WARNING! Ron Paul Will Be Eliminated From Debates!

After a last place finish in South Carolina, where he received 13% of the vote and spent $1.5 million on advertising, Ron Paul openly admitted that he was skipping Florida.

Long ago in the beginning of the campaign, Ron Paul’s team strategized a course to pick up as many delegates as possible. It was the same strategy Barack Obama used to beat Hillary Clinton in 2008. Instead of wasting money in southern primary states, where the voters are older and less likely to listen to a non-intervention foreign policy with winner-takes all delegates, spread the message North and West to caucus states.

It is in Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, and Maine where they hold many local meetings to decide how to award its delegates instead of holding a statewide election. Caucuses tend to have lower turnouts and favor candidates, like Ron Paul, who are closer to the grassroots in the party.

Although the plan seems smart on one front, on the other hand, it could backfire on Ron Paul’s ability to continue spreading the message of liberty. It is these debates where most hear him speak and I'm afraid his low profile in certain states will begin calls to get him out of the debates.

After received 21% and 23% in Iowa and New Hampshire respectfully, Paul’s performance in South Carolina and recent polls showing him below 10% in Florida could be the enough fuel in the fire for the media and the GOP to refuse Ron Paul’s place on stage.

You can also blame the current exit polls from South Carolina to contribute to the “push Ron Paul out” campaign that's about to start. With viewership still above 5 million, more than half (52 percent) of South Carolina primary voters said the recent debates were one of several important factors in deciding their vote. Of that group, Gingrich took 47 percent to 24 percent for Romney.

The media is already drumming up the idea that Ron Paul is a regional candidate, he is missing Florida, and his numbers are slipping. Don’t be surprised the next move will be for surrogates from the Republican Party inside the media and surrogates from the other three candidates begin asking the question….

“Should Ron Paul even be in the debate?”

Why Doesn’t Newt’s Divorces Matter to Evangelicals?

The exit polling from South Carolina reveals that Evangelical Christians overwhelmingly voted for Newt Gingrich, despite his 3 marriages and ex-wife’s claim of Newt’s wishes for an “open marriage”. The pro-family, social conservative side of the party voted for Gingrich by a 2-to-1 margin. Among the voters who say religious beliefs of a candidate matters “somewhat” to a “great deal” again gave their support to Newt by a margin over 2-to-1.

Not only did the Evangelical Christians heavily break for Gingrich, the exit polling also showed most of those decisions to vote for Newt Gingrich were made after his second ex-wife’s interview on ABC aired claiming he proposed an “open marriage.”

How do Socially Conservative Evangelical Christians, who were adamant about Clinton’s indiscretions being an attack on family values in 1998, come to terms voting for Newt Gingrich in 2012? Newt will say it’s because Christians understand the story of redemption. No, it’s because Christians no longer have an understanding of Christian Redemption.

“Christianity” today means something different from what “Christianity” meant to our grandparents. Many of the Truths held by the Church in the mid-1900’s are not believed or have the same meaning with today’s Evangelicals. Although, Christians hang onto the banner of “traditional marriage” for their opposition for gay marriage, many Christians don’t see that their own indiscretions have actually done more damage for the fight for marriage than the gay-right movement.

Click on the link on how the Church destroyed marriage and not gays:
http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2010/08/now-that-californias-prop-8-ban-against.html

The Biblical Truth that marriage is a covenant between God, man and wife is lost today. An institution created by God to be the incubator of a healthy society is nearly non-existent in Churches. The Barna Group, a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture, show that divorce among Evangelical Christians and those whose faith is outside of Church is identical.

"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," the researcher at Barna indicated. "Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility. There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."

This idea of a serial marriage would have been unheard of in our grandparent’s generation. The mere thought of such acts would have placed questions on one’s character. But in today’s world, where not only the stigma from divorce is gone due to themselves going through it or having someone in their family and friends go through it, justification for it must be given within the Church to protect membership and revenue. So, serial marriages is no longer against God’s Covenant but must be accepted by way of redemption.

This is the redemption in Christian Churches Newt Gingrich is referring too. And it’s a far cry from the real Biblical understanding. Newt’s definition reminds of the kid that gets in trouble and quickly says “I’m sorry” thinking that the apology somehow demands a quick forgiveness.

