Liberty And The Vigilante

Liberty And The Vigilante

Written by: Bill Heid Worldview March 22, 2015 

Who was that masked man?

— The Lone Ranger radio series (1933)

 

They call me Hawkeye.  That’s from The Last of the Mohicans, the only book my father ever read.

—Dr. Benjamin Pierce, “A Full Rich Day,” M*A*S*H (1974)

The First “Hawkeye”
D. H. Lawrence wrote, “The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic and a killer. It has never yet melted” (Studies in Classic American Literature, 1923).  He was writing about James Fenimore Cooper’s Leather Stocking Tales and particularly about the protagonist, Natty Bumppo — Hawkeye as we usually call him.
Hawkeye is the archetypical frontier hero.  Born of white parents, he lives beyond white civilization among the Native American tribes.  He is a scout, marksman, trapper and hunter.  His religion is pretty informal … for him the whole earth is God’s temple, and he finds himself daily communing in spirit with “the infinite source of all he saw, felt and beheld” — and that “without the aid of forms and language.”  He says he hates killing and objects even to killing animals without need, yet he does kill … a lot. The books are full of war and bloodshed, as you might expect.
OK, so let’s return to Lawrence’s main idea, his thesis:  The American soul, and so the American hero, is hard, isolated by choice, stoic in his emotional responses, and violent unto death in his pursuit of “right” as he sees it.  Hawkeye was really the first frontier hero.  Legions of cowboys, scouts and sheriffs have followed, multiplied first by cheap novels and then by TV Westerns. Clint Eastwood is the archetype.
Romanticism and the Western
The Romanticism in Cooper is obvious, but it’s sort of Americanized Romanticism.  Cooper places Nature above civilization, and man’s natural religious impulses above formal theology and worship.  But Hawkeye still has a vague respect for the Christian faith and biblical ethics.  He tries to live out the Golden Rule.  He is chivalrous and kind.  And in the end he helps forward the Westward expansion of Christian civilization.
This same Romanticism colored the heroes of television Westerns in the 50s and early 60s.  Few family ties, no regular church attendance, skill with a gun and a horse, and a healthy respect for law and order, though accompanied by a ready willingness to play vigilante when lawful government failed.
And lawful civil government failed an awful lot in those days. How many corrupt bankers, ranchers, railroad men and politicians made their way through the countless episodes of Bonanza, The Big Valley, The Rifleman or the Lone Ranger?
The Lone Ranger is a good example here.  He was one of America’s first masked heroes, a prototype of the masked mystery men and superheroes who would shortly follow.  He was a Texas Ranger, but he gave that up to lead “the fight for law and order in the early West” without any legitimate authority.  He was a vigilante, accountable to no one but himself.
As American Romanticism shifted through Realism into Existentialism, the parameters of the American hero shifted as well.  He is still at odds with the Establishment, still free from the ties of family and church, and still handy with a gun.  He is hard, often stoic and always detached.  But the heart of gold is gone.  He lives by his own rules.  And though he usually takes down the bad guys, the collateral damage is substantial.  No one lives happily ever after any more.
Total Depravity
Scripture rejects the Romantic view of human nature.  Scripture says that man is fallen in Adam, guilty before God, and corrupt in his thoughts, emotions and choices.  Man, by nature, has a wicked heart.  Wealth and status may give one man more opportunity to express that wickedness than another, but these conditions don’t generate the sin.   There is no virtue in poverty, rootlessness or a wilderness in existence, and no evil in position, wealth or the life of the city.
And, because of man’s inherent lawlessness, God has ordained civil government.  “The powers that be are ordained of God,” Paul tells us (Rom. 13:1).  For this reason, he says, “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers.”  The NKJV and the ESV read, “governing authorities.”  Anyone who resists the authority resists God’s ordinance or lawful arrangement (v. 2).  Those who resist or rebel should expect to receive God’s judgment at the hands of the magistrate.
Peter says much the same thing:

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well (1 Pet. 2:13-14).

For the most part, the apostles expected citizens to obey the civil authorities as a matter of faith and practicality.
Lesser Magistrates
But what if the magistrate himself is corrupt?  What if he is lawless and criminal in his conduct?  Scripture is well aware that such a situation is possible, if not likely.  The men and women who serve in civil office, in the courts, or as police officers are sinners.  It is likely that some, perhaps many, will abuse their power and authority.

