More Clearly - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

More Clearly

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!” (Psalm 68:35, NASU)

Have you ever driven west from Iowa, Illinois or Minnesota, heading to the region in the USA known as the Rocky Mountains? Then you will know what I am talking about.

I remember as a pre-teen kid Dad and Mom would load up the 1962 Ford station wagon, sky blue in color, hitch Dad’s homemade camper trailer to it, painted to exactly match the color of the Martin vehicle, and haul all eight of us (at that time, before there were 10) on a camping trip to Colorado. A bit crowded it could be, but with the very back end having a bench seat on each side of the car that came up out of the floor, we made it work.

Clark Griswold and his wife Ellen, kids Rusty and Audrey in the box-office hit National Lampoon’s Vacation (Warner Bros 1983) couldn’t have carried it out any better than we did. Four is no match for eight.

As we cruised along Highway 80 into the setting sun, passing the six foot high cornfields in the flat (very flat) farmland of Nebraska, we entered the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado. At first, no big deal. All looked about the same. But then, up ahead, a hazy outline began to be seen off in the distance. Just clouds? Maybe a rain storm? Car window needing washing? (Probably that especially.)

When the outline came more into focus, the gray became blacker. Then we could see white caps on sections at the top. And finally, the awesome, majestic, created mountains of the Lord came into full view. What a spectacular sight to behold!

Our God is like that. At times we can barely make out who He is, or what He is doing with us. It is just as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see obscurely in a mirror, but then it will be face to face. Now I know partly; then I will know fully, just as God has fully known me.” (Complete Jewish Bible)

Our God is an awesome God. We do not see or understand everything clearly now. Sometimes we seem to be just walking in a haze. But as we continue to stick to the path set before us in obedience, step by step, we will eventually see what He is doing, and more fully understand later how He actually did it.

Thinking of the Jewish Patriarchs of Old – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and of course Joseph and Moses (along with their faithful wives!) – following after the Lord will always mean having to push forward in faith. (Hey, there may even be a step backward or two. Each of the afore mentioned had their times of doubt, unbelief, and misguided moments. But the faithful Lord they served didn’t leave them there, but carried them through.)

We who bow our knees and serve the living God of Israel, the awesome and perfect One, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, will more clearly see Him as He is. We will comprehend the greatness of His works, the love of His heart, and the prefect ways He watches over His People.

There is nothing or no one who can stop His eternal plan from being fulfilled, for again, our God is the awesome God. There is none like Him in all His glory and power.

Thank you Lord!

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People, Inc.

 P.S. And if you are ever to Colorado, and in the Denver area, give my good friend Morris Ruddick a shout out!

P.S.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

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Now Think On This - In the Year of our Lord 05.14.17 - #283 – “More Clearly” – Sunday, 6:30 am

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve

Pro-life Victory in Iowa, New Law Bans Most Abortions after 20 Weeks - CBN News Mark Martin

Pro-life Victory in Iowa, New Law Bans Most Abortions after 20 Weeks

05-10-2017

CBN News Mark Martin

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Pro-life Victory in Iowa, New Law Bans Most Abortions after 20 Weeks

05-10-2017

CBN News Mark Martin

The pro-life community in Iowa is celebrating a victory as Gov. Terry Branstad, R-Iowa, signed into law a bill which bans most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Under the law, which went into effect on Friday, women seeking an abortion have access to more information including adoption information, an ultrasound, and the opportunity to listen to the heartbeat of the baby, according to The Family Leader, a non-profit pro-life organization in Iowa.

However, the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a temporary injunction against part of the law that requires a 72-hour waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion. The injunction is in place while the issue is sent back to the Polk County District Court for a hearing, according to The Gazette, an Iowa newspaper.

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"This is another step in the legal process regarding the 72-hour waiting period," Ben Hammes, spokesman for Branstad, said Tuesday, according to The Gazette. 

"The governor and lieutenant governor fully believe this protection will ultimately be upheld... and are proud of the pro-life policies enacted this (legislative) session, including the 72-hour waiting period being challenged and the ban on abortions after 20 weeks, which is not being challenged," Hammes continued.

After the law passed, the president of The Family Leader, Bob Vander Plaats, wrote a celebratory email.

"The diligent work of many Iowans, the unprecedented unity of the Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders, and the message of #ShesABaby had a major impact in moving the Iowa Legislature this year to pass more significant pro-life legislation than at any time since Roe v. Wade," he wrote.

Here's a glance at the #ShesABaby video:

"So today is a good day. But we pray this is just the first step on the way to changing hearts and minds and to defending all life, from the moment of conception to natural death," Vander Plaats continued.

