The week of March 21-28th is being set aside to pray for Sudan. Samaritan's Purse is joining with churches to pray, here are the details:
As Sudan prepares for historic presidential and parliamentary elections, Samaritan's Purse and church leaders in Sudan are calling on believers across the nation and around the world to participate in a week of prayer March 21-27, culminating with a Sudan Global Day of Prayer on March 28.
“Churches nationwide are mobilizing prayer,” said Pastor James, a church leader in Khartoum. “We are praying that everything will run smoothly. We are praying for the nation of Sudan.”
More than 2 million people died in Sudan's civil war before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed five years ago. The 2005 accord ushered in an uneasy truce, tied to a promise that the people of southern Sudan would be allowed to participate in national elections in 2010 and vote in a referendum on independence in 2011.
Free and fair elections in April could help lay a foundation for lasting peace. However, if violence erupts it could start a chain reaction that plunges the nation back into civil war.
Government and church leaders in both the North and South agree that prayer is the key for maintaining peace in Sudan. Please join us in praying daily for Sudan the week of March 21-27, concluding in the Sudan Global Day of Prayer on Palm Sunday, March 28.
Samaritan's Purse has specific prayer requests for each day, go here to sign up.
Lee Dewyze and Casey James are my 2 favorites right now on American Idol. If you forced me to pick between them, it would be Lee, he reminds me of David Cook.
As we all remember, Obama attacked a Supreme Court decision during his SOTU this past January.
During the address, Alito mouthed the words, "not true" and Thomas said that Obama's attack was an example of why he stopped attending the annual SOTU. Well, now it was Chief Justice Roberts' turn to weigh in:
“The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling. And, it does cause me to think if it makes sense for us to be there.”
The killers showed no mercy: They didn't spare women and children, or even a 4-day-old baby, from their machetes. On Monday, Nigerian women wailed in the streets as a dump truck carried dozens of bodies past burned-out homes toward a mass grave.(Associate Press)
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.
In 2008, I joined a group vowing to read 50 books. I was able to accomplish that goal by reading 36 books and listening to 14 on CD. Last year in 2009, I failed miserably. So, this year I'm getting back on the wagon and vowing to do even better than in 2008. My goal is to read 40 books and to listen to 10 on CD.
A lot of the books that I read this year are going to be on the lives of women. Since, I'm going to be teaching a class on remarkable women. I started with Sarah Palin and now I'm moved on to Margaret Thatcher. Right now it is all things Thatcher, because I am fascinated with her life.
I started out reading some easy books on her to get an overview. Now, I am reading one of her two biographies, The Path to Power. It is huge, over 600 pages, but it flows well and is interesting. While searching, I found this review of it.
Here are the books that I have read so far:
1) Going Rogue: An American Life~~Sarah Palin 2) 365 Ways to Live Cheap!~~Trent Hamm 3) Sarah~~Kaylene Johnson 4) Margaret Thatcher, Britain's "Iron Lady"~~Doris Faber 5) Madam Prime Minister~~Libby Huges 6) Margaret Thatcher~~Bernard Garfinkel
Here are the books on CD that I've listened too:
1) Feminist Fantasies~~Phyllis Schafly 2) Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family~~Lynne Cheney
The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.~Margaret Thatcher
I am doing research on some of my favorite women for a class that I will be teaching. I hope to do a profile on each woman.
I started with Sarah Palin and then went to Margaret Thatcher. I will go back to Palin and get a profile done on her, but right now I've immersed myself in all things Thatcher and wanted to do a post. I gave a speech to a Republican Women's club on Monday night, and talked a lot about Thatcher, so its all fresh in my mind.
Ecclesiastes 1 says there is nothing new under the sun. I found that to be so true as I studied Thatcher's life. She was fighting an identical battle in the 70's and 80's that we are fighting today. When she was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, she had this to say:
Now, what is the challenge of our time? I believe...to overcome the country's economic and financial problems and to regain our confidence in Britain and ourselves.
How did Thatcher think Britain could accomplish this? She said, "they must abandon socialism."When she was elected Prime Minister in 1979, she saw it as her role to:
...rescue Great Britain from its 25 year slide toward socialism.
During that election campaign, Thatcher ran on three issues:
1) Taking some of the power away from the Unions 2) Tax Cuts 3) Economic Freedom
What did the liberal from the Labor Party run on?
