Table of Contents
Volume 41, Number 4
July - August 2010

Sumner's Incidents and Illustrations
Dr. Robert L. Sumner

THEY PICKED THE WRONG DUDE TO ROB! Recently a couple of masked thugs – Donicio Arrindell, age 22, and Frederick Gadson, age 21 – decided to rob a Subway Sandwich Shop in Plantation (FL), a little town of about 5,000 due west of Fort Lauderdale, just off I-595. It looked like a safe time, shortly before midnight and only one patron was dining at a table, an elderly gentleman.

After cleaning out the cash register, the hoods decided the old man finishing his meal would be easy pickings, too, and herded him into the men’s room where they helped themselves to his wallet. What they didn’t know was that this “old man” was John Lovell, an ex-Marine who had served as pilot for two Presidents, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and was a gentleman who not only had a Second Amendment right to bear arms, he knew how to use them.

Although 71-years of age, Lovell works out at the gym every day, doesn’t smoke or use alcohol, and remains very adept at handling himself. After they got his money, the ex-Marine pulled out his business piece and opened fire, hitting both men – each in the head and one in the chest. When police arrived they found one sprawled on the floor and the other one the K-9 dogs found hiding outside in the bushes. Both were taken to the Broward General Medical Center, where Arrindell died and Gadson remained in critical but stable condition at the time of this writing.

As Police Detective Bob Rettig explained, “These criminals ought to realize that most men in their 70s have military backgrounds and aren’t intimidated by idiots. Something tells me this old Marine wasn’t ‘in fear’ even though his life was definitely at risk … And he better not be charged! More like rewarded.” Then he added, “The only thing he could be charged with is partaking in an unfair fight – one 71-year-young Marine against two punks.” Authorities verified he would not be charged, but no mention was made of a reward.

HOPEFULLY, NEVER IN AMERICA! Waiting time to see a specialist, “if” your general practitioner makes a referral for orthopedic surgery: not quite a year (the average time is 40.3 weeks). The shortest wait is for oncology, a mere 4.9 weeks (slightly more than a month). All others are between those two, such as plastic surgery (35.4 weeks) and neurosurgery (31.7 weeks). That medical waiting time is for our neighbors to the north, so highly touted by pro-socialized medicine advocates in the States. At least this is what the Fraser Institute reported, located in British Columbia.

In jolly old socialized England, its Department of Health recently admitted that one in eight patients wait over a year for surgery. Across the pond in booze-soaked France, its socialized medical program resulted in 13,000 dying, most of them from dehydration, during a heat wave in 2003. Ambulance services told folks who called to take care of themselves and hospitals quit answering their phones.

Yet this is the "government, socialized" health care all the Democrat candidates (and many of the Republicans) are touting as “free” to all citizens. That gratis price tag might be higher that you want to pay. As we noted, "hopefully, never in America!"

GOD’S WARRIORS? CNN featured a 3-night, 6-hour contribution by that name, dividing the time equally, or so it said, between Islam, Judaism and Christianity. We didn’t watch much beyond the first segment of the Christian offering – and that only because we understood Jerry Falwell’s final interview was being featured.

Those who suffered through the whole enchilada were not at all pleased, calling the Islam segment little more than Muslim propaganda. The Patriot called it a path where viewers were led “down a path littered with skewed evidence and send[ing] an anti-Judeo-Christian message that is an Islamic terrorist's greatest dream.”

The one who set it up and controlled it was Christiane Amanpour, an immigrant from Iran, whose daddy is a Muslim. He should be proud. The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) described it as "one of the most grossly distorted programs to appear on mainstream American television in many years." It also said Warriors used "pejorative labeling, generalities, testimonials and a stacked lineup of guests" representing "a perfect illustration of classical propaganda techniques."

Liberty University’s friends probably noted she described its dorms (because the sexes are separated) as madrassa, the name for Islamic religious schools. And The Patriot observed she likened Ron Luce of Teen Mania to the Taliban for “advocating modest dress among girls” and said a pro-Israel lobby holds American leaders hostage.

Not exactly unbiased, would you say?

“MATERIAL GIRL” CRUCIFIES CHRIST AFRESH! Madonna Louise Ciccone Penn Ritchie [we are omitting relationships where she never actually married her ‘lover’] – better known to the American public simply as “Madonna” – has been making much of late that she has converted to Kabbalah, a mysticism sect of Judaism. While we’ve never considered it earth-shaking when labels are changed on empty bottles, this act is a little more serious since she was born and raised in a ‘Christian’ religion, Roman Catholicism.

While in America “the land of the free and the home of the brave” one is absolutely free to do anything he or she desires in religion – and Romanists converting to Protestantism (any of the many, many branches) or Protestants converting to Romanism (any of the many, many branches) – ‘converting’ to something else is not necessarily a reproach on Christ.