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood were pleased the court upheld the injunction, saying the waiting period results in a "medically unnecessary" second appointment, The Gazette reported.

"Critically important, this means that currently women scheduled to have abortion procedures will be able to receive care as scheduled," Rita Bettis, ACLU of Iowa legal director, said in a statement. 

"This is essential. We know that in (the) less than only two hours the law was in effect on Friday, its harms were severely felt by Iowa women with abortion procedures scheduled," she continued.

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Iowa Passes Bill Banning Abortions And Defining Unborn As Human Beings - Will Maule HELLO CHRISTIAN

Iowa Passes Bill Banning Abortions And Defining Unborn As Human Beings

Feb 28, 2017 by Will Maule  HELLO CHRISTIAN

An Iowa bill that would recognize unborn babies as people with human rights, and would protect them from abortion passed a state Senate committee on Monday, according to LifeNews. 

“A large and vocal crowd” attended the hearing on Monday to voice their support and opposition to the measure. The committee gave its initial approval of the bill, moving it to another Senate committee for consideration. 

“The sovereign state of Iowa recognizes that life is valued and protected from the moment of conception,” the bill declares. Pro-life lawyer Rebecca Keissling was one of several pro-lifers who spoke up in support of the bill.

“You’re providing the framework to recognize that the unborn child is a person and also to have a public policy that prefers childbirth over abortion,” Keissling said.

Watch Live: Iowa's Senate Is About to Debate Defunding Planned Parenthood 1:15PM EST 2/2/2017 BOB ESCHLIMAN CHARISMA NEWS

(Reuters photo)

Watch Live: Iowa's Senate Is About to Debate Defunding Planned Parenthood

1:15PM EST 2/2/2017 BOB ESCHLIMAN  CHARISMA NEWS

One state's legislature is openly defying current federal laws that require them to provide Medicaid funding to abortion providers, particularly Planned Parenthood, by taking up a measure that, if signed into law, would fully defund the abortion giant.

Planned Parenthood operates 12 clinics in Iowa. But Senate File 2, which was slated to be debated Thursday afternoon, would remove it from the list of Medicaid-approved providers. The funds would instead by distributed to the dozens of community health clinics that do not perform abortions throughout the state.

Republicans have been keen to defund Planned Parenthood for several years, but Democrats controlled the Senate and prevented the measure from ever coming up for debate. Now that the GOP controls both chambers—and Gov. Terry Branstad (who is about to become ambassador to China) called on lawmakers to defund the abortion giant—the measure is likely to become law.

The measure "finds" $3 million in federal grants from other sources, which will be used to "backfill" the federal grant funds that will be lost by defunding Planned Parenthood.

Click here to watch the debate. There will be some additional pieces of intrigue to follow:

2018: With Branstad set to retire soon to take his new job in Beijing, a number of Democrats will be jockeying on this key issue to run against Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who succeed him.

Budget Woes: Iowa, which has a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget, faced a $100 budget shortfall that needed to be addressed by the General Assembly.

Schools: Iowa, which was once the U.S. leader in education, has been forced by budget cuts to reduce its support of local public schools, a measure that is on the Senate debate calendar alongside SF 2. 

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Gay Marriage Shut Down Their Dream, But Then God Stepped In... CBN News Steve Little

Gay Marriage Shut Down Their Dream, But Then God Stepped In...

CBN News Steve Little

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Click here to watch Richard and Betty Odgaard tell their story of being forced to close down their dream business because of their religious objections to gay marriage.

When the state of Iowa forced Betty Odgaard to shut down her dream, she nearly lost the will to live.

"It was just devastating, it took me down. I didn't want to be on this earth anymore," she said.

Betty and her husband, Richard, owned and operated the Gortz Haus Gallery. They bought a former Lutheran church made of stone in 2002 and converted it into an art gallery.

"It's a gorgeous building, built in 1937 with the stained-glass windows and beautiful architecture. It was just perfect," Betty told CBN News.

In time, they added a bistro and a flower shop and began hosting weddings and receptions. The gallery became a popular venue, hosting 15 to 20 weddings a year and the extra income helped keep the business afloat.

Shutting Down the Dream

It was the Iowa Supreme Court that set in motion the circumstances that forced the gallery to close and destroyed Betty's dream. In 2009, the court struck down the state's law defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Betty remembers the day their nightmare began: "August 3, 2013, our lives changed drastically, forever."

A same-sex couple came to the gallery seeking to book their wedding, but the Odgaards are Mennonite Christians and they couldn't particpate in a ceremony that violates their religious beliefs.

