The Right Rev Rowland

Huh?

Last night at President Obama’s healthcare press rally, there was a strange twist toward the end. When asked a question about a friend of the President’s, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., that had been arrested for disorderly conduct, Obama made a racial connection in the incident. The President, adept at pontificating on issues and event of which he has no knowledge, said that the Cambridge Police had acted ’stupidly.’ This was after the President admitted that he didn’t know what had happened in the incident.

So….. if I am uncooperative with a uniformed police officer, refuse to show ID, call him racist, and speak in derogatory terms about the officer’s mother…. what can I expect from law enforcement? It would seem that the only two people in the incident that brought race into the issue are the President, an African-American, and Professor Gates, also African-American and “one of the foremost scholars on race in America,” according to Boston.com.

According to the arrest report, Professor Gates became combative and belligerent when officer Crowley, responding to a complaint of a burglary in progress, asked him for identification. He continued to be insulting and claimed racial discrimination several times, even in front of witnesses who were passing by. I guess being a ‘foremost scholar’ on race gives you a refuse-to-cooperate-with-police-free card. Oh, and it gives you license to be personally insulting to the policeman that answered the call to protect your property from suspected theft.

Why can’t a race scholar get beyond race? Could it be perhaps that he is prejudiced in his opinion of caucasian police officers who are trying to do their job? Was this Police Officer profiled by the good Professor? If it had been a black officer asking the same questions, would Mr. Gates have been more cooperative, or would he still have claimed racism? And how is it that an educated, respected ’scholar’ can’t be enough of an adult to just explain what happened and show his ID? Maybe he spends too much time studying race and not enough time studying manners?

As to Mr. Gates’ assertion that “This is what happens to a black man in America,” I have to respond, “No, Professor Gates, this is what happens to a belligerent idiot in America.” Please do grow up. And President Obama, I thought we were getting beyond race with your Presidency? No? Oh, well….. I guess that speech in PA was a lie as well……..

UPDATE:

President Obama has now spoken with both Sgt. Crowley and Prof. Gates and is planning a kumbaya beer at the White House…. then went before the W.H. press corps to issue a non-apology clarification statement. I couldn’t help but think as I listened to him speak that he is a lawyer and wasn’t saying anything meaningful.

So, Barry realizes he stepped in it, but can’t bring himself to admit he was wrong to comment in the first place. So the non-statement statement contained a non-apology apology.

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It’s been building for some time. The frustration of many if not most Americans about the runaway spending and complete redefinition of our free-market economy. The things that made us prosperous and free are being vilified and condemned by our own government.

The outbreak of Teaparties was an outlet for many and most of us had hoped they would lead to something meaningful. The response in most places was greater than expected. The reaction of the media as a whole was not expected. While not sympathetic to regular, ordinary Americans, I was surprised at how they worked so hard to ignore these events. FOX News has been blasted as planning and organizing many of them, but that is far from the truth. ANY news organization that would have covered in-depth the teaparty movement without starting arguments would have been welcomed. Yes, I’m looking at you, Susan Roesgen of CNN!

I had hoped that each event would grow larger and lead up to a million plus people marching to the steps of the Capitol building in DC, and shaking the stupid out of Congress. But, to my dismay, many people are even more disillusioned after the Tax Day Teaparties than before. I have been told countless times that ‘They didn’t lead to anything meaningful.’ I thought they were a start, a gathering place, but many had been looking for much more.

The problem is that Teaparty people aren’t activists. They are regular folks with jobs and families. They run businesses and are a part of their communities. They don’t think like activists, they think like moms and dads, business owners and neighbors. The opposition, ACORN, unions, liberal groups- anyone who is FOR the overspending spree in Washington, they have organizations and groups of people that think like political activists. They have been planning for this day for a really long time and they are hell-bent on ramming through as much of their agenda as they can while Barry, Harry, and Nancy have the reins of power.

On the regular American side, you have people looking around in frustration, wondering what we can do to stop this insanity. MAny came out to the Tax Day events and even some before that looking for some leadership or an action plan. When all they saw was a pep rally, they felt good for the moment, and then went back to work, back to school, back to raising their families. With the derision of the White House and the national media, many felt as though it were an exercise in futility. That is EXACTLY what the opposition wanted them to think and feel.

We can’t let their tactics work on us. If enough American voters show up in DC on 9/12, IN PERSON and with a voice, it will shake the halls of congress. I believe with all my heart that liberals want you and I to just give up, go to work and pay our ever-increasing share of taxes while they buy elections and divert billions of dollars to their operatives such as ACORN and the SEIU. There is a deliberate plan to defund the opposition, meaning conservative or libertarian groups, and lavishly fund those groups who exert pressure whenever and wherever they are needed. It has devolved into a rent-a-mob with federal tax dollars.

