In may last posting I introduced you to what I am calling the five pillars of restoration. These are five principles that I believe need to be restored in order for us to succeed as a nation of liberty. I am now going to continue the series by delving into each principle in turn throughout separate postings.

The five principles that I introduced to you in my last posting were faith, family, truth, education and law. Today I am going to focus on the first point: Faith.

It is integral to our nation’s survival that we keep faith in God as a unifying factor amongst the people. It has been shown time and time again that a nation who glorifies God is always more successful then a country that does not. This is why I chose Proverbs 29:18 as the theme verse for this pillar:

“A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order. Happy are those who keep God’s law!” (Today’s English Version)

If you compare America to any other country, especially those run by Communist or Marxist regimes of which the common factor is atheism, and you will find that America is supreme in areas such as military strength, economic prosperity, and individual liberties. I firmly believe that the benefits that our country has reaped over the centuries are due to the profound faith that the majority of Americans have in God. Virtually all of the Founding Fathers were Christians, and they made it plain by their writings that this was an integral part of their positions on issues in the areas of government, natural rights, and economics.

Take, for example,  this excerpt from one of George Washington’s personal prayers:

“O Most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father; I acknowledge and confess my guilt in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of my sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin, and they stand in need of pardon.”
“ I have sinned against heaven and before Thee in thought, word, and deed. I have contemned Thy majesty and holy laws. I have likewise sinned by omitting what I ought to have done and committing what I ought not. I have rebelled against the light, despising Thy mercies and judgment, and broken my vows and promise. I have neglected the better things. My iniquities are multiplied and my sins are very great. I confess them, O Lord, with shame and sorrow, detestation and loathing and desire to be vile in my own eyes as I have rendered myself vile in Thine. I humbly beseech Thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my sins for the sake of Thy dear Son and only Savior Jesus Christ who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me.”

“Make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith, and repentance, increase my faith, and direct me to the true object, Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life, …”
[from a 24 page authentic handwritten manuscript book dated April 21-23, 1752

And yet some say that the Founding Fathers were not religious. But I digress. Sure their approaches to God differed, but they all had one thing in common, and that was their faith in God. Don't get me wrong, I am not preaching universalism. I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:16).

However, the majority of early Americans did have faith in God.

The majority of Christians today have a faith in God as well. Or at least that is what they tell surveyors who ask them if they do. The following is an excerpt from a 2004 Political Landscape Report by the Pew Research Center:

America remains an intensely religious nation and, if anything, the trend since the late 1980s has been toward stronger religious belief. Eight-in-ten Americans (81%) say that prayer is an important part of their daily lives, and just as many believe there will be a Judgment Day when people will be called before God to answer for their sins. Even more people (87%) agree with the statement "I never doubt the existence of God."

While one's projected religious belief does not always reflect their standing insofar as a personal relationship with God is concerned, this report nevertheless gives me hope for America's future. For the full report click here:

The bottom line is that without God, we will fail. It is imperative to our success as a nation that we restore our trust in Him. Did you know that at the top of the national monument is inscribed the words Laus Deo (Praise be to God)? If we can restore that national trust in God ,then everything else will fall into place. This is why I have placed faith in God as the 1st pillar of American Restoration. I have a plan for these five pillars, which is why I am pursuing this topic in this specific order with an overview of all five pillars, proceeded with an article on each pillar in turn. Until next time: Laus Deo!

I believe that if we are to restore our country to it’s former greatness, there are five areas in which restoration will need to be made in America.

1. Revive a concrete Faith in God
2. Rebirth Traditional Family Values
3. Renew a national pursuit of truth
4. Reclaim education without government intervention
5. Rebuild a legal system of natural law

Let me explain to you why I picked these five categories as what I am calling: The Five Pillars of American Restoration. I picked them because I truly believe that the problems in our country can all be largely mitigated by the restoration of these ideals. I also hold it to be true that our civil society cannot be restored without the restoration of these five ideals.

While I believe that all of these are essential to America’s recovery, I do hold that our lack of faith in God has been the main reason for our decay over the past century or so. Since I believe that restoring this faith in God is the first thing that we must do to save our country and the principles it was founded on, I have placed it first on the list.

Pillar#1: Restore a concrete faith in God

“A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order. Happy are those who keep God’s law!” Proverbs 29:18 (Today’s English Version)

The second pillar of restoration will likely hit home for most of you, because it is the Re-birthing of traditional family values in the household. It is plain to me that without such re-birthing, we cannot be the nation of laws that we once were. In our society, the family has been distorted immensely to the point where it no longer resembles that purpose which God ordained for it. This is shown in many popular Hollywood productions. Read a review on The Kids Are All Right and you will see what I am talking about. This distortion has taken away the idea of the man being the head of the household, it has torn down the institution of marriage as being between a man and woman, and has minimized the role of parents to teach and instill values in their children, replacing that with what many call the nanny-state.

