The Bush Legacy: Bold Enough To Make Tough Decisions

     Over 11 years has passed since the tragic day of September 11th, 2001, but the memories still haunt many Americans to this day.  It was a day that showed America's vulnerabilities, but it also put on display American courage!  Since that day we have been mired in wars, failed plots, and successful plots, but we have still remained strong as American's.  Today our country honored a man that many dislike, vilify, and even hate, but there is one thing they cannot take from George W. Bush, and that is he stood up in the face of evil and did what he thought was right!

     The George W. Bush Memorial Library opened today with initial excitement as the former President and his wife, Laura, revisited their first days in office, but as they turned one of the first corners ABC News reports, "...former First Lady Laura Bush says she and her husband have both been brought to tears by the new 9/11 exhibit at the museum."  That part of the Library must remind the two of a nightmare they would soon rather forget.  Our country was up in arms demanding that someone pay for the bombings of the 'Twin Towers' and Bush used all of his resources to find out exactly who that 'someone' was.

     As the years have gone by we all know that there were many mistakes that were made in 'The War On Terror', but one fact remains, and that is we did what we thought was right to protect our country.  Many call the wars unjust or worse, but they must acknowledge the truth, Bush said Osama Bin Laden was behind the bombings, which was correct, and eventually we were able to kill Bin Laden very close to where our intelligence to us he was at the time.  While many give the credit to Obama for the Osama Bin Laden killing, it would not have been possible without the larger, more blunt, invasion of Afghanistan.  Further, if we had just stuck our heads in the sand during that great tragedy how much worse off would we be today?  Bin Laden would be acting with impunity, and who knows what Saddam Hussein would be up to right now.

     In honor of the new library I would like to personally thank George W. Bush for having to make the courageous decision to go after our enemies no matter what the cost.  It is the Monday morning quarterbacks that now sit back and critique every decision made and have had a decade to come up with a better answer.  When one is the leader of the free world you don't have the luxury to sit back for 10 years before you make a decision, you must act quickly with the best knowledge possible.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is plain foolish, or a professor bent on making a name for themselves.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee 

Freedom of Speech: Don't Let Your Fears Allow the Government to Censor Your Voice!

     In this age of information technology and fast-paced news there arises new fears and dangers.  Whether it be political or market based new, it fires across the internet at ever faster rates, with very little or no verification necessary.  This leads many to call for stricter controls and verification processes, but this would be a huge mistake and violation of our First Amendment rights as Americans.

     On April 22nd, 2013 the Associated Press had their twitter feed hacked as a criminal sent out the false report that their had been explosions at the White House and that the President had been injured.  This terrible act caused the market to plummet briefly and then within a few minutes it corrected itself.  Many on Wall Street, and in America, began to question the security of our news sources and call for a tighter regulations and security measures, but this is a huge mistake!  We, as Americans, need to fight for our right to let our voices be heard, because the moment we allow one of our freedoms to be gradually taken away the government will slowly take site at others.  Is it some sinister plot to enslave us as Americans?  It may not be that at all, but rather there may be a genuine fear in Washington for the safety of the American people, but you know what they say about 'best intentions'.

     Another recent episode that is a great example of our free press was the coverage of the Saudi 'student' that was mysteriously ushered out of the country after the Boston bombings.  This news was broken by Glen Beck and The Blaze with information that was provided by firsthand sources.  This student was originally listed as 'A Person of Interest' and was put on the terrorist watch list, but the government immediately tried to bury and change this information.  But even with the damage control that has been attempted, Janet Napolitano admitted that the Saudi was indeed on the previously mentioned watch list.  So why did we try and ship him out of the country in the middle of the night?

     America has long been considered a bastion of freedom where people are able to freely express their viewpoints without the fear of government reprisal, but with the constant misinformation out of Washington, sadly we may lose these rights.  Whether it is Benghazi or the Boston bombing, we don't seem to be getting a straight answer out of our government, and it is for this very reason that we must keep pressing for transparency and for our right to voice our opinion.  It hasn't started with this administration, or with this system of government, but rather throughout history.  Whenever power becomes too concentrated at the top there is a natural tendency to do whatever possible to protect that power, as it is natural to fight against that protection of power.  I hope that our fears for safety don't lead us down a path to slavery!  God bless.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Pride...

