From The Wall Builders: A Shield of Righteousness

This week represents the 75th Anniversary of the start of World War II. I received the following from The Wall Builders that contains yet another significant piece of forgotten history--or, purposely omitted by revisionists--that this country rallied around at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The article...

A Shield of Righteousness Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. (Ephesians 6:14)   This week, (September 1) marks the 75th anniversary of the official beginning of WWII. On September 3, 1939, President Roosevelt addressed the nation with one of his famous "Fireside Chats" stating his resolve to remain a neutral nation in the war, which culminated in an American Proclamation of Neutrality declared on September 5th. However, all of that changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. In his famous "date which will live in infamy" message to Congress requesting that the United States officially declare war on Japan, President Roosevelt stated, "With confidence in our armed forces -- with the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God." This confidence in God and our military (along with his concern for individual American soldiers) was later evident in what is now known as The Heart-Shield Bible. These Bibles (used during World War II) were designed to fit securely into the chest pocket of a soldier’s uniform. The metal plates were securely attached to the front cover of the Bible to stop a bullet from reaching the soldier's heart (which they did on several occasions). In our library at WallBuilders we have several of these World War II Bibles. In the back is a section of psalms and hymns, including “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,”  “America the Beautiful,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”  In the front, there is a note to the soldiers directly from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.   "As Commander-in-Chief I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a foundation of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul." Well before America joined World War II, on the 400th anniversary of the English Bible in 1935, President Roosevelt reminded the nation of the Bible's importance in America's formation and continuance:     "We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a Nation without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic. . . . Where we have been truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity; where it has been to us as the words of a book that is sealed, we have faltered in our way, lost our range finders, and found our progress checked. It is well that we observe this anniversary of the first publishing of our English Bible. The time is propitious to place a fresh emphasis upon its place and worth in the economy of our life as a people." Many other presidents encouraged Americans to read the Bible -- including President John Quincy Adams. Interestingly, before becoming president and while serving as a diplomat to Russia under President James Madison, Adams wrote his ten-year-old son nine letters on the importance of reading the Bible, how to read through the Bible once a year, and how to get the most application form what he read. Immediately after Adams' death in 1847, these letters were published as a book to make his wise counsel on the Bible available to all Americans. Called John Quincy Adams Letters to His Son, on the Bible and Its Teachings, WallBuilders recently reprinted this work in ebook format. Visit our website to get your copy and enjoy the remarkable spiritual insight of this great President of the United States.       The people who revise our history and seek to eliminate religion from our past, continue to ignore the very precepts that made The United States of America the great and shining example that it was. Instead, they tell us that religion is bad, and played no role in the creation of this country, and that anyone supporting religion is ignorant or uneducated. Never be afraid to stand up and voice your opinion on the matter. The less we say, the more the real history of this country is white washed from  religion--and its key role in our history-- to secularist interpretations that remove any references to Christianity and its influence over Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, Congress and everyday Americans.

Exporting US Oil?

An article in today's Yahoo.com on the likelihood of US oil being exported to other countries shows exactly how greedy oil companies have become, and how deaf the Obama Administration is to the well-being of Middle and Lower Class Americans. The article by Alison Sider and Nicole Friedman follows:

"The Obama administration cleared the way for the first exports of unrefined American oil in nearly four decades, allowing energy companies to start chipping away at the longtime ban on selling U.S. oil abroad.

In separate rulings that haven't been announced, the Commerce Department gave Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Enterprise Products Partners LP permission to ship a type of ultralight oil known as condensate to foreign buyers. The buyers could turn the oil into gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.

The shipments could begin as soon as August and are likely to be small, people familiar with the matter said. It isn't clear how much oil the two companies are allowed to export under the rulings, which were issued since the start of this year. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security approved the moves using a process known as a private ruling.

For now, the rulings apply narrowly to the two companies, which said they sought permission to export processed condensate from south Texas' Eagle Ford Shale formation. The government's approval is likely to encourage similar requests from other companies, and the Commerce Department is working on industry-wide guidelines that could make it even easier for companies to sell U.S. oil abroad.

In a statement Tuesday night, the Commerce Department said there has been "no change in policy on crude oil exports."

Under rules imposed after the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, U.S. companies can export refined fuel such as gasoline and diesel but not oil itself except in limited circumstances that require a special license. The embargo essentially excludes Canada, where U.S. oil can flow with a special permit.

Lawmakers enacted the ban after Arab countries declared an embargo on shipments to Western nations because of their support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The embargo caused oil prices to quadruple and led to rationing at gas stations across the U.S.

                                                                            

 

But as drilling companies tap shale formations across the U.S., so much oil is flooding out of the ground that prices for ultralight oil have fallen as much as $10 or more below the price of traditional crude. As a result, producers have lobbied aggressively to relax the export ban, saying they could get a higher price from foreign buyers than from U.S. refiners.

For months, top Obama administration officials have signaled willingness to relax the export restrictions. The softened stance is likely to stir up opposition in Congress, where some lawmakers insist that Americans would benefit from lower fuel prices if the government maintains the longtime export ban.

The shift could be even more controversial because oil prices are stuck above $100 a barrel amid instability in Iraq, Libya and Ukraine. The benchmark U.S. oil price rose on the news, nearing its high for the year, as traders mulled the possibility of supplies leaving the country.

