Analyzing the Loss

 Published December 13, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

In my last column, I concluded that America was now under the judgment of God because as a nation, we have turned our backs on Him.  It has taken over 50 years, but it appears that God has finally abandoned us to our own vices.

Now that over a month has passed since the election, we now have a better understanding how Romney lost and Obama won.  There is no one thing we can point to; it is a series of events and facts that determined the outcome. 

One of the things I love to do is analyze election results and see if I can spot causes and effects as well as trends.  In this election, there were many causes with one dismal effect, and the trend is indeed troubling.

The first thing to note is that the white male vote failed to show up, according to Dick Morris.  While the black vote was up by 300,000 and the Latino vote was up by 1.7 million over 2008, the white male vote was down by seven million – 91.6 million compared to 98.6 million in 2008. 

The next thing I noted was switch in the evangelical vote.  In 2008, McCain won 88 percent of the evangelical vote to Obama’s 11 percent.  In 2012, Romney received only 81 percent of the evangelical vote while Obama’s vote increased to 17 percent.

Roman Catholics went for Obama by 57 to 42 percent while Protestants went for Romney by the exact same percentage, 57 to 42 percent, according to a Barna Group survey, almost identical to four years ago.

So what were the major factors that changed the evangelical vote and caused seven million white males to stay home on Election Day?

One major factor was the Romney campaign itself.  The political consultants employed by the Romney campaign had financial ties directly to companies they hired.

Romney consultant Stephen Meyers owns SCM Associates, Inc., which billed the campaign $48 million for direct mail. 

Romney consultant Rich Beeson is a partner in FLS Connect, which billed the campaign $36 million for telemarketing and “robocalls.”

The Romney campaign spent $130 million on direct mail up through October 17^th (last report before the election) as opposed to the Obama campaign’s $80 million.  Analysis shows that direct mail is the least effective means of contacting the voters.

The Romney campaign failed to support building a strong grassroots effort in places where it was needed, such as Northern Virginia.  In the Lynchburg area, there was a grassroots effort mounted but it was not strongly supported.

I stopped by the Republican headquarters at Candler’s Station one day to get some Romney-Ryan signs for folks at my church and was told I could have only one sign. 

Besides structure, the Romney campaign and the supporting super PACs made a fundamental flaw in judgment when they failed to mount a vigorous counterattack to the Obama ads, which were aimed at discrediting not just Romney but the entire capitalistic system.

During primary season, the Romney PACs had no hesitation in attacking opponents like Gingrich and Santorum but in the general election they were afraid to attack Obama and counter his lies.  They were afraid the media would call them racists. 

Obama kept attacking Romney’s former company, Bain Capital, which undermined Romney's standing among white voters and led directly to their diminished turnout, according to Morris.  They failed to understand that Bain posed a mortal threat to the credibility of their candidate.

The Obama campaign also planted the thoughts in the minds of unmarried women that Romney was going to take away their birth control, which the Romney campaign never responded to. 

The difference between the two campaigns was that Obama relied on emotion to connect with voters, and the Romney campaign, stuck in the past, countered with logic and facts.  Any time one pits emotion against logic in a debate, emotion wins every time.  The Romney campaign never once tried to connect emotionally to the voters.

Another factor that needs to be acknowledged is the changing demographics of America, especially among young people.

According to a very recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, twenty percent of adults in America now have no religious affiliation and they overwhelmingly vote Democrat. Exit polling on Election Day indicated that ‘religiously unaffiliated” voters constituted 12 percent of the voters.

The study notes, “In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%).”

In the last five years, the unaffiliated have risen from 17% to 24% of all registered voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic.  72 percent of them support abortion and 73 percent support homosexual marriage.

So, when you combine an inept and incestuous Romney campaign with a flawed campaign philosophy and a rapidly changing demographic of those under 30 with no religious affiliation, you have an Obama victory and a Romney defeat.

The Republican Party is now tearing itself apart.  Speaker Boehner has purging “Tea Party” Republicans from key committees and they are banding together to oppose Boehner’s re-election as House Speaker. 

The political climate is not going to improve for the Republicans until the U.S. hits “rock bottom.”  It is not until a drunk or a drug addict hits rock bottom that they can begin the process of rehabilitation.  The U.S. is currently addicted to liberalism and the “free stuff” that comes with it. 

I agree with Sen. Rand Paul who suggests that Republicans vote “present” in the “fiscal cliff” issue, and let the Democrats do what they intend to do, raise taxes on the employers who are the only hope rebuilding our economy. 

That way, it will be impossible to blame Republicans (even though the media will try) for the economic disaster that will follow as unemployment rates rise along with the costs of life essentials such as energy and food.

As far as the “moral cliff,” is concerned, it appears we went over that some time ago.  The only hope there is for a spiritual revival similar to the First and Second Great Awakenings of the 1700’s and 1800’s. 