"We are all sinners. I don't want to celebrate my sins. I don't want other people to celebrate my sins, nor do I want to participate in celebrating anybody else's sins," Richard said.

The couple filed a complaint against the Odgaard's with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and when the news hit the press, a deluge of hate came crashing into their lives.

"Our Facebook page blew up -- our phones -- they were calling us just constantly...just with the ugliest, most vile stuff," Betty said.

The intensity of the anger from the gay community shocked the couple. They never refused to serve homosexuals at their restaurant and did not discriminate in hiring.

"We've hired gays," Richard said. "It's not a situation where we're vetting what their sexual orientation is. If they're good people that had the talents, we hire them to work with us."

With the help of The Becket Fund for Religius Liberty, the Odgaard's fought the case for more than a year, but the negative publicity and harrassment took its toll and they settled with the couple for $5,000.

Because of the overwhelming negative publicity they received as they fought their case -- and the possibility of more lawsuits --  the Odgaard's felt they had no choice but to stop hosting weddings and providing wedding services.

"We knew that we'd be in trouble if we tried to do more weddings. They would just come in and sue us," Betty said.

Within six months of that decision, due to the loss of income, the Gortz Haus Gallery closed down in 2015.

God's Original Design Ministry

Today, the Odgaard's are using their experience to engage the culture and encourage the church with a message of defending traditional marriage.

"It became very apparent during the two years of our litigation that the good Christians had caved to this idea of same-sex marriage and were accepting it," Richard said. "We have to educate those folks and remind them of what the truth is and get them back on track."

It's called God's Orginal Design Ministry. Their first step was to put up billboards.

The message is simple: Marriage = one man plus one woman. In just a few months, they had four fully funded four billboards across the country.

Richard and Betty Odgaard

"We call them drive-time epiphanies," Richard said. "It's about reminding people the intention between male and female and what God had in mind for that plan."

The Odgaard's also want to reach the gay community with a message of love.

"We're looking for avenues to reach them, because we feel that's half of our mission field, that's half of our ministry," Betty said. "They're the ones that are hurting, they're the ones that we need to pray for and we need to just reach them for Christ."

Despite the stress and the struggle, they count the whole experience a blessing.

"It has been difficult, I won't lie," Betty said. "It has been the hardest thing that we have ever been through and I don't wish it on anyone."

"The ugly continues to come at us, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else and we would do it all over again the same way....we are in the middle of God's will and He has blessed us so richly," she said.

"The Holy Spirit Did Not Leave"

In a way, it's not the Odgaard's or gay marriage or the State of Iowa at the heart of the story. It's the building and what it stands for.

The building is where people worshipped for more than 70 years; where Betty saw her dreams come true; where the couple poured out their hearts to make so many weddings a beautiful experience; and, where one of the first battles over religious liberty and gay rights was fought in America.

If the Odgaard's story can be redeemed by God's purpose for their lives, what about the building that sat empty and abandoned at the death of their dream?

"The Holy Spirit did not leave that buidling," Richard said.

Not long after closing down, the Odgaards' church found itself in need of a new building, and they knew just the place. Today, it's once again a house of worship.

"Holy Spirit Radar" by Francis Frangipane, Cedar Rapids, IA - THE ELIJAH LIST

"Holy Spirit Radar"by Francis Frangipane, Cedar Rapids, IA

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

In this day and age, it's important that we have and develop "Holy Spirit Radar" as Francis Frangipane shares about this in his article. God is maturing His Body and increasing the gifts inside of us...so we can be better equipped in this hour.

Having His "radar" is about having spiritual discernment as Francis shares here: "What you need is the ability to interpret the influences of God upon your spirit. To sense what the Spirit of God is saying to you is, at its essence, the source of true spiritual discernment."

Be encouraged as you glean from Francis Frangipane's important word!

Please forward this word to your friends! Encourage them to subscribe to the Elijah List right here: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe.

Enjoy!

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

*************************************

"Holy Spirit Radar"

by Francis Frangipane

"For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light." Luke 8:17

The peace of Christ is not just a divine attribute; it is also an organ of communication in the language of God. The Holy Spirit uses peace to communicate with us. If a situation warrants caution, our peace is troubled; if a direction is rightly chosen, peace confirms it. Thus, we are admonished by God's Word to "let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts" (Col. 3:15). 

The literal translation for rule is "to act as arbiter."

As we debate in our souls a course of action, Christ's peace acts like a spiritual radar. It helps make our powers of discernment more effective.

When we first were born again, it was not to a religion that we gave our hearts; it was to Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God actually entered our lives, and with Him came His inner witness of peace. This is not a little thing, for the Gospel is actually called the "Gospel of Peace" (Eph. 6:15).

