
16. No treat all races equal
17. To vote
18. To participate in public office if you're called
19. To study and learn and keep informed
20. Not to participate in a crime
21. To be moral and virtuous

Good ethics, the backbone of a functioning society

According to dictionary.com, ethics are the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, or culture.  Worded another way, ethics are morals and values that govern a person's behavior.

I discussed morals and ethics in a previous post.  In review, morals are the rules that differentiate right from wrong.  A perfect example here are the Ten Commandments.  Morals never change, and are handed down from generation to generation.  Values are rules set by an individual person, and can be influenced by morals.  Examples of values include Respect, Honor, Humility, Patriotism, Compassion, Honesty, Fairness, and Innovation.

Now let us define ethics.

Ethics:  These are moral principles and values that govern a person's behavior. Since good ethics are essential to a productive society, it's essential to inculcate a good set of morals, and encourage a strong set of positive values.

So being ethical is following your morals and values, but it is also following the laws created by your society. People with the right morals and values are very likely to also follow the laws, which is why nearly every successful civilization has grown around some form of religion.

This was yet another reason that the founding fathers believed it was so important to make room for Christianity in the newly formed nation.  It was the morals inculcated by the Church that they knew were important for creating the stable environment essential for a functioning society.

Since Christianity teaches the morals needed to encourage values needed for a functioning society, the founding fathers believed it was important to raise children under the influence of God and the Bible.

It worked, as the moral fabric of this nation was held firmly in place until the 1960s, when progressives started to succeed in changing American tradition.

What are morals and values

We often say that morals and values are essential to a productive society. I thought it would be a good idea to investigate these two terms in order to learn what they really are, and why they are important.

The best way to start this investigation is to define these two terms.

1.  Morals:  Rules that differentiate right from wrong.  They are ethics that have already been decided for us by society or by the religious or cultural organizations we prescribe to.  Examples of morals:

• Stealing is bad
• Lying is bad
• Abortion is bad
• Adultery is bad
• Being polite is good
• Being honest is good
• Helping people is good
• Being faithful is good
• Marriage between a man and a woman good
• Being faithful to your wife is good

Morals do not ever change, and are handed down from one generation to the next. They are operated upon by a person's conscience.  They sit in a niche within a person's mind, and operate as a voice to guide a person to follow them.  To not listen to that voice may result in guilt and displeasure, and possibly punishment.

2. Values:  These are rules set by an individual person, and can be influenced by morals, family, culture, background, and upbringing.  Personal values that we create for ourselves establish an internal reference whereby we decide what is good or bad, what is useful or not useful, what is beautiful or ugly, what is desirable or not desirable, what is constructive or not constructive, and what is friendly or what is not friendly, etc. They determine your behaviors toward different people and circumstances.  For example, if you believe gays or women are inferior, you may treat them as inferior.  If you love and respect gays and women, you may treat them with love and dignity. Examples of values include:

• Respect
• Honor
• Humility
• Patriotism
• Compassion
• Honesty
• Fairness
• Innovation

While morals and values are not one and the same, they work together to determine the path a person will take in his life.  They determine what actions he will take, and can even influence his general well being and what type of person he will become.

You can't solve problems with good intentions and money, or how democrats screwed up education and healthcare

It's been in the news the past few days that some democratic Congressmen are outraged that their constituents are going to have to pay a stiff penalty for not having health insurance by the deadline that has passed now.  In fact, the penalty is going to be much higher than originally reported, and these democrats are just beside themselves that this could happen.

How could they be? They voted for it.  These are the people that are supposed to have read the bill, liked what they saw (it's a big F#$%ing deal, mouthed Vice President John Kerry at the signing of th bill).  These are the same people who told their constituents everything they wanted to hear in order for them to support Obamacare.  The said things like:

• Premiums will go down (they went up)
• Deductibles will go down (they went up)
• Out-of-pocket was going to go down (they went up)

All the way around Obamacare has made health insurance more expensive.  So either they lied through their teeth to their constituents in order to gain support for the bill, or they were outright ignorant. 

Either way, this is not good for the country.  It has apparently stunned their constituents who are now stunned that healthcare has gotten more expensive, but it has apparently stunned democrats who voted for it.  

Of course there is a third option, and one might hope to God this is not the case, but it's looking pretty suspicious.  This theory has been noted by some republicans, although blown off by most democrats and anyone else brainwashed by our public school system. 

The theory I'm talking about here is the one where democrats set up Obamacare so that it would fail so that the government could come in and save the day with universal healthcare, something many democrats wanted all along.  

Back in the 1960s our educational system was not perfect, but it was pretty darn good.  Progressives decided they could make it better by creating the Department of Education, throwing more money at it, and making education a Federal Institution.  But instead of making it better they made it worse. Despite money for education being more now that it ever has been, education in the U.S. is ranked worse than many other countries.  