America Under God’s Judgment

Published November 15, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

There has been no shortage of reasons given for the devastating Romney defeat, and the disastrous Obama victory last week.  Many political pundits have offered a wide variety of explanations, and indeed each is part of the mosaic.

Some say Romney failed to go on the attack in the second and third debates.  They point to the Romney campaign and its fear of offending the independent voters.

Some say Romney did a poor job in pushing back against the Obama campaign’s flood of lies and character assassination.

Some blame New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and giving Obama a chance to be presidential following Hurricane Sandy.

Still others point to the estimated 6.5 millions Christians who did not vote or the 3 million McCain voters who didn’t show. 

Others point to the “free stuff” (health care, Obamaphones, Food Stamps, etc.) offered by Obama and the Democrats.

Some say Obama stole the election by voter fraud.  They point to places like St. Lucie County, Florida where they had a 141% voter turnout.  They had 247,713 votes cast, but have only 175,554 registered voters. 

In 59 voting divisions in Philadelphia, Romney received not one single vote.

They also point to Colorado, where in 10 counties, the number of registered voters exceeded the Census Bureau population count by between 104 and 140 percent.

Now, looking at it from a Christian Worldview perspective, there was Hurricane Sandy, which stopped Romney’s momentum in its tracks and took Benghazi off the front pages. 

The timing of Sandy was uncannily perfect, which to me suggests divine intervention.

From our nation’s very beginning, there has been ample evidence of God’s hand in national affairs.  No less than Benjamin Franklin attested to this when he spoke at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. 

When the convention appeared to be deadlocked, Franklin, who some historians mistakenly call a Deist, rose and said these words:  “In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection.- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor.”

Both Thomas Jefferson and George Mason held that God judges nations.

Thomas Jefferson said, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

George Mason said, “As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this.  By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.”

I believe that God is now judging our nation.  What has amazed me is that He has waited this long. 

9-11 was a warning which our nation failed to heed.  The sins of our nation have just become more and more brazen over the 11 years since 9-11. 

When you read the Old Testament, you see how God judged Israel until they repented and returned to Him.  However, since we live in a fallen world, it did not take long for Israel to fall back into sin and incur God’s wrath.

When we consider our national sins - 50 million unborn babies killed, embracing the homosexual lifestyle that God calls detestable, an epidemic of pornography and a political party that booed God - we can begin to understand why God is withdrawing His protective hand.

Matt Barber, Vice President of Liberty Council Action, has an excellent column in “World Net Daily” titled “God Will Not Be Mocked.”  I commend it to you.

He writes, “America has tasted the poisonous fruits of lust, pride, passion, and envy – sloth, frivolity, iniquity and entitlement. She has tasted of their sweet deception and found it irresistible. She has danced in the streets, intoxicated by the very poison that will be her undoing.

“America has rebelled against God. She has shaken her fist at Him and arrogantly cried, ’We don’t need you. We don’t want you. We know better than you. Now go away.’

“And so He’s going away.”

Just as in the American Revolution when God used a weather phenomenon, a dense fog to shield Washington’s retreating army across the East River, so too has he used Hurricane Sandy to give America just what it is says it wants. 

With three states voting in favor of homosexual marriage, which is the very first time the voters have approved it, and two states legalizing marijuana, God has withdrawn His protective hand. 

The days ahead are going to be very difficult financially.  We saw the stock market react negatively the day after the election and saw many companies announcing layoffs. 

The cost of energy is going to escalate, as well as health care and the basic necessities of life.

For people of faith, it is going to be difficult times because traditional values are being discarded and there will be attempts to censor religious speech in the public arena.

It is going to take a national tragedy much greater than 9-11 for our nation to repent.  God has already told us what we need to do when He said, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-15)

Can a Christian Vote for a Mormon?

Published October 18, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger. 

John Jay was one of our most important and influential Founding Fathers, yet few today recognize his name.  He was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the First and Second Continental Congresses, negotiated the peace treaty with England to end the Revolutionary War along with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers and authored the Jay Treaty preventing the U.S. from becoming involved in the war between France and England.

Besides being an accomplished statesman and juror, John Jay was also a devout Christian.  In 1818 he was elected president of the Westchester Bible Society and in 1821, he was elected president of the American Bible Society.

On October 12, 1816, Jay stated, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to elect and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

In the 196 years since Jay made that statement, our nation has gone from being a Christian nation to a post-Christian nation and is now rapidly becoming an anti-Christian nation.  Largely because we are woefully ignorant of our American history, we have allowed anti-Christian activists to banish God from public education and the public arena.

I attribute the many woes we see today in the American society to God withdrawing his hand of protection from our nation because we have rejected Him.

