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Mark Caserta: Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” offers perspective for us all

8 Dec

 

charles dickens

(Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol” offers a timeless reflection on life)

 

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

December 8, 2018

 

Perhaps, we should all take some time to reflect on the chains we’ve forged in life this Christmas season.

The brilliance and imagery of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol,” offers a timeless reflection of the magical benefits of human kindness. Through the years, there have been over 50 different adaptations of Dickens’ story, each yearning to recreate the tale of an Ebenezer Scrooge character experiencing a life-altering epiphany of his self-centered denouement on others.

One of the very first portrayals of Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”, was in 1935, when actor Seymour Hicks, toured England with his own, non-musical adaptation of the story through the late nineteenth century. My family and I have enjoyed it many times and consider it to be one of the most enjoyable ever during the Christmas season!

Of his tale, Dickens wrote,” I have endeavored in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.”

And “haunt” us it has for over 150 years with its sustained relevance for mankind and its sobering look at the sanctity and purpose of life.

Ebenezer Scrooge was a man lost within his own maize of anxiety, stripped of his compassion for others whose significance diminished as his wealth and prominence grew. Yet, Scrooge, although unworthy of his journey of recompense, was given an opportunity to witness the chains he forged in life from the third person as he was accompanied on a journey by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

I can only surmise Dickens chose Christmas as the setting of his tale of repentance because of the depth of purpose he envisioned it had for his fellow man and the opportunity it offered for reflecting upon one’s life choices. Perhaps he, too, was convicted by the season.

I do, however, submit Dickens is prompting each of us to invoke similar introspection. What would your legacy be with those whom you’ve shared your life’s timeline?

How would your journey fare with the three apparitions with whom Scrooge shared his evening?

How sound are the choices you’ve made in the “past” regarding the care and compassion of your fellow man?

Yes, today’s life choices are exceedingly complex and follow a path dimly lit and laden with distractions commensurate to our times. But are they subject to a different standard?

A popular phrase over the years has been, “What would Jesus do”?

Psalms 25:4 says, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.” More than ever before, we need a spiritual compass to help guide us each day in our decision-making.

What about the “present” day? As you woke this morning and prepared to interact with others, what was your motivation? Was it to serve your purpose or to serve the purpose of others? Which offers the greater reward?

James 1:19 tells us, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

No doubt, it would benefit us all to heed this simple instruction.

What about your “future”? Surely, thoughts of our future should consume us? After all, we’re taught from an early age to prepare for this period in life. Entities all around us work to influence our focus on preparing for the future.

But isn’t that exactly what Ebenezer did? Today is yesterday’s future! God doesn’t want us to be consumed with hoarding riches in this life. Matthew 6:10 advises, “Do not store up yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

God wants us to live each other and build our eternal riches in Heaven. Our life here on earth is “but a vapor” per the scriptures. But a precarious vapor if allowed to cloud our eyes to our purpose!

Ebenezer Scrooge had some ghostly mentors to influence change in his life. Dickens ensured his writings paved the way for his repentance by allowing time for Scrooge to alter his future.

Unfortunately, none of us have Dickens’ script guaranteeing our life tomorrow. Could tomorrow be too late for any of us to begin a new path, one pleasing to God and benefitting our brother or sister?

Perhaps, we should use Christmas, as Dickens did, to reflect upon chains we may have forged in life and begin eliminating them, one link at a time.

And perhaps, encourage others to do the same.

May God Bless us – every one!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

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Cameron Blevins: Communism vs. Socialism – Which is the greater evil in the 21st century?

8 Dec

communism vs socialism

(Have we created a generation without an understanding of these two evils?)

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Cam Blevins resides in the Tri-State area and has been a member of local broadcast media for nearly a decade.  His libertarian views on social and political issues lends a refreshing perspective to many complicated issues. Free State Patriot welcomes Cam as a new contributor!

December 8, 2018

 

Before I dive into my recent ponderings, I want to be perfectly clear- both are horrible ideas. Communism has led to the deaths of millions of people throughout history. That is an unforgivable offense and it is a shame that the evils of Communism are no longer taught with real importance in our schools. But that is another topic entirely.

 So, obviously, Communism has a very dark past. But which is worse moving forward in the 21st century? Communism or Socialism? I say Socialism, and here’s why:

 First off, Socialism today is romanticized by the youth and left. It’s looked at as all the good qualities of Communism, such as sharing of wealth for the greater good. But it is viewed as dispelling all the evil qualities of Communism, such as mass murder and starvation. That “Romanization” is akin to a sweet aroma that leads to a poisonous flower. The poisonous flower being more poverty.

 Now, something that’s very important to point out before we go any further is this – There have been very few, if any, actual, truly Communist nations. Many have called themselves Communist, but few have actually achieved what is described in Marx’s writings – A society without currency, that moves forward for the greater good of all citizens. 

 “With collective production, money capital is completely dispensed with. The society distributes labor-power and means of production between the various branches of industry. There is no reason why the producers should not receive paper tokens permitting them to withdraw an amount corresponding to their labor time from the social consumption stocks. But these tokens are not money; they do not circulate.” – ‘Capital, Volume II’ by Karl Marx.

 So, from that, we can gather, that in a truly Communist society, currency has been abolished completely. In exchange for production, you receive the goods and services you need to survive. But in a Socialist society, money is still a part of the system. It is just regulated and taxed at much higher rates.