John Calvin

Scripture, mostly by example, presents us with the doctrine of lesser magistrates or coordinate magistrates.  Calvin touched on the doctrine in the final chapter of his Institutes (1536), but it was developed more fully in the Huguenot tract, A Defence of Liberty Against Tyrants (1579) and Samuel Rutherford’s Lex Rex (1644).  The doctrine is this:
God has ordained many coordinate authorities within civil society — lords, kings, judges, mayors, senators, governors, etc.  He entrusts them all with the authority to enforce His law.  When any one of them violates that trust and rebels against the law of God, it is proper, even needful, for the other magistrates to resist his lawlessness and remove him from office.  In doing this, they may enlist the help of those citizens who will stand with them.  Those citizens may, under the authority of these “coordinate” magistrates, form a militia or army and take up arms against the lawless ruler and his forces.  The English Civil Wars and the American Revolution are both examples of this doctrine in application.
We also see this doctrine played out repeatedly in the book of Judges and in certain episodes in the life of David before he became king.  We see it in the New Testament in a less violent version when Paul repeatedly exercises his rights as a Roman citizen to rescue himself and his ministry from corrupt bureaucrats and officials.  What Scripture doesn’t approve of is the autonomous rebel and assassin.  David dealt with such men more than once (2 Sam. 1 & 4).  He usually executed them.
Self-Defense
This brings us to the issue of lawful self-defense.  There is one passage in the Law that directly addresses this:  “If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed” (Ex. 22:2, NKJV).  The next verse qualifies this:  “If the sun has risen on him, there shall be guilt for his bloodshed.”  In other words, if there’s an intruder in my home in the middle of the night, I have the right to shoot him dead.  I don’t know who he is and I don’t know if he’s armed or not.  He’s a potential danger, possibly a fatal one, to my family.  I have God’s permission to defend my home with deadly force.  The same permission doesn’t necessarily extend to the garage or barn.
On the other hand, if it’s the middle of the day, if my family’s not in the house, if can see clearly that he’s not armed or if I can escape safely, then I can’t kill him.  If I can see him in broad daylight, then I should report him to the proper authorities.  Now, of course, if I see that he is armed and leveling his .45 at me, then I can fire. (Maybe even empty the clip.)  American criminal law has observed these same basic principles for years.
Vigilantes:  Conclusion
Nothing here gives an autonomous individual the right to track down law breakers or in any other way assume the duties and authorities of the local police or the courts.  And certainly nothing here gives the ordinary citizen the right to use deadly force against officers of the law unless innocent life is really and immediately on the line and the citizen in question is ready to answer before a jury of his peers for his actions.
The pulp mystery men of the 30s and the costumed superheroes who followed were in most cases lawless vigilantes.  Both Batman and Superman, for example, were initially at odds with the cops, and today’s Batman still is, I suppose.  They, of course, all have something else in common … they were all fictional.
It is a Romantic and hugely juvenile mistake to confuse the actions of comic book vigilantes with the biblical right of self-defense or the broader doctrine of lawful resistance to tyranny.  It is a worse mistake to think that revolution and anarchy can change society for the better.  Lawlessness breeds lawlessness.  Assassination brings retaliation.  Anarchy leads to tyranny.  Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can effectively deal with human sin and create a law-abiding culture.

Home Remedies For Acid Reflux That Work.....

Written by: Patricia Bratianu RN PhD RH-AHG Natural Health February 23, 2015

Image source: dhcla.com

This time of year, we often consume too much calorie and fat-laden foods. Stress levels may be elevated. Alcohol consumption often increases. Digestive upsets are common. Bloating, gassiness, nausea, heartburn and a feeling of fullness in the upper abdomen and chest may occur.

These are signs of gastric reflux disease, also known as GERD. While a health care expert should be consulted to make a diagnosis if symptoms occur frequently, people suffering from occasional gastrointestinal distress may choose from a wide array of herbal remedies to effectively prevent and relieve discomfort due to acid reflux.

What Causes Acid Reflux?

Overeating, spicy foods, stress and the consumption of alcohol may irritate the tender lining of your esophagus. Not chewing food properly, eating before bedtime, and consuming fatty foods may contribute to your discomfort as well.

There is a valve at the bottom of the esophagus which food passes through to reach the stomach. The stomach contains strong acid, which begins to break food down. It is also protected by a special acid resistant lining. However, your esophagus does not offer the same protection. If food is regurgitated from the stomach to the esophagus or if the valve does not close properly, stomach acid makes contact with the lining of the esophagus. Burning, bloating, belching and pain arise.

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What Can Help?

Digestive enzymes can help prevent acid reflux. Raw pineapple and papaya contain enzymes which facilitate digestion. They help to prevent food from backing up into the esophagus. You can simply consume these delicious tropical fruits and juices as part of your diet, or you may choose to purchase commercial preparations. They are readily available in the form of capsules or pills. Follow label instructions.

People from South and Central America make a tea out of the skins and stems of pineapple, as these contain the most concentrated amounts of digestive enzymes. Simply simmer the pineapple parts gently for 20 minutes, or soak them in water overnight. Strain and discard the solids. Drink the tea as desired. I recommend that the tea be consumed warm, but not hot, or at room temperature for best results.

