QOTD: The Wall

Quote of the Day:

"Anybody who votes against the Wall should have to live in a doorless house and welcome anybody and everybody who wanders in and claims squatter rights."

                                         ~ W. Lewis Amselem, "The Diplomad", at his blog.








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Our President Donald John Trump QOTD : Space Exploration

 "[S]pace exploration is not only essential to our character as a nation, but also our economy and our great nation’s security.  ...

"The human soul yearns for discovery.  By unlocking the mysteries of the universe, we unlock truths within ourselves.  That’s true.  Our journey into space will not only make us stronger and more prosperous, but will unite us behind grand ambitions and bring us all closer together.  ...

"... It is America’s destiny to be at the forefront of humanity’s eternal quest for knowledge and to be the leader amongst nations on our adventure into the great unknown. ..."


~ from Our President Donald John Trump's remarks on The National Space Council, June 30, 2017

Sign of the Times: Voice Of The Deplorables

This billboard was paid for by a businessman in Boerne, Texas! It reads "ABC News: I grew up with you. We are through. The Russians didn't elect Donald Trump. I did. Kyle Courtney "

At Accuracy In Media, Don Irvine reports:

 "[Kyle] Courtney released the following statement to News4 in San Antonio:
“ABC News was the only channel I watched as a child growing up in Texas but I think they have lost touch with America and forgotten the working man. They don’t represent our voice anymore. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was funded by the Clinton Foundation in close coordination with the media, and now we’re seeing them try to fix what they couldn’t fix during the election. They are doing everything they can, night after night, to create narratives and sway people’s direction to impeach Donald Trump. Our democracy is at stake when a major political party and the media are in bed together. I’m not asking anyone to boycott the Democratic party. I’m not in the brainwashing business, but the liberal media is.” "

Thank you, and God bless you, Mr. Courtney. Many millions of us share your thinking -and also proudly voted FOR Donald John Trump without apology or equivocation.




*Photo Credit: Wellstar Groundwater Technologies, Mr Courtney's company

President Trump and The Deplorables: "Hope, and a Future"

President Donald John Trump is doing the Lord's work in bringing "Hope, and a Future" to ordinary Americans, and he laid out that vision last night in his first speech to the joint Houses of Congress.

President Trump laid out a concrete vision and showed us how to reach for it. By tagging America's 250th birthday - and by not calling it the "Semi-quincentennial - President Trump just gave a future to the descendants of our nation's founding people.

For a decade or more, struggling Americans have recited Jeremiah 29:11 and made it our by-word. We have written it on the walls of Food Banks, have spoken it over children's ministries, have memorized it and repeated it while trying to pay the bills:

 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

And our Father God heard the prayers of the ordinary people across the great, vast expanse of our nation, and sent us a new Cyrus to point the way back home. All the Deplorables whose life expectancy has been dropping, have reasons to live again.

President Trump told us we can speak again about our hopes for our children, and for ourselves, and our families, and communities - and assured us he will clear the path so that we can work with our own hands to bring our own dreams to life. Here are excerpts from his speech:

"Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice –- in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. ...

"The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds -– families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair hearing for their concerns.....

".. I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken advantage of anymore. ..

"The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding. ..  ... This effort will be guided by two core principles:  Buy American, and Hire American. ...

"Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed.  Every problem can be solved.  And every hurting family can find healing, and hope.

"Our citizens deserve this, and so much more –- so why not join forces to finally get it done?  

"Every American child should be able to grow up in a safe community, to attend a great school, and to have access to a high-paying job.

"My job is not to represent the world.  My job is to represent the United States of America.

"We want peace, wherever peace can be found.  America is friends today with former enemies.  Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these World Wars.  This history should give us all faith in the possibilities for a better world.

"Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just and more free.

"On our 100th anniversary, in 1876, citizens from across our Nation came to Philadelphia to celebrate America’s centennial.  At that celebration, the country’s builders and artists and inventors showed off their creations. Alexander Graham Bell displayed his telephone for the first time. Remington unveiled the first typewriter.  An early attempt was made at electric light. Thomas Edison showed an automatic telegraph and an electric pen. 

"Imagine the wonders our country could know in America’s 250th year.

"Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people. Cures to illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope. American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream. Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect. And streets where mothers are safe from fear — schools where children learn in peace — and jobs where Americans prosper and grow — are not too much to ask. ....

"We are one people, with one destiny.

"We all bleed the same blood.

"We all salute the same flag.

"And we are all made by the same God.

"And when we fulfill this vision; when we celebrate our 250 years of glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of American Greatness began.

"The time for small thinking is over.  The time for trivial fights is behind us.

"We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts.

"The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls.

"And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action. ....

"Believe in yourselves.

"Believe in your future.

"And believe, once more, in America.

"Thank you, God bless you, and God Bless these United States."

 ~   ~     ~  

Thank you Father God for sending President Trump to lead us, and to give us a new vision. Americans, we have a new and blessed chance!  Isaiah 51:1  :

 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
    and who seek the Lord:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;" 

QOTD: Twenty Things President Trump Did Not Do

Mr Leo Decaj posted a comment on President Donald J Trump's Facebook page and asked that it be shared.  I shared it in a comment on Bill Quick's fine Deplorable Blog "Daily Pundit", and Bill liked it so well he pulled it up to a stand-alone post:

Twenty Things President Trump Did Not Do

Leo Decaj wrote: “Keep this in mind :

1. Donald Trump did not steal your money.

2. Donald Trump did not raise your taxes.

3. Donald Trump did not quadruple the price of food.

4. Trump is not stirring a race war.

5. Trump did not leave any US soldiers in Benghazi to be slaughtered and desecrated by Muslims.

6. Trump did not send the US Navy to fight for Syrian Al-Qaeda.

7. Trump did not arm ISIS and systematically exterminate Christians throughout the Middle East.

8. Trump did not betray Israel.

9. Trump did not provide financing and technology to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

10. Trump did not give our military secrets to China.

11. Trump did not remove our nuclear missile shield in Poland at the behest of Russia.

12. Trump did not shrivel our military, and betray our veterans.

13. Trump did not cripple our economy.

14. Trump did not increase our debt to 20 trillion dollars.

15. Trump did not ruin our credit, twice.

16. Trump did not double African American unemployment.

17. Trump did not increase welfare to a record level for eight years.

18. Trump did not sign a law making it legal to execute, and imprison Americans.

19. Trump did not set free all of terrorists in Guantanamo bay.

20. Trump did not steal your rights, violate US Constitutional law, or commit treason, hundreds of times.

Yet Trump is being ripped apart in the news, non stop. Barrack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton and the criminals occupying our government, are not. The media is the Democratic Party. Save our culture. Stop listening to them..!! 

He's right! 

Thank you, Mr Leo Decaj, for standing up for America, and for our truly elected "by the people" President, Donald John Trump!

Donald Trump, Winged Horses, and The Folly Of Trying To Make Everyone "Nice"

C.S. Lewis, in "Mere Christianity", has something to say to Christians about judging people by their perceived public "niceness". Those who support Mr Donald Trump for President understand this very well.  We are eager to let our winged horse grow his wings and bring America to great new heights.

    ".....we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world—and might even be more difficult to save.

"For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. 

"But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance."

                                                           ~  C. S. Lewis, from "Mere Christianity", presented in Bible Gateway's "C. S. Daily" email newsletter

"It Will Soon Be Time To Believe In America Again"

via Daily Pundit:

​Mr. Donald J Trump's Statement on the British Referendum on E.U. Membership (aka "Brexit"):

" The people of the United Kingdom have exercised the sacred right of all free peoples. They have declared their independence from the European Union and have voted to reassert control over their own politics, borders and economy. A Trump Administration pledges to strengthen our ties with a free and independent Britain, deepening our bonds in commerce, culture and mutual defense. The whole world is more peaceful and stable when our two countries – and our two peoples – are united together, as they will be under a Trump Administration. 

" Come November, the American people will have the chance to re-declare their independence. Americans will have a chance to vote for trade, immigration and foreign policies that put our citizens first. They will have the chance to reject today’s rule by the global elite, and to embrace real change that delivers a government of, by and for the people. I hope America is watching, it will soon be time to believe in America again."

QOTD: Weaponless 62 Year Old French Train Hero on Overcoming Fear

 "Once you start moving, you aren't afraid anymore."

