A Weekly Blog By Walter Gatlin

How do I say this clearly?

2011-08-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

What is it that people want? They make choices and then when that choice fails they complain. The secret is to fail a winner. That’s right, fail a winner and never look back. Are we supposed to be perfect? No! We are supposed to learn from our mistakes. People have a way of complaining about every failure they have made without moving on. Who cares what people think of you after you have just made a stupid decision? I don’t! Never judge people on one action (Unless it is something cruel and we all know better than that) I judge people only after I have cleared my own plate and after realizing this person ignores what is right. And yes the Bible says I can. Where you ask?

The issue of judging is a contentious one, despite the Bible giving us clear guidelines about making judgments. In Matt 7:1-5, Jesus said not to judge. A closer look at this passage will show that He is referring to personal, hypocritical judging, telling us to take the log out of our own eye (Matt 7:5). Also, it's quite obvious that we should not judge a person's motives or thoughts as we simply don't know what they are (1 Cor 2:11). In John 7:24, with regard to a matter of the Law, Jesus said, "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." In clear terms, we are instructed to make judgments in matters of doctrine and righteous living (see Matt 7:15 and Rom 16:17 also). If we fail to follow these commands then the Bible will become just another book and we will be without a foundation. We'll then be like the Israelites in the time of the Judges: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges 21:25).

If you were in error, wouldn't you want someone to go against the trend and warn you? Of course you would - so, in love, do it for your neighbor. James 4:17 warns us, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." Failing to judge righteously is unspeakably callous as it will leave a sinner on the broad road to destruction (or exposed to false teachers willing to lead him there) and will, bit by bit, turn the holiest of congregations into little more than a social club.

Look, God the almighty the Father of the son Jesus is the only God in the entire existence of this planet to have historically existed. It is a proven fact by thousands and thousands of years of writings and witnesses. These new Gods (Muslims, Atheists, Buda’s etc, etc) haven’t a chance. Believe Muhammad was a God? Read the Quran! It says Muhammad prayed to God thousands of times. A God don’t pray to a God. A man prays to a God and in time dies like a man and is NOT risen like the true God. Jesus.

Walter Gatlin

What is it people want?

2011-08-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

I hear of so many stories about this and that but I never get why things happen the way they do. One little boy may have a terminal illness and hardly anybody pays attention. Yet another little boy has the same condition and it’s all over the world and millions of dollars poor in for him.

How is it that in life some people succeed greatly and yet most people with even better ideas struggle for the same opportunity? It most certainly makes a person wonder. Is there a secret? Is that just the way life goes? Is there a certain thing that goes on in the midst of those that receive the blessings? Some of the people that succeed greatly are as evil as evil gets so I am sure it has nothing to do with you being good or bad. Some success stories have religious people in them and some without religious people in them so I am sure it has nothing to do with religion.

The old adage is probably the best solution for my question. Why do some people succeed and why do most never succeed? You must be at the right place and at the right time.

Is having a terminal illness lucky if you receive millions of dollars in return? I don't know. You will have to ask those who keep the money after the boy dies.

Walter Gatlin.

Am I going to write more?

2011-05-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

Yes I am. I will do my best to blog more so that people may better understand me. For now I must get ready for work but I just wanted to write this to let you know. God Bless.

Trump Downplays Romney as 'Small Business Guy,' Touts Personal Fortune

2011-04-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump says he's a better businessman than a leading GOP hopeful in 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Trump tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he has a "much, much bigger net worth. I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney."

Trump describes Romney as a "small business guy." Trump says he's created thousands of jobs and built a "great company."

Romney is a former venture capitalist with a record of turning around failing companies. While heading Bain Capital, he helped launch the Staples office supply chain, as well as buy Domino's Pizza. Romney invested more than $40 million of his own money in the 2008 race.

Marine Home From Iraq War, Wife Allegedly Assaulted Outside Florida Theater by Teen Mob

2010-12-30T03:18:00.000-08:00

This is a fox news report worth repeating.

