Monthly Archives: February 2010

Is America Becoming A Police State?

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By Chuck Baldwin:

There is a classic story about how no one had been able to capture a herd of wild hogs that was rooting up crops from numerous farms. It got so bad that rewards had been posted for anyone clever enough to corral the critters. But even this resulted in only limited success.

One day a stranger (who was a wily old trapper) came into town and–entering the general store–ordered a truckload of fence posts and fencing, along with some feed. When asked what he was going to use it for, he said, “I’m going to get those wild hogs y’all are having trouble with.” Of course, everyone in the store laughed at the overconfident stranger. A few weeks later, however, the stranger rode into town with the back of his truck tightly packed with the smelly swine.

When asked how he was able to accomplish what no one else had been able to do, the old trapper replied, “Simple. I started putting the feed out in a small clearing and the hogs began freely eating the feed. It didn’t take long and they were there every day. Then I put up the fence posts, but with
no fencing. At first the hogs were a little skittish, but it wasn’t long and they ignored the posts. Then I began putting the fence up, but I left the gate off. Again, the hogs were skittish at first, but soon realized they could come and go freely, and before long, they were devouring the free food
with a vengeance. Then, one day when the hogs were aggressively consuming the vittles, I slammed the gate closed.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I submit that what the old trapper did to the wild hogs is exactly what our soon-to-be oppressors are doing to us! What is worse, most Americans seem about as oblivious to the whole thing as that bunch of pigs. For anyone who is paying attention, however, the signs of
growing enslavement are everywhere.

Inside my web site is a link page that is constantly updated with pertinent information relating to how America is quickly being turned into Huxley’s Brave New World. I invite readers to regularly visit this page. It is entitled “The Emerging Police State.”

See the web page at:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/patriotact.html

Here is a sampling of just this year’s relevant headlines to date:

“Police Push For Warrantless Searches Of Cell Phones” (CNET News)

“During The Olympics, The Feds Will Be Reading Your Tweets–And The Blotter”
(ABC News)

“Feds Push For Tracking Cell Phones” (CNET News)

“Troops Randomly Patrol Streets In Pittsburgh, Respond To ‘Domestic
Disputes’” (PrisonPlanet.com)

“Residents Fumed Over Weekend Alcohol, Firearm Ban” (WXII-12 TV News,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

“Ron Paul Warns Of Social Unrest And Martial Law” (Texas Congressman Ron
Paul)

“FBI Broke Law For Years In Phone Record Searches” (The Washington Post)

“Top Obama Czar: Infiltrate All ‘Conspiracy Theorists’” (World Net Daily)

“President Gives Foreign Cops Power Over Americans” (Retired lawman Jim
Kouri)

Those are just some of the headlines from 2010 so far. Check out the headlines from 2009 and backward to discover that the list of relevant news stories is extensive. And as you peruse those news stories, keep reminding yourself about what you are actually seeing: you are watching the old trapper put the fence around the hog feed.

Again, the web page address is:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/patriotact.html

Only a blind or deliberately naïve man cannot see that America–the once-proud “land of the free”–is being systematically turned into a twenty-first century police state. Good grief!  The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom notes that America is not even listed among the ”free” countries of the earth. We are ranked in the second tier, of “mostly free” countries. Beyond that, the Heritage index ranks the US as only the 8th freest nation on the planet.

And both the Republican and Democrat parties in Washington, D.C., are equally culpable for America’s slide into socialism and oppression. And so are many local and State leaders–including political, business, and law enforcement leaders. Suffice it to say that most big city governments have become almost totalitarian. Government buildings–even local ones–are sealed fortresses, not unlike the old palace-forts of antiquity. In big and not-so-big cities, cameras monitor virtually everything we do. Even here in my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, a nearby city (Gulf Breeze) has recently installed traffic cameras, which issue automated tickets for red light runners. (How unconstitutional can one get? Surely someone will aggressively challenge the legality of these cameras in court!) What is worse is that many residents and local authorities see nothing wrong with it. These people are behaving just like those wild hogs that nonchalantly ate their food while the fence was being built all around them.

In the name of “security” or “safety” or “protection,” Americans are surrendering their liberties. Ladies and gentlemen, face it: freedom is risky business! If our Founding Fathers had wanted security or safety, they would have stayed in Europe–or at least remained a compliant colony of the Crown. So, if one wants government enslavement in twenty-first century America, one should move back to Europe–or better yet, to Red China or North Korea!

Instead of demanding that government take care of us, we should be demanding that government get out of our wallets and off our backs, and let us live free, as our Creator intended we live! But how can we do that when we constantly clamor for more and more government handouts and benefits? By demanding welfare checks, food stamps, government-assisted housing and medicine, etc., Americans are putting the shackles around their own throats.  Even churches and religious institutions are gorging themselves at the government teat. America doesn’t need to worry about terrorist attacks from Baghdad or Tehran as much as we should worry about the terrorism from Big Brother–brought about with our own approbation–right here at home.

