Wed. Update

Let me update a few things.

The 40 year old guy that was arrested locally for eco-terrorism in the northwest committed suicide in jail. There will be no following leads there.

The Phoenix Suns are sitting on top of the Pacific Division even though they have had some problems lately.

I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and will have a safe New Years.

Link to Ms. Malkin

The elegant Ms. Malkin's thoughts on recent eco-terrorism arrests http://michellemalkin.com/mt/oct05-tb.cgi/3449

Nutty Professor Update

Actually there is no update. I thought in a small community, there would have been an uproar over the Nutty Professor's comments, but all is quiet. Not a word has been heard.

I guess Prescott has truly been Californiaized (cool new word, but it sums it up). How sad. Prescott residents have even enacted an ordinance against smoking in bars! Pretty soon the public will think they can keep patrons from drinking alcohol in bars in the interest of public health. I guess the Nutty Professor's comments seem rational to a city that has gone nuts. The locals that grew up here welcomed visitors and new residents, but now the new residents are hostile to others and want to lead the lives of those that live here.

The Nutty Professor

Let me tell you about the area I live in. It is a mountain area of central Arizona that is growing in population and experiencing growing pains. I have lived in the area for about 30 years. Lately there have been disconcerting events happening in this once old-fashioned western area.

The latest news item that has caused a small stir, although it should be a giant eruption, in the area is the arrest of eco-terrorists in northern Arizona by the FBI and local law enforcement agencies. One of the arrests occurred in Prescott at a shop in an area of Prescott known as an “arts” district. The arrested people are accused of arson and destruction of public and private property in the northwest.

So far so good. All communities have their renegade elements, but a portion of Prescott seems to be embracing these destructive activities. There was an article in the local paper, The Prescott Daily Courier, by Ms. Mirsada Buric-Adam titled “Friends Plan Friday Vigil” that reports on the affects of the arrests in the local community. Ms. Buric-Adam filed a good report on the events to come and the current sentiment in the local “arts” community.

None of those quoted expressed revulsion at the tactics of arson and destruction of others property, but instead stayed focused on endorsing the accused. The scariest of comments came from a “professor of peace studies” at Prescott College. A word about Prescott College, it is an extreme left wing liberal arts college where wealthy children can afford to go to college and relive the 60s. The members of the student body are easy to spot in the local community by their tie dyed shirts and their being white 20 year olds wearing dreadlocks. The professor was quoted in Ms. Buric-Adam’s report “There is a difference between the threat represented by al-Qaeda and external terrorists versus people here at home who are using certain kinds of tactics for a social change,” he said. “It is dangerous when we are employing these kind of provisions against American citizens. We are seeing our own rights and liberties eroded in the process.” What an equivocating academic moral midget. Anybody that uses terrorist’s tactics needs to be prosecuted. The professor tacitly approves of the tactics of arson and destruction of public and private property as long as the professor is in agreement with the stated political goals." And this is the “professor of peace studies” instructing these spoiled children in the world views.

Prescott needs to wake up to this problem in the community and make it know it known that arson is not a viable tool in society.

Movies

Let me get this straight, Hollywood is not pleased with the amount of money they are bringing in this year? Do they have no idea how to turn this trend around?

It is as simple as people are voting with their wallets, and I believe Hollywood does not see itself as filling a desire for entertainment, but instead they see themselves as instructors to the unwashed masses who need moral guidance. So they provide their dogma as the correct belief set. And the people stay away.

Since 2001 there have been heroic stories in the War on Terror, tales of epic heroism and adventure, stories of putting the welfare of others over oneself. But Hollywood remains silent on these issues. This is such a terrible change in the conduct of the film industry from prior years. Years when the industry did not see itself so superior to the common man, but instead viewed the sacrifice of others with awe and depicted their stories with reverence and thanks. The public appreciated Hollywood’s efforts once for the representation the industry gave their fathers, mothers, daughters and sons. But that time is over. Hopefully temporarily, because society needs to hear stories of greatness and tales of people striving for a better world. For years the best effort Hollywood could provide for Gulf War 1 was 3 Kings. What a pathetic image of the armed forces as a bunch of thieves. Well it was George Clooney, what can you expect. Then Jarhead arrived on scene, it had veterans upset from coast to coast.