                                 Chris Norman,  62 year old Britisher who, even though unarmed, helped subdue an armed Islamic terrorist aboard a French train.

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Why Texas is Texas QOTD

"I humble myself before God and there the list ends."             

                                             ~  Sam Houston, Governor of Tennessee, leader in the Texas Revolution, first and third President of the Republic of Texas, US Senator, and Governor of the State of Texas 

 The image is a Matthew Brady daguerreotype in the Library of Congress, taken while Houston was serving as US Senator, representing the new State of Texas following annexation.

The Crossroads: A Reminder on Choices, and Freedom from C.S. Lewis

On freedom (and predestination)

"It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it. 

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other."   

                    C.S. Lewis, in "Mere Christianity",  via CS Lewis Daily on Bible Gateway

Remember David Haines.... But Especially, Remember Fabrizio Quattrocchi: "I'll Show You How An Italian Dies!"

Today, the muslims that call themselves ISIS have killed another hostage. As we mourn David Haines, murdered by islam, we are wise to recall that this is the habit of our enemy. 

10 years ago in 2004, muslims in Iraq were killing off hostages one by one. The name Fabrizio Quattrocchi should be taught in our schools, and honored on our calendar. April 15th is no longer just Tax Day, but it is also the day Fabrizio Quattrocchi showed us how to stand up to evil. 

From the article at The Daily Mail: 

" As the last seconds of his life ticked away, Fabrizio Quattrocchi defiantly removed the hood placed over his head by his killers and shouted: 'Now you'll see how an Italian dies.'
"They were his last words. The militiamen then shot the 36-year-old ex-soldier in the neck at point-blank range. Mr Quattrocchi was one of four Italians forced to stand alongside a shallow grave dug by their captors, who then selected him at random for death. "

At the Blog Just One Minute, a quote from NRO:

April 26, 2004, 8:31 a.m.

Moments of Truth

Fabrizio Quattrocchi lived fully — to his last moment.

By James S. Robbins

Thucydides wrote about war in order to study man's character. Conflict brings out both the very best in human nature, and the very worst. The two often emerge simultaneously.
Witness Fabrizio Quattrocchi, 36, a baker from Italy who went to Iraq to work as a security guard for a contracting firm. He and three other Italians were taken hostage by al-Katibat al-Khadra, the Green Battalion, who demanded that Italy release some of the Muslim extremists they are holding, and that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologize for statements he made that allegedly insulted Islam. They showed the hostages on video, and threatened to kill them if their demands were not met. To demonstrate they were serious, they took Quattrocchi to a field, and had him dig a large hole. They then put a hood over his head and forced him to kneel by the grave, preparing to murder him. But Fabrizio did not cooperate. He stood and tried to pull off the hood, shouting, "Now I'll show you how an Italian dies!" The terrorists shot him in the back of the neck. Al Jazeera, which obtained the videotape of the killing, chose not to air it, saying it was "too gruesome." Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, Fabrizio "died a hero."

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-255463/Now-youll-Italian-dies.html

Here's another article about it: http://nypost.com/2004/04/16/hero-hostages-last-moments-ill-show-you-how-an-italian-dies-he-tells-thugs/

Tell your children. Tell your grandchildren. Tell them about the great bread baker from Italy, who went to fight evil, and who refused to bow to their despicable false god. And because of that, the good Fabrizio Quattrocchi lives in Heaven forever, the guardian angel of brave children everywhere. 

The Smartest Question of the Day

Abortionist Nancy Pelosi compared lawbreaking illegal aliens to the Children of Israel fleeing Egypt, and now California Governor Brown  urges "the religious call to welcome the stranger".   On Facebook, APIII%er Andrew Wark  asks the smartest question of the day:

 "So where are all the democrats screaming their make believe "law" of 'separation of church and state'?  The silence is deafening."

UPDATED: An American Son, An American Sign: Standing Up Against Negotiating With Terrorists

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little."                                                                                                                                 ~ Edmund Burke.