Alas, when one forsakes Christianity for a non-Christian religion, that is a mare of a different breed, a horse of a different color. Here is how Hebrew 6:6 describes one who leaves the doctrine of Christ, calling it “impossible” if “… they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (emphasis added). And the language in Hebrews 10:28-31 is even stronger: “He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Is this serious? You’d better believe it – and God is not even remotely impressed with how many movies she has made, how many records/albums she has sold (an estimated 200 million in albums alone, Guinness World Records), or how popular she has been with the masses (Guinness lists her as the most popular female singer of all time).

Yes, indeed, it is a fearful thing!

NOT “COY” ENOUGH? Seventy-four-year-old Coy Privette was a prominent Baptist preacher who championed “family values.” His record impressively bears out the excellent qualifications he held in this area. A past president of the North Carolina Baptist Convention and currently on the board of directors and the executive committee, he is also a former trustee at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. At one time he had been nominated to chair the Southern Baptist Convention’s moral-concerns agency (now called the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission), losing in a close vote to moderate Lynn Clayton. His leadership in North Carolina’s Christian Action League – launched to “discourage the promotion and use … of pornography, sexual immorality and other sinful practices” – where he had served for 15 years as executive director and president for the past six years, had been long and impressive.

As a 4-term member of the North Carolina Legislature, he was one of its most vocal anti-vice leaders. He was currently a member of the Cabarrus Board of County Commissioners. He failed in a run for governor in 1976 and for Congress in 1992. Bob Allen, managing editor of EthicsDaily.com called him a “household name” among North Carolina Baptists. He was also Pastor Emeritus of the North Kannapolis Baptist Church, were he served for nearly a decade and a half (1962-1976) and still holds membership.

Now we must drop the other shoe. Privette was recently arrested on six counts of “aiding and abetting prostitution.” It seems that authorities discovered he had paid for sex six times with convicted black prostitute Tiffany Denise Summers, age 32, at a Salisbury, NC hotel room between May 4 and June 25. It was assumed he would only be sentenced to probation. Summers, because of her record, was expected to be treated with less leniency.

Privette evidently has a great family and his four daughters issued a statement saying, "The allegations against our father are incredibly painful, but they do not alter our love, affection and admiration for our father and his life's work … We support our father unconditionally." That is as it ought to be.

In the meantime, the world laughs and Christians hide their faces in shame. We do not enjoy reporting these tragedies, but we want prominent Christian leaders everywhere to know that if they sell out to Satan and we learn of it, like David of old (“because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme,” II Samuel 12:14), the world will discover their acts of spiritual treason.

WELL, WELL, WELL; HOW “DARING” OF THEM! Movie moguls at Walt Disney said all future films released under its Touchstone and Miramax labels will discourage [a word open to interpretation by the user] smoking. Chief executive Robert Iger told Congressman Edward J. Markey, who chairs the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, “The Walt Disney Co. shares your concern regarding deaths due to cigarette smoking.” Universal Pictures said it had recently instituted a policy of no-smoking in its youth-oriented films. Markey praised the filmmakers.

Well, that’s a start!

Now how about eliminating all boozing in the films – since it is much more detrimental to people (especially our youth)? It really fixes a strong impression on young minds when they see all that elbow-bending by their heroes and heroines on the silver screen. And all unnatural sex (all sex, period, in fact) should be voluntarily banned by any and every movie tycoon who cares about youth. Right?

Don’t hold your breath! They are not that interested in America’s youth, even if Markey does praise them with his malarkey.

EXCITEMENT IN THE “BIG D” METROPLEX. The 5,000-member High Point Church in Arlington (TX) made headlines recently when it called off a memorial service for a Navy vet a mere 24 hours before the scheduled service – after learning he was a Sodomite. Cecil Howard Sinclair, who served in the Gulf War, died of an infection he received from surgery that was to prepare him for a heart transplant.

His family, through Cecil’s sister Kathleen Wright, claimed the church knew all about him but balked when the papers, in their politically correct ignorant custom of our day, listed his “partner” as a “survivor” in the obituary.

Not true, said Pastor Gary Simons of High Point, who is brother-in-law to Joel Osteen, head of the largest mega-church in America at Houston. His church was going to hold the service because the victim’s brother Lee was a janitor and member at High Point and the church had no idea of the Sodomite connection until his staff was putting a video tribute together the day before the service. That was when they saw inappropriate photos of men “engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing” (and worse).

Too, the family wanted an associate of an openly homosexual choir to “officiate” the service and the Sodomite choir to sing. It also planned an open microphone format to allow anyone in attendance to speak and High Point ministers would not and could not have any control about who would speak or what they would say. The church said in its statement, “It became clear to the church staff that the family was requesting an openly homosexual service at High Point Church – which is not our policy to allow.” It said its decision was based neither on hate nor discrimination, “but upon principle and policy.”