He made it home from the Iraq war just in time for Christmas. She was looking forward to a night out with her husband after so much time apart. But a group of teenagers had other plans for Federico and Kalyn Freire, who were assaulted outside a Florida movie theater after asking the teens to be quiet during a movie on Christmas Day. Federico Freire, a 28-year-old Marine, and Kalyn Freire were attacked after the couple attended a showing of "Little Fockers" on Saturday in Bradenton, Fla. "The saddest part about it was that this was our first date night together in a long time," Freire's wife, Kalyn, said in an interview Wednesday with FoxNews.com. "We were just looking to spend some time together." Freire, a Florida native stationed at Camp Pendelton in California, said he and his wife asked a group of "obnoxiously loud" teenagers talking on cell phones to "be quiet" during the 8:20 p.m. movie. "This was my first time back in town from my tour in Iraq," he said.

Freire told FoxNews.com that news outlets reporting he was home on leave from Afghanistan were incorrect, and that he had served a combat tour in Iraq and currently was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Freire said that when the disturbance escalated and the group began cursing, his wife called the manager, who asked several of the teenagers to leave the theater. The couple said they thought the fracas was over until they walked out of the theater and were assaulted by a mob of menacing teenagers.

"On our way out of the movie theater, my wife gets surrounded with about 10 to 15 girls that were about to attack her," Freire told FoxNews.com. "As soon as I saw this I immediately ran and got her out of harm's way." Freire said he was kicked and punched as he and his wife tried to run from the group. "I leaned down to grab my purse and there were literally 100 teens around us," Kalyn Freire said, "While the manager was in the corner with his mouth open and not doing anything."

Freire said one bystander stepped forward and told the couple to follow him to his car, saying he could scare the crowd off with a gun. But before the two reached the man's vehicle, one of the teenagers said, "I'm going to knock your wife out," before punching Freire's wife to the ground, the couple said. Deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene and arrested two 15-year-old brothers and charged them with misdemeanor battery.

According to a police report, three others -- 16-year-old Ishmael Dunbar, 17-year-old Reginald Gardner and 20-year-old Destiny McNeil -- were arrested and charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer and trespassing.
"All available units were requested to respond to disperse the crowd for officer safety and to restore order," the police report said. One teenager was stunned by a Taser. Authorities said the fight attracted about 300 bystanders.

Judging is clearly being un-Christian? Wrong!

2010-12-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

My weekly Blog will astound you as I bring you the facts of many subjects. This one below written by: Robert Meyer

Regardless of the level of theological sophistication, we can always be sure the critics "know" one thing: The Bible says that we should not judge one another. Anyone who would do so is clearly being un-Christian. Such obtuse reasoning is employed against Christians who offer a negative commentary on certain cultural trends, behaviors or lifestyles. Still, I wonder how many people have taken this concept to its logical conclusion?

We now hear that in our modern times, John 3:16 has been replaced by Matthew 7:1, as the most often quoted scriptural passage. This is clearly because we have taken the focus off of what the Creator has done for us, and placed it on the creatures do for themselves. We have taken the emphasis off of grace, and have instead made the approval of moral pluralism the quintessential virtue of the age.

The very idea that all judging is wrong, is an illegitimate synthesis between Christianity, moral relativism, and the contemporary perspective on "tolerance." These ideas have been wedded together to conjure up witch's brew of self-contradictory sophistry.

Christianity has traditionally viewed "tolerance" through a prism of scriptural precept that parallels the garden variety dictionary definition. The scriptures say things like, "Love endures all things," and "As much as it depends on you, live peacefully with all men." The traditional definition is that "tolerance" is graciously enduring those who you disagree with.

Today, "tolerance" has been reconstructed to mean something entirely different. Essentially it means that all ideas, lifestyles and truth claims, are deemed equally valid. Christian author and speaker Josh McDowell refers to this phenomenon as "negative tolerance"(permission) versus "positive tolerance" (approval). One can readily see how this new definition of tolerance circles back to the claim made about judging. If nobody has a superior moral position, then nobody has the standing to "judge" anything in terms of ethical hierarchy.

But does the use of Matthew 7:1, as a stand-alone quotation, bring contextual justice to the point Jesus is making? Of course not. Later in the passage, Christ refers to certain people unable or unwilling to assimilate spiritual things. He refers to them figuratively as "pigs" and "dogs." That sounds a bit like judging to me! In the book of John, Jesus talks of rendering a "righteous judgement," rather than none at all. The point was never that we should not make moral judgments, or employ an ethical hierarchy in being discreet about evaluating "right" and "wrong." The idea was that there should be no "double-standards." We should not judge others by a standard we would not want to be judged with ourselves. This is how we avoid "judgmentalism" and cronin fault-finding. We are exhorted to correct our own hypocrisies before reforming the world.