Instead of great stories Hollywood insists on selling their worldview. The latest movie they seem to be strutting about is Brokeback Mountain, the gay cowboy movie set in the 1960’s. It brought in over $500,000 in limited release in San Francisco, Las Angeles and New York and the industry raves over the income and what a wonderful movie they have made. The public will yawn once it opens for wider release and Hollywood will wonder what is wrong with ignorant public. The public knows which movie reflects society and which movie is trying to sway their opinion to the politically correct view of the world.

The Hollywood caste may not ever change their movie making ethos, there is no need to change, they still make millions of dollars and live in a pampered elitist world. They trade a more vibrant industry for ideology.

Ideally more movie companies will be created with an innovative business plan, give the public a positive and enriching product that they want to see.
(Ooops, now that I have taken a day and a half to write this-I’m such a dork-I see Instapundit has linked to a Tammy Bruce post with a similar theme. Oh well I’m posting this anyway even though it is vastly inferior to her professional effort.)

Church People

The lovely wife and I attended a small gathering of people from our church, and the more I think about it the more enjoyment I receive from it.

When walking through the doors of a Church, one sees people who want the best for others. In a Church there is not rampant jealousy, gossiping or other negative characteristics, if the Church is staying focused on God. Please don't get me wrong, these and other problems are still around, we are all sinners with selfish desires that at times get the best of us. However when people worship God they strive to be better, to be pleasing to God, to help others. A God centered Church has the ability to inspire people to ponder their position in God's creation and how they can further His Word. It becomes the purpose of the members of the Church to serve God to the utmost of their ability.

We were once in a church that was not so much God centered as it was philosophical. It considered itself a Church with Christian doctrine, and it was once a God centered Church, but with new leadership it became more theoretical, more based upon literature and the reasonings of man. The people then became more prone to worry about their favorite activities in the church, whether it be the type of music, the plates that were used at the church events, or if somebody used the pencil from their clipboard to sign up for another activity. Pettiness was not everywhere, but it pulled away the congregation's focus on God to worldly issues. It was a sad thing to see.

The key is leadership. The pastoral leadership is crucial. The leadership can keep the steady focus on God or it can begin to slip into the comfortable and easy secular world, bringing strife to the congregation. We are blessed with a terrific preacher at our Church that focuses on the Bible at all times and urges the congregation to remain centered on God's Word.

May all Churches make wise descisions in their leadership and gently correct the leadership when it goes astray, keeping Jesus the center of our world.

O.K., it's 0

Yes, the Suns lost to the Clippers. The Suns shot horribly, but this is temporary, their touch will return. Tonight they play the Hornets, hopefully a day off allowed them to rest up and get ready for tonight.

It's 9

Did I mention it is 9 wins in a row for the Phoenix Suns and that is the longest streak in the NBA this season? The win last night against the Knicks was tough. The Suns had a terrible night shooting, but their defense held the Knicks to 80 points and they managed to get a victory. It wasn' pretty. Tonight is another tough game, their opponent is the Clippers. Still awaiting Amare's return....

Immigration

On Immigration

On Monday a local radio talk show discussed the subject of immigrants living
in the community. The show gave me the opportunity to refocus my previous
thoughts on the immigration issue and to write on them here. Yes, I know
all the following ideas are not practical, but I'm just dumb that way.
Sorry.

