Part 8 Kitty Hawk - The Outer banks

1931 Bridge

Kitty Hawk 1950's

Wright memorial Bridge
Above is Kill Devils Hill, below is the Wright Brothers memorial
North of Nags Head is Jockey's Ridge SP, Kill Devils Hill; site of the first airplane flight, Kitty Hawk and other places of interest. Near Kitty Hawk is the Wright Memorial bridge. This crosses the Currituck Sound via U.S. Hwy 158. First bridged across in 1931, this was one of the earliest access via a bridge to the Outer banks. Vacationers from Virginia and northward were the first to have easy access to the beaches.

Part 7 Nags Head - The Outer Banks

Like no other place, the Outer Banks.

I can see clearly now

Have you notice that every time the Arabs want to show how much land the Palestinians lost due to the UN resolution setting up the state of Israel they always start out in 1946 with a green map. To correctly understand the problem, you should go back to 946 BC, not 1946. Even earlier, God promise this land to Abraham. See now there is no loss of Palestinian land. It was never theirs. God gave Israel this land plus much more, including all of Jordan, Lebanon and most of Syria. A large part of Iraq, Saudi Arabia and some of Egypt.

Part 6 The Outer Banks, almost there

Now from Roanoke Island there's one more bridge to cross to get to the Outer Banks, come rain or shine. This is the Washington Baum Bridge. As you can see, eastern N.C. is a beach, boating and fisherman paradise. I've only scratch the surface of the many rivers, creeks, lakes, inlets and sounds you can cross. A true water world. Next time, the Outer Banks.

Part 5 Manns Harbor and the Croatan Sound

Roanoke Island and beyond is Nags Head

William B Umstead bridge to Roanoke Island

Standing at entrance of the Umstead bridge and behind me is the new Virginia Dare bridge

The Virginia Dare Bridge. Longest in the state.

Once you got off the Alligator River ferry you made a mad dash to Manns Harbor to catch the second ferry to Roanoke Island and the town of Manteo. Then in 1957 they built the 2.8 mile long William B Umstead bridge. This bridge along with the Alligator River bridge in 1960 ended the ferry system on U.S. 64 to reach Manteo and Nags Head. Due to heavy traffic and congestion in downtown Manteo, in 2002 a new 4 lane bridge was open that bypass downtown Manteo. This is the 5.2 mile long Virginia Dare bridge.

Open season on Christianity

Federal court says Christian-themed license plates unconstitutional
By Bob Allen
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) -- A federal judge ruled Nov. 10 that a South Carolina license plate featuring cross, a stained-glass window and the words "I Believe" violate the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said a 2008 law that sailed through the state Legislature creating the Christian-themed plates "amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular."

A federal judge ruled that a Christian-themed license plate in South Carolina "amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular."

A 57-page ruling by the same judge who previously issued a temporary injunction halting the plate's production last December said the case "presents a textbook example of the need for and continued vitality of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment."

Americans United for Separation of Church in State filed a lawsuit challenging the plates on behalf of three South Carolina pastors, a rabbi and the Hindu American Foundation.

Barry Lynn, AU's executive director, praised the decision. "Government must never be allowed to express favored treatment for one faith over others," Lynn said. That's unconstitutional and un-American."

Supporters of the license plate, initiated by Lt. Gov. André Bauer (R) after a similar effort failed in Florida, said it was an accommodation to Christians, no different than 200 other specialty plates sponsored by organizations like colleges, sororities, the Boy Scouts and even a secular humanist organization.

The judge, however, said unlike the other specialty plates -- where a sponsoring organization pays $4,000 start-up cost to create a plate and finds at least 400 people to buy one -- the "I Believe" tag was a result of a legislative process, and did not go through the normal process in place for approving specialty plates through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

She said the law establishing the tag, which stipulates that it "must" carry the pro-Christian message, "gives the impression that Christianity, as the majority religion, is also the preferred religion and its adherents favored citizens."

A crowd reported as more than 400 people rallied in January at People's Baptist Church in Greer, S.C., in support of the "I Believe" license tag. Speakers included the lieutenant governor who first introduced the legislation allowing the plate.

"There is free speech for every group in this state besides Christians," Bauer said, according to a report in the South Carolina Baptist Courier. "Every citizen has the right to free speech in this country. I don't understand why witnessing in public is considered unconstitutional. You don't even have to be a Christian to believe everyone deserves the freedom of speech."

