I found this definition of GVegas, or G-Vegas, referring to Greenville, SC, on Urban Dictionary and found it hilarious!!!

GVegas
Greenville, SC

The one for GVegas (Greenville, NC) is also funny…

Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gvegas

Woo Hoo! I met Pastor Chuck last year at the Upcountry Freedom Conference here in Greenville, SC. I voted for the Constitution Party in 2004 and will do so again in 2008. Out of the 3 Drs I’d vote for, Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and Alan Keyes, I personally believe Pastor Chuck is the most Biblical and Constitutional of the three. These are the real alternatives for REAL CHANGE!

Read the article here THANK YOU, DR. RON PAUL, or the text below used with permission:
* Also, Pastor Chuck’s archives are available here: http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwina.htm

Thank You, Dr. Ron Paul
By Chuck Baldwin
September 23, 2008

This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20080923_2.html

Yesterday, September 22, Congressman Ron Paul publicly gave me his
endorsement for the office of President of the United States. In his blog at
the Campaign for Liberty web site, he said, “I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin,
the Constitution Party candidate.” (See the complete statement at:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog/?p=582 )

Obviously, I could not be more delighted and honored to have Dr. Paul’s
endorsement. I called him last evening and thanked him personally. And now I
want to thank him publicly.

I am fully aware that Dr. Paul was under considerable pressure from various
groups that were actively soliciting his support. I can honestly say that I
never lobbied Dr. Paul for his endorsement. He knew I would be thrilled to
have it, but I have too much respect for Ron Paul to be so presumptuous as
to expect him to endorse me. I completely understood his neutrality. He has
strong ties to both the Libertarian and Constitution parties–not to mention
the obvious fact that he is a ten-term Republican Congressman with much
support from the Republican Party in his home district.

I was happy to support Ron Paul during the Republican primaries, because I
believe in the same principles. I personally campaigned for him in several
states and in this column. And I asked (or expected) nothing in return. In
fact, I have stated this publicly, time and again: if Ron Paul had won the
Republican nomination for President, I would not be running. I would still
be supporting Ron Paul.

I am running for President because the Republican Party rejected Ron’s
Paul’s message of constitutional government, fiscal responsibility, and
non-interventionism. Therefore, someone had to pick up the mantle and carry
this message into the general election. The Constitution Party asked me to
be their standard-bearer in order to bring this message to the American
people in November. So, here I am. And now, Ron Paul’s endorsement is
further substantiation that the message of constitutional government will
not die in 2008. The American people still have a real choice instead of the
big-government, globalist, interventionist, “big box” party candidates, John
McCain and Barack Obama.

Ron Paul’s message is my message; Ron Paul’s fight is my fight.

I want to return America to constitutional government. “The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
(Amendment X) I believe that, and will govern the Executive branch of the
federal government accordingly.

My sworn oath to the Tenth Amendment means I would dismantle the Patriot Act
and restore law enforcement to the states and local governments, where it
rightly belongs. Yes, this includes the so-called “war on drugs” and the
so-called “war on terror.” No more warrantless searches and seizures. No
more eavesdropping on Americans’ phone calls, or collecting Americans’
emails, or spying on American citizens without court order and oversight. No
more stripping Americans of their constitutional rights in the name of
“national security.” In addition, I would use every power and authority
vested to my office to preserve and protect the right of the people to keep
and bear arms. And, yes, I will immediately restore Posse Comitatus. As
President, I want to protect America from Washington, D.C., as much I want
to protect it from foreign powers.

I will also take the words of the Declaration of Independence seriously,
where it states, “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be
Free and Independent States.” This means the day I am sworn in as President
of the United States, the New World Order comes crashing down! The NAFTA
superhighway is dead. The North American Union is dead. I will work to
eliminate NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, and the WTO. The FTAA is DOA. I will not
expend tax dollars for the support of the United Nations.

Furthermore, I will take my oath to the Constitution seriously, when it
states that one of the express purposes of the federal government is to
“repel Invasions.” This means we will secure America’s borders, because the
illegal immigration crisis is more than mere immigration: it is an invasion,
and I will stop it! Even if I have to send the U.S. Army to the borders, we
will put a stop to this invasion of illegal aliens. I will also aggressively
prosecute those employers who knowingly hire illegals. And did I mention
that my first day in office is Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean’s last
day in prison? I will personally open the prison doors and restore to these
men their freedom. I will also give them their jobs back (with pay), if they
want them. And one more item on this point: my first day of office is also
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton’s last day on the job.