Now that is very different from telling someone that they shouldn't dare to call anything wrong. In fact, such reasoning will ultimately lead to calling evil good and good evil. This is because evil cannot be called evil, since such labeling is judgmental. Good is considered evil, because those who are endeavoring to do good by calling something else wrong, are guilty of judging. How could any court of justice operate if all judgment without exception were considered wrong? All criticisms of anything would have to be withheld on the basis that such critiques are judgmental in nature.

Christian apologist Greg Koukl offers us the perfect antidote to this apparent logical dilemma. He says that we must be egalitarian in terms persons, but elitist in reference to ideas. That principle is embodied in the old ecclesiastical adage that we are to hate the sin, yet love the sinner. This is a perfect expression of "righteous judgment," but it is a posture that would be condemned today as grossly judgmental. And yet in effect, is it any different from saying, "We support the troops, but oppose the war(We have concern for the person, but disapprove of the cause)?" The latter position is assumed to be accepted as valid without question, despite the fact that the former is seen as intolerant. Interesting paradox.

Last year an editorial writer to my local newspaper made a preposterous claim. He declared that the only hope for the peaceful co-existence of mankind, was that each of us must accept and respect the other guy's truth. We can't be dogmatic and say the other guy is wrong. But in articulating such a standard, the writer himself is engaged in judging, not to mention being dogmatic. Applying Koukl's axiom to this situation, we might say that all people deserve respect because of their unique position as reflecting the image of God. But in the process of evaluating the cogency of ideas, the writer clearly is confused, as he seeks to reconstruct the term "truth," by making it tantamount to opinion.

The idea that we can never judge about anything is patently absurd. To say that we can never judge is to wander aimlessly. The scriptures tell us that we should reprove each other, speaking the truth in love. What our society lacks is righteous judgment. What we have an abundance of is knit-picking and indifference. Neither of those two alternatives promotes justice and righteousness.

Oh Happy Day! (Full version) - Choeur Gospel Célébration de Québec & Syl...

2010-11-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

Does God exist?

2010-11-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

My weekly Blog will astound you as I bring you the facts of many subjects. This one below written by: Marilyn Adamson

Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

But first consider this. If a person opposes even the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized or explained away. It is like if someone refuses to believe that people have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to change their thinking. Photographs of astronauts walking on the moon, interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks...all the evidence would be worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot go to the moon.

When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.1 On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you."2 Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider...

1. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.

Many examples showing God's design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:

The Earth...its size is perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.3 Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet our massive oceans are restrained from spilling over across the continents.4

Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:

It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.5

Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.

Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.6

The human brain...simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the texture of your keyboard. Your brain holds and processes all your emotions, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.

The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.7 Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world. The brain functions differently than other organs. There is an intelligence to it, the ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take action, and relate to other people.

The eye...can distinguish among seven million colors. It has automatic focusing and handles an astounding 1.5 million messages -- simultaneously.8 Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing organisms. Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source of the eye or the brain -- the start of living organisms from nonliving matter.

2. Does God exist? The universe had a start - what caused it?

Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. This was the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.

Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, "The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion...The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen."9

Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, "the universe was about a hundred thousands million degrees Centigrade...and the universe was filled with light."10

The universe has not always existed. It had a start...what caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.

3. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?

Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the speed of light doesn't change -- on earth or in galaxies far from us.

How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?

"The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence."11

Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."12

4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell's behavior.

All instruction, all teaching, all training comes with intent. Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. Did you know that in every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed instruction code, much like a miniature computer program? As you may know, a computer program is made up of ones and zeros, like this: 110010101011000. The way they are arranged tell the computer program what to do. The DNA code in each of our cells is very similar. It's made up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C. These are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and so on. There are three billion of these letters in every human cell!!

Well, just like you can program your phone to beep for specific reasons, DNA instructs the cell. DNA is a three-billion-lettered program telling the cell to act in a certain way. It is a full instruction manual.13

Why is this so amazing? One has to ask....how did this information program wind up in each human cell? These are not just chemicals. These are chemicals that instruct, that code in a very detailed way exactly how the person's body should develop.