When will we say, “That’s enough”? When will we truly rise up against this out-of-control federal monstrosity? When will we demand that government once again be our servant and not our master? When will we begin to see through these Big Government politicians from both major parties that are selling our posterity into tyranny for their own selfish pursuits? When will we wake
up to what both Big Business and Big Religion are doing to us? Why do we have to shop at the “Super Center”? Why do we have to worship at the ”Mega-Church”? Why do we have to believe everything ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN–and yes, FOX News–tell us? Why do we have to keep reelecting these career politicians? And when we do replace them, why do we have to replace one dirty, rotten scoundrel with another dirty, rotten scoundrel?

When will we recognize that the Department of Homeland Security would be more properly named the Department of Homeland Enslavement? When are we going to wake up to the fact that the Patriot Act is nothing but a tool of the federal government to usurp constitutionally protected liberties? When are we going to realize that the federal “war on drugs” inflicts more damage
on the Bill of Rights than it does any major drug dealer? When will we get fed up with these random police checkpoints (manned by agents from virtually any and every police agency, including federal agents) going up everywhere? When will we tire of our local policemen and sheriff’s deputies more resembling military commandos than peace officers? When will we demand that
our State and local officials stop begging the federal government for ”stimulus” money? In other words, when are we going to decide that we want to live in FREEDOM?

Until we Americans get serious about answering the questions above, we are only fooling ourselves when we talk about the United States being a free country. We are not free, and we are getting less free by the day. We are as those wild hogs that were first fed by–and then enslaved by–a wily trapper. When will we see it?

This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100226.html

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

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Is The 21st Century Church Grounded, Gazing, or Greatly Empowered?

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By Dr. Tony Beam

I am blessed with many vivid memories of my childhood. I remember the first time I looked through a pair of binoculars. It was a cheap, pop-up pair that my dad bought me at what used to be called the Ice Capades, which was an older version of the traveling ice-skating programs we see today. I was fascinated that just by looking through the lens it appeared that I could reach out and touch the skaters. I literally spent hours gazing through those binoculars until my dad would make me put them away for a while.

Another memory is not so pleasant. I remember I hated being sent to my room for misbehaving. My parents called it “being grounded”.  It meant I couldn’t leave my room until they were convinced I had learned my lesson.

In the late 60’s we didn’t have T.V., computers, cell phones, video games, or any of the other “in room” entertainment devices of today. So, being grounded meant staying put with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

When I read Acts 1:6-11, I see the beginnings of the early church being tempted toward being grounded or gazing. Verse 6 says, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, (the risen Christ) Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” That is a grounded question asked by disciples with a grounded mindset. It has been forty days since Jesus rose from the grave. He spent His time appearing to His followers, speaking to them about the glories of a kingdom that would reside in each one of them once the Holy Spirit came.

But here they are thinking in physical rather than spiritual terms. They were seeking what amounted to a political solution to their plight. They wanted Jesus to remove the iron boot of Roman rule and establish an earthly kingdom where He would rule on the throne of David and restore the glory of Solomon. They longed for the good old days when Israel had conquered its neighbors and the whole world came to Jerusalem to pay homage and to seek wisdom from Solomon.

Many in the church today have the same grounded mentality. They spend much time talking about and longing for the good old days when the church was the center of the community and ministers were considered to be wise community leaders. The church had a tremendous amount of influence from Hollywood to Hoboken. People lined up on Sunday to go to church as the whole town shut down in honor of the Lord’s Day. During the week, people lined up to see Charlton Heston bring Moses and Ben Hur to life on the silver screen. Movies with titles like, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Robe, and Quo Vadis won hearts in the theaters and Oscars at the Academy Awards. It was a time when the Gospel was, as Paul told Timothy, “in season.”

But now the Church is no longer the most powerful influence in the community. Ministers are often suspect and Hollywood has turned organized religion into the “the devil with the blue dress on.” What are we to do? If we sit in our pews and long for the good old days we will be a grounded church. We will lose what little influence we have left in the world. We must follow the advice of a t-shirt I saw last week. Its message was as simple as it was profound. It said, “The Church has left the building.”

If the 21st century church is going to transform the culture we have to leave the building. We must go where the people are, build a bridge of fellowship, and demonstrate the love of Christ even as we gently warn that to reject His love is to eventually feel His wrath.
Later in Acts 1, the disciples are caught gazing up into the sky where they saw Jesus ascend. Verse 10 says, “And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?” The disciples had been given their instructions. They were to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It was not a time for gazing, being spellbound by the glorious sight of Jesus. It was time for action. It was time to go to the place where the power from Heaven would be poured out in abundant supply. Verse 8 carries the promise, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, ad in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” As I heard one old country preacher say, “They needed to go to the spout where the glory comes out!”  Gazing into heaven can be a good thing if we make sure it doesn’t become the only thing.

There was nothing wrong with me being fascinated with the binoculars to the point of wanting to spend some of my time gazing. The problem arose when gazing was all I wanted to do. There is nothing wrong with a church that gazes longingly into heaven, falling before a holy God, asking as Moses asked to see just “a glimpse of His glory.” But it is easy to give in to the temptation to do nothing but gaze. We lose our touch with the people God has called us to reach if we become so enraptured by His glory we forget to reflect His glory to the world.

