In the Florida Republican Primary today, Mitt Romney trounced the other three contenders.  He also is expected to win the next few states.  I am guessing that he is going to win the Republican primary, but it isn’t possible yet to know for certain.

Personally, Romney is too “flip-floppy” and moderate for me, as I am extremely conservative.  I probably will be voting for Rick Santorum.

In the general election in November 2012, though, I will vote for whatever Republican candidate is running against Barack Obama—assuming things haven’t fallen apart to the point that the election is postponed or canceled.  Anything is possible.  I think I’d vote for anyone over Obama, maybe even my friend’s lizard.

Tonight, I saw one of the best movies I’ve ever seen: Courageous.  That is saying something, since it takes a great deal for me to be impressed by a movie.  It seems that the majority of producers feel a need to fill their movies with sex, cursing, and other filth in an attempt to draw large audiences.

On the contrary, this movie, with a powerful Christian theme, had none of that, which is one reason I liked it.  Another reason was that the story was very compelling.  I felt that the plot was realistic and the acting was convincing.  It also was action-packed and did include some violence, which is why it is rated PG-13.

The movie was both heart-rending and hilarious.  It definitely stirred my emotions.  I recommend that all Christian dads and moms see this movie.  You can read a synopsis of the movie here: Honor Begins at Home.  In case the movie trailer there does not work, try viewing it here: COURAGEOUS Movie Trailer.

You can read some reviews of Courageous here: Courageous Movie Reviews.  I also read reviews from some non-Christian movie critics; most of them seemed to hate the movie.  Some felt that it had a “dogmatic agenda,” which is to expected from those who do not understand that there is a God who is in control of everything and expects obedience from us all.  I hope that many others will find this movie as enjoyable and meaningful as I did.

We all should strive to imitate Yeshua in every possible way.  In doing so, it is a good idea to keep in mind that not even one tiny detail of the Father’s eternal Law, which Yeshua followed and obeyed, will pass away until this present heaven and earth pass away (Revelation 20:11, 21:1).

The winner of the South Carolina Republican Primary today was Newt Gingrich.  I suspect that a big part of that was due to Sarah Palin’s statement that she would vote for him if she lived in South Carolina, and many Republicans respect her opinion.

Yet, Palin added that she was not endorsing him to be the Republican candidate in the general election (even though her husband, Todd, has done so).  She felt that if Gingrich won in SC, it would continue the dialogue among the candidates for awhile longer, which she felt was a good thing.  I do too.

So now there are three winners in the first three states: Rick Santorum in Iowa on Jan. 3, Mitt Romney in New Hampshire on Jan. 10, and Newt Gingrich in South Carolina today.  Rick Perry got a couple thousand votes, even though he dropped out of the race a few days ago.

The most righteous king who ever ruled over Judah humbled himself and reformed the official policies of the nation to conform to the Book of the Law of the Lord, given through Moses; yet God would not recind His inexorable judgment on the nation.  This was because the king could not change the minds and hearts of the people.  Collectively, they might have been able to change God’s mind by humbling themselves before Him, seeking His face, and turning from their evil ways (2 Chronicles 7:14); but they would not.

I feel that not only the USA but all the nations on earth are in the same boat.  Most of humanity has rejected the one true King and Creator of the universe: YHWH ().  The people of the world have gone their own stubborn ways, and there will be an exceedingly high price to pay for this.  A “flushed toilet” cannot be “unflushed.”  Thus, I regret to say, I do not think that any nation of the world, including America, will be exempt from either of the following dreadful judgments to come: the Great Tribulation and the Day of Vengeance.

Websites like Google.com and Wikipedia.com registered their protests today against two bills in the U.S. Congress.  The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is in the House, and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) is in the Senate.

Google blacked out its name on its main search engine page.  On most of Wikipedia’s pages, there was a message that read, “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.”  Both sites were encouraging visitors to contact their representatives in the Senate and in the House to request that they not support these bills.

If you want to read these lengthy, confusing bills, you can do so here: PIPA | SOPA.  I skimmed through them and got a very negative feeling about them.  They are inexact and too broad in their scope of control.  If you want to read Google’s and Wikipedia’s pages about these bills, go here (these pages may change over time): Google | Wikipedia.

Personally, I do not like the amount of power that these bills, if passed into law, would give the government over internet sites.  Furthermore, there are too many ways that things could be twisted and the innocent could be falsely charged and/or sued.

I have a personal stake in this.  A few months ago, I was falsely accused of copying someone else’s information and including it on pages at my eye site.  I knew that I had written my own material on the pages in question.  By using the “Wayback Machine,” I was able to prove that the website accusing me of copying their information, in reality, had copied mine, since my information pre-dated theirs by several years.