 In a Socialist society, the system is still dependent upon Capitalism to sustain itself. However, Capitalism does not flourish in a Socialist society. The cost of all the goods and services for every man, woman, and child would bankrupt the Capitalist system; thereby leaving the job creators near penniless.

One cannot create jobs in Capitalism without capital to compensate your worker. And because those with higher income are being taxed at an exponentially higher rate, that leads to two outcomes:

  1. The rich will find a way to keep their money outside the systems in America.
  2. There will be no incentive to continue working for that higher wage; considering the majority of it will not be kept by the person earning it.

 In short, Socialism is not an economic system. It is a parasitic system that lives off Capitalism until it is bled dry. 

The one thing that Socialism does truly accomplish in the long term is eliminate the middle class. Prime example: Venezuela. 

 And you’ll often hear the argument that “well, they’re not doing it right. We’ll do it right!” How naive a mindset? That in all of history, no one has done it correctly, but ‘’we’’ will be the ones to accomplish its success. 

Which of the two is the greater evil moving into the future?

In my opinion, Socialism. For all its gory past, Communism, in theory, would function as an economic system. Now that doesn’t preclude it from civil unrest. But as an economic system where currency no longer exists, it can work.

But Socialism, dependent upon currency and the “fair distribution” of such, will always fail.

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Mark Caserta: Progressives never accept blame for unintended consequences

2 Dec

PROGRESSIVES

(Progressives march on behalf of LGBTQ and inclusiveness)

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor of Free State Patriot

December 2, 2018

Progressives are the most innocent among us and should never accept blame.

Right.

Last week, I wrote a very thoughtful column on the progressive movement and their tenacious attempt to desensitize the most innocent among us, our children, to their liberal ideology. Understand, this progressive mindset always involves “skirting” or challenging God’s Word and insists morality be placed on a sliding scale.

After all, how could God’s Word or the U.S. Constitution be relative to today’s society, hundreds and even thousands of years (in the Bible’s case) after they were penned?

The meat of the column dealt with “Drag Queen Story Time” coming to Pullman Square in Huntington. I offered solely facts about the Rainbow Pride of West Virginia’s sponsored event which included free admission, cookies and hot chocolate. The books to be read were, “And Tango Makes Three” a book that “focuses on the contemporary, philosophical issue: What constitutes a family?” and “Jacob’s New Dress”, which openly “introduces children to the idea that all people are worthy of love and respect and in all clothes!”, per the graphic promoting the event.

“Jade” and “Giselle” are to be the featured readers of the books to the children. As I mentioned in last week’s column, I can only assume Jade and Giselle are men dressed as women. We saw record views on www.freestatepatriot.com dealing with the event and Mayor Williams’ recognition by Rainbow Pride of West Virginia for his policies on inclusion.

After writing opinion for over 14 years, I’m fairly, tough-skinned when it comes to feedback. It’s been my policy never to respond to criticism. Right, wrong, fair, unfair, that’s my policy. I learned early on, it’s impossible to win an argument conversing online via email or forum. I simply present fact-based thoughts and allow the readers to decide.

Now, this lack of attention to their complaints drives liberals crazy. They are so needy and high maintenance. C’est La Vie.

I also requested, via the column, as well as on The Tom Roten Morning Show, last week, that if this reading event was truly meant to sponsor “inclusiveness” and “tolerance”, allow me or someone equal time to attend and read from God’s Word.

Is that an unfair request? It must be, since I’ve not gotten a response.

Once you understand progressivism, it’s really, quite easy to identify a liberal by their argument and “who” or “what” they attack. Progressivism 101 prescribes eliminating any pre-conceived foundational principle which doesn’t support liberal ideology. Once the rules have been re-defined, it’s simply a matter of executing a constant barrage of challenges, usually under the guise of compassion or tolerance. For a progressive, baby-steps is accepted modus operandi.

And progressives are never willing to accept blame for any unintended consequences – period.

One of the dissenters to my column shared, quite inappropriately, that she fielded phone calls for a suicide hot-line. Now, this is an honorable and worthy cause for which I’m grateful she has a calling. I pray she has tremendous success in her mission.

She was adamant that my opinion column was damaging in that people were calling her hot-line upset at me for presenting my conservative stance. I assume it was confusing and maybe even hurtful for them to read what I believe in my heart to be the truth.

But wait! Is it fair to accuse a third-party opinion columnist for the confusion and hurt these individuals felt? Who confused them in the first place about their gender? Who led them to the fork in the road advising them they have a choice whether to identify as a man or a woman? Who enabled them to acquire the disability of gender confusion? Who intentionally removed the teaching of God’s creation of man and woman from their childhood teaching which couldn’t be clearer in our Creator’s intent.

To a liberal blinded by the darkness, it must be a Bible believing, Christian conservative. One only need read some of the responses I receive to my opinion columns to see who spews hatred and intolerance. It certainly isn’t conservatives.

The liberal argument will always be, Christians couldn’t possibly be acting in love if they don’t condone or enable a lifestyle which conflicts with God’s Word. And they may truly believe their position, since they don’t understand the Love of God.

Jesus loved everyone, but He didn’t condone a sinful lifestyle. But in moments of true repentance, He was faithful and just to forgive, after which He told them to “go and sin no more”.

My Associate Editor at Free State Patriot, one of the most brilliant historians I know, was quick to remind me that Drag Queen Story Time coming to Huntington is simply a symptom of a much larger problem and we shouldn’t get bogged down focusing on a single incident.