Pillar#2: Rebirth traditional family values in the home

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
Ephesians 6:1-2 New International Version Bible

The third pillar of restoration is the renewing of a national pursuit of truth. In the midst of all of the name calling and smearing amongst our politicians and often times amongst citizens who disagree politically, as well as the continuous distortion of facts presented to us by media outlets, it is worth emphasizing a need to return to truth seeking. If we do not pursue the truth, we will fall. We must have judges who judge based on objective, factual evidence whether than political opinion. We must be capable as citizens to examine every side of an issue in order to tell what is right and what is wrong. It is critical that as citizens we pursue the truth in regards to our political views, so that we may find out for ourselves what is true, and not blindly follow political icons or parties like sheep.

Pillar#3: Renew a national pursuit of truth

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”-John 8:32 (New International version)

The fourth pillar of restoration is the reclaiming of education without distortion. It is my belief that as a nation we have failed to build an education system that enriches our students with good, well, education. I believe that teaching should be entirely left up to the private sector (private schools), and parents, not the Federal Government. Let me show you a quick example of why this is so. First though, let me tell you that I believe that whenever the Federal Government gets it’s hands on something, it cannot let go, but must (by nature) tighten it’s vice. This is why our Constitutional Republic was designed with checks and balances. That was so that the people can remain in control of their government, and not the other way around. However, in recent decades, the secular progressive movement whose ranks include the likes of Saul Alinsky, John Dewey, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, to name a few historic examples, have slowly infiltrated society and are instituting their belief in a big, centralized government on it as a whole.

In this manner, the education sector has been infiltrated by progressives in the Federal Government, and the majority of children are now educated in public schools that are, of course, run by that same government. However, did you know that public schools are funded by taxes on every American citizen? Even for those who do not choose to take part in them. Furthermore, if you compared the cost of taxes on education with private school tuition, then private schools would be found to be cheaper? Public schools are funded by the entire population, rather than the minority who choose to put their kids in a private school. This is what produces the illusion that public schools are “free”. It is my firm belief that if we were to abolish public schools and taxes on education, and then encourage growth of private schools through the free market, then the overall cost would be substantially lower for the American citizen in comparison to today’s system.

Another problem with the public schools is that of the ideals taught therein. I have more to say about this in a future article, but for now we must move on for brevity purposes. For more information regarding the transformation of education in the public school system, you can visit the education page on the Eagle Forum website.

Pillar #4 Reclaim education without government intervention

5. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,
6. so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Psalms 78:5-6

The fifth and final pillar of restoration is the rebuilding of natural law as a legal system. In case you are not familiar with the term natural law let me explain it to you. First off, It has been brought to my attention that there is a natural law party of the United States. I am not familiar with the party, and I cannot endorse that party as legitimate pursuers of natural law for that reason. Natural law, also known as higher law, is a set of laws that are believed by it’s advocates to be self evident by human nature (not that human nature is inclined naturally to obey them, for we are fallen creatures). Let’s examine the legal and cultural definitions for natural law:

It is important that we restore the principles of natural law in our nation as defined in the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. I want to show you two ways in which natural law no longer governs us as a nation.

Firstly, we have lost respect for the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For example: We have lost our respect for life by allowing abortions nationwide and rationing health care through health care “reform”. I and a friend debated on the subject at the Teens for Liberty forums.

Secondly, I think there has been a shift in the cultural mindset here in America in the past century. This shift has been aided by the progressives who have wormed there way into our legal system. This shift that I am speaking of is the shift from belief in the right to the pursuit of happiness, to the belief in a right to happiness itself. I call people who buy into this mindset: “entitlement seekers”. These are the people, many of whom my father has had to deal with in the past where he works, who would rather not get a job because they would rather sit at home and live off of the unemployment checks that they receive in the mail from the Feds.

Many of the lies that the progressive majority in Congress and especially in the Obama Administration circulate daily revolve around the premise that you are entitled to happiness. In effect they are attempting to replace the entrepreneurial spirit with that of socialism. There is a difference between every citizen having a level playing ground an an equal shot at the pie that the individual next to them has, and every citizen having an equal share of the pie. Of course, a full discourse on the issues with socialism will have to be saved for another posting, so I will go no further.

Those are the five pillars of restoration that I propose we should focus on repairing. A house divided upon itself cannot stand, and neither can a house stand whose pillars have been torn down. More on this to come soon so subscribe and stick around.

-Calvin Lyman

It is important to keep these type of situations in mind when analyzing  the flood of information that reaches us every day. Many times a society dwells on a particular issue until it is blown out of proportions, as was the case with the radio broadcasting of The War of the World’s in 1938.

