Obama's Approval Index At New Low. Republicans Score Big In Generic Congressional Ballot Poll

Today the new Rasmussen Reports' Daily Presidential Tracking Report shows President Obama's approval index rating has slipped to -21, an all-time low.  Read about it at Rasmussen by clicking HERE.  His disapproval ratings seems to coincide with each push of Obamacare, which the American public are firmly against.  See that poll HERE.  

Republicans are leading Democrats by 10 percentage points in the Generic Congressional Ballot, the highest point yet.  Read the details by clicking HERE.

It looks like Obama has momentum in imposing his Marxist health care initiative on the American public, and will likely succeed before the weekend is over.  Our only hope may be the Supreme Court declaring it unconstitutional...someday in the future... for forcing the public to purchase insurance or pay a penalty.

Shamnesty About To Rear It's Ugly Head Once Again... MARCH ON WASHINGTON THIS SUNDAY

I've been getting some disturbing emails from Jim Robb at NumbersUSA (for lower imigration levels) about a March On Washington by up to 100,000 people this Sunday, March 21, to fight FOR citizenship for 11-20 MILLION illegal aliens in the US.  This, of course, coming at a time when most of us are preoccupied with Obamacare and Toyota scares.  No doubt this calendar year will be packed solid with political events to which we will need to pay close attention.

NumbersUSA would like each of us who have a problem with automatic amnesty for illegals to visit every local district office of every Congressman across the nation on Friday, March 19th at 1:30pm local time to voice concern (politely, but with backbone), and deliver a printed or handwritten message for your Congressional representative stating your position.  Go HERE for the talking points.

Over 500 Christians In Nigeria Slaughtered By Muslim Gangs

Back in January I posted a story from the AP on the continuing trend of Muslims burning Christian churches (both Catholic and Protestant), one act of which resulted in 27 Christians dead and over 300 wounded during Mass.

This latest story from the AFP is so hugely horrible that even Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton couldn't ignore it.  Over 500 Christians have been killed in three villages, with 200 more being treated in hospitals.

Here's the full story reported (with h/tp to Loganswarning):

by Aminu Abubakar Aminu Abubakar – Mon Mar 8, 5:45 pm ET

JOS, Nigeria (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Washington led calls for restraint on Monday after the slaughter of more than 500 Christians in Nigeria, as survivors told how the killers chopped down their victims.

Funerals took place for victims of the three-hour orgy of violence on Sunday in three Christian villages close to the northern city of Jos, blamed on members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group.

While troops were deployed to the villages to prevent new attacks, security forces detained 95 suspects but faced bitter criticism over how the killers were able to go on the rampage at a time when a curfew was meant to be in force.

Media reported that Muslim residents of the villages in Plateau state had been warned by phone text message, two days prior to the attack, so they could make good their escape before the exit points were sealed off.

Survivors said the attackers were able to separate the Fulanis from members of the rival Berom group by chanting 'nagge', the Fulani word for cattle. Those who failed to respond in the same language were hacked to death.

One local paper said the gangs shouted Allah Akhbar (God is Great) before breaking into homes and setting them alight in the early hours of Sunday. Churches were among the buildings that were burned down.

The Vatican led a wave of outrage with spokesman Federico Lombardi expressing the Roman Catholic Church's "sadness" at the "horrible acts of violence".

The UN chief told reporters he was "deeply concerned".

"I appeal to all concerned to exercise maximum restraint," he said.

"Nigeria's political and religious leaders should work together to address the underlying causes and to achieve a permanent solution to the crisis in Jos."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged "all parties to exercise restraint", but also called on the Nigerian government to "make sure the perpetrators are brought to justice."

"The Nigerian government should ensure that the perpetrators of acts of violence are brought to justice under the rule of law and that human rights are respected as order is restored," the chief US diplomat said.

The death toll was initially put at a little over 100 but then shot up. The information ministry said pregnant women were among those killed and around 200 people were being treated in hospital.

"We have over 500 killed in three villages and the survivors are busy burying their dead," said state information commissioner Gregory Yenlong.

"People were attacked with axes, daggers and cutlasses -- many of them children, the aged and pregnant women."