Orange Peels for Acid Reflux

Try making an herbal infusion of orange peels to relieve acid reflux. Several scientific studies indicate that orange peel extract provides a protective coating to the esophagus which prevents damage due to stomach acid. The movement of food through the esophagus to the stomach is facilitated as well. While most of the studies have been performed using orange peel extract which has been standardized to contain 98.5 percent d-limonene, herbalists have found that orange peels work well, too. Experts generally recommend that one gram of the standardized extract be taken every other day for three weeks.

If you prefer to make your own remedy, combine one tablespoonful of freshly grated organic orange peel or one teaspoonful of dried orange peel with one cupful of boiling water. Cover the tea and let it sit for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, strain out the solids and compost them. Drink the tea as often as desired. If you are using pineapple or papaya juice, try combining the juices with the tea. It makes a tasty treat.

Herbs Provide a Protective Barrier for Tender Tissues

Slippery elm inner bark, aloe vera, and marshmallow root provide rapid relief for inflamed tissues. They support the health of your entire digestive system. Aloe vera gel or juice may be purchased at large grocery stores. Try drinking it chilled. It may be mixed with pineapple or papaya juice and orange peel tea if you desire.

Marshmallow root and slippery elm inner bark are prepared as cold infusions. If you choose to purchase slippery elm inner bark, be sure and buy it from a reputable dealer, as the herb is overharvested. Only purchase farm-raised organic slippery elm. Marshmallow root is less expensive and makes an effective alternative.

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To prepare a cold infusion, mix one quart of room temperature or cold water with four teaspoons of dried slippery elm inner bark or marshmallow root. Cover the container and let it infuse overnight. The next day, strain out the solids and compost them. The thick tea may be consumed over the course of a day.

If you experience heartburn and want fast relief, you may mix a teaspoon of slippery elm inner bark powder with enough water to make a thick gruel. Simply take a spoonful of the gruel. You may repeat it if needed. Slippery elm lozenges are also available.

Self Help Tips to Prevent Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is preventable. Maintain a healthy weight. Avoid foods which have been problematic for you in the past. Fill up on healthy fruits and vegetables. Limit rich sauces, spicy foods and fatty foods. Watch your portion sizes. If you drink alcohol, be sure that you eat before and while imbibing. Sit up for at least an hour after eating.  Avoid eating late at night. If acid reflux is recurrent, sleep with extra pillows. Consult with your health care provider if you have questions. Acid reflux can be prevented and managed. You can still enjoy the foods you love with a little planning and by using safe, home remedies. 

Major New Report Confirms Your Worst Fears About Roundup, America’s Food

Written by: Daniel Jennings Current Events March 25, 2015

Image source: nineinchnews.com

Monsanto’s Roundup, America’s most popular weed-killer, likely causes cancer. That’s the assessment of scientists at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research arm in a major new report.
Glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by experts at WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France.
Researchers at the agency also found there is “limited evidence” that glyphosate can cause one form of cancer – non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Glyphosate is now used in around 750 different herbicides and has been detected in air, food and water, IARC concluded in the British medical journal Lancet Oncology.
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The report has huge implications. About 90 percent of the soybean crops and 70 percent of the corn crops in the United States are “Roundup Ready,” which means they’re genetically modified (GMO) to resist the spray.
Some groups applauded the report, saying it would help pressure the US government and other countries around the world to re-evaluate the safety of glyphosate and to require the labeling of GMO foods.
“The widespread adoption of GMO corn and soybeans has led to an explosion in the use of glyphosate – a main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and Dow’s Enlist Duo,” Ken Cook, the president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group, said in a press release. Glyphosate-based herbicides are designed to be used with Monsanto’s genetically modified Roundup Ready crops such as corn. “Consumers have the right to know how their food is grown and whether their food dollars are driving up the use of a probable carcinogen.”
The US Environmental Protection Agency considers Roundup safe and gave Monsanto permission for “increased tolerance levels” of glyphosate in 2013, Reuters reported.
Laboratory Tests Led To Report
IARC has four levels of carcinogen: known carcinogen, probably carcinogen, possibly carcinogen, and not classifiable and probably not carcinogenic. Roundup and glyphosate fall into the second category of concern.
The researchers based their conclusions on research on human exposure and on animal studies, the Working Group reported.
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The chemical has been detected in the blood and urine of farm workers.

Image source: croplife.com

“I don’t think home use is the issue,” IARC spokeswoman Kate Guyton told the Associated Press. “It’s agricultural use that will have the biggest impact.”
Not surprisingly, Monsanto criticized the report.
“We don’t know how IARC could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the globe,” Paul Miller; Monsanto’s vice president of global regulatory affairs, said in a press release. “All labeled uses of glyphosate are safe for human health.”
As Off The Grid News reported last year, one study found glyphosate in human breast milk.
How To Protect Your Family
There are some steps you can take to make sure your family is not exposed to glyphosate. These include:

1. Buy certified non-GMO foods or grow your own food in your garden. The Non-GMO Project certifies GMO foods and products and provides a list of such offerings on its website.
2. Stay away from farms and other areas where herbicides are being sprayed.
3. If spraying is taking place in your area, stay indoors and keep the windows closed.

