"Why Have No Heads Rolled?

`

ONCE MORE, AN IMPORTANT UPDATE:

You have been made aware of our computer problems,

and since we operate on a totally free basis, we simply

have not had the funds to replace worn-out, out-dated

equipment. But a few friends who appreciate the mission

of ANC, and don't want it to end, have made it possible

for us to acquire this week both new and replacement

equipment, and these extremely difficult days will soon

be over, and we will be able to do a better job of bringing

reports on the day's news from a Christian Conservative

viewpoint. Thank you for your patience!

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"Why have no heads rolled?"

And this is our editorial for this week. But first, we freely

admit -- that headline isn't ours. It was the lead editorial

in one of America's major metropolitan daily newspapers

just a few days ago. It is a question that many -- probably

most -- Americans are asking. And we will get back to it.

But now for our editorial . . .

In our continuing efforts to comment on current events,

including political, from a Christian viewpoint, we are

often perceived as being solely "anti-Obama." But that

is too simplistic a perception. History proves that the

United States of America was created by our Founding

Fathers on basic Judeo-Christian principles, and with

their firm intent that this should be a Christian nation.

And for the more than 230 years of America's existence,

it has been as a Christian nation that we earned the

respect, admiration and, yes, envy of the civilized nations

of the world. And they have learned to depend on us to

come to their aid in times of oppression and disaster.

Through all those years, it is granted that not every

president has met the precise standard of being "Born

again, Christian, Evangelical and Conservative." But it is

also true that no president has ever before declared that

America is not a Christian nation, or has shown open

disdain for Christianity, affirming instead, in varying

degrees, his admiration for a contrary religion: Islam.

So we arrive at the conclusion that this man who has

had unlimited power for all of his first year in office,

instead of achieving his own assessment of "B-plus,"

has really flunked in his planned accomplishments.

Setting aside his multiplying the national debt, federal

support and involvement in business, banking and

manufacturing, granting of American citizens' rights to

Muslim terrorists, and the non-achievement of his major

proposal for completely restructuring the nation's

health program, as Christians we have to be alarmed over

his efforts to alter the traditional Christian life of our nation.

He is open in his support of homosexuality, contrary to

Bible teaching; he favors freedom of choice to increase

the practice of abortion, contrary to the Declaration of

Independence affirmation that all men are entitled to life;

he enacted the "Hate Crime" law which can have a

dramatic effect on freedom of speech from American

pulpits; he has pledged to repeal the Defense of Marriage

Act to do away with God's instruction that married

couples should be fruitful and multiply . . . and that is

only a brief summary of his anti-Christian convictions

and intentions. We have not even touched on the views

of authoritative opinions of international historians who

are warning us of the dangers of the socialistic trend

in American governmental proposals, and that socialism

is a major step toward atheistic communism.

And from an international viewpoint, last week following

the State of the Union speech, Lech Walesa, former

President of Poland, made this sobering assessment:

"The US does not lead morally or politically anymore. The

world has no leadership. The United States was always

the last resort and hope for all other nations. That was

the hope, that whenever something was going wrong,

one could count on the United States. Today we lost

that hope"

Thus our position is more significantly "pro-Christian

America" than it is simply "anti-Obama." Of course, the

two positions virtually go hand in hand, and the corollary

is obvious: to be "pro-Obama" is essentially to be "anti-

Christian America."

And now back to the opening question -- part of the

answer has to include: "Whose heads?" One aspect of

the serious problems facing America is that of our

national security, which is really the president's first and

major responsibility. We are increasingly subject to

Muslim terrorist attacks, and our security is clearly

lacking. Some have pointed to Janet Napolitano,

Secretary of Homeland Security, as having earned

immediate dismissal.

Others point to another aspect of national security which

has been weakened -- the granting of civilian rights and

trials to terrorists, and feel that Attorney General Eric

Holder should be dismissed. And many feel that the past

and most recent actions of Treasury Secretary Timothy

Geithner are more than sufficient grounds for dismissal.

And whoever is in charge of our national response to

disasters -- no single name can be ascertained -- but

whichever Czar it is, they have made the response to the

Haiti disaster make the foul-ups of the Katrina response

look like a model of efficiency. Fortunately the nation's

Christian agency responses, and those of some other

nations, have filled that gap.

And then there is Ben Bernanke, finally approved by the

Senate to head up the Federal Reserve by a 70-30 vote,

the largest negative vote in the 32 years of this procedure.

(The largest previous negative vote was in Paul Volker's

confirmation, 84-16.) Perhaps Bernanke, too, should go.

In short, there are many heads which deserve to roll, but

it is doubtful that this president and his Congress will

take the seemingly necessary actions.

A few comments on the "State of the Union" speech;

in all candor, it doesn't merit more than just a few. To

begin, it could much better have been titled "State of My

Mind" rather than "State of the Union, because it really

represented Obama's "smoke and mirrors" attempts to

gloss over and ignore his errors, and to revert to his

campaign promises (or threats) to "transform" America.

But it is a regularly scheduled event of some importance

. . . has been much in the news . . . and deserves at least

some mention herein.

Ercille Christmas (author of "Thoughts of a Proud

American") wrote quite pointedly, "Hello There, Mr.

President. I did not watch your State of the Union

speech. I already know the state of the Union. It is at

the point where the 'lipstick on this pig' analogy is

looking more and more apropos." An interesting

comment: some residents of San Diego, CA, have

emailed us to say that there is new evidence that San

Diego is truly "America's finest city" -- at exactly 6:00

PM on Jan. 27, much of the city experienced a power

outage, lasting for several hours, thus preventing TV

coverage of the speech.

Matt Staver, of Liberty Counsel, gave a more exacting

summary, "He upbraided the Republican minority;

he chastised his own party's legislators; he publically

excoriated the United States Supreme Court; he blasted

former administrations; and he told the Joint Chiefs of

Staff exactly how it was going to be on the explosive

issue of homosexuals openly serving in the military. In

fact, the only government official who remained above

blame for any of the nation's problems was... himself."

Investors Business Daily (IBD) referred to it as "State

of Denial," and asked this question, "When have senators

and congressmen ever before been unable to keep from

laughing at — not with — a president?" Of course,

a few of the elite media liked the speech. Chris Matthews

(on MSNBC) who once was much listened to, and who

confessed he got thrills up his legs when Obama spoke,

said of the speech, “Obama is post-racial by all

appearances. You know, I forgot he was black tonight

for an hour.” (Could that be a racist remark? From a

true-blue Obama sycophant? Maybe the Harry Reid

viewpoint is contagious. It does make you wonder.)

One great summary, from a Christian viewpoint, was

from Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist

Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, who wondered

"if he's been in a Rip Van Winkle slumber somewhere

and has missed the votes in Virginia, New Jersey and

Massachusetts. The votes in those three states,

particularly Massachusetts, can only be taken by a fair-

minded observer as a rejection of the direction President

Obama is seeking to lead the country. When you're

seeking to lead and no one's following, you're just out

for a walk."

The president vowed once again that he would not rest

until U.S. businesses were hiring again, and then with his

poll numbers continuing to sink, and his presidential plans

floundering, he tried another town-hall type meeting in

Florida, offering $8 billion in seed money for high speed

rail systems, obviously years away -- while at the same

time his Senate was voting (60-39) to increase the federal

debt limit by $1.9 trillion to $13.3 trillion. (Don't even try

to imagine how much that is!) And on Monday he revealed

his new budget, which projected $5.08 trillion in deficit

spending over the next five years -- a 35 % increase over

what his administration had projected just a year ago.

During the State of the Union address the president said

that his administration has cut taxes for 95% of Americans.

It is significant that polls show that only 21% of voters

believe that. Most (53%) say it has not happened. He also

stated that “after two years of recession, the economy is

growing again,” but only 35% of voters believe that

statement is true, while 50% say it is false. And he made

the further claim that his administration is responsible for

putting to work two million people “who would otherwise

be unemployed.” Only 27% of voters say that statement

is true while 51% say it is false. There is obviously a major

disconnect between the president and the American people.

The President "still believes the problem is that people

fail to understand his goals," suggests Heritage fellow

and former Congressman Ernest Istook; "Instead, his

problem is that we understand them all too well."

Finally, in what was the second longest State of the

Union speech ever (only Bill Clinton made a longer one),

Obama referred to himself repeatedly (by one count, he

used "I" 115 times), and claimed he was the anointed

spokesman for "we," the American people, more than

100 times. By contrast, he referred only twice to the US

Constitution.

Shakespeare said it well in his comedy title: "Much ado

about nothing." Or Benjamin Franklin: "Here comes the

orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason."

A repeat of an often used heading: "What can we, as

Christians, do now?" Our friend and long time Christian

Conservative commentator, Gary Bauer, expressed in

his words the message we have also been conveying,

week after week: "The American people heard two vastly

different visions for America. Only one of them can

prevail. That’s why it is so important for men and

women of faith to be informed and fully engaged in

the public policy process. The most important way you

can make your voice heard is by voting, but you must

first be registered to vote. If you or anyone you know is

not yet registered to vote, please do so today." He did

not mention, as we always do, the date of Tuesday,

Nov. 2, 2010, now just 272 days away. Don't forget that

date. Begin to plan how to vote on that day.

And here are a few elections where we can make a

change for the better . . . our friends in these states

should take notice: Delaware: Vice President Joe

Biden's son, Beau Biden, has decided not to campaign

to take over the seat in the Senate his father vacated. A

strong Conservative Representative, and former Governor,

Mike Castle, may become a candidate. Nevada: Senate

Majority leader, and Obama devotee, Harry Reid, is

already running way behind in the polls. Nevada voters

can send a strong message by replacing him. And in

Illinois, Roland Burris, appointed by the state's corrupt

Governor to fill Obama's Senate seat, has made (for him)

a highly moral and ethical decision: he will not seek

re-election. A great opportunity for a Republican upset

there, rivaling the Brown victory in Massachusetts! Some

other suggestions will be coming next week.

Some words of advice from Founding Fathers which we

should always keep in mind at election time: "The public

cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public

men." -- Samuel Adams, 1775

"In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide.

Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the

candidate - look to his character." --Noah Webster, 1789

"Good moral character is the first essential in a man ...

It is therefore highly important ... not only to be learned

but virtuous." --George Washington, 1790

You have indicated you like them, so we keep bringing

new "one liners" to your attention.

"Plan ahead: It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark."

-- Richard Cushing

"There is as much chance Obama will reboot himself as

JFK as there was that JFK would ever have redefined

himself as an Obama." -- A.J. DiCintio

"The problem is not the 'crises' Obama inherited. It's the

ones he's creating." -- columnist David Limbaugh

“The President made it clear last night that he is not

interested in the will of the people." -- Brent Bozell

"I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a

mediocre two-term president." -- Barack Obama (Weekly

Standard editor, Fred Barnes, suggested that Mr. Obama

could combine the two concepts and be a one-term,

mediocre president.)

Others are saying -- a few comments from the news:

"Just as we do not tolerate private racial beliefs that

adversely affect African-Americans in the commercial

arena, even if such beliefs are based on religious views,

we should similarly not tolerate private beliefs about

sexual orientation and gender identity that adversely

affect LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender]

people." (This example of leftist tolerance is from Chai

Feldblum, openly lesbian Law Professor at Georgetown

University and Obama's nominee to serve on the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission)

"The President could wait months before deciding to

give a general the troops he asked for to fight the war

in Afghanistan but there was never to be enough time

for the health care bill to be exposed in the light of day

to the usual Congressional hearings and debate."

(Thomas Sowell)

"The state of the union is obstreperous. Dyspepsia is

the new equilibrium. All the passion in American politics

is oppositional. The American people know what they

don't like, which is: everything." (Joel Achenbach, staff

writer, Washington Post)

"If those in power choose to ignore what the Constitution

says, who can stop them? ... Remember, if the old lion

of socialism hadn't passed away, the most anti-liberty

piece of legislation in history — posing as a 'healthcare

bill' -- would have been passed into law ... The

progressives have already decided what is 'best for the

most,' even if most don't want it! Which is why

'universal healthcare' will reappear, again and again."

(Robert Ringer)

Some random afterthoughts . . .