Natural, biological causes are completely lacking as an explanation when programmed information is involved. You cannot find instruction, precise information like this, without someone intentionally constructing it.

5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.

I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don't believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions as caring for those poor, delusional people...to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.

I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn't escape thinking about the possibility of God. In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God's existence, my prayer began with, "Ok, you win..." It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.

I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England."

Lewis went on to write a book titled, "Surprised by Joy" as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.

6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.

Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at him. Though he talked about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in him, believed in the Father.

He said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."14 He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say, "follow my words and you will find truth." He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me."15

What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people...blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects...created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature...walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because he constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you're seeing.16

Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of his punishment, his love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because he first loved us.

Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, he offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."17 This is God, in action.

Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We're told that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."18

God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. The earth's perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ. If you need to know more about Jesus and reasons to believe in him, please see: Beyond Blind Faith.

If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can.

This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her]."19 If you want to do this, but aren't sure how to put it into words, this may help: "Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come into my life. I want to know you in a real way. Come into my life now. Thank you that you wanted a relationship with me. Amen."

God views your relationship with him as permanent. Referring to all those who believe in him, Jesus Christ said of us, "I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand."20

So, does God exist? Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way.

Marilyn Adamson

New Details Expected In Grocery Shooting - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

2010-10-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

New Details Expected In Grocery Shooting - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

Ohio Baby Arrives At 10:10 A.M. On 10/10/10 - National News Story - KCCI Des Moines

2010-10-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ohio Baby Arrives At 10:10 A.M. On 10/10/10 - National News Story - KCCI Des Moines

Sell cars, sell hard and sell as many as you can?

2010-10-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

I am in the Automobile sales business. It is very easy to condemn a guy like me as most people think a car sales person is filled with deceit and tries to take advantage of people by selling the vehicle for far more than it's worth. The days of selling a car for more than its worth is over. In fact it is quite the opposite as dealers cut each others throats trying to sell the most vehicles as they can per month and the customer wanting retail for their trade while wanting to pay wholesale for ours. Seams to me like the only people getting the great deal are the customers and the dealers. The Sales Associate’s pay scale has gone way down is recent years and no longer has the freedoms they once had. The one thing I can’t stand the most is when the customer comes in and spends hours of your free time, does not buy and then never even acknowledges your existence or hard work after that. Sad but true.

I believe it is time we as Sales Associate’s start making a profit again by holding onto the little gross in a vehicle we have left by standing firm with our bosses and the customer.

Check out this blog from a guys product I use and love. Car Sales Assistant

Have a great day and be sure and check out the Gatlinboy Show Gatlinboy Show, Wednesdays @ 1pm Central.

Sincerely,

Walter Gatlin

The Gatlinboy Show Airs Today.

2010-09-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Gatlinboy show airs today @ 1PM Central. Go to Gtaz and watch it live or watch it later as all shows are recorded.

LIVE - The President in Iowa: Barack Obama in Des Moines Â» Video Â» Iowa Public Television

2010-09-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

LIVE - The President in Iowa: Barack Obama in Des Moines Â» Video Â» Iowa Public Television

What is it that people want?

2010-07-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Do they want the same thing as happened to Rome?

The Declaration of Independence declares that all people are guaranteed God-endowed inalienable rights, among them being life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. For that purpose -- safeguarding rights -- governments are instituted. Those rights are natural, attached to people solely because people are created in God's image. There are other rights that are not endowed by God but by the civil authority. Those rights are relative and alienable -- that is, conditional -- and are based on one's citizenship.