I also share Ron Paul’s concerns for the way the two major parties have
allowed the United States to become a meddlesome, interventionist,
nation-building empire for the sake of satisfying the greedy machinations of
international bankers and power-hungry politicians. I will not only bring
our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from most of the other
130 nations that currently house U.S. forces. I will end foreign aid. I will
get the U.S. out of NATO. It is past time for the European states to defend
themselves. It is time for us to stop sticking our nose in every other
nation’s business and start taking care of the United States. The Warfare
State will kill us. Global empires are not sustainable. I repeat: global
empires are not sustainable. If history teaches anything, it teaches that.

Furthermore, the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war is over, when I become
President. Because I will take my oath to the Constitution seriously, I
would never send troops to invade and occupy a foreign country without a
Declaration of War by Congress. In dealing with rogue terrorist
organizations such as al Qaeda, I will seek letters of Marque and Reprisal
from Congress, which would give me the authority to use whatever special
and/or private forces are necessary to seek out and destroy those who desire
our hurt.

And even though I am a born again Christian (as is Ron Paul), I would take
my responsibility to protect the religious liberty of every American
seriously. People have the right to worship God (or not worship God)
according to the dictates of their own conscience. Whether one is Baptist,
Catholic, Mormon, or agnostic, people have the right to practice their faith
as they see fit. I am absolutely dedicated to preserving religious liberty.
Religious tyranny is as evil as political or social tyranny. And, as I will
be no man’s slave, neither will I be any man’s master.

I also share Ron Paul’s commitment to the sanctity of life. When I become
President, I will use the bully pulpit of the White House to press Congress
to pass Dr. Paul’s Sanctity of Life Act, which would overturn Roe v. Wade
and end abortion-on-demand. On this topic, the GOP is especially
hypocritical. The Republican Party controlled the entire federal government
for six years and did nothing to save the life of a single unborn child.
Saving unborn babies from the abortionists’ scalpel is more than rhetoric
with me, however.

Another area of agreement with Ron Paul is my philosophy of economics. Dr.
Paul has been predicting the current financial meltdown in this country for
years. And when all is done, the current bailout being proposed will do more
harm than good. The problem is, America’s leaders have rejected sound money
policies for years, and the chickens are coming home to roost.

As President, I would seek to overturn the 16th Amendment, eliminate the
Internal Revenue Service, and disband the Federal Reserve. I would lead the
charge to return America to sound money principles. I would seek to reduce
federal spending to constitutional levels by eliminating those same federal
departments that Newt Gingrich promised to eliminate in his Contract with
America back in 1994 (and then failed to do). I would seek to eliminate the
Departments of Education, Commerce, Energy, etc. I would demand that
Congress pass a balanced budget and that we stop deficit spending.

Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama will do any of the above. If he were
President, Dr. Paul would do it, however, and so would I.

Needless to say, I am both humbled and honored that Ron Paul would place
enough faith in me that he would endorse me for President. I can think of no
higher compliment to my candidacy. I here and now publicly thank him for
this vote of confidence. I know my Vice Presidential running mate, Darrell
Castle (a former Marine Corps officer and Vietnam veteran), joins me in
inviting all of Dr. Paul’s supporters to help us take the message of
constitutional government into the general election on November 4. Thank
you.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these
editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by
credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

*Disclaimer: I am currently a candidate for President of the United States
on the Constitution Party ticket. My official campaign web site is located
at:
http://www.baldwin08.com/

(c) Chuck Baldwin

NOTE TO THE READER:

Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished,
reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not
charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact
and that full credit is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.

Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or
advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck Baldwin for
permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts interested in scheduling an
interview with Chuck should contact chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

Readers may also respond to this column via snail mail. The postal address
is P.O. Box 37070, Pensacola, Florida. When responding, please include your
name, city and state. And, unless otherwise requested, all respondents will
be added to the Chuck Wagon address list.

Please visit Chuck’s web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com

Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network called, “Chuck Baldwin Live” This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.

To learn more about his radio talk show please visit his web site at: www.chuckbaldwinlive.com. When responding, please include your name, city and state.