And he was right.

drag queen story time

The larger issue is we have city leaders who are embracing a “San Francisco-esque” sanctuary policy of tolerance and permissiveness that will continue to cripple our already foundering city. And while crime continues to grow, city leaders are more focused on enabling debilitating behaviors than they are building an infrastructure to support healthy growth and prosperity.

We must demand a “Huntington first” policy from our city leaders and work toward making Huntington great again. I don’t believe that’s going to happen with the elected officials currently at the helm.

Forming an LGBTQ and Diversity committee with the mission of brainstorming ideas on how Huntington can become more tolerant of alternative lifestyles sounds innocent enough. Everyone deserves respect and an equal welcome to our town, but frankly, I’ve not seen anything otherwise.

Trust me when I tell you, it’s simply a step toward more progressive, open-ended decisions that will erode the fiber of morality in our area, one stitch at a time.

We must be proactive in our approach to protecting our city, as the Mayor and his deep state minions are in fundamentally changing it.

It’s time to get informed, engaged and involved – before we lose our city to career liberal politicians.

Make Huntington Great Again! (MHGA)

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Doug Smith: The Electric Mine and GM

29 Nov

volt

General Motors’ Chevy Volt

DOUG FOR FSP

Doug Smith is associate editor of Free State Patriot

November 29, 2018

 

I note with wry amusement the news out of GM this week. They are finding that the cheap, aluminum foil cars, built for the Obama era 4-dollar gasoline, and the novelty electric cars, that seem to have had a market of about 200 people, are not sufficient to make the money of a Ford F 150. (Sorry Chevy lovers.) So, the inevitable is working its way through the economy.  In the proud tradition of Solyndra, Obama companies, not built by him, but propped up by him, (I wonder if I’m supposed to Capitalize Him when speaking of the One who stopped the rise of the oceans) using your money, by the way, GM is spiraling downward toward the drain.

Now, just to be clear, I was, and still am, against the government (Obama) propping up GM when it was facing bankruptcy. We have a system of laws and economics, both of which he disdains, and ignores. So, he basically took control of GM, gave a huge chunk of it to the UAW, robbed the shareholders who put their money into GM just as certainly as the Sherriff of Nottingham collecting taxes for Prince John. In so doing, he bypassed the legal system, and basic economics and market forces. What should have happened, was that a bankruptcy judge makes decisions about restructuring the debt and company, and all the debt holders are heard, and then the company reorganizes, having faced the market correction of its bad decisions in production and contract agreements with the union, and gets a chance to correct course and turn into a profitable company and keep some people working and some products, the ones people will actually buy, going out the door.

None of that happened. Obama gave the shareholders pennies on the dollar and called them greedy for resisting, then stole their shares. He gave in totally to the ridiculous, unsustainable contracts they had written with the UAW, and handed them billions, along with a commitment to build cars that fit his pipe dreams, but that no one else wanted. He even promised to buy a Chevy Volt when he left office. (By the time he left office, even with his subsidies, the Chevy Volt died. It no longer exists, so he was off the hook.)

What Obama, and the Green Brained on the Left, and perhaps, Mary Barra, CEO of GM, seem to think, is that there are big electric mines out there, with, perhaps, Willy Wonka Oompa Loompas bring out carts of Lectrics to pour into the big Battery in the sky to recharge the little batteries on their Volts.

Having worked my entire adult life in electronics, I have a bit of insight on electrical energy. There are 2 naturally occurring sources of electricity. Lightning and electric eels. Since I’m sure PETA would object to the Greeny Brothers harvesting the eels, the only way their thinking works is for the Lefties to all buy a Volt, put a big lightening rod on it, and sit out in a thunderstorm. Now, this approach does have certain advantages and a certain appeal, but those do not include keeping the car running.

So, where does energy come from? It comes from the exothermic reaction of various substances which contain a great deal of energy, (Oil, coal, wood, Uranium, gas, peat, cow dung,) when they burn or decay radioactively. By exothermic, for the social scientists among you, I mean they make heat. Oh, they make other things, by products, like smoke, ash, isotopes, but essentially: the produce heat.

So, we have heat. But we do not have Lectrics. So how do we get Lectrics?

 One way, and one way only. We move a coil of wire through a magnetic field. In your car, the alternator does that. You can do it yourself and make a light bulb come on. It’s really cool. But that is the ONLY way to produce Lectrics, to light a bulb, charge a battery, run a train, or car, or drone, or iPad. Now, there are a few ways we can get the big coils of wire to move very fast past a big magnet and break the field, inducing counter electromagnetic force, which is induced into the wire and flows to a load such as a battery, or your refrigerator. (and that is as technical as I’m going to get, so get down off the ledge)

We can use a water wheel to turn the coils. That can be as simple as the old wheel at the McCormick Farm, also useful to turn a stone and grind corn, or as complex and big as the Grand Coulee dam. And we do this already and have basically all the usable flows of water to produce electricity already hooked up and wired up. You are welcome Las Vegas. (Hoover Dam)

Choice 2: we can produce a lot of steam and turn the impellers in a generator, which will move the big coils through the magnetic field, and, just as above, make a bunch of Lectrics. How do we make steam? Why, by getting water really hot. So, (see above about the things we have that produce a lot of heat), the way we get electricity is by making heat. Certain substances store energy, which we can release as heat, and have varying degrees of efficiency in doing so, to make the steam which makes the Lectrics.