Survivors wail as children, women buried in Nigeria

Much of the violence was centred around the village of Dogo Nahawa, where gangs set fire to straw-thatched mud huts as they went on their rampage.

The explosion of violence is the latest between rival ethnic and religious groups. In January 326 people died in clashes in and around Jos, according to police although rights activists put the overall toll at more than 550. 

"The attack is yet another jihad and provocation," the Plateau State Christian Elders Consulatative Forum (PSCEF) said. 

However the archbishop of the capital Abuja, John Onaiyekan, told Vatican Radio that the violence was rooted not in religion but in social, economic and tribal differences. 

"It is a classic conflict between pastoralists and farmers, except that all the Fulani are Muslims and all the Berom are Christians," he said. 

Fulani are mainly nomadic cattle rearers while Beroms are traditionally farmers. 

A curfew imposed after January's unrest is supposed to be still in place but Christian leaders said the authorities did nothing to prevent the bloodshed.

The PSCEF said it took the army two hours to react from the time a distress call was put through and "the attackers had finished their job and left". 

Witnesses said armed gangs had scared people out of their homes by firing into the air but most of the killings were the result of machete attacks. 

"We were caught unawares ... and as we tried to escape, the Fulani who were already waiting, slaughtered many of us," said Dayop Gyang, of Dogo Nahawa. 

Gbong Gwon Jos, a Muslim resident of Dogo Nahawa, told The Nation daily he received advanced warnings of the attacks. 

"I got a text message about movement of the people."

Rights activists said the slaughter appeared to be revenge for the January attacks in which mainly Muslims were killed. 

Locals said that the attacks on Sunday were the result of a feud which had been first ignited by a theft of cattle and then fuelled by deadly reprisals. 

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan placed security services in Plateau and nearby states on red alert to contain the violence before he sacked his chief security advisor.

Corruption In The Church Hard To Ignore...So Let's Not.

I found this year-old interview with Father Corapi on The Anchoress, so it must be good...and is so. Several topics are discussed, but the general theme is that things have gone in the wrong direction, that the Church has lost sight of The Cross and gotten too permissive over the past several decades, leading to widespread disobedience and diluted faith.

There are two reasons I post this now. One is upon reading a couple of very recent interviews HERE and HERE with Archbishop Timothy Dolan on his one year anniversary of being installed in New York ---he makes some very strong pro-life statements, which for some reason appear shocking to some. The other is due to some recent press attention given to the Pope's meeting with Irish Bishops on sexual abuse in that country, and what will or will not be done about it.

The Church is clearly ill and has been for some time. Too many catholics-in-name-only have attained leadership positions and don't share the Church's basic positions on life issues.  The leaders at the very top (Popes) seem to have the right idea. but I get the impression that they would take a much harder position if they had the backing of the vast majority of the bishops, which I believe they do not have.  

So with that thought in mind, we have an opening in the Harrisburg diocese for the position of BISHOP, and perhaps it's time for Father Corapi to get his long-deserved promotion.  I wonder if he's interested....

Additional source for material HERE.

Milwaukee Planned Parenthood Abortuary The Latest Caught In Sting Effort

Here is the latest video from Lila Rose and Jackie Stollar of Live Action showing a continuing pattern of unlawful behavior by Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation.  The Milwaukee clinic shown in the video above was caught last July in the Mona Lisa Project's well publicized sting operation, which brought to light Planned Parenthood's protection of statutory rapists, in which young girls seeking abortion were advised to keep quiet about the age of their impregnating boyfriends.

In this particular case the girl claimed to be 14 and said her boyfriend was 31.  In Wisconsin it is a felony for any adult to engage in sexual activity with anyone under the age of 16, and health care clinicians are required to report sexual abuse against minors to authorities; so naturally the Planned Parenthood clinician advises the young girl to hush up about their ages, and makes sure the boyfriend will pay for the abortion. 

Please visit the Mona Lisa Project website for links to see videos of other violating clinics, as well as to view the violations map showing many red dots representing violating clinics whose videos are yet to be  shown.   God bless everyone at the Mona Lisa Project for exposing this anathema.

