I’ve unsubscribed from Bulldog Reporter after 3 years of being a loyal fan of your publication.
I work in the PR profession, but I am also a patriot and cannot abide further erosion of 2nd Amendment protections. Your skewed article maligning the NRA and blaming it for violence in our society was what ended my relationship with your site. Blaming the NRA for Sandy Hook is like blaming AAA for drunk drivers. Furthermore, the video you cited was showing military firearms not available to the general public, once again showing your ignorance about the distinction between fully automatic and semi-automatic weaponry.
You and others in the mass media are counter-productively trying to destroy the one right that protects your right to say these things. A government which does not fear the people because of the 2nd Amendment will quickly run roughshod over the 1st Amendment.
But it looks like you’re okay with helping the Obama administration dismantle the Constitution. I’ll leave you to that. See how that works out for you. Meanwhile, I will do my best to dismantle your readership by calling for a boycott of Bulldog Reporter.
As a follow-up to “Why Mormons Make the Best Presidents”, here is my take on why Mormonism and American Exceptionalism go hand-in-hand.
First, you have to understand that Mormons get their name from a man they consider a prophet of God. The man—named Mormon, of course—lived on the American continent between A.D. 321 and A.D. 385. He was the editor and compiler of the ancient scriptural record called “The Book of Mormon”, which he put together as a spiritual record of his fallen people who were destroyed in a bloody internecine war.
And, he did wrote it as a prophetic warning to us for exactly this time in our history. He saw our day in a vision from God and compiled the book according to what he observed in the vision. This book is written for us and we would all do well to read it at least once.
Throughout the Book of Mormon you will find many mentions of how America is an exceptional and special place. The book tells us that it was hidden from the rest of the world as a “promised land” that could only be possessed by those who served “the God of the land”, which is Jesus Christ. The righteous could live there indefinitely while the wicked would be “swept off the face of the land”. It was to be a place of freedom and liberty to those who accept Christ and keep God’s commandments.
Centrally, the record focuses on the visit by the resurrected Christ to “other sheep” whom he said to those in Jerusalem “are not of this fold”. Christ’s appearance to those people resulted in their passing along the experience to their descendants with such conviction that they could not help but have 200 years of peace in that part of the land.
Mormons believe this record is true, even if others do not. It gives us great hope when personal storms arise, or when national tempests, such as this election, threaten to destroy everything. We believe God’s promises to the inhabitants of this land, that if the majority of its inhabitants are faithful and believe in God, they will be free.
So, quite naturally, we Mormons get a little excited when, during the most defining moment in our nation’s history, where we are on the precipice of choosing socialism’s slavery or Constitutional freedom, one of our own, Mitt Romney, is so close to being elected as the President of the United States of America. We don’t believe Romney is anything more than a man, with liabilities like anyone else might have (and in spite of the disputable, non-doctrinal LDS “White Horse Prophecy”). But, we do have hope that what he was taught in his home and in church settings about this blessed land will have an influence on his term(s) in office, should he be elected.
You see, this election comes down to the answer to a single question: Is America exceptional, or should it be brought down to the level of other nations in the world?
Our current president is on the record as stating that he only believes America is exceptional in the sense that Greeks believe that Greece is exceptional or that the British believe that Britain is exceptional. He finished that thought by saying that “in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us.”
The present occupant of the White House believes that America needs to compromise its values and principles to conform to the notions of governance that other nations adhere to. This presumably (because of his choice of the word “collectively”) includes implementing, under pressure or threat by other nations, principles of Socialism and Communism into the American experiment.
Mormons don’t vote in a bloc. Believe it or not, we’re not all white Republicans and we don’t all vote straight ticket conservative. There are Mormons who subscribe to the Democrat party platform, the Libertarian party, the Constitution party, and just about every other type of party. There are even Mormons who subscribe to the principles of the Communist party (however misguided that association might be). The Church is politically neutral, allows its members to vote privately for whomever the individual wishes, and does not discipline or excommunicate people on the basis of their political beliefs.
However, it is undeniable that the majority of American Mormons do vote in line with conservative principles (if not always on party lines). That is because, by and large, the principles found in their scriptures and revealed doctrines are overwhelmingly conservative in contrast to the increasingly permissive and “progressive” worldview promulgated by American popular culture.
As might be expected of a church that was founded in America, Mormons believe strongly in the First Amendment guarantee to worship freely.
We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
In our meetings, whenever the subject of discussion is what we call “free agency” (the unalienable right of every person to choose his own path in life), we often reflect with gratitude on the blessings of liberty granted to us under the Constitution. We remark on the many miracles that accompanied the founding of this nation and we marvel at how undeniably God’s Hand was in all of it.
When we pray, we thank God that we live in a country and political system where we are (still) free to worship and establish Christ’s Kingdom. We pray for our troops, who protect us, and we pray that our leaders, from the local to the federal level, will be inspired with wisdom and righteousness so that the country can prosper.
We pray this way because we take seriously the warnings left to us in the Book of Mormon. Here is the summarized list of those warnings.
