Tag Archives: income “inequality”

Mar 25 2018

Palm Sunday, Holy Week Begins


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House  on March 25, 2018 by

palm-sundayMK 11:1-10

When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem,
to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives,
he sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately on entering it,
you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone should say to you,
‘Why are you doing this?’ reply,
‘The Master has need of it
and will send it back here at once.’”
So they went off
and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street,
and they untied it.
Some of the bystanders said to them,
“What are you doing, untying the colt?”
They answered them just as Jesus had told them to,
and they permitted them to do it.
So they brought the colt to Jesus
and put their cloaks over it.
And he sat on it.
Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut from the fields.
Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!”

set my face like flintIS 50:4-7

The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

What was Jesus doing at the Triumphal Entry?

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains:

Jesus claims the right of kings, known throughout antiquity, to requisition modes of transport.

The use of an animal on which no one had yet sat is a further pointer to the right of kings. Most striking, though, are the Old Testament allusions that give a deeper meaning to the whole episode. . . .

For now let us note this: Jesus is indeed making a royal claim. He wants his path and his action to be understood in terms of Old Testament promises that are fulfilled in his person. . . .

At the same time, through this anchoring of the text in Zechariah 9:9, a “Zealot” exegesis of the kingdom is excluded: Jesus is not building on violence; he is not instigating a military revolt against Rome. His power is of another kind: it is in God’s poverty, God’s peace, that he identifies the only power that can redeem [Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 2].

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-palm-passion-sunday/#ixzz3VjXWfUi3

Something to think about. I just saw this in a video. On Palm Sunday, Jesus did something radically different. For the first time, he allowed “people to proclaim him and treat him as king” to quote the video by Father John Sims Baker of of Ashland City, Tennessee. Jesus enters the royal City of David as the royal descendent of that King, the one foretold. It is the only time he allowed himself to be treated as royalty. Very quickly things changed, but for that moment, a few people were allowed to see the long awaited King return to Jerusalem.

He has entered the Holy City, making his claim to Kingship clear.

Mar 25 2018

The partisan gender gap among millennials is staggeringly large


Women born after 1980 favor Democrats 70-23.

By Matthew Yglesiasmatt@vox.com
Photo by Sam Morris/Getty Images

Women are more Democratic than men, and younger voters are more Democratic than older ones. The former has been true for decades, and the latter is a trend that’s at least 10 or 15 years old. But a new Pew survey using a huge sample to allow for insight into demographic details shows that the intersection of these two trends is staggeringly large.

Among millennials, which Pew identifies as people born between 1981 and 1996, men lean toward Democrats by 8 percentage points — far and away a bigger tilt toward Democrats than older cohorts of men. But millennial women favor Democrats by a staggeringly large 70-23 margin.

That means that even as millennial men are the most Democratic-friendly cohort of men, the millennial gender gap is also by far the largest of any cohort. In the Silent Generation, women are 8 points more favorable to Democrats. Among boomers, it’s 10 points. Among Gen-Xers, it’s 11 points, and among millennials, it’s 21 points.

That’s driven by what seems to be an explosive change in millennial women’s political sentiments over just the past two or three years even while most other groups’ views have stayed relatively stable.

Young people are, of course, notoriously fickle midterm voters. So how much this shift in sentiment is translated into a shift in actual policy outcomes will hinge, critically, on whether this big bloc of younger women shows up in November. But it’s fair to say that while a certain amount of gender polarization is nothing new to the political system, the scale that we are now witnessing among younger people is unprecedented.

Mar 3 2018

The Final Farewell – Reverend Billy Graham Funeral (Full Video)….


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on March 2, 2018 by

Earlier today the family, friends, colleagues and thousands of people touched by Reverend Billy Graham gathered for their final farewell.  The service was attended by President Trump, First-Lady Melania Trump, Vice-President Pence and Second-Lady Karen Pence.

The full service is below in two video segments.

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Second video below:

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Feb 28 2018

President Trump Remarks Honoring Reverend Bill Graham – Capitol Hill Rotunda Ceremony…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on February 28, 2018 by

Reverend Bill Graham is honored today during a ceremony at the Capitol Hill Rotunda:

[Transcript] U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. – 11:21 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Speaker Ryan and Leader McConnell. And, most importantly, thank you to the entire Graham family for honoring us with your presence here today. Thank you.

