Some Thoughts on the Occasion of My Retirement (in March of 2015)

This week I go on terminal leave from my secular job. Yes, I’m retiring! Forgive me for some personal recollections and reflections.

In my 65 some years of life I have been employed in any number of occupations and/or careers. Those that come to mind are listed below, Some were after school or summer employment in my youth. I’m certain that I’ve missed some:

Electrician’s helper for my granddad, Homestead, FL

Distributor of “handbills” for a funeral home door-to-door. Homestead, FL

Worker at my dad’s used car lot (including an occasional repossession of cars), Homestead, FL

Grandstands & pits Coca-Cola vendor, Florida City Speedway, Florida City, FL

Newspaper delivery boy, Wooster, OH

Employee at Burger Chef, Wooster, OH

Landscaping laborer, Wooster, OH

Stock boy, J.J. Newberry’s Department Store, Wooster, OH

Spot welder at Crown Steel Mfg., Wooster, OH

Production worker, R&D Metals, Kidron, OH

Midshipman, USNR (NROTC at Ohio State University)

Tomato grader at a packing house in Princeton, Florida (I lasted for half of a day)

Worker & supervisor pouring concrete driveways, Homestead, FL

Officer of United States Marines
(2ndLt – Captain | Infantry, Intelligence, Administration | 1^st Division; 2^nd Division; 3^rd Division)

Security Officer, Pinkerton Security, Watertown, WI

House painter, Watertown, WI

Handyman, Watertown, WI

Print shop worker, Bethesda Lutheran Home, Watertown, WI

Warehouse supervisor & purchasing agent Aero Vans, Miami, FL

Bank Teller, Barnett Bank, Homestead, FL

Information Specialist (Web master, graphic editor), Office of Conferences & Institutes, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Pastor, Landmark Baptist Church  |  Administrator, Landmark Baptist School, Homestead, FL and Archer, FL

Knowing what I know now, I would have done some things differently. Of course, in God’s Providence I had to travel the path I traveled to “know the things I now know.”

There are a few things that I think I’ve learned and will pass on for whatever they may be worth.

1.   I don’t think that I would ever have gone to college. It is a glorious waste of time and money. I would rather have sat at the feet of “dead men”, reading and studying the books of my forbears and reaping the combined wisdom that they passed on. I realize that some folks might tend to give more heed to a man with a college degree, but some folks are idiots.

2.   On a similar note, I never would have gone to Seminary either. What things the Lord has been pleased to teach me are in most cases directly contrary to the things I was “taught” in Seminary. In fact, Seminary drove me to the writings of the Old Saints that I might repudiate the garbage that was being taught in class. So, I guess Seminary did serve some purpose.

The venerable dead are waiting for me in my library

to entertain me and relieve me from the nonsense

of the surviving mortals        -- Samuel Davies

3.   For “secular” employment I would have cultivated a skill that could be practiced with the minimum of government knowledge and/or interference. Gun smith, carpenter, electrician, etc. The best path may have been farming, as I believe that a return to an Agrarian culture and economy is the last best hope for our land.

4.   Most importantly, I would never have joined the empire’s military. Certainly there is a need to protect our folk and property, but there is no protection for true liberty from a large standing national military. We need a return to local militia that truly protect folk and property -- if need be from the standing army of the Empire. (And such a time seems to be fast approaching).

By the Grace of God I shall continue as husband, father, grandfather, pastor of the Lord’s church in Archer and chairman of Free Florida First until the Lord calls me home.

Below is a transcript of a poem that my grandpa kept on his wall. It is now on one of mine.

Lord Keep me working

Lord Keep me working, Keep me fit,
At windows I don't want to sit,
Watching my fellows hurrying by,
Let me stay busy until I die.
Grant me strength and breath and will
Some useful niche in life to fill.
A need to serve, a task to do,
Let me each morning rise anew,
Eager and glad that I can bear,
My portion of the morning's care.

Lord, I don't want to sit about,
Broken and tired and all worn out.
Afraid of wind and rain and cold,
Let me stay busy when I am old.
Although I walk at slower pace,
Still let me meet life face to face.
Let me a garden plant and sow,
Set phlox and peony row and row.
New wood for winter's cozy fire,
And at some useful labor tire.
This is MY PRAYER: As time goes by,
"Lord, Keep Me Busy, ‘Til I Die."

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

The Undefeated

Are we going to win this battle with Leviathan on the North American continent? Will freedom be restored to Florida and to Dixie? I have to admit that I very much doubt it.

But that does not affect my commitment to the cause. I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet. Mine is not to foresee the future in minute detail. Based upon present circumstances I can speculate how thing might turn out, but I cannot know. I do know that a Sovereign God reigns and that He will accomplish His perfect will in ALL THINGS. I do know that His revealed will is to be found in the Holy Scriptures and that it is our duty to obey that revealed will.

