MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT 50

Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958 and died June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities. Other aspects of his personal life, including his changing appearance and behavior, generated significant controversy, damaging his public image. Though he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of evidence and Jackson was not charged. The singer has experienced health concerns since the early 1990s and conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s. Jackson married twice and fathered three children, all of which caused further controversy. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, has made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.
After being taken to the hostpital in a coma, Jackson was reportedly pronounced dead on June 25, 2008.[2][3]

WHY OBAMA NEEDS TO BE MORE VOCAL ON IRAN

With Iran suffering a political earthquake, allow me to put in a good word for meddling.
I realize there will always be those Americans who recoil at the idea of U.S. military intervention or economic sanctions -- or, for that matter, even just tersely worded statements from the White House -- because, they insist, the United States should not interfere with the domestic affairs of other countries.
Since when? The United States has, for decades, interfered with the destinies of other nations - in Asia, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere.
In fact, just recently, President Obama took to interfering in the Middle East by scolding Israel for its treatment of Palestinians and its settlements in the West Bank.
Yet now, in a real disappointment to anyone who values freedom, Obama has declared his reluctance to "meddle" in the aftermath of the disputed Iranian presidential election even as hundreds of thousands of protesters put themselves at risk on the streets of Tehran.
Sometimes, the only correct course of action is to meddle. Here you have the brutal repression of political dissent, the suppression of free speech and the beating and gunning down of dissidents. College students are reportedly being beaten in their dormitories by government thugs and threatened with worse if they don't stop protesting.
In the street, armed police officers whale on old ladies and teenagers with clubs, as demonstrators carry unconscious comrades bleeding from head wounds. And -- in what served as my wake-up call -- the government shut down foreign media coverage by revoking the press credentials of foreign correspondents and restricting them to their hotels.
That was an ominous sign of what may be coming. With the curtain drawn, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must think he can crush his opponents once and for all and the world will be none the wiser.
Luckily for the cause of freedom, the tyrant wasn't prepared for Twitter and other social network tools that protesters are using to get the word out about what they're experiencing. Many demonstrators are also using their own video cell phones to get images out of Iran.
This is some of what White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs seems to be missing. At a White House news conference this week, Gibbs insisted the administration's concerns regarding Iran had not changed since the election.
"Regardless of who emerges from this election," Gibbs said in answer to a question. "there are still two principal national interests that this country has relating to Iran. First is their pursuit of a nuclear weapon, and second is their support and sponsorship of terror."
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Sure, those things are important. But Gibbs must be joking. The dramatic events of the last week haven't had an impact at all on administration policy with Iran? That's mind-boggling.
These freedom fighters in blue jeans are brave heroes to the cause of democracy, and, from the looks of it, they could use a little help. They'd probably settle for an encouraging word from the president of the United States that he is in their corner and prepared to hold Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accountable for what happens to them.
I'm not talking about sending in the 101st Airborne, or the Special Forces. I'm just talking about Obama doing something that, as we all know, he does awfully well: giving a speech.
The president needs to say to the world that we're choosing sides in this conflict and that we're rooting for the protesters against the people who are trying to beat them into submission and suppress the tides of progress.
He needs to abandon his neutrality and express clearly the principles that our country represents, the secret ingredient in our sauce, if you will -- what it is that makes us tick and why we are moved by what we see happening in Iran. He needs to tell the protesters with all the sincerity he can muster: "We are with you!"
Some of this is complicated; analysts are right to point out that Ahmadinejad would probably welcome U.S. intervention in one respect because it would let him deflect the heat he's feeling to the United States, which would become the convenient foil.
But Ahmadinejad is cleverly doing that already, Obama's hands-off approach notwithstanding. So what's the point of staying neutral?
Other parts of this drama are not as complicated as some people are trying to make it. The United States doesn't have the luxury of being neutral at a time of moral crisis. America is -- as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright used to say -- "the indispensable nation" that "stands tall" and "sees further into the future."
As Americans, what we see coming out of Tehran should outrage and offend us. Our country is not supposed to sit idly by while the little guy is getting the tar knocked out of him by thugs and tyrants.
We've made that mistake before, too many times and to our shame. One of the most notorious examples of staying out of the fray was our reluctance to confront the Holocaust in Europe in the late 1930s, even though Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration were getting word of what was happening. It was not our finest hour.
Likewise, as we watch the events unfolding in Tehran, many Americans find it easier to look away. But that is not who we are.
Mr. President, you must do better. We don't belong on the sidelines. As the leader of the world's indispensable nation, it's time to stand tall and stand with the people of Iran.