Read how Republicans Flip-Flop on Sex Outside of Marriage
http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2012/01/clinton-sex-scandal-now-gop-redemption.html

“Well, as long as I ask for redemption,” a divorcee might think, “God will forgive me from continuing on like business as usual. I can ask for forgiveness and God will grant me forgiveness. And, if God has granted me forgiveness, than the Church must accept the redemption.”

Paul, when writing to the Romans wrote, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1) But, it seems many in the Evangelical community are accepting the idea of Newt’s outlook on redemption.

The Biblical understanding of the word Redemption means “to deliver by paying a price.” In the Church redemption is two-fold. There is redemption back to God and mankind.

The first redemption is impossible for mankind to achieve on his or her own. The grievances and debt for our sinful nature could never be complete because it is owed to a sinless and perfect God. The payment can only be paid by the sacrifice and blood of someone who is sinless and perfect. So, Jesus came to live a Holy, blameless, and a sinless life so His death and resurrection could be the Redemption (payment). But, that is only half of the plan.

Mankind still has to be redeemed back to man. A payment for the wrong has to be shown so trust can be given, people can be restored, and healing can take place. This is done by punishing our children after they have done something wrong. We see this in our justice system by placing people behind bars. Although God has forgiven us for our wrong doings and accepts our apology, God doesn’t relieve us of the payment from those people we wronged.

What redeeming has Newt Gingrich done back to mankind for twice divorcing and proposing an “open marriage?” Should he have to work on reconciling the relationship with this second wife? Should the payment be that he forgo his ambitions to become President to redeem the public’s trust? How about giving back all the proceeds from books and money from political deals while living such a lifestyle? Has anyone seen where Newt Gingrich has remotely worked on redemption beyond chastising the media for exposing his indiscretions? All of these suggestions bring trust, restoration, and healing through redemption. Unfortunately, it’s the only place that is absent from both Newt and the thoughts of Evangelicals in South Carolina.

So, instead of the Evangelical’s running away from Newt’s three marriages and his second wife’s claim of him wanting an “open marriage,” they ran toward him. The more candidates highlighted their successful marriages against Newt’s infidelity, the Evangelicals sympathized more with Newt due to their own experiences. As a result of a lost sigma of divorce and a wrong idea of redemption inside the Church, Newt only becomes more likely to win Evangelical votes with each passing story of his infidelity. It doens't matter to Evangelicals...it is embraced!

That is quite a different view from our grandparent’s Christianity.

Clinton Sex Scandal Now GOP "Redemption" Mantle

Democratic antics, despised by Republicans only 15 years ago, are now embraced within the Republican/Christian Right Party voters today.

Back in 1992, accusations were flying around of Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades with Gennifer Flowers, Cathaline Willy, Anita Broderick and Paula Jones. The Republican talking heads at the time where warning of Bill Clinton’s huge character flaws. The Christian-right, “value” voters, and social conservatives where all on the front lines actively working with the Republican Party exposing Clinton’s indiscretions.

The Christian Right used the backdrop of President George Bush’s marriage with Barbara as a contrast to the alleged encounters of Bill Clinton. The image from the Republican/Christian Right Party was that Bush was happily married for nearly 40 years with Barbara; Barbara is not an ambitious First Lady; Barbara loves on her family. At the same time, Bill Clinton was billed as the anti-family man who has women coming forward with claims of rape and sexual encounters. Hillary was a woman who only puts up with such activity because of her own ambitions and lust for power while having her own sexual outlets outside of marriage. Bush’s- Traditional “one-man, one-woman” Marriage verses Clinton’s- Open Marriage.

The Republican/Christian Right template was dripping with this picture. The GOP supports family values while the Democrats will excuse blatant acts against the family for political power. The picture sickened the Christian Right and riled them up to vote for George Bush.

The picture only solidified that picture during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. During the ongoing investigation of the Paula Jones case, in which the Christian Right was still pursuing, Monica Lewinsky signed an affidavit denying a relationship with President Bill Clinton. Once the truth was revealed that a sexual relationship did exist through Linda Tripp, the Republican/Christian Right had a strong case to prove the picture they have drawn was right.