In 2010 the same progressives signed Obamacare thinking they could make healthcare better, and they have ruined that too.  This kind of proves the old adage that you can't solve problems with good intentions and money.  t 

The maturation of morals and values

I always contend that it's important for our kids to learn the truth in school, and that includes when it comes to truths that we don't necessarily agree with. One of the best examples all time when it comes to avoiding the truth is when it comes to morals, virtues and religion.

This goes for both the right and the left. It's quite apparent that many on the left try adamantly to get Jesus out of schools. They don't want anything that has to do with Christianity to be mentioned, including God, Jesus and even Christmas. Hence the term "Holidays" is used. This is true even togh Holiday is in reference to a "Holy-day."

We hear in the news almost daily how holy days are turned into politically correct days. Yet what we don't hear about is the truth about the moral and virtue shift. A perfect example here is that in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, where the weather was fairly warm, it was normal to walk around naked and have people not even do a double take.

Yet it was also considered normal to be gay (but they didn't call it that), for a man to have a boy lover, for a man to seek prostitution, to have out of wedlock children, and to abort an unwanted boy or girl. In fact, a man was more likely to be seen in public with his boy child rather than with his wife.

Pederasty was an accepted and universal institution in the Greek world. This doesn't imply Greek men were homosexual (it doesn't prove they weren't either), because a majority of men were married, had normal sex relations with their wives, with slave girls, and with courtesans at times. Yet the woman stayed home and took care of the kids, and were ready when her husband was ready to have sex. Her job was to take care of the home, cook, make kids and take care of them. (1)

Because a woman stayed at home, a man was more likely to be seen in public with his adolescent boy lover than his wife. Yet he would take care of his boy, and he'd mentor him and make sure he grew up to be a productive member of society.

Henry Sigerist, who wrote "A History of Medicine," contends that the sexual frustrations of adolescent boys did not exist in antiquity. As soon as a boy was ready he was allowed to have sex. In fact, in Sparta boys were encouraged to go out and rape a girl, but if he got caught he was whipped. This was standard and accepted practice. (1, 2)

War was common in the ancient world, and to a soldier far from home it was normal to seek satisfaction by a prostitute. This was also common in Ancient Egypt, and if a child was born it was okay because extra hands were always needed. Yet in Ancient Egypt 8 out of 10 babies were not born alive, and therefore nature was the most common form of contraception. Plus many kids died before they reached the age of two due to diseases they were highly susceptible to.

Homer mentions relations between men, although this was most common during periods of war. Alexander the Great is written about by some historians as a man who had relations with boys or other men, yet this, once again, does not mean he was a homosexual. It was simply accepted the practice during his time.

In Egypt it was common for young girls to be married off at the age of 12 or 13, as soon as they reached puberty. Their husbands were 15 or 16. Marriage to brothers and sisters was not uncommon, and to have many wives and many children was not abnormal either. Ramses II had 170 children. (2)

Lesbian acts were also common in Greece mainly because the women were confined to the house, and their husbands were often off abroad for long periods of time, or simply off at work or in the markets or participating in sports all day long.

Sigerist explains this way of living:

"When we study ancient cultures our task is not to judge but to understand them. To that end we must avoid measuring them with the moral yardstick of our own time, realizing that our own morals have no absolute value but are the result of certain historical developments in which we happen to be involved at the moment. This is particularly necessary when we study the sex life of other civilizations. Customs vary; the style of living changes. To the superficial observer it may look as if the Greeks had been highly promiscuous, having intercourse with whoever happened to be around -- wife, slave girl, courtesan, boy, man -- but this was not at all the case. Affections were at least as deep as they are today. No Don Juan creates an art, literature, and philosophy as the Greeks have. Human relations were broader and deeper, and there was less hypocrisy in matters of sex than in our present world." (2, page 222)

Somewhere along the line our moralistic views changed. Perhaps men like Moses, who lived withing the Egyptian world, saw how difficult life was for children living amid these circumstances. It was men like him, thousands of years ago, who saw the value in creating a stable environment for children to mature in.

Perhaps it's for this reason that homosexuality and prostitution were frowned upon, as well as extramarital affairs, sex with young boys and girls, multiple marriages, etc. Perhaps I'm safe in making this speculation because the Bible in itself is a book of virtues, values, morals, family unity, discipline, individualism, capitalism, etc.

So when people today talk about making homosexuality, abortion, sodomy, and the like normal parts of our life, or acceptable, they are in a sense trying to take the morals of mankind full circle, back to the way they were during ancient Greek and Egyptian times.

I doubt that most of these people know this. I doubt they think of the consequences of this change that they are calling for. However, it's hard to argue with them when as Americans, as people who live in a free world, we preach the importance of freedom, personal choice, and accountability.

People should have the right to live the way they choose, whether that be by their environmental choice or natural calling. If such a choice has a consequence on their children, family life, or on society as a whole, it is their choice not the choice of government. Such may be the case, or argument, by those who call for gay marriage or the right to abortion (choice).