One of my favorite parables in the Bible (Because I have been both men) is the one where a man is in front of the church boasting to God how great he is and how many good works he has done, and then there is the man in the back pounding his chest claiming that he isn't worthy...Jesus said the one in the back goes home justified...Martin Luther states the fate of the proud man as, "Because people are proud and dream they are wise, righteous, and holy, it is necessary for them to be HUMBLED by the law, so that the BEAST that is their high opinion of their righteousness might be slain; otherwise no one can obtain life."

To Stand In the Presence of God On Judgment Day: What Will You Feel?

     Reading through the book The End by Mark Hitchcock last night I came across a line where he wrote the following, "The great American statesman Daniel Webster was once asked about the greatest thought to ever enter his mind.  He responded, "The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is 'my accountability to God.'" What gripped Webster was the knowledge that one day he would stand before God." and I began to wonder how I would feel standing in the awesome presence of our risen Lord.

     At first, I imagined standing on a huge, empty, white marble floor in front of a majestic throne with angels surrounding and looking down on me in judgment.  I wanted to cower down and disappear as I felt the unworthiness to stand in the presence of All Mighty God.  I could feel the sin of my life covering me in shame, but then the attack from the enemy ended, and I began to see how God saw me, through the finished work of His Son Jesus Christ.  I envisioned myself getting up off the floor and standing up straight as I realized that I was the righteousness of the Lord through Christ Jesus.  I'm sure many of you have had this attack from the enemy, accusing of not being worthy, but never let that thought stay in your mind for long!

     As Martin Luther said, "Let it accuse us, let it slander us, let it persecute us and not spare us; still we must not hold our peace but must speak freely, so that afflicted consciences may be delivered out of the snares of the devil."  Therefor, when he (the devil) comes at you proclaiming the law, and how you have failed to live up to its demands, run to the grace of Christ and let Him shelter you.  And never forget that when you're going through a 'dark night of the soul' to seek out other believers that they may comfort you.  Once again on this subject I would like to quote Luther, "Therefore, it is dangerous for us to be alone (Ecclesiastes 4:10).  There is no danger if we separate ourselves from other people for a day or two to pray; we read that Christ went up the mountain alone and stayed there for the night to pray, and he did the same in the Garden (Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:41).  But when people are forced to lead a solitary life, that is a device of the devil himself.  When we are tempted and are alone, we cannot raise ourselves up even in the least temptation."

     So as we contemplate that glorious day when we stand before our Lord, do not be afraid, if you are in Christ, but stand (or kneel if you choose) in loving admiration and love of your God.  He will be there to reward you for your deeds on earth and to say 'well done good and faithful servant'.  For those of you who are not in Christ, I would urge you to accept Him as Lord of your life and confess your sin and ask Him to come live within you.  Once you have done this, you're now one of the faithful and will stand with us before the Great Throne of God!  God Bless!

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

F.D.R. & Obama: The New Deal, As It Relates To Obama's Economic Plans

     On the economic front there have been a few positive developments as oil and gas prices have begun to dip as big money is fleeing to other investments, but this will likely not last long as our government has yet to address the underlying problem with our economy and dollar, overspending.  We continually spend far more then we take in, and as many have said, this cannot continue.  In studying the past it is amazing that we continue down this path of using government spending to help stimulate the economy.

     During the Great Depression our country under Herbert Hoover attempted to stimulate the economy by lowering personal taxes, but it was too little too late.  As John Kenneth Galbraith says in A Journey Through Economic Time the tax break amounted to the following, "A taxpayer with an income of $5,000, a very comfortable return in those days, had his or her tax cut by two-thirds.  It went from $16.88 to $5.63. Someone with $10,000, roughly the equivalent of $100,000 today, saw his tax go from $120 down to $65."  Obviously this was not nearly drastic enough to stave the economic tsunami that was headed our way.  As history shows, Hoover ended up losing the election, and in came F.D.R. and The New Deal.