WHY IS HONORING YOUR FATHER IMPORTANT

Although the Bible says the ten commandments were written on two tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12; 34:1) it does not tell us how these ten commandments were arranged on those tablets. Five on one and five on the other would seem natural, but is an unnatural division when you consider the themes of the commandments. From ancient times biblical scholars have noticed that the first four commandments concern our relationship with God and the last six, our relationship with others.
It doesn't really matter how the commandments were arranged on the stone tablets, but it is important to note the twin themes. Judaism was the first world religion to combine worship (responsibilities toward God) with ethics (responsibilities toward humankind). The gods on Mt. Olympus were neither ethical in their own behavior nor did they make ethical demands of their worshipers. That cheap faith still has its fans. Neo-pagans have all the comfort and excitement of their religion with none of the inconvenience of a God who gets in their way when they want to do something.
In biblical religion, however, God is the Law-Giver. Ethics is theology at work; the ten commandments are worship in overalls. The commandments speak to both theology (our relationship with God) and ethics (our relationship with others).
The fifth commandment begins the second "table of the law": our responsibility toward one another. In this section God tells us how to become more human by controlling certain physical impulses we share with lower animals — such as anger, hunger and lust. Those activities are certainly natural. In fact, they are essential to our survival. But God calls us to something higher and nobler. He commands us to control what comes naturally so that we do not kill and steal and fornicate just because it appears to our immediate advantage. Anger, hunger and sex are powerful urges within all of us. Like fire, they are good gifts of God. Also, like fire, they become bad when they get out of control. Thus we have the ten commandments to tell us how control our natural inclinations so nobody gets hurt.
What inclination do you think is controlled by the fifth commandment? Most animals instinctively care for their young. Bears and robins will attack you if you assault their babies. Although most species care for their young, none cares for its old — except humans. The fifth commandment calls us to rise above our animal nature. God expects more of you and me than he does of cats and dogs. He commands children to provide for their parents just as parents instinctively provide for their children. "Honor your father and your mother." By honoring the aged we rise above the rest of nature and become our true human selves.
We need to hear again the fifth commandment. Our modern age does not give the elderly the place of honor they had in earlier times and so richly deserve today. Bertrand Russell complained, "I was born in the wrong generation. When I was a young man, no one had any respect for youth. Now I am an old man and no one has any respect for age."
Nearly everyone, from Madison Avenue to the local church, honors youth. Now that's not a bad idea, but remember young age is not the age to which the Bible gives the greatest honor. Moses said, "Show respect for old people and honor them" (Leviticus 19:32). And Peter added, "You younger men must submit yourselves to the older men" (1 Peter 5:5).
I resent the fact that calling someone old sounds insulting. Our culture has twisted the traditional value of old age making something honorable appear disgraceful. In the Bible old age is not a problem, it's a blessing (Isaiah 65:20; Zechariah 8:4-5). For thousands of years to be called an "old man" or "old woman" was a high honor. Nowadays it's an insult. What on earth has happened to our values?
A youth-centered culture is a backward-facing culture. It is a society in which people honor what they used to be instead of what they are going to be.
Age is like money. It isn't how much we have spent, but how much we have left. If we truly believe what we say we believe about eternal life, what we have left is forever. Every birthday takes us one year further from our birthdate and one year closer to our Father's house.
The root of the Hebrew word for honor means to "weigh heavy." The people who weigh me heavy are those who contribute most to my weight: my parents, my wife and my children — to them I owe great respect and honor.
The fifth commandment is addressed primarily to adults. It is not a biblical billy club that frustrated parents can use to beat their rebellious children into submission. Parents who try to get respect from their children by quoting this scripture will be as successful as trying to steer their car by honking their horn.