Yet it is the risks of such a promiscuous living, or choices, that have many in our society, mainly the religious among us (either Christians, Muslims or other). It is the religious majority who wish to place restraints on society, and who yearn to encourage governments to make abortion, homosexuality, and other such activities abnormal.

Such values and virtues were recognized by the founding fathers. Jefferson and Madison wrote letters at length discussing the importance of the government inculcating religion among the people. And hence is why we have religious words all over Washington, on our coins, and why Presidents said prayers and encouraged prayers in schools.

The founding fathers new that the government could not afford a military or a police, and so they needed to do something to encourage people to be good. They recognized this by studying ancient societies.

So even those who did not believe in God decided that God was important. People who believe in God also believe in the Devil and Hell. People will try to be good to get to Heaven and to avoid the fires of Hell. They will therefore be moralistic and virtuous members of society.

Those who wish to change what the founding fathers created for America wish to go back to life as it was in Ancient Greece or Egypt or even Mesopotamia. Yet now that we have studied our history, and know the absolute truth about that history instead of telling children the history we made up, we can understand both sides a little better. We must continue to strive for a happy medium.

What do you think?

References:

1. Sigerist, Henry E, "A History of Medicine," volume I; Primitive and Archaic Medicine, second printing, 1955, New York, Oxford University Press, pages 240-241
2. Sigerist, Henry E, "A History of Medicine," volume II: Early Greek, Hindu, and Persian Medicine, second printing, 1955, pages 219-221

Not all believers will get to Heaven

As a man of Faith, it saddens me when I learn someone I know does not believe in God.  Yet what is even sadder is when someone I know believes but does not act in good Faith.  So unlike some of my peers who believe they will meet up with these folks in Heaven, I'm not so sure this will happen.

That's not to say that those individuals did not ask for His forgiveness near the end, nor that God did not forgive that person.  Still, there are a heck of a lot of people who say they believe who do not live as Jesus would.

If it were true that the only qualification to get into Heaven was to believe in Jesus, then 75 percent of the 300 million population in the U.S. at this moment, or 250 million people, will go to Heaven when they die.  I have a hard time believing this is how it will work.

You do not have to be as perfect as Jesus to get to Heaven. Jesus died for us so that we could all be prophets of the Lord, and we could all ask for forgiveness of our sins at any time.  But in order to do this we have to make a conscious effort not just to learn the wisdom of our Faith, but to share that wisdom by our actions.

I'm sorry to say, there are a heck of a lot of people who believe who do not do this.  When these people die, I believe, there is a chance that God will not open the door to Heaven to them.  I mean, I don't know what God will do, but I don't think he will let a person into Heaven just because they believed.

It's kind of like Freedom.  There are many people in this country who take their freedom for Granted. They do not appreciate the millions of people who fought for and died so that we could appreciate our natural rights the way we do.  There are those who do not even think of how great they have it.

These people do nothing to advance the cause.  They make no effort, show no appreciation, for American Exceptionalism.  They surely enjoy the benefits it, but they just assume it always has been and always will be there. Like Heaven, they just assume if they believe they will get to go.

So, it's sorry to say, but I don't think I will meet up with all of my friends in Heaven.  I do not think all of my brothers will get to Heaven.  Surely they could have an epiphany at some point in their lives, but absent that they will not be walking up the steps to the great euphoria.

Rights come from God, not government

People need to realize that the Declaration of Independence is still a full and binding document.  It is this document that says that natural rights come from God, and the role of government is to protect these rights.

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.

See, our rights, our liberties, do not come from government as Chris Cuomo, a licensed attorney and CNN anchor, said in an interview recently with Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.  The discussion started on a decision regarding same-sex marriage and segued to natural rights.

Judge Moore said, "I believe that’s a matter of law because our rights contained in the Bill of Rights do not come from the Constitution, they come from God."

Cuomo said, "Our laws do not come from God, your honor, and you know that. They come from man."

Judge Moore said, "Let me ask you one question. Let me ask you one question, Chris. Is the Declaration of Independence law?"

Cuomo said, "You would call it organic law as a basis for future laws off of it?"

Judge Moore said, "I would call it the organic law because the United States code calls it organic law. It is organic law because the law of this country calls it the organic law of the country means where our rights come from. And if they come from there, men can’t take it away."

Cuomo said again, "Our rights do not come from God. That’s your faith. That’s my faith, but not our country. Our laws come from the collective agreement and compromise."

Judge Moore said, "It’s not a matter of faith, sir. It’s a matter of organic law, which states, 'We hold these truths to be held equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' And the only role of government is stated in the next sentence is to secure those rights for us. The government starts taking those rights away from us, then it’s not securing and it is defiling the whole purpose of government."