So we now find ourselves on the precipice of history.  Will our nation continue down the socialistic road Barack Obama is leading us down, or will we begin to reverse course back to a free enterprise economy under Mitt Romney?

Barack Obama claimed to be a Christian when he first ran for the presidency.  Although only God knows what is in his heart, Jesus tells us how identify a false leader.  In Matthew 7:15-16 he said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?”  What is the “fruit” of Barack Obama?  Not only support for homosexuality but for unrestricted abortion and even infanticide.  He rejects the Biblical principle of free enterprise in favor of the socialistic beliefs of Marx, Lenin and Stalin.

Mitt Romney does not claim to be a Christian.  He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called Mormons.  The Jesus of the Mormon Church is not the same Jesus of the orthodox Christian church.  Although they use the Bible, they also add a second book, the Book of Mormon.

In his book “Kingdom of the Cults,” author Walter Martin lists Mormonism as being outside the pale of Christian orthodoxy and among the list of cults.  Normally when we hear the word “cult,” we think of Jim Jones of the People’s Temple and David Koresh of the Branch Davidians.  However, many among Martin’s list of cults are just non-Christian religions such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, Zen Buddhism, Unification Church and Scientology.  Many who practice these religions are people of strong moral character.

Even today we see what we call the “mainline churches” rapidly falling into apostasy.  The Roman Catholic Church chose to ignore the sin of homosexual act and the Episcopal Church has chosen to embrace it.  Other denominations such as the Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans are following closely behind the Episcopalians.

I believe the reason Jay stated we should prefer Christians (note he did not say demand) is because of the issue of character.  He reasoned that a committed Christian would likely have a stronger moral character than a non-Christian.  However, that is certainly no guarantee as I know some who claim to Christians who have very poor moral character.

Many of the states agreed with Jay when they drafted their new constitutions after independence.  For example, the Delaware constitution of 1776 required officeholders to pledge the following, “I do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His Only Son and in the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed forever more, and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.” 

In his commencement address at Liberty University this year, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney acknowledged the difference between his faith and that of the audience when he said, “People of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose, when there are so many differences in creed and theology.  Surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common worldview.”

Mormons do indeed share the “moral convictions of our nation” and I would argue more fervently than many Christians.  They are far more likely to confront the culture than are some of the Christians I know.

If we were voting for someone to take a leadership position in a Christian church, such as deacon or vestryman, or even pastor, a Mormon would be unacceptable.

However, we are voting for a civil leader and as such we should select the one with the highest moral character.  Mormons are traditionally a people of high moral character.  Being a Mormon, however, is no guarantee as exhibited by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who is also a Mormon.  He is indeed a despicable person and a pathological liar.

So, to answer the question, I believe the answer is yes, a Christian can vote for a Mormon for two very good reasons.  First, although we disagree with his theology, we are in full agreement with his political ideology.  Second, the alternative, Barack Obama, would change America forever making us just another third-world nation.

Finally, there is a third option on the ballot which has me concerned.  Former Congressman Virgil Goode is on the Virginia ballot and on the ballot in 16 other states.  I would have thought Virgil would have had more sense than that but obviously not.

Virgil Goode cannot possibly win, but he has the potential of re-electing Obama.  Religious “legalists” may just opt for “Christian Goode” over Romney.  With Virginia being a battleground state, in a close race, they could swing Virginia's 13 electoral votes over to Obama.  In a close race nationally, that could conceivably be the difference in re-electing Obama. 

A Nation Divided

Published September 13, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

By Bill Wheaton

Press Media Group, LLC

This week, we observed the 11th anniversary of the Muslim terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 where nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives.  Following that cowardly attack, our nation was united in spirit in a way reminiscent of the Pearl Harbor attack of 1941.

 

In 1941, our nation remained united well past the victories of 1945.  It was not until the 1960’s that divisions began to occur.  It took much less time for divisions to occur after 9-11 because of a hostile liberal media and the election of Barack Obama as President in 2008. 

Up until 1956, our de facto motto is E pluribus unum — “out of many, one.”  In 1956, Congress adopted “In God We Trust” as our official motto.

In November 2010, in a speech in Jakarta, Indonesia, Obama said, “In the United States, our motto is E pluribus unum.”  Although it is frightening to realize that two years after he was elected President, he had no idea what our official motto was.  Perhaps it is because he has set about reversing it to “E unum pluribus” – “out of one, many.”

Barack Obama has set out to divide America along many societal lines following the teachings of Saul Alinsky.  In his “Rules for Radicals”, Alinsky sets out guidelines for accomplishing the liberal objective.  In his thirteenth rule, he states “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”  That is exactly what Obama has done. 

He has set blacks against whites, lower economic class against the upper economic class, unemployed against the employed and moral degenerates against God-fearing people. 