Nationwide ‘Emergency Alert’ Test Causes Panic & Confusion

Nationwide ‘Emergency Alert’ Test Causes Panic, Confusion    


TV viewers across America see unexpected message  

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
 March 30, 2015 

A test of the national ‘Emergency Alert System’ which was seen by television viewers this morning in states across the country prompted panic and confusion, with many taking to Twitter to express their concerns.

The test began at around 11am EST and was broadcast in Washington DC, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The emergency alert contained no details and merely listed the states it affected and said the alert would run from 11am until 12 midnight.

Viewers in Sacramento, CA also reported seeing the test, which lasted for about 10 minutes before the regular TV broadcast resumed. At no point were viewers advised that the alert was only a test.

Some said the alert made them panic.

Others also tweeted their confusion and nervousness at seeing the alert, with many noting that the message had frozen on screen.

Last October, an emergency alert from the White House interrupted TV viewers across America, advising them to stand by for an emergency message and not to use their phones.

AT&T blamed a “nationally syndicated radio station” for sending the alert message by mistake, despite the fact that only the federal government can send out EAS alerts. The alert system, “can only be activated by the President in times of emergency,” reported Fox 5.

The EAS is operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Weather Service (NOAA/NWS). Mandatory test messages are sent via broadcast and cable television as well as all radio outlets. A separate system was introduced in 2013 for cellphones.

Meanwhile, a test of the Amber alert system in Michigan awoke people with a text message from state police at 5am on Saturday morning, prompting some complaints. The 6-year-old girl in question was later found safe.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/emergency-alert-test-causes-panic-confusion.html

North Dakota tells Feds to 'STAY OUT!'

North Dakota Takes Bold Step Forward On Commercial Hemp Industry, Tells Feds To 'Stay Out!'

                  

The Huffington Post  |  By Nick Wing

                     

      Agricultural field of industrial hemp; close up. | Alena Paulus via Getty Images

                                     

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) signed a bill into law on Friday that lays the groundwork for a commercial hemp industry and explicitly cuts the federal government out of the state's licensing process.
House Bill 1436 establishes guidelines for the state's industrial hemp program and allows people to apply to grow the plant for either research or commercial purposes. With its provision for commercial hemp, the law goes beyond the federal Farm Bill, passed by Congress last year, which allowed some states to cultivate the plant, but only for research purposes and in more restricted pilot programs.
The new measure builds on previous legislation that had legalized industrial hemp farming in North Dakota, but had gone largely unimplemented. Harsh federal restrictions on hemp have left some growers open to prosecution, making many states wary of pushing forward with cultivation. In addition to North Dakota, twelve other states have passed legislation to establish commercial industrial hemp programs, and a handful more have approved hemp production for agricultural uses or academic research. However, a number of those states have not actually moved ahead with officially establishing commercial hemp operations.
North Dakota will join the five states -- Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont -- that actually implement the hemp laws they have on the books. The Hemp Industries Association, a nonprofit trade group consisting of hundreds of hemp businesses, recently reported that those states collectively planted approximately 125 acres of hemp crops last year.
In an update to North Dakota's earlier hemp legislation, HB 1436 takes a bold stance against federal authorities, holding that a "license required by this section is not conditioned on or subject to review or approval by the United States drug enforcement agency." Instead, the North Dakota Agriculture Department will oversee the process for issuing licenses and monitoring and testing the hemp grown in the state.
Federal drug policy doesn't differentiate between hemp and other strains of marijuana that contain much higher concentrations of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Since the passage of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, all forms of marijuana have been considered Schedule I substances by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Drugs in this category are deemed to be among the most dangerous, with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. (Other Schedule I drugs include heroin and synthetic stimulants once known as "bath salts.")
According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report, the U.S. is the only developed nation that hasn't developed an industrial hemp crop for economic purposes.
Hemp has a variety of uses, from textiles and paper to oils, cosmetics and food products. The HIA estimated the total retail value of hemp products sold in the U.S. in 2014 to be at least $620 million. Due to federal restrictions, the overwhelming majority of the hemp used in these products currently comes from imported sources.
Earlier this year, bipartisan groups of lawmakers in both the House and Senate introduced versions of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which would end the federal ban on hemp production.
The legislation would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana and would allow American farmers in all states to grow the crop. Neither version of the bill has received a vote.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/north-dakota-hemp-farming_n_6969806.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News

SWAT Teams Can Now Enter Your Home Without A Warrant Thanks To This Stunning New Court Ruling