Some, not all, of the puzzlements Islam offers: Many

supporters or adherents of Islam (including our president)

keep trying to convince us "Infidels" (Christians) that the

religion of Muslims, Islam, is a peaceful religion. And it

can probably be accepted as true that all Muslims are not

terrorists -- but it is also a fact that all of the terrorists who

have attacked America and Americans are Muslims. That

is puzzling. And then there is the puzzling confusion over

the name for the Supreme Being of the two religions. The

Islamists refer to their God by the name Allah, yet that

letter to the world's Christians from the 138 Islamic

scholars, titled "A Common Word Between Us and You,"

(a hot topic a couple of years ago), clearly identified the

Allah of the Quran with the God of the Bible. But when

churches in Malaysia recently began using the name Allah

to refer to God, the Muslims burned and destroyed the

Christian churches. However, when Osama bin Laden in

his latest message to the West used the name God in

place of Allah, there was no outcry, no burning of churches

or mosques. These are just a few of the puzzling aspects of

Islam. In future issues we will touch on others.

Don't you love some of the elite media? Nine days

before the January 19 Senate election in Massachusetts,

veteran Globe Magazine writer Charles Pierce ridiculed

the idea that Republican Scott Brown could win, in a

piece written as a letter to Brown: "Well, we’re almost

here, aren’t we? The end of a long, arduous, four-month

campaign for a Senate seat that you have approximately

the same chance of filling as you did the pilot’s chair of

the Starship Enterprise." Remember the old phrase about

"eating crow?" One wonders how Mr. Pierce enjoyed his

meal.

They love to ridicule W's communication skills, but

the elite media virtually ignored Obama's use of his much

depended on teleprompter to speak to an elementary

school class of 6th graders in Falls Church, VA on

January 19. Someone apparently leaked news photos of

the use of the device. It can probably go down as another

of Obama's "firsts."

Our Founding Fathers seem to have foreseen the type

of leadership we are experiencing . . .

"There are more instances of the abridgment of the

freedom of the people by gradual and silent

encroachments of those in power than by violent and

sudden usurpations." --James Madison, 1788

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IT'S LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

`

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

It has been obvious -- we have certainly mentioned it

frequently -- that we have been having serious computer

problems. And since this newsletter is absolutely and

totally free, there is no income to use for replacement

of our defective equipment. Then one of our friends and

advisors who didn't want to see ANC cancelled brought

this need to some of our readers, and a few responded

by sending in contributions which will come close to

making possible some new computer equipment so we

can continue doing the the publishing work ANC entails.

The situation is looking much better, and we look for a

complete and permanent solution soon. We are now

deciding how best to move forward on this project. It

becomes increasingly evident that there is a distinct need

for ANC -- one of our readers, a strong and active

Christian leader, this week spoke of ANC as being an

an "inspired and infallible newsletter." It is our prayer

that God will help us to maintain truth in that evaluation.

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OCCASIONALLY WE REALIZE YOGI BERRA'S

COMMENTS OFTEN GOT IT RIGHT -- LIKE

HIS LONG TIME CLASSIC: "IT'S LIKE

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN"

Yogi's sayings -- like "It ain't over till it's over," or "I knew

the record would stand until it was broken," or "Ninety

percent of all mental errors are in your head" -- are

probably best characterized as "malapropisms" and are

definitely not to be classed as "oxymorons."

But probably the best, and certainly the most applicable

to our national situation is "It's like deja vu all over again."

We can all remember -- and doubtless most of us have

done so recently -- the similarity between what President

Obama is facing at the end of his first year in office, and

what Bill Clinton experienced at the same time in his first

term. It's truly "deja vu all over again."

In the mid-term elections of 1994, after Clinton had been

in office for one year, the Democrat controlled Congress

suffered a sweeping loss, highlighted by Christine Todd

Whitman becoming Governor of NJ and Kay Bailey

Hutchison elected as Senator in Texas. In all, Republicans

gained 54 seats in the House and 8 in the Senate, taking

control of both houses for the first time since 1952.

This year's mid-term election day is still 279 days away,

built already the evidence of an oncoming change in the

political scene in America is becoming evident. In three

important and significant elections, the Democrats, the

Liberals, have lost: Obama campaigned for Jon Corrine

for Governor in NJ, and lost; he campaigned for Craig

Deeds for Governor in VA, and lost, and he campaigned

for Martha Oakley in Massachusetts to replace the late

Ted Kennedy in the Senate, and he lost. The leadership

"coat tails" that Bill Clinton proved not to have in 1994

also seem to be non-existent for Barack Obama in 2010.

Those are domestic national issues. In some international

efforts, Obama has proved equally ineffective; he failed in

Copenhagen in attempting to bring the Olympic games to

America, and also in Copenhagen he failed to win over

international support for his climate change theory. And

his attempts to bring Christian America in alignment with

his favored Muslim world have also failed -- the attacks

on America by Islamic terrorists continue unabated, and

the Obama administration response is to grant those Islamic

terrorists the advantages of American citizens by holding

their trials in federal courts.

Tonight the president will deliver the State of the Union

address. We shall have to wait to see if his losses and

defeats to date will be mentioned . . . or if the national

unemployment rate of over 10% will be explained . . .

or how it is a wise and prudent decision to continue to

increase the national debt well into trillion dollar levels . . .

or why it is in the nation's interests to pursue his health

reform proposals when the majority of the American

people have clearly indicated they do not like it or want

it . . . leading to the question: why the Democrat Congress

and the Obama administration completely ignore what the

American people (who elected them to office) want?

At the time of this State of the Union address, President

Obama's approval rating, according to CBS, has fallen

to 46 percent -- and his disapproval rating is the highest

ever recorded by Gallup polls at the beginning of an

elected president's second year. His current numbers are

down from a high of nearly 70 percent as recently as in

April of 2009. A year ago, he was leader of an apparent

liberal majority reign. A year ago, conservatism was dead.

A year ago, Obama was the most charismatic politician

on earth. Today doubts about the man and his message

of "change"are growing and are affecting the way the

American people vote in current day elections.

On Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010, we Christians have

enough voting power to reclaim this nation for God, and

refute Obama's claim that America is not a Christian

nation. With a new Congress we can stop the growth

of the anti-family, same-sex "marriage" effort . . . we can

slow the increase in the number of, and stop the federal

funding of, abortions . . . we can prevent the destruction

of American industry through Obama's cap and trade

legislation . . . we can slow the increase in our national

debt through his massive handouts . . . we can stop the

efforts to limit freedom of speech from American church

pulpits.

From time to time we will offer some specific thoughts

about action on Nov. 2. For example, in Massachusetts

our kind of people replaced the liberal candidate for the

Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy with Conservative

Scott Brown. We urge our friends in California to consider

replacing Barbara Boxer in her re-election bid for the Senate,

and our friends in Indiana to support the potential Senate

campaign of strong Conservative Representative Mike

Pence to replace Evan Bayh. The point is: we Christians

can bring about real change -- change for the better.

As the Haiti disaster remains in the news: this could

be -- and yet may be -- Obama's Katrina. The "official"

government response has been faltering and disorganized,

upstaged by the response of scores of the world's

Christian churches and Christian aid agencies. Meanwhile,

little publicized has been the first international responder

to the Haiti disaster -- Israel. Probably the smallest nation

involved, and located over 6,000 miles away, Israel got to

Haiti first with nearly 200 medical professionals and at the

time the only fully functioning hospital. Haitians are still

reportedly lining up for the Israeli hospital because word

is being spread that “the best care available is from the

IDF (Israeli Defense Forces).”

Meantime, questions are being raised as to why God would

allow evil to overcome in such a disaster, and one former

nominal Christian TV personality blamed the earthquake on

a historical account of a pact some Haitians made with the

devil. Among the more reasoned responses is that of

Christopher Wright, associated with the John Stott

Ministries, in his book "The God I Don't Understand":

"When the reign of God extends over every corner of

the universe, when the earth is filled with the knowledge

of God as the waters cover the sea, when the kingdoms

of this world have become the kingdoms of our God

and of his Christ, when heaven and earth are renewed

and united under the righteous rule of Christ, when the

dwelling place of God is again with humanity, when

the city of God is the center of all redeemed reality --

then we will have been delivered from all evil forever.

The cross and resurrection of Christ accomplished it in

history and guarantee it for all eternity."

Our Christian worldview of the tragedy of disasters like

that in Haiti, has also to include the triumph of Jesus'

sacrificial death and resurrection. Despite current problems

which we may face, we are never left without hope.

As always, a few "One Liners" to brighten the day.

“Why would you hand the keys to the car back to the

same guys whose policies drove the economy into the

ditch and then walked away from the scene of the

accident?” (Chris Van Hollen, Chairman Democrat

Congressional Campaign Committee commenting on the

recent Massachusetts election.)

President Obama's first year in office represents a

"downward trajectory from divinity to mortality."

(Charles Krauthammer)

"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and

when to reap, we should soon want bread."

(Thomas Jefferson)

"This was 'Teddy Kennedy's seat.' And it was in

Massachusetts. Now, no Democrat is safe. But the country

just got a lot safer." (Ann Coulter)

"He declined to participate--perhaps because he's too

busy trying to vindicate himself after a miserable first year."

(Tony Perkins on Mr. Obama being called for jury duty)

Others are saying -- a few comments noted this week:

Dick Morris: "Mitt Romney passed a bill when he was

governor that is very similar to the Obama legislation,

and Massachusetts is suffering under it. The average

waiting time to see a doctor in Boston is now 63 days.

In Miami it's six days, for example. So people are

beginning to see the impact of these health changes,

and that's redoubling their opposition to it."

Victor Davis Hanson: "The American people are losing

confidence in Team Obama because quite simply they

are tiring of being lied to, and treated like children in

need of Ivy-League Platonic guardians."

Michael Barone: "Obama was supposed to be a great

persuader. It turns out that's only half true. He did

persuade most of us that he should be president. But

in Year One, he has failed to persuade most of us to

support his major proposals. He's even moved us in

the other direction."

Michelle Malkin: "By early afternoon on Tuesday, several

hours before the polls closed on the special Senate

election in Massachusetts, the Democrats had already

thrown in the towel and started throwing punches. At

each other."

Frank Salvato: "Examples of intellectual malfeasance

exist on both sides of the aisle but it is dramatically

more prevalent on the political Left and since the

Progressives have hijacked the Democrat Party it has

gotten worse. There doesn't seem to be a day that goes

by where news comes out of Washington DC that is

literally unbelievable..."

Some random afterthoughts . . .

Looking back to the Obama inauguration, just a week

more than a year ago, one of the memorable lines in his

speech was: "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up,

dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking

America." That wasn't an Obama original. It was from a

duet sung by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a 1936

film, "Swing Time," which included these words:

"Nothing's impossible I have found/ For when my chin

is on the ground/ I pick myself up/ Dust myself off/ And

start all over again." If that thought was appropriate at

the time of his inauguration -- it is even moreso today in

light of his defeats and failures during his first year in office.

So look for a more aggressive Obama in the days just

ahead. With all political and media power on his side, he

doesn't take well to failing to succeed in his plans. During

his speech in Ohio last week, "fighting" was very much on

his mind as he said he "wont stop fighting to protect you

from ... some we've seen in the financial sector" . . . that

he "won't stop fighting to open up government" . . . and

that he "won't stop fighting to cut waste and abuse in

Washington." Those are all battles which we hope he will

start to fight.

Obama's first year by the numbers: 29 golf outings;

178 teleprompted speeches (52 on Obamacare); 5 formal

press conferences during the first 6 months (none since

July 22); 158 news interviews, 90 on TV, 11 on radio,

57 with the press; 46 out of town trips to 58 cities in 30

states; 10 foreign trips to 21 nations (more than any other

president); 160 trips on Air Force One, including taking

his family to London, Paris and Moscow. And despite

promising, "I will not rest until all Americans who want

work can find work," he did manage to squeeze in those

29 golf outings and date nights with his wife at upscale

bistros in New York and Paris.

The Algore "Global Warming" theory is dying, and

not slowly. As one report put it: "The crack-up of the

global warming fraud is picking up speed." In Nov.

2009, the Climate Research Unit of the University of East

Anglia was reported to have rigged, buried or destroyed

data which didn't agree with their political views. Now the

UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change admits an

error in the widely circulated prediction that the Himalayan

glaciers would melt by 2035 because of man-made global

warming. The IPCC has since withdrawn the report.

Our Founding Fathers often warned about the national

debt, and occasionally combined humor with their wisdom.