One just needed to watch portions of the Democrat convention, when the network cameras were off, to see this national disgrace.  It brought to mind the bar scene in “Star Wars.”

The term “God-given” had been dropped from the Democrat party platform and when they attempted to reinsert it, the delegates actually voted God down.  When the chairman “gaveled through” the motion declaring the motion to reinsert passed, the delegates actually booed God.

Barack Obama in his speech Thursday night promised more of what he can not and has no intention of delivering.  He did, however, make one true statement and that was this election will determine in which direction this nation will head.  We will either continue down the same destructive path towards socialism under Obama and the Democrats, or we will turn back towards an open and free economy under Romney-Ryan and a Republican Congress.

The other day, I was out putting a Romney sign in my yard when a person stopped to tell me I was supporting the wrong person.  I asked him why he thought so and his answer was “Romney doesn’t care about poor people.”  My answer to him was that obviously Obama does because he has made so many more of them but I didn’t bother to debate him. He and millions like him have drunk the liberal Kool-aid and are a lost cause. They are driven strictly by ideology, emotion or plain ignorance, so hard cold facts will do nothing to sway them. To try to reason with them is a waste your time.

There is a small amount still in the middle who can be convinced by facts, so here are some to use when you ask the question, are you better off today than you were four years ago?

•           Under Obama, the number of unemployed has gone from 11.6 million to 14.5 million.

•           Under Obama, the cost at the pump has gone from $1.83 to $3.84 (Lundburg Survey as of 9/10/12).

•           Under Obama, the number of people on food stamps has gone from 32 million to 43.2 million.

•           Under Obama, the number of long term unemployed has gone from 2.6 million to 6.4 million.

•           Under Obama, our national debt has gone from, $10.6 trillion to $16 trillion.

•           Under Obama, the cost of corn has gone from $3.56 a bushel to $6.33 a bushel (this will be reflected in higher costs for food).

•           Under Obama, black unemployment has increased from 12.6% to 15.8%.

•           Under Obama, the rate of individual poverty has increased from 13.2% to 14.3%

•           Under Obama, the U.S ranking in Economic Freedom World Rankings dropped from 5th to 9th.

The vast majority of Americans are not better off today, but many are still going to vote for Obama.  The only way to counter this is to give the facts to those who are reasonable, not the Kool-aid drinkers.  The liberals can’t run on the Obama record so their only hope of victory is to discourage Romney-Ryan voters from coming out to vote.  I have already seen evidence of this.  We simply cannot let the Obama lies and the media distortions keep us from voting.

Expect to see many false and misleading polls conducted by those support Obama.  They poll more Democrats than Republicans and registered voters instead of likely voters to get the skewed results they are looking for.  Polls are meaningless until a week before the election.

Also expect a deluge of lies coming from the Democrats.  For example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just went to the Senate floor accusing Republicans of obstruction where it is he who refuses to bring up the numerous economic bills passed by the Republican controlled house.  Reid is also responsible for not passing a budget, which is required by law, for three years.

The media is also creating smoke screens and diverting attention away from the Obama record, such as the Romney tax returns.  Romney has released his 2010 and 2011 tax returns and they are available on his web site.  Obama has yet to release a single record from his school days, yet the media ignores that and keeps asking for more Romney tax returns.

We simply can not let the Democrats keep dividing the nation by pitting one group against each other.  The bottom line is Obama has been the most disastrous president since Jimmy Carter.  In fact, he is even using some of Carter’s old excuses for his failures. 

Obama, who has missed over half of the Presidential Daily Briefings, spent 600 hours on the golf course but only 420 hours in meetings on the economy (according to the White House calender), must be replaced

We will only be united as a nation when Obama is defeated and the Democrat stranglehold on Congress is broken. 

Bill Wheaton lives in Concord, Virginia.  Recent columns are available at billwheaton.blogspot.com.  His email address is bwheaton@moreinformation.net.

Confronting Left Wing Intimidation

Published August 16, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger

By Bill Wheaton

Press Media Group, LLC

Christians and Christian values are coming under increasing attack these days.  Now joining the fundamentalist Muslims are the homosexual activists and their left-wing supporters.  Both groups are employing the very same tactic to silence the speech of Christian conservatives, intimidation.

If you criticize Islam or its founder Mohammad, you are very apt to be criticized by fundamentalist Muslims.  If you point out that the god of Islam is not the God of the Bible, but a false god, you are likely to be threatened, and in some parts of the world, you will be killed.

The homosexual activists and their radical supporters are using the very same tactic as we recently witnessed in the Chick-fil-A issue.  When Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy was asked his personal opinion on the sanctity of marriage, he stated the Biblical position that marriage is between one man and one woman.   