Written by: Daniel Jennings Current Events March 28, 2015

Image source: Boston Globe

The only pretext a SWAT team needs to temporarily seize your property is to use it as an observation post in an emergency situation, a federal judge in Nevada has ruled.
Police even have the right to smash down your door with a battering ram without a warrant and shoot you with pepper balls in order to take over your property, US District Court Judge Andrew Gordon concluded in a case called Anthony Mitchell v. City of Henderson. Mitchell and his parents sued the city of Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, because of events on July 10, 2013.
The Mitchells’ attorneys argued the events violated their clients’ First, Third and Fourth Amendment rights. The Third Amendment makes it illegal for the government to seize private homes for use as quarters for soldiers and has rarely been the focus of a federal case. The attorneys contended that the Third Amendment applies to police as well as the military.
Does the Third Amendment Apply to SWAT teams?
Gordon dismissed the case.
“The relevant questions are thus whether municipal police should be considered soldiers, and whether the time they spent in the house could be considered quartering,” he wrote. “To both questions, the answer must be no.”
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Judge Gordon’s description of events as described by Mitchell and his parents, Michael and Linda, makes for some very disturbing reading. None of the Mitchells was suspected of a crime. Instead, police simply wanted to take over their homes to use as observation posts to watch a neighbor who was barricaded inside his house and who was refusing to leave. Police were investigating a domestic complaint against the neighbor.
Without a Warrant
“The officers then knocked down Anthony’s door with a metal ram and entered his house, without a warrant or Anthony’s permission,” Judge Gordon wrote in his opinion. “They pointed their guns at Anthony and ordered him to the floor. The officers, including Officer Snyder, addressed Anthony as ‘a–hole’ and ordered him to crawl toward them and shut his phone off. Anthony stayed huddled on the floor with his hands over his face.”
Mitchell had refused to comply with the SWAT team’s request because he did not like the way the police were behaving.
“Doe Officers 1-10 pointed firearms at the Plaintiffs through their windows and at the homes of several neighbors,” Gordon wrote. “When Michael photographed Doe Officer 1 — a member of the NLVPD SWAT team — through a window of Michael’s home, that officer pointed his firearm at Michael.”
The officers are called Doe because they are not identified in the complaint. NLVPD refers to the North Las Vegas Police Department.
“Doe Officers 1-10 … then shot Anthony with ‘pepperball’ rounds at close range,” Gordon wrote. A pepperball is a non-lethal projectile made from chili pepper that some law enforcement agencies use. “The officers also shot Anthony’s dog Sam, who had been cowering in the corner of the room, with at least one ‘pepperball’ round. Sam panicked, howled in pain, and fled from the house. He ended up trapped in a fenced alcove in the backyard without food or water for nearly the entire day in 100-degree heat.”
Parents’ Home Seized, Too
After taking over Anthony Mitchell’s house, the SWAT team decided to occupy his parents’ home next door as well.

“Approximately 30 minutes later, Doe Officers 21-30 entered the Parents’ backyard, again without a warrant or permission,” Gordon wrote. “The officers knocked on the back door and demanded that Linda open the door. Linda complied, but told them that they could not enter without a warrant. The officers ignored her, entered through the back door, and began searching the home. Doe Officer 21 (a female) forcibly grabbed Linda, began to pull her out of the house, seized her purse and ‘began rummaging through it’ without consent.”
Does the Third Amendment Apply to SWAT teams
Anthony and Michael Mitchell were arrested on charges of obstructing an officer and held in jail for the night. The charges against them were later dropped.
“If the Mitchells’ story is true (the police obviously have their own version of events), it is clear that the officers engaged in illegal and deeply troubling abuses of power against innocent civilians – regardless of whether their actions violated the Third Amendment or not,” George Mason University Law Professor Illya Somin wrote in a Washington Post op-ed piece.
The case has important Constitutional implications because there are few court rulings on the Third Amendment and the protections it provides, Somin wrote. The Third Amendment is rarely invoked because of the protection against unreasonable search and seizure provided by the Fourth Amendment.
Somin believes the Mitchells had a solid legal case.
“When the Amendment was enacted in 1791, there were virtually no professional police of the sort we have today,” Somin wrote. “The distinction between military and law enforcement officials was far less clear than in the world of 2015. Moreover, many parts of the Bill of Rights were in part inspired by abuses committed by British troops attempting to enforce various unpopular laws enacted by Parliament.”
Another complicating factor, Somin wrote, is the militarization of police forces.
“If a state or local government decides to quarter a SWAT team in a private home, it is not clear whether that is meaningfully different from placing a National Guard unit there,” Somin wrote. “In sum, Judge Gordon may well be right that the officers involved in this case are not plausibly considered soldiers under the Third Amendment. But he is too quick to conclude that no “municipal police officer” could ever qualify as such.”

What Does The Bible Really Say About Educating Children?