While believers should always be informed about the issues facing our society in the political arena and we should be good citizens by voting according to the standards of God’s Word, we must never trust in a political solution for our spiritual condition. While we should revere the past we should see it as a signpost and not a hitching post. The 21st Century Church must be found neither grounded nor gazing but rather greatly empowered by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the call to be His witnesses “even to the remotest part of the earth.”

You can hear Dr. Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today. You can also listen to recorded broadcasts in the Christian Worldview Today Archive.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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The Parable of the Mayonnaise Jar

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A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and start to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.   The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ’I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things – God, Family, Children, Health, Friends, and favorite passions.  Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else —  The small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued,
‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So…

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

‘Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
‘I’m glad ! You asked’.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.’

In the song posted below, Matthew 6:33 is the first stanza. Matthew 4:4 is the second one. and the last one is Matthew 7:7.  These verses highlight the priority we should set as followers of  Christ.


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Spiritual Wickedness In High Places

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By Chuck Baldwin:

Almost immediately after Adam’s fall, Lucifer and his minions collaborated with evil men to usurp God’s authority and sovereignty. And nowhere is God more sovereign than in the heart and conscience of man. In the spirit world, the First Commandment (“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”) is the battleground that is most fought over. The war for man’s heart and soul is never-ending.

Nimrod was the first would-be tyrant to try and bring the world into a global “New World Order.” His handiwork produced the Tower of Babel, which brought about a cataclysmic judgment from Jehovah. However, while Nimrod was the first globalist to try and unify the nations against God, he was certainly not the last. The Pharaohs, Darius, Artaxerxes, Cyrus, Alexander, Nebuchadnezzar, the Caesars, and hundreds like them have all brought their tyrannical rule over the hearts of men. And their ideas and passions are as alive and active in the world today as ever.

With every would-be world tyrant, there is one constant: the unholy marriage between a supranational government and Big Religion. If Jehovah God made anything clear in the Mosaic model of government, it was the fact that–until Christ Himself comes to occupy both offices–the offices of Priest and King were to be eternally separate. At least one Old Testament Jewish king learned that lesson the hard way.

Yet, Big Government and Big Religion have always come together for the purpose of enslaving the masses. The devilish duo of Big Government and Big Religion killed the Old Testament prophets. They hung Jesus on the cross and persecuted the early Church. They murdered masses during the Dark Ages; they managed the Holocaust; and their obnoxious offspring are still at work today. This criminal cabal has been the bane of genuine faith and personal liberty since the beginning of time.

When Colonial America fired that shot heard around the world and fought their way to independence, they broke free, not only from the political domination of the Crown, but also from the religious domination of a State Church. No longer would citizens be required to join a particular church in order to hold public office. No longer would citizens be required to financially support churches and institutions they deemed to be offensive to their spiritual convictions. No longer could a religious institution use the power and force of civil government to subjugate men to its tenets and, yes, tentacles. Indeed, the apostate kingdom created by Constantine’s spiritual whoredom ended at the eastern shore of America!

And dare I say that I am proud of my Anabaptist forebears for helping to embed the principle of religious liberty into American law and jurisprudence? Indeed, I am! What many Americans do not know (and what many militant secularists refuse to acknowledge) is that it was the influence of the Colonial Baptists–most notably, the Baptist minister John Leland–that was most responsible for the First Amendment being added to the US Constitution.

Therefore, it is more than disturbing when I see evangelical Christians being seduced by the ancient Big Government/Big Religion whorish union today. How can any true Gospel preacher accept federal Faith-Based Initiative monies, except that he has either lost all understanding of what freedom truly means, or is willing to sacrifice the sacred principles of liberty upon the altar of his own selfish interests? How can any true Gospel preacher not realize that Big Religion has always conspired with tyrannical governmental forces against the true Gospel message? Why are they so blind to these devilish conspiracies? At the highest levels of virtually every major religion, the conspiracy to hijack truth and enslave the masses is constantly at work, whether it is Catholicism, Judaism, or Protestantism.

This is what the Apostle Paul warned about in Ephesians 6:12. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Of course, the “rulers of the darkness of this world” are demonic. But it is also an absolute certainty that these demonic forces accomplish their devilish deeds through evil men who are given to “spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Was not the spiritual netherworld complicit in helping to construct Nimrod’s Tower of Babel? Was not spiritual wickedness at work when Pharaoh murdered the little children of the Hebrews? Were not dark principalities at work when Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow to the image of the Babylonian leader? When the Lord Jesus called Jewish King Herod a “fox,” was not He acknowledging Herod’s complicity with evil? Were not spiritual powers aiding and abetting the Jewish Sanhedrin when they moved the crowd to crucify the Son of God? When the early Church was being persecuted, was not spiritual wickedness at work? When nonconforming Christians were thrown to the lions and sawn asunder, were not their tormentors influenced by these same rulers of darkness? Of course they were!