E-mail: chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

Almost 2 months ago I read on a MySpace bulletin post that a major hurricane would hit Houston TX and the flooding and disaster would be greater than that of Hurricane Katrina. The reason for this if I remember correctly was part of the God’s judgment of America.

The Bible says to test all things, especially prophecies to see if they’re true and come to pass. So I kept this in mind as I have loved ones there. Now seeing the news and projected path of Ike I am wondering if this truly may come to pass as previously predicted. That bulletin is long gone but below are two links to older webpages detailing these words, dreams, and prophecies of this storm.

Some of those close to me who live in Houston have evacuated. Some are staying put. I pray to God this isn’t s bad as it may be. But if it is God sending us a wake up call, hopefully more of us will listen. Please pray for God’s mercy and intervention in this pending disaster whatever the outcome.

May 20th, 2008 – Prophetic Dreams of Hurricanes Hitting Houston/San Antonio Texas
http://educate-yourself.org/lte/houstonhurricaneprediction20may08.shtml

June 30th, 2008 – Houston, TX: 2008 Hurricane Devastation?
http://bibleforums.org/forum/showthread.php?t=130440

Hurricane Ike projected path as of 9-12-08 8PM ET

This is an excellent article. I’ve listed the main points below. Check it out:

http://www.naturalnews.com/023862.html

1. The weather is fake
2. The free speech is fake
3. The opening ceremony was faked
4. The Internet access is censored
5. The singing was lip-synced by a pretty girl to replace an ugly girl
6. Swimmer Michael Phelps’ food is fake
7. The ages and passports are faked

Much in America is fabricated, too…

1. The war on terrorism is fake
2. The mainstream media is fake
3. The money supply is fake
4. The housing bubble was fake
5. Health care is fake
6. The corporate green movement is fake
7. Even the breasts are fake!

UPDATE: 8/18/08 11:50PM ET – Doesnt look like Fay will make a direct hit to the Upstate but will linger in Georgia. Hopefully we’ll get some much needed rain from the storm. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/032224.shtml?5day?large#contents

ORIGINAL POST:
Fay, expected to reach hurricane strength, is projected to hit the Upstate South Carolina area late Thursday eve, 8/21/2008. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) located in Miami, FL has it as a Tropical Depression by the time it reaches the Upstate. A depression has maximum sustained winds of 32 mph or less according to the NHC site. Time to bring in the stuff from the backyard! Flying projectiles isn’t neighborly.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

National Hurricane Center 5 day track forecast cone for Tropical Storm Fay:

click image to enlarge

Tropical Storm Fay 5 day warning

Source: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/032728.shtml?5day?large#contents

These are excellent resources listed below for evaluating your bank, thrift and brokerage firm. This was just made available as of Sunday, August 10th, 2008. It’s from Martin Weiss and Mike Larson, of moneyandmarkets.com and also Weiss Research which was acquired by  TheStreet.com. Weiss Research is one of the few bank rating services listed on the FDIC’s site here: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/bank/index.html.

I’m a subscriber to the moneyandmarkets.com email newsletter for more than a year and rank them as one of the best sources for financial and investment information especially in these dangerous times. They called the real estate and financial crisis years ago and see it getting a lot worse.

IndyMac Bank made the news recentlty as being the 2nd biggest failure in US history. It was unexpected, and may cost $8Billion to bail out. The FDIC only has about $52.8Billion in reserve and may cost taxpayers Billions driving us deeper in debt and debasing our currency and further increasing inflation. Just today news of the largest five credit unions hit by the mortgage market problems.

I also heard that even though customers with $ in IndyMac are getting cashiers checks for amounts covered under the FDIC, banks taking these checks as deposit are placing holds as long as 2 months or longer. You’re money’s stuck.

Here’s the FREE info:

1. The “X” List unveiled! Is your bank on it? 8-10-2008
1 hour video featuring Martin Weiss and Mike Larson discussing their ratings of the strongest and weakest banks, thrifts, and brokers. Also has a good Q&A with reader concerns.

2. The “X” List: The Next Big Failures (Transcript Part I) 8-11-08
Short list of weakest banks and thrifts with $25B+ in assets, including Citibank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, HSBC Bank, SunTrust, and more. Also a short list of strongest banks.

3. PDF - Strongest and Weakest Bank and Thrifts
Lists dozens of the stongest and weakest banks and thrifts. Also lists almost 2 dozen brokerage firms by highest capital multiple as a measure of safety. This list includes Edward Jones, Bank of New York Mellon, and T. Row Price as the top three.

