Election Blog 2 Stuff You Need To Know

Everyone in Minnesota of legal age (who is a US citizen) can vote. But you don't need to show proof of citizenship. You will only be asked if you are a citizen. I guess we are on the honor system. The problem with the honor system is that only the honorable do not lie.

All you have to do in Minnesota is show up at your polling place and show some identification.
Identification can even be a library card or a utility bill. Go figure? I hope only honorable people vote, right?

Now then, the next thing you need to know is where to vote. This is easy if you have an address. If you live under a bridge you can still vote but it will be a little more trouble. If you have an address, simply go to this web site www.sos.state.mn.us Click on "My ballot", and where do I vote. On the next page click on Where do I vote. Enter your zip code. Click. Find your street and enter your house number. Click. Now, by the miracle of the internet, you get all the info about your polling place. (The place you are required to vote)

Now you need to know what is on the ballot that you will be voting about. You can get this at the same place (internet page) as you found out your polling place. Go to the bottom of that screen and click on Click Here For Candidates On My Ballot You will then be taken to a page that shows all of the offices and candidates that you will be voting for.

It would be a good idea to know who the people are who are running for office. You can read how they answered questions about specific issues at www.mnvoter.com/votersguide/

Now that you know about your candidates and how the ballot will be laid out, all you have to do is show up at your polling place with your identification (between 7AM and 8PM).

If you are a Christian you really do have a civic duty to vote. You cannot, in good conscience, not vote. We need a 100% turn out of all believers. No apathy.

The Election Blog

Well, I have determined that this year I will blog about the coming elections with a hope of motivating and guiding some folks to the polls. I think that this years non-presidential election is as vital as 04. The main problem in America right now, I think, is judicial activism. The only way to solve that is to continue to elect conservatives who appoint conservative judges.

"In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate - look to his character. The scriptures teach that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, able men, men of truth, hating covetousness. It is to the neglect of this rule that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breaches of trust, and embezzlements of public property which tarnish the character of our country and disgrace government. When a citizen gives his vote to a man of known immorality, he abuses his civic responsibility; he sacrifices not only his interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country."
-Noah Webster, 1823

The war in Iraq is a problem. But it is a manageable problem. WWW III has begun. We are fighting it in the countries of the attackers. It seems to have slowed down the progression of terror and confined it to a territory far removed from our shores. It probably will not get better for a long time. It is not a fight we can ignore or just walk away from. It will follow us if we leave and return to the USA. Iraq is not the issue in this election. Values and ethics are.

Quote 3

This one is from the Summit Journal

If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a monthly firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.
The same firearm death rate in the streets of Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the same period.
That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed on the streets of the U.S. Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

Amen !

Eye Candy Nine

The Northern Lights from outer space. The shuttle and space station orbit the earth at about the same altitude as the aurora. They often pass right through them or just over them. Cool.

Quote 2

G. K. Chesterton: "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions"

Nicaragua Bans Abortion !

Nicaragua banned all abortions yesterday. There is not even an exception for when the mother's life is at risk. It was a 52 - 0 vote. Amazing ! From a communist / atheist dictatorship to a totally pro-life country. I am stunned. Thank you Jesus.
More here.

Elijah Smiled

Elijah smiled in response to my promptings today. Elijah is my 2nd grandson. He is 2 months old. This was the first response in any real and meaningful way from this little eating machine.
It is amazing what happens in Grandpa's heart once the connection is established. 2 grandkids on line and two on the assembly line. This getting old stuff is fun.

Parkinson's, Fox, Stem Cells, and Cancer

Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's. So naturally he is looking for a cure. But the cure might be worse than the disease. According to recent research with rats who have Parkinson's and are treated with stem cells, tumors have developed. It seems that the embryonic stem cells can just as easily differentiate into cancer cells. And the increase in dopamine created by the embryonic stem cells seems to decrease over time anyhow.
So if this is true then the effect would be to help some and to cause brain cancer in others.
Not a very good gamble. You can read more here.

Homeschooling Quote

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The European Union has just uncovered another dangerous threat to European social stability: home-schooling. Yes, German police recently arrested the mother of children who were being home-schooled. The father had to flee with the children to Austria. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the German ban on home-schooling, which dated back to 1938 in the Nazi era. ... Think about that at a time when Americans, even Supreme Court justices, are advocating the use of foreign legal precedents for American court rulings. Do we really want to start jailing home-schooling parents?

Patrick Henry College Professor David Aikman

Thanks to Conservative Republican News for this quote.

Helium Evidence for A Young World

Take a look at this work on the helium-leak of zicons (radioactive crystals)
They argue for a young earth. The argument seems pretty convincing.
You can see the article here.