UPDATE 6/4/14  -  A group of Vets from the American Patriots III% (AP3%) and friends are planning to join Ethan in a protest at 5:00 pm Thursday, June 5th, outside the gate at the Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot. See Facebook Group "America's One Voice" for more details.
~~~~~~~~
Original Post: When I first heard that Bowe Bergdahl had been released, I was really happy. I was very uneasy to learn that he had been traded for five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Prison. Then, my son Ethan filled me in on some of the facts, and I understood that this is not a time to rejoice.  (Pat at SIGIS has a roundup of info on the troubling details)

Ethan Arguello is a former Marine, a veteran who served in Iraq. I have written before about him, and his brothers in arms who were killed in support of liberty there.

Ethan sees this trade, this ransom, as a betrayal of our military, of the good men and women who gave their lives and their bodies for America, and of the Gold Star families we honor for the terrible sacrifices of loss they live with every day.

So for the past two days, and continuing for the rest of this week, Ethan is standing out on the road holding a sign, protesting against abandoning our 200 year old policy against ransom. His hand lettered sign reads "AMERICANS Do Not Negotiate With Terrorists".

Here is what he told me about it:
"Mother, to be honest with you, I'm angered by this just as much as I am and was with my fellow Marines deaths. I'm mourning for every Gold Star parent, the fact that we captured their child's killers then released them is disgusting.  Most of my hurt in my heart is for the parents (Gold Star) of the brave ones that step up to protect others."

Later on, he added this:  "I will continue to be an American in accordance with our Constitution and the ideals of our founding fathers.  Even though Americans are becoming non American, I will continue.  I believe in the enabling of every deserving person to succeed in every effort that they shall embark on.  If they are productive members of society, they will represent the the average hard working American that pulled their own weight and managed their own responsibilities as done before in history.  "

If you happen to be driving along Highway 278 in Bluffton, South Carolina, look for him there.

He said he is getting great support, lots of honks and people yelling their approval. Thank you to the nice lady who brought him a bottle of cold water! People are glad to know they are not the only ones angry about this  - and people who didn't know the hard truth (like me at first), are becoming angry when they find out what has really happened here.

And some pics taken from cars are starting to show up on Facebook and Instagram, with great comments, so he is getting a little "viral" coverage.

There isn't a lot one man can do in the face of something like this. But there is always something. And Ethan is Doing Something on his own, without waiting on anyone else. He is standing up for what he believes, not hanging about to see if anyone else is willing to stand with him.

And that is the kind of courage that makes America, America.

My sons are all three very fine men, and they continually amaze and impress me. Pride in my children is something they have earned by their own actions and lives. Every once in a while, they will each do something that takes my breath away. And that is how I feel right now.

I'm very proud of my American Son today.

First Amendment Quote of the Day - Texas Declaration of Independence - March 2, 2014

Among the reasons listed in Texas Declaration of Independence was freedom of religion:   

"...[The Mexican nation] denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty according to the dictates of our own conscience, by the support of a national religion, calculated to promote the temporal interest of its human functionaries, rather than the glory of the true and living God.... " 

                   Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico, March 2, 1836  (Among the many conditions and causes that resulted finally in Texas' Declaration of Independence from Mexico, the most serious was Santa Ana's dissolution of the Consitution under which the Texians had established themselves as Mexican Citizens. Without that Constitution, Santa Ana became a dictator, declaring new laws or refusing to enforce existing laws.)

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 28, 2014

"Religious liberty is a deeply radical concept. It was at this country’s founding and it hasn’t become less so. Preserving it has always been a full-time battle. But it’s important, because religion is at the core of people’s identity. A government that tramples religious liberty is not a government that protects economic freedom. It’s certainly not a government that protects conscience rights. A government that tramples religious liberty does not have expansive press freedoms. Can you think of one country with a narrow view of religious liberty but an expansive view of economic freedom, freedom of association, press freedoms or free speech rights? One?"

Mollie Hemingway in "Dumb, Uneducated, And Eager To Deceive: Media Coverage Of Religious Liberty In A Nutshell; Most Reporters Are Simply Too Ignorant To Handle The Job", The Federalist, Feb 28, 2014. via Get Religion.

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 2014

"I am Jewish and value protection of pray[er] in schools and religious freedom of expression in public and private life. If the rights of Christians are not protected neither are my rights and that hasn't worked out well for Jews historically. I believe G-d gives us purpose and strength and will guide us if we allow it. Our laws are based on Judeo-Christian values and create the moral and fair way to establish authority and maintain civil and societal norms. Without G-d we are only intelligent animals."

