follow-up to "New Dangers to Bloggers?"

A couple of days ago, I wrote a blog entry about some wondering whether or not blogs and tweets should be protected...http://1ncisfan.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-danger-to-bloggers.html. But now, I am reading an article of another danger....http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/doj-slam-muslims-on-facebook-face-feds/

From the article:
Bloggers beware. And those who use email, too. And those on Facebook. And Twitter. And anyone else using social media: Diss a Muslim and the Department of Justice will be on your case with the full weight of federal law.

The Obama administration, which is launching a series of Muslim Outreach Summits so that Islamists can tell federal officials how they better can serve that community, says it also is holding educational outreaches to let people know that Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal prosecution.

Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, is scheduled to appear at an event sponsored by the American Muslim Advisory Council of Tennessee next week, and will “provide input on how civil rights can be violated by those who post inflammatory documents targeted at Muslims on social media,” according to a report in the Tullahoma News in Tennessee.

“This is an educational effort with civil rights laws as they play into freedom of religion and exercising freedom of religion,” he said. “This is also to inform the public what federal laws are in effect and what the consequences are.”

He said everyone needs to understand that Internet postings that violate civil rights are subject to federal jurisdiction.

Interesting how it mentions "Diss a Muslim and the Department of Justice will be on your case with the full weight of federal law"...What I don't see is "Diss a Christian....or "Diss a Jew..." Doesn't that seem a little hypocritical to you? If you look at all the millions of blogs that are out there, I bet there are thousands of them that probably diss (affront, insult, show disrespect to) Christians and Jews, but will any of them have the "full weight of federal law" put on them? Will there be any US attorneys be going around advising Christians and Jews on how THEIR civil rights are violated by those who post inflammatory documents against THEM?  Will there be any events where there will be "educational efforts with civil rights laws" for Christians and Jews?

The question that I have is: Will the enforcement of these laws go both ways? If a Muslim or an atheist goes on their blog ,or on Facebook, or on Twitter or whatever social media they use and and show blatant disrespect to Christians and Jews will the federal government go after them? If they post something that violates the civil rights of Christians and Jews, will they be subject to federal jurisdiction? If they are planning on protecting "civil rights" will it be for both sides or is this just another attempt to get rid of your opponents?

As I said in that blog a couple of days ago:
Are we going to allow the sacrifice of so many be cancelled out because of a few that object to what is being said in blogs and tweets? Or is this still the land of the free and home of the brave?  If we live in a land of freedom for all, should that freedom extend to all? Or should we borrow from the Lincoln quote: "When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]."

If the rights of few are taken away, then what is to stop them from taking the rights of many...maybe we should be ready for a time like what Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer talked about when he uttered the famous words:

“First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”

 

 

New danger to bloggers?

A year or so ago, I wrote about an attack on a blogger...http://1ncisfan.blogspot.com/2012/04/danger-in-blogging.html...now I am reading about a new danger to blogs...http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/rush-dems-want-new-controls-on-journalists/

While I'm not a great fan of Rush's...when I read about something like this, it gets me to worrying...especially the following quote: “But here is the bottom line – the media shield law, which I am prepared to support, and I know Sen. Graham supports, still leaves an unanswered question, which I have raised many times: What is a journalist today in 2013? We know it’s someone that works for Fox or AP, but does it include a blogger? Does it include someone who is tweeting? Are these people journalists and entitled to constitutional protection? We need to ask 21st century questions about a provision that was written over 200 years ago.”

Those who read this blog (at least the three or four of you that do...chuckle) know what my views on various issues are, but being a journalist? What is the definition of "journalist"? Well, according to WWW.dictionary.reference.com:

a person who practices the occupation or profession of journalism.

And journalism is defined as:

the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business.