Ancestors or homeless people

Archaeologist always jump for joy when they find some bones in a cave. Next thing you know they discovered it was one of our ancestors. Thru their "holy grail" carbon dating, they find out that this cavemen is 2.5 million years old, give or take a million. With just a few bones they create a complete skeleton. And now they decide that all of our ancestors were cavemen.

There are cavemen today, and there will always be cavemen. We now call them homeless persons. There’s always somebody who has no interest in living in a suburban home, driving a car, owning a television set, having a family. They deliberately choose to live that way.

What if the people we call cavemen—the ones famous for making cave drawings, the ones purported to be our knuckle-dragging, club-toting ancestors—were actually just a very few solitary hermits who lived in caves because they couldn't stomach punching a clock in the civilized society of the day?
What if we believe that all early humans were illiterate neo-gorilla troglodytes scratching out a meager existence because practically all other evidence of advanced, multimillion-year-old civilization is completely buried under billions of tons of sedimentary rock? Plus how could the bones survive if they are as old as they say. It's been reported that carbon 14 dating has a limited range of accurate dating. If they were correct, then ancient bones should be everywhere because there were a lot of people back then and many cities. Remember the tower of babel? I think it is a stretch of your imagination to make a complete profile of our civilization with just a few scattered animal bones. Our ancestors were not intelligent monkeys but intelligent humans capable of great things. Remember, we were created in the image of God.

Part 4 Alligator River

Heading for the Outer Banks on U.S.64 you come to the Alligator River. This was the location of the first of two ferries you had to take to get to Nags Head. Today a replica of the Hatteras Lighthouse is located where you use to catch the ferry. In 1960 they built the Lindsay C. Warren bridge across the 2.8 mile wide river. This was the beginning of the end to what use to be an adventure to get to the Outer Banks. Instead of the Outer Banks being a pristine wilderness, massive development began.

Marriage will always be between man and woman

Marriage–God Must Be Involved
July 30, 2009 by Don Adair

The union of a man and a woman as husband and wife is the foundation for the home and family. Marriage was instituted by God when he declared in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to himself.” In Genesis 2:24 God said, “A man shall leave his father and mother and they shall become one flesh.” This suggests that God’s plan is for man to be the husband of one wife, and for the marriage to be permanent.
To further illustrate this point, in the New Testament, Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, He quoted two passages from Genesis. “Have you not read that he who made them in the beginning made them male and female and said for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together let man not separate” (Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6).

In the United States today 1 in 3 marriages results in a divorce. This was not God’s plan, and those couples that get a divorce can suffer the rest of their physical and spiritual lives. The unfortunate thing is if the marriage produces children, they suffer the most.

Marriage is a holy union founded by God and is not to be dissolved at the will of man. The gospels record four statements by Jesus concerning divorce. In Matthew 5:32, we read, “Whosoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” also we read in Matthew 19:9, “Whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her commits adultery.” It is extremely clear from these two verses that the only way a divorced person can remarry is if their mate committed adultery. The sad thing in our country is that our divorce laws grant divorces for almost any reason.

I implore our young people contemplating marriage to realize it is for life. Next to obeying the Gospel, it is the most important decision you will make in your life. What is the recipe for a successful marriage? There are many components to this very complex question. When a man and a woman marry, each has to give up a fair amount of freedom and independence. This process necessarily requires a great deal of self-emptying and compromise. They need to realize compromise is a very important component of marriage.

I believe a successful marriage requires that the husband and the wife be Christians. I realize that on occasion a Christian can marry a non-Christian and have a happy marriage, but this situation is very difficult on the Christian as well as their children. This concept is well illustrated in the Old Testament where God’s children married outside their faith and in a short time turned to idol worship.

I suggest that all married couples, young and old, read and meditate on the following: “…and if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). The married couple should realize the “third cord” needs to be God. Where else could they go to find comfort when they are being overpowered by debilitating illness, financial difficulties, family problems, or the weight of the world on them? With God intertwined in their life as the “third cord” they can overcome all difficulties and have a successful marriage.

In closing, all married couples need to ask themselves this very important question, Can my marriage possibly find true fulfillment without the extra binding of God as our third cord?