Becky Berger, Candidate for Railroad Commissioner in the 2014 Texas Republican Primary, in reply to the question "Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values", asked of all candidates by iVoterGuide.com

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 26, 2014

Maybe this one should be subtitled "Why the First Amendment is Endangered":

"All press are required to stay strictly on message. Any press who ask guests or Mr. Farrow about off-message topics will be immediately escorted out of the event.”

 Press Guidance for a presentation event honoring Ronan Farrow with "Reach the World's" annual Cronkite Award for Excellence in Exploration and Journalism.

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 25, 2014

" I mean these kinds of things keep on surfacing, in part because you and your TV station will promote them."

                  President Barak Obama, in an interview by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, when asked about the 157 recorded visits to the White House by IRS Chief Douglas Shulman during the years that the  IRS Tea Party Targeting Scandal was occurring.  The 157 visits were officially listed on the White House Visitor Logs for the time period between October 2009 and December 2012. The IRS Scandal is still being investigated by Congress as of Feb 25, 2014.

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 22, 2014

"I welcome today’s announcement that the FCC has suspended its “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” or CIN study. This study would have thrust the federal government into newsrooms across the country, somewhere it just doesn’t belong. The Commission has now recognized that no study by the federal government, now or in the future, should involve asking questions to media owners, news directors, or reporters about their practices. This is an important victory for the First Amendment. And it would not have been possible without the American people making their voices heard. I will remain vigilant that any future initiatives not infringe on our constitutional freedoms."

                                            FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai's statement on the suspension of the FCC's proposed Critical Information Needs study, aka "CIN".

First Amendment Quote of the Day - February 21, 2014

 Arizona has passed a bill that will allow Christians and Hindus to refuse to provide service to abortionists without fear of being sued for discrimination. It will allow Moslems to refuse to provide service to people accompanied by service dogs without fear of being sued for discrimination.  It will allow Wiccans to refuse service to Christians without fear of being sued for discrimination. It will allow members of the Church of Christ to refuse service to Catholics without fear of being sued for discrimination. It will allow Amish to refuse service to their own members who are being shunned, without fear of being sued for discrimination.

The actual text of the Arizona Free Exercise of Religion Bill (AZ Senate Bill 1062) that the Arizona Senate passed today:

"41-1493.  Definitions

"In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

"1.  "Demonstrates" means meets the burdens of going forward with the evidence and of persuasion.

"2.  "Exercise of religion" means the practice or observance of religion, including the ability to act or refusal to act in a manner substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief." ...

..... "[Sec. 2.]  Section 41-1493.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

"41-1493.01.  Free exercise of religion protected; definition

"A.  Free exercise of religion is a fundamental right that applies in this state even if laws, rules or other government actions are facially neutral.

"B.  Except as provided in subsection C of this section, state action shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability."

"C.  State action may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if the government or nongovernmental person seeking the enforcement of state action demonstrates that application of the burden to the person's exercise of religion in this particular instance is both:

"1.  In furtherance of a compelling governmental interest.

"2.  The least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

"D.  A person whose religious exercise is burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, regardless of whether the government is a party to the proceeding.

"E.  A person that asserts a violation of this section must establish all of the following:

"1.  That the person's action or refusal to act is motivated by a religious belief.

"2.  That the person's religious belief is sincerely held.

"3.  That the state action substantially burdens the exercise of the person's religious beliefs.

"F.  The person asserting a claim or defense under subsection D of this section may obtain injunctive and declaratory relief.  A party who prevails in any action to enforce this article against a government shall recover attorney fees and costs.

"G.  For the purposes of this section, the term substantially burden is intended solely to ensure that this article is not triggered by trivial, technical or de minimis infractions.

"H.  For the purposes of this section, "state action" means any action, except for the requirements prescribed by section 41-1493.04, by the government or the implementation or application of any law, including state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and policies, whether statutory or otherwise, and whether the implementation or application is made by the government or nongovernmental persons."

                                      Source: Arizona State Government Website: http://www.azleg.gov/