Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels was the master of the "big lie" tactic in which a lie, no matter how outrageous, is repeated often enough that it will eventually be accepted as truth. Goebbels explained

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

The above was taken from The Jewish Virtual Library.

The following was Rush Limbaugh's adaptation and application to the party of the Democrats.

Let me reread this with the proper adaptation; "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the [Democrat Party] can shield the people from the political, economic, or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the [Democrat Party] to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the [Democrat Party]," and that's why I'm reading it to you. Repress dissent? Repress dissent? Well, who's the dissent? I am the dissent! There are a number of us who are the dissent, and what do they do? Well, they're trying to gin up the Fairness Doctrine to silence us. They've got a bunch of websites that are bought and paid for by Clinton, Inc. and George Soros that are attempting and have been attempting for many years to discredit those of us who dissent, and they're doing any number of things, engaging any number of tactics to shut down opposition speech. They just don't want to hear it. Political correctness is nothing more than liberal censorship.

Who are you going to believe?

Teacher's Salary Schedule . 

For those who have never read the entire speech, the following is Patrick Henry's famous speech. Read it and think about where we find ourselves as a nation today:

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death 

No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at the truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the numbers of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?

Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlement assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation.

There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free–if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extentuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace–but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

March 23, 1775
By Patrick Henry

From the University of Oklahoma College of Law .

May God Bless the United States of America. 

This is exactly why we need to support the Republicans in the GWOT by getting out the vote in November 2006. Without our support, the Dems might actually take control of Congress. Democrat defeatism will not make us safer here at home. The following is the text of the Resolution :HRES 861 EH

H. Res. 861

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

June 16, 2006.

Whereas the United States and its allies are engaged in a Global War on Terror, a long and demanding struggle against an adversary that is driven by hatred of American values and that is committed to imposing, by the use of terror, its repressive ideology throughout the world;

Whereas for the past two decades, terrorists have used violence in a futile attempt to intimidate the United States;

Whereas it is essential to the security of the American people and to world security that the United States, together with its allies, take the battle to the terrorists and to those who provide them assistance;

Whereas the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terrorists failed to stop free elections in Afghanistan and the first popularly-elected President in that nation's history has taken office;

Whereas the continued determination of Afghanistan, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be required to sustain a sovereign, free, and secure Afghanistan;

Whereas the steadfast resolve of the United States and its partners since September 11, 2001, helped persuade the government of Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction;

Whereas by early 2003 Saddam Hussein and his criminal, Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which had supported terrorists, constituted a threat against global peace and security and was in violation of mandatory United Nations Security Council Resolutions;

Whereas the mission of the United States and its Coalition partners, having removed Saddam Hussein and his regime from power, is to establish a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq at peace with its neighbors;

Whereas the terrorists have declared Iraq to be the central front in their war against all who oppose their ideology;

Whereas the Iraqi people, with the help of the United States and other Coalition partners, have formed a permanent, representative government under a newly ratified constitution;

Whereas the terrorists seek to destroy the new unity government because it threatens the terrorists' aspirations for Iraq and the broader Middle East;

Whereas United States Armed Forces, in coordination with Iraqi security forces and Coalition and other friendly forces, have scored impressive victories in Iraq including finding and killing the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi;

Whereas Iraqi security forces are, over time, taking over from United States and Coalition forces a growing proportion of independent operations and increasingly lead the fight to secure Iraq;

Whereas the United States and Coalition servicemembers and civilians and the members of the Iraqi security forces and those assisting them who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been wounded in Iraq have done so nobly, in the cause of freedom; and

Whereas the United States and its Coalition partners will continue to support Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) honors all those Americans who have taken an active part in the Global War on Terror, whether as first responders protecting the homeland, as servicemembers overseas, as diplomats and intelligence officers, or in other roles;

(2) honors the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces and of partners in the Coalition, and of the Iraqis and Afghans who fight alongside them, especially those who have fallen or been wounded in the struggle, and honors as well the sacrifices of their families and of others who risk their lives to help defend freedom;

(3) declares that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;

(4) declares that the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq;

(5) congratulates Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi people on the courage they have shown by participating, in increasing millions, in the elections of 2005 and on the formation of the first government under Iraq's new constitution;

(6) calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom; and

(7) declares that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the noble struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

Attest:

Clerk.