     Roosevelt's cabinet contained a vast array of political insight, including a rather 'vocal' communist bunch, who helped to form the economic policy of the next decade.  F.D.R., with advice from some prominent economist, wanted the government to buy gold to drive up the prices, and thus, presumably, the prices of other commodities would go higher as well, but this was an utter failure.  This did not stop F.D.R., according to Galbraith, from his toying with, and destruction of, the gold standard as he would candidly as his economic adviser each morning what the price of gold should be.  Many other policies were undertaken by the administration, of which Galbraith was a part, and in one quote from his book you can see the administrations lies coming through when he states the following, "He too promised fiscal responsibility, strong steps toward a balanced budget.  Later, in 1936, when he asked Samuel Rosemann, his highly accomplished assistant, how he might reconcile the spending and deficits of his first four years with the promise of strict fiscal rectitude that he had made in a speech in Pittsburgh in 1932, he was told, according to legend, that his only course was to deny firmly that he had ever given that speech."  Sounds eerily familiar to what our current government does when the actions don't match the promises.

     When looking at the excessive government spending program that was undertaken during the Great Depression even Galbraith admits it did nothing, or quite possibly made the situation worse, and that the real reason we made it out of that economic disaster was the advent of World War II.  I hope our current government will reverse course in its spending habits, and that in the end we will not have to look for a great war to get us out of this economic hole that we are in.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Chechen Islamic Terrorists: Love the Person, Hate the Sin

     As today's events unfold we must keep our faith in Christ at the forefront and not lust for revenge.  One man has already lost his life, and thus paid the ultimate price for his sins.  The younger man is still on the loose and let us pray that he is taken alive so that we can gather from him as much information as possible.  With that said, let's not forget where these two are from, and what that may possibly mean.

     Chechnya has long been a hot bed of Islamic terrorism, which has been a thorn in Russia's side.  If one remembers as late as 2004 a school and 1,100 people were taken hostage by Chechen Islamic terrorists and that ended in 380 people dying, including many children.  It is quite amazing that the news media is not covering the Chechen connection more closely, but I guess it shouldn't be that surprising with our ignorance to the terror that is Islam.  What people fail to realize is how committed an Islamic terrorist can be.  You may have seen the interview with the college student who knew the remaining suspect and claimed that he was a nice guy.  He went on to say that he was on the wrestling team, played soccer, and many other 'friendly activities, and that is what should concern us.  The mindset of an individual who can smile in your face and be your friend, while at the same plotting over a period of time to kill so many innocent people, should open our eyes.  

     Now I want to make it clear that according to the Bible we are to love the person and hate the sin!  Pray for this young man that he would turn himself in, and maybe in time, Christ would reveal himself to him and become his savior, because Jesus loves that kid as much as He does you and I.  Good bless and keep in prayer.

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Left Wing Media Immediately Seeks to Assign Blame to Right Wing Extremist Groups, With No Evidence

     As predicted in my first blog on the Boston Massacre, the left wing media almost immediately began to assign blame to possible right wing extremist groups.  The problem with these accusations is that there was absolutely no evidence that had come in that would lead anyone to come to that conclusion.  It is a sign once again of the media trying to get in line with the White House and its policy to avoid at whatever cost calling an action a terrorist one.  Finally, Obama did have the gumption to go against his liberal base and call it what it was, a terrorist act, but you could see he did everything to make it clear he didn't want to say those words.  He went as far as to say whenever a bomb is used against civilians, then it is inherently a terrorist act.

     Once again I would urge Americans to cry out against this insanity that we call being 'politically correct'.  It will be the destruction of our nation and our way of life.  We need to keep a tight grip on the truth and not let our favorite news anchors sway our opinion.  Fox news pointed out major anchors who implicated right wing groups right off the bat, including 'chill up my leg' Chris Matthews.  I could put out a blog that stated Big Bird was behind the bombings at the beginning and I guess that would qualify as hard hitting journalism?  We need to demand more of our media, or vote with our remotes.  If a station continually gets something wrong then you should have the commonsense to realize that they may not be telling you the truth, and therefor you should pick another station, or just not watch the news at all.

     When we finally get to the bottom of who was behind this horrific event we will finally know which news outlets were trying to cover the facts, and which were trying to push White House policy.  I will reiterate that Islam is not a religion of peace and never has been, and this latest attack proves that being nice (like Obama) and playing patty cake with them does not stop them in their mission.  Keep your prayers up for our President and everyone else on this planet that sanity would reign.  God bless!