The founding fathers had an idea, and that idea is what sets our idea apart from other county's ideas.  That idea was that natural rights come from God and not man.  If they come from God, then they cannot be taken away; we always have them.  If they come from man, then man can take them away by creating laws. 

For example, if free speech comes from God, the government cannot make a law saying, "Hey, I don't want you to say bad things about our president anymore."  If they come from God, no such law can take away your right to free speech.  

It was this idea that set our idea apart from other ideas by the founders of other countries.  

This comment by Cuomo is crazy; it's dead wrong.  Yet the fact that it gained little attention by the media brings light to the fact that too many people have come to accept what Cuomo said as fact, and it's scary.  Because if he's right, then the government can take away all our rights.

But he is not right.  The founding documents were formed based on the idea that rights come from God.  So what Woodrow Wilson said is not true.  He said, "Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance.

What Thomas Jefferson said is true, "God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are a gift from God?"

The idea that rights come from God means that they cannot be taken away.  The founding fathers assured this by creating the Declaration of Independence, and then they promised that those rights would always be protected by signing the U.S. Constitution.

Then they took it a step further just to be sure no future government misunderstood their intentions, and they listed the natural rights in the Bill of Rights, assuring that no law would be made that would deny them those rights.

If rights come from man, then man can take away those rights.  The fact that this idea is appreciated today is what explains why some people are so eager to give up their liberties with the slashes of pens.

We are not free because some law was made or some document signed.  We are all born free, and it is the role of governments to protect our freedoms, not take them away.

You see, if the government can take something away from you, it isn't a right.  If they can take it away from you, it's the law.  They can't take away your right to be free.  They can put you in prison, but they can't take away your right to it.

Way too many laws written over the past years, during the progressive (liberal) era, could be said to infringe on human rights, because every law that's written limits behavior.  Some laws are made in order to create an orderly society.  But if it's all done in a democratic fashion you learn to live with it and deal with it.  If you don't like it, you try to change it.

However, if you are living in a tyranny, you have no way of dealing with it.  Your right still exists, but it's being denied you.  And the government of the United States can deny you your right by writing laws -- such as you have to wear a seat belt or eat certain foods for your own good.  In this case, you have to do as the tyranny says you have to do or you will be fined or jailed.  But no law can take away your rights, because they are given to you by God.

Too many people do not understand this, and it's based on this misunderstanding of natural rights, and our founding documents, that people are willing to allow government officials to deny us our rights by writing laws for our own good, or to perfect society.

Mike Huckabee: Dead Christians Would Vote For Him

Mike Huckabee is a former ordained minister.  He is also a former governor of Arkansas, which provided him with the executive experience many say is needed to be an effective president.  He was a TV show host on Fox News, giving him the name recognition.

Could you imagine if this guyt won the nomination?  Whether you agree with him on all the issues or not, he would be a very viable presidential candidate.  There is not doubt in the world about his credibility as a Christian, so I bet he would have the Christian community coming out of the woodwork to vote for him.

Heck, I bet you'd have Christians coming back from the dead to vote for him just like the dead voted in past elections.

Just to give an example of how  Huckabee candacy might work, you should check out this video.

College not a qualification for president

There are people trying to discredit a possible Scott Walker Presidential run because he didn't finish college.  What these people fail to recognize is most of the people who made this country great, and that includes most of our past presidents, did not have college degrees.

As I've written before, education is good, but where you get your education can corrupt you.  It's certain colleges that instruct students how to build a large bureaucracy and how to maintain it, and they don't teach people how to solve problems.

So just because someone came out of college does not qualify them to be president.  Nor does not going to college disqualify a person to be president.

This kind of reminds me of a story a patient of mine told me once.  He said that his teacher rapped a long ruler on his desk and woke him out of a stupor.  The teacher said, "If you don't start paying attention in class and stop looking out that window, you are never going to amount to anything."

The student, my patient, said, "I have to watch my trucks out there.  I have a successful trucking business and I have to make sure no one steals my trucks."

My own grandpa dropped out of high school, and he started a very successful car lot.  My dad dropped out of college, and he expanded this car lot to include American Motors and eventually Chrysler.  My grandpa ended up retiring early and spending his winters in Florida golfing, and my dad now does the same.

You see, there are ways of obtaining an education besides going to school.  There are many self-made successful stories.  You can just do a Google search of famous and very successful Americans who did not go to college and you will come up with an infinite list to prove my point.

Scott walker has been a very successful governor, and he would make a great president.  The questions should not be whether or not he went to college, but whether he is conservative enough to lead the country to greatness.

The power of Absolute truths

One of the things we have gotten away from in this country is telling people about absolute truths because we are afraid of offending people. We've gotten away from this in church, courts, school, politics and, the medical field. The result has lead to many of the problems we face today.

There are two things we are told never to discuss with strangers, and these are religion and politics. The reason is because we don't want to offend them. Yet in church, in court, in school, and in politics we should be exploring the truth and teaching about absolute truths.

