Canadian Anglicans reject same-sex unions, but barely

This came my way today. A little late, but noteworthy on the homosexual crisis in the Anglican Communion.

Blessing of same-sex unions defeated

Source: The Anglican Church of Canada
Date: June 24, 2007

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has narrowly defeated a resolution that would have allowed dioceses to decide for themselves whether or not to bless same-sex unions.

Lay delegates voted 78 to 59 in favor of the motion and clergy voted 63 to 53 in favor But the House of Bishops voted 21-19 against it. As a result the motion was defeated, since it required approval by each of the three orders to pass.

The motion read:

"That this General Synod affirm the authority and jurisdiction of any diocesan synod, with the concurrence of the diocesan bishop, and in a manner which respects the conscience of the incumbent and the will of the parish, to authorize the blessing of committed same-sex unions."

The King's Commentary:
A few things are evident. First, the motion was supported by both the laity and the clergy which is of grave concern to everyone seeking to keep the Canadian Anglican Church in lockstep with God's teachings. Second, the House of Bishops defeated the measure by a mere 3 votes (I'm not sure what happens in a tie). This result may not provide immediate satisfaction for those looking to turn the Church on its axis and ram in their pro-homosexuality agenda, but it certainly gives them hope that they may fare better next year.

All things being equal, those pro-Christian delegates have some work to do on the laity side. Obviously Canadian Anglican parishes are sending liberal activists to represent them at their yearly Synod. This is rare occasion where pro-Christian groups have a slight reprieve - a second chance so to speak, and an opportunity to correct the imbalance within the Synod representation.

As for the clergy vote, there is obviously some work to do there. With a margin of ten clergy in the pro-homosexual agenda column, it looks like we are near or at 45-55 disunity within the local Church leadership (perhaps more). Senior traditional pro-Christian groups should route out those who voted in favor of the homosexual agenda and make their names public so that proper scrutiny can be brought upon those individuals, posing as Christian-rectors. These people are leading flocks right down the street of secularism and new age teachings.

O Canada... you are in a better position than us pro-Christian traditionalists here in the USA, but you aren't far behind. While our traditionalists "slept" and decided to pay no attention to the activists and rebel-rousers, we are now up to our elbows in trouble, and most likely schism. You guys have one year to help correct the problem, or else you'll face the same nightmare that we are facing here. Once new doctrines are entrenched, and your Church invested like termites, you are looking at a situation and doctrine that is hard eradicate.

So its time to become counter-activists and push in the other direction - the one leading toward Christ. Whispering angrily in dark corners of the Church will not help your cause. It's time to get vocal, and while you still have a chance - take a stand for Christ!

Good Luck, Canadian Anglicans. Let God save you from the Devil-owned torment we are facing down here.

Fuzzy Math: West Hartford families to see 4.54% tax increase

As I predicted months ago, during the 2007 West Hartford budget and taxation debate, those seeking fiscal restraint, lower taxes, and spending reductions by West Hartford town officials have been left in the dark. Despite the overwhelming margin of victory and the clear cut message sent by West Hartford taxpayers by referendum two weeks ago that the tax increases proposed are too high, and the spending is clearly unacceptable - we seem to be back in the same place as we were before the budget was rejected by residents - with another large tax increase headed our way.

Property taxes on residential properties are going to go up 4.54% this year which is not a small increase for your average West Hartford family getting by each month. Not everyone receives a yearly pay increase of 4.5% to offset the yearly West Hartford tax increase. And there are people in worse situations then we are in here who will struggle and really feel this as a burden.

Yet, there are still those out there in town and on the web engaged in this debate that attempt to distort away the tax increase as something less than it is - moving numbers around to try to imply that the town is spending less and people will pay less - yes, perhaps on car taxes - despite that the mill rate is still higher than the average neighboring town and is the third highest millrate in the State of Connecticut.

Another ploy is to attempt to finagle the numbers so that there is an implication that the millrate will drop from 44.08 to 27. over five years - which Mayor Slivka has promised (or at least he did at one point). But all of these promises are nothing more than smoke and mirrors meant to deflect from the fact that West Hartford officials can't bring themselves to say "no". They can't bring themselves to do the mature and unpopular thing - cut out the fat. They refuse to say no to the special interest groups that infiltrate the Council's budget process. And quite frankly, by seeing what they offered up in terms of "cuts" this time around, it shows that they aren't willing to do the hard work and dig into the budget "line by line" and make the cuts needed to even start to make the budget reasonable.

Unfortunately, misinforming the public and pretending that we really aren't receiving a 4.54% residential property tax increase this is year is nothing short of -- deceitful. Even the Hartford Courant's numbers differ from that of the Town Manager - so it supposes that something is awry in the numbers process. And the factual reasons for not reducing spending lies in several areas - inability to cut wasteful programs, spending too much on things that aren't necessary (for example, hidden elements to beautify the town), high administrative costs, and the inability to negotiate with the teacher's union and all the other unions in town that seem to get a free pass when it comes to agreeing to their demands.