Do we really want to trust the nations security to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid? 

Some of what he writes is hysterical. Here's just part:

"If the MPAA is going to follow this path, let’s go the whole nine yards (as opposed to the whole hog, which would undoubtedly be offensive to Muslims, Jews and animal-rights activists), and institute the following new, improved movie ratings.

 

—RH-13: Revisionist History. Contains characters, dialogue and historical conclusions that bear no resemblance to what actually occurred. Sometimes designated OS-13, in honor of Oliver Stone.

 

—PP-13: Product Placement. Contains images of toys, cell phones, luxury automobiles or other brand-name consumables that may be inappropriate for easily suggestible children under the age of 60.

 

—CF-13: Conventional Family. Traditionally gendered husband and wife, with 2.4 kids. And a dog. View at your peril.

—VP-13: Vanity Project. May contain OTTA (Over-the-Top Acting), or depictions of MSwFD (Movie Star with a Fatal Disease.) Sometimes rated LD/DA/FaC: Last-ditch desperate attempt for comeback by a fading movie star who’s cut his/her fee to appear in a low-budget film. Occasionally rated VI, for Very Important; somewhat less frequently rated OC-17, for Oscar Contender.

 

—-IAAF-13: It’s All America’s Fault. Any post-9/11 film with political overtones, wherein we learn that the real threat isn’t Al Qaeda, but a middle-aged white guy working for a sinister corporation (or the C.I.A.) and somehow involves Big Oil."

 

A theme isn't what you see when you first view it fresh from the developer's editor. It is what it becomes after you customize it by changing colors, backgrounds, add information, and images. Only then does it become yours, and makes your blog unique. That is what I tried to accomplish here at the PCB.

I'll begin at the header. I am using the flashfader plugin to rotate the images you see. I used it as a substitute for the header image you see on the Gazette Theme Site . You can get it at B Sides , along with the instructions for setting it up.

Everything you see in the left two columns are built-in WordPress items such as the links, calendar, and internal navigation like categories, archives, meta data, and rss links.

In the center column where the actual writing goes, I am using Content Extract from Web Space Works . For the longest time, I felt that my content column was way too long, and I didn't want the contraints of using the built-in excerpt or using the more tag, so I stumbled on this plugin, and it worked perfectly for me. It is flexible, and can be adjusted to the length that you want your excerpt to be, even putting in your own message for your readers to see at the bottom of each post. I wanted to add that the guy at Web Space Works was very helpful when asked about a problem I was having.

In the rightbar inner-column, I am using Chait Gear's CG-Feedread plugin. It comes bundled with several other plugins that I know little about, and his website says it works with WP 1.5x, but as you can see it also works with WP 2.x. I am probably using it in a little bit of an unorthodox way. I have set mine up so that there are four different feeds, and have them listed in a different category for each.

In the rightbar outer-column, the only actual plugin I am using is the Weather Icon plugin. Here again the author only states that it works in WP 1.5x, but it is working in 2.x for me. Everything else in the outer right column is my Amazon ads, CounterSpy ads, and Tip Jar.

I will write again soon with more details of the other great plugins I use to help customize Gazette.

All the pages validate XHTML 1.0 transitional except the sitemap page. I have included it, but you will have to set it up according to the instructions here for creating a page template. Use the sitemap or don't use it, that is your choice.

Please keep in mind that it is still in a beta stage. The style.css does not validate yet, but I will work on that. It is fully functional as you can see here in it's public release form.

You can see the new style, and download the beta release at Gazette's New Site .

I have been learning some php, css, while adding that to my limited knowledge of html to create a new WordPress theme. It is a one of a kind. The only five column in existence that I am aware of, plus it is the only one that has my coding errors. It has been a wonderful experience creating my own theme, and some of you should try it.