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

The True Purpose of the Islamic Faith: Submit or Die!

     In the aftermath of the attacks in Boston it's important to take another look at Islam and what its true stated goal in the world is.  Many who have never studied the religion claim that the religion is a religion of peace, but that is far from the truth.  All one has to do is look at the history of the religion and its spread through conquest and murder.  It is no surprise that when you look at the Bible and trace Islam back to its roots (Ishmael), you will see that God said of his descendants, "He will be a wild donkey of a man, His hands will be against everyone, And everyone's hand will be against him."

     Throughout the history of the Middle East the Arabs (direct descendants of Ishmael) have been at war with their neighbors, and when Muhammad came onto the scene it made things far worse.  According to Bryant Wright in The Seeds of Turmoil, "Islam was founded by Muhammad and was originally seen by him not as a new religion but as a purification and completion of Judaism and Christianity that had been corrupted by man."  As Wright goes on to state, the Jews and Christians saw the error in his teachings and rejected them as false.  This rejection angered Muhammad and led him to eventually create his own religion and use the sword to persuade any that disagreed with his new belief system.  Anger and hatred have been at the heart of this false religion ever since.

     Modern Islam is still perpetrated through violence as Wright once again demonstrates in the following, "In light of history the Western world was foolish to conclude that a man like Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran was just a Muslim extremist when he said of Iran's revolution in 1979, "We will export our revolution throughout the world...until the calls, 'There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah's are echoed all over the world."  Or that Osama bin Laden was just an Islamic extremist when he said about the 9/11 terrorist attack, 'I was ordered to fight the people until they say there is no god but Allah."  We cannot close our eyes to what the true teachings of Islam are!

     As Christians we must love our enemies and keep them in prayer, that Jesus would deliver them from their deception, but the Bible also says that we must be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.  So we must keep our eyes open and never be afraid to call out evil when we see it, because if we fail to do so, it may overtake our nation and our people.  God bless and stay in prayer!

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee 

The AP Now Allowed to Say 'Terrorist'?

     With the horrible tragedy that occurred today in Boston, it is sickening to see the White House change course from its colossally ignorant policy of denying that terrorism exist.  Just a week after letting the Associated Press know that it was no longer appropriate to say 'Terrorist' or 'Islamic Terrorist', we experienced just how real the threat is (no matter what Obama thinks).  My heart goes out to the families of the those who have died and the others who have been hurt!  I will pray for you.

     As for the White House, when will our government wake up to the threat that is Islam?  There are over 1.5 billion Muslims on this planet, and according to the government, only 10% of those are extremist.  That means there are 150 millions Muslims that are hell bent on destroying our society and way of life.  This subject has been infected by the disease of political correctness to where now some of our citizens have paid with their lives.  In the meantime our government is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and other terrorist governments.  It would be no surprise if the government tries to spin this event as the work of a 'lone wolf' or 'evangelical extremist', but whatever the case, we as Americans need to wake up to the discontent around the globe.  The Bible says in the end times there will be 'wars' and 'rumors of wars', so we should not be surprised about these events, but we should now be equally prepared.  Keep your eyes open for a power grab from the government, which happens in times of fear such as this.  I hope everyone continues in prayer, and continues to pray that our President will act with the wisdom of God!

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Gold & Silver Tanking? Or Big Money Manipulating?

     I want to start off this post by stating that I am not a financial adviser and before making any trades please consult your own financial adviser before making any moves.  With that said, let's look at some of the underlying reasons for this huge move to the downside in Gold and Silver, which are currently trading at $1366 and $23.70, respectively.  

     The biggest concern I have with such a huge move is that on Friday Goldman Sachs advised that they were going to be shorting Gold, which means they are betting huge that Gold will fall in price.  Typically, when a huge financial institution such as Goldman comes out and makes a statement such as this the market begins to sell off.  This fact alone can account for the majority of the move to the downside today, but is this a rational sell off?  I would say no!