Harping on the union argument for a minute. Live and on television last week, we all witnessed confirmation that the nurses in West Hartford schools get paid - not just very well - but paid the highest in the region! How did the West Hartford Board of Education respond when it came to a request for pay increases? Well, they gave them a whopping 3.8% increase on the backs of the taxpayers without blinking an eye, despite that a week earlier, the referendum failed miserably.

The only way that you will get true tax and spend reform is to elect fiscally responsible people to the Council and the Board of Education. Anything short of that will only result in the continuation of imposing even higher taxes over an even longer period of time. There is no end in sight to the trend, and the people sitting on the Council and in the Town Manager's office know it!

And putting honest, loyal, and accountable Republicans in office in West Hartford is no easy task. In the end it will be interesting if the people in town can separate their hatred for George Bush, and the emptying of their wallets by the West Hartford Democratically-controlled Board of Education and Town Council.

For those of you who aren't believers... here is what West Hartford residents have seen in tax increases since 2001:

2001: 4.0%
2002: 5.6%
2003: 5.6%
2004: 6.3%
2005: 4.3%
2006: 5.7%
2007: 4.54% (proposed)

Does anyone else see both a "trend" and a "problem"? Makes you wonder what lies ahead in 2008? Don't residents see that they've been conditioned to accept increases of this magnitude year after year without showing REAL resistance. It's almost as if, a spending freeze is completely out of the question, never mind a tax cut.

So what is their yearly strategy? They recommend a much higher increase, we referendum and bark at them, they trim it (marginally), and in they end you still get what you see above.... a yearly high tax increase. It's like anything else - ask for more then you'll know you'll ever get and then negotiate it down to your minimum - still getting what you want from the start - more spending, higher taxes, and unions pay increases! The perfect cycle.

When will we take off the blinders and really make a stand?

So here we are, with the latest tax increase about to be imposed on the residents of West Hartford. And our town officials stand before you - long faced, solemn, and pretending to look exhausted over all the pretended effort and drain its taken on them to produce this "wonderfully balanced" budget.

Meanwhile, after the cameras are shut down, our elected town officials retire to the backroom, yucking it up with martinis in hand, celebrating their victory over the residents of West Hartford - who will see another rise in taxes for the "good of the people".

West Hartford

Chris Benoit: Murderer, Coward

Like most of you (yes you, admit it!), I’ve watched wrestling on television over the years, but less so over the past six or so years – maybe it’s that the storylines dished out by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) are not as entertaining as they used to be, or the characters are no where near as funny or compelling as they were in the 80s and 90s. I guess to this point, today’s wrestling show is more cartoonish, and less athleticism then it was years ago.

I distinctly remember cheering for a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) star named Chris Benoit. Benoit was framed as a hard-nosed, serious wrestler with a bit of a Napoleon complex – as Benoit - although 5’10 inches, appeared small against the backdrop the of WCW regulars. I enjoyed watching Benoit for his in-ring technique and for the fact that in the land of wrestling, he brought 100% every time, and played out his role as both hero and heel to the best of his ability. Moreover, he was simply “credible”.

And having been duped by wrestling angles for years (I guess), when I heard the news on Monday, about the murder/suicide, I simply chalked it up to another “work” or “angle” as they call it in their business. It was almost ironic that a week ago, my mother mentioned something to me about Vince McMahon (President of WWE) dying in a limousine explosion. She seemed to think it was serious, and at first I was intrigued. But then she went on to say that wrestlers were being interviewed, some upset and some attacking him – gave it all away as a hoax. So, I dismissed it as simply an attempt to raise ratings, and laughed it off – after all – the “car bombing” was allegedly all on tape with “federal authorities” interviewing wrestlers for information between matches during the show’s taping.

But alas, with stories all over the news, I realized that this awful tale was true. Chris Benoit is dead. And what’s even more shocking is that after allegedly binding his wife, Nancy, he suffocated her, and then murdered their seven year old son, Daniel. He placed Holy Bibles next to each victim. And according to police reports Benoit moved to the basement, and with a piece of equipment from his weight room, took his own life by hanging himself.

When the early story came out on Monday, the WWE was unaware of the murder/suicide aspect, and they cancelled the regular live card in Texas, and put on a three-hour tribute to Chris Benoit in its place. Internet sites have reported that after learning of the circumstances, the WWE apologized for glorifying and eulogizing Benoit in the way it did. I think this was more a timing issue because Monday Night Raw, the WWE’s show, goes on the air on Monday evenings and the initial news came out late Sunday, early Monday. Vince McMahon aim was to give something to the fans and help console their sadness – nothing more or less should be said of McMahon the WWE Corporation in this regard.