For those of us who believe in the America we grew up in, this is the fight for our lives. I am telling you that if this administration and congress get what they want, America will change forever for the worse. With the national debt, environmental regulation, and now healthcare initiatives, we will be bankrupt and at the mercy of our creditors, which will be foreign entities. We will become a ward of the UN collectively.

We need to take a stand and soon. I am frustrated with writing letters and calling my representatives and emailing only to get snide responses or form letter that don’t even address my questions. I am tired of politicians working in a bubble in DC and the rest of the country be damned. I am tired of an self-deluded elite group of people deciding what is best for me and my future AND the future of the nation I love.

If you love this country and hate what is being done to her right now, you NEED to get moving. If you think you can AT ALL make it to DC in September, go to this website, right now and get the information. You don’t need to register, but it helps with planning. Then let other people know of your commitment to stop this stupidity before it is too late. PLEASE, take your stand today, your kids and grandkids will thank you.

I’m just sayin’……..

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Sen. Ensign,

First of all, I want to thank you for your service to the state of Nevada. You have had a consistent voting record that reveals the conservative nature of your political beliefs. Your stands on the issues have been stable, and the people of Nevada have not had to worry about any surprises in your votes, either in the House or the Senate.

I also want to thank you for the time you accepted our invitation to come and speak at our church shortly after your first win in a Senate race. I was so encouraged by the way you articulated your faith, and how strongly you had spoken of the cleansing power of the shed blood of Christ to cleanse us from sin. I felt that you had a firm grasp on the Christian faith, not just in a general sense, but in a very personal way. It gave justification to the faith my family and I had put in you when we had voted for you in both your senate races, the one you lost to Reid and the one you won against Bernstein.

Now, having supported your political ambitions for the third time, and even speculating about a possible future run for the Presidency, we are stunned by your admission to an extramarital affair. It has hit us hard, hearing this secret sin come to light. It was a violation of one of the mose sacred vows you can make, your marriage vows.  When trust is broken in such a vital and intimate relationship, what hope do those of us have who are not as near and dear to you? In what should we place our faith in this relationship we have as Senator and constituent?

The fact that it only came to light after the woman and her family threatened to go public is also painful to take. That it was hidden, covered, and paid to keep quiet is a tragedy. Thank you for taking responsibility and admitting your sin, and taking the step of apologizing to your fellow Republican Senators was a necessary action. But as a supporter of yours and a brother in Christ, did we deserve no less? The short statement you read didn’t reveal the mess that is now being unravelled in the press, both locally and nationally. It was almost dismissive, as though you did what you had to, and now we should all move on and not ask questions.

John, forgive me, but that isn’t good enough. Forgiveness is freely given to the penitent, and you have sought and found forgiveness from your wife and family, and from the Senate Republican Caucus. I forgive you. I know you have even sought forgiveness from the Hamptons and that must have been a difficult step for you to take. But you must know that this is only going to be used by your enemies locally and those nationally who don’t have the best interest of Nevada at heart.

As Nathan told King David in 2 Samuel 12: 14: “But you have given the enemies of the LORD great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him so your child will die.” There was a deeply painful consequence for his sin even though he found forgiveness. David experienced a painful loss as a direct result of his personal sin. And the consequences reached for years into the future with his son, Absalom.

By keeping your seat in the senate after this breach of trust, you are placing all those who supported you in a difficult position. If it truly were about Nevada, you might be willing to step down under a Republican Governor after negotiating to have a conservative appointed to your seat. Someone such as a Dean Heller or a Sue Lowden. By allowing a strong conservative to serve in your place, you would give them the advantages of an incumbent when they ran their own campaign next year.

By staying in your position after breaking trust, you are showing that it isn’t about what is best for Nevada or your family, but it is about you and your desire to hang on to what is important to you. This admission and the subsequent revelations cause us to think about the fact that when you spoke of ‘revitalizing’ the GOP in Nevada, you started your own PAC to take donations rather than fundraising for the party. Then it brings to mind the overall lack of effort to maintain a strong conservative presence in Nevada for most of your service in government.

So it is not unreasonable for those of us who have supported you to ask: “Was it always just about you, John? Or was it truly for the greater cause?” I would like to believe the latter, but without more from you, I fear it is the former. Are you willing to make a painful and difficult decision for the good of Nevada, even if it costs you personally? Would you ever have admitted the affair if you weren’t being blackmailed? And now that it is out and getting more complicated and ugly, are you too prideful to step aside and let another serve in your place?

Search your heart, John, and by God’s grace, do the right thing. The right thing for your family, and the right thing for your friends and supporters. Do the right thing for Nevada. We are praying for you and we hurt for you, your family, and the Hampton family.