(h/tp:  Bryan Kemper)

Glenn Beck's CPAC Keynote Speech --- All Six Parts Here

Here are all six parts of Glenn Beck's CPAC Keynote speech.  I heard most of it as I was cruising down the highways, and thought it good enough to post in full.

Glenn Beck was invited to make this speech for a reason.  Glenn gets it.  Watch it... and hopefully you will, too.

(h/tp:  American Power, who has many great posts on CPAC)

Obama's National Debt Gimmicks Are Path To Ruin

I've been thinking about our country's ever-growing national debt of more than $12 trillion, and have wondered just how our politicians planned to deal with it.  The obvious would be to balance the budget year after year, while collecting additional revenue with which to gradually pay down the accumulated debt--> painful but simple, right?  Have you done the math?  

Based upon the size of your average pocket calculator, most of which don't allow enough digits to enter the trillion category, I doubt many of you have.  But my iPhone has a calculator which, when turned horizontally, transforms itself from a simple basic layout of simple math into an advanced powerhouse of trigonometry and calculus.... and many more digits.  Like our economy, my iPhone can just barely hold 12 trillion.  It looks like this:  12,000,000,000,000.  That's right, twelve zeros in a trillion.

The next step is to figure out how much our Congress thinks they can raise, on average year after year above a balanced budget, in the amount of surplus revenue to start paying down the debt.  One must factor the likely boom years as well as the bust years, along with any wars, recessions, depressions, or big bull markets.  Most might say $10 billion.  I was feeling generous and chose $100 billion, which is an awful lot of money and therefore not very realistic considering the very nature of Washington politics and recent history.  So we will look at both figures just for argument's sake.

First, if you take $12,000,000,000,000 (12 trillion) and pay it down in increments of $100,000,000,000 (100 billion) each and every year, it will take us 120 years to pay off the national debt!

But if you only pay an average of $10,000,000,000 (10 billion) year after year, which is much more realistic but still high, it will take 1,200 years to pay it off!  And you know that if the budget is balanced and Congress manages to pay down the national debt by 50 Million, they'll be slapping themselves on the back and claiming the crisis is over.  Not so.

Paying off the national debt requires long term commitments and sacrifice.  And considering that long term thinking doesn't get anyone re-elected, only short term remedies on the path of least resistance do (IMHO), paying off the national debt will never come to pass.

What then will be done?

President Obama has signed a bill into law increasing the debt ceiling to just over $14 trillion, and by doing so has suggested that more borrowing is on the way.  He has done this in spite of the "pay-as-you-go" provision, which, of course, is nothing but a gimmick.  Money has to be spent, but first borrowed, in order to boost our economy and get more tax revenue pouring in (so the liberal theory goes...).

Just how high will we go before we either go belly-up or run out of things to bail-out?  Considering the health care bill (which will be passed, unfortunately), future medicaid and medicare bail-outs, and the looming social security crisis (the biggest bail-out yet to come), I would estimate (wildly guess) that total national debt figure to be around $20,000,000,000,000 (20 trillion).  

It is at the $20 trillion point that President Obama would suddenly jump aboard the constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget to save the nation from itself (I mean himself), and require the government to spend an amount each year no more than it takes in each year (a more draconian and much less gimmicky version of "pay-as-you-go").  The national debt would then be frozen at $20 trillion.  And it would stay that way for many years, requiring a huge percentage of our annual tax revenue for interest payments each year that are unavoidable.  It will stay that way until the GDP (gross domestic product) hopefully grows so large that the $20 trillion debt looks miniscule by comparison.  It would most likely take several decades for this to happen, if at all, during which we would suffer through rampant inflation, a crashing dollar, high taxes, putting up with China bossing us around (they own $4 trillion of our debt in the form of bonds), and the rise of an Islamic super-state (Muslim nations joined together by force or "anschluss") which we would be powerless to stop (no money, no muscle).

There is only one problem with this plan.  It won't work.  It is all contingent on the hope that we will continue to be an economic powerhouse with an ever-increasing GDP, and that without muscle our nation would still be able to leverage in foreign affairs in order to protect our economic interests abroad.  It would be contingent on China NOT getting fed up with us and cashing in the $4 trillion in bonds we sold them, or for that matter not attacking Taiwan during our condition of weakness.  It would be based on interest rates not going up and causing the interest on the debt we pay each year to be unmanageable.  To put it simply,...it would have to defy gravity.  And it won't.