While I was driving home yesterday, I was listening to the commentary on 103.7 FM WEEI Radio and the personalities were discussing the situation, and talked at length with callers about the steroid controversy. Many of you have read my take on Barry Bonds and steroids on this blog. Although the Bonds situation deals with dishonesty, baseball, homerun records and such, there is also the connection that some are drawing between his angry demeanor and alleged physical mistreatment of persons with that of Benoit’s criminal behavior. Fans and news outlets alike are linking all of this to ‘roid rage short for steroid rage. We don’t have all of the facts on this, but if it could ever be proven to be true, it would add another element to the use of steroid use by athletes and could have state and federal implications for their overall use.

While authorities struggle with the “why” and the “how”, we are left with feelings of anger and sadness. The sadness is most for a seven year old boy, Daniel, who will never grow up to do all of the things that children are meant to do. The idea that he was only seven and murdered by his father is a terrifying and horrific thought. And we also grief for his wife, Nancy, who’s life was also taken abruptly at the hands of Benoit’s chokehold.

And lastly, we look at Chris Benoit. Whether it was mental state, rage, steroids, jealousy, or a thousand different excuses – we can feel nothing but anger and distain for him. And we have to accept that he is not a victim in any of this, but rather a perpetrator of a terrible double murder. And in the end, unable to face the authorities, or look in the mirror – in a cowardly fashion – took his life.

Years of wrestling entertainment and stardom has gone out the window. Will anyone care? I know I don’t. The only Chris Benoit that we will remember is the coward who in cold blood - killed his family - the man who murdered his seven year old son, and wife.

We can only pray that Benoit is left to answer to a higher authority for his crimes.

Field Day a success with W1CWA - BARC!

We had a great time up at Talcott Mountain State Park with the crew from Bloomfield Amateur Radio Club (BARC) under the call sign W1CWA.

Here are some pics courtesy of fellow ham, K1MGM - Dan:

http://www.tmsc.org/hamradio/fieldday2007/fieldday2007.html

I managed to sneak out of the house on Saturday afternoon and avoid some lawn work to make the trip up to the site on top of Talcott Mountain. The guys were very friendly, and offered me to work 40 Meters phone with one of the guys involved in the set up - who I believe is named, Dan. After we made about 25 or so contacts under very cool conditions from a beautiful perch over-looking the Valley for about 35 miles Northwest.

As Dan and I worked we heard a QSO (conversation) between a Pennsylvania Station and another station in either DC or Virginia, who had the privilege of having the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Governor of the State on the horn. While we couldn't hear the station with with the government officials, but we did hear the station acknowledging the contact, and I have to say the Ham Operator did a very nice fabulous job of representing Amateur Radio operators and talking up the purpose of Field Day.

After a couple hours of getting in some work, I was paged home to help my wife out with the young ones.

But I had such a good time that I was up early on Sunday (thanks to Precious our loud and obnoxious cat meowing away at 5:30 am). Seizing the moment, I decided to get dressed, and head back to the site for the chance at some additional ham operation. I arrived at the site at about 6:15 am. I think the guys were surprised to see me so early in morning, but they were good enough to get the generator up and running so I could operate for a few hours. We tuned up the antenna's and I worked 75-80 meter phone for 100 contacts. Most of the stations worked were in NH, PA, NJ, NY, RI, ME and a few out of Canada with an assortment of other southern stations that were out of VA, LA, and NC.

I can still hear my own voice calling, "CQ, CQ Field Day, this is W1CWA, W1CWA calling CQ Field Day and standing by." And it felt soooo good!

Sadly, by 9 am my cell phone was ringing (another call from the XYZ (wife), and by 9:30 am I was home and set to the task of packing up the kids for our excursion to Essex that we had planned for the day.

But all in all, I squeezed in Field Day and operated for six or so hours, so I can't really complain. Next year, I will have to make arrangements to camp out with the rest of the group and really enjoy Field Day to the fullest extent.

Also, a subnote, the station attracted quite a few curious visitors who took a keen interest in our operation. One of the BARC members (and I apologize for not knowing names) was asked by a visitor what that "sound" was, to which he remarked "Morse Code". Our ham was quick to astonish the visitor by identifying the location of the transmission and region by translating dits and dahs into words lickety split! Even I was surprised and smiled because the rate of code transmission was around 20 words per minute. And I couldn't have copied it if I tried. But, I was happy to know that the code is alive and well and some guys just set the standard.

The BARC crew entertained all kinds of questions about ham radio, so void of really caring about "placement" in the "Field Day contest" - they managed to represent ham radio to the public and demonstrate exactly what hams can do in times of emergency and disaster. And they managed to have a lot of fun.

Thanks the members of BARC for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy Ham Radio Operation.