By Dr. ROBERT OWENS

Researching the national political scene could become depressing in an era when Progressives dedicated to fundamentally transforming America hold almost total control of the media and the government, especially when they’re working hard to turn a recession into a depression.  However, the Obama drama is like watching a slow-motion train wreck, if not inspiring at least it’s entertaining.  Daily we’re assaulted by a Washington elite dedicated to proving Saturday Night Live never went far enough into satire to capture the nonsensical folly of our elected leaders.

Hourly our intelligence is insulted by people telling us they want to spend more money to lower the deficit and balance the budget as the deficit climbs higher and faster than ever before, and the national debt careens past satire into the theater of the absurd.  Minute by minute we’re assaulted by news such as the self admitted Communist who was purged from the White House in the middle of the night is now an American Treasure.  Or that the President’s long time pastor and mentor Rev. Wright recently  honored Minister Louis Farrakhan the leader of the Nation of Islam with the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer award.  Is that the last trumpet I hear?

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By Dr. ROBERT OWENS

Culture to a human is like water to a fish.  We move around in it constantly, but we don’t notice it very much.  Though unnoticed, water can have profound effects on fish.  Too cold and they freeze.  Too hot and they boil.  Not enough oxygen and they suffocate.  Too polluted and they choke to death.  In a similar fashion the culture in which we move shapes us in many subtle ways.  If it’s refined, the world we perceive and the world we deal with is refined.  If it’s crude, the world is crude.  If it’s toxic, the world is toxic.

An Icon in our 21^st century whiz-bang gotta-have-it-now-twitter-me-when-you-get-in-line world is associated through the cultural tags we’ve recently embedded in our minds through computer screens and cell phones as stylized display figures representing the various functions or resources available on a particular piece of hardware.   However, in the jargon of Cultural History an Icon is an image or figure that represents someone or something regarded as embodying the essential characteristics of an era or group.

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Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

In a fairer world I could spend my time talking about the beautiful music and sentiments of country music composer Tom T. Hall’s classic song, “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine.” The golden nostalgia in Hall’s song is all but lost in an Obama world of ‘Change we can hardly recognize.’

Old dogs tend to sleep in the middle of the road, move slowly and don’t bark as quickly as they once did at the first sign of danger. As they begin to age it is not their lifetime of loyalty that keeps them alive until the last possible moment, it is ours. Anyone with an ounce of humanity will wait until all hope is lost before putting down an old and faithful dog.

In a world of ‘change’ where history is re-written and loyalty doesn’t count for much as in days gone by, we can vote down an old trusted dog and pick up an all new pup who’s antics and irrepressible new behaviors delight us and become our newest spectacle and distraction. But with all pups the problem is they don’t know an enemy from a friend and they don’t know how you run your house. They chew on your best possessions, disregard your space and leave nasty surprises in places where you are bound to set your feet.

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By Dr. ROBERT OWENS

Our revolution changed the world.  Our Declaration of Independence proclaims self-evident truths.  That all men are created equal, they’re endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  These words shook a world held in the vise-grip of hereditary privilege inspiring people around the globe.  Our Constitution established a representative republic with a limited government of the people, by the people and for the people.

We’ve watched as our constitutionally limited government grew until today it’s leviathan running amok like Godzilla in Tokyo smashing things and scaring boy scouts.  Today the Federal government is the largest employer in America, states are the largest employers in the states and counties are among the largest employers in the counties; get the picture?  Government’s on a rampage and unless Mothra is going to fly in to save the day we’ll have to deal with Frankenstein-on-the-Potomac ourselves.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Since my articles entitled Prophecy 2008 and Prophecy 2009 were the most read articles of each respective year I have undertaken this piece with much care and forethought. The prophetic message has changed little in the last two years, but the country has changed significantly; unfortunately the changes have not all been good.

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By Dr. ROBERT OWENS

Marching out of Yorktown to surrender, the British Army played the song “The World Turned Upside Down.”  As I drive to Mega Lo Mart to make my latest deposit of monopoly money in a Chinese savings account all I can do is mumble the final tag-line of the Wicked Witch of the West, “What a world? What a world?”

There’s a massive unspoken problem in America today, floating like the iceberg in front of the Titanic waiting to sink the unsinkable ship.   Founded by revolutionaries crying, “No taxation without representation!” the Republic these revolutionaries devised devolved into a society where 47% of the people pay no Federal Income tax, and the number of people receiving government benefits is even higher.  What incentive would these non-paying receivers have to reign in an overbearing and intrusive government?  This unseen and unspoken problem is a cancer in the body politic.

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By Dr. ROBERT OWENS

Believing in volunteerism and trying to help make my local community a place where neighbors know each other, a place where people gather to share common experiences and where good clean fun is part of life.  Recently I devoted many hours to what I will call my local MegaFest.

Over the last seven months MegaFest rose from a cloud bank on the horizon to a tsunami crashing through the last few weeks of reality.  I’ve seen the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in our local community and having walked through the blast, survived the storm to now sit contented by the fire I can honestly say I was in charge of the feats of strength.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

Most of the journalists I know are not bloggers, but bloggers wouldn’t have half as much to say if it weren’t for those writers. After one blogger responded to an article I wrote entitled “Religion and Politics Don’t Mix –A Modern Fairy Tale” I made this reply. Be it article or blog, I knew it must be shared.

The author of the response chose to point our the following quote:

And Benjamin Franklin said: “If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution.  The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practiced it on one another.  The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution in the Romish Church, but practiced it upon the Puritans.  They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice themselves both here (England) and in New England.”

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By EDMOND D. SMITH

Early morning sunlight flashed in Bill’s face, which wrinkled in irritation. He rolled on his back, leaving the worst of the light on his shoulder but too late; the sun had done its job. He was awake. He lay there for another minute or two but finally caved in to the inevitable, threw the heavy blankets aside and sat up, dropping his feet to the floor.

Brr. Freezing. He got up, the chill starting to sink in, and looked at his thermostat. 60 degrees. *SIGH* It was on days like this that he missed being able to set his temperature as he liked it instead of having a federally regulated thermostat set it for him. He knew a couple of tech-savvy guys who had hacked theirs and set it so that they were comfortable. Later they said it was almost worth the huge fine they had to pay and almost worth the public shaming. Almost. Bill had a sneaking admiration for them but realized, of course that carbon crimes were no small matter.

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By Rev. MICHAEL BRESCIANI

When someone is found dying every thing suddenly changes; no words are weighed, but urgent commands are given, calls go out for help and those who have life saving skills spring into action quite unhindered by those standing by. What if it is a nation that is dying? Who is responding? Who is helping?

On a sinking ship when all hope is lost order yet prevails. The commonly accepted protocol in maritime law is to allow women and children to alight first, then male passengers and finally the ship’s crew and captain. Even at the threat of imminent harm and death there is a semblance of order.

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