I am often drawn back to the words of two great Christian soldiers. First, Lt. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, who said: “Duty is ours; consequences are God's.” 

And then, General Robert E. Lee, who said in the midst of some of the more discouraging days of the War Against yankee Agression: “At present I am not concerned with results. God's will ought to be our aim, and I am quite contented that His designs should be accomplished and not mine.”            

Let us take inspiration from the example of Major General Joseph O. Shelby. Providence may not give us “victory” in this life, but we are not defeated until we say we are.

The following is from -- From 6 Soldiers Who Refused to Surrender by Evan Andrews:

Confederate General Joseph O. Shelby was so reluctant to surrender to Union forces that his unit earned the nickname “the Undefeated.” Shelby had spent the Civil War commanding a bushwhacking band of cavalry on a series of raids through Missouri and Arkansas. By the end of the conflict, his “Iron Brigade”—so named for its legendary grit—had caused millions of dollars in damages to Union supplies and property.

Announcing that they chose “exile over surrender,” Shelby and roughly 600 soldiers rode south to Mexico after the collapse of the Confederacy. Following a three-month journey through the desert, they offered their services to Maximilian I, an Austro-Hungarian who had been installed as emperor of Mexico in 1864. While the emperor balked at including rebel soldiers in his army, he allowed Shelby’s émigrés to help found the Carlota Colony, a small settlement of Confederate expats. The upstart community enjoyed a brief period of prosperity but eventually dissolved after Emperor Maximilian was overthrown. Having never surrendered to federal forces, Shelby and most of his comrades returned to the United States in 1867 and resumed civilian life.

If we cannot be the victorious, let us be the “undefeated.”

In the words of General Shelby: “We are the last of our race. Let us be the best as well." 

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

A Dangerous Old Man

Lord willing, I will be retiring from my “secular” job very soon. As I’ve mentioned before, I intend to keep preaching and “talking a little treason” with my comrades at Free Florida First and via this blog, Truth Crushed to Earth, and my electronic paper, Just for Your Consideration, for as long as the Lord allows.

"Well it's a nice, soft night, so I think I'll go and

join me comrades and talk a little treason." 
-- Michaleen Flynn in The Quiet Man, 1952. 

 

Indeed, I suspect that circumstances may soon call for actions well beyond talking in the not too distant future and that’s all I have to say about that . . .

 

In any case, I aspire to be a “Dangerous Old Man” for the rest of my days. Such an occupation has a very long and honorable history.

 

In Psalm 92 we read: (12) The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (13) Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. (14) They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; (15) To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

 

Yes, to still bring forth fruit in old age is a great gift and blessing from God. I pray that the Lord may be pleased to make it so.

 

There are almost innumerable examples of dangerous old men, who brought forth fruit in old age. I’ll share just a few that readily come to mind.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

On April 19, 1775, British forces were withdrawing to Boston after their first engagement with Colonial troops. Some of the Brits had the misfortune of passing the fields of the old farmer, Samuel Whittemore, who personally ambushed the Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot from behind a stone wall. After dispatching three British soldiers with his rifle and two dueling pistols, he drew his sword and attacked. He was shot in the face, bayoneted numerous times, and left for dead in a pool of his own blood. Later he was found by colonial forces, still alive and trying to reload his musket to continue the fight. He did eventually die, some 18 years later, from natural causes at the age of 98.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

"Old Jack" Hinson of Stewart County, Tennessee, made a valiant effort to remain neutral when the war for Southern Independence broke out. But as often proves to be the case, the yankees would not allow him to do so for any length of time. Two of his sons were executed and beheaded, without trial, after falsely being accused of being bushwhackers operating against the Federal forces. Their heads were placed upon the gate-posts of Hinson’s home. In response, Hinson had a Kentucky Long Rifle custom made and began to engage the invading, murdering yankees as a long-range sniper. Before the war was over, he had dispatched as many as 100 of the invaders from distances of up to one-half of a mile (all this with open iron sights). At various times elements of four Union regiments pursued him, yet he was never captured. He survived the war, and lived until 1874.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

And one final example from my home state of Florida

 

During the final weeks of the War for Southern Independence yankee forces landed at the mouth of the St. Marks River, determined to capture our capital at Tallahassee. The invaders were met by a hastily assembled force from Tallahassee that was composed largely of “a motley militia of old men (some as old as 70) and young boys (as young as 14).” This force repelled three separate major attacks by the invaders at the battle of Natural Bridge and spared Tallahassee from capture, which was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured to be Union forces.

There is a beautiful little state park at Natural Bridge today, with a monument to our defenders. If you are ever in the neighborhood, I would highly recommend it.

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.

It Can't Be Fixed!

The last couple of days have once again shown that we cannot fix the present political/governmental system.