That is not only the Biblical position, but it is the American position.  In every state where the voters were asked to choose, they have chosen to reject homosexual marriage overwhelmingly.  In states with homosexual marriage, it has either been imposed by liberal courts or liberal legislatures.

But this didn’t stop the homosexual activists from calling for a boycott of Chick-fil-A.  They were joined by radical left-wing politicians who actually threatened to bar Chick-fil-A from doing business in their cities.  That is completely un-American, but that is who these liberals are.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the restaurant chain was not welcome in that city because it does not share “Chicago values.”   What values would that be? 

It was recently reported that within a one year period in Chicago, there were 246 homicides.   In that same period in Afghanistan, there were 145 combat deaths.  The war being waged on the Taliban and al-Qaeda pale in comparison to the war being waged on the streets of Chicago.  Is that the “Chicago values” the mayor is referring to?

Emanuel recently welcomed Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to Chicago.  So perhaps the “Chicago values” means that a vile anti-Semite like Farrakhan is acceptable where a Christian businessman expressing his personal religious beliefs is not.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino also chimed in saying, “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston.”  That is simply amazing since the seeds of the American Revolution of 1776 were planted right there in Boston. 

Jerald C. Brauer, Professor of the History of Christianity at the Divinity School, The University of Chicago wrote, “Religion was one of the premier forces that brought the colonies into being and provided them with a set of symbols, beliefs, and values which undergirded their society. In at least two respects religion fed directly into the Revolution of heart and mind that preceded the rebellion. Puritanism created the center out of which New England society lived. The symbols, values, and beliefs that comprised that center contained two elements that were always to some degree peripheral, Crown and Parliament. As history unfolded, New Englanders gradually brought these peripheral elements under heavy attack from the center itself so that Crown and Parliament were viewed as detrimental to the central values of covenant, consent, the rule of fundamental law, the structure of New England’s organic society, and the liberties of its inhabitants. Thus Puritanism was a major force in engendering a revolution in attitude toward Crown and Parliament.”

Our Declaration of Independence is a list of complaints against the British Crown, every one of which was first preached from a New England pulpit before the fight for independence began.  If Menino was mayor in colonial Boston, we would likely still be British subjects. 
And what about the “Boston values” under Menino?  On a scale of 1 to 100, where 100 is the safest place to live and 1 the most unsafe, Boston scores an 11. 

Menino. like Chicago’s Emanuel, seem much more comfortable with Muslims than Christians.  Menino recently approved a permit which allowed the City of Boston to sell land below market value for the construction of a mosque.  The Islamic society of Boston has strong ties with radical imam Yusef al-Qaradawi.  This is somewhat ironic as not only does al-Qaradawi defends suicide bombing, but believes homosexuals should be burned or stoned to death.

In response to the outrageous statements by Emanuel, Menino and countless others, hundreds of thousands of Christians and non-Christians alike who believe in the concept of free speech turned out
on August 1^st at Chick-fil-A all over the country to show their support.   I was one of them, as was my pastor.   The left unsuccessfully tried to spin this as an act of hate where the only hate exhibited was from the left.  At least one Chick-fil-A was vandalized by the left.

All the hate and activism is on the left.  At least two prominent businesses have taken activist positions when it comes to promoting the homosexual agenda.  They are Home Depot and Target.

The American Family Association reports, “For several years, The Home Depot has given its financial and corporate support to open displays of homosexual activism on main streets in America's towns.

“Rather than remain neutral in the culture war, The Home Depot has chosen to sponsor and participate in numerous gay pride parades and festivals. Most grievous is The Home Depot's deliberately exposing small children to lascivious displays of sexual conduct by homosexuals and cross-dressers, which are a common occurrence at these events.”

Target is selling a line of pro-homosexual merchandise, and they promised to “donate 100% of the purchase price to the Family Equality Council, a revolting outfit devoted to perverting and destroying the concept of family and subjecting children to sexual exploitation in homosexual marriages,” according to a news article from Free Republic.

I have been boycotting Home Depot ever since they took their pro-homosexual stance a couple of years ago and I have avoided Target ever since they banned Santa Claus some years back.

I refuse to patronize a business which supports the radical left-wing agenda which I oppose, and you should also.  It makes no sense to financially support companies which support values we oppose.

One final company to avoid is Progressive Insurance. Progressive chairman Peter Lewis had donated millions to left wing causes.  He donated at lease $25 million to the ACLU since 2001.   A September 17, 2010 opinion article in the Wall Street Journal said, "The progressive left has spent the better part of a decade building an archipelago of tightly linked third-party groups: MoveOn.org, Democracy Alliance, the Center for American Progress, their spinoffs and dozens of others. Bankrolled in large part by billionaires like George Soros and Peter Lewis, and along with more traditional institutions like organized labor and the environmental lobby, these organizations are effectively a shadow party that operates outside the ambit of the Democratic Party."

