I MISS THE AMERICA OF MY CHILDHOOD.

I have always had a thing for thoughtful jeremiad, especially if it is reasoned, articulate, and fundamentalist. A well defended protest, whether as letter, essay, speech, or even as rational civil disobedience has weight and earns respect with me. Intellectual complaint for selfish purposes does not. It is rare anymore to find sensible literate objection to the cumuliative effect of "political correctness" or the machinations of the devil's advocates (ACLU) et.al., or simple losses of fairness and decency in the social fabric.

When did it become unnecessary to be polite? Why have many Americans become indifferent to one another's feelings? Should something as simple as driving in traffic be a showcase for anger, and agressive-alpha behavior? Where did honesty and integrity go? Where are the caring and generous neighbors of yesteryear? How has God become the accused, an unwelcome intruder in our schools, and governments, and homes? What happened to justice, and decency, and fair play, and caring, and security? Who convinced us that references to Almighty God in the Declaration, the Constitutiion, the Bill of Rights, the constitutions of all fifty of the United States, and public displays of Biblical text were unsuitable and offensive and inappropriate in Postmodern America? Shame on us! We bought the deceivers lies and listened to his minions. And now we suffer the loss.

I don't know who Bill Stein is. I admire his candor and the accuracy of his message. I know it is a bit long, but I'm putting it here for those to read who are concerned, or embarrassed, or even ashamed. Maybe reading such forthright and bold commentary will encourage a few to be more outspoken for what is right, and true, and noble, and righteous. As for the few left, well, we are not a majority any more, but we are still silent. Maybe the few left will once again become courageous and stand up and speak out for Godly Standards, and live by them.

NOTE : IT HAS BEEN POINTED OUT TO ME THAT SOME OF THE FOLLOWING INSERT MAY NOT BE BEN STEIN'S WORDS, BUT MAY HAVE BEEN APPENDED DURING MULTIPLE FORWARDINGS.)

WHO IS BEN STEIN?? See: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/benstein2.asp

Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:18:50 -0800

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS
Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05.

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

[*** THE FOLLOWING ITALIC PORTION IS THE APPENDED SECTION AND IS UNATTRIBUTED AND NOT CHECKED FOR ACCURACY; HOWEVER, IT TOO HAS SOME INTERESTING POINTS.]

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny; it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her (regarding Katrina) "How could God let something like this Happen?"

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get ut of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says “thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal”, and “love your neighbor as yourself”. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW”

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of
us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

Does this make you uncomfortable? Do you find some truth in it? I do.

Camp Yamhill: Men's Retreat 2006

Men's retreat is always a fine weekend for the fellas who participate. In turn, various churches of Christ in the Northwest, and mostly the Vancouver/Portland megaplex, host this early March event at Camp Yamhill in the hills some fifteen miles west of Newberg, Oregon. It is always good to attend. Those who didn't attend this weekend missed a feast of Faith.

This year was special. Our teacher was Willie Franklin from Denton , TX, former missionary to Papua New Guinea, former NFL star, and now an extraordinarily outgoing friend and fan of Jesus. We were called to a special Freedom in Christ. Over a 48 hour period (Thursday night to Saturday afternoon) Willie spoke to us, some 200+ men from over thirty congregations, about matters of faith and action, courage and finishing strong. He helped us realize our part in rescue of self, families, and others who are in life's spiritual struggles. It was uplifting and encouraging as should be all such retreats, but this one came with such personal conviction and interactive instruction, it will have an huge impact in the churches.

Thanks, Willie, (with XXXOOO!!!) And Thanks to the Hosts 0f MR-2006, the Hazel Dell Church of Christ.

A New Look at Color

After a couple of interesting conversations about colors to use on a plein air palette, I finally took a hike to the library and checked out that oddly named book: Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green. That's not the way I remember color theory from high school, but that's the point. Not everything I've been taught turns out to be reliable when put to the test.

I know they are all in cahoots in the same painting group, but several different folk have mentioned to this beginner that a minimal selection of colors, as few as six, in fact (well, maybe a two or three more for convienence) should allow mixing of almost any other hue I might desire. Not likely, I thought, but let's see.

So after a week of study in this slightly unconventional text, I'm starting to catch on. If this new way of explaining color mixing holds up, maybe I have found the answers to many questions about why my blues and yellows never made bright, clean greens either. OooooKayeeee.

Now I have to try, and it it proofs out, to unlearn. That's tough to do, but in other endeavors has been worthwhile. Undo old bad habits, but quickly replace them with successful new modalities. I'll have to squeeze out some colors on a real palette and try this for myself. It's pudding-time. And since this old kid has a lot of ancestral Missouri in him, he's gonna have to validate this, though, before passing it by. Sure would be nice to be true. Would solve a host of problems and answer a ton of questions.

I'm going to go sort through the old paint tubes I have been given. Maybe I'll find enough Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Lemon Yellow, and Cadimum Yellow Pale to test the claim.

Who wants to help out?