I should give you some of the details of how a non-programmer manged to pull this off. I started out by using the excellent tutorial offered by Urban Giraffe,in which he pulls apart all of the files and elements in Dissection of a WordPress Theme, Part I which takes you step by step through the process of understanding how WordPress works, allowing you to create your own style sheet from scratch and editing the building blocks (the loop) of WordPress to create your own theme.

Then I downloaded and setup WAMP5 for windows, just to prove that anyone can do it. I am a Linux guy myself, but this started off as an experiment in cross-platform application developement. After setting up the WAMP Server, which is very easily accomplished, I  backed up my data from the live blog site here, and installed WordPress in order to have a local working copy as my test site. I downloaded at least a dozen three and four column WordPress Themes and set up all of them just to see how others had done it, and to see the look each one offered. At first I thought I would just adapt one of them and customize it for myself, but the further I delved into the workings, I wanted something I could call my own.

So Gazette was born.

I tried Matthew Levine's excellent tutorial In Search of the Holy Grail on A List Apart, but it didn't work out for me because I could never get the sidebar on the left to keep from disappearing and reappearing in Internet Explorer. I also employed Dean Edwards IE7 javascript to make Internet Explorer render the transparent png overlay files properly.

I will be in touch with the WordPress people in a few days to see how the process works to publish the theme for others to use. I intend to make it open-source with a GNU License shortly.

I will set up a separate blog as a subdomain from Computers & Things' website and open comments there and make it available for download after it is finalized for the public.

Those interested in it as is, may contact me using the contact page on your left, and I can send you a copy.

I will go into greater detail about the layout I settled on and the plugins I use on the new space.

I hope you enjoy the new look as much as I enjoyed building it. 

Pastor Sprague has sent another update about the ongoing minstry of Trinity Church in the North Shore and New Orleans and hurricane relief.

Crack Pots for Jesus

What a difference eight months makes! Back in August, I was gearing up to re-launch our new ministry year with a full staff and a new building right on the horizon. The Elders had just unanimously approved my 70-page strategic plan. We were ready to roll. Oh, how the Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - must have had fun with my plan of operating from strength. What a good chuckle they had over "Michael's plan". They decided they could do better! Exceedingly better! Included in the revised plan was their desire to teach me, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7).

Oh, how I needed to learn that God often uses cracked pots rather than fine china. I can now relate well to Judges 7. Remember the time Israel was invaded and oppressed by the Midianites at Harvest time? Year after year rolled along until Gideon raised an army of 32,000. That's a lot of men until you realize the Midian army was as thick as locusts and their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore (7:12). The enemy army was at 135,000. Gideon's inexperienced troops were outnumbered 4 to 1. God said, "Gideon, you have a numbers problem." Gideon was glad God saw this too. However, God said, "You have too many troops. Have a troop reduction." Wow! A special waiver was offered to opt out of battle and 22,000 men opted out. Now Gideon's army was at 10,000, and he was outnumbered 13 to 1. God again said, "Gideon, you have a numbers problem." I'm sure Gideon was thinking, "God, I don't know if I want your help anymore." Sure enough, there was another troop reduction from 10,000 to 300. Now they were outnumbered 450 to 1. If you read the text carefully, it appears that the "geeky" guys were left and not the "Navy seals" types. The only guys left were the ones who lapped water like a dog.

Isn't this God? Often when He does something big, He stacks the odds against Himself so the credit will go to Him alone. Gideon and his 300 were stripped of everything and needed to learn to depend totally on God or perish. They were learning a God-confidence based upon His sufficiency rather than self-confidence.

God's promise, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into our hands. Arise" (7:14-15a). Their God-confidence oozed. The 300 were divided into three companies of 100. Weapons were issued - trumpets (rams horn), a clay pot, and a torch to hide in the pot. In the darkness of the night, they circled the Midianite camp. Suddenly, 300 clay pots smashed, 300 torches pierced the night, 300 rams horns blared, and 300 voices shouted, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." Panic seized the Midianites as they stumbled out of bed. Confusion reigned and many were trampled. All fled! The truth: The power is not the clay pot, but in the One who resides in the jar! In the midst of the brokenness of the cracked pot, the light of God shines brightest.