In roughly descending order of how much stored energy they have to offer:

Uranium

Oil

Coal

Methane Gas

Wood

Peat

Cow Poop

Democrats

So, sadly, you see, there are no Lectrics trees, from which we can gently pick the Lectrics fruits, and put them in the top of the Mr. Fusion and turn them into clean, soft, quiet Lectrics.

Producing energy, from the time we began burning sticks and cow poop, is dirty, dangerous, and rather violent. It also lets us not freeze to death in the winter, or eat our meat raw (sorry vegans, to warm up our squash soup) or scratch pictures on rocks instead of our Kindles or iPad. The ability to store and use energy, and food, has been an essential block in building our civilizations. The Greenies would hate the world they propose. Because a smooth, natural, undeveloped world, would consist of freezing tribes, huddled around the stinking fires of animal dung, trying not to freeze, and failing, and totally innocent of smoke and ash, but also of books, and music, and indoor plumbing.

Fortunately for us, and them, we do live in a civilized, market driven world in which we have long lives, and the goods which let us live, even the poorest among us, at a higher level than Henry II, First Plantagenet King, could ever have dreamed of. So, let us permit that civilization and free market to do its rather excellent job. No bail out for GM this time. No more subsidizing them to produce products which nobody wants, except Obama, in his fantasies, but of course in practice he is still chauffeured around in big, dirty, SUV s.

Let them go through what they should have 10 years ago, and will eventually, regardless. They will either adapt to the market and economy as it is, and produce a reliable, desirable product that people will buy, or they will go to the mat, and Ford, or Mercedes, or Toyota, will smile and swoop in and take over and do just that, and thrive. And people will work for them instead.

Let s let the government get out of the business of business. Do you really want to drive a car designed by the folks who brought you Obamacare?

There is one ray of sunshine in all this. It seems that everyone to whom Obama gave billions of our dollars ended up failing and going under. And he also sent billions to the Iranians.

For solar panels, no doubt.

 

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Mark Caserta: Progressivism “smacks” Huntington, West Virginia

24 Nov

drag queen power of one

(Huntington Mayor Steve Williams recently honored by Rainbow Pride of West Virginia)

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Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and founder of Free State Patriot

November 24, 2018

 

It would seem Mayor Steve Williams would like for Huntington, West Virginia, historically one of the most conservative cities in the Mountain State, to become the East Coast distributor for progressivism and liberal ideology.

In prelude to this column, understand that in a 2015 Herald-Dispatch opinion piece, regarding the mayor, I wrote, “I’ve always considered Mayor Williams an honorable man, with a successful track record, committed to making Huntington a better place to live.”

The column was meant to offer a calm voice of reason during the 2015 controversy involving allegations by my brother, former City Councilman Scott Caserta, regarding the legality of a payout of nearly $34,000 to former Huntington Police Chief Skip Holbrook for accrued sick leave.

My position, at that time, was unpopular with many, including my brother, with whom I’ve spent the last few years rebuilding a relationship I inadvertently compromised by offering perspective that I felt Mayor Williams was attempting to “do the right thing” even if his action was ultimately a mistake.

Now, I’m not naïve enough to think that one executes leadership without facing the challenge of difficult decisions and the realization that not everyone will be pleased.  But the majority of the people must benefit. When the effectual results of a leader’s decisions do not ultimately improve the peace and prosperity of those they serve, the people have the right and yes, the responsibility, to offer dissent.

Consider this column a clarion call for the citizens of Huntington, WV. to rise and take an active role in protecting our city from progressive demise.

I’m going to attempt to give this information all the honor and dignity it deserves. I have no doubt, there are good people involved.

But while God called us to love all people, He didn’t call us to enable or condone their miss-steps or their attempts to disingenuously influence others, especially the most susceptible among us – our youth.

I’ve spent much of my adult life studying liberalism and the progressive movement.  I understand the power of progressivism and the tenaciousness of liberals.  Most liberals understand the steps in their movement aren’t taken in large strides, but “baby steps”.

The film industry wasn’t able to thrust adult content into prime time television overnight.  They strategically tested the networks by inserting lascivious content and gradually desensitizing viewers.  Understand, they began with poisoning programming designed for younger viewers.

A perfect example would be when Disney renamed “ABC Family” to “Freeform” hoping the name would reflect the “edgier” content it added to its programming.

Liberals can be the most patient of “visionaries”, understanding that in a few years, these “children” will be adults who will want an even “edgier” product, one with even more “shock and awe”.

I recall, growing up, the movie, “The Exorcist”, was terrifying in its portrayal of demonic activity.  Today, the shock factor of such a movie is minimal compared to the progressive evolution of modern-day fright films.  As a baby boomer, I admittedly can’t watch modern-day shockers.  But movie moguls realize millennials and “next gen” folks demand this level of intensity.  Hence, progressivism.

It saddens me greatly that I feel the very same progressive movement is being propagated by Mayor Williams and “supporting cast” dark state members in our community

In April 2018, Mayor Steve Williams was honored by Rainbow Pride of West Virginia as part of “The Power of One”.  The group’s website read as follows:

“Under Mayor Williams’ leadership, Huntington City government has embraced diversity and has actively sought inclusiveness for its employees and its residents. Williams formed  citizen-based LGBTQ and Diversity advisory committees.  Working together they formed the “Open to All” diversity campaign pledging to maintain a welcoming and safe environment for all.”