Bill Wheaton lives in Concord, Virginia.  Recent columns are available at billwheaton.blogspot.com.  His email address is bwheaton@moreinformation.net.

Sandusky Fallout and Cover-up

Published July 19, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

By Bill Wheaton

Press Media Group, LLC

On June 23^rd, after a three-week trial featuring emotional and often graphic testimony from eight young men who had been sexually molested by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a 12-person jury found him guilty on 45 of 48 counts. Jurors heard from the eight victims, now young adults, who testified that as boys, Sandusky forced them to engage in sexual acts in showers in Penn State's athletics facilities, hotel rooms, the basement of his home and other places. The abuse spanned at least 15 years.

The Sandusky story has rocked Penn State and its renowned football program to its core and has forever tarnished the reputation of famed football coach Joe Paterno.

The Board of Trustees of Penn State hired former FBI director Louis Freeh to conduct an independent investigation shortly after Sandusky was charged in November of 2011.  Last week, Freeh released his 267 page report.  His report contained thousands of words but the one and most meaningful word of all was conspicously missing.  That was “homosexual.”

Jerry Sandusky commited homosexual acts on those eight victims and probably countless others who were too afraid or ashamed to testify.  Not once did the news media even dare to associate Sandusky with homosexuality, which is the sexual attraction to the same sex.

They did label him a pedophile, which is one who has a sexual atrraction to prepubescent children.  Sandusky’s victims reportedly ranged in age from 8 to 17, which would also make him a hebephile.  The term “hebephilia” denotes the sexual attraction for pubescent children (roughly, ages 11 or 12-14), but this term is not as widely used. 

The homosexual sub-culture is a big tent and contains at least four sub-groups.  The most widely known is the so-called “gay community” (I never use the term gay as the homosexual lifestyle is anything but gay).  These are the out-of-the-closet homosexuals and openly practice their sexual perversion in public. 

I use the word “perversion” because that is what God calls homosexual acts.  God loves all us sinners but hates the sins we commit.

The public homosexuals spend a lot of time and efforts trying to force the rest of us to accept their lifestyle and express great intolerance for those who do not.  They are even more intolerant of those who have renounced the homosexual lifestyle (ex-gays) and have settled into a normal heterosexual lifestyle.

They deny any relationship with the homosexual pedophiles like Sandusky and the numerous Roman Catholic priests who have been doing the same sexual molesting for years, and like at Penn State, their actions have been covered up.

It is politically incorrect to say anything negative about homosexuals.  This had given the homosexual lifestyle almost total control of the media and not even Rush Limbaugh would associate Sandusky with homosexuality.  He hinted at it, but stopped just short of actually doing it.

Child molesters of the homosexual sub-culture even has an organization, the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which actually lobbies for the repeal of laws prohibiting sex with children. 

Pedophile homosexuals often place themselves in positions where they will come in contact with young boys, as Sandusky did.  The Boy Scouts of America learned this lesson and adopted a policy prohibiting homosexuals from any association with scouting.  For this, they have been unjustly criticized and in some cases have faced discrimination.

The third group within the homosexual umbrella is the homosexuals who prefer to keep their homosexual lifestyles private.  That is fine, except if they are involved in public policy or in forming public opinion. 

For example, a former chief-of-staff to former Senator George Allen (Jay Timmons) was outed as a homosexual by the public homosexual group and then transferred to a non-public policy position in the Senate Election Committee. 

Another example is a current member of the Virginia General Assembly from Fairfax County who has disclosed privately he is a homosexual but continues to withhold that information from his constituents.  That is blatantly dishonest.

Yet another example is the former head of the Fairfax County Public Schools Family Life Education program, Jerald L. Newberry, who was also a licensed counselor.  He was outed by some anonymous students.

The last group of homosexuals what are called the “cruisers.”  They, like many of the pedophile homosexuals, live an otherwise normal and heterosexual lifestyle, but like Sandusky, have a dirty little secret.  They cruise known locations to engage in anonymous homosexual sex with complete strangers.  Many who engage in this perversion end up bringing a sexually transmitted disease, sometimes HIV, back home to their unsuspecting wives.

This activity has been ongoing for many years and as you may suspect, there is a website devoted to this very activity.  There have been locations in Lynchburg where cruisers would go to find anonymous sexual partners.  Some of the locations listed in the past were Peaks View Park and the Downtown YMCA. 

Fortunately, the police also are aware of these locations and occasionally set up sting operations and bust the offenders.  I recall that back in Northern Virginia a sting operation at Bull Run Park netted dozens of offenders including the president of the Prince William County Teacher’s Association.