Of course, the "circuitry" that makes our spirit-guidance system accurate is our knowledge of God's Word. We must, therefore, be grounded in God's Word. We are not discussing a psychic ability but a spiritual faculty that is part of our relationship with Christ.

Scripture says that Jesus was "aware in His Spirit" of the thoughts and motives of others (Mark 2:8). So again, the faculty we want to develop is a spiritual thing, not soulish - and definitely not something borrowed from the occult. Coupled with the Word of God, your radar can be a type of scanner that actually discerns hidden issues or danger. Thus, you can trust the Holy Spirit's guidance to help you recognize what may be troubling you in your spirit.

For example, I was conducting a Bible study on a college campus when a young man came into the room, sat down and joined us. Outwardly he appeared clean-cut but I felt cautioned by my inner radar, so I stopped the Bible study and asked him openly if he were involved in witchcraft or the occult. He said no. However, even though he was clean-cut, the warning in my spirit wouldn't go away. I asked again, and again he denied any connections to witchcraft. I felt the Holy Spirit focus upon his coat pocket, so I asked him what was in his coat pocket. This time he answered honestly, pulling two chicken claws out of his pocket. He had just been to an occult ritual. His response now was more humble, and we were able to actually pray with him for salvation before we left.

Some say that God doesn't speak to them, but this is not true. They just haven't learned the language of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes, He brings communication with Heaven: dreams, visions and prophecies all represent union with God. Therefore, you must believe God can get through to you. What you need is the ability to interpret the influences of God upon your spirit. 

To sense what the Spirit of God is saying to you is, at its essence, the source of true spiritual discernment. In this regard, it is good to remember John's words: "These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him." 1 John 2:26-27

So let's put this into perspective: we have an inner witness that gives us peace while helping us decide and discern. 

This "peace connection" does not, however, allow us to ignore input from leaders or others whom God may use. While we must maintain sovereignty over our will, God gives us ministries to train and equip us (Eph. 4:11-12).

That said, it is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that is the final amen to the truth of God.

Our goal is to develop that inner witness, for when it is united with knowledge of the Word of God, we have a powerful resource added to our arsenal of faith. Remember, the Spirit and the Word always agree. So if you memorize and study the Word of God and walk in the Spirit, you will increasingly possess discernment.

Adapted from Francis Frangipane's book, Spiritual Discernment and the Mind of Christ.

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane

Email: francis1@frangipane.org
Website: www.frangipane.org

Francis Frangipane is the founder of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has traveled throughout the world ministering to thousands of pastors and intercessors from many backgrounds. Francis' heartfelt prayer is to see established in every city Christlike pastors and intercessors, united before God, revealing the love of Christ to their communities. 

Since 1985, he has written fourteen books, plus a number of study booklets. Over the past decades, Francis has served on a number of other ministry boards. However, in recent years he has gradually resigned from these various boards. As of June 2009, he has also retired from his position as senior pastor of River of Life Ministries. In this more simplified life, Frangipane is devoting himself to prayer and the ministry of God's Word.

Americans Really, Really Hate The Government - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Americans Really, Really Hate The Government

Posted: 26 Jan 2016  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

If there is one thing that Americans can agree on these days, it is the fact that most of us don’t like the government.  CBS News has just released an article entitled “Americans hate the U.S. government more than ever“, and an average of recent surveys calculated by Real Clear Politics found that 63 percent of all Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction and only 28 percent of all Americans believe that the country is heading in the right direction. 

In just a few days the first real ballots of the 2016 election will be cast in Iowa, and up to this point the big story of this cycle has been the rise of “outsider” candidates that many of the pundits had assumed would never have a legitimate chance.  Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders have all been beneficiaries of the overwhelming disgust that the American people feel regarding what has been going on in Washington.

And it isn’t just Barack Obama or members of Congress that Americans are disgusted with.  According to the CBS News article that I referenced above, our satisfaction with various federal agencies has fallen to an eight year low…

A handful of industries are those “love to hate” types of businesses, such as cable-television companies and Internet service providers.
The federal government has joined the ranks of the bottom-of-the-barrel industries, according to a new survey from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Americans’ satisfaction level in dealing with federal agencies –everything from Treasury to Homeland Security — has fallen for a third consecutive year, reaching an eight-year low.

So if we are all so fed up with the way that things are running, it should be easy to fix right?
Unfortunately, things are not so simple.

In America today, we are more divided as a nation than ever.  If you ask 100 different people how we should fix this country, you are going to get 100 very different answers.  We no longer have a single shared set of values or principles that unites us, and therefore it is going to be nearly impossible for us to come together on specific solutions.