I reiterate, God forgive and deliver me if I have a single racist or bigoted bone in my body.  But I believe a portion of Mayor Williams’ path to “inclusiveness” includes an intentional attempt by progressives to indoctrinate our children to an alternative lifestyle contrary to God’s Word.  And we should be infuriated at this covert influencing of our children’s lives by exposing them to an event obviously marketed by Huntington city leaders.

drag queen story time

“Drag Queen Story Time” is coming to Pullman Square in December.  The reading of the book entitled, “Jacob’s New Dress” entices children of all ages with “free admission, cookies and hot chocolate” and is promoted as introducing “children to the idea that all people are worthy of love and respect and in all clothes.”

Another book, entitled “And Tango Makes Three” focuses on the “contemporary, philosophical issue: What constitutes a family?

One can only assume that readers, “Jade” and “Gisselle”, are men dressed as women, with a mission to challenge the Biblical definition of family under the guise of promoting love and respect for everyone.

The liberal argument here is that anyone not subscribing to the progressive, inclusive definition of a family, couldn’t possibly be operating in love and respect, but from hate and intolerance.

The Christian conservative argument is we can love and respect all people without condoning or promoting a lifestyle which conflicts with our religious beliefs.

How do you suppose Rainbow Pride of West Virginia members would respond if I wanted to join their event and request equal time reading from God’s Holy Word?

I am officially making the request. This is an official request to the Mayor’s office as well as to Rainbow Pride officials.  Let’s see if “inclusiveness” leans both directions.

Citizens of Huntington:  It’s time to become equally as tenacious about having our voices heard above the fray as those who would fundamentally change our city.  We do not have to surmise what would become of our city if we allow Mayor Williams and our city’s dark state to continue down this road of destruction.  All one need do is look at the city of San Francisco, where illicit behavior and filth abound.

We must get informed and speak out against progressivism in our city.  Our children rely upon us to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  They also rely upon us to protect them from those who would prey upon their innocence.

God give us the wisdom and desire to prevail.  Convict our hearts should we step out of your will.  Empower and embolden us in its pursuit.

Let “the Power of One” emanate from the “One God Almighty”.

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Mark Caserta: Community is united by embracing “Hannah strong”

21 Nov

HANNAH 1

(Hannah Caserta unites a community with her faith and determination)

November 21, 2018

 

God never ceases to amaze me in His infinite wisdom and ability to take what the devil meant for bad and turn it into good.

Over the past several weeks, the phrase, “Hannah Strong” has flooded social media. Certainly, the “strength” and “unity” associated with the phrase are attributes the city of Huntington has needed for some time.

My brother, Scott and his lovely wife, Cindi, adopted Hannah when she was 6 years old. Over the past 8 years, Hannah has become a resident “Angel” in their lives. Loving, caring, and “perky”, Hannah became everything they’d ever dreamed in a daughter. She was an answer to prayer, and one of God’s finest gifts ever!

In September, Scott and Cindy were devastated to learn their littlest angel had a rare form of bone cancer. Frankly, I can’t imagine fielding such a crushing blow, faith or not. I quickly learned both Scott and Cindy had been empowered by God’s Spirit of Grace and Love and through the knowledge of His Word, set out quickly to rally prayer warriors and those prepared to effectually and fervently pray on Hannah’s behalf.

The heart-warming response from the community has been nothing short of a miracle. Social media has exploded on Hannah’s behalf with business owners, community service organizations, and just plain loving people stepping up to walk with Hannah on her journey to recovery. The embodiment of “Hannah Strong” has been witnessed in the hearts of many supporting her as well as on T-shirts and even the colorful lighting of The West Virginia Building on her behalf.

Amid the extensive tests, hospital visits and chemotherapy, Hannah has had her share of struggles. Yet, her contagious smile always returns and her loving spirt always rises above any consideration of depression, revealing a determined young lady, who will simply not be beaten – period.

Hannah has even made herself available to those who may have questions about her journey and the battle she’s been facing. Here is a remarkable Facebook post revealing her faith and her quest for God’s purpose in this conflict.

hannah post

May we all come to embrace this “Hannah Strong”, unifying mentality. At 14 years of age, the easy route would have been for Hannah to remain secluded and wallow in depression for having been selected by the enemy – not God, for this affliction. But not Hannah.

Hannah and her parents understand the enemy attacks those who present a threat to his mission to steal, kill and destroy every good and perfect gift which comes from God.

Hannah’s decision to rise above the fray and do exactly the opposite of what the devil would have her do, proves she is an amazing young lady on a mission. And while this mission may yet be undetermined, it will be a mission to glorify God and His Kingdom.

I am confident Hannah will have a tremendous testimony of overcoming and faith in God when this is over.

hannah strong

May we all take a moment this Thanksgiving to embrace and share the “Hannah Strong” ideology of love and faith in God. May we not only be thankful for what God has given us, but may we learn to use it to bless others. That’s why God gave his only son – to bless us.

And may God continue to bless and totally restore Hannah. Praise God for faith-filled parents who prepared their beautiful little girl for even the toughest of battles. I’m in awe of these parents and this amazing family.

Truly, greater is He who is in us, than he that is in the world.

 

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Mark Caserta: Don’t complain about what you permit.

11 Nov

divided

(We must be men and women of action.  A half-hearted attempt at greatness will result in mediocrity)

me

Mark Caserta is a conservative columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

November 11, 2018

 

A wise preacher I once knew said, “Don’t complain about what you permit.”

That challenge has resonated with me for the past 35 years. How often in life, do we find ourselves complaining about the world around us, but do absolutely nothing to enact change?

Christians, listen up! We have permitted way too much! It’s time to get off your backsides and make a difference!