Yet out of fear of offending someone, we don't do this anymore. Today we are more interested in keeping the peace than telling the truth. The reason for this is because the truth can hurt. And in today's world of political correctness, too many of us are more interested in keeping the peace than teaching truths.

To make matters worse, since we have quit talking about absolute truths, we have become lazy intellectually. Instead of continuously looking for answers, we settle for what we already know. Or, worse, we are easily susceptible to ideas that are contrary to the truth. 

For instance, our children are taught in school that modern theories are not theories at all but facts.  They are taught that mankind is causing global warming, rather than teach that this is just one theory.  They do not teach the other side, and, because we are not our there teaching absolute truths, our kids start believing this stuff.  

There are many people out in our society who teach that God does not exist.  If we are not sharing absolute truths with our children, it becomes easier for these people to influence our children.

My job as a respiratory therapist presents another good example.  Physicians often order breathing treatments that are a waste of time and money.  Yet I personally don't want to upset a doctor the absolute truth about what he is ordering, and so I become an enabler.  The fear that I might lose my job is a factor that plays into this.  Because I fear, I have become an enabler of an un-truth.

Still, because we are afraid to tell physicians the absolute truth, patients are needlessly getting breathing treatments, hospitals are eating the cost, and therapists like myself are getting burned out and apathetic.

Because we are afraid of telling absolute truths, the scientific community has become lazy in their research because doctors are not pushing for the absolute truth either.  So it's a never ending cycle.

The absolute truth is that people are smart and can take responsibility for their own actions.  The absolute truth is that each law takes away another natural right.  The absolute truth is that tax cuts may result in increased governmental revenue compared with tax hikes, especially when taxes are already high.  

The absolute truth is that frugality and virtues are essential to maintaining a just, noble, and prosperous society. The absolute truth is that we stopped teaching these these absolute truths about 40 years ago, and this has only resulted in the destruction of the fabric that forms societies.  

There is a force of evil over the world right now, and it's being lead by progressives and radical Islam. These factions have been on the offense the past 100 years because the rest of society has become lazy and hasn't been looking for them. 

While we had a blind eye to progressives they were working hard to pull the moral fabric right from under us.  They tried to force their ideas on us, but we rejected their agenda.  Because their agenda was so unpopular, they were forced to take baby steps in order to move it forward.  

While we had a blind eye to terrorism they were busy planning for our destruction, and they succeeded on 9-11.  Still, many of us continue to ignore the warning signs while they continue charging toward the complete destruction of the West to move in order to transition us to accepting their New World Order of a global Caliphate. 

Another Absolute truth that is rarely taught today is that the founding fathers did not like democracies.  They knew that democratic nations can elect good people, yet they can also elect terrorists to lead them, which is what occurred in Palestine.  The founders knew that most democracies ended in totalitarianism and ultimately in destruction (i.e. ancient Greece).  

Surely there are those who champion for democracies in the Middle East, and it's true that democracies don't fight one another.  Yet it is also true that the founding fathers realized that republics work better because, in democratic nations, all the people must know what's going on, and all the people must vote, and all the people must participate in the future of their nation.  

Yet Lord knows that absolute truth is that most people are lazy and uninterested in running government.  Most people do not vote.  And when this happens in a democracy, totalitarian dictator thugs take over.  Yet when this happens in a republic as America is, the government keeps running. 

So is it a coincidence that most people have forgotten that America is a republic and refer to it as a democracy?  Is it a coincidence? Or, was this a gradual change made as a result of our fathers not teaching absolute truths because they were too busy working to feed their families.  

Yet while they were working, progressives succeeded in changing our republic into a democracy.   Why is this important?  Because progressives know that in a democracy it is easier for progressives to pass their agenda.  

If progressives get their way, socialism will engulf our nation, and this will come at the expense of religion.  Most people do not know this, but it is also an absolute truth that progressivism and socialism cannot exist side by side with religion.  Why is this?

Well, Stalin once said that he believed in God, but he knew that God, Church, and Religions were the antithesis of socialism.  He knew that God created capitalism, another absolute truth.    

It is for this reason why you don't see any churches in China or Russia or Cuba or in progressive areas of Europe.  It is for this reason why there is a push by progressives in America to remove Christ from Christmas and to prevent children from praying in schools.  

The absolute truth is that Muslims will build their caliphate if we don't stop them. The absolute truth is that most terrorist organizations have charters that call for the complete destruction of Israel, and of all people who don't convert to their religion. 

Yet our leaders are afraid to even use the word terrorist for fear of offending Muslims.  We do not speak up because we fear offending people.  We do not teach absolute truth for fear of offending. It is for this reason our nation is moving in the wrong direction.