"The same prudence which in private life would forbid

our paying our own money for unexplained projects,

forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys."

--Thomas Jefferson, 1808

"I think we have more machinery of government than

is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of

the industrious." --Thomas Jefferson, 1824

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

`

IMPORTANT NOTE

Last week, after our word of apology for missing the Jan.

13 issue date, we managed to get that issue published and

circulated on Saturday, Jan. 16. We thought it might offer

you some useful weekend reading. We are deciding how

best to use the contributions we have received, and hope

that we will soon have adequate and functioning computer

equipment. If you haven't done so recently, now would be

a very good time to forward this issue to your friends, and

urge them to subscribe -- as always, no subscription fee.

It is conceivably true that there has never before been a

more urgent need for a critical evaluation of our nation's

politics as seen from a Conservative Christian Evangelical

viewpoint. That is what you will find in ANC every issue.

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IT'S TIME TO REFLECT ON AN OLD SAYING:

"PLUS CA CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MEME \

CHOSE" -- "THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME"

We are all familiar with that self-contradictory saying from

French author Alphonse Karr in the mid-nineteenth century,

and we recall also the question raised in Jeremiah as to

whether the Ethiopian could change his skin color, or the

leopard change its spots.

The fact is that Obama was elected because many our

citizens accepted his promise -- some might call it a threat --

repeated again and again during his campaign, that he

intended to change America. He sharpened that promise

in a speech in the University of Missouri on Oct. 30, 2008,

just a few days before election day, with a new disclosure

of his underlying intent: "We are five days away from

fundamentally transforming the United States of America."

This new statement is not about simple change. This

is about "fundamentally transforming" our nation. The

implications are both threatening and frightening -- to alter,

or transform the fundamentals of America; the principles

upon which the Founding Fathers established this new

nation . . . the principles which for 230 years have made

us the greatest, most successful nation on earth, and the

envy of all the rest of the world.

And on today's anniversary of inauguration as president,

how has Mr. Obama fared in his promise to change, to

fundamentally transform America? One year ago he was

the leader of a liberal, left-wing concept of government

which seemed destined for a long run. Now, according to

a new CBS poll, his approval rating has dropped to 46%

from 70% in April of 2009. His disapproval rating is the

highest ever recorded by Gallup polls at the beginning of

an (elected) president's second year. The two factors

which contribute most to his low approval ratings are the

economy and healthcare. In the CBS survey conducted

earlier this month, only 41% approve his handling of the

economy, and only 36% approve his handling of the

healthcare reform issue.

Just yesterday the whole nation witnessed Obama's

weakened influence in the national political arena when

despite his last minute personal appeal to Massachusetts

voters, a virtual unknown Scott Brown handily defeated

the Kennedy and Democrat-hierarchy picked candidate

for the Senate seat of the late Teddy Kennedy. The state

had not elected a Republican Senator since 1972, and

Brown will be the only Republican among the state's 12

federal legislators. In hockey terms, Obama has achieved

a negative "hat trick" -- his personal support failed in the

November election for Governor in New Jersey, with

Republican Chris Christie winning, and in the November

gubernatorial election in Virginia, with Republican Bob

McDonnell winning. Now his influence has failed in one

of the most solid Democrat states in the nation.

What went wrong? The all-powerful united efforts of the

Administration and the Democrat control of both Houses

of Congress, have demonstrated how successful the

strategy so often used by the radical left can be -- the

creation of crises to scare the voting public into accepting

their solutions to the pending catastrophes. Pause for just

a moment and reflect on the year just passed. The Obama

plan to "transform" America has already created havoc

in our traditional capitalist, free-enterprise system by

taking over banking, auto manufacturing and next, the

healthcare industry. They have multiplied the national

debt to amounts which can only be paid off by gross

inflation which is essentially theft through taxation of the

American people.

Another crisis has been developed out of the Obama

administration's embrace of Al Gore's scientifically

discredited "global warming" theory, and are following

the "cap and trade" philosophy to kill American industry.

They have reduced our national security to a point where

individual Muslim terrorists feel confident enough to

murder a dozen military in one of our major army bases,

or attempt to blow up a passenger plane at one of our

major airports. And when Islamic terrorists face trial, they

are given all the rights of US citizens in a federal court in

an American city.

Obama has been unrelenting in his efforts to destroy

the reputation and heritage of America, declaring that we

are no longer a Christian nation . . . by apologizing for our

role in opposing aggressors through the years . . . by humbly

bowing before rulers of other nations . . . by insulting long

time allies like Great Britain, France and Israel . . . and by

capitulating in meeting after meeting with foreign leaders,

so that America is increasingly being seen as a second

rate nation, no longer worthy of respect by other nations.

The liberal affronts on the Christian faith which has always

been the strength of America are alarming and may become

disastrous. Their plan includes the repeal of DOMA, the

Defense of Marriage Act, which will then allow same-sex

"marriage" to negatively transform the God ordained plan

of marriage and the family into a politically correct,

cultural farce. They are intent on using federal funds

(taxpayer dollars) to support the abortion industry which

has already killed over 50 million babies. Through their

support of LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites)

they can classify as a "hate crime" any preaching on Bible

texts condemning homosexuality.

But we should not be surprised. Obama warned us of his

plans just before the election which put him in the White

House: "We are just five days away from fundamentally

transforming America." He is doing what he warned he

would do. And he has only just begun. He has had only

one year to create crises and wreak havoc on America.

The conclusion to the saying about "change?" In

review we can conclude that the old French saying does

not apply in our present situation. There have been many

changes, and things have not remained the same. And

the American people are beginning to realize that the sort

of change Obama is creating is not for the better.

So what can we, as Christians, do in this new year?

A few issues ago we pointed out that many Christians --

nominal Protestants, Evangelicals, Roman Catholics --

and Jews -- had voted for Barack Obama. Estimates

vary, but a middle-of-the-scale estimate puts the number

of self-confessed Evangelicals at 102 million. Another

estimate indicates that probably only half of the nation's

Evangelicals are registered to vote.

In the 2008 election, Obama won with 66.8 million votes

against McCain's 58.3 million votes -- a victory margin

of 8 1/2 million votes. Do the arithmetic: we Evangelicals

can be the winning factor in any election. There will not

be a presidential election until 2012 -- but on Nov. 2 of

this year -- just 286 days from today -- there will be an

election for all of the House of Representatives, and for

about one third of the Senate. We Evangelical Christians

can affect that election . . . we can take a major step

toward reclaiming this nation for God and the Judeo-

Christian principles upon which it was founded.

On the Internet there is often a touch of humor:

this past week the news ticker was running across the

screen, as usual, and since there is no normal punctuation

in the ticker, the term "U.N. Security Council" appeared

as: UNSECURITY COUNCIL. Probably makes sense.

We have found a few new "One Liners" for you . . .

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Obama is a man of first-class intellect and first-class

temperament. But his character remains highly suspect."

(Charles Krauthammer)

"If the life of an activist holds so much discouragement

and risk, why get involved at all? Because a Christian

understanding of the world compels us to combat

injustice and promote truth." -- Chuck Colson

"Any inquiry aimed at discovering the nature of marriage

must must ultimately arrive at one of two conclusions:

Either marriage is something with an absolute nature

ordained by God and thus unchangeable, or it is an

artificial thing, created by human beings..."

(Terence P. Jeffrey)

Some random afterthoughts . . .

A quick look at some of the latest polls . . . Mr. Obama's

daily approval rating index remains in double digit negative

numbers, where it has been stuck for a few months. We

have earlier shown that Obama's approval percentage is at

46%, but his Secretary State, Hillary Clinton, last week

had an approval percentage of 58%. As for the proposed

Obamacare health reform is concerned, 56% of Americans

oppose it, and only 38% (the lowest to date) approve it.

"Others are saying": a few comments noted this week.

Historian Shelby Steele (concerning this week's Martin

Luther King day): "Some of King's chief lieutenants, like

Jesse Jackson, tolerate no dissension from their liberal

ranks now. They have abandoned King's dream, and

aligned themselves with political and social agendas

obsessed with color at the expense of character."

Dr. Mark Reynolds of Biola University: "Jerusalem gave

the world truth; Athens gave it a valid way to express that

truth. Out of this creative harmony came the classical

Christian civilizations that shaped most of the world in

which we live.”

H.L. Mencken: "A Galileo could no more be elected

president of the United States than he could be elected

Pope of Rome. Both high posts are reserved for men

favored by God with an extraordinary genius for swathing

the bitter facts of life in bandages of self-illusion."

Robert Ringer: "Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and Fox

News have given libertarians and conservatives the

greatest boost in the history of television, but freedom

lovers would be foolish to sit back and rely on them

alone to do the job. Better to hope for the best for Fox

News, but be prepared for the worst - and take it upon

ourselves to continue to educate the American public,

one person at a time, on the evils of progressivism and

the sanctity of libertarian-centered conservatism and

free markets."

The Founding Fathers often spoke of the importance

of God and the Christian faith in the life of this new nation

they were forming. Their words are meaningful today.

“In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as

Men and Christians, to reflect that whilst every prudent

measure should be taken to ward off the impending

judgments …at the same time all confidence must be

withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on

that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without

His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but

foolishness." -- John Hancock, 1775

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the

liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have

removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds

of the people that these liberties are a gift from God?

That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?

Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God

is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

-- Thomas Jefferson, 1781.

“Providence has given to our people the choice of their

rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and

interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer

Christians for their rulers.” -- John Jay, 1816

ONE YEAR OF BARACK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT

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* * * * * * * * * IMPORTANT NOTE * * * * * * * * *

A major word of thanks: On Jan. 6 in announcing the

issue of "Vol. 14, No. 1," and the beginning of 7 years of

weekly publication, these words also were noted: "We may

be forced to cease publication soon." The reason behind

that statement was purely financial. From day one we have

never charged any subscription fee . . . have never asked

for any financial support . . . and we do not sell books or

any other product. But there are obviously costs incurred

-- and one of those costs involves adequate functioning

computer equipment. Our computer equipment is simply

worn out due to heavy over use . . . and we do not have

the funds to replace it. Rather than stand by and watch

ANC cease publication, one of our long time readers who

also serves (at no charge) as a senior consulting advisor,

decided to share this need with just a very few readers.

The response was very encouraging! Not in the multi-million

dollar range which a prominent mega-church pastor has

been bragging about recently, but in an amount promised

by several friends which, when received, will enable us to

either purchase a new computer with adequate capacity or

have our present computer repaired and updated so we can

continue to publish ANC every week -- for as long as the

Lord leads, and indicates He wants us to continue. We are

using the best professional advisors and will be doing what

is the best way to solve our problem. Our thanks to those

who responded . . . and our thanks to our Lord who has

given this assurance of approval and encouragement.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

IN JUST A FEW DAYS WE WILL HAVE HAD ONE

YEAR OF BARACK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT;

WHAT WILL THE NEXT YEAR BRING?

The opening line of Shakespeare's "King Richard III"

is a very familiar one -- and particularly appropriate for

American citizens at this moment in our history: "Now

is the winter of our discontent..." A "winter of discontent"

seems to be an accurate description of American public

opinion at this point in time.

At the end of his first year President Obama has watched

his performance approval rating plummet to a lower level

than for any president in several decades at the end of one

year in office, and sinking to a new low just this past week.

And despite his over exposure on TV, utilizing his ever

present teleprompter, the people just don't like him, and

more serious than that -- they don't trust him. That feeling

was expressed by Congressman Joe Wilson of South

Carolina, in September when, during Obama's speech to

Congress, Wilson shouted "You Lie." An unfortunate

remark at an inappropriate moment, but it seemed to

capture a widely held public opinion, which the president

has done little to overcome. A contributing factor is his

failure to have any press conference since last July --

that's 6 months without any open exposure the the nation's

media. Not exactly a procedure to inspire confidence.

And all that negative public opinion has been reinforced

by Obama's cohorts in the Congress. Against his own

performance approval rating of below 50%, the Congress

has a public approval rating of +27%. Nancy Pelosi has

a public approval rating of +33%, with Harry Reid at +25%.

The lack of confidence and trust in this administration by

the American public has been highlighted recently by the

way the "Obamacare" health reform proposal has been

conducted. We have all seen on TV the 8 times where

he promised that all health care reform issues would

be debated and disclosed to the American people via

C-Span TV coverage. It was part of his pledge to make

openness and transparency a priority of his administration.