On Tuesday, Americans paid an average of $3.68 a gallon for gasoline at the retail pump, according to motor club AAA.

The private rulings by the Commerce Department define some ultralight oil as fuel after it has been minimally processed, making the oil eligible for sale outside the U.S. The Brookings Institution estimates that as much as 700,000 barrels of ultralight oil per day could be exported starting next year.

Eventually, the exemption could grow to a substantial portion of the three million barrels a day of oil that energy companies are pumping from shale, industry experts say. From 2011 to 2013, U.S. oil output soared by 1.8 million barrels a day, with 96% of new production in the form of light or ultralight oil, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Pioneer Chairman and Chief Executive Scott Sheffield has been one of the most outspoken advocates for oil exports. The Irving, Texas, company pumps most of its oil in Texas, including a joint venture with India's Reliance Industries Ltd. Mr. Sheffield has warned that refiners along the Gulf Coast could become oversaturated with too much oil from shale.

 

Enterprise, based in Houston, is an oil and gas logistics company that operates pipelines and storage terminals, as well as processing equipment for natural gas, condensate and refined fuels.

With few exceptions, U.S. crude oil gets transformed into fuel in plants scattered from California to New Jersey. Canada gets some U.S. oil that it can refine north of the border, but much of that gasoline and diesel flows back south to service stations in Michigan and Minnesota.

Under the private rulings, condensate can qualify as a refined product suitable for export so long as the liquid is stabilized and distilled, according to officials and industry executives.

Stabilization, a process that heats up oil to boil off some of the most volatile gases, has long been an early step in energy production, transportation and refining. Equipment to stabilize oil is common in energy states like Texas. Distillation is an increased step, industry sources said, but far short of refining or turning condensate into finished fuels.

If the volume of minimally processed condensate exports reaches a large scale, it could undermine investments by several companies in refineries and mini-refineries known as splitters that were made based on the companies' previous understanding of the law, said Rusty Braziel, an energy consultant.

Nearly 20 refining projects with capacity of more than 900,000 barrels a day have been proposed and are in various stages of development, according to Credit Suisse Group. This fall, Kinder Morgan Inc. plans to start a $360 million condensate splitter near the Houston Ship Channel that is supported by long-term contracts with BP PLC.

Earlier this year, the chief executive of Continental Resources Inc., the biggest driller in North Dakota, said he expected a wholesale lifting of the export ban so all types of U.S. crude could be sold internationally.

"They want a whole-hog liberalization of exports," said Kevin Book, managing director at political advisory firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC. "Condensate is kind of a baby step in the eyes of some of the producers."

My Reply:


"Wait...Didn't our current President run on a platform of Energy Independence? How is allowing OUR oil to be sold on foreign markets being Energy Independent? OUR oil is so abundant that we should all be paying far less for a gallon of gas; but instead, we're lining the pockets of Corporate America who have become addicted to record profits, quarter after quarter.
Again, how is this policy achieving the promised Energy Independence?
Is this merely ANOTHER lie King Obummer told us?"

In the hours since I penned my reply, not one single person commented on what I wrote; instead, opting to simply descry the decision and whine about the now all-too-familiar 'can't buy groceries, corporate thieves, poor me, blah, blah, blah.'
It seems to me that if people are so upset by this ruling that we would see some sort of grassroots movement to stop this decision from actual enaction. Instead, I bet we see a bunch of sheep following the herd as the oil exporting starts up and the sheep quietly whine to anyone who will listen, but actually do nothing to  prevent this from happening; feeling as if they have no power to stop this blatant grab for cash that only benefits a few corporations and their CEO's.

And ultimately, I think that is exactly what the Obama Administration wants.

D-Day Prayers By American Leaders

The following video from The WallBuilders, shows a side of our leaders that many secularist historians choose to ignore, but which played a vital part of that terrible day and was openly discussed on national radio and amongst our troops participating in the battle known as Operation Overlord. This is real history and further affirms the role of religion in the history of our great country.

Please take the time to watch this video.

70th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion Today, Friday, marks the 70th anniversary of the largest amphibious attack in history. Known as D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the day in which the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to force the Germans inland and away from the bunkers they had prepared for their invasion of England. In this short video, Tim Barton remembers the historic significance of this event and the men that sacrificed so much for the sake of freedom, and he also recalls the faith that bonded America together. Join Tim on this quick look at some original D-Day related documents from our library.   (Click here to view the video.)     To learn more about the actual documents that Tim mentions in the video, be sure to visit WallBuilders.com, or click the links below.            President Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer            General Eisenhower's D-Day Message

Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th

May America never forget the sacrifices of "the greatest generation" both at Pearl Harbor, and throughout the ensuing US involvement in WWII.

We ALL owe an immense debt to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that our freedoms were intact.

Thanks to all those 2400 who lost their lives that terrible morning in 1941.

Many more thanks to all those brave men and women who helped to deal with the aftermath of the attack. What they saw and did is well beyond my comprehension. May you also be remembered for your service and your heroism!

Remembering a Day of Infamy

It is December 7th.

Seventy one years ago was the attack on Pearl Harbor. Truly a "date which shall live in infamy," I hope that you take a moment to reflect on that terrible day that launched the Greatest Generation into the greatest conflict in history.
We all owe those men that were lost that day our respect, out deepest thanks and our honor. They will never be forgotten!