  • We should not be “okay” with the murder of an unborn child just because someone made a poor choice and the pregnancy has become an “inconvenience” to them.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with a few far-left liberals wanting to redefine traditional marriage simply because they think we’re being homophobes and intolerant conservatives.
  • We can’t be okay with a few liberal loons in society eliminating gender identity simply because they don’t believe a man or a woman should be restricted by their God-given anatomy.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with a man being allowed to go into a women’s restroom simply because a few liberal nut jobs believe if a man identifies as a woman, we must honor that identity crisis, even in the face of peril for a child.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with the legalization of drugs simply because a few progressives want to profit from the death of people and the destruction of our society.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with anti-gun extremists who want to ignore the Second Amendment and take away our right to “keep and bear arms” to protect our families.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with politicians who want to take more of your hard-earned money to recklessly spend on pet projects and line their pockets with your wealth.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with re-electing representatives who lie to their constituents and refuse to live up to their campaign promises, year after year.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with liberal Democrats who are willing to undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and remove the presumption of innocence until proven guilty just to protect their progressive agenda.
  • We absolutely cannot be okay with liberals resorting to intimidation, mob rule and childish temper tantrums simply to get their way.
  • We simply can’t be okay with a liberal media incessantly filling the airwaves and print with fake news designed to influence, rather than inform.
  • We should not be okay with liberal Democrats wanting open borders to allow more “undocumented Democrats” to enter and vote for the hand that feeds them.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with liberals maligning the 1st Amendment of the Constitution and telling us we cannot pray or worship in public.
  • We shouldn’t be okay with our local Health Department providing needles to penniless addicts under the guise of preventing disease.
  • We shouldn’t be “okay” with the progressive agenda which removes God and boundaries of decency from our schools and society so a few liberal buffoons can sew “wild oats” of immorality in the minds of our youth.
  • We also shouldn’t be okay with liberals who would re-write history to disparage our nation’s greatness and exceptionalism in the annuals of antiquity.

We must be men and women of action. No battle was ever won through apathy and indifference. And a half-hearted attempt at greatness will always result in mediocrity.

We must be resolute in standing up for right over wrong! If Christians don’t, who will?

Don’t simply complain – do what you can do to fix it.

 

 

 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: Liberal Dark State Employs Mob Rule Antics

10 Nov

mob

(Mob scratches at door to Supreme Court during Brett Kavanaugh’s oath of office)

me

Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor of Free State Patriot.

November 10, 2018

 

Liberals never cease to amaze me at their incessant ability to create new forms of evil in our nation. In fact, it’s all they’re capable of producing.  Without God’s precepts and the resulting parameters of decency, the dominating influence in their lives is their carnal passion.

And passions of the flesh represent the antithesis of God’s Will and will always propagate iniquitous behavior. Progressives can blame the volatile, political environment encompassing our nation on President Trump all they want.  But they, alone, are responsible for their reprehensible actions.

And given the fact that liberals have endured such an overwhelming political blow resulting from the election of Donald J. Trump, they’ve lowered themselves to a form of political discourse known as “mob rule”.

For decades, we’ve witnessed political unrest in foreign nations inundated with mobs of angry dissenters. In Hamburg, Germany, as world leaders gathered for the G20 summit in July, 2017, a group of radical leftists, known as “Antifa”, for their anti-fascist position, set fire to cars and property, terrorizing residents and injuring more than 200 police officers.

But foreign nations no longer own the market share of political dissension. For now, in these United States of America, we have our own form of contentious, malevolent behavior resulting from varying political ideologies – political terrorism.

In Washington, DC, October 2018, Protesters clawed viciously at the doors of the Supreme Court during the swearing in of Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, chanting, “This is what democracy looks like!”  While liberal news outlets, such as CNN, reported this behavior as “protests”, such violent behavior is far from the free speech protected by the Constitution.

And as with all “political mobs,”, these domestic terrorists have their sponsors.

In June 2018, Rep. Maxine Waters, a liberal, California Democrat, called for a “total social warfare” against the entire Trump administration.  She said Trump administration officials should not be allowed anywhere in public and should be excoriated for supporting the president.

“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome any more, anywhere,” she told the cheering crowd.

In September, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his wife, Heidi, were forced to leave a restaurant in Washington, D.C. by a group determined to intimidate and terrorize the couple for the Senator’s support of a Trump Supreme Court nominee.

Only a couple weeks ago, while Fox News Host Tucker Carlson was at his work desk, just hours before his 8 p.m. live show, he suddenly began receiving multiple, desperate text messages from his wife.

Political terrorists with bull horns, were verbally assaulting the Carlson home, obviously with the intent of emotional and possibly physical damage to the family.  These terrorists had no way of knowing the Carlson children were not at home with their terrified mother.

“I called my wife,” Carlson told The Washington Post in a phone interview. “She had been in the kitchen alone getting ready to go to dinner and she heard pounding on the front door and screaming.

Someone started throwing himself against the front door and actually cracked the front door.”  Thinking it was a home invasion, Carlson’s wife locked herself in a pantry and called 911.

Yes, this is exactly what democracy, otherwise known as “mob rule”, looks like.  That’s why we should thank God, we live in a Republic.

But our Republic is under attack from within.  If liberal Democrats can’t win in the theater of ideas, they’ve shown their willingness to steal, cheat, ravage, and indeed, terrorize to regain their threshold of progressive influence on our nation.

Now, let’s be clear about where this could end.