Instead, all negotiations are being carried on in secret,

behind closed doors with only Democrat members of the

Senate and House meeting with representatives of the

president's staff. Joe Wilson's shouted comment seems

totally justified.

Nancy Pelosi promised "the most honest, most open and

most ethical Congress in history," and concerning the way

the health reform proposals are being handled, declared,

"There has never been a more open process for any piece

of legislation." All this despite the CEO of C-Span formally

offering Obama and the heads of Congress the opportunity

to allow C-Span to cover the negotiations. Secrecy prevails.

So it is clear that President Obama begins his second year

in office with performance approval ratings hitting new

lows, and with both houses of Congress earning even less

public confidence and trust in their procedures.

As Christians, what should our concerns be? There

are many developments to concern us in the Obama

plans to transform America. He has promised to revoke

the federal DOMA, (Defense of Marriage Act) signed

into law by Bill Clinton. Already a trial is going on in

California before a Federal judge on this very issue --

its decision will almost certainly be appealed to the US

Supreme Court. The trial's implications for marriage are

tremendous. If U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn

Walker declares that Proposition 8 violates the constitution,

not only will same-sex marriage become law in California,

but traditional marriage laws in every state will be open to

federal legal challenges. Obama has promised to enact

FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) which will greatly enhance

the use of abortions to kill more babies. Tucked away --

almost hidden in the huge defense spending bill authorization

-- was a federal "hate crimes" act, signed into law by Mr.

Obama in October. Many observers of the religious scene

in America are concerned that this law can be used to

make criminal acts out of preaching on Conservative and

Evangelical principles like abortion and homosexuality.

And there is ENDA (Employment Non Discrimination Act)

which when made law will mandate that no Christian

organization can refuse to employ homosexuals, bisexuals,

transvestites, etc. Former President George W. Bush had

threatened to veto a similar measure, but President Obama

has brought a reversal of that policy to the White House.

Those are just a few concerns which we as Christians face

with respect to the present administration.

A reflection on the First Century Christian Church.

"In order for the church to be relevant in 2010 it must

find its identity in Jesus and become scripturally literate.

As it returns to its original mission the focus will not be

on self but on others. Not on wealth but on worship and

the worth of the soul. The early church was known as

being composed of those who turned the world upside

down. In other words, they challenged the status quo.

They effected change by focusing on the person of Jesus.

Their goal was not self advancement but the advancement

of the Kingdom of God." -- Bill Shuler, pastor of Capital

Life Church in Arlington, VA

Once again we remind our readers: On Election Day,

Nov. 2, 2010, we can replace enough of the members of

the House and Senate to weaken the power of Mr. Obama,

and begin the reclaiming of this nation for God and the

Judeo-Christian principles upon which it was founded.

We can, as did the New Testament Christians, turn the

world upside down.

Remember this feature of ANC in the past?

Some random afterthoughts . . .is back

again, as we try to touch on other events of concern to

us in the current news.

How times (and perceptions) change! After the collapse

of the Soviet Union, Russians took down their statues of

Josef Stalin, the mass murderer who killed millions of

people, including millions of Orthodox Christians who

were also exterminated or put into concentration camps

by Stalin because of their faith. Now it is hard to believe

that the National D-Day Memorial will be honoring Stalin

by placing his bust on a pedestal at its museum in Bedford,

VA, displayed alongside those honoring Franklin Roosevelt

and Winston Churchill. Stalin's killing machine murdered

more people than the Nazis under Adolph Hitler, yet here

in America we have fallen to the point of honoring him.

The Obama administration's turn-about on Israel.

Last week Obama's Envoy to the Middle East, former

Senator George Mitchell, threatened to end US financial

support for Israel unless Israel acts in violation of God's

word, and yields to the demands of the Islamic terrorists

who are committed to Israel's complete destruction. This

new US demand is ironic, since Palestine has refused to

share in any peace process unless Israel unilaterally turns

over to the Islamists land that God promised to Israel

forever. Mr. Obama and Senator Mitchell should reflect

upon the fact that Jerusalem is the only city God claims

as His own: "In the Temple and in Jerusalem which

I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. I will put my

Name forever." (I Chron. 37:7)

A sobering thought for President Obama: California

has one of the harshest laws in the U.S., mandating 25

years to life in prison for a defendant convicted of any

third felony offense if he or she has two previous "strikes"

on his or her record. In this instance a "strike" is any

criminal offense that is a violent or serious felony. Consider

putting California's "3rd strike" law into effect on a nation

wide basis. We have just had at least 2 serious felonies --

in Nov. Major Nidal Hasan walked into a crowded area at

Fort Hood, TX, shouting the Muslim rallying cry, "Allah

is Great," and murdered more than a dozen military and

civilians. Then on Christmas Day Umar Abdulmutallab,

acting under instructions from Al Qaeda, attempted to

blow up a US passenger plane in Detroit. And even more:

on New Years Eve, a suicide bomber killed 8 US civilians

in our CIA headquarters in Pakistan. Anyway you look at

it -- we have had the background of at least "2 strikes" --

and California's mandated most severe penalty applies.

But are we ready, and will we do anything to punish those

offenders? And, of course, these may not even be considered

as serious felonies.

As long as you tell us you enjoy them, we will keep

finding "One Liners" to bring to you . . .

"Socialism’s greatest lie is that it promises the people

something for nothing." (Daniel Greenfield)

"President Obama's foreign policy agenda and efforts

have proven to be a series of failures as he jets around

the world bowing to foreign leaders and apologizing

for America." (Townhall Magazine)

"When you elect a 'community organizer,' you end up

with a 'national disaster.'" (Gene Jeffries)

"If loose lips sink ships, Vice President Joe Biden and

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could take down a

carrier division." (Doug Patton)

And a "one liner" from responses to the poll question:

"Why the angry reaction to Brit Hume's comment that Tiger

Woods will find forgiveness in the Christian faith?" An

overwhelming 87.73% of more than 12,000 responders

chose this answer: "The so-called tolerant are displaying

their intolerance."

A few examples of what "Others are Saying:"You may

find they may express your opinions on what is happening.

John Hawkins: "When Barack Obama was on the campaign

trail, he promised Americans hope, change, and unity.

Whatever else may be said about the man, you at least

have to give him credit for delivering on all counts. After

all, as the year has progressed, more and more Americans

have united against his agenda. As for the change, well,

just look at the unemployment rate, the economy, and the

national debt. We've seen quite a bit of change in those

areas under Obama's watch. Then, of course, there's the

prevalence of the word 'hope' when people talk about our

president. 'Gosh, I really hope he knows what he's doing.

I hope Obama's weakness doesn't encourage the terrorists.

I hope we can undo all the damage Obama is doing to the

country right now. I hope our children will forgive us one

day for electing this guy.' So we're in the midst of an historic

presidency..."

Tony Perkins (On the "don't ask - don't tell" policy in the

military): "Our servicemen are sacrificing their lives to

wipe out global terrorism, and their commander-in-chief's

biggest worry is throwing a coming out party for gays

and lesbians. The top brass in Iraq and Afghanistan are

juggling two wars with limited troops and supplies, and

Washington is focused on social engineering."

The Founding Fathers had much to say about debt

and corruption in government on the part of this new

nation they were forming.

"The essence of Government is power; and power,

lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be

liable to abuse." (James Madison, 1788)

"But with respect to future debt; would it not be wise

and just for that nation to declare in the constitution

they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the

nation itself can validly contract more debt, than they

may pay within their own age, or within the term of

19 years." (Thomas Jefferson, letter, 1789)

"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity,

under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a

large scale." (Thomas Jefferson, letter, 1816)

"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense

beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt,

are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning

knife." (Thomas Jefferson, letter, 1821)

"Public affairs go on pretty much as usual: perpetual

chicanery and rather more personal abuse than there

used to be..." (John Adams, 1776)

ONE WEEK INTO A NEW YEAR

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Another milestone achieved: You may have noted that this

issue is indexed as "Vol. 14, No.1" We have arbitrarily set

each Volume as 6 months -- so this issue marks the beginning

of the 7th consecutive year of weekly publication. How long

we can continue is an open question -- we may be forced to

cease publication soon -- but at least this important date has

been reached. Thank you for staying with us, and for urging

your friends and others to subscribe.

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INTRODUCTORY EDITORIAL WORD: We made some

suggestions about the traditional New Year's Resolutions in

last week's issue. But because it is still a timely subject, here

is an interesting comment by writer Jen Hubley: "I've found it:

It's our New Year's Resolution for 2010. The only one, in fact,

that we need. This year, instead of fixating on losing weight,

quitting our bad habits, and paying off our debt, let's just

agree to be nicer to ourselves. If we can do that, the other

stuff will be easy...This is my favorite: Do something for you

everyday." And putting a Christian emphasis on such a down-

to-earth, common sense thought as that, how about resolving

not to turn against God, and put into effect the word of the

Psalmist, in 119:11: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that

I might not sin against thee." And if you are looking for a

new approach to reading and appropriating God's word, here's

a quick and easy suggestion: read the Psalms and the Proverbs

every day for a month. There are just 150 Psalms -- read 5 a

day, and you complete them in a month. There are just 31

chapters in Proverbs -- read 1 a day and you will complete

them in a month. And why these two books out of the 66 in

the Bible? It has been said that the Psalms will teach you how

to get along with God, and the Proverbs will teach you how

to get along with your fellow-men. Try that schedule for just

a month; it will prove to be the best thing you could do for

yourself in this new year, 2010.

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WE ARE NOW ONE WEEK INTO A NEW YEAR;

SHOULD WE TAKE TIME TO LOOK BACK,

OR LOOK AHEAD SPECULATIVELY?

For a few weeks we will be entertained with lists setting

forth "The Best (or the Worst) of 2009," and just as often

we will be offered predictions for 2010, based heavily on the

writers' political, religious or sociological leanings -- those

predictions can all be summed up in the term "Worldview."

What, exactly, are we talking about? We have touched on

the subject of "Worldview" before -- the American Heritage

Dictionary defines it as: "1. The overall perspective from

which one sees and interprets the world. 2. A collection of

beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or

a group."

Chuck Colson, in announcing the program of the Colson

Center (www.colsoncenter.org), applies the Christian aspect

in these words: "Christianity is an all-encompassing

worldview. It causes us to see the world in a way that shapes

the way we live in the world. It shapes the way we evangelize

and the way we disciple others. And it shapes the way we

fulfill the cultural commission—carrying on the work of God

as we cultivate and employ all the resources God has placed

at our disposal for the sake of His creation."

Looking back at 2009 and the first 10 years of the Twenty-

first Century, Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" comes to mind,

and the familiar line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst

of times..." We experienced terrorist attacks on American soil

. . . we entered into two foreign wars that continue even today

. . . we saw the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, the largest

natural disaster in our nation's history . . . our way of life was

threatened by the worst economic recession in more than 70

years . . . and in the final days of 2009, attacks and attempted

attacks made it clear that President Obama's initial assessment

of our nation's security efforts was right:"totally unacceptable."

From a religious viewpoint we have seen our nation's historic

traditional Christian moral values come under attack from a

national administration which favors homosexual behavior,

encourages the killing of children through abortion, and

threatens the freedom of speech and religion which our

Constitution has always guaranteed. More than once our

president declared that America is no longer a Christian nation.

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton referred to Mr. Obama

as "our first post-American president," and we should pause,

consider the spiraling public debt, unemployment, banking

and industrial chaos, and the apparent failures in national

security, and try to understand how can we be entering a

"post-American decade?" How did it all go so so wrong, so

quickly, in every aspect of American life? Can it be true,

as some have predicted, that "the Jihad Decade cometh.?"

The answer to that question is purely speculative. But this we

know: In the last national election in 2008 the liberal, left-wing

elements of the American public, aided and abetted by the

elite media, and attracting significant numbers of votes from

our nation's religious members -- Evangelical, Catholic and

Jewish -- so that the result was that we elected as president

an icon of just about everything that belies the Jewish-Christian

principles upon which this nation was built and upon which

it has always existed. Political writer Pamela Geller summarized

Mr. Obama's first year in office using these words: " ... with

as much understanding of the American experience as any

foreign national ... His lack of experience in all relevant

areas to the office of the President is breathtaking. And his

bowing to Islam and our enemies worldwide is disastrous.