     Historically, with prices adjusted for inflation, Gold never even came close to its all-time high of roughly $2100/ounce (according to a CNBC analyst) so the imagined bubble is not at all what it seems.  When you take a deep breath, and step back for a second, you can see that governments are still overspending to a huge degree, which devalues their currencies.  When a country's currency is devalued it naturally causes the value of commodities such as; Gold, Silver, and Oil to rise, as they have an intrinsic value.  What is going on over the last several days is the major players spooking the market.  Don't be surprised if people like George Soros, Goldman Sachs, and others sold at the top levels, and as they see the market tank they will be scooping up as much Gold as they can.  

     And as a side note, Silver is in such demand for its industrial uses that it seems absurd for its price to be dropping along the same lines as Gold.  Silver is used in the hundreds of millions of cellphones and laptops made, and I doubt that they will find another source to use in the manufacture other than silver in the near future.  Once again I would urge that you talk with your financial adviser before making and long term decision.  God Bless and keep your eyes open to the big picture!

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

Socialism, Usury, and Antisemitisms Current Rise

     A couple of days ago I walked through the campus of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and I came upon a memorial that was set up for all those who perished in the Holocaust.  My heart sank as I read through the quotes from Hitler's thugs and saw the images of twisted lifeless bodies piled up in heaps, but then I started to read a little deeper, and what I read amazed and saddened me.  

     On one of the tripods was set up a photo of the German army and some German Jews, and underneath it spoke about how the first thing the Nazi's did, which were referred to as the National Socialist Party, was to take control of the news media and monitor and dictate what it shared with the public.  What would follow would be one of history's greatest examples of mass brainwashing ever!  Joseph Goebbels would lead the German people on a path of hatred that included everyone who was not Aryan by birth, and it would eventually lead to the killings of millions of innocent people all across Europe.  What I found ironic about the photo and caption, were that it mirrored a lot of what is currently going on in our own country.  If you watch closely, you can see that the mainstream media, save perhaps Fox News, is in step with everything the White House wants, and rarely go as far as to show even the least little bit of disagreement with His (Obama's) policies.  So there we have the first step in the Socialist grab for power, but you may ask where does the antisemitism fit in?  To answer quite frankly, the 'Big Banks' of Wall Street.  How are the two interlinked with the Jewish people, and further how does that match with the Germany of World War II?
     In World War II the Nazi's had been indoctrinated with an antisemitic worldview that can trace its roots to Martin Luther and even further in the past.  The Jews of Nazi Germany were in charge of the banks, but this was not what infuriated German's most.  It was the fact that Jew's were looked at as the reason their country was in such great debt, which in a small sense was true.  The Rothschild's were Europe's bankers and had been there to bail out many nations in their time of need, and yes they were Jewish, and yes they charged interest on these loans.  Hitler felt extremely jealous of the rich, and since Jewish people were among the most wealthy, he hated them most.  He actually looked at his proposed extermination of their race as a duty owed to God.  Along with many other antisemitic 'Christians' they all failed to realize that if they really truly believed in the Bible then they would realize that God had given the Jewish people a right to charge interest on loans to all non-Jews.  The result was similar to the King of France during the Templar's time, and that is, they confiscated the Jew's wealth first, with the King of France then moving on to take the Templar's belongings.  Now let's take a look at today.
     When the Barak Obama began running his Socialist campaign, his first attacks were on the big banks of Wall Street, which just happened to be mostly Jewish firms.  Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns, and other smaller firms were among those Semitic investment banks.  He was able to whip up a national fervor that had the American people wanting the bank CEO's blood!  Not mentioned by the government owned media, was that these banks had been forced by Congress for the last 3 decades to provide loans to people who would otherwise not qualify.  There  were threats that the government would look into the percentage of sub-prime loans each bank was issuing to make sure they were doing their part to provide homes to everyone.  And to let the real genie out of the bottle, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Stegall Act, enabling banks to be both an investment bank and a holding bank.  This had been outlawed since the time of J.P. Morgan because many at the time saw the inherent conflict of interest involved, but people really don't want to hear the government was at fault.
     As a final thought, it is seems to go hand in hand with how the current President has handled the Middle East, that we are distancing ourselves from Israel ever so slightly.  We must pray that our country does not follow the trends of historic Europe and their constant antisemitic uprisings.  We must remember that God chose the Jew's as His people and blessed them, and said that anyone who curses them, they also shall be cursed.  Keep your eyes open!


By Jeffrey Brandon Lee