Now get off your butt and get involved.

Read more HERE and especially HERE.



 

EMBRACE LIFE -- Very Cool Video!

I don't usually post public service announcements, but this one struck a nerve --as it should with everyone.  For we all have known someone killed in an auto accident; and we have all attended an accident victim's funeral, complete with crying widow/widower and lost-looking children. 

Perhaps you could pass this on to someone who needs to see it... like everyone for instance.

7 Quick Takes Friday ---Becoming Habit Forming

1. It's been an interesting week with lots of things to cover.  First, I attended my first March For Life in Washington D. C..  You can read all about it in my post by clicking ---> HERE.  There were close to 300,000 God-fearing, pro-lifers there, all enthusiastically standing up for the unborn and in-firmed.  I took as many pictures as I could, and posted some of the best on the link above, and the rest on my Flickr page (see link on March For Life post).
   
   
2. Last Friday's March For Life post on this blog got a lot of attention, in large part because the main stream media had little or no coverage of this mammoth event, and people were searching for pictures and stories to read about it.  But I also got linked to by some friends of mine (and a couple of strangers who became new friends) who know much more than I do about how to BLOG BIG with a million plus visitors each.  Among them are the following:  American Power, Brutally Honest, The Other McCain, The Curt Jester, The Anchoress, Chicago Ray, and JivinJehoshaphat.  There are other notables, including Athos of Chronicles of Atlantis, whom I seem to have tricked into thinking I know Latin.
   
   
3. Two years ago my employer, a trucking company, issued an edict that pets would no longer be allowed in company vehicles as of the following April.  This was both alarming and odd to hear.  Alarming for obvious reasons, not the least of which was that for most of us truck drivers, our pets are all we have anymore.  And even if that's not the case, we have grown very attached to them having traveled over 120,000 miles each year, all over the country and parts of Canada with them.  Odd because only 3 years prior to that edict, my employer (who shall remain nameless) encouraged drivers to get pets to relieve depression and lower blood pressure.  Within 3 months of this announcement, over 500 drivers had given notice to quit, causing said employer to rescind its rule.  However they still said no pets in new trucks.  Read THIS for clarification on why that caused a problem...  A couple of days ago, I got the announcement that pets would be allowed in newer trucks which don't require idling in order for the cab to maintain a livable temperature in which to live.  I get to keep Buster, my cat, after all.   Hooray!
   
   
4. Whenever I get some free time between load assignments or a vacation or whatever, I like to go exploring... usually within large cities or other interesting areas.  And when I do, I tend to run into familiar faces.  Not people who know me, but ones I see on TV or in movies.  The most recent was last Friday after the March For Life mentioned above, when I ran into Carl Cameron of Fox News.  Others I have written about HERE.  And still others I have chosen not to include in print, like Laura Ingraham, Mark Steyn, Michelle Malkin, and others.
   
   
5. The week before last I was able to spend the day with Kevin and family, meeting his wife and kids for the first time, and celebrating his eldest son's birthday.  During the visit I got to attend my first ever Latin Mass, celebrated by Father Brankin of St. Odilo's in Berwyn, IL.  It wasn't quite what I expected.  It was beautiful in its own way, but not very participatory.  In fact most of it seemed to be Father Brankin with his back to us, looking up and mumbling in Latin.  But true to form, he was and is one of the best Homilists I've ever heard in any Mass.  There are a few I've posted on my left column if you're interested....
   
   
6. A few days ago I delivered a load of toilet paper (several hundred cases of 80 rolls each) to a warehouse who rejected three of the cases.  It seems that an overly enthusiastic forklift driver accidentally stabbed those cases with one of the forklift forks, making them unacceptable, even though the product inside the cases were unharmed.  So the consignee threw the three damaged cases back on my trailer.  Upon contacting my employer about this, I was told to keep them, throw them away, or use them at my pleasure.  So now I'm driving around with 240 free rolls of toilet paper scattered about the interior of my cab, making me feel like a very rich man indeed.  I think I'll donate most of them to my church.
   