During the trial, Republican Party and talking heads were disgusted with the defense of the Democrats. The Democrats would state that “this is a private matter and extramarital affairs should have no basis on how a person governs.” The Christian Right response was that “character matters.” Through this argument, the Republican/Christian Right stated their existence on family values and traditional marriage. Since this episode, there have been many campaigns within the Republican Party with slogans dealing with “Family, Faith, and Values.”

Read Why Evangelicals Give Newt Passes on Three Marriages:
http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2012/01/why-doesnt-newts-divorces-matter-to.html

Today’s Republican Primary only demonstrates that the Republican/Christian Right Party’s fight for family values has always been an empty promise; just a ploy for votes within the Christian community. In South Carolina, the first southern primary where 60% of the electorate is evangelical Christians, the Republican Party will have an opportunity to stand up for the family and traditional marriage.

In the past, the battle cry was that “character matters.” Now the battle cry is that “Christians practice redemption.” When Bill Clinton was being alleged of sexual encounters… “Character matters.” When Bill Clinton was having sex in the White House…”character matters”. When Bill Clinton parceled words when telling the court it depends on your definition of what “is” is….”character matters.” But, when Newt Gingrich is accused of proposing an open marriage by his second wife….”Christians practice redemption.” When Newt Gingrich accuses the media of smearing his name instead of denying the claims….”Christians practice redemption.” In one case, the Republican/Christian Right Party will use the Bible against an opponent to stand for “family values” while, on the other hand, use the same Bible to uplift a candidate after indiscretion based on the wrong application of “redemption.”

During the Clinton years, sex scandals were promoted among the Republican/Christian Right Party to give rise to the GOP. Now, sex scandals, open marriages, and divorces are promoted to build the GOP.

Oh, how the Republican Party and religious leaders will continue to prostitute the Gospel for political gain.

Governor Mary Fallin: Revenues UP; Let's Create More Debt

Oklahoma state republicans are finding more ways to live up to the phrase, "Spending like drunken politicians."

Last year, the Republican-led House and Senate passed a "creative finance" scheme which diverted $100,000 from the budget of the Transportation Department, placed those dollars into the general fund, and issued a bond to cover the money it took out from the department. The scheme enabled the Republicans to cover shortfalls within the general budget without cutting the department's funds for road repair.

Two big problems:

1. It is illegal to create bonds without a vote of the people under Article X Section 25 of the Oklahoma State Constitution.

2. Instead of cutting the budget so spending reflected current revenue levels, the Republicans created more debt to cover other debt.

But, the public didn't demand responsible government, so the drunks have decided to go after it again. This time by blowing up the state budget with years of more debt.

At the Republican House caucus meeting back in November, Republican House Speaker Steele proposed nearly $1.5 BILLION of new bonds for pet projects across the state. The proposals are:

•$270,000,000.00 for Higher Education Chairs
•$200,000,000.00 for State Capitol Building Maintenance
•$170,000,000.00 for National Guard
•$130,000,000.00 for State Capitol Building
•$45,000,000.00 for VA building and Mental Health Sharing
•$40,000,000.00 for the Native American Center
•$40,000,000.00 for the Jim Thorpe Building renovation
•$40,000,000.00 for a Museum of Music/Popular Culture Tulsa Project
•$40,000,000.00 for Weigh Stations
•$40,000,000.00 for Medical Examiner’s Office
•$20,000,000.00 for Muskogee Music Hall of Fame
•$5,000,000.00 for Wrestling Hall of Fame

Read the article about the Republican House wanting more bonds. http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2011/12/oklahoma-house-proposing-nearly-15.html

A couple of weeks later, the Board of Equalization came out with their annual proposed revenues (the amount of money the politicians have to spend). The Board revealed an increase of $120.3 million over last year. A total of $6.5 billion for Republican Governor Fallin to "craft her 2013 FY budget," according to her own press release.

Read the article regarding State Funds and Spending
http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2011/12/mary-fallin-revenue-uplets-spend-it-all.html

Despite a revenue increase, these Republicans want more. But, with more means more bonds and more bonds mean a more payments and more payments mean less money for the state in coming years. Ah, but never fear...."Drunk" Republican Governor Mary Fallin is here!