Then, why is it so difficult for modern Christians–especially our pastors and preachers–to understand that this unholy union of Big Government and Big Religion is as evil and sinful today as it ever was? Why are they unwilling to recognize that the same devilish system that plagued the Church throughout the ages–suspended only temporarily by the successful revolution for American independence–is rearing its ugly head again? Why are they unwilling to believe that many of America’s leaders (from both parties) routinely give themselves to luciferian rituals, such as those annual dances around the fire at the Bohemian Grove? Why is it so hard to believe that we have leaders (from both parties) who have given themselves to dark, secret societies, such as Skull and Bones? Why are they not suspicious when certain religious schools and institutions repeatedly produce many of the leaders (from both parties) who seem to universally take America down the same path of globalism?

As most Christians should know, The Beast of Revelation is as much a SYSTEM as it is a person. As the Apostle John warned, the “spirit of antichrist . . . even now already is it in the world.” (I John 4:3) He also warned, “Even now are there many antichrists.” (I John 2:18)

Any Big Government/Big Religion system that seeks to bring nations into global unity, enshrine a politically correct theology of universalism, establish Church/State uniformity, and marginalize independent, nonconformist ideology is nothing more than the emergence of another Tower of Babel or Beast-like system! And, dear Christian friend, has it occurred to you that our central government in Washington, D.C., is currently engaged in all of the above?

Both political parties–including most of our national leaders and news media–actively promote globalism; universalism is, without a doubt, the unofficial–but clearly understood–national religion; and anyone who holds nonconformist views (i.e., pro-life, Jesus-only theology, anti-UN, anti-illegal immigration, questioning official government explanations of national tragedies, etc.) is being viciously ridiculed, impugned, and marginalized by virtually everyone in the national press corps and central government. Yes, I am saying it, THE BEAST IS EMERGING IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!

The powers that be in both Big Government and Big Religion want to control both our hearts and our minds. They cannot tolerate dissent. Mind you: they do not care if one is Republican or Democrat, because at the national level, both major parties are marching in the same beastly direction. They do not care if one is conservative or liberal, because the leaders of both camps are, likewise, marching in lockstep to the tune being played by The Beast. They do not care if one is Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant, because at the highest levels, these religions are committing whoredom with The Beast.

If a pastor or preacher is going to be true to his calling today, he must be willing to adopt the philosophy of the late, great Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who said, “The more prominent you are in Christ’s service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny [slander]. I have long ago said farewell to my character. I lost it in the earlier days of my ministry by being a little more zealous than suited a slumbering age. And I have never been able to regain it except in the sight of Him who judges all the earth, and in the hearts of those who love me for my work’s sake.”

Any desire for promotion, pleasure, riches, or fame will quickly make one a servant of The Beast. And, I’m afraid, that is exactly what many of today’s pastors and preachers have become.

The fight for independence was as much for the freedom of the heart and mind as it was for the freedom of a State or nation. In fact, one cannot enslave the latter until he first enslaves the former. And this is what is currently at stake: the freedom of the heart and soul to be governed by God and no other! And this battle will never be won–at least not nationally–as long as Christians and pastors are unwilling to recognize the enemy for what it is: “spiritual wickedness in high places.”

This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100217.html

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

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TEA Party… real hope for real change in 2010

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As we near President Obama’s outright snub against the American people in his so-called “bi-partisan” health-SCARE summit, I thought  it right and proper to recall just how popular this Socialist takeover is with ordinary citizens.  Last year grass roots activism reached a boiling point in the TEA Party movement.  Here are some home videos of real SC heroes of Conservatism adding spice to the TEA.

The first is Dr. Tony Beam speaking at Greenville SC TEA Party

The second is Senator Jim DeMint speaking at the Greenville SC TEA Party

As you listen to President Obama speaking about healthcare reform, remember he is talking about a TRILLION DOLLAR entitlement program that is more about increasing Government control over our lives and limiting our freedoms than about solving the perceived and conceived “healthcare crisis.”  The audacity and arrogance of this presidential regime staggers the imagination.

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I Can Only Imagine

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A good friend emailed me today and said she and her husband saw this bumper sticker on a car in front of them as they were leaving church today. If you can’t laugh you have to cry. The bumper sticker said: “I hope nobody tells Obama what comes after a trillion.”  She then said “What does come after a trillion? I don’t even know what a trillion is.”

It is difficult to visualize just how many dollars there are in just $1 billion. The politicians who are spending fortunes in government money make it sound as though they are dealing in smaller numbers by removing quite a few digits.  To put it into perspective, a billion is a thousand million.

  • To place it in a better perspective, a billion seconds ago,  it was the year 1959, the year I was born.
  • Humans first learned to write 252 billion seconds ago.
  • A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive.
  • A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
  • A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate Washington spends it.

So, just what does one TRILLION dollars look like?  Well, starting out in smaller numbers, 1,000 Thousands equals 1 Million (1,000,000).  1,000 Millions equals 1 Billion (1,000,000,000).   1,000 Billions equals 1 Trillion (1,000,000,000,000). A Trillion can also be thought of as a Million Millions. So how can anyone relate to such a mind-numbing number like one Trillion?