When protecting one's inalienable and civil rights, the government must discern between liberty and license. This requires that rights attach to persons because of their humanity, not because of their behaviors, and certainly not those behaviors that Western legal and moral tradition has regarded as inimical to the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God," as stated in the Declaration. Yet, today some advocate granting "rights" to behaviors hostile to the most fundamental forms of self-government -- family, church, and community. This is especially the case with homosexual activists, who ironically seek to hijack the moral capital of the civil rights movement. Essential to the homosexual agenda is the idea that homosexuals are fighting for basic civil rights denied them by an oppressive society. This argument strikes a sympathetic chord among many Americans, whose decency and sense of fair play demand that all people be treated fairly. However, a closer look at the truth about homosexuality and the political goals of the "gay rights" movement shows that homosexuals are not an oppressed minority, that opposition to special legal protection for homosexuality is not bigotry, and that extending such protection is dangerous to individuals and society. Contrary to their claims of "discrimination," there is no effort to deny homosexuals the same rights guaranteed to all Americans. The truth is that homosexuals have the same rights, with the same restrictions, as everyone else. Homosexuals have the right to free speech, freedom of religion, due process under the law, the right to engage in commerce, to enter into contracts, own property, vote, along with a host of other rights. In fact, an ACLU handbook lists dozens of rights homosexuals already enjoy. Most people agree that homosexual activists' claim of "discrimination" rings hollow. In a 1999 Wirthlin Worldwide poll of more than 1,000 Americans, 75 percent of the respondents said that "homosexuals have not suffered the same kind of legal injustice (such as not being able to vote, get an education, or earn a living) as black Americans have. In this country all citizens are guaranteed equal protection under the law. What homosexuals are actually calling for is not equal protection but special protection. Homosexuals are restricted from serving in the military as are a dozen other groups, such as older people, young people, single parents, and others who detract from the military's mission. However, military service is not a right but a privilege and a duty for some. That privilege is conditional upon one's behavior; homosexual behavior is discordant with the health, safety, cohesion, and morale of the military.

Not a True Minority

The notion that homosexuals are a true minority group is false. Homosexuals do not meet the three criteria that characterize minority groups that have been accorded special legal protections.

1. Economic Deprivation. As a group, homosexuals are among the most advantaged people in the country. Though different research and marketing firms use different homosexual population numbers, ranging from the actual one percent to an inflated 10 percent or more, research shows that homosexuals fare at least as well or better than the rest of the country.

~ They have median annual household incomes of $45,776. Nationally, the median income for a family household is $35,492, according to 1996 figures from the U.S. Census. According to a study by researcher Greenfield Online in conjunction with homosexual marketing consultant Spare Parts, homosexuals' annual household income is $57,300. Georgia Tech Graphics Visualization & Usability Center found that homosexuals' annual income is $52,000. Market researcher Overlooked Opinions found that male homosexuals reported household incomes of more than $50,000 in 1990, compared to the national average of about $37,000.

~ As for individual incomes, heterosexual men earn $29,162 while homosexual men earn $28,618 a year. Another 1997 study of "gay" newspaper readers conducted by Simmons Market Research Bureau in New York found that the average homosexual's income was $47,000.

~ According to the Miami Daily Business Review, homosexuals have "extraordinarily high disposable income, and are a very attractive target for advertisers." The Review reports Simmons Market Research Bureau findings that 21 percent of homosexuals have household incomes exceeding $100,000; 31 percent have personal income exceeding $65,000; 61 percent have a four-year college degree, compared with the U.S. mean of 18 percent; 17 percent hold masters degrees, compared with 4 percent of the U.S. population as a whole.

2. Political Powerlessness. Homosexuals display political power far beyond their numbers, despite constituting only about 1 percent of the population. "The Gay vote is large, powerful, and able to swing a closely contested election," proclaimed National Gay & Lesbian Task Force spokesperson David Elliot at a National Press Club event in September 2000.

~ The top eleven homosexual activist groups spent approximately $36 million in 1999 fighting for homosexual "rights," according to the Washington Blade. That does not include the over $1 million budget of the homosexual legal arm of the American Civil Liberties Union. Homosexual groups across the country reported a total budget of nearly $100 million in 1999, according to a Gill Foundation study.

~ Homosexual political action committees contributed almost $800,000 to federal candidates. Individual Democratic "gay" activists also raised approximately $5 million for the Democratic National Committee. The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest homosexual advocacy organization, has a $21 million annual budget and boasts on its website that their political action committee also spent more than $2.5 million in the 2000 election. Both President Clinton and Vice-President Gore have courted the homosexual vote at political fund raisers.

~ Openly homosexual politicians hold various high public offices in Congress, including Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.). According to the Blade, 118 openly "gay" candidates ran for federal, state and local office on in the 2000 elections -- 43 of them incumbents.

