Everything Changes

The fact is, most people believe what they are told. It doesn't have to be true, it doesn't have to make sense, people will simply believe it because "it was on the news" or because "my cousin told me - he read it in the paper!"

I received an email from a well known Christian artist today. This person is a gem (in my opinion) and understands the heart of God. Unfortunately the email forwarded falsely represented a Christian organization. And it falsely represented one of the presidential candidates. You may have received this email since it's been circulating for the past few months. The email is lengthy so I won't include it all here, but the introduction says:

Obama, by Bill Brown on the Billy Graham team...

These are things we all need to know before it is too late. Make your vote count by being an informed American. Vote your choice, but vote carefully. This is well worth reading and thinking about.

It is always interesting to me to read the viewpoint of someone like Bill Brown. Bill Brown, is a highly respected retired member of the Billy Graham team. So, I take his assessment of Obama very seriously and for that reason accept his challenge to pass this on. I share his concern about the "rock star" image Obama has and watch with growing concern at the celebrity status the media has foisted upon him.

The rest of the email goes on to belittle what Obama has and hasn't done and how evil he is. Hear me. I am not taking a stand for Obama. I'm taking a stand for truth. I'm encouraging you to become informed.

I decided to research the email only to discover that it did not originate from anyone connected with Billy Graham. Go figure! Not to mention that the email repeatedly misrepresents Obama, stating things like, "He voted against banning partial birth abortions" when in fact Obama voted against a bill in 1997 which would have turned doctors into felons by banning so-called partial-birth abortion. (Not to mention that the same legislation defined a fetus as a person, & could have criminalized virtually all abortion.)

The election is less than a week away. People should inform themselves and stop listening to everything they hear in the media and on the net. And that includes my blog. Don't believe what I'm saying, research it - check it out - get informed.

Get the truth.

But this post in not about politics. This is about people believing facts that are false. Get the truth about life, death, prescription medication, health care, schools, theology - stop believing (ver⋅ba⋅tim) everything the doctor, teacher, politician, theologian, author and ESPECIALLY email forwards are saying!

The information you are receiving may not be the truth.

This may take some work on your part, and will certainly take time. Learn how to accurately handle truth. Prepare yourself to give truthful answers and to state the facts - do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience. And please, if nothing else, stop passing along information that you haven't researched or that you don't know to be truth.

That, unfortunately, is careless, misguiding and terribly annoying.

Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

[ Psalm 25:4-5 ]

Dutch court rules virtual theft is real

In a precedent-setting trial, a court in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden has ruled that stealing virtual items is theft and sentenced two teenage boys to community service.

In September 2007, two teens, both aged 14 at the time, forced a 13-year-old classmate to hand over two items he had acquired playing Runescape, an internet game extremely popular with 10 to 15-year-old boys.

The culprits, who cannot be named due to their age, kicked, hit and threatened their classmate with a knife before the 13-year-old gave in and transferred the Runescape items, an amulet and a mask, to his attackers' online accounts.

Cyber goods
The public prosecutor argued, in what has become known as the 'Runescape' case, that virtual items used in the game should be considered as real and tangible goods as they have real, tangible value for the owner. The prosecutor noted that winning, collecting and trading Runescape objects play an important role in the virtual world and can also be sold for money in the real world.

According to the public prosecutor, if these items are valuable to their owner and he has been forced to hand them over to somebody else, it should be considered theft. The lawyer representing the culprits argued that legally, the items do not exist and therefore cannot be considered to have been stolen.

Material object
The court dismissed the defence lawyer's argument and cited an earlier ruling that electricity can be considered a material object for the purposes of criminal law and stealing electricity is theft. The court ruled that the same principle can be applied in this case and stealing virtual Runescape items is theft as the owner was forced to hand over his possessions.

MANITOBA HERALD

UPI - Canada / September 30, 2008

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.

"I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota .

"The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.

"A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for "The Rapture."

In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.

"I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "Just how many art-history and English majors does one country need?"