Understand, this political reign of terror may only be accompanied by chants, name-calling and disrespectful behavior in our nation’s capital.  But in rural areas, to include the hills and valleys of Appalachia, a man isn’t going to simply turn his back and walk away when a political terrorist is confronting his family in a restaurant or attempting to break down the door to his castle.

I believe we all know what will happen.  Someone will die.

While, this level of political unrest has not yet arrived in our local communities, it’s important to realize we have local leadership, in the form of a “dark state” that is sympathetic to the liberal rule of law or lack thereof.

We have a local newspaper, The Herald Dispatch, intent on protecting their liberal agenda, with local columnists applauding the progressive antics of individuals who do not share your values or care about your peace and prosperity.

Don’t wait until someone’s pounding on your door.  Don’t allow the dark state, national, local or otherwise, to turn thwart our Republic with mob rule antics.

Get informed and involved – now.

 

 

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Doug Smith: Nihil sub sole novum

4 Nov

(There is nothing new under the sun)

daisy

“Daisy“, sometimes known as “Daisy Girl” or “Peace, Little Girl“, was a controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson‘s campaign. Though only aired once (by the campaign), it is considered to be an important factor in Johnson’s landslide victory over Barry Goldwater and an important turning point in political and advertising history. It remains one of the most controversial political advertisements ever made.

 

DOUG FOR FSPDoug Smith is an historian and Associate Editor at Free State Patriot

November 4th, 2018

 

I have always enjoyed history. The details of how men lived, and ate, and thought, and conducted themselves in times before my own, or even in my own childhood, when I didn’t really notice, have always fascinated me. That is only one of the things that makes me an oddity. Most, it seems, find history dreadfully boring. Who cares about Cicero’s words before the Senate, or Beckett’s opposition to his friend, Henry, or Luther’s 95 points at Wittenberg? The dual answers are very few, and you, if you live in the sphere of Western Civilization, which, if you are reading this, it is likely you do. Or at least, you should. Because where we have been and how we have travelled will be good indicators of the road on which we find ourselves.

As a lover and student of history (Mark Caserta continues to unduly flatter me with the title “Historian”, which I suppose I am, given the definition as “an expert or student of history”, but it seems presumptuous; I’m still learning.) I am somewhat amused at the shocked exclamation “We have never seen anything like this before”.  To those who are certain that this is all new and original, I say you ought to have paid more attention in school, or in life. Well, for the poor millennials, you have only lived a tiny slice of it, and while you may be dynamite with Tweets and Video Games and things that go BEEP in your hand, it takes a lot more living to be as wise and knowledgeable as you have been told you are. Be patient: if you manage to survive a few more decades, things will be a lot clearer. For now, permit me to hold up a lens:

We have Never had a billionaire, rich scion of a wealthy family with inherited money, as our President.

Meet Joe. He was a politically connected Boston Irishman, whose dealings were, let us charitably say questionable, and was worth the equivalent in today’s dollars of over 3 billion when, in 1960, he sent a telegram to his son, John, campaigning in WV, “Don’t buy another vote stop I won’t pay for a landslide stop. Dad. End” That son of a billionaire was John F Kennedy. (Yes, he did win.)

 We have Never had a crude, vulgar speaking President.

Lyndon Johnson talked like a longshoreman. He would urinate in the sink, invite people into the bathroom while he was on the pot to talk, and was known to expose himself and show off his scars casually. He bragged and stormed about Kennedy’s reputation as a womanizer, arguing that he had more paramours by accident that JFK had on purpose. He freely used racial epithets that cause people to lose their TV shows and high paying gigs today. And, (I might forgive the rest, but this?) he picked his dog up by its ears. (Odd that we never heard “He is not Presidential.)

We have never had such hatred and criticism of a GOP President (Or candidate)

I remember watching a TV ad, in black and white (Yes, I’m THAT old) run by our old Pal, Lyndon, against Barry Goldwater. It shows a little girl playing with a daisy and ends with a hydrogen bomb explosion.

You can watch it here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cwqHB6QeUw )

I remember serious journalists calling Reagan a dunce, a fool, a loose cannon who might wake up one night and nuke the Russians. Nixon’s opponents were after his head long before he handed it to them by his mis-steps in Watergate. They slammed George H.W Bush as a light weight, a weak-minded pansy who lacked the guts for the Presidency. Bush 43 “W” was a simple-minded dunce, who lacked the “gravitas” for the Presidency. (At least they did have to explore history a bit to find that word.) Yet both Bushes were trained military pilots. The elder joined the Navy on his 18th birthday, shortly after Pearl Harbor, was the youngest pilot in the Navy, flew 58 combat missions in WW2 and was shot down near Iwo Jima ( and rescued by My boys: a submarine!) He earned the DFC, an award not given away for good looks. The younger Bush graduated from Yale and Harvard, with degrees in history and an MBA. Here is a picture of Bush 41 in his Torpedo Bomber.

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/bush_birthday5.jpg?w=1053&vm=r

 Our President needs to be, well, “Presidential”

No one has successfully explained to me just what that term is supposed to mean. I suspect that is it a holdover from the days, long past, in which we had nobility and royalty. Kings and Dukes were to act a certain way, be regal in their bearing, exercise Noblesse Oblige (being less cruel than they might), and, for our cult of Royal watchers who long for the good old colony days, when we were under the King, never incurring the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth.  But we forcefully and decidedly turned our backs on the whole idea of a Noble class, and leaned toward a meritocracy, in which a soldier, a farmer, a lawyer (we may need to rethink that one), or a haberdasher could be the fellow in charge. We also set it up so that there would be no dynasties, no passing down to lesser sons, (giving us the disastrous King John), and ceding power to the citizens, who may elect a haberdasher, then toss him out if he does a poor job.

