An Inspirational Poem

My Mother passed away on March 28 this year at the age of 92. My oldest brother, who is a retired foreign missionary,  preached her memorial service, and, during his sermon, he mentioned a poem my mother had written.

Today, another of my brothers sent me an e-mail. He had found Mom's poem, so I thought I'd share it with you here:

Song Of The Butterfly

I crawled upon a mirror

And sighed, in deep distress.

But Mama said, "Remember,

God's not finished with you yet!"

And so I waited, day by day,

But thought 'twould never be

That God could e'er make anything

Of a miserable worm like me.

But then, one day, would you believe?

My ugly coat, so dull and dry,

Fell off, and underneath were wings

And I found that I could fly!

And now, the sky's my limit

I praise the Lord on high!

His perfect plan completed--

Now I'm a butterfly!

Even if you think you've failed,

Be patient. Wait and see

What God can do, for He alone

Knows all that you can be.

Obama's Silence

"A Liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment." ~ Willis Player 

Three times, while a state Senator in Illinois, Barack Hussein Obama, voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. This act would have provided medical care for  babies who survived abortion attempts. Not only did Obama vote against the legislation, he argued passionately in favor of killing live babies.

You'll no doubt remember how quickly Obama rushed to make a statement after a black university professor complained of police harassment, saying the police, "acted stupidly". 

Then there was the Trayvon Martin case. It only took a month before Obama inserted himself into that case. Remember? He famously said, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin", which inflamed racial tension, in spite of absolutely no evidence there was any racism involved in the case. 

After the Sandy Hook massacre, it was a mere four hours before Obama launched himself into the gun control controversy. 

 Unfortunately, every time Obama makes a statement, he comes down on the wrong side of the fence.

The case of the murderous Kermit Gosnell has been covered by Conservative media and Conservative blogs for twenty seven months, and his trial is ongoing. Conservatives have been asking ad nauseum, "Why isn't Obama saying anything about this tragedy?"

The answer to that question can be found above in the first paragraph. And, yes, it is that simple.

Richard Armour defines a "mugwump" as  someone who sits with their mug on one side of the fence, and their wump on the other. 

Obama isn't a mugwump. He's just a wump.

Gun Control

"The one clear thread that unites all the mass murders currently being exploited by the Democrats is that they were committed by visibly crazy people who were unaccountably not institutionalized." ~ Ann Coulter

I think many times, certain legislation introduced by Liberals is too often dismissed by Conservatives simply because it was proposed by a Liberal. Just like a broken clock that is right twice a day, sometimes Liberals have good ideas. Such is the case with asking for background checks before a gun purchase.

 Background checks wouldn't prevent gun violence, of course, but they couldn't hurt.

I also don't think anything in anyone's background should prevent a gun purchase except for a history of mental illness.

Guns, as we have often been reminded, don't kill people, but crazy people use guns to kill people. Ann Coulter, in her latest column, points out that the Sandy Hook shooting is only the latest in a series of mass murders that have been carried out by crazy people. 

All of these latest mass murders have been committed by crazy people. 

If crazy people can be prevented from buying guns, there is a chance that some mass murders can be prevented. Not a big chance, I emphasize, but a chance.

Now. Imagine that there is a background check to check for mental illness required to purchase a gun. Even if the prospective gun owner doesn't have a history of mental illness, that would require a waiting period.

A waiting period is a minor inconvenience, but it could prevent other types of shootings

 Now imagine a disgruntled employee who gets angry enough at his boss  to want to kill him.  He goes to a gun shop, purchases a gun, and shoots up his place of business.

Many of these types of crimes are committed by someone who is not necessarily crazy, but is angry enough to suspend reason. That kind of angry subsides in time. A waiting period would prevent some crimes committed in the heat of passion. 

No doubt mass murders will still happen. Crazy people can get guns in other ways, and in fact, usually do. Adam Lanza stole his mother's gun. Guns can be purchased on street corners illegally. And, guns can be stolen. 