-by Don Adair

Sissel Northern Lights

NORTHERN LIGHTS: AN EVENING WITH SISSEL AND FRIENDS

This program was filmed from two live performances that took place in
the landmark Roros church in Roros, Norway. At various points in the
program, we see scenes of the town, the mountains surrounding it, the
historic church and the local townspeople. At times, there are shots of
Sissel outside in the snow.
This is the third Sissel concert to air on public television. The first
was Sissel in Concert: All Good Things (March, 2003); Sissel: In
Paradise followed in March, 2005. Additionally, Christmas with the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Featuring Sissel, will air on December 19, 2007.

Sissel Kyrkjebo (pronounced SHEAR-shuh-buh) or (SHU-sha-ba) was born June 24, 1969 in
Bergen, Norway. At the age of 10 she had begun singing in several
talent competitions. When she was only 14 she performed in a childrens
television program, and appearances on other television programs
followed. A video of Sissel was broadcast to viewers all over Europe,
bringing her greater popularity and recognition.

In 1984, at the age of 15, she released her first album, self-titled Sissel. It
became the highest-selling album in Norway ever. In 1987, she released
a Christmas album. By 1988, Sissel was performing in Oslo, playing the
leading role as Maria von Trapp in the Norwegian version of The Sound
of Music. She later toured in Norway with the musical, and sang as
Ariel in the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish versions of Disneys The
Little Mermaid. She released another album, Soria Moria.

In 1992, she collaborated with Neil Sedaka and they toured throughout
Norway. That year, she appeared at the Olympic Games in Albertville.
Soon after, Sissel married Danish entertainer Eddie Skoller. (Sissel
was so popular by then that the wedding received a lot of attention
from the Norwegian and Danish press.) In 1994 Sissel sang the official
Olympic song Fire In Your Heart in Lillehammer. That same year,
Placido Domingo invited her to perform at the annual Christmas concert
in Vienna with Charles Aznavour and himself. The televised concert was
broadcast all throughout Europe. In 1995, she sang for Prince Charles
in A Royal Gala.

In 1997, Sissel was a featured soloist for the U.S. recording of the musical score for Titanic. By the end of 1998, Titanic has premiered throughout the world. Composer James Horner wanted Sissel to sing the title song 'My heart will go on' but was over ruled. In the U.S., where
Sissel was almost unknown before the movie, the Wall Street Journal,
USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and other influential newspapers had
taken notice of Sissel, suddenly bringing interviews and articles about
the Norwegian songbird.

By 2000, Sissel was the mother of two young girls, but her career continued to advance. She recorded All Good Things, represented Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize concert, and
sang on a new album for the Danish rock band, Sort Sol. By 2002, Sissel
recorded two duets with tenor Placido Domingo, and she performed to sold-out concerts in Denmark. Sissel performed with both Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras on television.
She sang at the royal wedding of Norways Princess Martha Louise and
Ari Behn, which was broadcast live on television. During the fall of
2002, she released Sissel in the U.S., her solo debut in the U.S. In
2004, Sissel toured with The Lord of the Rings Symphony tour. That
year, she released her second album, My Heart, in the U.S. and did a
limited tour of fourteen U.S. cities.
Sissel has sold some five million copies of her solo albums, which have been certified gold and platinum in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. In February 2007 Sissel received the
Norwegian Grammy Award of Great Honor (the youngest Norwegian performer
ever to receive the award).
Roros, Norway
The 17th century village of Roros is located in northern Norway has
garnered the title of an UNESCO World Heritage site. Beginning in the
mid-17th century, the town was home to a large copper mine that grew at
a rapid pace. Mining experts from Denmark and Germany poured into the
town. Throughout the mines 333 years of history (it closed in 1986),
Roros Copperworks played a major economic role in the Danish/Norwegian
kingdom. This town, known for its craftsmen, courtyards and workshops,
boasts a rare collection of large and well-preserved wooden buildings
still in use today.
Roros Church
This white stone church, built in 1784, is the fourth largest in
Norway, seating 1,600 people. Its been designated by the Directorate
of Cultural Heritage as among the ten most important churches in the
country.

