An Inconvenient Snowfall

As our president puts global warming near the top of his administration’s agenda, and Al Gore seems to be fading into the woodwork from the embarrassment of Climategate, the United States is experiencing record-breaking weather this winter and many “inconvenient” snowfalls.

Washington, D.C.–”The second US blizzard in five days walloped the region while it was still digging out from the first blizzard’s 45 to 60 centimetres last weekend. A third storm was on the horizon for Monday and Tuesday with minor amounts of snowfall.  The second storm, coming on top of near-record snowfall on Friday and Saturday, broke a 111-year-old record in Washington, pushing the season’s snow accumulation to 141.2 centimetres. Fifteen-year-old records also fell in Philadelphia and Baltimore.” http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/308784,us-east-coast-digs-out-from-record-snow-storms–summary.html

Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York City–”Paul Kocin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Washington, D.C., said the storm compares to some of the greatest ever largely because of its timing. He estimated 50 million people were affected.  ‘The big difference is that it occurred within a week and a half of three other storms,’ Kocin said. ‘The combination of storms is almost unprecedented - the amount of snow, the amount of impact.’  The latest storm dumped nearly 16 inches in Philadelphia, about 20 inches in central New Jersey, and totals ranged from 10 to 16 inches around New York City.”  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35281444/ns/weather/

Baltimore, MD–”For a city that sees 18.2 inches of snow in the average winter (and less than 12 inches in each of the last three winters), this can only be described as a jaw-dropping season.   NO ONE predicted this, and no one could have.  So far this winter - and I say ’so far’ because there is more snow on the horizon - Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has recorded more than 6 feet, 7 inches of snow. That is nearly four and a half times our annual average.  Plenty of locations in Central Maryland saw more.”  http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/

Vermont–”Chris Giard’s kids figured school was going to be closed. After all, a 40-year-old snowfall record was shattered over the weekend, as Burlington, Vermont, saw some 33.1 inches of snow — the greatest in its history.”  http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/01/04/vermont.record.snowfall/index.html

Goshen, IN–”A record 5-inch snowfall for that date and temperatures near the freezing mark helped make most streets and roads slick Tuesday in the Goshen area.  The Goshen weather station reported a total snow of 4.9 inches at 7 p.m, beating the previous record of 3.8 inches in 1982.”  http://www.goshennews.com/statenews/local_story_041003021.html

Oklahoma City, OK–”Thousands of Oklahomans remain without power as a massive winter storm blew through the state bringing record setting snowfall to a large part of central Oklahoma.”  http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11726617

North Texas–”The National Weather Service says the snow total at D/FW International Airport has reached 7.9 inches, the most snow North Texas has ever recorded in a single day. The previous record was 7.8 inches on January 14, 1917 and again on January 15, 1964.  North Texas has now received 11.1 inches of snow so far this season. The record was set in 1977-78 with 17.6 inches.”  http://www.wfaa.com/weather/Wintry-weather-traffic-update-84107682.html

 But somehow, even this record-breaking weather is proof of global warming, according to the lefties.  Click here to see how they have spun it.

Helping Haiti

Yesterday I explained to my 4-year old son what an earthquake is and how it can devastate a family, a neighborhood, and a country.  I showed him where Haiti is on a map in relation to where we lived in the United States.  I delicately told him that there were people that were hurt, without doctors nearby; people that were thirsty, with no bottled waters to drink; people that were starving, and couldn’t go to their refrigerator 8 times a day like he does.  Then I let him know that with a click of the computer mouse, we could do a small part to help those hurting people.  I asked him if he would like to give some of his money to send bottled waters, food, and doctors to Haiti.  He quickly got his wallet and pulled out $2 and handed it to me.  That was 16% of his total money. 

When devastation occurs in other countries, whether it be by natural disasters, famine, or wars, I can’t seem to shake this helpless feeling I get.  What can I possibly do?  How can I help?  Is anything I do making a difference?  I am convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that money given to Samaritan’s Purse makes a difference.  So if you are wanting to help the Haitians and are skeptical of groups that have been shown to be more excited about your money than about helping the helpless, let me vouch for the integrity of Samaritan’s Purse.

They are an international relief and Christian evangelism organization, and at the helm is Franklin Graham, well-loved and respected son of Reverend Billy Graham.  They say this about their ministry:

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God’s desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, “Go and do likewise.”

For over 35 years, Samaritan’s Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ’s command by going to the aid of the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Our emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. As we offer food, water, and temporary shelter, we meet critical needs and give people a chance to rebuild their lives.

What could be a better use of God’s money than to provide for someone’s basic physical needs during their greatest desperation, and also have a chance to point them to the answer for their greatest spiritual need?  If you can’t think of any better use, and are feeling led to help, I encourage you to donate to any of the reputable charities that are helping Haiti right now, most especially Samaritan’s Purse.  (For those of you watching Greta Van Susteren last night, you might have seen her interviewing Franklin Graham while he was on a plane circling Haiti’s airport.)

Father, we pray for those hurting men, women and children in Haiti right now.  Please provide the means for as many rescue workers as possible to get safely on the ground there with all the necessary equipment and pull as many people as possible from the rubble.  Guide the money that is given into caring, honest hands, and ensure that it is used for what it was given; for the medical supplies, food, shelter, and water that will save Haitians and restore them to health.  You are the Great Physician, God.  Please bring healing to their bodies and touch them with the Truth of the Gospel.  Please comfort the friends and relatives of those who lost their lives in this tragedy, and comfort those who still wait for word from those loved ones.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Rush Limbaugh: Legitimate Consequences or Smear Campaign?