That brings me to my final point.  That is our educational system has, for years, presented homosexuality as acceptable alternate lifestyle.  They of course don’t mention the pedophiles and cruisers.  Penn State offers such courses as:

• ENGL 245, Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies
• BB H 251, Straight Talks I: Advanced Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity Peer Education
• ART H 225, Sexuality and Modern Visual Culture (An examination of the visual expression of gender and sexual identities in English-speaking cultures since the late nineteenth century.)

Is it any wonder why Jerry Sandusky felt he had no worries from Penn State authorities to engage in his homosexual molestation of young boys?

Bill Wheaton lives in Concord, Virginia.  Recent columns are available at billwheaton.blogspot.com.  His email address is bwheaton@moreinformation.net

Following Europe into Socialism

Published June 15, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

By Bill Wheaton

Press Media Group, LLC

Communist leader Karl Marx said, "Take away the heritage of a people and they are easily persuaded.”  We see that happening right here in America today yet so many of our people remain blinded to reality.

We need only to look at Europe today to see the devastation Socialism brings to a nation.  Greece is for all practical purposes financially bankrupt yet the people continue to resist the austerity measures the European Union, which is itself Socialist, insists on as a condition of a bailout.

Now, Spain is following right on the heels of Greece, in need of a bailout.  The European Union has offered them a $125 billion bailout in order to keep the 17-country Eurozone from breaking apart.

On 11 March 2004 – three days before Spain's general elections, Muslim terrorists attacked Madrid commuter trains in a coordinated attack, killing 191 and wounding 1,800.  In Spain, this attack is referred to as 11-M.

As a result, voters flocked to the Socialist candidates, and they scored a stunning victory.  It took the Spanish Socialists less than eight years to transform Spain’s healthy economy into the economic basket case we see today.

Most recently, we saw a Socialist victory in France’s presidential election.  French voters elected Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party candidate who Barack Obama immediately invited to the White House. 

Last Sunday, French voters went back to the polls for the first round to elect members of the 577 member French Parliament.  Socialists and other leftists scored the biggest victory with 46 percent of the vote.  The second round will be held next Sunday, June 17^th, where the Socialists are expected to dominate.

Hollande and the Socialists are on the verge of leading France in the footsteps of Greece and Spain, into economic destruction.  Italy now seems poised to follow them all.

We may think here in America that we know our nation’s history, but I can guarantee that is not the case.  Over the past 100 years, our American history has been so revised, distorted and rejected that what passes as history today bears no resemblance to reality.

For example, Socialism was tried very early in our history, and failed like it always does.  It was tried as early as 1621 by none other than the Pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation. 

In a history text book first published in 1872, “A Compendium of the United States from the Earliest Settlements to 1872” on page 35 we read, “The harvest of 1622 was scanty, and the settlers would have suffered greatly had it not been for the friendship of the Indians.  One of the causes of scarcity was the deep religious feelings of the Puritans, who had desired, in imitation of Apostolic times, to have a community of property.  But even amongst the Puritans there were some who would not work, as long as they were permitted to eat the fruit of the labor of others.  And so the system was changed, and, in the spring of 1623, each family had allotted a parcel of ground to cultivate for itself.  All had now to work for themselves, or to do without the necessaries of life.  After the harvest of that year there was never any general want of food.”

The earliest settlers learned what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:10,
”For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’”

This is just one of the many lessons from our rich past that we don’t seem to be learning. 

At my church, we are just finishing up a 26-part series by Christian historian David Barton, The American Heritage Series, in our Wednesday Night Discipleship Training classes.  The information Barton presents in this DVD series is indeed eye-opening.  Additionally, Barton backs up his statements with documentation as he has perhaps one of the biggest collections of original historical documents outside the Library of Congress.

Barton tells of how so many of our Founding Fathers were strong men of God and many were preachers of the gospel.  We never hear about them but only about those who historians call Deists, like Jefferson and Franklin.

They don’t mention how Jefferson would ride horseback to church in the Capitol Building (yes, worship services were held in the U.S. Capitol building for many years) when he was President every Sunday regardless of the weather, or how he selected the Bible as a basal textbook for the Washington D.C. public schools.

They don’t mention Franklin’s speech at the Constitutional Convention where he called for prayer before the proceedings every day, citing many Biblical references.

They certainly don’t mention how colonial preachers spoke from the pulpit openly about the injustices brought upon the colonies by King George.  In fact, every single complaint against the Crown found in the Declaration of Independence was first preached from a pulpit in colonial America.

We now find ourselves on the precipice of history.  This fall’s election will determine whether we follow Greece, Spain and France into Socialistic disaster or whether we turn the corner, change direction and begin returning to an America the Founders gave us.

With George Allen’s decisive victory Tuesday and with Bob Goodlatte surviving a challenge, the ballot for the fall has now been determined, except for Romney’s running mate.