~ Homosexuals were appointed by the Clinton administration to key positions in the federal government. Among sub-cabinet appointments are: Bruce Lehman, Commissioner, U.S. Patent Office; Nan Hunter, Deputy General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services; Roberta Achtenberg, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing, Housing and Urban Development; Victor Zonana, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs/Media, Department of Health and Human Services; Julian Potter, White House Gay Liaison; and Fred Hochberg, U.S. Small Business Administration Deputy Administrator.

~ In addition, homosexuals enjoy support from every major news organization, whose coverage long ago crossed the line into outright advocacy of homosexual causes. More than six hundred journalists attended a conference of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in September 2000. Homosexuals and their allies such as CNN producer Rose Arce and NBC Nightly News producer Barbara Raab hold influential media positions.

3. Immutable Characteristics. Minority groups share immutable, benign, non-behavioral characteristics such as race, ethnicity, disability or national origin. Homosexuals are the only group to claim minority status based on behavior. There is no reliable scientific evidence which shows that homosexual behavior is biological in origin. A comprehensive examination of genetic claims for homosexuality in the Archives of General Psychiatry (March, 1993) concludes, "There is no evidence at present to substantiate a biologic theory."

~ In a critique of studies that claim to prove a "gay gene," homosexual activist and author Edward Stein, Ph.D., said, "Genes in themselves cannot directly specify any behavior or psychological phenomenon. ... The terms 'gay gene' and 'homosexual gene' are, therefore, without meaning. ... No one has ... presented evidence in support of such a simple and direct link between genes and sexual orientation."

~ Perhaps the biggest indicator that homosexuality is not genetic or immutable is the existence of thousands of people who have come out of the homosexuality. Rather than being considered a minority group, homosexuals are more accurately described as a special interest group. But even that description may be overly generous. Unlike lobbies such as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Realtors Political Action Committee, which represent legitimate concerns, homosexuals are pressing for government-enforced approval of activities that have been condemned in all successful cultures as immoral, unhealthy, and destructive to individuals and societies. Using civil rights arguments is an exploitation of good people's sympathy. A 1987 article in the homosexual magazine Guide outlined the strategy homosexuals should use to gain special protection -- a strategy even more effective today, given a complicit media. "In any campaign to win over the public, gays must be cast as victims in need of protection so that straights will be inclined by reflex to assume the role of protector. ... Our campaign should not demand direct support for homosexual practices, but should instead take anti-discrimination as its theme." Indeed, homosexual activists actively avoid public discussion of homosexual behavior. In the 1989 book After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Hatred and Fear of Homosexuals in the 90s, a blueprint for homosexual political power, the authors warn that: "The public should not be shocked and repelled by premature exposure to homosexual behavior itself." Homosexual activists realize that when people become aware of the common homosexual practices (not to mention the more debased acts), they will see that these behaviors do not merit special protection in the laws. Granting special legal protection to homosexual behavior would also harm civil society by undermining the institutions of marriage and family. Throughout the world, marriage and family are held in highest esteem. They are recognized as the foundations for civil society. The value and benefit of marriage and family as the genesis of each new generation are reflected in our nation's laws, which afford them special privileges and immunities. If homosexual behavior were to receive the same status, marriage and family would be reduced to just one of a number of lifestyle choices. The effort to redefine the family is really an effort to destroy the common definition and has no logical stopping point. If marriage no longer means the union of a man and a woman, then why not "marry" three men, or two men and a woman? Putting homosexual behavior on a par with marriage and family sends the wrong message to a nation already overburdened with family breakdown and its attendant pathologies. Granting special legal protection to homosexuals would also take away rights from others.

~ Parents could lose the right to protect their children from school-endorsed exposure to homosexuality and other various "sexual orientations."

~ Private religious and civic groups would no longer be able to exclude homosexuals. For instance, the Boy Scouts of America were sued and brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2000 to explain why they had "violated" New Jersey's law against discrimination against homosexuals. Though the Scouts won by a razor-thin 5 to 4 margin, the writing on the wall was clear: homosexual activists have pressured local and state governments into giving homosexuals special legal protection instead of securing the inalienable religious and associational rights of private organizations. That is tyranny masquerading as "tolerance."

~ Landlords, even those in duplexes and family-centered complexes, could be forced to rent to open homosexuals.

~ Good people of conscience are losing the right to disagree. For example, two Madison, Wisconsin women were forced to pay fines, attend a political re-education class, write a letter of apology and informed that they were to be monitored by a public agency for two years because they declined to room with a lesbian.