In our representative Republic, the Chief Executive is less than we have made him, and there for just awhile, and does not have a particular “Presidential” bearing that he must display. He only needs to be a citizen, born here, and over 35. So, we have had the Texas BBQ White House of LBJ, the Faux Camelot of the Kennedy clan (who did establish a dynasty of sorts, to our detriment), the cigar smoke and whiskey of Harding, to the teetotaling Coolidge. The guy in charge is the guy in charge, and, our political and TV (half) wits notwithstanding, we only get to superimpose our ideas of behavior on him by voting for, or against his continuation in office.

One of my favorite Presidents was Calvin Coolidge, who, it is said, upon learning that he was President, went and took a nap. Now That is Presidential.

The quote at the top of this article comes from a writing somewhere between 180 and 450 BC. It was written in Hebrew, often quoted in English, but it tickled my fancy to quote it in Latin. If you got curious before reading this far, you may have searched in history for it, in which case my fancy is rewarded. For those of you to incurious or lazy to look it up, but still persistent enough to read to the end, it says

“There is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes

 

 

 

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Mark Caserta: Why do we keep electing losers to represent us?

29 Oct

 

me

Mark Caserta is an opinion columnist and editor for Free State Patriot

October 29, 2018

 

Per the most recent Gallup poll results, Congress’ approval rating is at a whopping 16 percent.  That’s the lowest it’s been since July 2016, when it hit 13 percent.

Politifact research revealed 53 percent of Americans had a higher opinion of hemorrhoids than Congress!  Admittedly, both are pains in the backside.

So, why do we keep electing these people?  Is it name recognition? Peer pressure? Do we simply love losing that much?  Or could it be most of us simply aren’t engaged enough to know better?

Sadly, many people don’t become informed or involved until it impacts them directly.  Even sadder, it’s impacting them now, even if they don’t realize it.

The good news for America, is Donald Trump is helping us win despite many being disengaged from the facts.

Donald J. Trump became the first billionaire to serve in the Oval Office when he was inaugurated in January 2017. At the time of his inauguration, his net worth was around $3.1 billion, per estimates from Forbes.

At 71 years of age, Trump certainly didn’t need the presidency.  He could have (very comfortably) chosen to enjoy the rest of his life, with a beautiful, talented wife and family, traveling and playing golf at his club in Mar a Lago, virtually unimpacted by the downward spiraling economy thrust upon Americans by Obama and his liberal minions.

But his love of country forbade that destiny.

He chose, rather, to leverage his business acumen and leadership talents to literally save our nation from becoming akin to a third-world, socialist country.  And he’s done an amazing job in returning our country to greatness midway through his first term in office.

Per the White House’s website, the Trump administration has “scored 81 major achievements in its first year,” making good on campaign promises to provide significant tax cuts, boost U.S. energy production, crack down on open borders and restore respect to the United States.  The site goes on to applaud over 100 other minor achievements, which didn’t receive much recognition.

Leadership made all the difference.  Anyone being intellectually honest would admit the Obama administration didn’t, and liberals still don’t, think much of America.  Proof you ask?  Well, the proof is in the pudding.

Look around you.  While quite cliché, are you better off now than you were 2 years ago?  By all measurable factors, we all are!  If liberal Democrats truly cared about your peace and prosperity, would they be supportive of policies that “win” for the American people?

The truth is liberal Democrats hate Donald Trump and conservatives more than they love their country.  And I challenge them to prove me wrong.

So why do we keep electing losers to represent us in office?  Why don’t more people keep track of their representative’s voting records and hold them accountable for their campaign promises? Not enough people are engaged with politics, local or national.  And sadly, we’ve reaped the dividends.

Frankly, that’s why candidates spend so much money placing their name in front of you with hundreds of election posters, photos and slogans.  They understand, many people tend to vote based on “name recognition” rather than proposed policies and voting records.

We must stop voting solely on name recognition!  Stop it now!  Would you vote for Satan just because you recognize his name?  Well, you just might!

And I’d go further to warn not to vote solely on “words”.  Actions speak much louder than words.  The next level of uninformed voter is one who votes based on “one-liners” and “slogans”.

Remember Obama’s slogan, “Fundamentally Changing America”?  Ouch!  How’d that one work out for you?

Here are simple steps to cast an informed, fact-based vote:

  • First, voting is not optional. It’s your civic duty – period.
  • Go online and search a sample ballot for your voting district.
  • Ignore the letter “R” or “D” by the name. Politicians will often change to the consonant that resonates most with their region.
  • Spend time researching candidate platforms, proposed policies and voting records if available.
  • Pray for wisdom and discernment. Ignore talking heads and political pundits on television.  Remember, many of these “experts” are simply paid contributors designed to perform a “balancing act”.
  • Decide which candidate would best serve your ideals and belief system.
  • Take a marked ballot with you to the polls when voting.
  • Confirm your vote is accurately and completely logged at your polling place.
  • Pray against voter fraud and error. Report any suspicious activity.
  • Trust God.

There will be an open, non-denominational prayer vigil, November 5th, at 6 pm. At Christ Temple Church (2400 Johnstown Road, Huntington, WV.) the evening before the mid-term election.

Feel free to join!

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