 

So in the very sense of the definition of the word, I am not a "journalist". But then the question is why go after bloggers and tweeters? I go back to the blog entry that I quoted above: 

What is the purpose of a blog? The official term for a blog is "web log" where a person puts down his thoughts in a log (a type of journal) for other people to read, to learn and maybe even to discuss. You might have figured that back in the old Reformation days, Luther would have put his "95 Theses" on a blog rather than on a church door...(or Jefferson doing the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln the Gettysburg Address, Dr. King with the "I have a dream speech", etc...).But if a person is restricted from writing down what is on their minds then you begin to go on the road to censorship and restriction. You begin to go to a totalitarian society where all speech is forbidden unless it is approved by a board. You could have imagined in the 30's and 40's if blogs were around; Hitler's Gestapo or Stalin's KGB going after blogs, where the blog writer dares to say something against the state or against the leader.

So the question is-Is a person free to write about their own thoughts and experiences where people could possibly learn something that helps them in their lives or we going to become "blog sheep" just saying "Baaa..." or whatever the party line is.... Is it freedom for all or freedom for just chosen people?  

 

That paragraph keeps echoing in my head because yesterday we celebrated a holiday in which we honored those who died for our freedom and the freedom of others...Did they do it in vain? Are we going to allow the sacrifice of so many be cancelled out because of a few that object to what is being said in blogs and tweets? Or is this still the land of the free and home of the brave?  If we live in a land of freedom for all, should that freedom extend to all? Or should we borrow from the Lincoln quote:
"When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]."

Memorial Day 2013

I was on Facebook a couple of days ago, when I saw the picture above and the caption was ideal for this weekend. I think of the words of Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf8hfZuzw_A and the words that are in the chorus:
And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.


So often we focus on our "rights" that we forget the cost that was paid for them. We forget about North Africa, Normandy, France, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and countless other places where "The Greatest Generation" fought to remove the great evils of the world...of places like Pusan, Inchon and other places in Korea where our soldiers fought to keep a country free...the sacrifices made in Vietnam by soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines...Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, to free countries from a brutal dictatorship and Afghanistan....and many other places throughout our world...why do we do so?


Once again I go to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Memorial?s=t and looked up Memorial...and came up with: "something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc" That is what Memorial Day should be about...preserving the memory of what these men and women have done...remembering the cost that was paid for things that at times we take for granted...


I know that I haven't said it often enough...but THANK YOU, for the soldiers of our Army, sailors of our Navy, airmen of the Air Force and Marines. Thank you for willing to serve and if need be to sacrifice yourselves to keep our nation free. May we never forget your sacrifice and never ever take it for granted! 

follower or imitator?

I've never really been a fan of Twitter...sure there are times when I have been tempted, but I usually stomp on them like one would a cockroach...

The first problem that I have is the 140-character limit...this is a problem for someone who really wants to share what is on their mind (like I have a tendency to do....) and to be rationed in thought is something that I'm not exactly a fan of. (Can you imagine if Thomas Jefferson had to write the Declaration of Independence with only 140 characters? or if Winston Churchill had to do his "Blood, sweat and tears" speech and told he could only use so many letters?)

The other problem with a limit on the number of characters is that when you see something like what happened in Oklahoma and you want to do an impromptu and spontaneous prayer... do you really want to be interrupted by a reminder that you only have a few characters left so you have to shorten your prayer to the King of the Universe? ("Dear Lord, there's so much I want to say, but I only have a limited amount of time and space...")

AM I OVER 140 CHARACTERS YET?

And the other problem that I have with Twitter is the concept of "followers"...I can understand it on a blog like this, because a follower is someone who likes what you have to say and sometimes may ACTUALLY agree with what you have to say! But on Twitter the concept of following in my opinion (for what that's worth) is usually following something or someone who is "trendy"...and we all know the dangers of that...one day's "flavor of the month" is the next day's "Why did I ever follow that?", one person who may be "hot" at one moment, may be totally "not" the next...