So, mass shootings will still happen even with background checks. 

At the worst, requiring a background check specifically for a history of mental illness is an inconvenience

But, it can't hurt.

What's Happening

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way. 
When sorrows, like sea billows roll. 
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 
'It is well, it is well with my soul'" ~ Horatio Spafford*

Some of my readers likely already know this, but since last November, I have neglected my blogging in favor of posting my thoughts on Facebook. Facebook has allowed me to get in touch with old friends and acquaintances from my past, such as high school friends and people who grew up in the same neighborhood as I did. It has been, overall, a wonderful experience, and many of those long lost acquaintances have become close friends. Many of them I didn't even know well back then.

On the other hand, posting my thoughts, especially my thoughts on religion and politics, on Facebook have made enemies of some of my old respected friends and relatives, and that is an unfortunate consequence I never intended.

Recently, my brother told me he wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't on the Secret Service's "people to watch" list for all my political Facebook posts. 

So, I'm back blogging. My blog doesn't automatically appear on everyone's newsfeed  whether they like it or not. I think a blog is a better medium for political thoughts.

OK. This is what's been happening: My short term memory is not so good, so I won't go all the way back to November, and will only highlight the major events in my life since March. 

In March of this year, two major events were going on around here. One good, one not. 

1. The men's basketball team from the college I attended, Wichita State University, earned a spot in the NCAA basketball tournament, and actually advanced all the way to the final four teams before finally losing to Louisville University, thanks to a couple of bad calls by the referees near the end. We lost by a mere 4 points. Louisville eventually won the championship by six points over Michigan. Personally, I believe that tells us something. I leave it to my readers to ascertain what.

2. My 92 year old mother, who has been in a care home since last year, took a rather sudden turn for the worse. While her memory has been slipping somewhat for the past few years, she suddenly began getting more and more confused. I visited her at the home every week. Up until March 14, she had been almost as sharp as ever, but on that day, I found her wheeling her wheelchair out of the care home dining room as if she were going back to her room, but she was going the opposite direction. When I tried to wheel her back to her room, she placed her hands on the wheels and said, "No!" But, she couldn't tell me what she wanted, She would start to say something, and then it was as if she forgot what she started to say.

This was distressing for me, because she had always been so strong, so smart, and now, she was slipping. Fast. She was awake and talking, but the light in her eyes was no longer there.I finally got her back into her room, and conversation between us was short. She wasn't thinking clearly. I told her I loved her and she told me she loved me, too, but when I attempted to leave, she pleaded with me to stay. "Don't leave me", she said. But I really had to go, and I felt horrible about having to leave. In retrospect, I guess I should have just stayed there until she fell asleep. Under the circumstances I know my wife would have understood why I wasn't home in time. I still feel a little guilty about that.

The next week she seemed improved, and we had a better conversation. Twice, though, she said, "I want to go home." I didn't know if she was talking about her earthly home or her heavenly home and she didn't explain. All I could think of to say in reply was, "I know,  Mom." At this point Mom had a moment of clarity. She kind of smiled and looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Oh, how do you know that?"

The next week, I received a call from my brother, telling me I had better come to the home, because it looked m  like Mom might not live through the day. I went, and found her lying in bed comatose, and, except for occasionally squeezing my hand, unresponsive. She didn't die that day, in fact, she lived another week, and finally, on March 28, she passed quietly into eternity to walk with Jesus. 

I am not sad. I am rather envious of her, in a way.

The same evening my Mom passed away, The Shockers defeated the AP number one ranked team in the nation, Gonzaga, propelling them into the "Elite Eight" in the NCAA tournament. I watched it on television. That was fun.

 Immediately after the game, I heard strange noises coming from my bedroom. Investigating, I found my wife lying across the bed, flat on her back, her head tilted back, her eyes and mouth open, and she was making noises, alternately snoring with each intake of breath, and a kind of whining sound with each outtake. I couldn't wake her up, and I began to be concerned so I called 911. Shortly the paramedics arrived, and, in short order, determined her blood sugar was dangerously low. It registered 31. They administered glucose or sucrose or some kind of sugary substance through IV and brought her around, and then, transported her to the hospital. 