I have to admit I still haven’t warmed up to Romney but with Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of Raul Castro, recently endorsing Obama, I am moving quickly in that direction.

Bill Wheaton lives in Concord, Virginia.  Recent columns are available at billwheaton.blogspot.com.  His email address is bwheaton@moreinformation.net.

Vote George Allen for Senate on June 12th

Puiblished May 18, 2012 in the Lynchburg Ledger 

By Bill Wheaton

Press media Group, LLC

Virginia will be holding a second Republican primary on June 12^th to select a candidate to run for U.S. Senate.  One term Senator Jim Webb decided not to seek a second term.

Webb narrowly defeated incumbent George Allen six years ago and Allen is one of four candidates running for the GOP nomination.

Former Governor Tim Kaine has already secured the Democrat nomination.

Opposing Allen on the ballot are Del. Bob Marshall, Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson and former tea party leader Jamie Radtke.

Northern Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall is one of the pro-life champions in the General Assembly and made a run for the Senate nomination four years ago against former Governor Jim Gilmore.  Gilmore won the nomination but lost to Democrat Mark Warner who rode the Obama coattails into office.

Marshall, who entered the race late, does not have the statewide organization to run an effective campaign.  Many of those who would typically support his campaign are supporting former Tea Party leader Jamie Radke.

Radke has a smattering of support statewide but the tea party, which is a very loose confederation of concerned citizens, does not have the statewide organization either.

Marshall and Radke will end up splitting the die-hard conservative vote.

Bishop E. W. Jackson served in the Marines and graduated from the University of Massachusetts and then Harvard Law School (where Barack Obama attended).  While at Harvard, he was accepted into the Baptist ministry and studied at Harvard Divinity School. 

He says he does not consider himself to be an African-American but rather an American-American.  He does not have much of a statewide organization and does not stand much of a chance, but it is good to see a black Republican running for office.

The odds-on favorate to win the nomination is, of course, George Allen, who recently picked up two very important endorsements.

One came from the American Conservative Union (ACU) Political Action Committee, whose chairman, Al Cardenas, said, “George Allen is the clear choice for conservatives who want to win in Virginia this November.  George Allen’s lifetime ACU rating of 93 while serving in Congress shows a consistent commitment to conservative principles on a wide range of issues.”

The second endorsement came from the National Rifle Association (NRA) Political Victory Fund.  In responding to the NRA endorsement, Allen said, “It’s a most significant honor to receive the important endorsement of the National Rifle Association (NRA), a great American organization with so many patriotic, active members throughout Virginia.  The NRA supports law enforcement professionals, gun safety education and stands strong for our foundational Second Amendment rights.  I have always been proud to support the natural rights of law-abiding citizens to protect their families and themselves.  In the U.S. Senate I will remain committed to defending our rights enshrined in our Constitution.
“My friends in the sportsmen community who enjoy the natural beauty of Virginia’s fields, forests, streams and lakes can count on me to be a strong and steadfast advocate for their freedom to hunt and fish.  And all Virginians have my commitment to stand up for their God-given rights.  The way to reduce crime is to crack down on criminals, not disarm our law-abiding citizens.”
Jamie Radke has questioned the NRA endorsement, which sounds like sour grapes to me.  Radke, who has never held public office, has no track record at all, while George Allen does.
I recall a number of years ago when Allen was governor, I went to Richmond to witness his signing of the Parental Notification bill for a minor’s abortion.  During that visit, I talked to him about a bill the General Assembly had passed concerning limiting concealed carry in Fairfax County.  I asked him to veto the bill, and he informed me he had already decided to do just that.
Six years ago, George Allen was defeated by Jim Webb by 9,329 votes or 0.39 percent of the vote.  Allen carried most of the state but lost big in Northern Virginia, where he was continuously attacked by the Washington Post over the “Macaca” statement. 
The fact is the liberal media was out to get Allen any way they could as he had played a big hand in defeating liberal favorite Tom Daschle from South Dakota. 
This year, the political climate is much different.  The liberals still have a great deal of influence in Northern Virginia but Tim Kaine has closely aligned himself with Barack Obama.  Although Obama carried Virginia in 2008, he is not expected to this year as Virginia is likely to move back into the red state column.

In November, it is vital that two things happen.  First is that Barack Obama is defeated.  The second is that the Republicans take control of the Senate.

The Senate, controlled by Harry Reid, has blocked every piece of conservative legislation passed by the House.  If the rolls were reversed and a Republican Senate would not even schedule debate on Democrat House-passed bills, the liberal media would screaming for blood.

George Allen is the only candidate with a chance to beat Tim Kaine this fall so on June 12^th, go to the polls and vote for George Allen.

Bill Wheaton lives in Concord, Virginia.  Recent columns are available at billwheaton.blogspot.com.  His email address is bwheaton@moreinformation.net