The first thought is that illegal immigration can't be allowed to continue.
The thought of having such a porous border in these times is terrifying.
The U.S. government has no idea who crosses the border each day, where they
came from or what their intentions are. The vast majority of illegal
immigrants do come for the work and better way of life, but it is too easy
for anybody else to cross the border. We must seal the border.
My next thought regards the illegal immigrants that do cross for the
employment. I work in an office but have occasion to visit local
construction sites and have observed what I believe to be illegal
immigrants. The contractors I have spoken to enjoy having them as employees
and claim all the immigrants have Social Security cards and proper paper
work, but they still leave for their home country for months at a time.
There is the language issue as well, which causes some problems, but the
immigrants work hard, while many of the local workers that are sent from the
Department of Economic Security will appear for the first few days then
disappear so they can collect unemployment. The contractors say that a lot
of the local work force that is just starting a career don't want to start
at the bottom but have the mindset that they are owed something by society.
The portion of American society that used to perform these jobs are not
filling all the needed positions, so the immigrants are providing a valuable
service that we can't, or won't, fill ourselves. We need immigrants in our
work force.

There are problems in the local community with all these primarily single
men living in a culture that is not their own. Many disciplinary problems
arise when multiple single men congregate with free time on their hands and
no oversight. Women do make a civilization. So I would propose more legal
immigration with the requirement the immigrants be married, preferably with
children. It would be best to welcome workers who are willing and able to
fill jobs that we can't fill from the population that is here now. The
background checks for the families would need to be fairly in depth to
insure we would be receiving people with a desire to be a part of the
community and not people with a desire to harm it. If bringing families to
this country in a secure way is possible, then the immigrant workers would
no longer be sending the majority of their paychecks to their home countries
for the support of their families, but instead would be spending this money
in the local community, and they would feel involved in the furthering of
society.

Our culture would be enriched, we could see these people in our churches,
and we would fulfill God's request to welcome the alien and to live as one in Jesus.

7 in a row

The Suns made it 7 in a row in convincing style. Tonight will be more of a test against a better opponent, the Warriors, winners of 5 straight.

Did I mention?

Did I mention that the Phoenix Suns won again Sunday night? That makes it 6 games in a row. Best in the NBA. Of course, some of those teams were pretty bad. Tonight they play the Portland Trailblazers, how about win number 7!

This weekend's thoughts

I have not posted for a few days because I have been busy over the weekend. But now, to the subject that is rattling around in my head after Church and fellowship time Sunday.

Christmas, and Jesus’ importance. I do not care if December 25th is the actual birthday or if the ancient leaders of the Church attempted to co-opt a pagan holiday. The point is we are honoring the birth of Jesus, and we are standing in awe of God’s gift of our savior. That is the basis for the holiday, whether or not it has become a secular holiday.

On another subject, why do some denominations attempt to subtly undercut Jesus’ authority? My wife and I previously attended a Church that had a pastor that would make disconcerting comments about Jesus, such as “Jesus never claimed to be God”. We were new to Church, but had read the Bible. We could not cite scripture as a retort, but we knew it sounded odd. This weekend we studied a verse that would directly reject such an accusation, John 8:54, Jesus said "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me”. Jesus plainly claims to be the Son of God. And what about John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’”. Here he claims to be our savior. I just do not understand.

For now my thinking is I should not tear down another Church, maybe it is in God’s plan somehow, but I need to guard the Bible’s doctrine closely in what I believe. I do not think I should cause dissention in the wider Church, and bring scorn by the unbelievers for the differences in denominations. However, I can not be led astray by incorrect doctrine, I will ultimately be held responsible for my beliefs, my actions and my life.

I pray that my thinking on this will continue to mature and change as I learn more and come to an even deeper faith.

Sun's Win

How about those Phoenix Suns. They looked impressive last night against the Pacers. Of course I must admit the Pacers looked terrible. Some of their open shots were just weak. Still, the Suns played an excellent game and looked to be improving in team play. I can't wait for Amare to get healthy and come back.

Bible study was good. One thought I took away, although not the overall theme for the night, was to have a spirit of meekness, with God and with others. We Christians should be confident in our faith, but at the same time be humble in our lives, and serve others.