1) Saying they had created and protected 1.2 million jobs (this sounds familiar, despite the bad economy at the time) 2) A wealth tax for the rich 3) Cutting Defense Spending
It sounds like it is right out of today's newspaper. At that time, Britain responded to Thatcher and rejected socialism.
If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.~Margaret Thatcher
Thatcher Basics:
~~She was born Margaret Roberts on October 13, 1925 ~~She grew up in Grantham, above her father's grocery ~~Her family was a very, strict Methodist family ~~By her teens, she said politics was in her bloodstream ~~She was one of the few students that went to Oxford because of her intellect and not because of her wealth ~~She married Denis Thatcher on December 13, 1951 ~~She passed her bar exam only 4 months after having her twins (Mark & Carol) ~~She became a member of Parliament on October 20, 1959, exactly a week after her 34th birthday ~~The Soviet Union meant the nickname, "Iron Lady" as an insult, but Thatcher took it proudly ~~She was the first and only woman to become Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of 53 (so far) ~~She was the first woman ever to head the government of a major country in Europe or America ~~She chose her 22 member cabinet in 2 days ~~She got 4-5 hours of sleep a night ~~She won re-election in 1983 by a landslide, 144 seats, the largest margin since 1945 ~~In 1984, she escaped a bomb attack meant for her by the IRA
Quotes:
She became an international heroine of the right.~~Anthony Sampson, British commentator
I am not a consensus politician. I am a conviction politician...~~Margaret Thatcher
Friend and foe alike could only watch in fascination, however, as Margaret Thatcher dominated the life of the country and occupied the center of the political arena as no prime minister had done since the wartime days of Winston Churchill.~~Bernard Garfinkel
It was a swift and daring move that reinforced her image of toughness, as well as her total commitment to her policies.~~Garfinkel (talking about her decision to fire moderates from her cabinet in 1981)
It turns out it is true! The above video is CNN talking about it and saying they didn't know who was responsible for it. Then, I heard a caller call into Rush's show saying that she drives by it every day.
Jeffrey Scott Shapiro interned for Bill Clinton, voted for Al Gore and served on Senator John F. Kerry’s legal team during the 2004 election. Yet, today he is defending President Bush. He has started a group entitled, Honor Freedom. Honor Freedom's goal is to:
...to correct the historical record about President Bush and the Bush foreign policy doctrine
Honor Freedom's Mission is to:
1. UNITE BUSH SUPPORTERS by building a national network of chapters in all 50 states.
2. CORRECT THE HISTORICAL RECORD by dispelling fallacies about President Bush.
3. TEACH AMERICA the truth about the Bush foreign policy doctrine.
As Obama continues to make decisions that mirror the Bush doctrine, it is becoming apparent that the former president was not ignorant or irrational in his foreign policy decisions despite the harsh criticism and disloyalty he endured. He was in fact, ahead of his time, a visionary who understood politics and warfare in the modern age of terrorism.
That is why Obama is now following his lead.
It should be obvious now, even to Obama’s most passionate supporters that shielding the free world requires more than mere words like “hope” and “change.” Bush’s detractors should be embarrassed having arrogantly thought they could do it better, and those Republicans who abandoned Bush when he needed them most should take a moment to reflect on their fortitude or lack thereof.
Americans who chastised President Bush for removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq should apologize and show him the same respect they are now showing President Obama as he neutralizes the Taliban in Afghanistan.
George W. Bush seemed to have an almost mystical understanding of what the American people needed when we needed it most. He reminded all of us of why we should be proud to be Americans at a time when there was a whisper that we brought the Sept. 11 attacks upon ourselves for promoting democracy abroad.
President Bush deserves our respect, not our betrayal.
As anyone who reads my blog knows, I have continued to be a loyal supporter and defender of Bush, despite how fickle even many fellow Republicans have been towards him. I am extremely thank-ful for Shapiro's efforts. As Breitbart says, "George W. Bush is history's president". I firmly believe that history will be much kinder to him than many are today.
I've got to hand it to Jon Stewart! He's a big time lib, yet, he hasn't hesitated to go after Obama time and time again.
Also, one has to wonder how "wonderful" Obama's speaking abilities really are when he needs a teleprompter for every single speech he gives. Especially in the informal setting of a sixth grade classroom.