Part 3 The Albemarle Sound

Ferries were a common method of transportation through the swamps surrounding the Albemarle Sound throughout the history of the region. One ferry that linked the towns of Edenton and Mackeys, North Carolina, continued in service from 1734 to 1938. A railroad bridge was built across the sound in 1910. Then in 1938 a 3.5 mile long bridge was built across the Sound next to the railroad trestle. This was the first major road bridge in eastern N.C. and a vital link to the Outer Banks. Finally, the 1938 bridge was replaced by a new bridge in 1990. The old highway bridge and railroad trestle were demolished.

All violent crimes are hate crimes

A dark day for American Christianity
By: Bill Muehlenberg
Christian Today Australia Columnist
Monday, 2 November 2009, 6:33 (EST)

Barrack Obama knew that in order to win the US Presidential election, he had to win over a large voting bloc: evangelical born-again Christians. So he put on a good act, tried to talk the talk, and managed to convince many gullible believers that he was one of them.

Of course now that he is firmly ensconced in the White House, he can leave all pretence behind, and pursue his real agenda – an agenda which is quite far removed from biblical Christianity. Each week he seems to implement more policies and practices which are diametrically opposed to the Christian worldview.

Many of these have to do with his radical pro-abortion position, and his relentless attempts to placate and promote homosexual activism. His most recent slap in the face of Christianity was his signing into law of the notorious “hate crimes” bill.

Yesterday he enacted the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The worrying hate crimes law was actually just one segment of a larger bill, so he in effect had to sneak it through, albeit sadly with the support of many federal politicians.

Many voices had been raised expressing disquiet over such a bill over the past months, and now that it is law, they continue to share their concerns about such a bad bit of legislation. Here is a sampling of their commentary.

Chelsea Schilling explains what has transpired: “The Senate approved the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a vote of 68-29 on Oct. 22 after Democrats strategically attached it to a ‘must-pass’ $680 billion defense appropriations plan. Most Republicans, although normally strong supporters of the U.S. military, opposed the bill because it hands out federal money to states and local governments in pursuit of ‘preventing’ hate crimes. The bill creates federal protections and privileges for homosexuals and other alternative lifestyles but denies those protections to other groups of citizens.”

Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund points out the foolishness and danger of “hate crimes” legislation: “These types of crimes are already punishable under existing federal, state, and local laws. Violent crimes should be punished regardless of the characteristics of the victim. Bills of this sort are designed to forward a political agenda and silence critics, not combat actual crime. The bottom line is that we do not need a law that creates second-class victims in America and that gives the government the opportunity to ignore the First Amendment.”

He continues, “All violent crimes are hate crimes, and all crime victims deserve equal justice. This law is a grave threat to the First Amendment because it provides special penalties based on what people think, feel, or believe. ADF has clearly seen the evidence of where ‘hate crimes’ legislation leads when it has been tried around the world: It paves the way for the criminalization of speech that is not deemed ‘politically correct’. ‘Hate crimes’ laws fly in the face of the underlying purpose of the First Amendment, which was designed specifically to protect unpopular speech.”

Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association said that the new law “creates a kind of caste system in law enforcement, where the perverse thing is that people who engage in non-normative sexual behavior will have more legal protection than heterosexuals. This kind of inequality before the law is simply un-American.”

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, said this: “It is fundamentally unjust for the government to treat some crime victims more favorably than others, just because they are homosexual or transsexual. This bill is an unnecessary federal intrusion into state law enforcement authority, and it is an unwise step toward silencing religious and moral viewpoints.”

Dr. Gary L. Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission offered these strong words: “In other nations, like Canada, where hate crime laws have been enacted, it is Christians, specifically conservative Christians who hold to the historic Christian faith and it’s values, that become the object of institutionalized, governmental hate. Christians who dare to tell the truth about the social, moral, spiritual and health consequences of illicit homosexual acts are accused of hate speech and intimidated into silence with threats of fines or jail.

“The fact the hate bill had to be passed in such an unscrupulous and cynical manner (attaching it to the Defense Authorization Act) reveals the depth of President Obama’s commitment to a radical, anti- Christian agenda. He will stop at nothing to undermine the will of the majority of Americans to pay back militant homosexual activists who raised millions of dollars for his campaign and worked to get him elected. To sign the bill in the Rose Garden is another slap in the face and shows the level of contempt President Obama has for the majority of Americans who oppose the ‘homosexualization’ of marriage and public education.”