The fifth commandment has more to do with medical care, old-age pensions, and retirement homes than with disobedient minors. It means quite simply when your Mom and Dad have to depend on you, don't let them down. Honor your father and mother.
Although Social Security, Medicare, and old-age pensions have largely taken over the kind of responsibilities enjoined by this commandment, no system can honor your parents for you. Many systems are terribly impersonal and even insultingly dehumanizing.
When parents are no longer productive members of society, they need more than ever to be honored and reassured of their worth.
The fifth commandment commands honor for your parents but does not limit honor to them alone. It doesn't say, "Honor only your father and mother. That's just the beginning. The apostle Peter said, "Respect everyone" (1 Peter 2:17). Not only should children honor their parents, but parents should honor their children. The rich should honor the poor, and the poor should honor the rich. The weak should honor the strong, and the strong should honor the weak.
Jesus gave this commandment its highest application when he declared "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). You honor others by treating them with the same high respect you owe to the person of Jesus Christ. If you treat others the way you treat Jesus, you will honor not only your parents but every living soul.
Honor takes many different forms. It is much more than greeting cards, candy and flowers on Mother's Day. The way in which parents honor their children, for instance, differs from the way children honor their parents. It is a dishonor to treat everyone alike without respect to differing needs and responsibilities. True honor takes into account the age and situation of the people involved and the nature of the relationship. You're young only once, but you can stay immature the rest of your life.
One of the reasons the generation gap is such a problem is that it is not wide enough. Too many adults try to act as though they were teenagers, and too many teenagers try to act as though they were adults. With all the actors reading the lines of someone else, it is no wonder the play gets confusing. Children cannot honor their parents while refusing to accept the role of dependents. And parents cannot honor their children while evading their parental responsibilities.
To make matters even more complicated, the roles keep changing. By the time we realize our parents may have been right, we usually have children who think we're wrong. As children grow older, parental honor takes into account their growing competency, responsibility, and independence.
Children, likewise, honor their parents in different ways. To a small child, honor means obedience. To an adolescent, it means respect. To an adult child, it means kindness, thoughtfulness, and care of parents.
A boy will never become a man and a girl will never become a woman if they must always obey their parents. Though children eventually outgrow their need to obey their parents, they never outgrow their duty to honor their parents. The time may come when aged parents must obey their children. But even then, and especially then, children must find ways to honor their parents, to affirm their dignity and worth.
The apostle Paul reminds us that the fifth commandment is the first commandment with a promise: "so that all may go well with you, and you may live a long time in the land" (Ephesians 6:3). When a Sunday School teacher asked a kid what that meant his interpretation was, "I better do what my parents say or they'll kill me." Though there may be some parents who would not dispute that understanding, I don't think that's what Moses or Paul had in mind. "That… you may live a long time in the land" is not a guarantee of extra years of life to individuals who honor their parents. It is a promise to preserve the social order that respects preceding generations. Remember the commandments were given after Israel left Egypt and before they entered and occupied the Promised Land. They were a brand new nation. So God gave them laws and a covenant to show them how to make it work. Good individuals may die young, but cultures in which people honor the aged endure with stability.
One of the reasons that Chinese culture has survived thousands of years through many political and social revolutions is that through it all, they obeyed the fifth commandment — not because it was spoken by God through Moses, but because it was wise. "[That] you may live a long time in the land" is not a tempting bribe to good conduct, but a statement of fact about nations and tribes and families in which honor is found.
Remember, the Bible doesn't tell who is to honor you, but whom you are to honor — your parents, your children and everyone else. You obey the fifth commandment, not by demanding that others honor you but by taking the initiative to honor them.