Written by: Jonathan Jones Worldview March 29, 2015

Image source: fashionnow.website

In the last few years, education has been under fire… and for good reasons.
It seems like every time you turn around, you hear about schools with low ratings, states facing Common Core controversies, and even students walking out on mandatory testing. Is there any wisdom to be gleaned from Scripture regarding all of this? While one is not likely to find the Bible espousing the benefits of private school over public school or homeschooling as a preferred option, there are certainly truths to be found in Scripture that can inform our approach to educating children.
The education that is most important
In fact, there is a form of education that should never be sacrificed for the sake of anything else: spiritual education. It is primary, to be placed above everything a child learns.
Moses told Israel, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). From the very beginning of Israel’s history, the regular teaching of the Word of God to young children was paramount. It was the parents’ role.
Solomon wrote, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). Knowledge without an understanding of the One who grants it will be quickly misguided. However, when knowledge is based on the fear of the Lord and the truth of His Word, one can be confident that the knowledge received will be used properly and seen through the proper lens.
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Focusing on the spiritual education of a child first is important because it communicates two very important truths: First, it communicates that knowledge must be seen in light of the fact that our minds were created by God to be used for God to the glory of God. Second, it communicates that nothing is more important than knowing the God who created them. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
Education displayed throughout the Scriptures
A regular theme throughout Scripture is that of teaching and guiding those who are younger and/or less mature. For example, Moses taught and led Joshua, Elijah mentored Elisha, Jesus taught His disciples, Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos, and Paul taught Timothy and Titus.
Additionally, some of the early church fathers learned under the disciples; for example, Polycarp was a disciple of John. The entire book of Proverbs was written for the purpose of educating young men in the importance of wisdom (Prov. 1:8). This belief in passing down wisdom and knowledge is a common one in the Bible.
Learning is seen in Scripture as one of life’s ventures, not just something that happens during a certain phase of life. While it is true that children are in a state of heightened awareness with regard to formal education, the Scriptures make clear that we are all growing and learning throughout our lives. The author of Hebrews says, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? … For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness” (Heb. 12:7-10). The Greek word for discipline is paideia, which means “the act of providing guidance for responsible living.” What the author of Hebrews is telling the reader is that receiving guidance is a never-ending process; we received it from our parents for a while and then we receive it from others and ultimately from God throughout our lives, who corrects us even as adults.
The biblical data makes clear that education is important, but spiritual education is most important. While Scripture might not tell you where to send your student to school, you can be sure that the motivation for your child’s educational future should be based in your understanding and pursuit of the knowledge of God. Education begins in the home, with spiritual education the focus.
When instruction is based in the knowledge of God and discipline in following Him, one can be certain that the education will carry eternal value.

This Hospital Forces Antibiotics On Newborns By Calling Security Guards On Parents

Written by: Daniel Jennings Current Events April 1, 2015

Image source: Science Photo Library

A Tennessee hospital has reportedly adopted a policy of using security guards to restrain parents as employees apply antibiotic ointment on newborn babies against the parents’ wishes.
The policy is apparently designed to enforce what Chattanooga Times Free Press columnist Dave Cook has labeled an antiquated state law.
“If parents continue to refuse application of ointment, call security and administer the ointment with security at the bedside,” the policy at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga now states.
Tennessee has a 100-year-old law that requires medical personnel to administer an antibiotic ointment on the eyes of all newborns. Most hospitals in the state let parents opt out by signing a release form.
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The hospital uses erythromycin for the ointment.
“I was literally in the middle of a contraction, and they came and got right in my face,” a mother who did not want to reveal her identity told the newspaper.
Mom Faced Stark Choice
The woman, called “Mary Jane” in the article, wanted to have a natural child birth without drugs. She accused doctors and nurses at Erlanger of bullying her into letting them put the ointment on her baby in the delivery room. The staff reportedly gave the woman a stark choice as she was in delivery.
“One option was to leave the state and go deliver in a different hospital,” Mary Jane said. “Or, we could not have our baby in the hospital. At that point, we had no other choice.”



Mary Jane claims that she and her husband told the hospital staff that they did not want the ointment, but staff administered the ointment to the baby’s eyes right after it was born even though the parents were opposed. The husband then wiped the ointment off.
“This is our child,” Mary Jane told the Free Press.
‘This Is Our Policy’
The hospital is standing by the policy.
“We have a legal obligation to protect and preserve the eyesight of all babies delivered at our facilities,” hospital spokeswoman Pat Charles told the newspaper. Charles said the law was clear and unambiguous.
The law is designed to prevent blindness in babies caused by sexually transmitted diseases (STDS). It has been on the books since 1915, but state officials cannot remember any prosecutions for its violation, Cook reported.
Mary Jane even offered to take a test for STDs in order to avoid the ointment’s application. She claims staff did not tell her about the ointment until half an hour before she gave birth.
“They said, ‘We know you don’t want this, but unfortunately, this is our policy.’”
Said Charles, “We deliver more than 5,000 babies a year. We have never had to call security. The likelihood is we never will.”
Cook, the newspaper columnist, said the policy must change.
“If Erlanger would actually escort a laboring mother from its delivery room into the streets, then it is suffering from the worst blindness of all,” he wrote.
Should the ointment be mandatory? Share your views in the section below:
Hospitals Also Are Forcing Vaccinations On Parents. Read More Here.