Today, she sent another a press release stating "Governor Fallin will lead an Oklahoma delegation to New York City on Thursday, Jan. 19, to discuss the possibility of improving the state’s bond ratings. Joining the governor will be Republican state Treasurer Ken Miller, Preston Doerflinger, director of the Office of State Finance and secretary of finance in the governor’s cabinet, and State Bond Advisor Jim Joseph."

“Our meeting with bond advisers gives us a great opportunity to showcase Oklahoma’s strong economy and fiscally sound policies (hold back laughter here),” Fallin said. “Unlike the federal government, Oklahoma has balanced its budget and continues to make state agencies smaller, smarter and more efficient.”

Read here how Fallin balances the budget off Unconstitutional Bonds:
http://www.theonlinepoop.com/2011/02/fallin-budget-unconstitutionally.html

“Meeting with ratings agencies will give us a great chance to make the case for better bond ratings, which could lower costs when the state issues bonds,” Fallin said.

Only in politics and car dealerships can we save money by spending it. That is what these Republican leaders are saying to us. It's the same ol' DC politics which has brought our financial situation to a halt. Fallin and the Republicans in Oklahoma want us to believe we can spend more than our revenue to show the world Oklahoma is "open for business." But, history has shown business as usual at the Capital will lead to great pressure for the taxpayer in the future.

King David, Nathan, and the Original "Truther"

"911 was an inside job!"

To some, this is a rallying cry for those who believe our government is working against the best interest of freedom and liberty. They call themselves "Truthers."

To others, this phrase represents radical and loony groups whose belief's in self-serving conspiracies are just catch phrases for "I hate America!"

Believing that a country or a powerful individual would create covert false flag operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities seem unpatriotic. The mere suggestion seems contrary to the whole belief system we were taught from kindergarten.

"America is the beacon of freedom and liberty," we are told.

So, people get turned off when Truthers go down the list of American false flags.

Some examples are:

1. World War I- The U-boat torpedo hit the ocean liner Lusitania near Britain and some 1200 people, including 128 Americans, on board lost their lives. Truthers will point out that the Lusitania was an inside job because 6 million pounds of artillery shells and explosives were on the ship to assure an explosion. The Lusitania event was the precursor to the United States entering the War to End All Wars.

2. World War II- After several attempts to provoke Japan to war by blockading their oil imports, forbidding their use of the Panama Canal and throwing insults at the leadership, Japan finally had enough of the US's antics. An attack on Pearl Harbour followed some 6 months later. Although the US broke the Japanese encryption codes for the invasion, the US base was not forewarn and the attacks were welcomed.

3. Vietnam War- In the Gulf of Tonkin incident, North Vietnamese torpedo boats supposedly attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, off Vietnam, in a pair of assaults on August 2 and 4 of 1964. It now seems the story was little more than a fabrication to push America to war.

Despite how counter-American these claims seem to be, I think its important to note that a famous Old Testament story is based around a False Flag.....David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).

David, while walking on the roof of his palace, saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, bathing. He immediately desired her and summoned her to his room. After their encounter, David was shocked when he learned that Bathsheba became pregnant.

In an effort to conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army (with whom he was on campaign) in the hope that Uriah would re-consummate his marriage and think that the child was his. Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applied to warriors in active service. Rather than go home to his own bed, he remained with the palace troops.

After repeated efforts to convince Uriah to fertilize Bathsheba, King David gave the order to Joab, the General, to place Uriah in the front lines and be left to the hands of the enemy. Joab sent a message back to King David after he did what was instructed saying, "Uriah, the Hittite is dead."

Nathan, the original "Truther", knows how the events really unfolded. He didn't believe the news coming out of the King's propaganda machine. Nor, did he prescribe to the conventional thinking that King David was above approach. Nor, did he not think a great country like Israel was immune to False Flags. Nathan had the truth of the events. The truth no one wanted to hear.

Imagine if Nathan was living in our time and he proclaimed that the leaders of his country conspired to kill a great warrior to protect a President's interest.