Well, some time back I received this information in one of those email that float around your inbox and so I searched to find the author, but instead found this posted on several websites, without any credit to the author to be found.  So for discussion purposes, the math appears correct and so I share this with you.

All this talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts”…

  • A billion dollars…
  • A hundred billion dollars…
  • Eight hundred billion dollars…
  • One TRILLION dollars…
We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. These are guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

One Hundred Dollars

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of extravagant fun.

Ten Thousand Dollars

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

A Million Dollar Pile

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet…

$100 Million Dollars

$100 million dollars

And $1 BILLION dollars… now we’re really getting somewhere…

$1 BILLION dollars

$1 BILLION dollars

Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

Are you ready for this?

It is pretty surprising.

Go ahead…

Scroll down…

Ladies and gentlemen… I give you $1 trillion dollars…

One Trillion Dollars

One Trillion Dollars

Notice those pallets are double stacked, …and remember those are $100 bills.

One commentator said it this way: “imagine that you have a fantastic job that pays you one dollar for every second you work.  There are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. If you were only getting paid for as 40-hour work week for all 52 weeks of the year, you would still be getting paid $7,488,000 in a year. And if you were getting your $1.00 per second rate for every single second of the year, you would earn $31,536,000 for the entire year. At that rate, to earn a trillion dollars, you would have to work more than 31,709 years! And even if they generously paid you $1,000 per second, it would still take you more than 31 years to earn that first $1 Trillion.

So the next time you hear some politician toss around the phrase “trillion dollars”… that’s what they’re talking about.

Now check out the US National Debt Clock

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America Needs Leadership With The Right “Default Setting”

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By Dr. Tony Beam

I love computers, gadgets, PDA’s, cell phones with GPS capability and cars with voice activated phones and MP3 players. I’m hooked on satellite radio and I never go anywhere without my IPOD. In short, I am a bonafide, southern fried techno junkie. I cried for three days when I found out AT&T would be the exclusive provider of the Iphone because I am locked into a long term contract with another mobile phone service provider.

But alas, the affection I have for all things high-tech is not returned to me by my beloved gadgets. Every technological marvel I touch instantly becomes dysfunctional. I was told that I need to switch from a PC to a Mac because Apple computers were foolproof. The Computer Services people at North Greenville University told me once I made the switch they would be able to reassign the lone Computer Services technician they hired just to look after me. In turn, they assured me I would be able to delete the Computer Services extension from my speed dial.

I am now known as the only person in the known universe who had to send two bad apples back to the Mac tree. Tim, the campus computer guru tells me in the world of computers that is a record comparable to Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France titles.

But all my face time with Computer Services has taught me a lesson or two about troubleshooting. I was talking to Tim about my latest crisis and he told me what my computer needed was to return to its default settings. It seems a big part of my problem with computers is I like to add lots of programs. Sometimes, Tim says, the best thing to do is just wipe the slate clean of all the added programs and take the computer back to its original settings. So Tim whips out something called the restore program and faster than you can say, “what happened to all my downloads,” my computer is back to its original programming, humming along at warp speed without a single glitch.

Wouldn’t it be nice if political candidates worked like computers? It seems to me a lot of the confusion associated with the current political climate finds its source in what some conservative politicians are trying to add to the original idea of conservatism. Republicans are divided because no one has fully captured the imagination of the majority. Many of the front line leaders in the Republican Party have plenty of impressive ideas they have offered as alternatives to the Obama agenda. But the question many Evangelical conservatives are asking is, when you strip away all the pat answers and the red meat rhetoric, where is the leader whose core values will anchor them to something solid in this stormy time in which we live? The first leader who answers that question will win the support of everyone who longs for ethical leadership and a clear path back to a constitutionally run America.

There is a scene in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace gets in the face of Robert the Bruce (the accepted leader of Scotland) and says “the people will follow you if you will just lead them.” In modern day terms we need a leader who will lead by stepping up to the plate, acknowledging the source of our national distress (progressivism) and lead us back to limited, constitutional government.

America is ready for a leader whose default setting is the Word of God. A leader whose fall back position is to fall back to the idea of a smaller government that protects its weakest citizens and defends all of its citizens against the threat of annihilation from radical Islamic militants. We are ready for a leader who defends our borders and defies those who would transform our culture into a politically correct caricature of itself. Conservative Evangelicals are looking for a leader who will be a stand up straight shooter depending on core values that are rooted in absolute truth and grounded in a true understanding of compassion.

Ronald Reagan’s name has been raised more than once by both Democrats and Republicans during these confusing and dangerous times. What is it about Reagan’s legacy that makes leaders of both parties invoke his name? It’s simple really….Reagan’s core values, his “default setting” captured the hearts of all Americans. All anyone has to do to understand why Reagan was so wildly popular is read a few excerpts from his diary. Reagan would bend over backwards to work with anyone who was willing to recognize he couldn’t be budged off of his default setting. Smaller government, the protection of life, the defense of the family, victory over our enemies, the greatness of the American people, and the unlimited potential of the American dream were all programs that made up Reagan’s default setting.