Michelle O’s ‘healthy’ lunches going to the pigs — literally

Michelle O’s ‘healthy’ lunches going to the pigs — literally

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – There’s one group of young eaters who like Michelle Obama’s school lunch program: pigs.

New Mexico’s Galloping Grace Youth Ranch is accepting fruits and vegetables thrown away by students at several elementary schools in the Rio Rancho area and collects some five tons per week.

“It’s really whatever they don’t eat coming off of their trays, so when they get up to the trash cans they will scrape it into one of our buckets that we pick up on a daily basis,” ranch CEO Max Wade tells KRQE.

Speaking of the pigs, goats and chickens gobbling up the students’ castaways, Wade says, “If you think about it, it’s a fresh salad bar every day. Fruits and vegetables and they love it.”

To underscore the point, he’s talking about the farm animals, not the school children.

The goats prefer romaine lettuce, some pigs like grapes while others will eat “anything.” The chickens like the dinner rolls.

Earlier this year, a New York district estimated its students throw away 85 percent of their fruits and vegetables.

“We throw away a ton of food,” Canton Central School Food Service Director Ella Mae “Bluejay” Fenlong tells the Watertown Daily Times.

“If we cut up 20 pounds of cucumbers, we guess that 17 pounds get thrown away. I’ve watched kids take their cup of vegetables or fruit they’re required to take and just throw it away.”

American schools spend an estimated $3.5 million per day on food that ends up in the garbage can.

Interestingly, the Rio Rancho “healthy” school lunch repurposing program isn’t unique.

The Nebraska Farmers Union was working to partner with Lincoln-area schools to collect discarded food to fuel a worm farm, known as vermiculture.

“Composting gives them more hands-on experience. They can see how their waste is going to be turned into a useful product rather than going into a landfill,” says Brittney Albin, interim recycling coordinator at Lincoln Public Schools.

She says she isn’t sure how much of the 11,600 pounds of food waste per month come from the cafeteria.

“However, food waste does make up a large portion of the school waste, so we would expect the vermicomposting program to make a big dent in that number,” Albin tells the Journal Star.

Some 3,000 pigs at a Rhode Island hog farm scarf up uneaten fruits and vegetables, too.

The pigs are enjoying “half-eaten tuna sandwiches and other food scraps students discard during their lunch periods” as part of a new recycling program established by the town of Cumberland, according toWoonsocketCall.com.

Two Rhode Island districts – North Smithfield and Burrillville – that are sending their scraps to My Blue Heaven Farm. Both districts are participants in the National School Lunch Program, which is implementing the hated federal lunch rules.

When the Dollar Dies, The World Will Go Down With It? ... NOPE

When the Dollar Dies, The World Will Go Down With It? ... NOPE

This is something that I have been hearing for a while and in fact it was an idea that I used to think as well.

When the dollar dies, the world will die with it.

Nope, it will not, because there is a new kid on the block.

Unbeknownst to most of the US, right now a new world monetary system is being put in place. When this comes on line completely, odds are that it will basically kill the US Dollar as the global reserve currency.

This new system is called The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – also known as the AIIB.

aiib-membership-reuters

40 countries (60% of the world’s GDP) are now jumping the US ship like rats and setting up financial swap lines to bypass the dollar and SWIFT system. The fact that China, Russia, India, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have all joined this new alliance, it means that the Eurozone itself as of today has abandoned the dollar, and preparing for transitions to commence with the new AIIB banking system.

Once this new system is completely in place, the US dollar won’t be needed in these countries. They will have the means to transact financial commerce thus cutting the US and The World Bank out of the picture.

What this will theoretically do is cause all those US dollars that are being held by foreign countries, to slowly start trickling back home to the US.

Now will it be a sudden death?

No, because like it or not we are still one of the largest economies next to China and our goods and services are used and needed all over the world.

What will happen though is that the buying of these goods and services from other countries will slow down.

It is death by a thousand cuts and will impact our economy greatly. But will the world die the financial death along with the US when this happens?