   
7. Drove from Augusta, GA to Oak Grove, KY through snow storms on icy roads earlier today (Friday).  Still have over 1,500 miles to go to deliver in Utah.  Praying for good weather and feeling glad I have a job.  Feel free to check out other Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

JIHAD: The Political Third Rail

This looks like it could be an interesting event.

Apparently, Pam Geller and Robert Spencer have joined forces and started an organization called the Freedom Defense Initiative to defend our liberties and freedoms when under attack by those who don't share our values and beliefs.

Look for the first event on Friday, February 19, in the Virginia Room at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C..

Teenage Convert To Christianity Asks Obama About The Double Standard

It only took a full two months after the story appeared on Pam Geller's blog, Atlas Shrugs, before any major TV news source picked up on it.  Enter Fox News.  Now at last, some attention is being shown to one small part of a much larger issue that is religious persecution in the Muslim world.

In the past decade or so there has been a wave of converts to Christianity in the Middle East and South Central Asia (India, Pakistan, etc...) resulting in "persecutions, assassinations, and widespread church bombings."  I posted on a recent wave of these last week, as they appear to be happening more frequently and with more ferocity.  But you won't hear about these on the news.  You won't read about them in the newspapers, either.  No one in the MSM (main stream media) wants to sound the alarm or deal with them in any way in order to avoid the appearance of xenophobia.  Christians, Hindus, Jewish people, and others are paying a high price for such political correctness, as the Muslims lay waste to peaceful houses of worship of faiths different than their own.  Funny the MSM doesn't accuse THEM of xenophobia.  Perhaps this has more to do with fear of reprisal than political correctness....

My First MARCH FOR LIFE in Washington D. C.

Today, in spite of the weather, I drove to Washington D.C. to partake in the 37th annual March For Life and had an experience like no other.  I saw an enthusiastic crowd in very large numbers totally devoted to the life cause, consisting largely of young, fresh faced people chanting, praying, laughing, and enjoying life to its fullest as they marched for their firmly held beliefs.

They came from Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and even from as far west as Kansas City, MO.  They all came for the same reason, to convince our lawmakers and Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe vs. Wade, and make abortion a thing of the past.  There were priests, bishops, lots of students, women who have had abortions and regretted them, Knights of Columbus, bloggers like myself, politicians, teachers, nurses, several nuns, and people from all walks of life, all who agree that abortion will go down in history along side American slavery and lynching of African-Americans as stains and blights on our nation.

There were some who disagreed, waiting for us on the other side of the Capitol Building, their numbers very few and kind of pathetic.  They were treated civilly, but dealt with in short order.  Their message was blocked by superior numbers, banners, logic, and reasoning.

After the March I headed over to the Senate office buildings to find Senators Specter and Casey.  Senator Spector was not in today (no surprise being he is pro-abortion) to receive the many visitors who stopped by.  I signed his guest book and left a not-so-friendly message, "Act like a man," in response to his treatment of Michelle Bachmann the other day.

When I stopped by Senator Casey's office I found he was not there either.  But there was a sign saying he was available to meet with pro-life people from 2:00 to 2:30pm today.  I found that amusing since the March started at 2pm and was in no way finished by 2:30.  What a clown!  I hope he isn't counting on being more than a one-term-wonder.  My message for him wasn't much nicer, as I was both tired and foot-sore.

As I was searching for the exit I heard a familiar voice from around the corner.  When I investigated I found Fox News' own Carl Cameron with his cameraman and equipment working on a news piece about Senator Mitch McConnell and campaign finance laws.  I waited until they were done and then tried to sneak a picture of him.  He noticed and said "hold on," as he set down his can of Red Bull, walked over to me and offered to have his cameraman take a picture of the two of us with my Sony.  "We do this all the time," Cameron said reassuringly.  And then several pictures were taken (See last photo below).  What a generous guy.  I rank him along side Ernie Banks and Bishop Rhoades when it comes to celebrity encounters.

All things considered, it was a very positive and productive day. I have the rest of the 159 pictures available now.  Click on this---> Flickr.

All of the pictures above and below were taken by me and my Sony DSC-F828.  And as usual, you can make each one larger by clicking on it.  Enjoy!