A NATION IN CRISIS

The Apostle Paul wrote of just such a time as exists in this nation today, a time when the people would be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, false accusers, uncontrollable, despisers of those that are good, traitors, and lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. In view of the fact that fifty million innocent babies have been murdered intentionally, which of course only highlights Paul’s offering of “being without natural affection.”
There does not exist a more apt description than this of the nature of the United States today, it is a nation that consists, collectively, of a people led away from God by divers lusts, it's an ever-learning acculturation of those who are never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. It is in fact a nation of people who resist the truth, an irreverent fellowship of men of corrupt mind and reprobate faith.

A Warning to Parents
An inimical indoctrination of the people of this nation begins in the public schools where the ungodly elements of communism, sexual perversion, deviancy, false doctrines and a rejection of Biblical tenants are instilled in young minds and taught as gospel by an autocracy of Marxist persuasion. An open-minded and healthy examination of social issues is disallowed and a narrow subjective and politically correct curriculum is rigidly enforced. The National Education Association (NEA) a radical, revolutionary, and powerful labor union, using the political clout that they purchase with the dues of their members, has eliminated the traditional approach to the training of young minds in the basics of education and concentrated on a radical program of mind control and brainwashing to shape the values - I should say lack of values - of America’s children.
Parents, if you think that you have any input in the way that public schools educate your children you need to put that thought out of your mind quickly. The majority of public school systems view your children as property of the state and therefore beyond your control. Moral relativism is promoted and ethical codes and morality based upon absolute standards is not a part of their satanic bible. If it feels good do it is their motto and their creed. You need to get your children out of the public schools and you need to do it now before anymore of our children are corrupted and led down criminal paths to the point that many additional millions of dollars have to be spent on correctional facilities to incarcerate the emotional cripples turned into the streets by the public schools.
America in Decline
The United States has crossed a great divide and is now on a dizzying slide downward through an ever-quickening succession of events, both of the cosmos and of man-made induction, which are driving this nation toward a now inevitable time of a complete and climactic destruction. Prayers from an apostate people for deliverance from catastrophic events current and future will not be heard, in the parlance of the Bible it is a time for sackcloth and ashes.
Those who believe that there is hope for a secular deliverance of this country from an increasingly inescapable terminal destiny at the hand of Almighty God or that the government or its leaders possess the answers to the nearly total social and spiritual unraveling of this commonwealth are barking up a wrong tree. Nowhere in the population of this nation or in the government or the institutions thereof exists a savior. Our Savior has come to this earth and gone and will return again, it is He that we should look to for deliverance. It is He who is the true Savior, and if the readers of this message have not accepted Him as such and taken advantage of His work upon the cross for the expiation of their sins past, present and future they most surely would do well to do so now.
My recent articles have been increasingly apocalyptic; I reject any thought that there is any hope that this country will be turned around by mortal men or by our terribly corrupt and fallible politicians. People, and those who extol their virtues, will do nothing other than hasten our fall.
I am grateful to those who carry my articles on their websites and pray for God’s blessings upon them. But, I know that there will come a time, and very soon, when my words will be blocked and censored. The prophets of old who were sent to deliver hard messages unto God’s people and to their kings and religious leaders were censored and imprisoned, and those who speak the truth today can expect the same circumstances as even now we see an unrighteous abridgement - by a seemingly fascistic government - of individual rights and liberties.
“When I say unto the wicked, Thou shall surely die; and thou gives him not warning, nor speaks to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.” (Ezekiel 3:18)
Clearly those in the ministry today who tickle the ears with new age doctrines - such as the goodness of man, a lack of evil, that man is divine and therefore can create his own spiritual destiny, or that Satan is an imaginary being and there are many roads to salvation - have not read the above scripture. And if they have and have rejected it, or any other of God’s truths, they will stand and give an account for every lost soul that was in their charge.