So when thinking of "follower", I did what I usually do, go to www.http://dictionary.reference.com and looked up the word follower and it had this to say:

"a person who follows another in regard to his or her ideas or belief; disciple or adherent"

Someone who follows another person in regard to his or her ideas or beliefs....but what if that person that they are following just espouses fluff? Do we then decide to become "fluff followers"? Or what if they espouse stupidity? Do we become stupid because they are stupid?  But then I noticed the last part of the definition and another definition of follower which says:

"a person who imitates, copies, or takes as a model or ideal" 

Disciple, adherent, one who imitates, copies or takes as a role model...and my mind was drawn to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 11:1; especially as it is written in the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible): 
"try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah (Yeshua or Jesus)"

A note in my Ryrie study Bible sent me to Ephesians 5:1, where it has the word "follower". However, both words have the same Greek origin, mimeomai, which means "mimic" And when I looked up "mimic" I got the following:

"to be an imitation of; simulate; resemble closely". 

Resemble closely....to be like or similar to...If we are called to be followers of Jesus, then we are called to resemble Him closely, to be like or He was...Is that happening today? Are we willing to imitate Jesus to the extreme that He called us to in Luke 9:23-especially as it is rendered in the Amplified Version of the Bible: "conforming wholly to my example in living and if need be, dying also"

So I ask again....are we a "follower" going with trends until they become passe? Or are we "imitators" willing to be like Jesus in every area of our life?

National Nurses week

Today is the beginning of National Nurses week which honors all nurses who long hours in hospitals all throughout the United States.

I am thankful for these people that do this work. I would see the nurses much more often than I would see the doctors and they were the ones who many times would do the actual grunt work in taking care of me.

The one group of nurses that I am most thankful for were the wound nurses. One of the effects of the appendix bursting was that there were all sorts of materials that were left in my abdominal area. And I had to have sponges put in me in sort to soak up whatever was there. So two to three times a week, for at least five months, I had to have them taken out and replaced with new ones. And these ladies did the job, taking out sponges, putting in new ones and at times even taking pictures of my abdomen to track the progress of my healing. And there was no sign of squeamishness or anything like that!

And one in particular stands out. Her name was Kimberly over at Christus Santa Rosa. The reason Kimberly stands out was that she was 7 months pregnant while working on me...talk about going above and beyond the call of duty. It was so funny that she would be working on me and at times her pregnant belly would be on my arms and I could feel the baby kick and move around in there...

Another Kimberly memory was of a  time where I basically became a classroom...she was training nurses who were in school and brought them in and taught them while changing the sponges....

So thanks to all the nurses who do all that you do! May God bless you and in the words of Paul "knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain"...

Pray for the nephew of Chen Guangcheng

I was reading my evening news from LifeSiteNews.com when I came across this article: "Chen Guangcheng’s nephew suffering appendicitis in prison: Chinese officials withhold treatment" http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/life-of-chen-guangchengs-nephew-in-danger-as-retaliating-chinese-officials 

If you don't know who Chen Guangcheng is, he is a man who has spoken out against the "two-child" policy of China (which limits Chinese families to only have two children) despite the fact that he is blind and has been persecuted by Chinese officials. He was fortunate that he was able to leave China to freedom here in the United States. However, family members are not as fortunate and one of those is his nephew. He is suffering appendicitis while being imprisoned. What makes this truly horrific is that Chinese officials are withholding treatment.

I know first-hand what can happen if appendicitis is not treated. I nearly died when my appendix ruptured. If it were not for the Lord using men such as Dr. John Metersky and others, I would not be alive to write this. It took being hospitalized for six months, having seven JP tubes stuck in my body, not being allowed to eat or drink during that time, then having a ileostomy and colostomy bag put in my body, having my body create a fistula (the body creating it's own openings like a tunnel) then having to wait almost a year to have them reversed and having to wait weeks for the staples to be removed and finally heal up. And all this was pre-Obamacare...

So having said all this, what the Chinese are doing is nothing short of murder. We as the body of believers need to raise this young man up in prayer and pray that the hearts of these officials will soften and they will show mercy to this young man.