"Nathan isn't telling the truth. We have the official documents from the government that conflicts with his made-up story," the apologist would proclaim.

"Nathan hates Israel...he is just an anti-Semite to suggest King David caused a false flag," pro-Israel supporters would say.

But Nathan wasn't deterred because this "Truther" was on a mission. He was going to expose the truth because he loved Israel, he loved King David and he loved God. Nathan was a true patriot in his time.

Now, I am not saying someone has to believe that 911 was an inside job and the "Truthers" today are all upright citizens. But I will say it is wrong to dismiss such accusation due to not believing humans in powerful position are not capable of such devilish acts.

Instead, lean on Ecclesiastes 1:9 and know that "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

War Is Pissing Me Off!!!!!

Over the past 24 hours I have seen imagines and videos of the 4 Marines urinating on the Taliban Corpse flash through the news. Unfortunately, I was not shocked at the pictures nor have I been shocked at the apologist for the war machine.

It seems the mantra around the apologist is that, "This is war!" Well, if this is war than war is pissing me off!

Today, on the Rush Limbaugh Show Gloria, from Maryland, called to say, "I'm so mad. I just don't want these kids to suffer anything. I don't care if they get a little slap on their hands, but they did nothing wrong. These troglodytes deserved more than just a little whiz on 'em...."

Hoping some dignity would enter the airwaves, Rush responded, "We know this stuff happens. We know they do it and worse. What happened here was videotaping this and putting it out there. We know this. This is war, for crying out loud! We all know they have to take whizzes, like you said."

Sean Hannity repeated the same kind of mantra. "Listen, I am not in these soldiers shoes. I don't understand how it feels to see your friends blown up or having to carry limbs. This is war. Maybe we should give them a little break."

It's the reason this is war that makes it so wrong. In order for there to be continual support for war, there has to be a continual effort to dehumanize your enemy. We hear it in these presidential debates when Rick Santorum tells us "these are radical islamist, they want to destroy our very existence." Or, when he hear Newt Gingrich explain that the Palestinians are an "invented people."

Through propaganda we support inhuman activities like drone assassinations. We are taught terrorist are not good enough to have sovereign land nor trustworthy to have their own country. We get these images of savages coming out of the dark caves, ready to pounce on innocent women and children so we bend to the conventional thought that these "troglodytes" (as the caller called them) have no right toward due process. We believe they are not humanly capable of self-government; that they are not intelligent enough for self-power. We get this gut feeling that their existence is below our own.

Remember, according to Rush, "We all know they have to take whizzes!"

After 10 years of this constant bombardment of "anti-middle eastern/terrorist" propaganda, can we really be shocked by what we saw? Understand that over 60% of Marines are 22 and younger. That means most of their comprehension of the middle east has been formed through these disillusioned tented glasses. Imagine the warped world view it can cause.

But this is nothing new. Back in World War II, America would send out the same type of propaganda through posters. Pictures of "JAPS" raping women and zombie-like killers taking solders off to the dump. Imagines to dehumanize the enemy so urinating on their dead corpses is nothing more than just "whizzing."

It's the reason the Prince of Peace always opposed war and aggression. War sees another human and calls he or she an enemy. Christ calls that person a soul.

War brings judgement onto a people. Christ is the finale judge.

War brings resentment toward the victor. Christ brings peace as the victor.

Wars place faith in militarism to bring submission. Christ demands faith in Him to bring submission.

War sees your enemy as sub-human. Christ sees them as lost.

We are told "War is hell." I believe it.

Evangelicals Choosing Blood-Thirsty Barabbas

Who should you choose? Barabbas, the Revolutionary, or Jesus, the King of the Jews? That was the decision presented to the Jews by Pontius Pilate. And it seems the white evangelicals are presented with a similar question among the GOP candidates. But, who is Barabbas and what were the events surrounding that morning that places it in context with the GOP elections?

All four Gospels give an account of the prisoner exchange the morning of Jesus' crucifixion; Luke 23:13-25, John 18:40, Mark 15:6, and Matthew 27:15. After a brief interrogation with Pilate, Jesus was sent back out among the Jews because there was no fault found in him.

