Restoring Honor?

I’m not sure if I should laugh at the way Glenn Beck distorts the facts to support his fear driven narrative, or cry because of the people he is misleading with his lack of formally educated spoon fed pabulum, made up of misinterpreted out of context bible verses and quotes from people he disagrees with, served up with a dash of vitriol.

With (false) humility Beck said he wouldn't give his speech on the steps where Dr. Martin Luther King changed history. While standing on those very steps the thought came to him, "Who do you think you are?" So Beck is not going to give his speech from those steps. "No," says Beck, "I'll be two steps down, right where I belong."

"You're going to see the Spirit of God unleashed, unlike you have probably ever seen it before, at least at a public function." Glenn Beck proclaimed talking about his Restoring Honor Rally this weekend. I can't help but wonder if he is referring to Genesis 19:24, or 2Kings 19:35, or maybe Revelation 16:21.

Beck says, "This rally is about the things Martin Luther King stood for.” Dr. King was a social and economic justice Christian and this is clearly evidenced in his most famous speech.

Beck, on a recent radio program said, “I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can.” Beck’s rhetoric is not just in opposition to Dr. King’s teachings it is in opposition to the teaching and beliefs of Beck’s own Mormon Church. Christianity on the whole is agreed on this, that God is a God of justice, personal, social, and economic.

The Restoring Honor Rally is not going to be political according to Beck, but Sarah Palin is headlining. You might know her, she is the former Governor of Alaska who quit her job mid-term, amidst ethics violation charges which were later proved, to “help all America” by traveling around the country shouting, “Don’t retreat, RELOAD” about everything from political legislation to elections and most recently in support of Dr. Laura Schlessinger racist n-word rant. Racist hate-speak and the support for such using violent imagery might be permissible however, it is unacceptable and does nothing to restore honor, rather quite the opposite.

The more I think about it there seems to be a theme here, sort of a bait and switch only the idea is not to get the listener to trade up as much as it is to get the listener to believe the exact opposite of what is promised. Beck claims this rally is about the things that Dr. King stood for, and clearly it isn’t. He says it isn’t political but invites Sarah Palin, Michele "come armed and dangerous" Bachmann, Dick Army and more. Beck even claims the Holy Spirit is going to speak through him and proclaims the Spirit of God will be unleashed unlike we’ve ever seen it before. Surely Beck isn't talking about Genesis 11:7 because I've heard them all speak before and they're pretty 'wee wee'd' up already.

I wish I could be in Washington this weekend. Laughter is good medicine and I have been feeling a little out of sorts lately. The event is not being televised however, it can be viewed on the internet with your paid subscription to an extreme Beck channel via his website. With the subscription rate one would hope to avoid the Goldline infomercials. That being said, I will not be receiving any healing this weekend, at least not from the Spirit of God through Glenn Beck, just two steps down from where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed history.

Yankee in the Deep South

I am deeply grateful for DirecTV and the MLB Extra Innings package. The YANKEES are still number one with less than forty games to go in the regular season. The Sox are only 6.5 games back however with their injuries and lack of pitching a wild card birth is all but a distant dream. No love lost here. I'm not sure if I posted this earlier, I know I said it several times, the YANKEES will repeat this year.

The New York football GIANTS begin the new decade in a brand new stadium. Too bad that doesn't factor into anything in the W column. I don't know what to make of the G-Men this season. If they make it to the post season I will be tickled. According to the schedule we might get to see six of the sixteen games and that is a good thing because we really can't afford NFL Sunday Ticket ... today anyway.

Vitriolic rhetoric seems to be increasing exponentially as the midterm elections approach. Seeing so many people jumping on extremist bandwagons I felt it necessary to list a few facts to help people make an informed decision.

1. Are you aware that the proposed community center-mosque is located at 45-51 Park Place, just over two blocks from the northern edge of the sprawling, 16-acre World Trade Center site, roughly half a dozen normal lower Manhattan blocks from the site of the North Tower making this location not “AT” Ground Zero at all?
Are you still opposed?

2. Did you know that from Ground Zero you cannot even see 45-51 Park Place and from 45-51 Park Place you cannot see Ground Zero?
Are you still opposed?

3. Did you know that there is a Mosque at 245 West Broadway, about a dozen blocks north of the World Trade Center grounds and that the Manhattan Mosque, stands five blocks from the northeast corner of the World Trade Center site?
Do you want these closed too?

4. Are you aware that Muslims hold a daily prayer service Monday through Thursday and a weekly worship service on Fridays in the Pentagon close to the area where hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building, killing 184 people in a mussallaah opened in November 2002 over a year after 9-11-01?
Do you think this should be stopped?

5. Did you know the proposed community center which has a multi-faith board will house not only a mosque but also a basketball court, an Olympic size pool, a culinary arts training institution and more all open to the public?
Are you still opposed?

“I see our country teetering on the edge of an abyss. At its bottom brews the simmering bile of deep, dark hatred. Hatred that's dividing our country: politically, racially, economically, geographically, in every way- whether it's political vendettas, sports brawls, corporate takeovers, or high school gangs in cleats, the American competitive ethic has changed from 'let's beat the other guy, to let's destroy the other guy.' Too many, too many are too willing to stigmatize and demonize others for political advantage, for money or for ratings. ... This cycle of tragedy-driven hatred must stop, because so much more connects us than that which divides us because tragedy has been, and will always be with us. Somewhere right now, evil people are planning evil things. All of us will do everything meaningful, everything we can do to prevent it, but each horrible act can't become an ax for opportunists to cleave the very Bill of Rights that binds us. America must stop this predictable pattern of reaction.” Charlton Heston's NRA Keynote Speech excerpts May 1999

As a wave of hate seeks to divide us we must not be silenced with fear. As the airwaves fill with vitriolic rhetoric we must speak the truth from every platform afforded us. Now more than ever before we must choose to educate because knowledge is power and the truth will set you free.