I lost my mother, and nearly lost my wife in the same day! My wife spent the next three days in the hospital and I was able to bring her home on Easter Sunday. She was able to attend my mother's memorial service with me the following Thursday.

Mom's memorial service was a celebration service. She was so close to the Lord throughout her lifetime that no one has any doubts she is in Heaven now, and  my entire family is happy for her. There were no tears shed at her service except tears of joy. My oldest brother, a retired foreign missionary and pastor, officiated at her graveside service. All of my 5 brothers and sisters came from all over the country to participate in Mom's last farewell.  

It was the first time since 1979 all 6 of us were together at the same time in the same place. What a blessing it was to be able to get together and swap memories and jokes with them all!

All in all, a very eventful March. 

Let's hope April and the rest of this year go better. I will resume my introspective political posts later.

*I requested "It is Well" be played at my Mother's service. It is my favorite hymn, and I want it to be played at mine.

America Is Doomed

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" ~ Edmund Burke

Unfortunately, Mr. Burke's quotation was a prediction that has come true. Good men have done nothing, or at least, not enough to change the inevitable. I have recently come to the conclusion that Conservatism is doomed. There will be no more Conservative Republican Presidents. Evil has triumphed.

Here are my reasons:

 1. Illegal aliens. The Democrats are within reach of legalizing illegal aliens. It is only a matter of time. There aren't enough Conservative voices out there to stop them. Polls show illegal aliens, if allowed to vote in the United States' elections, would vote overwhelmingly Democrat. Democrats have been pushing "immigration reform". This is a term meaning illegals attaining American citizenship without having to go through the legal process. Legalizing illegal aliens will create a block of Democrat voters that will make any and all Democrat candidates unbeatable.

 2. Voter fraud. Even without the illegal alien vote, Democrats have the majority of the votes in elections sewn up, as long as they can prevent any more states from instituting voter ID laws. In the last Presidential election, the only states with majority votes cast for the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, were the states that had voter ID laws. Every state that Obama carried did not have them. The reason Democrats are so opposed to voter ID laws is because those laws make it much more difficult to commit voter fraud. If an individual voter is allowed to vote multiple times for one candidate because they aren't required to prove who they are, and required to prove they already voted once, especially if hundreds, or even thousands are doing it, their candidate will win. Thus, Democratic candidates are assured victory.

 3. Public school indoctrination. Even if, somehow, Democrats fail to legalize illegal aliens, and even if all the states have voter ID laws (which won't happen), there are other guarantees that voters will vote Democrat candidates into office. Many of the current voters are baby boomers, or older. The voters who actually understand why Communism is anti-liberty are dying out.The government school system has been working diligently to create Democrats in numbers unparalleled. They use revisionist history and push socialism as a preferred system of government. Public schools have been teaching students what to think and not how to think for a couple of decades now. They are turning out low information and Democrat voters in astonishing numbers.

 4. The Media. The media are complicit in this re-education of America. If they report anything detrimental to Democrats at all they twist it and spin it to make it appear as if the Republicans are the bad guys. Any news that would harm the Democrat agenda is either under reported or ignored. The only way the Conservative message will be heard by the under informed voters (which is rapidly becoming the majority), is by accident. Political Facebook posts and posts on other social media such as twitter, etc, are the only way the truth is getting out there and getting any exposure to the public. Unfortunately, people who participate in such social media are free to "unfriend" or ignore messages that are unpleasant. If they'd rather read recipes and look at pictures of cats, they can do that and never have to think at all.

 I hate to say this, but it appears the only hope for this country now, is to let Socialism win. Once this country is totally Communist, these same low information Democratic voters will finally understand what oppression and loss of liberty and freedom really means. Once the realization of what the people have done to themselves sets in, the only ultimate solution is revolt.