The High Point statement said further, “The issue was not whether we would hold a memorial service for someone in a lifestyle of sin. We have assisted many families in this regard. The issue was whether we would allow an openly homosexual service that celebrated and emphasized homosexuality in our church. We love the homosexual, but cannot condone the homosexual lifestyle. We could not allow homosexuality to be glorified in this house of worship.”

 Obviously, no church claiming to be a Bible testimony could feature such “abomination” (to use a biblical term), thereby endorsing a lifestyle clearly forbidden by Almighty God.

As would be expected, the media had a field day reporting on the church’s “discrimination,” “bias,” and “hate.” Simons said the obituary had nothing to do with its decision and had the family been “up front” he would have declined the service from the beginning. By the way, if the Democrat “hate crimes” bill passes, High Point could conceivably be charge for such actions.

The truth of the matter, which ruins the story for the media, is that High Point made a complimentary video for the family to use (without any offensive pictures), offered to pay for another site for the memorial, and even furnished food for over 100 friends and relatives of the family – its members spending hours cooking and preparing the meals. As Simons put it, "Even though we could not condone that lifestyle, we went above and beyond for the family through many acts of love and kindness."

SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DAZE! Believe it or not, the National Education Association – by far the worst and most liberal of the public school organizations – sneaked through three proposals at its annual meeting about which most of the 9,000 delegates had no knowledge. They were handled exclusively by its Executive Committee and not mentioned even once during the business sessions of the assembly.

The three propositions were: to lobby for “hate crimes” legislation (although admitting it wasn’t aware of any problem in its schools in this area); add “all resources” dedicated to the Sodomite agenda to its website; and push for “sexual orientation training” to be added to earning a teaching credential.

When Baptist Press contacted NEA, its director of public relations, Andy Linebaugh, said he was “unaware” of the Executive Committee’s action and so could not comment. If he didn’t know, you may be sure the teachers didn’t! But that is how liberals have always pushed their agendas through. Dark, not light, is the setting for their actions. As Jesus put it, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).

This, in fact, is how most of the mainline denominations went bad: instead of letting the people vote, actions where handled in committees without the good guys in the groups being aware of what was going on.

The good news is that Christians in the NEA, thanks to rulings by the federal courts – if they have convictions about how it is using their dues – may donate them to the charity of their choice (like Biblical Evangelism!) and hurt the NEA where it feels it most: in the pocketbook. Or, they can quit the NEA by joining one of the good educational associations, such as the Christian Educators Association or the Association of American Educators.

Pray for our teachers in our public schools! They really need it – and in today’s society they risk their lives just by going to work!

HAIL TO THE TERRORISTS OF 9/11. Or so the Pennsylvania memorial to the heroes and heroines of American Airlines Flight 93 would have you believe. Remember the champion of that disaster, Tom Burnett, and his oft-quoted “Let’s roll” as he and other charged the cockpit where the terrorists were flying the hijacked plane? His dad, Tom, Sr., has declared he will not permit his son’s name to appear on the memorial.

Why?

Because the whole design in that field where the plane crashed is in the form of a crescent (the memorial is called “Crescent of Embrace”), the emblem of Islam. The actual crash site is “approximately where the star is on Islamic star-and-crescent flags” and one facing the half-mile wide crescent “will be oriented almost exactly at Mecca.” In addition, the proposed “Tower of Voices” is nearly like an Islamic minaret.

What in the world is going on in this country? A memorial the public intended to honor the hero/victims is ending up one that honors the terrorists and their false, barbaric religion! WND, that reported this incident, had earlier referenced Alec Rawls’ book, Crescent of Betrayal: Dishonoring the Heroes of Flight 93, documenting “a long list of Islamic and terrorist memorializing features in the Flight 93 National Monument.

What the memorial producers are doing is akin to erecting statutes in honor of Japanese Emperor Hirohito (or Emperor Showa, as he is known since his death) and his vicious military leader, General Hideki Tojo, at the site of the Iwo Jima flag raising in honor of the brave soldiers who did it! It is insanity gone wild!

The senior Burnett is furious, naturally – and you should be, too! He has written letters to newspapers (which they have refused to publish), pleaded with Congressional leaders, and done other things, but so far to no avail. Demanding that his son’s name not be inscribed on one of the 44 glass blocks (yes, there will be 44 blocks – one for each victim and one for each terrorist, too!) is the least he can do, hoping it will draw attention to the problem.

Back in September of 2005, Congressman Tom Tancredo wrote the Department of Interior to “reconsider” the “Crescent of Embrace” design, to no avail. How do these idiots that control memorials get in high places?

As a pastor near the memorial site, Rev. Ron McRae of the Bible Anabaptist Church, lamented, “This is a memorial to the terrorists who killed those people, not a memorial to the folks who died there innocently.”

