GOP Playing Cards

From a recent email:

GOP_playing_cards

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Michael Jackson

Nothing turns you from media pinata to media darling as fast a death. I was a fan in his prime – the 80’s – and I truly enjoyed the Thriller album. It’s a portrait of human fallibility that someone at the “top” could topple so hard in later years. Those of us who understand the depravity of man already know that this capacity for a downward spiral is in each of us.

A New Addition… Sawyer

My posting has (again) been sparse… but with good reason. I have a new addition to the family! Our little Sawyer was born a week ago today, and has thus far been consuming much of our time with poop, sleep, crying, and cuddling. We wouldn’t trade him for the world! :-)

Sawyer with Tami less than a day oldSawyer and TamiSawyer

An Inconvenient Hypocrite

Just got an email forward that turned out to be TRUE, even according to Snopes (which seems to lean a little left in its truthiness). I’ve been preaching for a while that politicians and Hollywood elites who tout “green” are massive hypocrites. How many more examples do we need?


HOUSE #1

Al Gore's energy hog house

A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern “snow belt,” either. It’s in the South.

HOUSE #2

George W Bush's modest green-friendly ranch house

Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every “green” feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE #1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as “the Texas White House,” it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush.

So whose house is gentler on the environment? Yet another story you WON’T hear on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC or read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Indeed, for Mr. Gore, it’s truly “an inconvenient truth.”


Hit Snopes for more details.

Murder… Or Perhaps Choice? (updated)

So everyone saw this yesterday in the news:

Kan. abortion doc killed in church; suspect held

Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

[full article]

Tiller's Abortion Clinic in Wichita, KAA Kansas abortion doctor was terminated in his church yesterday by a very-late-term gunman. I am saddened when a gunman chooses to permanently remove a church’s usher, and I would like us to work together to give gunmen everywhere more options. We all want to minimize the despair that befalls churches who can’t find good usher replacements.

Notice the callousness of the language of the left? Those same folks are crazy-spun about this shooting in Kansas… yet blindly look away when the shootee cuts babies into pieces, or dries them alive from the inside out with salt, or some other method that renders water-boarding a truly zen-spa massage experience (and a non-lethal one at that). So whatever, I guess… up is down… in is out… liberal logic, ho hum.

So, can’t we say – using the logic of the left – that the gunman was just executing his freedom of choice? Maybe he wanted to rock the vote? Okay, so he decided not to choose life for the usher… but he may choose life for the next usher, right? Isn’t choice beautiful?

The family said its loss “is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence.”

Might I humbly suggest that when women are cut into pieces after steel is punctured into their brain intentionally this doesn’t qualify as providing these unborn women “high-quality health care”.

Do we prosecute the gunman? Yes… and whatever punishment he gets we should then visit upon every abortion doctor on the planet, multiplied by the number of abortion-murders they’ve perpetrated, and multiplied again by the ratio of the innocence of the victims (i.e. the innocence of a baby versus the “innocence” of a mass-murderer… which I’d guess is around 15 trillion to one… without original sin it’d probably be infinite).

And, holy smokes, what the heck are they preaching at Wichita’s Reformation Lutheran Church where killing little babies is okay? What is this… First Church of Satan?

If anyone wants to lose their lunch Google “late term abortions”. You just may become a gunman, too… j/k :-) … n/r :-|


A message from Steve Hayford of APAC New York:

As many of you may have heard, Kansas abortionist George Tiller was murdered yesterday while he attended a Lutheran church service.

Tiller was known for practicing late-term abortions–including partial-birth abortions–and was unsuccessfully prosecuted for violating state law in the conduct of his abortion practice. Tiller performed abortions since the early 1970’s. Tiller was a major supporter of the political campaigns of former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama. At the time of his death, Tiller was under investigation for medical ethics violations in connection with his abortion clinic.

APAC condemns the murder of George Tiller and expresses sincere condolences to his family. APAC also calls for Tiller’s murderer to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Further, APAC reminds Christians and other members of the pro-life community that we must never violate our Biblical convictions regarding the sanctity of life; we are not to fight evil with evil or take the law into our own hands. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

However, APAC takes issue with the laudatory statement made yesterday by Governor David Paterson regarding George Tiller’s murder. The governor’s statement makes it appear that Tiller was an American hero. Governor Paterson’s statement praises Tiller for his alleged “fearlessness, compassion and commitment,” for allegedly protecting women’s rights, and for allegedly seeking “to ensure that his patients were provided with the medical, emotional and spiritual counsel they needed to make the right choice for themselves and their families.” The governor added, “With his murder, we are robbed…of a dedicated and courageous physician.” In reality, George Tiller took the lives of countless numbers of precious unborn children, and his actions in life demonstrated no compassion at all for these most vulnerable members of our society. Condemning the murder of George Tiller does not require our governor to pretend that Tiller was an honorable man, or that his work as a late-term abortionist was somehow praiseworthy.

While the murder of George Tiller is a morally repugnant act, Governor Paterson’s faulty moral compass is deeply troubling. It is also deeply troubling that certain organizations and members of the media are seizing on Tiller’s murder to foster a public perception that one person’s lawless act reflects on all pro-life people and organizations. These false and misleading portrayals of the pro-life movement say more about those who perpetrate them than they do about the pro-life movement itself.