Rush Limbaugh is no favorite among the Left.  No one is denying that.  But how far will the Left go in order to silence their opposition?  Is that what is happening here in the case of Rush Limbaugh and the NFL?  OR, is this exactly what those involved in this decision say it is–a legitimate consequence for Rush’s alleged racist statements?

Here are some facts and thoughts about it. . .then you can decide. 

To begin with, just who are those that booted him out of the bidding process?

“The plot thickens on the media’s character-lynching of Rush Limbaugh. Of the four stories run on ESPN.com about Limbaugh’s bid for the Rams (October 6, October 12, October 15, and another October 15) none of them mention that NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith served as counsel to Attorney General Eric Holder and was a member of Barack Obama’s transition team.
 
The October 12 article references Smith’s anti-Limbaugh email meant to garner opposition against the radio host’s bid. The report refers to Smith only as the executive director of the NFLPA. Despite the fact that Smith’s opposition was based on Limbaugh’s political commentary, the report failed to mention that Smith’s political connections (including those to whom he donated thousands of dollars) have a vested interest in Limbaugh’s discrediting” (source).

Or how about an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal:

“What happened here, and is happening elsewhere in American life, is that Mr. Limbaugh’s outspoken political conservatism is being deemed sufficient reason to ostracize him from polite society. By contrast, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, who fires off his own brand of high-velocity, left-wing political commentary but lacks Mr. Limbaugh’s sense of humor, appears weekly as co-host of NBC’s “Football Night in America.” We haven’t heard anyone on the right say Mr. Olbermann’s nightly ad-hominem rants should disqualify him from hanging around the NFL. Al Franken made it all the way to the U.S. Senate on a river of political vitriol. . .It is no secret that this country’s politics has become intense across the ideological spectrum. Rush Limbaugh lets his listeners blow off steam and then get on with the rest of their day. But if the people who claim to worry about such things want to see a truly angry right develop in this country, they should continue to remain silent while the left tries to drive Rush Limbaugh and others out of American political life. If that happens, the NFL by comparison will look like an afternoon tea. “

So what are the statements that have disqualified Rush, and are they true?  The comment about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Donovan McNabb. . .here is National Review’s Stephen Spruiell:

“In 2007, four years after Rush made his comments, McNabb told HBO’s Bryant Gumbel that, as a black quarterback, he felt pressured to live up to unreasonable expectations. “There’s not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra,” McNabb said. “Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn’t want us to play . . . is low, so we do a little extra.”

McNabb’s analysis is flawed in one respect: Black quarterbacks face more pressure not because people don’t want them to play, but because people — primarily the sports media and the NFL— want a black QB to hurry up and make history by joining the pantheon of the greatest QBs of all time. One will, eventually, but, in the meantime, average-to-good black QBs face unrealistic pressures to be that guy. That says more about the media and the league than it does about the ability of blacks to be great quarterbacks, and Rush said so. Six years later, he’s still being punished for it.”

Spruiell explains how Rush’s comment calls to mind other expectations that the public, the media, or the NFL have had over the years. . .for Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Tony Romo. . .or even more recently, for once presidential candidate Barack Obama.

And Rush’s alleged comment about slavery?

MSNBC’s host, David Shuster, had something to say about that:

“And Tamron, speaking of influence, we do have an update involving talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the controversy over his effort to help buy an NFL football team. Limbaugh denies he said quote, ‘slavery has its merits,’ it was a quote that appeared on MSNBC this past Monday and Tuesday. MSNBC attributed that quote to a football player who was opposed to Limbaugh’s NFL bid. However, we have been unable to verify that quote independently. So, just to clarify.”

And in Rush’s words:

“Nobody can source it because it wasn’t ever made.  I never said it.  And look at all of these people who are repeating it without checking, and these are the people who tell us that they are the professionals, that they are the ones we should trust to week out what’s garbage and what’s not garbage in the ”sewer,” they say that is the Internet.  They are the sewer!  They are the sewer, and they are in the midst of it. . .These people repeat lies because it fits their already prejudiced agenda.  They are the ones with prejudice and bigotry coursing through their vanes, through their hearts, and through their souls.  They are consumed with jealousy and rage.  They are all liberals — and make no mistake:  That’s what this is about.  It is about ideology.  It isn’t about race.  It’s about their being jealous and attempting to discredit me, and they’ve now sunk to the low of repeating fabricated quotes that they cannot source.”

I have my opinion, and it is found in the Word of God:

^“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.  For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth“ (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

It’s going to be more difficult in the coming days, years and decades to stand on Truth.  That doesn’t mean we should stop.

Balloon Boy Hoopla a Hoax?

When news that 6-year-old Falcon Heene had been found safe and sound after yesterday’s heart-stopping news-making adventure, I was so relieved and thanked the Lord.  I’m sure that many mothers and fathers who were watching could tell you that it was as if they were experiencing this horror with the Heene parents.

What was thought to be a several hours-long flight that could have ended very tragically was simple a vacant, runaway balloon with a scared little boy hiding in an attic.  Every single part of me wants to believe that this is all there is to the story.  But today’s front page shows that there is some speculation as to whether this could have been a hoax.  Could this be the case of a family wanting to make a reality show of their own?

The Heene family is no stranger to reality tv.  They appeared in two episodes of “Wife Swap” and Falcon’s parents were reportedly aspiring actors and filmmakers for quite some time.  I remember thinking yesterday, while all of this was going on, how ironic it was that this was happening to a reality show couple.  What are the odds?  But never in my wildest dreams did it cross my mind that a parent would concoct this story, involve this many helicopters, emergency responders, and media, all the while letting the world think that your son could be in real danger or dead, all for notoriety and money.  I will believe that this family is innocent of any wrongdoing until proven otherwise. . .if only for the fact that my head couldn’t handle the alternative.