I'm learning that God often uses weak, broken pottery and seldom uses fine china. Rather than operating from my plan of strength, God wanted me to learn His sufficiency in the midst of weakness. He stripped away my props quickly:

Empty nest
Evacuation
House damage/trees down
House unlivable
Church scattered
No offerings
Hurting people
30% of church gone
Elder Board changes
4 staff positions short
Parent's move
Postpone fall furnishings campaign
New building pledge system collapse
Building program

God took away the props and stripped away some encumbrances, man-made securities, self-reliance and self-effort. He took me through the refiners fire and pruned the dead wood because He insists our spiritual life and strength come not from our sufficiency but His.

I am not who I used to be. I'm lighter and realize I am alive in the cause of Christ. Jesus always makes a way that includes streams in the wilderness, beauty out of ashes, life out of death, and joy after sorrow. "For me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21a). How beautiful was Sunday morning as worship tables displayed cracked pots and candles lit. Each one who attended was equipped with a flashlight. At one point we turned off the lights and I asked Trinity folks a series of questions:

1. If you've experienced "desert times" and seen God faithful, turn your light on
2. If you've had job loss or job troubles, yet today you are working, turn your light on.
3. If burdens were crushing you this year, and you couldn't carry them on your own, yet He carried you and you are still in the game of life, turn your light on.
4. If you have become a Christian this year, or rededicated your life to Him, turn your light on.
5. If you've had a major financial blessing, turn your light on.
6. If you are weak, but know He is strong, turn your light on.
7. If God has used you over the last eight months, turn your light on.
8. If you identify with cracked pots imagery, yet know the power is not the pot, but the one in the pot, turn your light on.

You should have seen the hundreds of little lights that were shining in darkness Sunday illustrating the sufficiency of Jesus. Hallelujah! Amen.

PRAISE & PRAYER:

1. Praise: One man said, "I wondered why I was coming (to church), now I don't want to leave."
2. Teams still pour in weekly, though two weeks ago the Compassion staff had their first "down" week since Katrina hit. They deserved the rest. Pray for Mark, Jenn and all of the team.
3. Pray for the wonderful teams

A man who was committed to coming injured his hand, and was not even able to open a Bible, told a team member he thought he broke his hand and his New Orleans visit was questionable. The entire team found out and asked the church to pray. That night, while getting up in the middle of the night, he tripped on the bone of his 125-lb. dog and fell down onto his hand and heard a big pop. He moved his hand and found it was all better. Canine Chiropractics or Divine Provision? The man served in New Orleans all week.

A lawyer, back for the second time, commented how he finds life so different in the midst of disaster response. People operate out of being at the same level as servants rather than a hierarchy. He finds that to be a display of what heaven will be like

4. Pray for a million details in finishing our new Family Discipleship Center in preparation for our four weeks of Grand Opening during the month of May. There is a still lot to do, and the construction company is not finished yet.

Betting the Farm on God,

Pastor Michael Sprague (05/15/06 12:17 PM CDT)

Just about a month to go before Grace Team 5 consisting of our Student Ministries High Schoolers will be on-site at Trinity serving in the ministry of hurricane relief. Please pray for these students and their sponsors as they continue raising funds for the trip and as they prepare their hearts and bodies for the hard work ahead. 

Please consider a contribution to the combined efforts of this blog and Grace Community Chapel of St. Peters, MO, in raising money and volunteers for ministry teams to be sent to Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Covington, LA, to be distributed locally to the Lake Pontchartrain North Shore and New Orleans area. You will find detailed donation information by clicking here.

In other words, they don't have one! So why would you vote for them in November?

(HT to Pat Cleary at Redstate .)

(Cartoon by Glenn McCoy at Slate .)