Manasseh Tribe Returns To Israel

Survivors from the tribe of Manasseh have been located living in exile for 2700 years in India. There are thousands of them, and hundreds are beginning their return to Israel as I type this. The significance of this is stunning. The bible has predicted this to happen in the end times. This prediction was hard to understand when there was no country of Israel for the tribes to return to. But God provided for that in 1948 and Israel, as a country, was reborn. Amazing.

These people began to desire to return about 50 years ago, but the door has just now been opened to them. They have practiced Jewish customs for the 2700 years that they have been unheard of and unknown. They are called Beni Menashe.

One comment from the head of the committee that is concerned about the return of the Jews says it all.

"It is the literal fulfillment of the vision of our prophets that our people will return to Israel from the four corners of the earth. It is a timely and welcome example of just what Israel, and its wondrous rebirth, is truly all about."

New Construction On The Temple Mount

The Muslims intend to build another minaret on the holiest site in the world. And there will be no supervision and no archaeological excavation before the building of the tower begins. How does this stuff happen? Dig anywhere else in Jerusalem and you will have to excavate first.

The photo above shows the temple mount and the existing four minarets are circled. The proposed new minaret will be installed next to the Golden Gate (see red arrow).

This is not the first time that the Muslims have done construction without any outside interference or excavation. They expanded and modernized the area of the mount called Solomon's Stables. Dump truck loads of debris was just dumped along side of a road. Only there do the archaeologists get to look at the material. Salvage archaeology of the most important mountain top in the world seems to me to be a little unreasonable.

Thanks to Bible Places Blog for this information.

Trip Up Nort'

We just returned from a five day trip up to Lake Itaska. Perfectly timed to be post mosquito. But this was also the time of swarming numbers of Japanese lady bugs. They covered every South facing surface as the temperatures went into the upper 70's while we were there. We also experienced frost one morning when we awoke from our tents. But the days were beautiful.
The leaves were over-the-top beautiful although most of them fell while we were camping. We spent over $150 on firewood to keep the campfire burning day and night and spent our times around it simply talking and being a family. It was a beautiful time. Crisp, crunchy, autumn in the center of the North American continent. It don't get better than this. The picture is of my youngest son imitating a gangster around the central campfire. Also I am including a shot of my first grandchild, Malachi, and his dad crossing the Mississippi river. Malachi couldn't wait to get to Great Grandmother's house about 1100 miles away downstream in Memphis.

Eye Candy Eight

Here is a picture of a sun spot up close. Notice the size of the earth in comparison to the size of the sun spot. Amazing huh?

A Prayer For Thinking People

Here's a prayer for us to think about. It comes from a book called, He Sent Leanness.

I think it is very clever and teaches a lot about the vanity of our thinking. Enjoy

And then pray a real prayer.

From a universe where things can be extremely unpleasant,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

From everything that calls from us courage and endurance,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

From all ignorance, insecurity, and uncertainty,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

From all personal needs that give the love of others a chance to find expression,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

From suffering the balloon of our pride to be pricked,
From suffering the castle of our self-satisfaction to be attacked,
From suffering the thunder of our egotism to be stilled,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

From all vicissitudes and deprivations that throw us back upon You,
Deliver us, Good Lord.

We miserable owners of increasingly luxurious cars, and ever-expanding television screens, do most humbly pray for that two-thirds of the world's population which is undernourished;
You can do all things, O God.

We who seek to maintain a shaky civilization do pray most earnestly that the countries which suffer exploitation may not be angry with the exploiters, that the hungry may not harbor resentment against those who have food, that the downtrodden may take it patiently, that nations with empty larders may prefer starvation to communism, that the "have not" countries may rejoice in the prosperity of those that have, and that all people who have been deeply insulted and despised may have short memories;
You can do all things, O God.

We who prosper through the work and patience of others pray that we may have the sense not to drive them too far;
You can do all things, O God.

We pray that our statesmen may do everything they can to promote peace, so long as our own national history and honor and pride and prosperity and superiority and sovereignty are maintained;
You can do all things, O God.

That the sick may be visited, the prisoner cared for, the refugee rehabilitated, the naked clothed, the orphan housed, and then we may be allowed to enjoy our own firesides, evening by evening, in peace;
You can do all things, O God.

O Son of God, we beg, we beseech, we supplicate, we petition, we implore You to hear us.
Lord, be good to us.
Christ, make things easy for us.
Lord, deliver us from the necessity of doing anything.

Eye Candy Number Seven

You all seemed to like the first stars in rotation photo I posted. Maybe you will like this one which shows you the rotation, plus, see the blurs, those are the Magellanic clouds. Look close Carlton. Now you can see the metor. And did anyone notice ? The stars are different colors !
The reason you can see the Magellanic clouds? It is because this photo was taken in Chile.
Love this stuff.

Eye Candy Number Six

Talk about having focus in life.....