The Best Cartoon Ever Made

In case you are completely ignorant, I have provided the following to educate you regarding the best cartoon ever made. Enjoy!

Why I Think The Economy Is In Trouble Of Historic Proportion Or Why You Should Think About Buying A Little Gold And Silver

Our economy is obviously in trouble. Here are the four reasons why I think our economy is in trouble of historic proportions:

1) We live in a country that is addicted to consumption. We, as a people, no longer save our money to invest and hope for a return. Instead we spend every dime we earn and then spend more in the form of credit cards and home equity loans. In 2005, the Personal Savings Rate dropped into negative territory for the first time in U.S. History. We are not taking personal responsibility for the current state of our economy by moderating our consumption, fostering contentment with our possessions, and fighting against the greed that is so often present in a capitalistic society

2) The global unrest that currently exists is of historic proportion and the U.S.A. seems be fostering this through its apparent need to "extend the empire". You probably have heard that "war is good for the economy". I believe that our current administration will move to invade Iran before the next election. My opinion is based on the fact that the U.S. Senate passed legislation in September of 2007 labeling an arm of the Iranian military as a "terrorist organization". This, in effect, gives President Bush de facto authority to declare war on Iran. Given the fact that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that Israel should "be wiped from the face of the earth", hinting at his hatred for Israel, it is probably a decent bet that we will invade Iran soon. This may help or hinder our economy.

3) The Federal Reserve continues its Ponzi scheme by printing paper money that has no inherent value save what the Fed declares it to be. This is also unprecedented in our country, albeit occurring for the last 100 years. I believe it is only a matter of time before the whole house of paper dollars collapses, much like the peso did in 1982 when Mexico defaulted on all its debt. The U.S.A. continues to borrow $1.43 Billion dollars (that's 1,430 million) A DAY to prop up its economy. This has been going on since September of 2006! How can we sustain this? Or national debt is now $9,204,986,412,717.18!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha! $0.18 cents!!! Ha!!! They actually record it to the 18th cent....

4) In a word, Gold. Gold has been artifically depressed in value by the central banks of the world. Gold peaked in value in 1980 at a rate of 850$ oz. That was January 21, 1980. For 20 years gold was around 300$ oz. Then in 2003, only 5 years ago, it began to move. It has progressed upward for the last 5 years to its current price of $930 oz! This breaks the record set in 1980. But wait! Does it really? What about the inflationary rate for the last 23 years? The price of gold in 1980, $850 oz, adjusted for inflation, is between $2,115 and $2,200! Still a deal, if you ask me. But you didn't! What I infer from this rise in Gold is a subtle yet growing lack of "faith" in the dollar/economy/Fed/etc.


UPDATE! 01/31/08

5) Panic had been evident at the FED. Never before has it lowered the rate by 125 basis points in one week. This is historic in precedent. Obviously the FED thinks something is wrong with the economy!

A Story I Wrote In 3rd Grade

Here are the meanderings of a 9 year old mind...This is verbatim from a handwritten (in faltering cursive) story I recently found in my memory book. I have left all typos intact to preserve literary faithfulness.

One day I foud out that the front tire of my bike was gone. And yet, it was still standing up. I walked up to it. I tried to touch it. There was nothing there. That puzzled me. I went in the house for a drink of juice and started pouring. 

Nothesing came out. I looked inside it. There was a martian in it. The next moments were black. Then I was in a spaceship looking down at my house Then I was back by my bike. The martian was there. He said "Zotz sorry for stealing round thing. Me no mean any harm to round thing." Thats O.K. I said, Then I shook hands with Him. Then he dissappeared. And I went on my way in the World.

The end

A Crumbling Fortress Is Our Works

Here is a little parody I wrote based on Martin Luther's wonderful hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God".

(To the tune of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"; with special thanks to Pastor Matt Troupe who preached on "legalism" this morning...)

A crumbling fortress is our works

A bulwark ever failing

Though labors, works, and laws we keep

Our system still is ailing

The heart of darkness grim

Will take us to the brim

Of legal righteousness

Then crush us under foot

We smile and efforts greater seek

Though we in works of pie'ty trust

Our super systems' still a bust

We will hold over all our friends

A standard without loving ends

A hammer we will yield

Hypocrisy's our shield

Our banner is our law

A double standard true

We're good because we pay our dues

(Key change...)

So give it all you've really got

And hope that you will make it too

We've tithed our mint and strained our gnat

We love our bread and camel stew

If legalism's sought

A hearty dose we've got

Come bathe in standards strict

Your conscience is a wreck

Just work your fingers to the bone

Weird Al (Sing to "Amen")

How Little I Know About Parenting

1) Remember that your kids are kids. They are not going to speak Latin and know what a “trivium” is when they are young. They will, however, know what candy is and exactly where it is located, want to touch everything, discover the joy of the water hose, love to cuddle, love to laugh, learn to “give kissies”, know exactly where “Finding Nemo” is located in the DVD rack and want to watch it for the 620th time, want to drink your beer, scream when the garbage truck pulls up, read the same book at least 25 times a day, eat the Playdough, become terrified when you vacuum the flooor, smear refried beans all over their head and in their eyes, laugh when they pee on your sofa as you are changing their diaper, laugh again when you try to stop them, cry when they have to stop having fun, cry when they have to get out of the bathtub, cry when they smash their chin and bite through their lip, and love to go into Lowe’s and look at all of the ceiling fans spinning around. I had many ideas about being a parent before I became one. It seems like all my “wisdom” has gone out the window since then. I remember one thing that Pastor Crawford said in a sermon that I heard second-hand from my wife. It went something like this: “Your kids are kids. That’s what they are. When they eat mud and play with the toys, they are doing what they were created to do. They are glorifying God when they scream and run and play. Let them be kids.” Anyway, that brief comment sank into my heart and life and changed me. You never know what God will use to help you become a better parent.

2) Know your theology and your Bible. This will help you act like God towards your children. I think of my parenting in terms of justice and mercy, much like God does towards us. If my son disobeys, I do not carry out “full justice” on him every time. If God disciplined us every time we disobeyed/sinned, we would be woeful, miserable creatures. Instead, God is very merciful to us in the hopes that His kindness would lead us to repentance. There are times when the temptation to disobey is too much for him so I move him out of the area of temptation, like God does with us. Sometimes he must be disciplined, in order that he might learn obedience. Though he is disciplined, he never ceases to be my son. I try to reinforce this idea by kissing him and hugging him and loving on him after he has been disciplined. Also, I make disciplining times as quick as possible with a rapid restoration following the event. I try to avoid long, drawn-out crysessions but remind my son that “It’s over, it’s over...” God forgives us quickly when we repent under His chastisement and His heart is towards us the moment we repent. I try to lavish good things on my son. You could call this “spoiling him”. I see God giving us all good things, even His own son, for our good and pleasure. We should be good to our children, not stingy. Our children should know us to have large hearts, to be bent towards giving them what they ask for. Do you see God, our Father, in this way? Delight in your children, have fun with them, let them give you joy. Act towards your children the way God acts towards His children. You can’t go wrong.

The Lord Is On My Side...

How many times have you thought this in the last year? I just read Psalms 118 and was struck with this simple fact: God is for me, not against me. I must confess that I have rarely thought about this reality choosing instead to struggle through all of my troubles without the comfort of this amazing truth. The Psalmist even says that he was pushed so hard that he was almost falling but God was on His side. What a wonderful Savior!