Its time for true conservative leaders to arise who are willing to remove the latest add on programs to fix America and return to the default settings that will make America great.

You can hear Dr. Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today. You can also listen to recorded broadcasts in the Christian Worldview Today Archive.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Greater Love

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Written By: Angela Carol Baker.

Aww, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥Valentine’s Day♥♥♥♥♥♥♥…

That special day of the year when our hearts and minds turn toward chubby angels in diapers with heart shaped arrows, cards with beautiful prose to proclaim our love, heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates, dinners out on the town and gifts, preferably those that come in small, black felt boxes. Granted, there are the skeptics and jaded among us who proclaim that this day was made up by the greeting card industry, just to increase sales. Of course, the stories of the origins of Valentine’s Day are as numerous as the people who were ahead of you in line for dinner on Sunday night. They seem endless. I wouldn’t attempt to declare which of them is the truth, but they do make for an interesting read. Regardless of the actual origins, today, it is what it is. It is the day that we have set aside to declare or re-declare our love for that special someone. Hopefully, you were able to be with the one you love to make this day special for both of you.

As happens, approximately every seven years, give or take a year because of Leap Year, Valentine’s Day was on Sunday. Inevitably, many preachers spoke on love as the topic for their messages this past Sunday. There are countless types of love, the love of a man and woman, the love of a parent and child, the love of lifelong friends, and the love of a Father to His children, just to name a few. John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That, of course, is the ultimate love. God loving us enough to make a way for us to be redeemed from our sin so that we may spend eternity with Him. Nothing can compare to that love, ever. There’s another type of love that we need today, however, one that seems to be becoming extinct. One that is a commandment for us yet we seem to think of it as a suggestion, if we feel like or have time to do it, we might.

John 15:13 states “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” I’ve always thought that this verse meant that I literally had to physically die to show love for my friends. As you can guess, I’m a very literal person. I was reading this one day when it finally dawned on me. We are, by our very nature, selfish, self-centered beings. We tend to “look out for number one”. Laying down ones’ life can be as simple as cutting your neighbor’s grass without expectation of a payback. Laying down your life, and mine, means that we put someone else’s needs above our own. Believe me, it sounds much easier than it actually is. Sure, cutting grass is easy enough to think of, but how often do we actually choose to do that? How about letting the mother with two very tired, cranky kids in front of you in line at the grocery store instead of thinking to yourself, “I was here first, let her wait”?

Laying down ones’ life can mean the supreme sacrifice. There are those among us who will die for the cause of Christ. They will be martyrs for the cause but we can all learn to live with that mindset. Oprah coined the phrase, “little acts of kindness” to describe this attitude. The movie, Pay It Forward, called it just that, paying it forward. God called it showing love. When’s the last time that we showed His love? When’s the last time that we stopped in the middle of our busy days to try to make someone else’s day a little nicer? We who are Christians shouldn’t have to have Oprah or Hollywood movies tell us how to act. God has already commanded us to act. He has commanded us to love. After all, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥LOVE♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is a verb. Do it!

(Republished with Permission)

Angela Carol Baker

Angela’s articles have been published by the Pickens Sentinel and also on her blog

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Council Of Governors Takes Shape

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By Chuck Baldwin:

Regular readers of this column will doubtless recall my recent column in which I reported on the new Council of Governors (CG) that President Barack Obama has created. See my column at:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100119.html

Well, Obama’s CG is quickly beginning to take shape. According to the Associated Press (AP), “President Barack Obama has selected Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to serve on an advisory council for defense and national security issues.

“Nixon was one of 10 governors named Thursday [February 4, 2009] by Obama to the newly created Council of Governors.”

The 10 governors (and one of them is not even a State governor) selected by Obama are:

*Governor James Douglas (R-Vermont) *Co-chair
*Governor Chris Gregoire (D-Washington) *Co-chair
Governor Brad Henry (D-Oklahoma)
Governor Jay Nixon  (D-Missouri)
Governor Martin O’Malley (D-Maryland)
Governor Janice Brewer (R-Arizona)
Governor Bob McDonnell (R-Virginia)
Governor Michael Rounds (R-South Dakota)
Governor Beverly Perdue (D-North Carolina)
Governor Luis G. Fortuno (R-Puerto Rico)

As I have already written, the creation of a CG should be of serious concern to all liberty loving Americans. That more of us are not as concerned as we should be can be traced to the mistaken belief that the American people have nothing to fear from an overreaching federal government. This is pure folly! As I have said many times, we have far more to fear from Washington, D.C., than from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, or any other potential terrorist state. It is Washington, D.C.,–and Washington, D.C., alone–that has the power, opportunity, and propensity to squash our freedom and sell us into tyranny.

As Kurt Nimmo reports, “In other words, with the stroke of a pen, Obama significantly increased the ongoing effort to federalize the states and take control of the National Guard in violation of the now more or less moribund Posse Comitatus Act. Posse Comitatus was effectively annulled by the 2006 John Warner National Defense Authorization Act. The act provides the president with power to declare martial law under revisions to the Insurrection Act and take charge of United States National Guard troops without state governor authorization. Parts of the act were repealed in 2008.”