In the spring of 1934, Billy Graham’s father allowed a group of Charlotte businessmen to use a portion of the family’s dairy farm to gather for a day of prayer.

On that day, the men prayed for the city. They prayed that, “Out of Charlotte, the Lord would raise up someone to preach the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.”

We are here today, more than 80 years later, because that prayer was truly answered.

Billy Graham was 15 years old at the time. Just a few months later, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

That choice didn’t just change Billy’s life — it changed our lives. It changed our country, and it changed, in fact, the entire world.

The North Carolina farm boy walked out of those fields, into a great and beautiful history. Starting at a small Bible school in Florida, he soon led a nationwide revival — from a large tent in Los Angeles, to 100,000 people in a single day at Yankee Stadium, to more than 2 million people at Madison Square Garden, over 16 weeks in 1957.

And I remember that, because my father said to me, “Come on, son” — and, by the way, he said, “Come on, mom. Let’s go see Billy Graham at Yankee Stadium.” And it was something very special.

But Americans came in droves to hear that great young preacher. Fred Trump was a big fan. Fred Trump was my father.

In London, Tokyo, Seoul, Bogota, Moscow, New Delhi, Saigon, Johannesburg, and scores of other places all over the world, Reverend Graham shared the power of God’s word with more than 200 million people, in person, and countless others through television and radio where people loved to watch and listen.

In 1978, with the support of the Catholic Bishop who would soon become Pope John Paul II, Reverend Graham went to Poland and spoke of the meaning of the cross to a people suffering under the soulless oppression of communism.

Billy Graham carried his message around the world, but his heart, as Franklin will tell you, was always in America.

He took his message to the poorest places, to the downtrodden and to the brokenhearted, to inmates in prison, and to the overlooked and the neglected. He felt a great passion for those that were neglected.

Everywhere he went, Reverend Graham delivered the same beautiful message: God loves you. That was his message. God loves you.

We can only imagine the number of lives touched by the preaching and the prayers of Billy Graham –- the hearts he changed, the sorrows he eased, and the joy he brought to so many. The testimony is endless.

Today, we give thanks for this extraordinary life. And it’s very fitting that we do so right here in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, where the memory of the American people is enshrined.

Here in this room, we are reminded that America is a nation sustained by prayer. The painting to my left is of the pilgrims as they embarked for America, holding fast to the Bible and bowing their heads in prayer.

Along these walls, we see the faces of Americans who prayed as they stood on the Lexington Green, who prayed as they headed west, prayed as they headed into battle, and prayed as they marched for justice, and always marched for victory.

Around us stand the statues of heroes who led the nation in prayer during the great and difficult times, from Washington to Lincoln to Eisenhower to King.

And, today, in the center of this great chamber lies legendary Billy Graham, an ambassador for Christ who reminded the world of the power of prayer and the gift of God’s grace.

Today we honor him as only three private citizens before him have been so honored.

And like the faithful of Charlotte once did, today we say a prayer for our country, that all across this land the Lord will raise up men and women like Billy Graham to spread a message of love and hope to every precious child of God.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. Thank you very much.

END – 11:28 A.M. EST

Feb 26 2018

THE REPUBLIC OF EMOTION


Published on Jul 24, 2017

In his latest FIREWALL, Bill Whittle talks about the cruelties and consequences of a world where nothing matters except HOW YOU FEEL.

Feb 21 2018

Billy Graham’s message to us


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on February 21, 2018 by

Eternal rest grant unto him, oh Lord.

Stella’s Place

As you may know, Billy Graham left this world today at age 99 years. He died at 8 a.m. EST at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. A counselor to many famous and powerful men and women, his message was always the same, to everyone.

According to Reuters,

In a rare trip away from his home in his later years, Graham had celebrated his 95th birthday on Nov. 7, 2013, at a hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, where some 800 guests, including Republican politician Sarah Palin, business magnates Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump and television hostess Kathie Lee Gifford paid tribute.

The celebration featured a video of a sermon that his son Franklin said was Graham’s last message to the nation. Graham had been working for a year on the video, which was aired on Fox News. In it, he said America was “in great need of a spiritual awakening.”

