This is what happens when you start acting like all religions have equal merit. We were, and considered ourselves, a Christian nation for close to two hundred years, and now we have rejected that label. This is the result.

From the Associated Press:

Group unveils Satan statue design for Oklahoma (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SATANIST_MONUMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-06-16-27-47)

“The monument has been designed to reflect the views of Satanists in Oklahoma City and beyond,” temple spokesman Lucien Greaves said in a statement. “The statue will also have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation.”

The group is proposing a 7-foot statue of Baphomet, a horned goat-headed figure sitting on a pentagram-adorned throne with two smiling children next to him, which it believes will “serve as a beacon calling for compassion and empathy among all living creatures.

They have released the following statement:

“By accepting our offer, the good people of Oklahoma City will have the opportunity to show that they espouse the basic freedoms spelled out in the Constitution.”

One has a hard time understanding Satan worshippers. What has he ever done to deserve gratitude, respect, or worship? If you believe in Satan, you must also believe there is a God. For one was created by the other, and then that creation rebelled. One represents all that is good, and one represents all that is evil. If you choose the latter, it shows what kind of person you really are.

One of my friends had this to say about the latest OMG moment in the culture wars.

“”Moral relativism is how Good is attacked by Evil. Take this example. Modern thinking would say that each religion deserves its place, as long as it’s privately funded. But is our society based on Satanic ideals? Is that the message we want to send?”"

And that is a good point. Once we start to believe that all religions have equal validity, then this is what you end up with. History tells that this nation was founded by Christians on Biblical principles. One may not like that, but the truth is the truth. The concept of ‘freedom of religion’ was specifically designed so we wouldn’t have one official church that everyone had to belong to as the case had been in Britain. But it in no way diminished or downplayed the role Christianity prominently played in society and the culture at large, both in and out of government.

It is the courts, not the people or the Constitution as originally written or understood, that have attempted to remove Christianity from its historical place and role in our nation. But such politically correct, liberal ideas have led us down this path to where it would be conceivable for such a hateful blasphemy to even be considered acceptable or legal to display next to the Ten Commandments.

Interestingly, the greatest champions of this proposal have turned out to be atheists. They claim to believe in neither, but their unrelenting hatred of all things Christian will drive them to champion the most bizarre of things and support every effort to undermine the concept of God, traditional morals and values, and fundamental right and wrong. See FB thread here. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=637464026296083&set=a.312760942099728.67384.100450643330760&type=1&theater

I do not believe in the lie of blind tolerance no matter what. I do instead believe in wise discernment. The people and Oklahoma have every right to display the Ten Commandments and just as much right to reject a statue of Satan. The Founding Fathers would have had no problem with that decision, and would have mocked us for being played the fool by those who think otherwise.

The outrage is palpable and the sudden realization by the average American that they really, truly are now living in an Orwellian surveillance state has been an eye-opening experience for many across the fruited plain. The once mocked conspiracy theory of the all-knowing Big Brother state has shown itself to be far more of an ugly reality than a silly fantasy. He who has called the War on Terror basically over has now been forced to admit that his administration has vastly expanded the concept of the security state in the name of 'public safety.' The 'trust us' stance of government is no longer a working defense for such actions as this administration, and the federal agencies under its control, have shown that they simply cannot be trusted. Therein lies the true dilemma for the Obama administration as it seeks to calm the rising storm.

We already have proof that powerful agencies of the federal government deliberately, under orders from Washington, harassed and targeted specific people and groups that were ideological opponents of the current administration. The vast powers of the state were used as political weapons against its enemies on a wide scale and possibly affected the outcome of the last presidential election. Such things should not be taken lightly.

The fact that basically every phone call, FB post, internet search, website visit, email written, and picture posted online is being sucked up by Big Brother without regards to privacy concerns, constitutional protections, or the concept of personal liberty goes against everything America should stand for. It is state of affairs that should raise a cry of outrage in every throat and force a fundamental change in what we will tolerate from our government. The fact that leading tech companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube and Apple were participating in a secret surveillance program on the citizenry known as PRISM should (but will not necessarily) lead to a complete collapse of public trust in the current administration and our current concept of government in general. What has not been explained away is why the administration has assembled the most powerful and intrusive systems of surveillance ever conceived. The Founding Fathers would not have stood for such things for one second and neither should we.

Such policies can have a chilling effect on political speech and free speech in general. There are those who argue that liberals have successfully seized the State just as they have academia, education, the media, the entertainment industry and increasingly the military. And this may be just another tool and tactic for those seeking to monitor, track, and eventually silence those who oppose their utopian, socialistic, nanny-state agenda.

Mr. Obama stated "I think it’s important to recognize that you can’t have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience. We’re going to have to make some choices as a society.” But if it comes down to a choice between the two I choose privacy. We should always, always choose a free state over a police state even if the latter provides slightly more security from the random Boston bomber or occasional crazy. As Americans we should not be forced to live with a camera on every pole, a bug in every phone, and an internal security officer on every corner. That illusion of safety in reality then merely becomes the mask for eventual tyranny and oppression in the name of the 'common good' and societal safety. For as Ben Franklin put it, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Liberty should be the goal of government, not the antithesis of it. The Republic exists to secure such liberties for its citizens, not to be the opponent of such. We've now traveled far down the wrong path and we may have to pay a high price to restore the Republic and regain true liberty for our children, and our children's children.

Below are a few videos that cover the 'interesting' related events of the last week.

Rush Limbaugh: "We are in the Midst of a Coup Taking Place" - Audio 6/7/13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2BT8HZoAfs&feature=player_embedded

The Obama IRS Targeting Scandal in Five Minutes - Unbelievable Abuse of Power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSVnat0tvdY&feature=youtu.be

Obama: If you can't trust us, we're going to have some problems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ibc6QSV5ftw

And frankly, you are right Mr. President. The fact that we can't trust you, your cronies, the agencies under your control, and the "oversight" of stacked secret courts or the congress who has been complaining, but doing nothing, about such policies means we are going to have some serious "problems."