Check out Truth about Bills here!

~Karen

  Several months ago Billy Hallowell and I started following each other on twitter, see that we had common interest in writing, politics, and charity work. Billy is the president and founder of Pathufind Media in New York, as well as a volunteer for many charities including; SCTNow and Dine In NYC. I approached him this week, and asked if I could ask him some questions about his career. He more than gladly agreed!

Questions:  You are involved in a lot of different activities, what would you say your "job description" would be?

"Ha! Good question! I've been a journalist and advocate for 12 years. My job description would essentially be: Working to make the world a better place. There are so many things we can do to accomplish through this simple description. I've been blessed to be involved in many excellent initiatives that it's hard to nail one specific description down! In my full-time work, I am in development and new media, where I help raise funds and awareness for a non-profit that ministers to America's poor."

Question: How old where you when you started writing publicly, and what caused you to do so?

"When I was 15, I launched Teen Web Online as an online web portal for teens to access information on a variety of issues. Following the Columbine shootings, I felt compelled to get involved in anti-violence initiatives. Then, at 17, a contact at MTV hooked me up with SHiNE, a youth organization. SHiNE provided me with an amazing platform and my first sociopolitical column -- "Hallowed Ground." The bi-weekly column covered a variety of social and political issues and it was an excellent entry into the world of media."

Question: What are some of the benefits that you have seen from starting at such a young age?

"Starting young exposed me to so many different ideals. It forced me out of my bubble. I recognized that diversity is all around us. It wasn't long before I also learned that one will be criticized when they publicly state opinions and viewpoints. I've learned how to argue peacefully, to research and to take on tough issues. I was truly blessed to start so young!"

Question:  When did you start getting politically active, and what made you lean (political) the direction you do?

"In 2004, I realized that I needed to make some solid decisions about where I stood on a variety of issues. I was a sophomore in college at the time. My public speaking career was keeping me busy (focusing onyouth issues). During the election, I came out in support for Bush and realized that I was certainly more of a conservative than anything else. I also learned that being a conservative in college is tough! Very quickly, my commentary on youth issues evolved into statements and articles on political and social issues in a more general sense."

Question:  What would you say to a teenager who maybe thinks that he cannot make a difference at his age?

"I owe everything I have to starting out young. One person can make a difference. I was blessed to have wonderful support systems who encouraged me. When I was a teenager, I was blessed to bring Columbine survivors to high schools to speak. I was blessed to have a public voice. The framework for any experience I have now was set at a young age. I'm so thankful for that. It's never too early to start making a difference, getting involved, getting trained and working for a better tomorrow. I've seen young kids do amazing things. It's never too early!"

Question: Any last thoughts that you would like to give teenagers who are reading this?

"Always be willing to explore the world around you. I'm 27 now and I know that I have so much still to learn. When I was 18, I thought I knew it all. Be modest, but be ambitious and be open. The world has so much to offer. Take advantage of it, but always set goals and have them in mind. Also, consider the small steps you can take in life to make a difference. Sometimes, something as simple as holding a door for someone can truly shed positive light on that person's day. You don't need to launch a web site or so anything profound. Start by doing good deeds and paying it forward!"

~Karen

With just one day to go, the nation is gearing up for a hopeful Congressional transformation! I personally have been extremely busy these past few weeks (seeing that we have two full weeks of early voting in TX) trying to get the word out about our local Conservative candidates, but in the mist of all that God has shown me something special.

  Last Sunday I had the wonderful privilege of going to hear  Dr. Peter Lillback (author of George Washington's Sacred Fire) preach at a local church. If you are wondering, yes, I did interview him; however, as I was plugging my camera into my lap-top I accidently deleted the interview. Well, that was disappointing, but the main point of Dr. Lillback's message was safely preserved in my notes! His focus was that though the elections are coming up would have an affect on this nation, the greater affect would be if the Christians in this county would focus on; only Scripture, only Faith, only Grace, only Christ, and Glorifying God only. Dr. Lillback showed how if we focus and act on each of these, there would be a "Reformation" in the hearts and minds of people. That Reformation then would spill over to affect the country.

  When I was interviewing Dr. Lillback, I asked him why he thought it was important to write such a massive book on George Washington's faith! His answer was very simple. He stated that if we see how much of an impact faith had on our great president, it will show us what that kind of faith can do for us!

  So, why am I talking so much about God and faith when I started off by talking about Election Day? I received an email from a good friend of mine the other day. He attached to it an email he had received from his 9.12 leader, and this was the sections that caught my attention.