To quiet the crowd which was stirred up in an uproar by the Sadducee's and Pharisee, Pilate resorted to a long held Passover tradition to give the mob one last chance to free Jesus. A prisoner swap between Barabbas and Jesus.

"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" Pilate asked.

The decision was clear in the minds of the Jewish leaders. The Bible gives us a little insight to who Barabbas was to those in the crowd. He was a robber (John's account), someone who had (with others who were also imprisoned) made an insurrection/sedition and committed murder in the insurrection (Mark's and Luke's accounts). So, this man was a true brigand and a captain of them.

Matthew states that he was "notorious" which can mean famous and popular. From all accounts, he was a warrior, a revolutionary, an insurrectionist and a freedom fighter for the Jewish cause against Roman occupation. Some scholars would call him a "Sicarii"; men who were led by descendants of Judas of Galilee, who helped foster revolt against direct Roman rule in 6 CE. And to the Jewish leaders, there was a great need for men like Barabbas. Although men like Barabbas were violent ("murderer" as Peter said in Acts 3:14) the Jewish leaders felt men like him were needed.

Jewish opposition to Roman rule from 26 to 41 C.E. centered mainly around ostensibly religious issues and was conducted in religious terms. Remarkably, as one modern observer points out, during this period "the Jewish protest was a spontaneous response to offensive Roman activity in Palestine."

"The hardening of Jewish nationalist feeling into a militant resistance movement at the very start of the period of Roman rule was the fundamental cause of the recurrent disturbances of the next sixty years and of the revolt which was their climax, in the sense that it created or sharpened the dilemma facing the Romans in attempting to govern Judea as a province," E. Mary Smallwood explains.

"They were committed to a policy of protecting Jewish religious liberty, but on the political level they were opposed to nationalist aspirations among their subjects. The problem in Judea was that to the Jews religion and politics were inextricably bound up together as two facets of a single way of life, and though a modus vivendi might have been established between Rome and moderate Jewish opinion, the existence of a belligerent nationalist party focusing discontent and fostering opposition posed a problem which the Romans signally failed to solve. Their failure in turn aggravated matters, and the story of the years 6-66 is largely the story of how the occupying power and the nationalists reacted on one another, each provoking the other to further excesses, until the final explosion came."

Barabbas was a soldier for the Jewish Nationalist and Religious Liberty against the occupying forces of Rome. And there were many issues the Jews were fighting. Here are a couple of skirmishes between the Jews and Rome:

1. The Standard Incident:

Josephus (c. 38 - after 100 C.E.) gives two accounts of the "Standards" incident, which took place during the term of Pontius Pilate, Roman prefect from 26 to 37 C.E.


a. As procurator [Greek: "hegemon"] of Judea Tiberius sent Pilate, who during the night, secretly and under cover, conveyed to Jerusalem the images of Caesar known as standards. When day dawned this caused great excitement among the Jews; for those who were near were amazed at the sight, which meant that their laws had been trampled on — they do not permit any graven image to be set up in the City — and the angry City mob was joined by a huge influx of people from the country. They rushed off to Pilate in Caesarea, and begged him to remove the standards from Jerusalem and to respect their ancient customs.

b. The next day Pilate took his seat on the tribunal in the great stadium and summoned the mob on the pretext that he was ready to give them an answer. Instead he gave a pre-arranged signal to the soldiers to surround the Jews in full armour, and the troops formed a ring three deep. The Jews were dumbfounded at the unexpected sight, but Pilate, declaring that he would cut them to pieces unless they accepted the images of Caesar, nodded to the soldiers to bare their swords.

2. The Shields Incident

The only account of the shields incident appears within Agrippa's letter to Gaius Caligula as presented by Philo, Embassy 38:299-305 (Smallwood translation),12 written in the 40s of the first century, i.e. within a few years of the incidents he describes.