2009 was a nightmare."

So much for looking back; what about the future? We

have just observed a shocking display of partisan politics at

its worst in the supposedly sacrosanct U.S. Senate, where

members proved willing to sell their vote in support of the

administration's health care reform plan -- despite the fact that

polls show that 58% of the American people oppose the plan,

either version, House or Senate.

And now, even though the health reform proposal is not a

fait accompli, the Obama administration is preparing to push

for a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system. Senior

White House aides privately have assured Latino activists that

the president will back legislation next year to provide a path

to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants

living in the United States. (The old familiar term is "amnesty.")

And this proposal will doubtless face even greater public

opposition than the "Obamacare" health reform plan.

Any speculation about the future has to take into account the

facts disclosed by the several national polls which continue

to report that the opinions of the American people on Mr.

Obama's performance are uniformly on a downward trend.

The over-all favorable job approval score of 62% on Inaugural

day had fallen to 46% by year end. The daily performance

index of +23 on Inaugural day had fallen to -18 at year end.

And as the new year begins, only 29% feel that as a nation

we are headed in the right direction, with 67% reporting that

we are on the wrong track.

Given these overall factors, it is difficult to foresee any kind

of a favorable future for America -- unless some changes are

made. The next presidential election is not scheduled until the

year 2012. However, as we have been pointing out for the past

several weeks, there is a national election in 2010 -- on Nov.2,

to be exact. All members of the House will be up for election,

as will approximately one-third of the members of the Senate.

In last week's issue we pointed out how many "Religious"

voters -- Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals and Jews -- had

played a part in electing Mr. Obama, and the strong liberal

majorities in both Houses of Congress. In November of this

year we can change the make-up of Congress, and thus affect

the unstoppable power of Mr. Obama and his present ultra

liberal Congress.

There are enough of us Evangelical Christians in this country

to reclaim this nation for God and move it back to what it has

always been: a Christian nation, although that is denied by

President Obama. As of today, there are just 300 days till Nov.

2, 2010. Mark that date on your calendar. It is a "take action

day" for American Christians. Let's not give up on America!

Was there any point in yesterday's security conference?

If so, it isn't immediately apparent. After a lengthy report

session with some 20 members of the president's security

team, Mr. Obama was able to present the results in 5 or 6

minutes, summed up in these words: "We will do better," and

the promise that within a few days he will be receiving more

detailed reports and suggestions as to what should be done to

correct what went wrong on Christmas Day. His choice words

of concern as to our security failures: "unacceptable" and

"systemic failure" and "isolated extremist." As for anyone --

for example, Janet Napolitano -- losing their job, one recalls

President Bush commending the Director of FEMA, Michael

Brown, after the Katrina disaster, "Brownie, you're doing a

heck of a job." Apparently Obama has a similar feeling about

Ms. Napolitano. But this much is apparent: Instead of calling

terrorist Abdulmutallab an enemy combatant and interrogating

him, we have granted him all the protections our justice system

provides any civil defendant, with a paid-for attorney and a trial

in an American court. We can expect this foolish generous act

to be remembered and exploited by the next Abdulmutallab or

whatever the next Jihad-terrorist will be named.

Global Warming and Climate Change are still "hot topics"

for the Algore Theory fans, but in Great Britain the advice is

being circulated to buy a new winter coat. Experts there are

predicting that this will be one of the coldest winters in the

past 100 years. This prediction comes from British scientist,

Mojib Latif who predicted in September that the earth would

be facing a cooling period for the next 20 or 30 years. (And

Britain was the site of the university research study which

messed up the statistical data upon which the Algore people

depended prior to the Copenhagen conference fiasco.) Try

to convince the residents of the upper mid-West and the

North-East of America about how warm it is!

A New Year, and because you enjoy them, we will still

look for and share some choice "One Liners" with you . . .

"Rather than the new era of transparency and bipartisanship

the Obama administration promised, it is now clear that we

are rapidly becoming 'The Divided States of America.'"

(Matthew Staver)

"In the hours that followed the attack, Obama foolishly

called the attempt an 'isolated incident.' That's like Tiger

Woods calling Rachel Uchitel an isolated incident."

(Andrea Tantaros)

(After a sleepless, overnight flight to Oslo, President Barack

Obama made a not altogether surprising admission: he was

tired.) "Jetting off for Broadway dates, undeserved Peace

Prizes, botched Crony-lympics bids, and world apology

tours is hard work, don’t you know?" (Michelle Malkin)

(Concerning the Christmas terrorist attack:) "The longer our

leaders remain delusional, the more likely more of us will

die." (Gary Bauer)

"How has occupying two nations at a cost of 5,000 dead,

35,000 wounded and a trillion dollars made us safer from

an enemy that more resembles the Apache of Geronimo

than the panzers of Rommel?" (Pat Buchanan)

"Rather than respond with vigorous force to protect the

homeland, the liberal response was to 'swaddle terrorists

in the rights of American criminal defendants.'"

(Andrew McCarthy)

And here are a few examples of what "Others are Saying."

These seem to reflect the opinions of the majority of the people

of America concerning current events.

Robert Ringer: "If you start with a false premise, you will

always arrive at a false conclusion. That government has

a right to impose "cap and trade" rules (and taxes) on

individuals or companies is a false premise. That government

has a right to force people to buy health insurance is a false

premise. That government has a right to redistribute wealth is

a false premise."

Newt Gingrich: "Secretary of Homeland Security Janet

Napolitano's claim that the Detroit bomber was allowed to

board a plane with explosives hidden in his underwear

proved the system worked is proof we need a new Homeland

Security Secretary who knows we need a new strategy and a

new focus. We have been warned. Again. Will we now act?"

Thomas Sowell: "The only thing healthy about Congress'

health insurance legislation is the healthy skepticism about

it by most of the public, as revealed by polls. What is most

unhealthy about this legislation is the raw arrogance in the

way it was conceived and passed."

Peter Brown, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute: "The

economy may be growing and the recession may be over,

but on Main Street, people who are unemployed are not

happy and people who are worried about being unemployed

are not happy."

A present day evaluation of our Founding Fathers:

"America's Founding Fathers clearly understood that faith

in the Creator and true Freedom are inseparable. We believe

their worldview was a Christian one based upon the Great

Commission of the Gospel and biblically enlightened self-

government. As inscribed on the Liberty Bell, they would

'Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the

inhabitants thereof.' (Leviticus 25:10) Solomon once said:

'When there is no vision, the people perish.' The true

American Dream is more accurately called the American

Vision. It is the Vision that drove our Founding Fathers to

establish our Constitutional Republic as a nation under God."

-- G. Edward Griffin

And there is this warning word from our 3rd president:

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt."

--Thomas Jefferson, in a letter, 1816

AS WE ENTER 2010

`

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? ANOTHER YEAR IS GONE.

There appears to be some truth in the old adage, "The older

you get, the faster time seems to go." As Christians we know

that the Bible teaches us that time is a gift that we have from

God, and for which we are to be responsible stewards before

God. When we think of time, we always turn to Ecclesiastes 3:

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose

under the heaven ..." Isaac Watts of the post-Elizabethan era,

is called the father of English hymnology. From the one who

wrote the magnificent "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,"

came also this hymn about one of God's tiniest creatures,

"How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour..."

And therein may be the great lesson about time for Christians.

Each gift from God is pure, perfect, and without blemish. Yet

here we are challenged to take each new gift of each shining

hour of life, and improve it. For those who still observe the

ritual of "New Year's Resolutions," here is one for 2010:

Resolve to improve each hour of our life. Or we might turn

to one of the prayers of the late Rev. Peter Marshall, "In the

name of Jesus Christ, who was never in a hurry, we pray,

O God, that You will slow us down, for we know that we

live too fast. With all of eternity before us, make us take time

to live - time to get acquainted with You, time to enjoy Your

blessings, and time for each other." For 2010 that is our

word for all of us: Slow down, America . . . this year, take

time for God. As we read in Psalm 90:12, "Teach us to

number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto

wisdom." It is not given to us to know how many days God

has given us here, but we do know that He wants us to use

each one of them to His honor and glory. Have a happy,

God-honoring new year!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

AS WE ENTER 2010 IT PROBABLY MAKES SENSE

TO SEEK A WAY OUT OF OUR PRESENT

MORAL AND POLITICAL TURMOIL

Robert Ringer, in his column "A Voice of Sanity in an Insane

World," calls 2010 a year of reckoning, and makes this

prediction: "America will go through a fundamental change

in 2010 - guaranteed. Either it will be fundamentally

transformed into a full-fledged socialist police state, then,

ultimately, a communist police state, or those who still

believe in freedom will do whatever it takes to overthrow

the oligarchy that now rules over us."

And Paul Holrath, a prolific writer/commentator and a Fellow

of the Lincoln Heritage Institute, writes concerning the

possibility of change in 2010: "Is it likely, or even possible,

that we will ever see the day when we can look upon an

educated and informed electorate with pride and confidence?

The answer to that question will likely become obvious in the

November 2010 elections. It may well be our last chance."

Robert Ringer may be right -- drastic changes may take over

in 2010 and bring about an extreme change in the America

we have always known, in line with Mr. Obama's inauguration

speech threat of "remaking America." And Paul Hollrah may

be right -- the election of 2010 may be our last chance to

preserve the nation which has always existed.

It isn't difficult to tend to agree with both of those opinions,

that 2010 may well be the year of drastic changes in America,

and the election of 2010 may be our last chance. In each issue

of this Commentary for the past few months we have followed

the old practice of counting "how many days till Christmas,"

and have reminded our readers just how many days remain

until Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010. As of today: 307 more days!

But before we get into discussing the challenges which will be

before us on the next election day, let's look back at a brief

recap of the last national election day in November 2008. As

you will recall, Barack Hussein Obama was elected president

with 69,457,000 votes -- or 9,522,000 more than for John

McCain. His victory margin was less than 10 million votes.

But let's look at the part religion played in that election. In

round numbers the total "religious" vote was divided 53%

for Obama, and 46% for McCain. But looking more carefully

at that "religious" vote, it appears that some 35 million Catholic

votes were cast, divided 54% for Obama and 45% for McCain.

And there were 2.6 million Jewish votes cast, divided 78% for

Obama and 21% for McCain. In total, approximately 18.9

million Catholics and 2 million Jews voted for Obama.

Among essentially non-Evangelical Protestants, 45% of their

votes, amounting to some 31.5 million, went for Obama, and

54% of their votes, amounting to some 37.8 million, went for

McCain. Then looking at the votes of the Evangelical/Born

Again group, 26% of their votes, which amounted to some

7.8 million, went for Obama, and 73%, which amounted to

some 21.9 million, went for McCain.

By reviewing those figures it is clear that the "religious" vote

had much to do with Mr. Obama's election, with Protestants,

Catholics, Jews and Evangelicals contributing to his victory.

And how has this worked out for religious groups in America?

All of the "religious" core of America have had traditional,

well cherished and strongly held beliefs, adversely affected by

the Obama administration. Increased use of abortion to kill

more babies in addition to the 50 million killed since Roe v.

Wade; further destruction of the American family through

increased recognition of same-sex marriages; the institution

of "hate crime" laws which will affect freedom of speech

from the nation's pulpits; a trend toward an anti-Israel attitude

by America which has always been Israel's prime ally ... and

these are just a few of our basic moral values now under attack.

We cannot say we were not warned. Mr. Obama promised a

transformation of America in his campaign rhetoric of "change

you can believe in," and from the statistics we just reviewed,

literally millions of our nation's "religious" voters were caught

in that campaign frenzy and played a major role in putting this

nation in the hands of liberals who have demonstrated their

anti-religion, anti-Christian approach to government.

With liberal politicians controlling the legislative branch of

our government and with liberal judges in charge of the

nation's court system, the president is free to act with no

control over his liberal -- some have said socialistic --

intentions for America. And the problem we face is not just

in what he has done as president, but also what he is and

what he represents. He has forcefully declared on more than

one occasion that America is no longer a Christian nation . . .

he has sponsored greater recognition of the Muslim holiday

Ramadan than of Christmas or the national day of prayer.