4. http://www.thestreetratings.com/products_bank.asp
6/20/08 list of strongest and weakest banks and thrifts, including IndyMac which failed on July 11th.

5. http://www.weissratings.com/products_bank.asp
More info on bank & thrift rating products.

I personally have the minimum to pay bills and save nothing in any bank. The whole financial system is a scam based on the fractional reserve banking scheme where money and credit are created out of thin are at a ratio of about 10:1 real dollar. A panic and it will all collapse as there’s no reserves to pay everyone. Add to that the US dollar is backed by nothing but the good faith of the US government. I prefer gold and silver, God’s money given to man for thousands of years compared to man’s creation of paper money printed at a whim a few decades ago. In the end it will confirm that we can only place our hope and trust in Christ and man and his ways are destined for failure. I know in Whom I trust. My account with Him is eternal.

I love this commercial. Hilarious. The reaction of the guy sitting on the bed is the same as my wife’s when I’m jamming to similar electro music. But whats up with the twirling and those moves man!!??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUfONVpMn4Q

This is my seed post for a new category with the same name. Am hoping to share thoughts and insights from gardening and even lawn care, aka mowing grass and weeding. It’s cool seeing so many Biblical examples from these little outdoor chores. Some posts will just be practical gardening stuff, like using Basil herb plants and Marigold flowers for companion planting as natural pest repellents. Forget pesticides, these 2 plants are great repellents for pests of peppers, tomatoes, etc.

We’ve started an organic garden in raised garden beds using Mel’s 25+ years of knowledge and experience in his book, and related video, All new Square Foot Gardening. This guy is a genius, having an engineering and efficiency background before retiring. Check out the site at squarefootgardening.com for more info. Here’s a couple of quick links: What is SFG? How to.

Happy Father’s Day to my fellow dads and Father’s to be. I’ll be posting in this category on what I’ve learned from being a dad. In the meantime check out one of the best Fathering sites I know of: Fathers.com run by the National Center for Fathering(NCF), founded by Dr Ken Canfield (About Ken). I got to see Ken twice at Calvary Chapel Ft Lauderdale, FL. He’s spent almost two decades studying on Fathering from God’s word and researching and compiling profiles/surveys from more than 10,000 men for more than a decade. Two of his books I own and highly recommend are The 7 Secrets of Effective Fathers and They Call Me Dad. Attending his seminar and reading his books have definitely helped me grow into the dad God wants me to be.

Here’s a 2 minute video as well on Championship Fathering from the NCF:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyNMLFiFTE0

I’ve listed the following gas prices driving around Greenville, SC on Sunday May 25, 2008, the height of the Memorial Day weekend. Looking to see if this will be the high or if prices will continue upward in the near future.

Also listed national comparisons. South Carolina has one of the cheapest average gas prices in the nation.

LOCAL COMPARISON
Costco Club Greenville, SC
$3.529 Regular & $3.729 Premium

Sams Club Greenville, SC (includes 5 cent member discount)
$3.579 Regular & $3.779 Premium

BP Greenville, SC
$3.719 Regular

BP near my home
$3.779 Regular & $4.019 Premium

NATIONWIDE COMPARISON
South Carolina state average, AAA survey
$3.775 Regular & $4.208 Premium
4th cheapest state in the U.S. as listed in link below
source: http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.asp

Nationwide unleaded gas average prices, AAA survey
$3.930 Regular & $4.323 Premium
source: http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/

Other links:
http://www.southcarolinagasprices.com/

UPDATE – Tuesday 5/27/08
source: http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/sbsavg.asp
South Carolina state average, AAA survey
$3.782 Regular & $4.215 Premium
New Jersey state average, AAA survey
$3.815 Regular & $4.245 Premium
Tennessee state average, AAA survey
$3.818 Regular & $4.235 Premium
Texas state average, AAA survey
$3.833 Regular & $4.201 Premium
North Carolina state average, AAA survey
$3.910 Regular & $4.332 Premium
Florida state average, AAA survey
$3.935 Regular & $4.342 Premium
New York state average, AAA survey
$4.116 Regular & $4.497 Premium
California state average, AAA survey
$4.123 Regular & $4.461 Premium

Nationwide average, AAA survey
$3.937 Regular & $4.331 Premium