Pilate was an official who had been appointed procurator of Judea. With the intention of annoying the Jews rather than honoring Tiberius, he set up gilded shields in Herod's palace in the Holy City. They bore no figure and nothing else that was forbidden, but only the briefest possible inscription, which stated two things — the name of the dedicator and that of the person in whose honour the dedication was made. But when the Jews at large learnt of his action, which was indeed already widely known, they chose as their spokesmen the king's four sons, who enjoyed prestige and rank equal to that of kings, his other descendants, and their own officials, and besought Pilate to undo his innovation in the shape of the shields, and not to violate their native customs, which had hitherto been invariably preserved inviolate by kings and emperors alike. When Pilate, who was a man of inflexible, stubborn, and cruel disposition, obstinately refused, they shouted, "Do not cause a revolt! Do not cause a war! Do not break the peace!"

3. Temple Funds to Build Aqueduct

After this he [Pontius Pilate] stirred up further trouble by expending the sacred treasure known as Corban on an aqueduct fifty miles long. This roused the populace to fury, and when Pilate visited Jerusalem they surrounded the tribunal and shouted him down. But he had foreseen this disturbance, and had made the soldiers mix with the mob, wearing civilian clothing over their armour, and with orders not to draw their swords but to use clubs on the obstreperous. He now gave the signal from the tribunal and the Jews were cudgeled, so that many died from the blows, and many were trampled to death by their friends as they fled. The fate of those who perished horrified the crowd into silence.

Under these extremes the Sacarii Movement was born and men like Barabbas rose up. The Jews depended on the freedom fighters, "God's Army", to protect their kingdom and be the warriors a coming Messiah would need.

Contrast this with Jesus standing next to Barabbas.

"Blessed are those who are peacemakers and are persecuted." Matthew 5:3-12

"“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Matthew 5:38-42

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and do good for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Matthew 5:43-46

"Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages,” Luke 3:14

"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” John 18:36

Can you imagine the Jewish leader's expression when hearing these words under the condition in which they were accustomed of living? "He claims to be the Messiah and yet he refuses to fight for us?" "Does he not see that the Romans desecrate on our most cherished religion?" "He believes we can do this with love?"

The account of the events on that day say that when the leaders and their surrogates, when given the choice, went around the crowd to drumming up support for Barabbas. And it's easy to see the propaganda against Jesus.

"Jesus is a loon! He has no concept of how to fight back against the Romans! Does he really understand that there is no respect toward our religion among the Romans? We must protect Israel! How does he expect us to fight back when they come into our towns and attack our children? Love them? That isn't even based in reality!"

But isn't it just the same way today? The evangelicals are given a choice in the GOP elections on how to fight islamic terrorists in the middle east. Most of the GOP candidates preach that more bloodshed will produce more freedom. And Ron Paul believes non-intervention is the best medicine. While the debate continues, the GOP machine and their surrogates are working the evanglicals in a fury.

"We must fight them with a strong military over there or they will come over here and destroy us. We must protect Israel! We want Barabbas!"

But Evagelicals, What about Christ, the Prince of Peace?

"Crucify Him!"

SAGAC and the Pay-to-Play Oklahoma Scam

When you think of the political elite in Oklahoma, I’m sure one’s mind conjure ups thoughts of Senator Coburn, Senator Inhofe, and Governor Fallin. What if I told you the political elite are names like Jody Thomas, Trey Richardson, Karma Robinson and Josh Kivett? I’m sure those names don’t ring any alarms, but maybe they should. They all work for a Washington, DC public affairs firm called SAGAC.

SAGAC, according to their website, is a team of “experts in research, management, finance, marketing and communications.” In a political sense, they are a team of political advisors working as a consulting firm aligning businesses with politicians promoting a pay-to-play system in Oklahoma. It’s in this alliance where backroom deals are made, special favors are created for political expediency, and protection is promised for a long political career.

The consulting firm wins by making money from fees and contracts with successful political candidates and money from businesses. The Politicians win by having the protection from the business community and receiving money from the special interest PAC’s. And, the businesses win by having influence over certain legislation and receiving appointments on boards/commissions laden with favorable regulations. A true win-win-win for everyone involved.

And, SAGAC is the largest Washington DC political consulting firm controlling many of the politicians, political organizations, and businesses in Oklahoma. Their clients consist of Governor Mary Fallin, Senator Coburn, Senator, Inhofe, Representative James Lankford, Representative Tom Cole, and Representative Frank Lucas, and Romney for President. They also consult organizations like The Republican Party of Oklahoma, MAPS, GOPAC, US House of Representatives, the Republican Senate Victory PAC and the Oklahoma State Republican Senatorial Committee. And, they consult businesses and special interest like Devon Energy, American College of Cardiology, American Council of Life Insurance, American Medical Association, American Dental Association, ConocoPhillips, and Associated Builders and Contractors.