He has imposed his own opinion on the Democrat controlled

Congress and has forced approval of the House and Senate

versions of a health care reform bill, when 55% of the

American people (a growing majority) do not favor the

proposed health care reform, but actually oppose it. And

in similar fashion, national approval of the president's

performance continues to slide to lower levels than any prior

president has experienced in decades. And only 29% of the

American people, feel our nation is headed in the right

direction -- the lowest level since Obama's inauguration day.

Thus Nov. 2, 2010 -- our next national election day -- is of

extreme importance. Those Evangelicals who did not vote in

2008 should plan to do so in this election. Only an estimated

30 million Evangelical voters participated in the 2008 election.

Estimates place the number of Evangelicals in this country at

something above 100 million. If just another 10 million were

to register and vote to reclaim this nation for God -- and if

those Evangelicals, Catholics and Jews who now regret their

error in their 2008 vote would this time vote to elect the right

candidates and replace the left-wing liberals in Congress --

the real "change" in America that we so desperately need

would be accomplished.

And there is today a growing evidence of hope: On Nov.

20, in Washington, D.C., Evangelical scholars Chuck Colson,

Robert George and Timothy George, joined with 150 others

of like minds and signed the Manhattan Declaration -- a call

to reaffirmation of basic Christian values. In just a few days

more than one month, and with no elite media recognition,

more than 312,000 persons have signed their agreement with

the Declaration through the Internet where it has had virtually

its only public exposure. No other statement, affirmation or

manifesto of recent years has experienced any such broad

acceptance. In churches and other Christian groups there

are enrollment procedures under way as more and more

American believers join to express their determination to take

a stand for the Christian faith in this great nation which for

230 years has been the land of the free and the home of the

brave. (Read it and sign at: www.manhattandeclaration.org.)

As always, we have come across some "one liners," and

because you say you enjoy them, here are a few more:

"Scrooge came early on Christmas Eve this year -- and he

looks strangely like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid."

(Oliver North)

"Yes, we'll hear an earful, but it will be an earful of

wonderment and happiness." (Senator Harry Reid on the

reaction to his health care reform proposal)

"Increasingly unloved and ridiculed from both sides, a new

and embittered President Obama is emerging this Christmas

season as he begins a badly needed vacation in Hawaii.…"

(Charles Hurt, in NY Post)

"Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of

law under God is acknowledged."

(President Ronald Reagan)

"Afghanistan has become another Vietnam. We're fighting

the war from the United States and on PC terms to bring

our troops home." (Noah Shachtman)

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance,
and the gospel of envy; it's inherent virtue is the equal

sharing of misery." (Winston Churchill)

Others are saying . . . and their comments continue to

reflect the opinions of the majority of the American people:

G. Edward Griffin: "There is a tremendous amount of

attention being given to the legislation [health care reform]

at present, so it will be much easier to add the worst features

later, after the public has lost interest and has focused on

something more important, such as Tiger Woods' private life."

Charles Krauthammer: "Iranian President Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad did not just reject President Obama's latest

feckless floating nuclear deadline. He spat on it, declaring

that Iran 'will continue resisting' until the U.S. has gotten

rid of its 8,000 nuclear warheads".

Monte Kuligowski, American Thinker: "The real issue is

about the secrecy of Barack Obama, and it involves more

than the release of his complete birth records. Hospital

records; high school, college and law school records;

transcripts; writings; and passport info have been requested,

and all are being withheld by Obama ... A normative

democratic society cannot allow a president to continue to

speak disingenuously about transparency while withholding

basic information."

And as always, we offer a Founding Father's quote,

a particularly appropriate one given our present situation:

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties

of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their

only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that

these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be

violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country

when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot

sleep forever.” -- Thomas Jefferson, 1781

"THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US"

`

THERE ARE PLACES -- TOO MANY TODAY -- where

it is forbidden to say "Merry Christmas" ... places like our

public schools, retail stores, etc ... but this newsletter is not

one of them ... and so we extend to our readers, our friends,

the traditional, pre-"politically-correct," greeting of the Advent

season: Merry CHRISTmas! Granted, with the passage of

time -- "progress" some might call it -- the observance of the

birth of Jesus Christ has become over-commercialized, and

the real meaning of the event being celebrated has been over-

shadowed by tawdry trinkets, gaudy decorations and an almost

obligatory exchange of presents. A new organization has even

been developed -- "The Advent Conspiracy" -- with the goal

of encouraging its members to "Worship fully ... Spend less ...

Give more ... Love all." They remind us that the story of the

birth of Christ is a story of promise, hope, and salvation. And

they also remind us that what was once a time to celebrate the

birth of a Savior has somehow turned into a season of stress,

traffic jams, and shopping lists. Whether you follow the goal

of the Advent Conspiracy, or simply follow the inclination of

your own mind, amid all the attendant festivities of this day,

pause and give thought to God's great gift to us, as described

in Luke 2:11, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David,

a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." And know that you

are not alone -- recent polls disclose that approximately 90%

of Americans celebrate Christmas, every year.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

AGAIN WE PAUSE TO OBSERVE THAT EVENT

WHEN TIME STOOD STILL AND "THE WORD

WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US"

It matters little that December 25 is not the precise date

when Jesus was born. What matters is that He was born in

fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies that God's plan

for eternal salvation could be accomplished, for without the

manger birth in Bethlehem there could be no cross on Calvary.

From the earliest days of this nation -- long before our current

President Obama declared that we are not a Christian nation,

the observance, the celebration of Christmas was always a very

important event in the White House.

Looking back, the first decorated tree in the White House

was in the presidency of Benjamin Harrison in 1889. Under

President Calvin Coolidge the lighting of the National

Christmas Tree was begun in 1923. In 1953 the Eisenhowers

developed the first White House Christmas card. In 1963 the

first White House Christmas card to have a religious theme

was designed by the Kennedys, featuring a picture of the

Nativity Scene in the East Room. In 2002 the first White

House card to carry a verse of Scripture was used by the

George W. Bush family, quoting a verse from Psalm 27.

But throughout all the years, by acts of Congress or decisions

of the Supreme Court, there was never any question as to the

Christian heritage of America. The birth of Christ, the moment

when all time was divided between B.C. and A.D., was always

observed and celebrated. In recent years the current president

has repeatedly claimed that America is not a Christian nation -

even claiming America to be one of the largest Muslim nations

in the world, although the total Muslim population is just over

half of 1% of the national population, while more than 80% of

Americans declare themselves to be Christian.

Now Americans must decide whether centuries of presidents,

congresses, and courts are correct or whether President

Obama is, but it must be remembered that historical fact does

not change merely because the President declares it to be so.

Our current President seems to like being considered a "war

time President." If continuing and enlarging two unpopular

conflicts, neither of which relate to the safety and security

of America, makes one a "war time President," then he

probably merits the term. But for a real "war time President,"

we can reflect upon the terms of Harry S. Truman, who

inherited World War II from President Roosevelt, brought

it to a successful conclusion, and then dealt with the Korean

conflict until its armistice/stalemate in 1953.

Although tried and tested by WWII's horrendous costs in

money and lives, President Truman remained true to

America's Christian heritage, and in correspondence with

Pope Pius XII on August 6, 1947, in attempting to develop

an international basis for peace, he wrote: "An enduring

peace can be built only upon Christian principles... Your

Holiness, this is a Christian Nation. More than a half

century ago that declaration was written into the decrees

of the highest court in this land... As a Christian Nation

our earnest desire is to work with men of good will

everywhere to banish war and the causes of war from the

world whose Creator desired that men of every race and

in every clime should live together in peace, good will

and mutual trust..."

And so, as at this Advent season we compare (contrast) the

viewpoints of two "war time presidents," as Christians we

have to say we must come down on the side of President

Truman who never made secondary to any foreign religious

faith his respect for, his belief in, and his advocacy of the

Christian heritage of this nation.

The UN "Climate Change" conference has ended, not

with a bang, but with something more like a whimper. One

final news account used these words: "Two weeks of

negotiations toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions

ended Dec. 19 in a nonbinding treaty called the

Copenhagen Accord, which fell short of expectations for the

United Nations climate conference in Demark." The treaty

dropped a previous 2010 deadline for achieving a legally

binding agreement to fight global warming.

President Obama, who flew to Copenhagen late in the week

to help broker some kind of a deal, called the Accord "a

meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough," but his own

statement to representatives of the 193 nations in attendance

in acknowledging failure is more revealing: "I don't know how

you have an international agreement where we all are not

sharing information and making sure we are meeting our

commitments. That doesn't make sense. It would be a hollow

victory." Or as one commentator wrapped it all up: "No deal

is better than a bad deal."

Oh, and there was this comment about the U.N.'s handling

of the conference: "Pity the poor fools who still believe man

is causing catastrophic global warming. Thirty thousand

of the wretches have flown to Copenhagen, only to discover

there is no room for them at the inn as the bright folks at

the U.N. handed out 45,000 credentials but only rented a

building that can hold 15,000." So typically UN!

Here are the polls as we prepare to celebrate Christmas;

not particularly what Congress or the president would have

asked to be in their stocking: (1) On the health care reform,

the opinions of the American people remain unchanged: 41%

for, 55% against; (2) the President's approval index remained

in double-digit negative territory where it has been stuck for

the last few weeks; (3) Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid share

+33% and +25% ratings, respectively, while Congress comes

in with a +27.4% rating. But they all continue to vote for what

they want -- totally ignoring the viewpoints of the American

people, whom they are supposed to represent.

Never forget that Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010, is now just 314

days away. On that day we can make a difference!

Every day in our research we come across "one liners,"

and our readers say they enjoy them; so here are a few more:

"We don't hear all that much about Iraq these days, do we?"

(Victor Davis Hanson)

"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged

as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse."

(James Madison, 1788)

"In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with

the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water

shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. The real

enemy then is humanity itself.” (Krys Osborne)

"Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them."

(President Ronald Reagan)

Others are saying . . . and their comments continue to

represent the views of the majority of the American people:

Ronald Kessler: "Clearly, if the media had done the job the

First Amendment envisioned for the press, Obama would

not be President today. Belatedly, we now see the media

beginning to atone for what can only be described as a

shameful coverup during the campaign."

Ann Coulter: "Eighty-five percent of Americans are happy

with their health care, but Democrats have a plan to make

it worse for more money. As a bonus, national health care

will add trillions of dollars to the national debt, and your

insurance rates will skyrocket."

Michelle Malkin: "President Obama's hometown cronies lost

their bid to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to the Windy

City. But this week they got a consolation prize: the

Gitmolympics. On Tuesday, the White House went public

with its official plans to purchase the Thomson Correctional

Facility from financially strapped Illinois to house

Guantanamo Bay detainees."

Daniel Disalvo: "Barack Obama's biggest crowd-pleasing

lines of poetry on the campaign trail were about transcending

partisanship. To rapturous applause, he told us we are 'one

people, one nation' and that there's no such thing as Red

and Blue America. In office, however, President Obama ...

and his allies in Congress are poised to ram through health

-care reform as a one-party piece of legislation. Such a

daunting step would be a significant departure from the past

practice of American government."

Alan Caruba: "Historians are likely to look back at 2009,

the first year of Barack Obama's term in office, and assess

the damage it has done to Americans and to the image of

America as the primary line of defense against the world's

thugs. Americans and the rest of the world have had a year

in which to watch Barack Obama and it has been one of

constant disappointment and growing fears. That trend is

unlikely to change."

Frank Salvato: "As we approach a full year of the Obama

Administration, it has become abundantly clear that Mr.

Obama has abandoned almost all of his campaign promises

and is governing from the far Left. He has instituted a

campaign of social engineering that can only be described

as a direct threat to liberty."

Robert Ringer: Obama is not the Antichrist. He is simply the

right community organizer in the right place at the right time.

He possesses the ideal qualities for a community organizer

with a large, hidden agenda. He is slick; he is shameless;

he is soulless. It is his mission to take the ball over the

capitalist's goal line and score the winning touchdown for

socialism. Now, with more than half the country against him,

he must resort to bribery, threats, and any other means

necessary to get the ball across the goal line."