See the report at Infowars.com:

http://tinyurl.com/council-gov-nixon

What most Americans fail to realize (thanks to a national propaganda press corps that refuses to reveal the conspiratorial machinations of America’s ruling class, which, by and large, is totally disconnected from–or unaccountable to–elected officeholders: especially those in Congress) is that the subdivision of the United States into a 10-region country (thereby minimizing or even negating the sovereignty and authority of the 50 independent and autonomous states) goes all the way back to the Richard Nixon administration.

In response to pressure from the United Nations, President Richard Nixon issued Executive Order #11647 on February 10, 1972, which carved up the United States into 10 “standard Federal regions.”

For the doubters out there, Wikipedia has a rather detailed web page mentioning the federal 10-region breakdown of the United States.

See the Wikipedia entry at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_the_United_States

See the map at:

http://tinyurl.com/US-std-fed-regions-map

Still not convinced? Try a casual web search of the 10 US regions and you will quickly discover that each major federal agency, such as the EPA, OSHA, DOT, FEMA, etc., has their agency already divided into these 10 regions. As an example, here is the official district map for FEMA:

http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm

Commenting on the creation of the 10 “super” regions initiated by President Nixon, CuttingEdge.org director David Bay very astutely said, “This regional system is also apparently a military structure.” This is a very insightful observation, because I’m sure this was said long before President Obama took office, yet, that is exactly what his CG accomplishes. It grants federal executive power to these 10 governors–with the specific responsibility of providing leadership and direction to the National Guard and related homeland military activities. And is it any coincidence that the number of governors appointed to this new CG is exactly 10? Even more telling is the fact that the 10 governors come from each US region (the governor of Puerto Rico represents Region 2), except for Region 5, and guess what? Region 5 is President Obama’s region!

Now, get this: the only region that has two governors represented on the CG (making up for Region 5′s lack of a representative–who will be Obama himself, no doubt) is Region 3. And put this in your pipe and smoke it: the two governors from Region 3 are from Maryland and Virginia, which are the two states that border Washington, D.C. But all of this is mere coincidence, right?

See the map on the EPA web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/region4/landrevitalization/images/us-regions.gif

So, here is the list of the Council of Governors, as it coincides with the respective 10 regions. If you know anything about what is going on, you should easily be able to see the logic of how and why these governors were selected. Obviously, the two basic criteria would be 1) The location of necessary government infrastructure, facilities, personnel, etc., combined with 2) The compliant attitude and overall disposition of the governor selected. Here is how it looks:

Region 1: Governor Douglas of Vermont
Region 2: Governor Fortuno of Puerto Rico
Region 3: Governor O’Malley of Maryland and Governor McDonnell of Virginia. These are necessary, as these are the two border states of Washington, D.C.
Region 4: Governor Perdue of North Carolina
Region 5: President Barack Obama of Illinois
Region 6: Governor Henry of Oklahoma
Region 7: Governor Nixon of Missouri
Region 8: Governor Rounds of South Dakota
Region 9: Governor Brewer of Arizona
Region 10: Governor Gregoire of Washington State

And while it is true that President Jimmy Carter revoked President Nixon’s “Federal Regional Council” (what Nixon’s Executive Order created in 1972) in 1979, the concept never died. It was merely incorporated into other Executive Orders. And there can be no question that President Obama’s CG certainly builds on Nixon’s initial “Regional Council” model.

Neither is it a coincidence that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is included in the list of 10 governors appointed to the CG. Why? Does anyone remember the MIAC flap in the State of Missouri last year? I sure do, because I (along with Ron Paul and Bob Barr) was listed in the MIAC report as being a potential dangerous militia member or terrorist. And anyone who supported or voted for the three of us was similarly maligned in the MIAC report.  Plus, the report also targeted people who opposed any of the following as being potential dangerous militia members:

The New World Order
The United Nations
Gun Control
The violation of Posse Comitatus
The Federal Reserve
The Income Tax
The Ammunition Accountability Act
A possible Constitutional Convention (Con Con)
The North American Union
Universal Service Program
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Abortion on demand
Illegal immigration

Remember, this was an official Missouri State Police report that was distributed to all Missouri State law enforcement officers. And Governor Jay Nixon authorized and strongly defended the MIAC report!

Later, of course, Governor Nixon and other State leaders were forced to withdraw the report, due to immense public pressure from both the citizens of Missouri and angry Americans all across the country.

I have a web page set aside with all the pertinent information regarding the MIAC fiasco, including the most recent updates, at:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/MIACreport.html

Plus, here are my previous 3 columns regarding the MIAC report:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090317.html

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090324.html

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090327.html

Now we learn that President Obama has appointed this very same Governor Jay Nixon to the newly formed Council of Governors. Doubtless, Nixon’s support for the MIAC report brought him into the good graces of this Marxist President, who, in his inaugural address, pledged to “remake America.” Without a doubt, the newly established Council of Governors is helping Obama do just that.

Of course, the big question is not, Is America being “remade”? It most certainly is–and it started long before Obama moved into the White House. The question is, Will this “remade” America be something we can live with?