You would think that the principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution should be able to unite us, but sadly those days are long gone.  In fact, the word “constitutionalist” has become almost synonymous with “terrorist” in our nation.  If you go around calling yourself a “constitutionalist” in America today, there is a good chance that you will be dismissed as a radical right-wing wacko that probably needs to be locked up.

The increasing division in our nation can be seen very clearly during this election season.  On the left, an admitted socialist is generating the most enthusiasm of any of the candidates.  Among many Democrats today, Hillary Clinton is simply “not liberal enough” and no longer represents their values.

On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of Republican voters are gravitating toward either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.  Both of those candidates represent a complete break from how establishment Republicans have been doing things in recent years.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am certainly not suggesting that we need to meet in the middle.  My point is that there is absolutely no national consensus about what we should do.  On the far left, they want to take us into full-blown socialism.  Those that support Donald Trump or Ted Cruz want to take us in a more conservative direction.  But even among Republicans there are vast disagreements about how to fix this country. 

Establishment Republicans greatly dislike both Trump and Cruz, and they are quite determined to do whatever it takes to keep either of them from getting the nomination.  The elite have grown very accustomed to anointing the nominee from each party every four years, and so the popularity of Trump and Cruz is making them quite uneasy this time around.  The following comes from the New York Times…

The members of the party establishment are growing impatient as they watch Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz dominate the field heading into the Iowa caucusesnext Monday and the New Hampshire primary about a week later.
The party elders had hoped that one of their preferred candidates, such as Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, would be rising above the others by now and becoming a contender to rally around.

The global elite gathered in Davos, Switzerland are also greatly displeased with Trump.  Just check out some of the words that they are using to describe him…

“Unbelievable“, “embarrassing” even “dangerous” are some of the words the financial elite gathered at the World Economic Forum conference in the Swiss resort of Davos have been using to describe U.S. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
Although some said they still expected his campaign to founder before his party picks its nominee for the November election many said it was no longer unthinkable that he could be the Republican candidate.

The truth is that the Republican Party represents somewhere less than half the population in the United States, and today it is at war with itself.  Supporters of Trump have a significantly different vision of the future than supporters of Cruz, and the establishment wing wants nothing to do with either candidate.

A lot of people seem to assume that since Trump is leading in the polls that he will almost certainly get the nomination.

That is not exactly a safe bet.

It is my contention that the establishment will pull out every trick in the book to keep either him or Cruz from getting the nomination.  And in order to lock up the nomination before the Republican convention, a candidate will need to have secured slightly more than 60 percent of all of the delegates during the caucuses and the primaries.

The following is an excerpt from one of my previous articles in which I discussed the difficult delegate math that the Republican candidates are facing this time around…

It is going to be much more difficult for Donald Trump to win the Republican nomination than most people think.  In order to win the nomination, a candidate must secure at least 1,237 of the 2,472 delegates that are up for grabs.  But not all of them will be won during the state-by-state series of caucuses and primaries that will take place during the first half of 2016.  Of the total of 2,472 Republican delegates, 437 of them are unpledged delegates – and 168 of those are members of the Republican National Committee. 

And unless you have been hiding under a rock somewhere, you already know that the Republican National Committee is not a fan of Donald Trump.  In order to win the Republican nomination without any of the unpledged delegates, Trump would need to win 60.78 percent of the delegates that are up for grabs during the caucuses and primaries.  And considering that his poll support is hovering around 30 percent right now, that is a very tall order.

In the past, it was easier for a front-runner to pile up delegates in “winner take all” states, but for this election cycle the Republicans have changed quite a few things.  In 2016, all states that hold caucuses or primaries before March 15th must award their delegates proportionally.  So when Trump wins any of those early states, he won’t receive all of the delegates.  Instead, he will just get a portion of them based on the percentage of the vote that he received.

In 2016, more delegates will be allocated on a proportional basis by the Republicans than ever before, and with such a crowded field that makes it quite likely that no candidate will have secured enough delegates for the nomination by the time the Republican convention rolls around.

If no candidate has more than 60 percent of the delegates by the end of the process, then it is quite likely that we will see the first true “brokered convention” in decades.

If we do see a “brokered convention”, that would almost surely result in an establishment candidate coming away with the nomination.  That list of names would include Bush, Rubio, Christie and Kasich.

And if by some incredible miracle either Trump or Cruz does get the nomination, the elite will move heaven and earth to make sure that Hillary Clinton ends up in the White House.
For decades, it has seemed like nothing ever really changes no matter which political party is in power, and that is exactly how the elite like it.

Our two major political parties are really just two sides of the same coin, and they are both leading this nation right down the toilet.