We are to watch our leaders for their participation in “secret combinations” (lies, frauds, and conspiracies) and not let such things “get above” us or escape our notice. Apathy is the enemy of freedom.
We are to defend our lands, our families, and our freedom to worship, and to prioritize personal and national sovereignty and its defense so as to avoid physical slavery at the hands of those seeking power over mankind.
We are to avoid contentions and internal strife so that we will not be weak upon enemy attack. We are to be united in righteousness.
Because these concepts are threaded throughout the entire book, thus making it particularly difficult to adequately call out properly contextualized examples, and because it is partially my goal to encourage more people to read this uniquely pro-American book of scripture, I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to find these treasures of wisdom. You can start here with the story of a family who, seeking to escape societal collapse and Babylonian captivity, fled Jerusalem near 600 B.C. and were led to America’s promised lands.
In closing, I leave you with the following video montage to help encapsulate the concept of “free agency” as it is understood by Mormons.
Are these not the very principles upon which America was founded? Is not American exceptionalism, at its root, a belief that rights come from God, and not from government? Is that not worth fighting for with every vote and with every conversation we have between now and Election Day?
Any questions? Just ask me in the comments, or on Twitter @proud2b4family.
Please think about what you’ve read here as you cast your ballot on Tuesday.
Here it comes. Yet another email from Change.org pleading the case of gays who want to completely rework the Boy Scouts of America, a private organization with private membership and private donors, operating completely under the protections of the First Amendment and a year 2000 court ruling upholding the same.
Oh, but the folks at Change.org don’t let a little thing like court rulings on Constitutionality bother them (unless it’s not working for their side).
Ok, Change.org-ies, let’s spell it out nice and clear. Starting with a layman’s common understanding as is found on Wikipedia.
Although it is not explicitly protected in the First Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled, in NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S.449 (1958), freedom of association to be a fundamental right protected by it. In Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S.609 (1984), the Supreme Court held that associations may not exclude people for reasons unrelated to the group’s expression. However, in Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston, 515 U.S.557 (1995), the Court ruled that a group may exclude people from membership if their presence would affect the group’s ability to advocate a particular point of view. Likewise, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S.640 (2000), the Supreme Court ruled that a New Jersey law, which forced the Boy Scouts of America to admit an openly gay member, to be an unconstitutional abridgment of the Boy Scouts’ right to free association.
Still not clear?
The point of view we advocate is, in part, moral straightness. The foundation of the Boy Scout movement is firmly established on a 1910 understanding of morality, which arguably eschewed homosexuality as a qualified behavior under the banner of moral straightness.
“Well,” you say, “these are modern times. It’s not 1910 anymore. Things have changed, and we must change with them. Let us be more Progressive in our ideals of what makes up morality!”
That is your opinion. The First Amendment protects your view just as much as it does ours. The courts, as noted above, have already made this plain.
Here’s the problem. Implied in that statement is the premise that everyone who doesn’t agree with you should be forced to change. That is antithetical to the First Amendment. Such change by force does great violence to my freedom to speak, think, or write as I choose. It imposes a Thought Police mentality on every action and behavior and philosophy produced by the organization, from then on.
Scouts reaffirm the scout oath at the 2007 World Scout Jamborree (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On the contrary, there is no implication in the Scout Oath that anyone outside of the organization is under any obligation to live the BSA’s definition of morally straight. There is also not even a hint that anyone not subscribing to the BSA’s Scout Oath would be forced to join the organization.
There is no evil conspiracy in this. The fact that the committee is a secret one has no bearing whatsoever on the legitimacy of its decisions, nor on the organization. The BSA has chosen a military/democratic hybrid command structure and not a purely democratic structure for its hierarchy and governance. They can do that! It’s America!
Yet, scouting under the BSA’s bylaws is a completely voluntary oath and association! Those who no longer wish to associate in that way are free to leave the BSA and join or start another organization!
In fact, if you check the history of the Scout Oath (Promise) you will find that, under the non-binding bylaws of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), the Boy Scouts counterpart to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), the Oath has changed according to various combinations of age, nationality, culture, and belief. That’s not rigid at all! It’s quite accommodating, in fact. Therefore, isn’t it obvious that the door is wide open for anyone who wishes to may indeed create their own organization governed by their own points of view and ideals?
A “Gay Boy Scouts of America”? Sure! Why not? A “World Organization of the Gay Scout Movement”? Do it! Put your efforts into building your own sandbox and castle instead of telling people in another sandbox how to build their castle.
What about that is so hard to understand? I just don’t get it. Enlighten me, please.
In 2000, gays tried to bully their way into the Boy Scouts of America, an organization with a primary oath that includes being morally straight. The oath of the BSA is no secret. Everyone who joins the BSA necessarily takes that oath. I guess the gay lobby doesn’t mind ignoring that part.
Here we are in 2012 and gays are still trying their best to infiltrate through “test case law” and sabotage one of the last organizations in the world to stand its ground against homosexuality in its ranks.