And as always, we offer a Founding Father's quote,

one particularly appropriate at this Advent season:

"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the

world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns

on the Fourth of July? Is it not that, in the chain of human

events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with

the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in

the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the

Declaration of Independence first organized the social

compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon

earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government

upon the first precepts of Christianity"?
-- John Quincy Adams, 1837

UNDERSTANDING TODAY'S NEWS TERMINOLOGY

`

`

JUSTICE JOSEPH STORY served on the U. S. Supreme

from 1811 until his death in 1845. Among his many writings

was his monumental Commentaries on the Constitution of

the United States, first published in 1833. From that major

work is this statement which should never be overlooked,

particularly in times of national crisis, such as we face today:

"Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a

noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and

blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved,

and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity

all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of

liberty, property, religion, and independence."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

UNDERSTANDING TODAY'S NEWS TERMINOLOGY

DEMANDS UNDERSTANDING THE ACTUAL

WORDS BEING COMMONLY USED

Consider a word we use several times every day: "Evangelical."

Various of the Barna Reports (The Barna Group,Ventura, CA,

www.barna.org) have defined "Evangelical" as being a born

again Christian, with belief in the Bible as accurate throughout,

and with responsibility to evangelize others, as qualifications,

among others, included in such a definition. Without delving

deeper into the theological aspects, that seems to be an

acceptable definition. But the term "Evangelical" is often

abused, and used incorrectly.

Consider, for example, a Protestant denomination with the

word "Evangelical" in its official name: the Evangelical

Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The denomination

has recorded substantial membership losses for the past 17

consecutive years (since 1992), and now has only 4.6 million

members. Yet its presiding bishop has just stated that the

Bible does not have the last word on homosexuality, saying,

"the understanding we have of homosexuality today does

not seem to be reflected at all in the context of the biblical

writers." His conclusion is that Lutherans should consider

more modern views on sexual orientation. His views have

prevailed, and in August, the ELCA lifted its previous ban

on partnered gay and lesbian clergy. Two observations:

(1) the bishop's proposals don't seem to be doing much

for the denomination's membership, and (2) the term

"Evangelical" is certainly misused in the group's name.

Or in another instance, a prominent mega-church pastor in

Southern California, often referred to as an Evangelical leader,

has recently announced that he opposes California legislation

which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and

thus outlaws same-sex "marriages." By taking this stand he

has embraced an aspect of life Christians throughout history

and the world have rejected as against Biblical teaching. Thus

in this situation the term "Evangelical" is obviously misused

and misplaced. The point is, you cannot pick and choose

which part of the Bible you prefer to accept and believe.

There is no "skyline of sins" in God's eyes . . . the whole

Bible is eternally true, or it isn't.

Concerned about such abuses in the use of the term, many

true Evangelical Christians have suggested that another term

is needed to represent born again Christian believers who

fulfill the additional qualifications suggested in the Barna

report referred to above. But bearing in mind its historical

context and purpose under such leaders as Carl Henry and

Clyde Taylor, it does not seem to make sense to abandon

the very meaningful term "Evangelical," just because of

some abuses by "pseudo-Evangelicals."

But last week we began a discussion of "Worldview,"

and here is another widely used term and one which is also

subject to misuse and misinterpretation. What might be a

"standard" definition could read like this: "A worldview is a

theory of the world, used for living in the world." Or in a

slightly more expanded version: "A world view is a mental

model of reality — a framework of ideas & attitudes about

the world, ourselves, and life, a comprehensive system of

beliefs — with answers for a wide range of questions."

In recent years, “Worldview” has become a frequent topic

for discussion within the Evangelical Christian movement in

America. The driving force is the growing concern among

Evangelicals about the deterioration of our nation's basic moral

standards -- the increase in abortions ... the move toward

legalizing same-sex "marriage" ... the forced removal of such

religious icons as the Ten Commandments from public places

... the banning of prayer or any reference to God in our schools

... the use of "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas"

... the adoption of "hate crimes" legislation to restrict Bible

references to social ills ... etc....etc.

And as this concern increased, there developed a need for a

new term, and thus we have "Biblical Worldview," which

brings God's Word to focus on contemporary problems.

While the term “Biblical Worldview” might suggest something

new to some -- perhaps even to many -- Christians, it is really

just a new name for an old subject. A true Biblical Worldview

has to start from what the Bible says and not just echo the

traditional cultural religious beliefs. The definition can be very

complex, but essentially is based on the Christian's realization

that the meaning of life (“the whole duty of man”) is to fear

God and keep His commandments ... that the Bible is God's

Word, totally and eternally true ... that God created the universe

and remains actively involved in caring for it today; that this

earthly life is not all there is, and by faith, he understands and

believes the fact of eternal life, which is offered in Jesus Christ,

his living hope... and although the world and its inhabitants are

in turmoil, God has decisively intervened through Jesus' death

on the cross to deal with these conditions, and that Jesus will

return to complete the redemption of His own, and to be with

them for all eternity.

A Biblical Worldview, based on a proper understanding of

the history of the world, as revealed in the Bible, is what

every Christian needs, and must have. Right now, in the

Global Climate discussions taking place in Copenhagen ...

in the ongoing wars sparked by Muslim terrorism ... in the

continuing threat of rogue nations developing weapons of

mass destruction ... in the increased partisan politics and

the trends toward socialism in our own nation ... in all of

the problems confronting the world today, a sound Biblical

Worldview should play a decisive role. And if not now, then

surely on Nov. 2, 2010, our next national election day, now

just 321 days away.

As Chuck Colson wrote in his book, The Faith, "This is the

challenge for the church today. There has never been a time

when the transformation brought about by Christian faith

has been so greatly needed."

The "First Family's" interesting approach to Christmas.

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers (the one who

didn't check on gate crashers at the first Obama state dinner)

told a gathering of former Social Secretaries that the Obamas

planned a "non religious Christmas," and did not intend to put

the Nativity scene on display; a long time East Room tradition.

That story made its way into the New York Times ... internal

discussions took place ... and in the end tradition overcame

Political Correctness, and the Nativity scene is back in its

traditional location in the East Room.

This approach to Christmas is not something new for the

Obamas. Some time ago in an interview with People magazine

he disclosed that he and his wife do not give Christmas gifts

to their children, saying that they "want to teach some limits."

That practice, plus planning to not display the Nativity scene,

has been compared to the New Testament account of there

being no room for Jesus at the inn -- in this case there was

an intent to symbolically keep Jesus out of the White House.

One cannot help but compare the Obama's observance of the

Muslim holy month of Ramadan with a White House dinner

attended by Cabinet members, Congressional leaders, officials

from the diplomatic community and representatives from a

wide range of countries and religious faiths. Speaking on that

occasion, Mr. Obama lauded Muslim contributions to American

culture, and spoke of the "dynamism and diversity" of the

Islamic community, stating that "Islam is part of America."

But that was the Muslim celebration of Ramadan; this is the

Christian celebration of Christmas.

Approaching the end of one year as president, how do

the polls of American opinion rate Obama? Expressed most

simply, the answer is: "Not very well." But he is setting new

records. The Daily Gallup Poll Daily reported that public

approval of Obama's performance as president had fallen to

47% -- the lowest rating for any US president at the one year

mark in his first term in more than 70 years. Other ratings by

media outlets like CNN and FOX also report figures below

50%. The Rasmussen daily polls have recorded his approval

rating index in double-digit negative numbers for several weeks

-- most recently at new lows of -16 and -19. His cohorts in

Congress don't even fare as well -- Nancy Pelosi's numbers

for last week were Positive 33%, Negative 57%. For Harry

Reid they were Positive 25%, Negative 47%. For Congress

as a whole, Positive 29%, Negative 63%. And yet together

they continue to make decisions and adopt legislations which

are contrary to the clearly expressed opinions of the American

people -- the people they are supposed to represent. Nov. 2,

2010 can't come soon enough!

Two opinions of Los Angeles' lesbian bishop: Recently

it was announced that the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles

had elected an openly lesbian priest as Suffragan Bishop,

the first openly homosexual to be elected as bishop since

Vicki Gene Robinson was elected in New Hampshire in 2003.

Expressing her opinion of her election, Mary D. Glasspool

said, "I'm very excited about the future of the whole

Episcopal Church and I see the Diocese of Los Angeles

leading the way into that future." The Archbishop of

Canterbury, Rowan Williams, head of the world-wide

Anglican communion, expressed a slightly less enthusiastic

view: "The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of

Los Angeles as suffragan bishop elect raises very serious

questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place

in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as

a whole." The election is not yet complete; it has to be

confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and

diocesan standing committees. In either case, there appear

to be further problems for the American Episcopal church.

Already liberal Anglican and Episcopal members have taken

action demanding Dr. Williams retract his statement which

expressed concern over the choice of a lesbian as bishop.

Every day in our research we find "one liners," and our

readers write to say they enjoy them; so here are a few more:

“Compared to some of the giants of history who have

received this prize . . .my accomplishments are slight.”

(Barack Obama, on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize)

"President Obama keeps talking about the jobs his

administration is 'creating' but there are more people

unemployed now than before he took office. How can there

be more unemployment after so many jobs have been

'created?'" (Thomas Sowell, Syndicated Columnist)

"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and

when to reap, we should soon want bread."

--Thomas Jefferson

"By and large, American Islamics make little or no effort

to assimilate into our culture. In fact, as we've seen in one

honor killing after another, they've brought the worst of

their "peaceful" religion to our shores." -- Burt Prelutsky

Others are saying . . . and unfortunately, their comments

represent the views of the majority of the American people:

Michael Goodwin, in the New York Post: "Perhaps it was

inevitable. A man who voted 'present' 130 times in the Illinois

Legislature couldn't possibly morph into a savvy and decisive

leader of the free world in such a short time. Yet even the

pessimists among us are alarmed by the cloud of uncertainty

and confusion hanging over the White House. Less than a year

on the job, President Obama seems to have run out of both

charm and ideas."

Dave Eberhart, on the Nobel Peace Prize awards: "Newly minted Nobel Laureate Barack Obama has stirred up some

bad feelings in Oslo, Norway, by opting out of a round of events traditionally attended by the prizewinner — not the least of which is lunch with the King of Norway." (It's a pity -- he could have demonstrated his bowing. skills.)

Edward I. Koch, former Mayor of NYC: "I believe the land

war in Afghanistan is unwinnable. Indeed, if we by any

definition were to win in Afghanistan, it would be a pyrrhic

victory, since Afghanistan really does not matter anymore.

The real threat is nuclear-armed Pakistan, where the

Taliban and al-Qaida are seeking dominance ... and cross

the border with impunity. I don’t believe that the Pakistani

army will ever root out the Taliban and al-Qaida, which

are perceived as allies against India, the enemy with which

Pakistan has already fought three wars."

Floyd & Mary Beth Brown: "Our commander-in-chief isn't

living up to his campaign promise of presidential access

and transparency. Obama hasn't held a formal press

conference since July 22... Since that time, Obama has

avoided off-the-cuff question and answer sessions, preferring

to rely on his teleprompter for scripted remarks... This is all

shocking given the hyperbole that was spewed during the

campaign from the media, who referred to Obama as the

'Great Communicator.'"

And as always, we offer a Founding Father's quote;

their thoughts, expressed when our nation was young, are

still perfectly applicable today.

"When the representative body have lost the confidence of

their constituents, when they have notoriously made sale of

their most valuable rights, when they have assumed to

themselves powers which the people never put into their

hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes

dangerous to the State, and calls for an exercise of the

power of dissolution." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1774

THE "GLOBAL WARMING" HOAX

`

WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CONNECTION with the

"Manhattan Declaration" (aside from being among the very

early signers) but we are definitely encouraged to note that

in just two weeks after its initial announcement on Nov. 20

the number of signatures surpassed 250,000 -- a quarter of a

million -- and is still growing! None of the other religious

"manifestos" of the past few years have recorded anywhere

near this level of agreement. Stressing some of the basic moral

principles as it does, Christians, particularly Evangelicals, can

and should sign the Declaration and take such a stand. But

there are already some critics -- the pseudo-Evangelicals and

the ultra-Fundamentalists, for example. But very evidently

there are overwhelming numbers of Christians who accept

Jesus' charge for us to be "salt and light" in our world. Now

we have to move ahead and act on our expressed convictions.

To quote Chuck Colson one more time: "The Church needs

to understand the urgency of the hour and do its duty."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

EXPANDING THE "AF-PAK WAR" IS STILL THE

MAJOR NEWS STORY THIS WEEK -- BUT THE

DISCLOSURE OF THE "GLOBAL WARMING"

HOAX CANNOT BE IGNORED

We have occasionally reflected on the great comment by

Orson Welles in the classic "Third Man" film: "In Italy, for

thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror,

murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo,

Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland,

they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of

democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The

cuckoo clock."