Look, when Moses escaped Israel, only 20 percent of the Israelites left with him out of fear of absolute truths, such as the fear of hunger and the fear of living out in the cold. They weren't sure they wanted to make the sacrifice, take the risk of going where no one has gone before.  So it's the absolute truth that only 20 percent of Israelites stood by Mt. Sinai when Moses introduced them to the Ten Commandments.

The good, however, was that it only took 20 percent of Israelites to succeed at moving forth what they believed in.  This is symbolic of the absolute truth that it only takes a small number to start taking the steps needed to tell absolute truths.  Small groups can peaceably assemble and say, "It's time we take our country back."

We need to get back to teaching absolute truths.  We need to put a kingdom of light over the darkness caused by the power of deception.

We need to get leaders in the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Conservative and liberal communities to stand up and speak out, and to develop followers who seek to learn the absolute truth. We can all come together and become the most powerful majority on the face of the earth. It only takes a small number. It only takes 20-25 percent.

Ronald Reagan once said that "Freedom will prosper when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is followed." No government has ever lasted as long as ours.  If we go back to the core values that formed this nation, we will never fail. We must have hope.

We must teach absolute truths as absolute truths are the only means of keeping this great nation together.

Rights versus Privileges

Rights are things that you are born with. You do not get rights from the government. You get rights from birth. The only impact the government can have on rights is that the government can take rights away from you.

Every human is born with the same rights. We are all born with the right to speak, the right to defend ourselves, the right to arm ourselves, the right to a fair trial among our peers, a right to practice religion, etc. These are things we are born with.

This is what makes the U.S. Constitution unique, and one of the reasons it's the longest lasting Constitution, is because the founding fathers understood that rights are things we are born with. The Constitution was written as such that it would prevent the government from taking any action to take away these rights.

When the government gives you something, it's not a right, it's a privilege. For example, you have the privilege of driving a car, and handicap people have the privilege of ramps and larger bathrooms and such.  

In other words, a handicapped person has the natural right to speak out against the president.  He does not, however, have a natural right to use a ramp.  If he has a ramp this is not a right but a privilege.

When you hear a politician say he is fighting for handicap rights, you have proof of his ignorance. What he really meant to say was that he is for handicap privileges. This is true because handicapped Americans have the same rights as non-handicapped Americans.

You often hear about Gay rights and racial rights and so forth. The same principle applies here. Every human being in America has the same rights, and it doesn't matter what creed, color, race or sexual orientation. We are all equal and we should all be treated with equal respect.

Again, the U.S. Constitution understood this, and it portends to protect us from each other. The founders understood that my rights stop where your rights begin. In this sense, the U.S. constitution protects us from each other, not from ourselves.

Thus, the government does not have a right to tell you what you can eat, or what you have to buy (which is why people have a problem with Obamacare), or where you can live. You are born with a right to live as you wish, and the U.S. Constitution must protect this right. That is, so long as you're not infringing on someone else's right to live as he wishes.

You have a right to scream as loud as you want. Yet this right stops when you are infringing on your neighbor right to piece and quiet at night. You have a right to drive at any speed you want in your car, yet this right stops when your driving puts other people at risk.

So common sense applies. Put simply:

• Rights: Things you are born with
• Privilege: Things given to you by the government 

The next time someone says something like, "I'm fighting for the rights of union workers." You will know that union workers have the same rights as you and me. If anything, he's fighting for the privileges of union workers.

In this way, politicians twist words in order to make things sound better than they actually are. Rights are rights, and privileges are often treated by some to be rights when they are, well, just privileges.

Natural rights and duties of men

The founding fathers believed that the only way to have a just and stable society is for men to adapt the principles of Natural Law as set forth by Nature's God. So, what are natural rights.

Natural Rights: This is a basic code of laws that provides each person, at birth, certain rights that cannot be taken away but by other people by the governments they create. Natural rights are referred to as unalienable rights by the founding fathers, in that these are rights that cannot be taken away by the U.S. Constitution. This is one of the main reasons the U.S. Constitution has lasted longer than any other current Constitution.

The following are all examples of natural rights:

1. Unalienable rights: The Declaration of Independence states "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The other unmentioned (and thus assumed) natural rights are as follows:

1. The right of self government
2. The right to bear arms for self defense
3. The right to own, develop, and dispose of property
4. The right to make personal choices
5. The right of free conscience
6. The right to chose a profession
7. The right to choose a mate
8. The right to beget one's kind
9. The right to assemble
10. The right to petition
11. The right to free speech
12. The right to a free press
13. The right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor
14. The right to improve one's position through barter and sale
15. The right to contrive and invent
16. The right to explore natural resources of the earth
17. The right of privacy
18. The right to provide personal security
19. The right to provide nature's necessities -- air, food, water, clothing, and shelter
20. The right to a fair trial
21. The right of free association
22. The right to contract

2. Unalienable duties: Duties that are expected of all of us, but are not written into laws, and are probably inculcated through religious organizations.

