Saving Halloween from the Atheists and Pagans

    

          The forces of radical atheism are at war with more than Christmas.   Even Halloween is frequently under attack by those who would tell you that it's a Pagan holiday.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  One need look no further than Mexico to see that their Halloween traditions are tightly tied to religion.  Of course this is because Halloween is a Christian holiday.   The name Halloween comes from the word hallowed, which means "holy" and the word ween which is an old English word meaning "to think".  In other words, Halloween is a day for thinking holy thoughts.

            Unfortunately, the forces of radical atheism threaten to rob this great day of the symbols of its proud Christian heritage.   If these people have their way all traces of Halloween's Christian roots would be erased and all references to Jesus would be stricken from Halloween parades, store displays, and the hopeful mouths of trick or treating Christian children.    We must all stand together against this atheistic tyranny.

            One of the stories, atheists don't want you to know is the story of the Jack O'Lantern.   In Ireland, Christians were persecuted for many centuries.  One of the reasons that St. Patrick was celebrated for driving the snakes from Ireland is because they used to feed Christian children to the snakes.   Christians were kept  poor and not allowed to hold jobs.  Their possessions were simple, but their faith was mighty.

            As the Irish traveled along the countryside at autumn harvest time looking for work picking crops, they were frequently met with signs that said Christians need not apply.   Even a non-Christian who hired a Christian to pick his crops faced persecution from the Irish King.   

            The Irish  needed a subtle symbol to let others know that they welcomed Christians and that the light of Jesus shined within them.   They came up with the idea of taking a pumpkin and carving a smiling face on it.   They then placed a candle inside the pumpkin and placed it in the window.

            The Irish named this pumpkin Jack of the Light or the Americanized version, "Jack O' Lantern".   Christians knew if they saw one of these Jack O'Lanterns in any home, they could receive help there.  If they needed shelter they could stay there and if they needed food, they needed food, the home owners would share whatever meager provisions they could.

            Some families of more well to do Christians began to get a reputation for their generosity.  Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of those powerful people in the government who were against Christians.  They began to pay attention to the people who came to those houses and to record their names.  

            After the first arrests, the Irish Christians got a bright idea.  They began to wear disguises and costumes to conceal their identities from government spies.  It became a beautiful tradition, which we exported when Halloween was brought to America. 

            Nowadays, pumpkins are carved into the most grotesque and hideous shapes imaginable and the original meaning of the Jack O'Lantern has been lost.   Costumes likewise, have become more about displaying skin than about obscuring identities   However, Ireland has become one of the most Christian countries in the world.  How many prayers would have remained unprayed if not for Jack of the Light.

            America may not have had Ireland's religious persecution, but Halloween has remained an important holiday since it was brought to this country by Irish immigrants in the 19th century.   By the early part of the 20th century, the holiday had spread throughout the entire United States.  The concept of Trick or Treating became especially important in the years of Roosevelt's Great Depression when candy was replaced by canned goods and the peas or stewed tomatoes a child earned trick or treating might be all the food that his family had to eat for dinner that night. 

            Records from the period are spotty at best, but I firmly believe more families made it through the Depression because of trick or treating than from any expensive social program that President Roosevelt launched in a misguided attempt to create a safety net for the poor.

Jack Kimble's Speech at the 2013 Value Voters Summit

It's a pleasure to be here today.  I am proud of my values and they have always informed my policy decisions.   I developed these traditional values during my amazing upbringing, which you can read about in Profiles in Courageousness, which I will be selling after my presentation.  If you can't get it here, you can get it at better bookstores everywhere or at Amazon.com if you don't make a habit of going to bookstores. 

I look at those of us upholding the Constitution and conservative values in Congress as being inheritors to the mantle of Columbus.  Much like the so called experts of his day, warned Columbus that the Earth was flat and he'd meet certain doom, so too have the pundits of today told us that we were heading for certain doom by shutting down the government.  While Columbus had to face down fierce Indian warriors, we face the Democrat party.  Columbus had no road map to take him to the new world, and neither do we, but we're both guided by an overwhelming faith in God to guide us.  And like Columbus, we shall bring civilization to this country.

I have to admit, that I often wonder what Columbus would think about our country today.  Would he recognize it?  When he sees our failing economy and our unsecured borders, how would he feel about seeing illegal immigrants swarm into his beloved country?  Would he be shocked that many of them don't even speak English?  If he heard about Obamacare, would he just get back in his boat and turn around?

Yesterday, this hall was buzzing with notices of the EBT shutdown.  At first, many of you assumed it was something to do with the government shut down.  I had a bunch of people come up to me and ask, "did you have something to do with this?'  While, I would have liked to take credit, I think perhaps maybe you can take credit for it.  Maybe when enough of us with faith and morals and values gathered together praying so hard for this country that the EBT glitch was an answer to our prayers.   Maybe God stopped those people from getting food as a sign to us that he hears us. 

Columbus and his men didn't need government handouts.  They went off to discover their own futures.  I advocate that we do something similar for the poor in this country.   Let's equip them with ships and weapons and allow them to "discover" some countries that are weaker than ours and subjugate and colonize them.  They will find fortune and we will gain us a country from their labor.

The population of Australia is about 23 million people.  The number of Americans living in poverty is about 46 million.   Surely, Australia would be a wonderful addition to our great land.  If not Australia, what about Bolivia or Guam?  It's time we end the era of big government handouts and open a new era, an era of discovery.

Our First 2014 Internet Ad - One More Chance

Congressman Kimble Doesn't Let Shutdown Stop Him

[Reprinted from the Oakdale Value Shopper]

The recent government shut down has been a hardship for Congressmen.   The Members Dining Room has closed leaving many politicians wondering where their next meal will come from and without interns to operate things like remote controls and bottle openers, life has been anything but normal for the Congressmen they left behind. 

Fortunately, for the Washington area's young people, Jack Kimble has used the shut down to redouble his efforts to promote his Caddy for Congress program aimed at teaching important work force skills to teenagers in the Washington area.

"Caddying is one of the world's noblest occupations and it's a great start in life for a teen who isn't afraid of a little hard work.   Caddy for Congress gives kids a chance to perfect their caddying skills while receiving quality mentoring from an actual member of Congress during a round of golf.   While the amateur caddies aren't paid, you can be sure being selected to the program looks great on a resume."

Sometimes alone, sometimes with several other members of Congress, Kimble has been hitting the links and helping local teens for the past 3 years since he saw a need.  According to caddy Jennifer Easton, "It's hard work, but it can be a lot of fun.  I just wished I had known we weren't going to get paid.  I wouldn't have called off work at the Arbys if I knew."

I know Congress has a horrible approval rating right now, but it's great to know the 54th District is represented by a man who doesn't stop serving the people, even when the government is shut down.