Instances like these are worth our attention because they remind us to be very careful and open minded with our analysis of today’s news events.

Likewise, we should be equally careful when we consider The Hindenburg Omen, a technical analysis pattern that has been the subject of recent news reports. The Hindenburg Omen is a combination of many technical factors that attempt to measure the health of the stock market, and more specially, the NYSE. The Hindenburg Omen is meant to signal the increased probability of a stock market crash.

The reason why so many have been talking about this indicator is because of two recent confirmed instances of the Hindenburg Omen, both of which happened in the last couple of weeks (August 12th and August 2oth). Another almost appeared on the 23rd, but fell short of the prerequsites. These prerequisites are as follows:

1. The daily number of NYSE new 52 week highs and the daily number of new 52 week lows are both greater than or equal to 2.8 percent (typically, 84) of the sum ofNYSE issues that advance or decline that day (typically, around 3000)^[3]. An older version of the indicator used a threshold of 2.5 percent of total issues traded (approximately 80 of 3200 in today’s market).
2. The NYSE index is greater in value than it was 50 trading days ago. Originally, this was expressed as a rising 10 week moving average, but the new rule is more relevant to the daily data used to look at new highs and lows.
3. The McClellan Oscillator is negative on the same day.
4. New 52 week highs cannot be more than twice the new 52 week lows (though new 52 week lows may be more than double new highs).

Read this from The Wall Street Journal:

The Hindenburg Omen reared its ugly head late last week, signaling more doom and gloom as stocks plod along amid the dog days of summer.

The Omen, a technical indicator which uses a plethora of data to foreshadow a stock-market crash, was tripped again on Friday, marking the second time since Aug. 12 it has occurred. (It also came close on Thursday, but one of its criteria fell short.)

The latest trigger has prompted the Omen’s creator, Jim Miekka, to exit the market. “I’m taking it seriously and I’m fully out of the market now,” Miekka, a blind mathematician, said in a telephone interview from his home in Surry, Maine. “I would’ve probably stayed in until the beginning of September,” depending on how the indicators varied. “That was my basic plan, until the Hindenburg came along.”

The Omen has been behind every market crash since 1987, but significant stock-market declines have followed only 25% of the time. So there’s a high likelihood that the Omen could be nothing more than a false signal.

But that isn’t stopping Miekka from taking any chances, especially as September, typically the market’s worst-performing month, sits only one week away.

“It’s sort of like a funnel cloud,” he said. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to crash, but it’s a high probability. You don’t get a tornado without a funnel cloud.” He added he’s not currently shorting anything, although he may look to short Nasdaq stock index futures in the next few weeks, “depending on how the technicals go.”

Here are the statistics from Wikipedia:

From historical data, the probability of a move greater than 5% to the downside after a confirmed Hindenburg Omen was 77%, and usually takes place within the next forty days. The probability of a panic sellout was 41% and the probability of a major stock market crash was 24%. Though the Omen does not have a 100% success rate, every NYSE crash since 1985 has been preceded by a Hindenburg Omen. Of the previous 25 confirmed signals only two (8%) have failed to predict at least mild (2.0% to 4.9%) declines.

Earlier I said that it is important to analyze the situation before jumping on the band wagon on issues that are causing hysteria in the media and society. However, I believe there is a difference between fallacious hysteria and well founded anxiety based on statistics that are certainly anything but promising.

I hope that you take at least two things away from this article today: First, I have made it my aim to help you to remain on your guard for false information, as much of this is circulated in the media on a daily basis, as well as to develop a fact-based, well measured perspective on politics, so that you may have a better understanding of the truth.

Secondly, I hope that our analysis of the Hindenburg Omen has given you reason to be cautious (as well as diversified), if nothing else, in your investment practices because we are living in perilous times. In this case, the likelihood of The Hindenburg Omen forecasting a major stock market crash does not seem imminent, as it has only produced those results 25% of the time since it’s creation. However, every NYSE crash since 1985 has been predicted by the Hindenburg Omen. Furthermore, Jim Meikka, who invented the Hindenburg Omen, has pulled out of the market following the second occurrence on the 20th. Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13 warns us to “Remain alert. Keep standing firm in your faith. Keep on being courageous and strong.”.

I as well urge you to remain alert.

In our public school systems, high school student are continuously bombarded with the theory of Evolution. The biggest problem with that is it is not presented as a theory but as fact. Now if it is really a fact then there is no problem with it, but the reason it is called a theory is because there is not sufficient evidence in order for it to be considered a scientific fact. In reality, there is a lot of evidence suggesting it’s falsity. William Demski is one of the scientists leading the charge for Intelligent Design and Creationism in the intellectual realm. I would like to look at some of his works and how they disprove the idea that evolutionary theory is not a theory but a scientific fact.