And as Peter J. Smith notes, “The bill has also been labeled the ‘pedophile protection act,’ in large part due to the refusal of House members to approve an amendment specifying that the bill would not penalize the free speech of those objecting to homosexual perversions such as pedophilia. The term ‘sexual orientation’ is not defined in the bill, an oversight that some legislators charged could lead to an overly broad interpretation – since the term is used by psychologists to encompass a variety of sexual deviancies (including pedophilia), and not just homosexuality.”

The US now joins nations like Canada and England with these fundamentally flawed and unjust hate crimes laws. We already know the grief Christians in particular have been put through in these other nations because of such wretched laws. Now believers in the US will have their turn.

And of course there are activists here in Australia working on the very same thing. The only sure way these laws will come to pass here is if no resistance is offered. Are we willing to stand up and be counted, or will we simply cave in yet again, and allow more Christian freedoms to be stripped away? The choice is ours.

Part 2 Gateway to the Outer Banks

Columbia N. C. is on U.S. 64 in Tyrrell County. U. S. 64 is central North Carolina's main highway to the Outer banks. The population was 819 at the 2000 census.
The Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula is located in northeastern North Carolina, inshore of Nags Head and the Outer Banks in the Inner Banks region. The peninsula is framed by Albemarle Sound to the north, Croatan Sound to the east, and the Pamlico Sound/River to the south. In addition to the Scuppernong River, Tyrrell County is bordered on the north by the Albemarle Sound, one of the East Coast's largest estuarine systems, and to the east by the Alligator River.
Tyrrell County was formed in 1729 from Chowan, Bertie, Currituck and Pasquotank counties. Named for Sir John Tyrrell, one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolina colony. Tyrrell County's original boundaries originally stretched westward from Roanoke Island to near present-day Tarboro. In 1870 the territory was divided and resulted in what is now known as Tyrrell, Martin, Washington, and Dare counties. Elizabethtown, later renamed Columbia, was established on the banks of the Scuppernong River in 1793. The town has a beautiful riverfront and nature walk.

From here you head east on U.S. 64 thru beautiful Dismal Swamp toward the Alligator River.

I-40 in N.C. closed. Which is easier? Build a bridge or move rocks

Update Apr 26, 2010: After being closed for 6 months, I-40 is now open.

The I-40 Bridge Disaster was a bridge collapse that occurred in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma on May 26, 2002. Joe Dedmon, captain of the tugboat Robert Y. Love, experienced a blackout and lost control of the ship. This, in turn, caused the barge he was controlling to collide with a bridge support. The result was a 580 foot (180 m) section of the I-40 bridge plunging into Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died when several automobiles and tractor trailers fell from the bridge.
An estimated 20,000 vehicles per day were rerouted for about two months while crews rebuilt the bridge. Traffic resumed Monday, July 29, 2002, only two months after the disaster. The reopening set a new national record for such a project, which would normally be expected to take six months.

Now fast forward to Oct. 25, 2009. Rock slide closes I-40. How long will it be closed? This isn't the first time Interstate 40 has been shut down due to a rockslide in Haywood County.
The highway closed July 1, 1997, following a series of rock slides near mile marker 1. Three people were injured when their vehicles struck the falling boulders. None of the injuries were life threatening, and the couple hospitalized went home later that week.
The interstate was closed to all traffic from July 1 until two lanes were reopened Sept. 10. The cost of the nearly yearlong cleanup surpassed $2.5 million.

Part 1 Outer Banks Storm on Ash Wednesday March 1962

Photos of Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962. The 'perfect storm'.

The 'Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962' occurred on March 6-8, 1962 along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. In an area accustomed to a hurricane season from late August to early November each year, and the periodic major winter storms known as "Nor'easters", the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was unlike anything anyone living could recall. It was considered by the U.S. Geological Survey to be one of the most destructive storms ever to impact the mid-Atlantic states. One of the ten worst storms in the United States in the 20th century, it lingered through five high tides over a three day period, killing 40 people, injuring over 1,000 and causing hundreds of millions in property damage in six states.
Combination of atmospheric conditions: The massive storm was caused by an unusual combination of three pressure areas, combined with atmospheric conditions of the Spring equinox which normally cause exceptionally high tides. The storm stalled in the mid-Atlantic for almost 3 days, pounding coastal areas with continuous rain, high winds, and tidal surges, and dumping large quantities of snow inland for several hundred miles.
Coastal impact: Homes, hotels, motels, and resort businesses were destroyed along North Carolina's Outer Banks from Cape Hatteras, Nags Head and Kill Devil Hill. It was the 'perfect storm' before the storm that became a movie. This is the first in a series about one of my favorite places in the world. The Outer Banks of North Carolina. I know about this because we drove thru the area after the storm. You could see large houses sitting out in the Atlantic and in the back sound. Every building was damaged to some extent, most had major damage. It was the time when telephones poles had five arms and were loaded with glass insulators. Along Hwy 12 every pole was snapped off at the base; mile after mile of them.