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_0531092.html

http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/46584252.html

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

Memorial Day 2009

Today we are free because greater men and women before us bled for it. Some still bleed. Others carry old scars. Let us be sure that we forget none of them. If you want to honor the fallen, find an elderly or disabled veteran and lend them your helping hands for a few hours… and tell them how much you appreciate their sacrifice.

Here’s a quick news short of an American soldier who’s telling a story with his he camera, and speaks of losing six fellow soldiers:

So Long USAA Credit Card

After 15 years using a USAA credit card I canceled it today simply because the “specialist” on the phone – Erica Valadez – treated me like I was nothing but a number. Ummm, people are beating down my mailbox to give me credit cards with cute gifts or 0% for a year… and you think after 15 years of paying my full balance on time that I’m your slave?!

Albany Tax-Day Tea Party 2009

So about three weeks ago now I participated in Albany’s local extension of the national Tax-Day Tea Party. All manner of Capital Region folks came out to support positive tax reform and responsibility in government spending.

This is a particularly salient point in the capital of New York State. We recently ranked last (dead last… severely bottom-feeding last… at the extreme arse end of the scale last) on the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom. It’s crazy to me that moving to a state like California would be a big, big improvement.

Well it’s no surprise to any New Yorkers that we’re in the pits. This state loves to spend, spend, spend… tax, tax, tax. No responsibility. No long-term vision. We reinforce the entitlement mentality of an ever-growing pustule of dependent special interests.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were government agents in the crowd paying attention to who was there… what with Janet Napolitano releasing a report on “right-wing extremism” naming various traits to watch for in citizens such as:

  • Opposes abortion
  • Opposes restrictions on firearms
  • Opposes lax immigration
  • Opposes the policies of President Obama regarding immigration, citizenship, and the expansion of social programs
  • Opposes same-sex marriage
  • Opposes one world government

I guarantee you this tea party was ripe with honest, hard-working, God-fearing, conservative, patriotic folks who would associate with most of the traits listed above – myself included. I guess according the Janet (who later had to tuck her mangy tail between her legs) anyone with traditional values is a potential threat. Hey Janet… come and get me!

Some cell pics of the event:

Albany Tea Party 2009Albany Tea Party 2009Albany Tea Party 2009Albany Tea Party 2009

And as always you can see all my tax day photos in my gallery here: http://stevemooradian.com/gallery

Change we can believe in – for the unborn?

My friend (Roman Jaquez) just posted this on Facebook:

He tends to shy away from politics, but he voiced his discomfort with this video and what it means for Christ-followers. Let me share with you the same thoughts I shared with him (edited slightly for clarity):

As Christ-followers we are called to be engaged in our culture, and that includes politics. It’s messy out in our culture, but engagement is part of following Christ’s example so it’s really not up for debate. Christ called us to love, help, and protect the “least of these”… and none are more “least” than the unborn – innocent, fragile, voiceless. To stay away from politics… to avoid helping stop (with a pro-life vote at the ballot box) the brutal slicing of unborn babies into pieces is the same as walking past the beaten man in Luke 10:25-37.

You will hear some neo-Christians (even in our church!?) who try to muddle the notion of civic political involvement and dissuade others from paying attention and getting involved. Don’t listen… it’s a lie from the devil.

There are wolves in sheeps’ clothing out there, my friend. Be on your guard. Be bold to speak truth. Be engaged in our WHOLE culture… not just the parts that look like American Idol. :-)

Armenian Genocide Remembrance – 2009

I’m Armenian. It’s April 24. ‘Nuff said.

theForgotten.org | Never-Again.com

From the Genocide Education Project:

Armenians around the world observe April 24 as the day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide. On this date in 1915, the Turkish government arrested close to 250 Armenian leaders in Constantinople. They were sent to prison and most were executed. Across Turkey, community leaders were rounded up and executed in the coming months as the remaining population (mainly women and children) were sent on death marches. By 1918, 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians had been murdered–half of the Ottoman Armenian population. The rest were summarily forced from their historic homeland.

This year, Peter Balakian, a premier scholar has translated his great uncle’s (Grigoris Balakian) memoir– “Armenian Golgotha.” Grigoris Balakian was one of the intellectuals imprisoned on April 24, 1915. He was a priest in the Armenian Church and important leader in the Armenian community. He was able to escape and endured years of adversity as he tried to stay alive during the first modern genocide. “Armenian Golgotha” brings us accounts from an eye witness that saw the brutalities inflicted on innocent Armenians across Anatolia. He records atrocities committed against the Armenians as well as his experiences with Turks and foreign workers who risked life and limb to keep him alive. At first glance it seems an extraordinary read–except that millions of people have perished as a result of genocide. Sadly, the extraordinary aspect of the memoir is not what happened, but that Grigoris Balakian survived.

Elie Wiesel, noted survivor of the Holocaust and Nobel Peace Laureate said “whoever reads or listens to a witness becomes a witness.”

Become a witness. Remember the Armenian Genocide.

Here’s a resource for teachers: TeachGenocide.com