THEY WANT TO BE “HITCHED” ON METHODIST PROPERY! I remember being in a conference at the big United Methodist grounds at Ocean Grove (NJ), a summer vacation/conference grounds founded in 1869 and where some of the greatest pulpit masters of the 19^th and 20^th century have ministered (Sam Jones and Bob Jones, Sr., come quickly to mind). It was quite a place. No cars, no Sunday papers, absolutely no liquor of any kind – and Sunday was the Sabbath where you were allowed to breathe and worship, but not much else.

Why mention it now?

Because it’s the scene of one of our modern “hate crimes.” It seems a couple of female Sodomites wanted to use its Boardwalk Pavilion, overlooking the ocean, for a “civil union” ceremony. The United Methodist Church facility said, “Nay, nay, nay!” So the Sodomites, Harriet Berstein (why a Jew would want to be married on Methodist property escapes me – unless she was deliberately trying to spark a controversy) and Luisa Paster, went to the New Jersey Civil Rights office and filed a complaint.

At the time we read the story, the “investigation” was incomplete, but the Ocean Grove ministry had already filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that even the investigation was unconstitutional, a violation of its "religious beliefs as reflected in the United Methodist Book of Discipline and the Holy Bible." The Alliance Defense Fund is handling the case for them.

The brief says in part: "[T]he Division on Civil Rights … has violated the Plaintiff’s First Amendment rights by subjecting this patently religious entity to an illegal investigation and threat of prosecution under the law." It further notes that the investigation "is causing a substantial burden on, and chilling of” the Camp Meeting's "rights to unfettered religious expression, association and free exercise of religion."

A spokesman for New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram called the suit “premature” since the investigation was still incomplete. But the ADF spokesman responded correctly that New Jersey should have "refused to entertain a complaint against a religious organization" and informed the women who filed it that "the law against discrimination doesn't apply under these circumstances."

After all, the United States Bill of Rights calls for total and absolute separation of the state from all religion! Our Constitution clearly says the state is to keep its big nose and greedy fingers out of all religious matters. Period.

[Later: State Commissioner Lisa Jackson has warned the Methodists they may lose exemption on parts of their property not involved, such as the beach and the boardwalk. Hail to the days of Hitler, Mussolini, Mao and Jackson!]

WHY THE MEDIA SILENCE? Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom, a white couple in Tennessee, were brutally raped and murdered by five blacks. Here’s the story:

George Geovonni "Detroit" Thomas (age 27) is charged on 46 counts; 16 of felony murder growing out of the rape, robbery, kidnapping, and theft, 2 of premeditated murder, 2 of especially aggravated robbery, 4 of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 of aggravated rape, and 2 counts of theft.

Lemaricus Devall “Slim” Davidson (age 25), ex-con who served five years for carjacking and aggravated robbery, charged with the same 46 counts as his buddy, Thomas.

Letalvis “Rome” Cobbins (age 24), a half-brother of Davidson and another ex-con, the same 46 charges.

Vanessa Coleman (age 18, the woman in the case), is charged with 40 counts, including murder growing out of the rape, robbery, kidnapping, and theft, 1 of premeditated murder (only of Christian), 1 of especially aggravated robbery (only of Newsom), 4 of especially aggravated kidnapping, 20 of aggravated rape, and 2 of theft.

The fifth individual, Eric DeWayne “E” Boyd (age 34), while arrested in connection with the fatal car jacking, has only been charge in federal court with being an accessory in helping the accused “get out of town,” although both Thomas and Cobbins said he was in on both the rapes and the murders.

It will be another year before their cases come up in court.

Why did we emphasize the white/black in our opening paragraph? Because, as all of you know, if five whites had been charged with these crimes on two blacks, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and all the others, including Fox News, would still be featuring it daily (perhaps hourly)!

Just before going to press, we noted some pertinent comments by the Patriot on this issue: “To this day, however, searches of the massive news archives of CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times for the names ‘Channon Christian’ and ‘Christopher Newsome’ render exactly zero references to their names in any news story – that's nil, naught, zip and zilch.”

It also commented on the hypocrisy of the media blowing out of all proportions the so-called ‘Jena Six,’ the six black youths who brutally beat and stomped a white classmate (we have seen several post-beating pictures and they did more than ‘slap’ his face). For this case, the media was all over it, especially featuring race-baiters Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who rushed to Jena (LA) to get their pictures taken “marching for justice” for the black hoodlums. They inspired about 15 to 20,000 fellow race-baiters to go to this little town of less than 3,000 to march in behalf of the thugs. Both Al and Jesse waxed eloquent about the “all-white jury”; in truth and in fact, 150 summonses for jury duty went out and only 50 responded – with nary a black in the crowd. So it is wicked and dishonest for them to holler ‘racism’ since no black showed up for duty.