View original post 41 more words

 

Feb 21 2018

Heaven: The Message from Billy Graham


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on February 21, 2018 by

We never know what we truly believe until it’s a matter of life and death. Billy Graham, along with a firefighter and a young woman forced to face the reality of death, share the Gospel message, and what really happens when we die.

Recorded by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 2014:

Billy Graham Memorial HERE

Feb 14 2018

Update: Broward County Florida School Shooting – Multiple Victims – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House  on February 14, 2018 by

Broward County Florida Sheriff’s Office confirmed they have a suspect in custody in connection to a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, that may have injured as many as 20 to 40 people.  Broward County public schools twitter feed here. Broward Sheriff twitter feed here.

The shooter was described as wearing a black hat, a maroon or burgundy colored shirt and black pants.  Gateway Pundit is identifying the shooter as “Nicholas de Jesus Cruz”, possibly a former student, 5′-8″. Miami Herald reports:

  According to law enforcement sources, the shooter, former student Nicolas de Jesus Cruz, is in custody. Helicopter footage shortly before 4 showed police frisking a handcuffed young man outside a squad car. Dressed in a maroon shirt and dark trousers, he was placed in the squad car as TV choppers filmed the scene. He gave no visible sign of being injured, but authorities have said Cruz was transported to Broward Health North.

A teacher at the school told the Miami Herald that Cruz, 19, had been identified as a potential threat to fellow students in the past.

“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” said math teacher Jim Gard, who said the former student suspected in the shootings had been in his class last year. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.” (more)

Police have notified area hospitals they will receive patients as a result of the shooting. The conditions of the victims were not clear, though Sen. Bill Nelson told FOX News there were “many deaths” at the school.

Parkland is a Fort Lauderdale suburb of 30,000 people just east of the Everglades. The National Council on Home Safety and Security recently placed the city on its list of the 10 safest cities in Florida.  President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences to the victims this afternoon.

Feb 14 2018

Remember That You Are Dust, And To Dust You Shall Return


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on February 14, 2018 by

 

Traditionally, Ash Wednesday and Lent are associated with Catholicism, but that no longer holds true. More Christians are taking advantage of the “forty days” (it’s really 46) today prepare for Easter.

Lent is a time to fast, pray, give alms. Many Catholics will give something up. Sweets, alcohol, meat, cursing, something that is supposed to be sacrificial and difficult. We perform acts of penance, and frequently take part in public prayer, such as the Stations of the Cross, which most parishes will have weekly, often before a Lenten meal.

All this is meant to spiritually lead us into the desert, to prepare us to really be able to celebrate on Easter Sunday with a cleansed heart, open totally to Jesus in the Resurrection. It should also open us to our fellow men on this journey, particularly those in need.

If you have never thought much about Ash Wednesday and Lent, I invite you to consider making it a part of your life for the next six weeks. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself as a Christian.

Should you wish to participate in an Ash Wednesday service, you do not have to be Catholic. You will be welcome at any parish, and you can receive the ashes. As the priest, deacon, or perhaps layperson makes the cross on your forehead they will say “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” or “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

Feb 13 2018

The Real Mardi Gras


RE-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on February 13, 2018 by

 Debauchery. Bacchanalia. Floats, costumes, beads and masks, and lots of drinking and partying. That’s what we think of when we hear the term Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.

There is a lot more behind it. Also called Shrove Tuesday, it marks the last day of the liturgical calendar before Lent begins. After Catholicism spread throughout Europe, many cultures celebrated the final day before Lent began in ways unique to that individual  culture. eggs, and milk were finished off in one day, giving rise to the term Fat Tuesday. In Poland, such things as lard, sugar, eggs, and fruit were forbidden during Lent, and the beloved  pączki became a special treat for Fat Tuesday, and in Detroit they still sell many thousands of them to long lines of people.

Many people, Catholic and non Catholic alike celebrate Mardi Gras. Have a great day, but spare a thought to tomorrow.

No matter what church you attend, Lent is a custom, an observance, that you can use to prepare you to meet Christ renewed on Easter Sunday, with a deeper and more tested faith. Perhaps a faith better prepared to go into the world and share, model, and live the teachings.

By the way, I am sure most of you have seen us Catholics sporting the cross on our foreheads, traced in ashes blessed on Palm Sunday of the preceding year. Every parish will have one or more services to distribute ashes, and you do not have to be Catholic to attend and receive the ashes, should you so choose.