Nope, the US will pretty much be left to its own devices and start to implode. That is till she rights the ship and starts being productive a productive nation again. http://www.prophezine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1096:when-the-dollar-dies-the-world-will-go-down-with-it--nope&catid=41:top-headlines

Former VA Chief Of Staff Linked To Gulf War Scandal

March 30, 2015 by Benjamin Krause

A new Newsweek report claims former VA chief of staff John Gingrich is linked to the initial Gulf War chemical weapons cover-up as an Army battalion commander in 1991.
The Newsweek report claims Gingrich not only knew of the side effects from US troops’ own demolition of chemical weapons, but that he also was ordered to cover it up by his superiors and did so.
Gingrich later went on to oversee one of the most scandal heavy periods at VA in modern history as chief of staff, a position the appears to be little more than a promotion for a job well done in the Gulf [sic].
However, the report does not touch on Gingrich’s role at Veterans Affairs (VA) under former Secretary Eric Shinseki after retiring from the Army.
Would you like to know how much Gingrich and Shinseki knew about the sarin gas cover-up now being exposed? Under them, the agency went through great lengths to maintain the DOD cover-up by even interfering with research on Gulf War Syndrome.
I think we all see the trend in our society and in government. Those who are “yes men” rise to the top and screw everyone else. Will this ever change? Perhaps it will change if America is concerned with losing its competitive edge both in the military and in the marketplace.
Newsweek reporter Barbara Koeppel blew the hole in a two decade long lie claiming our Gulf War troops were not exposed to dangerous gas from chemical weapons we destroyed. We now know more than 200,000 American troops were exposed to nerve gas and other chemical agents.


NEWSWEEK: U.S. Nerve Gas Hit Our Own Troops In Iraq


Despite full awareness of what occurred, DOD and CIA launched a campaign of deceit that continues to this day. Troops nearest the explosions are dying from brain cancer, lunch cancer, and other chronic diseases at significantly higher rates than normal.
Initially, DOD claimed no troops were exposed. From 1997-2002, that number shot up from 5,000 to 99,000. And now, we are looking at more than 200,000 were actually exposed.
How is it that DOD, CIA and VA believe they can deceive the American public in our name? Why are the puppet masters not held accountable? What do you think we should do to right the wrong? Mandatory 100% ratings? One time monetary payout?
One of the men connected with the cover up went on to run the operations of the same agency charged to care for the troops when the became sick as veterans, recently departed chief of staff John Gingrich. But in the Army, he was known as Col. Gingrich.
There, as a commander, he was told to downplay the symptoms following the demolition of rockets that contained sarin gas and other chemicals. What follows are some excerpts from the Newsweek article that highlight Mr. Gingrich’s connection to the cover up and its scope:

Elledge was on a team setting C-4 plastic explosives at Khamisiyah, one of Iraq’s largest weapons sites. “We used timed fuses, which gave us 10 minutes to get a half mile away,” he said. “But even at that distance, the smoke was terrible. And we were sent back in to make sure we got everything. The officers never told us the old rockets were filled with sarin, so we didn’t wear any protective gear.”

Before the demolition, DOD was clear that they were destroying chemical weapons, but reports about the destruction soon disappeared after troops first got sick.

Jim Bunker was a lieutenant with the First Infantry Division who had trained as a demolition expert. He told me that “before the DOD blew up the ammunition, it sent papers to the battalion officers and intelligence people with clear markings to help them identify chemical weapons. Then on March 2 or 3, the DOD sent the ordnance disposal team to verify which chemicals were there. We don’t know what they found, because once the troops started demolishing them and getting sick, the reports disappeared.”

Gingrich was told to cover up the exposures by claiming the sickness was caused by heat even though the temperature was only 85 degrees.

Bunker said that when troops first became ill, his battalion commander, Col. John Gingrich, radioed headquarters to find out what was happening. He was told: “It’s the heat.”
“We knew this wasn’t true,” Bunker said. “It was only 85 degrees, and we’d trained in over 100 degrees—without people getting sick like this.” The next day, division commander Maj. General Thomas Rhame and Col. Michael Dodson came to their base. “They told Gingrich to be quiet about the men’s symptoms,” Bunker said.

After retirement, Gingrich went on to manage the overall operations of the Department of Veterans Affairs under Secretary Eric Shinseki. He later resigned following a number of scandals that plagued the agency during his tenure including outrageous spending on conferences.
“Why must the DOD, CIA and VA lie?” asks reporter Koeppel. I know this is the question many Americans are probably wondering. Further, how long will it take to right the wrong.
According to former CIA analyst, the answer to “why” is clear:

“If you’re DOD, you’re admitting your policies contributed to the veterans’ illnesses. If you’re the VA, you’re admitting you don’t know how to treat the vets. If you’re the CIA, you blew another estimate and that’s not something you want on your resume.”

Maybe. Perhaps we are dealing with inter agency pride at the root of the failure. Regardless, what will America do now that we know they are lying?


SOURCE: http://www.newsweek.com/how-us-nerve-gassed-its-own-troops-then-covered-it-317250


Benjamin Krause is the creator of the DisabledVeterans.org community, author of the Voc Rehab Survival Guide for Veterans, and numerous other guides. 

Benjamin is an award winning investigative reporter, Veterans Law attorney, and a disabled veteran of the US Air Force, where he served in its Special Operations Command. After receiving an Honorable Discharge, Benjamin began his decade long fight for benefits after being lowballed with a 10% rating in 2002. During that fight, he received degrees from Northwestern University and  the University of Minnesota Law School while using VA Vocational Rehabilitation.