1. The duty to honor God
2. The duty not to kill another person
3. The duty not to steal
4. The duty not to destroy the property of another person
5. The duty to be honest
6. The duty to honor thy parents
7. The duty to honor thy children
8. The duty to take care of the elderly
9. The duty to take care of children (feed, cloth, etc.)
10. The duty to respect the law in order to keep the peace
11. The duty to help the helpless (sick, poor, injured, elderly, etc.)
12. The duty to take care of yourself and not be dependent on others for self security
13. The duty to take responsibility for your own actions (you have a right to succeed and to fail)
14. The duty to keep your family together
15. The duty to treat all people with equal respect
16. The duty to vote and represent your government when called upon in an honest fashion
17. The duty to stay informed
18. The duty not to participate in criminal activities (to be honest)
19. The duty to be decent and clean
20. The duty to abide by the laws of nature3. Habeas corpus: Latin for "You have the body." It means you cannot be held unlawfully by the government. A writ of habeas corpus is permission to obtain someone who is believed to be guilty.

3.  Habeas corpus: Latin for "You have the body." It means you cannot be held unlawfully by the government. A writ of habeas corpus is permission to obtain someone who is believed to be guilty.

4. Limited government: The right not to have too many rules that take away our natural rights

5. Separation of powers: The political authority of the state is divided into legislative, executive and judicial powers. To most effectively promote liberty, these three powers must be separate and acting independently. It refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another. The intent is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances. 

6. Checks and balances:With checks and balances, each of the three branches of government can limit the powers of the others. This way, no one branch becomes too powerful (i.e. no president can become king-like and do whatever he wants without regard to the natural rights of the people).

7. Right to self preservation: A second amendment right to defend yourself and your family under the auspices of the law. This being necessary for the security of a free state. If the government isn't doing its job of protecting you, you have a right to protect yourself.

8. Laws protecting the institution of marriage: The right to protect the sanctitiy of marriage as between a man and a woman.

9. No taxation without representation: The right to be represented by the dollars that are put forth through taxation. No money taken from you will go to programs that do not benefit you in some way, i.e. to create roads and security.

Values and Priorities

There are many people who read the Bible, and every one of them might have a unique way of interpreting it. This actually occurred recently between myself and one of my patients. We actually both had unique interpretations about the Tower of Babel.

However, in the end, we both decided that every Christian, every person who believes in God, or studies the Bible, however religious, should get two things out of it.

1. Virtues: We must all be virtuous above all else
2. Priorities: We must have our priorities in order

Jesus said that the most important commandment is to believe in God, and the second most important commandment is that you should love your neighbor, and treat your neighbor as you would yourself.

If we can skim it down, if you put God first, then you are putting virtues first. If you are putting your neighbors second, then you are thus putting God first, and thus virtues first. If you are a virtuous person, then you will not only love your neighbor, you will be loved by your neighbor.

So it comes down to -- bottom line -- values and priorities.

McDonald's tanking, and it's their own fault

This is what kids want in a Happy Meal

McDonald's sales have been tanking of late.  There have now been 14 straight months of flat or declining sales in the U.S., five straight quarters of negative growth, and stocks are falling. This resulted in the announcement that the companies 51 year old CEO, Donald Thompson, will retire.

It makes sense they should blame him, because it is his fault.  He was the leader of the company when it faced challenges from progressives who wanted to limit choices and make food healthy, boring, and un-fun.

Not this crap.

Vegans complained that they were making french fries with beef tallow, and so they caved and came up with other ingredients.  But the beef tallow was what made McDonald's french fries so great. And now no one wants to eat them. They do not taste the same.

McDonald's also caved on the issue of healthy Happy Meals.  They took out the fries, or made the size smaller, and inserted healthy apples instead.  They took out the pop and give parents a choice of chocolate milk and juice.  But kids can get apples at home.  Apples are just not fun.  They don't even give kids the choice of caramel to dip them in anymore either.  

This decision sealed their doom.  Sales have tanked ever since. I mean, who does McDonald's spend millions of dollars every year catering to? Yes, it's children. Studies show more kids recognize Ronald McDonald than Jesus.  Sad to say, but it's true. 

But not even a popular clown can sell food that is boring.  

Look! People don't go to McDonald's Restaurants to eat healthy.  I had a friend of mine who said to me once, "When you are dieting and you go to McDonald's, what do you eat?"  My answer was, "A Big Mac." 

There's nothing wrong with a fatty burger and french fries once in a while.  Plus it's a free country, and we have the natural right to eat unhealthy if we want.  We even have a natural right to make stupid choices, if that's what you think such choices are.

There are also other reasons for the demise of McDonald's.  For instance, they have tried to become everything to everybody.  Probably the biggest example of this is their attempt to compete in the coffee market.  But sometimes I go to McDonald's and have to wait for the attendant to make someones special coffee drink.  So all this specialization has compromised the call for speedy service.