"We have been focusing primarily on the physical side of the conflict – which is very good and much needed, but there is the spiritual side of things to consider as well. With this critical election coming up, I propose we do what generations of men and women have done before us when faced with critical times: we ask God for his intervention through prayer and fasting."

  Prayer, faith, and fasting if able; these are all things that our founders did in times when they were in need. When debating at the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin suggested that the group have prayer before each meeting. The men took a day off, went to church, and then began praying; that's when the Constitution started to take shape.

  While voting is important, for those of us that can't vote yet the most important thing we can do is to pray and fast (if able). I know that not everyone is Christian, but our founders were and God did come to their aid. So, in the last few hours take the time to focus on what is truely important in restoring this nation; Scripture, faith, grace, Christ, and glorifying God.

~Karen

Last week I got the amazing opportunity to interview West Virginia US senate candidate John Raese! As the upcoming historical election is only THREE DAYS AWAY, (Can you believe it?) it is more important than ever for people to research their candidates and find one that matches their personal system of values and beliefs. Mr. Raese was kind enough to take a break from the campaign trail to talk about some of the biggest problems facing America today. Hope you enjoy! 

Yesterday there was a large tea party in North Houston, and among many of the guests was singer Krista Branch. I had been asked to help at Miss Krista's table during the day -- which was a joy -- , and I had asked her if she would be willing to do a small interview with me. To my joy she obliged! So, we went off back stage, and recorded this...

(Special thanks for Pastor Michael Branch for recorded the video)

Check out some of Miss Krista's songs!

I am America 

Remember Who we are

Foreign Land

First of all, let me apologize for not getting this video up sooner. I became very ill this week and was laid up in bed for several days, which put me behind in my writing. Again, I am sorry, but I hope you enjoy -- and glean from -- this interview.

 

Transcript:

 Karen: Hey this is Karen with Truth for American Teens, and I’m here with Dr. Reese. He came to my church this week to preach for both of our sermons, and Dr. Reese what is your occupation?

 Dr. Reese: I am a professor of history at Pensacola Christian College in Florida.

 Karen: Ok, how long of you been teaching there?

 Dr. Reese: Been teaching 25 years now a quarter of a century. When I started out it was all history, but now it’s current events.

 Karen: Ok, so today you talked mainly at our church about how Christians can be involved in government and our history as well. When you go to Christians now a days what can you say to them to get them involved in our government and history?

 Dr. Reese: Well I think that first of all one of the major problems in churches today Karen, is that Christians have checked out. Their at a cross roads they, in their minds have the sense that the sacred is over here and the secular is on that side and since government is sort of, of satan and of the world I’m not going to dirty myself and stoop to that level. When in fact, historically, the church is the heart beat. That’s what we are so much appreciated in a nice way. Here’s the standard, here’s where the candidates stand, go out and vote! So we’ve lost that sense that the Christian plays indispensible role. We’ve turned the political power over to the reins of these folks who are really anti Christian. Now we wonder why they’re getting away with legislations and such edicts that are in the judicial system that you have today. So my comment to Christians is that it’s incumbent upon us, as citizens both of Heaven and of this country, to participate individually out of necessity, to make a difference in God’s kingdom.

 Karen: How can they participate, specifically?

 Dr. Reese: Well, several levels. I think for young folks even to be aware of how the political process works, get out in the precincts with their parents, and out literature about different candidates, be aware of what is happening around that, currently to follow the rules well enough to make a good decision on candidates and to, to filter out so many of the folks that are put out there today. That’s a skill that comes with practice; it’s like riding a bike. You don’t just jump on a bike and learn to ride. It takes balance and practice to come to the point where it becomes ingrained. That’s why we need folks who can just naturally makes decisions that are based on the Bible and not on their own human will. So I would say that then the next level we need folks to participate. Whether it’s voting, whether it’s running for an actual seat, whether it’s committing financially to the campaign for good folks throughout the nation, and quite honestly and most important Karen, we need to vote someone in with a integrity. People with pure lives, the Lord will honor that and it will automatically reflect the presence of God in the land.

 Karen: Well, like you said this is a voting year. What would you tell Christians who are getting ready to go out in vote? What would you tell them to do to prepare themselves to go make wise decisions?