Respectfully,

Rev. Tim Rowland

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Common Sense is truly dead? The bankrupt State of Kalifornia is home the near-bankrupt city and county of Los Angeles. LA is running deficits into the hundreds of millions already for 2009. Liberals have been running around and screaming about raising tax rates to offset loss in tax revenues, only to be slapped down by the voters in CA, who emphatically vetoed any new or higher tax proposal in the last election.

In the middle of all of this, MJ dies of a heart attack, brought on, no doubt, by the stress of his impending London Tour of 50 shows and his over-medicated, undernourished body. Being an international superstar whose value has just gone up by dying, of course his funeral was going to be a crowd-control nightmare.

His promotions company, charged with promoting and staging His London tour also promoted and staged his funeral services. While most public officials were on the July 4th holiday break, AEG Live, MJ’s promoters planned a service for him at the Staple’s Center in LA. They opened a lottery for tickets to attend, 2 per winner, and told everyone else to stay away. Right. Like that would ever happen.

The city has now spent 1.4 million dollars to police the event, and the mayor and city council are looking to recoup some of the costs. They mentioned that the PLANNERS OF THE EVENT could share in some of the responsibility, but AEG scoffed at the idea. After all, they were still in ‘mourning’, right?

LA has opened a website where fans can contribute toward some of the cost of the event, and a whopping $17,000 has rolled in. That won’t even cover the lunch brought in for the Police working the event. So here’s where my common sense kicks in.

A private party, The Jackson family and estate, along with AEG plan a very public service for a world-renowned entertainer (and alleged pedophile) in the heart of LA. Traffic concerns being what they are, security and traffic control is necessary. It makes no sense that the PLANNERS of the event shouldn’t bear some of the cost for a situation they have created. When we rent school facilities here in NV, if the planned event is going to be large enough to bring in hundreds of people, we are required to pay school police for security services.

Here’s what AEG and Staples could have done: SOLD the lottery tickets for $1 an entry. 1.6 million people enter, LA takes 1.4 for running the streets and security, and AEG and Staples pocket $200k. Simple. If AEG were planning on being such cheapskates, they could have sold them for $10 an entry, and if only 1 million people applied, they could have walked away with $8.6 million.

I have spent more than that on a ticket to win a TV in a youth fundraiser, did they not think the crazed fans of Michael Jackson who have spent far more than that to see his live show would pony up to be a part of ‘history’? LA should have said, “No $$, no funeral, we’re BROKE!” but they dithered until the money was spent and now are going around with a tin cup.

Thank GOD I don’t live in Kalifornia anymore………

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So, our fearless leader traipses over to Russia to meet with President Medvedev, and sign a ‘preliminary’ agreement about the reduction of nuclear warheads between our nations. He gained nothing for the USA and gave away leverage that we are going to need in our future relations with Russia.

When asked about Putin, Obama responded that ‘President Medvedev is my counterpart’ and then acknowledged that the Prime Minister (Putin) certainly wields enormous ‘influence.’ Influence? Is Barak Obama serious? To pretend that Vladimir Putin is not the ruler of Russia is an exercise in naivete.

The current president of Russia is merely a placeholder until Putin can run again. Russian law forbids more than two ‘consecutive’ presidential terms, but it says nothing about a third or fourth after a little break as ‘Prime Minister.’ Medvedev fully implements Putin’s agenda, no questions asked. If he truly is Obama’s ‘counterpart’ then who really runs the Oval Office, Mr. President? Who is our Prime Minister? Is it Michelle? George Soros? Who’s agenda is Obama fully implementing, no questions asked?

Obama trotted around having nice conversations and giving speeches but didn’t accomplish a damn thing. The much-touted signing of an agreement was window dressing, a hollow moment, much like a promise ring that an uncommitted boyfriend gives a girl to get her to back off about marriage. It is so conditional and vague, that there is little likelihood that anything meaningful will come of it unless we fully drop our drawers and completely kill off missile defense like the Russians want.

We got nothing done about Georgia or Iran, and the benefit to the US in this agreement? They are giving us ‘permission’ to re-supply our troops in Afghanistan because we have to ship through their territory. “Gee, thanks guys, now hows about you stop selling Iran nuclear technology?”

If you watch the price of oil, Russia will become more belligerent and pour millions into its military when oil prices are high. When the price of oil drops, they will sit around and play patty-cake with visiting dignitaries like Obama. They still don’t give much, though, and Obama would do well to remember that ancient Russian philosophy: ‘All for me, none for you.’

UPDATE:

President Medvedev took the opportunity of the G8 summit to express a renewed threat to the US and Western Europe if we continue with a defensive missile shield. The Russians are apparently very threatened that we would develop technology to hit an incoming, already-fired, offensive missile with a defensive, dummy missile that doesn’t even explode, but utilizes high velocity to destroy its target. So, their main point is, that if they can’t threaten us or the rest of the world with their missiles, they are going to threaten us more. Huh?

We are still waiting a response from our wonder-boy president.

I’m just sayin…..

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