I did not like, at all, that I was being wrongly charged with something of which the accuser was guilty.  Furthermore, everything at my website is free; and I do not mind if other people use my information, as long as they give me credit or a link to my website in return.  In my opinion, if PIPA and SOPA pass, there will be many prosecuting attorneys making billions of dollars and many innocent people paying settlements when they are not guilty.  That is not the way things should be.

He is like a walking billboard for Jesus Christ.  And, like Jesus, Tim helps those who cannot help themselves, such as in raising money to build a children’s hospital in the Philippines, where he was born.  I wonder if all the 316s indicate that God is demonstrating His approval. 

The clear winner of the New Hampshire Republican Primary today was Mitt Romney, followed by Ron Paul and John Huntsman.  Rick Santorum, who tied Romney in the Iowa Caucus last week, came in fourth.

Romney’s win in New Hampshire was no surprise, since he is an ex-governor of the neighboring state Massachusetts.  In his speech tonight, Romney said that the president (Obama) “has run out of ideas; now he’s running out of excuses.”  I agree.

Incidentally, “Mitt” is Romney’s middle name.  His whole name is Willard Mitt Romney.

In the Iowa Republican Caucus today, the two top winners—Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum—were essentially tied.  With 99% of the vote being tonight, Santorum was ahead by 4 votes.  After all the votes were in, Romney had won by 8 votes.  That is about as close as you can get.

Jan. 19 update: It has been determined that Rick Santorum won the Iowa Caucus by 34 votes over Mitt Romney.

The Republican National Convention will be in Tampa, FL, during the week of August 27, 2012.  It is not known yet exactly how many delegates each candidate will get from Iowa.  This will not be known for certain until Iowa assigns its delegates to various candidates in June.  Assuming that some of the present candidates will drop out of the race, their delegates will have to be pledged to the candidates who are remaining.

I like Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, and I liked his speech tonight when he still was slightly ahead.  I particularly agree with his conservative pro-life and pro-Israel positions.  I do feel that he could make a very good president.  Of course, Romney is expected to win the New Hampshire Republican primary on January 10, and I do not think that Santorum has a high probability of winning the Republican nomination; but you never know.

Michele Bachman, who ended up in last place in the Iowa caucus, has suspended her campaign.  I also like her conservative views very much, and I liked her exit speech tonight as well.  She has said that she will “keep fighting” for conservative principles, and I hope that she will continue to do so vociferously as a U.S. Congresswoman from Minnesota.

Jan. 2, 2012

I like free stuff; I always have.  I feel that some of the best things in life are free, and at the top of the list is eternal salvation through Jesus the Messiah, who already has paid the price of atonement for us.

There are other free things that appeal to me, since I am on a tight budget, and one is food.  Rarely do I ever eat at fast-food places.  However, somehow I obtained a coupon for a free breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s, and I figured I better use it before I misplace it, even though it does not expire until the last day of 2012.

Also, a friend and I have a standing joke between us where if one of us gets something for free, the other one is “envious” of it.  We just do it to get a few laughs—both knowing, of course, that real envy or covetousness is a violation of the Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21).  So when he reads this, he will be “envious” of my free meal. 

       

Last week, a different friend and I were in another city and stopped at a McDonald’s to use their free WiFi (wireless internet connection).  He bought me a cup of coffee.  I saved that cup; today, I poured my own coffee into it at home and brought it with me.  So I didn’t need to buy coffee with my breakfast. 

I am enjoying my free “Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle” sandwich, sort of free coffee, and free WiFi here at McDonalds.  Plus, I saw a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.  She and I talked briefly and wished each other a happy new year.  That was free, too.

Jan. 1, 2012

Happy New Year.  Below are links to my annual calendar and list of 2012 holidays and observances that many like to download and tape to a wall nearby.  That is what I do.  Both are in .doc and .pdf format.

Click on each image below and print out the two pages (.doc files) on either side of one piece of paper.  Just change my name, at the top of the calendar page, to your name before you print it.  (Notice that there is a “blue moon”—defined, most commonly, as the second full moon in a given month—on August 31.)

 

Or else you could print out these (.pdf files), without my name on the calendar, and write in your name.

 

If you’ve never read the Bible straight through, from cover to cover, you might want to do it in 2012.  I did it last year.  Go here, print out the page, and check off the passages as you read them:

Chronological List of Bible Passages

The Bible is God’s Law and Instruction Manual for life.  Don’t worry if you are unable to understand everything you read; eventually, God will give us answers to everything we wonder about.  One of the main things you will come to understand is God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—see God’s Covenant: with Israel or the Church?

So in case you’ve never read the Bible all the way through, do it!  If you’ve done it before, do it again; you never can get too much of God’s written Word!  You can read one of a number of Bible versions at BibleGateway.com.  If you read it for an average of 15 minutes a night before bed, you will sleep better for a whole year.