Unelected bureaucrats at the FCC have pushed through “Net Neutrality” in spite of supposed GOP opposition. Bureaucrats are once again making laws that we all will be forced to comply with.

I’ve been looking in the US Constitution for the Article or Amendment that authorizes such a thing, but have still not been able to find it.

Unelected bureaucrats at the BATF are in the process of banning some of the most popular and readily available ammunition for America’s most popular rifle platform, the AR-15. I’m still looking for where this is authorized in the US Constitution. And where in this wonderful Constitution does it stipulate that our firearms and ammunition are to be restricted to “sporting purposes”? My firearms may be used for “sporting purposes,” but their primary function is defense against tyranny. 

Then there are Obama’s executive orders covering everything from special privileges for sodomites to amnesty for illegal aliens. And you thought that Congress was supposed to make the laws! 

The US Constitution has not and will not protect us. It has not and will not restore liberty to this land. 

Neither will the Democrats, nor the Republicans protect us and restore liberty to this land.

I mean really, those folks who continue to look to the party of the tyrant Lincoln for relief must constantly ignore the reality that surrounds them. The Republicans control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but they have not prevailed in any meaningful conflict with Obama (assuming that they really want to prevail). I can only say that if the GOP is the answer, then it must have been a very stupid question. Near as I can figure the Republicans must either be incompetent or cowards or traitors (perhaps all three, at least in some cases).

Look at the record. It does not matter whether the Republicans or Democrats are in control the WARFARE / WELFARE STATE continues to grow as a malignant cancer. 

The ONLY solution is to separate ourselves from the tyranny that is the Federal (Feral) Government. Begin in your own heart and mind and then do what you can to spread the message to others -- family, church, community, etc.

TRUST GOD!
STAY IN THE FIGHT!
NEVER GIVE UP!
NEVER QUIT!
DEO VINDICE!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of the paper that I compile every week.

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This just in . . . we’re doomed . . .

Well, at least humanly speaking and for the foreseeable future.

But we are tasked to continue the struggle against tyranny for as long as we have breath.

As my Baptist forefathers, during the First War for Independence, were wont to say (and which is reflected in the first proposed Great Seal for the United States): “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.”

No, I don’t see how this land can survive another two years of an Obama presidency . . . but that may be a good thing.

In any case, I know that my Sovereign Lord reigns and that He is working His perfect will in all things.

In the meantime . . . let us continue on, obeying not the Leviathan state, but the revealed will of God.

As we are reminded by two of our great chieftains from the Second War of Independence:

“Duty is ours; consequences are God's.” – Lt. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

“At present I am not concerned with results. God's will ought to be our aim, and I am quite contented that His designs should be accomplished and not mine.”– General Robert E. Lee

TRUST GOD!
STAY IN THE FIGHT!
NEVER GIVE UP!
NEVER QUIT!
DEO VINDICE!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of the paper that I compile every week.

If you would like to be added to our email list and receive the paper every week, CLICK HERE and fill out the form.

A nation that has forgotten God!

It’s been another hectic week for me and I expect that to continue until I retire from my secular employment (planning to go on terminal leave towards the end of April). I’ll keep on preaching and “talking a little treason” with my friends as long as the Lord allows me to do so.

"Well it's a nice, soft night, so I think I'll go and

join me comrades and talk a little treason." 
-- Michaleen Flynn in The Quiet Man, 1952. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A nation that has forgotten God!

One of the most astute and liberty-loving of the so-called “Founding Fathers” was Patrick Henry. He foresaw the path of tyranny down which the US Constitution and the resultant strong central government would lead us. He refused to attend the Constitutional Convention, remarking, “I smell a rat.” He was perhaps the best known of the Anti-Federalist among our early leaders.

Henry also reminded us that: “It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.”

There could hardly be a better description of the good ole’ U S of A today!

The Bible simply states: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17).

Babylon on the Potomac continues to forge the chains of slavery for the people of the Sovereign States.

The assault continues against everyone and everything that would assert that our rights and blessings come for a Sovereign God, and not from an all-powerful central government seated in the District of Corruption.

Secede in your own heart and mind!

Realize that this monstrosity is not your country!

As an illustration of what I’ve written above, I see that Governor Bentley of Alabama has retreated from his stance against sodomite marriage and affirmed the he will “follow the law.” That law being whatever some federal feral judge tells him it happens to be.

Well, Governor Bentley and all such political prostitutes will someday find out that there is a higher court than the US Supreme Court. God’s law has not changed, and it never will. When man’s laws are counter to God’s laws they are null and void and of no effect.

This country has forgotten God and the tyrants have forged our chains.

My trust remains in my Sovereign Lord. He will prevail!

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.

Deo Vindice!

TRUST GOD!

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

NEVER GIVE UP!

NEVER QUIT!

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of our weekly paper, Just for Your Consideration.

CLICK HERE to be added to our email list.