That sort of analysis could apply to President Obama's much

heralded speech at West Point. It was described in advance

as the most important speech of his presidency. It would be

embarrassing if any president's career were to be determined

by that particular speech. From a national political viewpoint

one major newspaper headline expressed it well: "Skeptical

Congress swallows war plan" followed by this sub-head:

"Obama's strategy divides law-makers." In other words,

not even his Democrat controlled Congress agreed with him.

Consider also these comments, selected from among many

others; from national commentator George Will: "Having

vowed to 'finish the job,' Obama revealed Tuesday that

he thinks the job in Afghanistan is to get out of Afghanistan.

This is an unserious policy. Obama's surge will bring to

51,000 his Afghanistan escalation since March. Supposedly

this will buy time for Afghan forces to become adequate.

But it is not intended to buy much time. Although the war

is in its 98th month, Obama's 'Mission Accomplished'

banner will be unfurled 19 months from now -- when

Afghanistan's security forces supposedly will be self-

sufficient. He must know this will not happen."

In the inevitable comparison between our involvement in Viet

Nam and Afghanistan, observers have compared the Obama

speech with Lyndon Johnson's 1968 speech announcing our

"exit strategy" to get out of Viet Nam. Both presidents spoke

of ending the war; neither spoke of winning it. That word

did not appear in either speech. Johnson spoke of seeking

"an honorable peace." Obama spoke of seeking "an end to

this era of war," bringing this war "to a successful conclusion."

The significant accomplishment touted by Obama was in his

promise to start bringing our troops home in eighteen months.

One is forced to wonder if he has diplomatically negotiated

the 2011 withdrawal date for "V-A Day" with the Taliban?

"Infidelisto" posted this comment: "Why couldn’t Obama

announce the timetable privately to his military leadership?

Why did he have to announce the timetable to the world?

Now the Taliban are expecting the US to pullout in 2011

and all they have to do is survive until then. Once the

US is gone, everything will be back to normal. You know,

beheading apostates and blasphemers, executing

adulterers and homosexuals, throwing acid in little girls

faces to stop them from learning, forcing ALL women to

wear the full burka or else, closing down schools and

converting them to madrassas, aiding Al Qaeda and all

the rest…Let the waiting game begin."

Columnist Wes Vernon wrote his very discerning reaction

to the speech, saying that he "will not join the Michael

Moores and others of the Hate America Left in urging a

'cut and run' strategy ...We have faith that our brave men

and women in uniform will give it their all. They have the

sheer guts and love of this country that can propel them to

do what they have to do to achieve victory. They deserve

our prayers and support, and we should not hesitate to let

them know they have the backing of millions of Americans.

Remember, they are all volunteers. No one drafted them.

They are going into battle because they love their country.

They deserve our prayers, and we should encourage them

as they seek to lead us to victory — not because of their

commander in-chief, but in spite of him."

We haven't heard the end of the war in Afghanistan, nor will

we, probably until the present Obama "exit strategy" is put

into effect some 18 months from now. And, of course, by

that time there may very possibly be a new "exit strategy" in

place, doubtless announced well in advance so the Taliban

can adjust their schedules to conform to the US pullout.

Famous quote, filed under "I wish I hadn't said that."

"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our

troops out [of Afghanistan] by the time I am president, it

is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We

will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank."

(Barack Obama, October 27, 2007) Of course, this promise

was made before so many banks declared insolvency under

the Obama administration, so that sort of excuses the "take

that to the bank" reference. Now he has committed at least

30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, bringing to over 50,000

his total commitment . . . and that sort of behavior got him

the Nobel peace prize?

Some readers have noted that we seem to be critical of

President Obama. This is true -- but not for partisan reasons.

It is not a matter of Republican vs. Democrat. It is purely for

religious reasons. As Christians, we have no choice but to

oppose anti-Christian activities on the part of our national

government. This man declared to the world that America

is no longer a Christian nation. We cannot accept that when

84% of our people profess Christianity. This man advocates

increased abortion -- murdering even more babies after the

more than 50 million killed since Roe v. Wade. We cannot

support that. This man has promised to repeal the Defense

of Marriage Act, and thus encourage same-sex "marriage."

We cannot support that. This man advocates the abuse of

freedom of religion through hate crimes laws. We cannot

support that. And these examples do not speak of the heavy

burden of the greatest financial deficits in history, and of our

standing in the world of public opinion reaching new lows

under his administration. So, yes, we are critical of President

Obama's anti-Christian actions. We cannot do otherwise.

The new Manhattan Declaration, now numbering well

over one quarter of a million signatures, should be in our

minds and guide our actions during these current difficult

days, and then looking forward to Election Day, Nov. 2,

2010 -- now just 328 days away. On that day, as American

Christians, we must do our part in reclaiming this nation for

God and the Christian faith. (To check the Declaration, go

to: http://manhattandeclaration.org -- read it and sign it!)

And then there is Al Gore's "Global Warming" hoax.

But it is no longer just Al Gore's project. It has been warmly

and firmly embraced by the Obama administration. This

week the UN Conference on Climate Control got under way

in Copenhagen. Mr. Obama plans to attend on the closing

day, December 18, while in Scandinavia to collect his Nobel

Peace Prize. Despite the influence of the UN in trying to enact

a "one world" program of control under the guise of fears of

"Global Warming" and man-made carbon emissions, there is

solid contrary evidence which should cause the attendees to

hesitate before reaching agreement on the issue.

A recent Nielsen/Oxford University survey of 54 countries

found that those “very concerned” about climate change had

fallen from 41 to 37 % since 2007, and that the number of

Americans “very concerned” had fallen from 34 to 25 %.

If he pays any attention to how Americans feel, Mr. Obama

should not rush to endorse any such UN proposal.

In addition to those disclosures which are certainly known to

the attendees at the Copenhagen conference, there there are

also these factors to be considered; in America the Academy

of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is under pressure from

some of its members to strip from Al Gore the Oscar given

to him for his Global Warming propaganda film, "An

Inconvenient Truth." And there is also the recent hacking

of an email server in the United Kingdom which produced

evidence that for years the Global Warming scientists had

been manipulating temperature figures to make it appear that

the Earth was in a state of warming, when, in fact, there has

been a cooling of the Earth's temperature. Obama and other

world leaders who worship at the altar of man-made global

warning are suddenly faced with a tremendous credibility gap.

Meantime, US Senator Barbara Boxer (D, CA) has joined

the action. She chairs the Senate Environmental Committee,

and her reaction to the email disclosures from Great Britain

produced this description of the Senator in the very influential

California newspaper, the San Diego Union Tribune: "still

reliably idiotic." It is her announced intention to determine if

a crime was committed in revealing those emails -- but not a

probe into what is potentially the most far-reaching academic/

scientific fraud in history.

And there is also this fact that within the Evangelical wing of

the Christian Church in America -- and also elsewhere in the

world -- there has been a growing emphasis on a "Biblical

Worldview." Such a Worldview starts with the God of the

Bible; and the Bible says, "While the Earth remaineth, seed

time and harvest, and cold and heat, summer and winter,

and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).]

Evangelical Christians are not worried about the theory of

"Global Warming." We view the entire universe as under

God's divine control. Had Al Gore ever spent any time in

reading the Bible, he would have had to read only eight

chapters in Genesis to know that his film should have been

entitled, "An Convenient Lie."

But this discussion involves more than can be dealt with in

limited space. This Commentary's next issue is scheduled

for Dec.16. The Copenhagen Conference is scheduled to end

on Dec. 18, when Mr. Obama will be present to use whatever

influence he may have toward reaching agreement in accord

with the UN proposals. We will continue with our discussion

of the Biblical Worldview in that issue.

You keep saying you like the "one liners" ... here are a

few we noted in doing research for this week's issue:

"The press should be not only a collective propagandist

and a collective agitator, but also a collective organizer of

the masses.” (Vladimir Lenin)

"It would've been better if Obama hadn't sounded at times

like a premature Nobel Peace Prize winner shoved

uncomfortably into a role of wartime leader. But, as Don

Rumsfeld might say, you go to war with the president you

have." (Rich Lowry)

"Since he has been elected, Barack Obama has been like

a four year old wearing water wings and desperately

trying to reach the edge of the pool. In other words, he

has been completely out of his depth." (John Hawkins)

"The tragedy of life and of the world is not that men do

not know God; the tragedy is that, knowing Him, they

still insist on going their own way." (William Barclay)

Others are saying . . . and their comments do not present

very encouraging reactions from the American people.

Henry A. Lowenstein (on the Internet): "As a huge supporter

of Obama, I hoped his speech on Afghanistan would be very

different. I hoped he would say that he would be bringing

all troops home by the end of 2010 and that America had

shed enough blood for a corrupt nation. He instead

guaranteed many more flag-draped coffins and the

expenditure of billions of dollars sorely needed back home."

Ralph Peters: "This isn't just stupid: It's immoral. No

American president has ever espoused such a worthless,

self-absorbed non-strategy for his own political gratification.

On the other hand, the stage lighting and the camera

angles at West Point were terrific. Our president looked

good. Jaw jutting high (in his 'hope' pose), he decried

political partisanship -- but spent more time blaming Bush

and Iraq for our Afghan problems than he spent blaming

the Taliban."

Rich Galen: "Obama did what he could to mollify those

[on the Left] by blaming Bush ... and by declaring there

would be a time limit on the new deployment and they

would be withdrawn starting in July 2011 -- just as the

2012 re-election campaign would be getting underway."

Aryeh Spero: "Holding this trial in a civilian court in NYC

is giving Khalid Shaikh Mohamed a platform greater than

he ever dreamed possible. In effect, the trial allows him and

the terrorists to hold the Mother of all Press Conferences in

front of the entire world. We are handing him a microphone

to the world, and with it he will recruit future jihadists."

Andrew C. McCarthy: "If there is one word that captures

President Obama's much-anticipated Afghanistan speech,

it is 'cynical.' The speech was also internally contradictory,

counter-historical, and premised on fatally flawed

assumptions about Islam and the Afghan people. Cynicism,

however, is the defining feature of Obama speeches."

And as always, we offer a Founding Father's quote as

a reminder of what they intended this nation to become:

"No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to

attain these blessings than United America. Wondrously

strange, then, and much to be regretted indeed would it

be, were we to neglect the means and to depart from the

road which Providence has pointed us to so plainly; I

cannot believe it will ever come to pass."

-- George Washington, 1788

PERIOD BETWEEN THE TWO HOLIDAYS

`

WE KEEP TRYING TO LINK politics with the mission of

the Christian church, and to explain the political aspect, no

one does it better than Thomas Sowell: "No one will really

understand politics until they understand that politicians

are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve

their own problems - of which getting elected and re-elected

are No. 1 and No. 2. Whatever is No. 3 is far behind." As

for the church aspect, Chuck Colson, whom we quoted in

these words last week, has it right: "The Church needs to

understand the urgency of the hour and do its duty."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

IN THIS PERIOD BETWEEN THE

TWO HOLIDAYS THANKSGIVING

AND CHRISTMAS, THERE IS

ENCOURAGING EVIDENCE OF HOPE

News-wise, this is a confusing, mixed-up time. Some idea

of just how strange is the newsday in which we live and

operate is evident in the headline grabbing stories of the day:

two publicity seekers gate-crashing a White House bash . . .

the world's top golfer in a one-car collision at 2:30 AM . . .

Iran thumbs its nose at the rest of the world, one more time

. . . etc. But out of all the possibilities, we will try to focus

on those which best fit our overall purpose in commenting.

For good reasons, this is called the "Age of the Polls."

In Christian circles the recent years might be called "The

Age of the Manifestos." Looking back to 2007, a group of

Islamic scholars addressed their treatise, "A Common Word

between Us and You," to Christians all over the world. In

answer, Yale Divinity School prepared a Christian response,

"Loving God and Neighbor Together." They collected some

300 signatories, including several nominal "Evangelicals." Of

those, it was notable that the President of Wheaton College

gave the matter second thought, and removed his name. Some

other so-called Evangelicals were not as perceptive. But of

that effort, little has been heard in the years since.

Then in early May, 2008, a group of nominal "Evangelicals"

prepared a 19 page document, "An Evangelical Manifesto,"

with some 75 so-called "Evangelical leaders" as signat