This column is archived at

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2010/cbarchive_20100210.html

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

Copyright © 2010 Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

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Haiti: Moving From Tragedy To Outrage

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By Dr. Tony Beam

The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake has swept the globe drawing the entire civilized world into a giant wave of compassion and support. Before the quake, Haiti was a nation racked with poverty and rife with corruption. Since the quake, poverty has been replaced by destitution and corruption has morphed into anarchy. The world is reaching out but a lack of infrastructure and the complete collapse of the Haitian government have relief agencies frustrated. Even the awesome might of the United States military has not been enough to end the apocalyptic scale suffering of the people.

One of the chilling byproducts of the death and destruction in Haiti are scores of children, many now orphaned, wandering through the rubble trying to survive. Some of the children are being watched over by dazed, desperate parents who fear the relief efforts may not arrive in time to prevent their children from starving to death. Some offer their children to strangers hoping they can provide a means of escape from the unbelievably horrible conditions.

Into this nightmare of chaos and confusion come ten middle-class Americans who left the comfort and safety of their homes and their families to try and make a difference. Led by Laura Silsby, who has been described by what may be the understatement of the year by her father, John Sander as “a touch naïve”, all ten are being held in a fetid cell by what is left of the Haitian government. All are charged with child abduction and criminal association, charges which carry jail terms of up to 15 years. It is entirely possible that their case won’t be heard for three months and then not in front of a jury but in front of a single judge. (Read Complete News Story)

The pictures of these missionaries are chilling. They could be your neighbors or the people you see at your children’s soccer games. They are not hardened criminals, greedy opportunists, or heartless profiteers seeking to make their fortune by kidnapping and then selling innocent children. They are God-fearing, Christ honoring missionaries following the call of God to bring a message of hope and life to a hopeless situation that is filled with the stench of death.

With the help of her live-in nanny, Charisa Coulter, Laura Silsby organized a non-profit group called New Life Children’s Refuge. The group was incorporated last November and a companion organization was planned for the Dominican Republic. According to Fox News, Ms. Silsby and Ms. Coulter described New Life as being, “dedicated to rescuing. Loving, and caring for orphaned, abandoned and impoverished Haitian and Dominican children, demonstrating God’s love and helping each child find healing, hope, joy and new life in Christ.” That certainly doesn’t sound like the vision of a kidnapper or someone intending to engage in child trafficking. Both Silsby and Coulter were in the Dominican Republic and Haiti as recently as last July and again late last year. Working with people they trusted in both countries they laid the groundwork for opening an orphanage. They coordinated their efforts with people they thought were handling the necessary details and providing the documentation they needed to begin their work. The widespread devastation caused by the earthquake motivated them to transform their gradual work into the urgency of a rescue mission.

Should Ms. Silsby and Ms. Coulter have been more cautious? Probably. Should they have checked and double-checked their paperwork to make sure they were operating within Haitian law? Certainly. But do they deserve to sit in a dank prison cell, abandoned by their own country while they wait for a broken, corrupt justice system to decide their fate? Of course, the answer is no. Surely the U.S. State Department has already dispatched envoys to Haiti to demand their release. Surely Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned this action by the Haitian government and has issued a statement demanding they be returned home on the next plane. And can there be any doubt that Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter, and former President Bill Clinton are all dusting off their passports, getting ready to hurry down to Haiti to intervene for the sake of justice?

Hardly…. so far State Department deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid has issued a statement saying, “We can confirm that the 10 American citizens remain in custody in Haiti. We continue to provide appropriate consular assistance and to monitor developments in the legal case.” In government speak that means the State Department is doing absolutely nothing.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in this weekend saying, “This is the time to let the Haitian judicial system, such as it is, handle the case.” This after the State Department called the Haitian judicial system “unacceptable.” They described it as a place where prisoners languish in prisons without trial in often-terrible conditions.

Does anyone doubt that if these middle class citizens were environmentalists from Massachusetts instead of Baptist missionaries from Idaho that all the influence of the U.S. Government would have already been brought to bear? If they were government employees sent to relieve the suffering of the children Jimmy Carter, Jesse Jackson and every major media outlet would already be on the scene. The media would be offering wall-to-wall coverage calling attention to what would be described as a travesty of justice.

No, these ten compassionate, courageous, and caring people are Christians. And since Christianity is neither politically correct nor culturally popular the injustice of their imprisonment will not be pointed out by the media elites or condemned by the State Department. Don’t look for rock stars or Hollywood elites to stage a rally to raise funds for their defense. After all, they are Christians, not political activists or anti-establishment zealots.

Pray for them and their families that God will comfort them and return them to their families.

You can hear Dr. Beam live on Christian Talk 660 weekday mornings from 7:00-9:00 AM (EST) as he is the host of Christian Worldview Today.  You can also listen to recorded broadcasts in the Christian Worldview Today Archive.

Dr. Tony Beam is Vice-President for Student Services and the Director of the Christian Worldview Center at North Greenville College in Tigerville, South Carolina, Dr. Tony Beam received his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

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