As I have said repeatedly, and will continue to assert in light of the Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of the people to assemble freely and privately, it is well within the rights of gay agitators to start their own organization to cater to their every whim and lust. If they want to start a Gay Boy Scouts of America or Rainbow Scouts of America, they are perfectly within their right to do so. I will say not one word against them so long as they don’t try to pass it off as the same organization as or on par with or sanctioned by the Boy Scouts of America.
However, it looks as if they aren’t really all that interested in a scouting organization per se. No, this is all about payback and infiltration and cultural imperialism. This time around, they’re no longer shy about their motives and way of operating from within to destroy an organization’s founding principles.
The announcement suggests that hurdles may be high for a couple of members of the national executive board — Ernst & Young CEO James Turley andAT&T CEO Randall Stephenson — who have recently indicated they would try to work from within to change the policy. Both of their companies have been commended by gay-rights groups for gay-friendly employment policies.
Stephenson is on track to become president of the Scouts’ national board in 2014, and will likely face [ED: and give in to] continued pressure from gay-rights groups to try to end the exclusion policy. Asked for comment on Tuesday about the Scouts’ decision to keep the policy, AT&T did not refer to Stephenson’s situation specifically: “We don’t agree with every policy of every organization we support, nor would we expect them to agree with us on everything,” the company said. “Our belief is that change at any organization must come from within to be successful and sustainable.”
There you have it, from the mouth of a plant from the gay “rights” lobby. If we can’t destroy from the outside, we’ll destroy from the inside.
I hereby call on the BSA to remove Turley and Stephenson from the national executive board. Stephenson, especially, is a Trojan Horse.
That is all.
Related articles: Note how they all use the word “ban on gays” instead of the truth, which is that the BSA reaffirms its right to assemble and define its own membership criteria as ALL are free to do!!!!
The more I read, the more I realize how close we are to losing our national way of life forever. In fact, I think it has already happened.
As a novice homesteader just getting my own self-sufficiency operations going, I am greatly concerned by the news of the Michigan DNR, which is only one state to the east of my location, slaughtering and causing famers to slaughter “invasive species” pigs that were no threat to anyone. How long until my state would force the local organic farmer I buy my bacon from to do the same.
Oh? You don’t think this news will affect you because you don’t own a farm? Where do you think YOUR food comes from?
In anticipation of the DNR arriving on the scene, one farmer engaged in what can only be described as a heart-wrenching task of shooting his own pigs, one by one, including baby piglets before the DNR arrived. This was to avoid being arrested as a felon. His livelihood is now completely destroyed, as the state of Michigan has put him out of business. Even after this farmer informed the DNR that he had destroyed his entire herd of pigs, the DNR continued to illegally acquire a search warrant by providing false information to a court Judge, then conducting an armed raid on his ranch to verify that the entire herd of pigs had indeed already been shot to death. That this took place satisfied the DNR, which is now showing itself to be engaged in the mob-style destruction of targeted farming businesses through its mass-murder agenda of Michigan’s small-scale farm pigs.
When will people realize that the Constitution guarantees freedom of association? If they want a gay Boy Scouts, they can start a gay Boy Scouts. There’s no need to cause all this wrath and conflict.
When you join the BSA, you are given every opportunity to understand its values and expected behaviors. “Morally straight” is right there in the Boy Scout Promise. Some people, unfortunately, join the BSA just for the purpose of causing trouble.
Sorry, nothing quoteworthy in this “journalism”. It’s all just cheerleading, mob raising, and GLSEN and GLAAD talking points I’m seeing in here.
So, Soledad wants to make it sound like Allen West is another McCarthy, huh? Well, the big thing she’s missing is that McCarthy had to go turning over rocks to find wormy Commies squiggling around underneath.
Since then, they’ve come out into the sunshine and renamed themselves every which way from Sunday to signal their battle cry and raise their sinister standard for their minions to gather under, yet avoid conflating their radical, leftist, communist positions with the dreaded (with good reason) label of Communist.
But, we know how to read their web site, folks. It’s chock full of taqiyyan statements about how they’re for “equality” and “civil rights”, which we all know from over a century of history are just code words for redistributing everything via a dictatorial Central Committee.
They are now brazenly stating their statism right on their very own public caucus web site. We don’t need Allen West to “name names”, Soledad. We just need the American people to print this list and take it to the voting booth so they know who NOT to vote for in coming elections for House and Senate.
Oh, and for President. Even though he’s not exactly named on the list, the shoe certainly fits!
General Services Administration Building (UBC) (Photo credit: Arbron)
I consider myself to be a pretty politically savvy guy. What sports is to most men, politics is to me. That’s why I was a bit flummoxed when this whole GSA scandal hit. What is this agency, and why have I not heard about it until now?
So, in essence, it’s just this massive federal agency responsible for pretty much everything in the statist junk drawer. A pile of bureaucratic nonsense taking no definite shape or substance…unless you define “amorphous blob about to gobble up our country” as a shape.
Judging by what we know so far of the GSA scandal(s?), I think I can sum up my evaluation of this agency: the black hole that sucks your wallet dry every April 15th.
I miss Paul Harvey
He said it like he was…
via If I Were the Devil – BEST VERSION by PAUL HARVEY audio restored – YouTube.
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