 Dr. Reese: Good question. You see Karen, first of all your vote is your political capital, invest it wisely! I have many folks that come to me and say, “I have no idea where this candidate stands, tell me who to vote for.” Well, I’m happy to share my point of view, but each of us out to wield that responsibility, to research, to become aware of the issues, and the candidates. So when we go into that ballot booth or voting booth, we are voting intelligently. You see nowadays we have this heard mentality. Well I heard this 30 second add, therefore, and we’re getting all kinds of votes for the wrong reasons. And so, I cannot stress enough that we’ve got to vote with research and vote with Godliness. With research at our finger tips why would we waste it?

 Karen: I do a lot of work with teenagers obviously, and when I talk to young people, especial those getting new into the political realm or the historical realm. A lot of them come to me and say, “I’m a young person I can’t really make a difference because I can’t vote yet or I can’t run for anything why should I even get involved?” What would you say to a young person thinking that?

 Dr. Reese: I would say, you’ve got your whole life in front of you there’s no better time to start then now! If we don’t get into habits, that becomes a way of life and become our character, we will not break that mediocrity. You see no better time – you’d be surprised how many young folks have had an effect on history. John Quincy Adam was, in effect, an ambassador to Russia when he was 12 years old…

 Karen: Because he spoke French…

 Dr. Reese: He was very educated in his day. And you say, “well that was just because the public school system was much stronger back then.” There was no public school, it was home schooling. It was education at home and through colonial schools and tutorial tip settings and so on. If we could do it then why can’t we do it today? We need young folks that will determine they’re going to spend less time txting and on the social networks, and more time learning the actual – I’ll say this – next to the study of God’s word, knowing the way of salvation and how to serve Him. The most important lesson in the US today is the study of history. Because if we know where we’ve been we have a sense of where we’re going. If we don’t know where we’ve been, if we carelessly let that heritage go away, and like the preverbal bowl of portage and letting it sit till it reeks . So we’ve got to go study the facts, and anyone can study them, young or old.

 Karen: Young or old. Well, Dr. Reese I want to thank you, before we go are there any final thoughts that you think you would like to give to the readers of Truth for American Teens?

 Dr. Reese: First of all, thank you for taking the time to find this web site. The internet can be for better or for vainful purposes. This is one of better uses, even though I’ve only know Karen a short time, but I have a sense that her spirit is in the right place, and you spread the word because “The truth shall set you free” scripture says. Where liberty is, where there’s true freedom that’s where we have true liberty. So if we can be aware of the truth, sites like this spread the word, by God’s grace we can see this whole force of evil held back. Let’s not paint God into a corner, let’s not put Him on a time table and say, “Well the rapture has to occur, we’re just going to circle the wagons.” No! Let’s go out, lead people to Christ, educate them. That’s what the word discipleship means, and that’s the whole purpose, including the political issue. Thank for tuning in here, now you go out spread the word, and make a difference for God’s kingdom.

  A few nights ago my family had a salesman come to our house. While we were speaking with him about the product we were interested in, we began to ask him about his accent. He responded that he was Romanian. After a while my dad asked him if he had lived under socialism. He said that he had, and at that point my dad called me into the room.

 This man -- Cris-- and I were only able to talk for about ten minutes, but he shared a lot during that time. Cris told me to "never flirt with socialism" because it is the pathway to Communism! "Socialism is used to brainwash people and to prepare them for Communism" he said, but he was very adamant to me about how much he himself apposed Socialism. "If I was a leader," he said, "I would execute anyone with socialist beliefs because of what it does."

  Now, I don't agree that anybody that believes in socialism should be executed, but you can see how much Cris is afraid of this ideology. What was even more alarming to him, is that he is starting to see some of the same things he saw in Romania here! He told me that this whole idea of spreading the wealth around was completely socialist, and again, prepared a nation for a communist take over. "In Romania, they wanted everyone to be equal in wealth." We see that all the time here; in speeches, in new laws being made, and in the ideology of our leaders!

  While I wish I could have spent more time with Cris, I was glad for what we were able to talk about. We MUST take this warning, from someone who has experienced socialism, and we must be willing to stand up for what is right. Socialism is wrong! It's been proven to be wrong, and it is un-American! Again, let's take this warning from Cris and stand up for what is right. 

  A few days ago I was sent an e-mail that contained a story of a woman, named Kitty Werthmann, who grew up in Austria during World War II. After reading her story ( you can read it here. http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/11/survivor-of-socialism-has-warning-for-america/) I wanted to contact her, and interview her. I was able to, and we had the interview over the phone on 2/11/2010 at 4pm. I was hoping to record the interview, but I was unable to do so. So, I will write out the main points of what we talked about.