But the main culprit is the appeasement of progressive demands to perfect society. When people cave to progressive demands to perfect society, they fail just like progressive programs always do.  Republicans who cave to progressive demands will likewise fail, which should explain why Jeb Bush and Chris Christie are trailing in early republican polls to Scott Walker, who is a fighter and does not compromise on key issues.

I'm no business expert, but I do have a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising/ Marketing.  Yet it takes no such degree to figure out what's wrong with McDonald's, and what they need to do fix the problem: they need to sell food that people want, not food people should eat. 

Scott Walker: A republican with balls

Scott Walker is the governor of Wisconsin. He has created a blueprint that defeats liberalism, and democrats have called him everything from a racist to a sexist.  Yet he has defeated them time and time again, even winning three elections in four years to remain as Wisconsin's governor.

He had all the powers of the democratic party throwing every tactic they had at him.  He had unions against him.  He had the Federal judiciary against him.  Yet instead of appeasing them, he continued on and stood up to them.  He knew what he wanted to do and he trudged forward with his agenda.

This is a lesson to be learned by the republican base.  Here the republicans won in one of the most massive midterm landslides in 2014, and instead opposing Obama's agenda tooth and nail, they work to compromise with him.  Instead of opposing Obama's amnesty agenda, they try to compromise and write their own amnesty laws.  If the people wanted them to compromise with democrats, they would have just elected democrats.

What this country needs is not for someone to cater to the conservative base of the republican party, only to give in and cater to democrat causes once elected.  We need someone like Scott Walker, someone who stands up and fights for the cause of liberty.

Right now we are at a time in this country where have seen the progressive agenda for all it is, and they are tired of it.  We have legislatures writing laws forcing us to take certain actions because, as they say, "it's for our own good."  Yet such laws are the antithesis of liberty, as they force us to sacrifice our liberties.

Walker's agenda for Wisconsin was to defeat liberalism at the core.  He attacked the way they ran schools, he attacked their school curriculum, he attacked unions and the way they were ruining Wisconsin.  He fixed them.  He got Wisconsin running again.

And for his reward he was attacked tooth and nail by all the powers of the democratic party.  They hated him, and did everything they could to destroy his image.  Yet the people of Wisconsin stood behind him all the way.

His objective was to defeat them, in their schools, in their school curriculum, in the way the unions, public and private, were ruining Wisconsin, and he has succeeded.

This is exactly the kind of person the republican party needs as its leader.  This is exactly why Scott Walker is leading in early polling for republican for president. Republicans need someone with balls, and Scott Walker has balls.

Also see Glenn Beck's discussion of Scott Walker.

The proper order of priorities

I think it was about ten years ago that I had this really neat discussion with one of my patients about priorities.  In fact, what she said was so significant to me, that I shared it with the priest who was going to marry me and my wife, and he used it as part of our wedding sermon.
What she said was this: "In life, if you don't have your priorities straight, nothing ever works out. If you you do not have your priorities straight, you will not succeed in your life."

She put her thumb up. "This is God. He is your number one priority."

She then put her pointer finger up. "This pointer finger represents your wife."

She held up her middle finger up. This finger represents your children."

She held up her ring finger.  "This represents other people."

She held up her pinky finger.  "This represents other things."

"Now," she continued, "If you get these priorities out of place, nothing seems to work properly." 

She demonstrated this by placing her thumb between her pointer and ring finger. Then she made as to grab something, and could not do it.  "See," she said, "your hand does not work right when your fingers are out of order.  The same is true when your priorities are out of order.  If you place God after your wife and before your children, you can't grip anything.  Life simply doesn't work; it's all a mess." 

She placed her thumb between the middle finger and ring finger. "If you place your thumb here, you still can't get a grip on anything. "See!" She opened up her hand, and gripped mine with hers, "the only way you can really grip things, have control of the things in your life, is to put your thumb before your other fingers. God, in essence, is like your thumb. If you have no God in your life, nothing works right."

She smiled, and continued: "The same is true if you get other things in your life out of proper order. You must love your wife before your children, and love your children before other people. But you must always put other people before other things."

Not only did my priest use this during our wedding ceremony, he also used it during mass that week.  He said he was very impressed.  

So, that in mind, I thought I would take the time to list the priorities in my life. Perhaps you might do the same -- just for fun.

1. God 
2. Wife
3. Children
4. Brothers, Relatives, Friends and Co-workers
5. The United States
6. Job
7. Home
8. Sleep
9. Reading, Learning, and Stimulating Brain
10. Sports
11. Blogging
12. Other things

I suppose I was thinking of such priorities when I gave up golf and collecting baseball cards in order to provide for my new family.  I would, however, love to start doing both again, however. 

The progressive View on Terrorism

This cartoon pretty much says all that needs to be said about the progressive view on terrorism.

Perfect!  What more needs to be said.