Opposition to extending special protection to homosexuals is not based on ignorance or bigotry, as homosexuals often claim. It is based on informed judgment about homosexual behavior and the political agenda of homosexual activists. If pro-family concerns were not based on fact, logic and careful thought, they might indeed be guilty of prejudice. But homosexuality is not a civil right. It is behaviors that people can and have changed.

They found Jaycee Lee Dugard! After 18 years!!!

2009-08-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Woman who was snatched from a bus stop as an 11-year-old child in 1991 turned up at a California police station after 18 mysterious years, and a convicted sex offender and his wife were arrested in the kidnapping.

Jaycee Lee Dugard was reunited with her mother, who was overjoyed to learn the daughter she feared dead was actually alive.

It was not immediately clear how Dugard spent the 18 years since she was abducted as a blond, ponytailed child outside her South Lake Tahoe home.

Police said she recently walked into a Northern California police station with Phillip Garrido, 58, one of her alleged captors. He and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, were arrested for investigation of kidnapping and conspiracy on Wednesday, police said.

Phillip Garrido is also being held for investigation of rape by force, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and sexual penetration, said Jimmie Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa Sheriff's Department.

Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 50 years in prison and served nearly 11 years in Nevada for a federal kidnapping conviction, said Suzanne Pardee, a spokeswoman for Nevada state prisons.

He also served seven months concurrently for a conviction for rape by force or fear at the medium-security Northern Nevada Correctional Center. Pardee said Garrido was paroled in August 1988.

A public records search showed Garrido as president of a company called God's Desire.

Dugard was in good health when she came into a San Francisco Bay area police station and revealed her name.

"We're 99 percent sure it's her," said sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell of the El Dorado Sheriff's Department, who was a detective assigned to help investigate the kidnapping in 1991. DNA tests were being conducted.

California corrections officials said they called in Phillip Garrido for questioning Wednesday after receiving a report that he was seen with two small children at the University of California, Berkeley.

Two children and two adult women accompanied him to the station.

"The diligent questioning and follow-up by the parolee's agent of record led to Garrido revealing his kidnapping of the adult female," the department said in a statement. "It was further revealed by Garrido that she was Jaycee Lee Dugard, and that the children were his."

It was not immediately clear who was the mother of the children.

FBI spokesman Joe Schadler said the woman was reunited with her mother Thursday morning. He declined to provide details.

The suspects were being held in El Dorado County. Jail records showed Nancy Garrido was being held on $4.195 million bail and Phillip Garrido was not eligible for bail because he is a parolee.

A house in the city of Antioch where the Garridos live was cordoned off with police tape as it was searched by FBI agents and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department.

Neighbor Helen Boyer, 78, described the Garridos as nice and friendly and said they cared for Phillip Garrido's elderly mother.

"If I needed something, they would be the first I would call on," Boyer said.

Dugard's stepfather, Carl Probyn, 60, said he was overwhelmed by the news that Dugard was alive. He said for years he had done everything he could to help find her, especially because he knew suspicion had fallen on him.

"It broke my marriage up. I've gone through hell, I mean I'm a suspect up until yesterday," he told The Associated Press at his home in Orange, Calif. "I'm the last person to see her."

Witnesses reported that a vehicle with two people drove up to Dugard and abducted her while her stepfather watched on June 10, 1991.

Probyn said he saw someone reach out and grab her before the car sped away.

"As soon as I saw the door fly open, the driver's door, I jumped on my mountain bike and I tried to get to the top of the hill but I had no energy. I rode back down and yelled at my neighbor, 911!" he recalled.

Probyn said his wife, from whom he is separated, was devastated by the kidnapping. He said for 10 years after the crime, she would take a week off work at Christmas and on the anniversary of the abduction and spend the time crying at home.

The case attracted national attention and was featured on TV's "America's Most Wanted," which broadcast a composite drawing of a suspect seen in the car.

Probyn eventually lost hope that he would ever see his stepdaughter alive. He said he was struggling to understand why Dugard didn't come forward earlier.

"I have a million questions, but I'm just delighted," he said.

Lovell said investigators have been working the case consistently since the abduction and new leads had surfaced over time.

"You bet it's a surprise. This is not the normal resolution to a kidnapping," he said.