Sebastiano Conca

Sebastiano Conca Italian, born circa 1676-1764. One of his greatest paintings was the one of 'Alexander the Great in the Temple of Jerusalem'.

The silent majority?

300,000 Silent Churches
Everyone has Freedom of Speech except 501c3 churches.
1. 501c3 Tax Exemption.
2. A Deal With the Devil
3. The Silenceof the Shepherds
4.Who is Really Lord of Your Church?
5.Hushmoney
Today, 4000 innocent precious lives of unborn babies were snuffed out. Their arms and legs were torn from their bodies, their skulls crushed. One and one half million times each year our "civilized" society will take and innocent life. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Six hundred thousand children, between the ages of 3 and 18, are involved in child pornography. Twenty thousand of them will disappear each year, never to be seen again. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
The TV networks make a mockery of Christians, the Christian faith and Christian values with nearly every show they air. Greed, materialism, violence, sexual immorality are standard fare. Program after program, movie after movie contains anti-Christian episodes and plots. News articles condescendingly refer to the "fundamental, right wing Christians." Those who speak out for the sacredness of life are branded as extremist. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Teenage suicide is the highest it has ever been. The number of teenage alcoholics and drug addicts is the highest ever. Christian morality cannot be taught in schools but atheistic immorality can. Divorce is taking approximately one of every two marriages. The number of children living in broken homes is fast becoming a majority. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Rape has increased 700 percent in the last fifty years, and that takes into consideration the population growth. The FBI says one in four 12-year-old girls will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Pornography has become an eight billion dollar business, with some of the largest companies in America involved. The Internet is flooded with pornography. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
Rock music fills the airways, and our children's minds are polluted with music which legitimizes rape, murder, forced sex, sadomasochism, adultery, satanic worship, etc. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
A majority of states now have lotteries. We have eliminated that crime by making it 'legal' and putting it under the control of the state. And 300,000 pulpits are silent.
What important matters are being dealt with in our churches? The church bulletin says there will be a meeting to plan the church-wide supper. We are raising money to put a new floor cover in the kitchen. (The old one doesn't match the new stove and refrigerator.) The sermon subject last Sunday was "How To Have A Positive Attitude." We are organizing a softball team.
At a meeting of church officials a program was announced to recruit new members. We need the new program because we are losing membership. The new program was worked out by some of the very top professionals, people who have had success in gaining new members for the Lions Club and other organizations. We really need professionals to do the job.
Sometimes blasphemy comes unnoticed while 300,000 pulpits are silent.
In America we make a big deal about 'freedom of speech". Few realize that the churches DO NOT have freedom of speech.
Everyone has freedom of speech except the clergy!
The pulpit has great power to do good when the clergyman is free to speak on on matters of politics as did the prophets of old such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others including Paul.
The modern churches are corporations silenced by voluntarily accepting 501c(3) tax exempt status and state licensing of the clergy.
In effect, the system had bribed them with money to be silent churches.

The Founding Fathers

Just recently, The History Channel had a program on 'The Founding Fathers'. I don't know if you caught it but during one conversation they made the statement about Jefferson's 'separation of Church and State' and said that these were the same words that we find in our Constitution. SHOW ME! History is being rewritten one sentence at a time. Just slow enough that most people believe them to be Truth. The American media is far greater than anything Nazi Germany could have imagine. The Internet might be a two edge sword but it's the last place you can find the truth if you search hard enough. Once it and Talk Radio comes under government control truth will be gone forever.

Ken Burn's America's National Parks

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. National Parks was an American Idea. If they hadn't been established, there would be no buffalo, no sequoia trees, no redwood trees or wolves left in America. John Muir could be considered the father of conservation of out National treasures. He was instrumental in the saving of Yosemite. At first, Yosemite was a State Park, later to become a National Park.