The past Oklahoma Gubernatorial primary exhibits the power SAGAC has over Oklahoma GOP races. In the beginning, two SAGAC clients were discussed as potential candidates for governor, Mary Fallin and JC Watts. Even after repeated polls showing JC Watts winning over Mary Fallin, a consulting decision was made not to run JC Watts. Without a public vote, JC Watts was out and Mary Fallin was chosen. So, Fallin paid SAGAC (Jody Thomas) nearly $650,000 to help her campaign.
During her run, she received financial support from SAGAC clients who are now receiving benefits:

Devon Energy continued giving contributions to her campaign by exceeding $35,000 over the life of her political career, according OpenSecrets.com . Devon also held “bundling” parties where others within the oil and gas industry gave contributions. For Devon’s support, Mary Fallin named Larry Nichols, CEO of Devon Energy, as the Co-Chair of her transitional team after she won the Governor’s seat. Devon Energy was handed the power to appoint Devon-friendly Cabinet positions including Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Energy which regulates their industry. Once in office, Governor Mary Fallin continues to offer tax credits to spur wind energy and compressed natural gas (CNG); both Devon investments. All this favoritism while Devon Energy already dodges the state corporate tax of 6% by paying only .6%, according to okpolicy.org.

While campaigning, Mary Fallin visited the Medical Park Center in Bartlesville, meeting with medical professionals and discussing ways to bring more affordable, quality care to Oklahomans. She toured the facility with Dr. Stan Defehr, a cardiologist who is the Governor of the Oklahoma State Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The ACC is also a client of SAGAC and advocated healthcare exchanges (a key component to Obamacare) and state grants to help implement the federal program.

The American Medical Association (AMA), another SAGAC client, also advocated for healthcare exchanges as well as tort reform. Many of the doctors associated with both the ACC and AMA gave generously to Fallin’s campaign. For their faithfulness, Mary continues to appoint "friends." Vice president and national director of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Joe Nicholson, was appointed to the Oklahoma Health Information Exchange Trust (OHIET).

This legislative session, Oklahoma will move legislation to empower the OHIET to except federal grants and to operate a State Health Exchange. Now, organizations who have advocated for a Healthcare Exchange will now be in position to implement it without Legislative oversight.

The list is long with examples of pay-to-play schemes connected to SAGAC. There is the American Council of Life Insurance, under the leadership of former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, who advocated for TARP. Keating gave a $5000 campaign contribution to fellow SAGAC client and TARP supporter, Mary Fallin. Now, Frank’s twin brother, Dan, receives a governor’s appointment.

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and Mary Fallin have a long history together; both SAGAC clients. The ABC promotes that Mary Fallin, since she was in Congress, has a 100% voting record for ABC causes. Much of the causes were for TARP, specific industry tax breaks, and subsidies supporting the industry. The Associated Builders and Contractors PAC gave $5000 to Fallin’s campaign and Tony Boevers, an ABC member, was appointed to the Construction Industry Board.

I still haven’t mentioned where the Republican Senate Victory PAC gave $2000 to Fallin. Energy for Oklahoma gave $5000. Oklahoma Medical PAC gave $5000. ConocoPhillips gave $5000. And, the Home Builders PAC gave $5000. All of these organizations are clients of SAGAC.

SAGAC is where crony-capitalism lives. Their business clients will find government favor by getting key appointments on boards and committees that regulate their business. Their political clients are assured hefty donations and job security by eliminating political competition. SAGAC is the glue that keeps the scam together.

So, if you are a political novice, have no money and you desire a shot at an open US House Seat in Oklahoma, who would you call for help? Rep. James Lankford must have known the answer. He bellied up to the political bar, sign on with SAGAC, who controls the US Houses money, received the endorsement of fellow SAGAC clients (Cole and Watts) and received hefty campaign donations from SAGAC clients.

The game continues……