  My first question to Mrs. Werthmann was how old she was when the Nazis took over Austria, and how the take over was conducted. She said that she was 12 years old, and at the time Austria was suffering terribly! Unemployment was at about 30 percent, and the Austrians were desperate for help, any help. Mrs. Werthmann described to me how much Austrians wanted Hitler to come in. "We elected Hitler by 98 per-cent of the vote!...We knew that in Germany, where Hitler ruled...they had full employment, they had a high living standard, they had law and order, and people were happy. They were all driving the little Volkswagen, you know the little beetle cars, and..we had massive unemployment. We had high inflation, 25 per-cent..and farmers and businessmen were going bankrupt every day. So we were desperate, we were desperate, we wanted the same lives as the people in Germany enjoyed."

Mrs. Werthmann said that nobody knew anything about the concentration camps, and they were led to believe --by Hitler-- "that in three weeks, everybody would be employed." She told me that yes, more jobs were created, but they were all government jobs. Also, law and order was established in the streets, but there were some things that started to pop up soon. The Austrians no longer elected officials, the officials were appointed by the government. She said that "Hitler started to nationalize everything." He nationalized the radio, he nationalized the banks and education.

 "They changed the school overnight," Mrs. Werthmann said. "I walked into my classroom, the crucifix was gone, and we couldn't pray any more. And instead of religion classes we had physical education, and on Sunday we had National Youth day." She described the Sundays saying that, "We had the first two hours, political education. Today I would call it political indoctrination." She went on to describe how the government provided sports equipment for all the games they would play afterwards.

  In school she was told that her parents were "old fashion" and that they didn't really understand what was good. She told me that if parents kept their children from the Sunday events that they would first receive a note of warning, the second time the parents would be fined the equivalent of $300, and if it came to a third time the parents would be taken to prison. Mrs. Werthmann told me that her mother became concerned with all the changes, and she pulled Mrs. Werthmann out of the school and put her in a convent so she could have more religious teaching. Mrs. Werthmann explained to me how angry she was with her mother, "I was moved to a convent, that had a wall all around it!" She said with a laugh, "You can imagine how angry I was to not have the games that I did at home." However, Mrs. Werthmann now applauds her mother for making this wise decision to protect her.

  After the war was over, and Communism started to take over Mrs. Werthmann immigrated to the US and eventually moved to South Dakota. She is now a lobbyist, at her state capitol, against abortion and several other issues. I asked her about some of her biggest fears for America and the answers I got were very eye opening to me. "The nationalizing of banks, health care, and cars just like Hitler did." She said the only difference is that Hitler did all this suddenly, but that here she is seeing it happen "step by step". She described to me the socialized health care system in Austria during the war as "practicing medicine on a conveyor belt" health care. Mrs. Werthmann's brother was a doctor and she said that "because health care was free, anyone would come into the hospitals. If you need surgery, you would have to wait from 18 months-2 years for surgery because all the hospital beds were full."

  I asked her about the role that God plays in our country, and how she sees changes towards God today. She reminded me that Hitler took away religious freedoms litterly overnight. "Here however," she said "I see it happening slowly, and we need to worry about it...Our country's founders, founded this country on Christian principles, and it needs to stay that way."

Mrs. Werthmann then gave some advice to young people. "One, change is a dangerous word, and it means socialism. Two, listen to your parents, and learn your history. If you do not know your history you will walk blindly into the future." These were very stirring words to me, but I encourage you all to take them to heart.

  Now, when I asked her what her final thoughts were, I was a little surprised at her answer, and laughed a little. However, when I thought about it, she may have a point. "Own a gun." She went on to say, "When Hitler came into Austria, he had us register our gun's serial numbers. Then the government said that there were to many gun accidents, and criminals were getting a hold of guns, so everyone needed to turn in their guns for 'safety' reasons. Since we all had registered our guns, they knew who had guns, and could come take them if you didn't turn them in." She went on to describe how important owning a gun is. She spoke about Switzerland, and how everyone kept a gun in their closet, and Hitler never touched them.

  It was on honor for me to do this interview with Mrs. Werthmann! She is an amazing, sweet woman that cares a lot about her country, and is worried about things she is seeing happen now. I hope that I have more opportunities to speak with people who went through these historical times, and get their input on today's America. I encourage you all to do the same. Talk to your grandparents, or any person you know that has lived through historical times. Like Mrs. Werthmann told me, "If you do not know your history you will walk blindly into the future."