First, a few definitions might be helpful. Evolution is the theory that all things came about through natural selection, survival of the fittest, and mutations. It states that all matter came about by chance and/or necessity.

Intelligent Design suggests that a designer made the universe. it does not suggest who created it or how. Creationism is a scientific theory based on the Bible. It states that God created the heavens and the earth and that the Fall of Man, as well as the Great Fall, were both factors that have caused it to be in the decaying state that it is in now. Creationism goes one step further than the theory of Intelligent Design in that it attempts to explain both the whom and how of creation.

Demski states that there are only three ways for something to happen: necessity, chance, and design. If there is any design (not put into effect by humans or animals ect.) then there must be a designer and therefore Intelligent Design is correct and Evolution is wrong. So he set out on a way to prove that things on the earth had been designed by an intelligent designer. He uses something called the Explanatory Filter.

The filter works like this: We run something through it like a dog, and then we ask if it can be made by necessity. If there is any other way for it to have been made then it was not made by necessity. If it has specification and complexity, then it is not made by chance. If it is not made by the other two it must be made by design.

But before we use this there is something else we need to keep in mind: Even if the filter says something is made by necessity or chance than it might be made by design. i.e. A person can tip over a water glass just as easily as it happening by chance (in fact it might be more likely).

If if I run my dog, P.J, through the filter,  I first ask: “Did he have to be made exactly as he was in order to function the way in which he does”. the answer to this question is no. Second I  must ask myself: “Does he have specification and complexity”. Evolutionist think that dogs are highly complex (evolved) animals, so they can testify to it’s complexity. Also, I can tell him apart from other dogs, so he has specification from other species as well. So this means he was designed, if he was designed (and he obviously wasn’t designed by humans) there must be a Designer. This means that Intelligent Design is correct.

Scientists have no way of knowing that evolution is true but instead they try to brainwash our generation into believing so without so much as exploring opposing theories.

We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

This message is the core of the Tea Party Movement, and we must all grasp it  in order to preserve freedom. Truth always wins in the end, and when we fight for God’s side, peacefully, non-violently and yet boldly, we will be fighting for the truth. I think it would be worth your time to read this inspirational Declaration, and to sign it in order to show where you stand.

-Calvin

Many mistakenly read this speech as a call to return to the early Progressivism of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. But the truth is that Congressman Ryan was making the argument that conservatives need to understand the progression of the progressives (pun intended), so that we may be better armed to defeat it.

This story gained national attention when Glenn Beck made the same mistake on his radio program this past week. Glenn later admitted that they had not been thorough in their research. The congressman was invited to be on the program, where he set the record strait. I took a look at his website: AmericanRoadmap.org, and I think that what I found is worth repeating so that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind as to this man’s credibility.

At AmericanRoadmap.org Rep. Ryan lays out the many problems facing America in extensive detail, and then gives his propositions on how to solve them. He obviously understands the progressive movement better than almost any other politician in Washington, and his website is chock full of good information that every American should know.

A politician who understands and opposes Progressivism at the same time is very rare, so I want to ensure that he gets the recognition that he deserves. -Calvin

We cannot allow the Federal Government so much more power that is constitutionally reserved to the state and local governments. With this power the Federal Government could shut down any financial business for any reason. Obama or any other future President could use this power to takeover any financial business that are particularly vocal in their opposition to his policies, or fund political opponents. The checks and balances put on the separate branches of government were put there for a reason, and this bill would tip the scales, giving the Federal Government yet more power that they should not have. Remember, a government that is big enough to give you everything, can take it all away.

For more on the Financial Regulations Bill, visit here.

check out this video by Trent Franks (my local congressman)

Many conservatives have watched this video and drawn fire upon the section where Michelle calls Kenya here husbands home country. We have all heard of the controversy over whether or not the President is actually an American citizen. Many conservatives have been trying to connect the two, saying that Michelle had a slip of the tongue, accidentally revealing the President’s Kenyan nationality.

However, after hearing a second hand opinion on the matter from the Glenn Beck Program this morning, I have a different opinion on this video and it’s meaning. First of all, I don’t think that the timing of this video is any coincidence. This video was filmed in 08, and we are just now hearing about it, only a week or so after health care “reform” passed into law, when Nancy Pelosi and gang tried to frame local tea party protesters for yelling the n-word and spitting upon them, although there isn’t a scrap of evidence available to back up the claim.

You see, progressives realize that we are now large enough to pose a serious threat to their political careers that they have now resorted to demonizing us, hoping that they can turn everyone else against us. This is what the spitting controversy was all about, and this is what the Kenyan controversy is all about. They want us to look like conspiracy theorists, so that we will no longer be credible. So I just want to warn you to be careful, and not to accept this bait.

-Calvin