American News Commentary

WHAT WILL IT TAKE
to wake up America, and American
Christians to the changes which are
threatening the aspects of life which
we consider absolutely important?
This week we will comment on a
few of the issues which are much in
the news today. Please let us have
your thoughts by emailing us at:
american_news_2008@yahoo.com
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THE OVERSEAS TRIPS; SOME PRESIDENTIAL
PRONOUNCEMENTS; THE CONTINUING
PARTISAN BIAS BY THE MEDIA; ETC.

Where to begin? Does anyone have an answer to the
question "What will it take to wake up America? This
weekly newsletter is but one expression of the concern
that many Americans share. The conflicting opinions
used to be described as between Republicans and
Democrats. Then that definition shifted to becoming
Conservatives vs Liberals. (And to a certain extent,
that is still the case.) But now it has more and more
become clear that the actual conflict is between
Christian and anti-Christian beliefs and believers.

The question above thus becomes for Christians:
Will we surrender to pressures and remain silent, or
will we speak up and protest what is happening to our
nation -- which was once the bulwark of Christianity
for the whole world.?

This is not an illusory feeling. Just two weeks ago, at
a press conference in Turkey, our president stated:
"We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation,"
yet a Pew Research poll has reported that 71% of
Americans consider America to be a Christian nation.
Further evidence of just far our of touch with Americans
our president really is.

During that same visit to Turkey, President Obama
said, "The United States is not and will never be
at war with Islam..." He went on to add that the
Muslim religion "has done so much over the centuries
to shape the world -- including in my own country."
He is absolutely right, of course -- anyone can see how
the skyline in New York City has been reshaped
through the removal of the Twin Towers of the World
Trade Center.

And the insistence that Islam is a religion of peace is
sharply at odds with the facts, as demonstrated by the
statement of Hamas Islamic leader Zia Abu Aloha on
Al-Aqua TV that same week: "Hatred for Mohammad
and Islam is in their [Jews'] souls, they are naturally
disposed to it... Israel is a cancer that wants to rule
the world." And he continued his peaceful tirade to his
conclusion that Jews are destined to be annihilated,
by saying, "The time will come, by Allah's will, when
their property will be destroyed and their children
will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be
left on the face of this earth." Our world cannot
stand much more of that kind of "peace."

The American Spectator magazine offers this concise
evaluation in a major piece titled "Obama's Holy War
Against Christianity": "Obama has in effect declared
to Christians in America: either bring your under-
standing of Christianity into line with my liberalism
or don't bother entering the public square. You
want federal money? Well, then perform abortions,
distribute condoms, hire homosexual activists, etc.
He would never dare talk to Muslims in those terms.
If Muslims had to endure patronizing and lying
secularist drivel from him ... they would riot.
Cowed and secularized Christians just nod and
offer him an honorary degree."

But we should not be surprised, although we know
so little about our president's background. His birth
records, his educational records, his health records
have not been disclosed to the American people.We
do know, however, that he was brought up and
educated as a Muslim, attending Muslim schools in
Indonesia. His Christian religious experience has been
some 20 years under the ministry of a liberal minister
whose views on America were summed up in his
well publicized sermon where he said three times that
they should not sing "God Bless America," but rather
"God D__ America."

And through all of this, we face the strong bias of
the elite or main-stream media. For example, we have
been kept advised for weeks, day by day, rumor by
rumor, about the choice of a dog for the new occupants
of the White House. (As if anyone cared.) Think for a
moment about the other news events which were given
second level attention under minute by minute news
about the choice of the new dog: North Korea's
provocative missile launch; Prime Minister Netanyahu's
pledge to work for a two-state solution -- but the
Palestinians refused; Pakistan handing over more territory
to the Islamic Taliban; Iran's President Ahmadinejad
answering President Obama's outreach overture: "You
Are Weak, Your Hands Are Empty, And You Can't
Force Us to Do Anything; Nearly 7,000 Centrifuges
Are Spinning Today at Natanz, Mocking You"; and
to cap the continuing media bias -- approximately a
million Americans participated in a nation-wide tax
revolt, and to the extent possible, the media ignored it.
(The New York Times, for example, buried the story
on page 14.)

Multi-millionaire House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, denied
this was a "grass roots" event, and described it in these
words: "Astroturf politics to protect the wealthiest
people."

In connection with those TEA Parties ("Taxed
Enough Already") held across America last week,
the Obama administration is on the look-out for "right
wing extremists." Janet Napolitano's Department of
Homeland Security issued a so-called "anti-terrorism
security assessment" that targets mainstream Americans
as dangerous extremists and warns that conservative
activists could pose a real security threat to our nation.
Ms. Napolitano has defended the report which says
that "right-wing extremism" may include those who
are opposed to abortion and illegal immigration. This
is the same Janet Napolitano who just recently
adopted new terminology for terrorists who commit
violent acts to destroy our country -- her new term is
not "terrorism" but "man caused disasters."

President Obama's religious inclinations remain
puzzling to Christian observers. In Turkey he appeared
for a photo-op in a major mosque, and said flattering
things about Islam. With that action still fresh in our
minds, it is difficult to understand why when he spoke
at Washington's Georgetown University, a Catholic
institution, a few days ago, his staff demanded that the
monogram "IHS," a symbol of Jesus Christ, carved
in the arch under which he stood, be covered up.

This affront to the Christian faith occurred in a Catholic
university founded by the Jesuits in 1789! Moreover,
the president quoted the Sermon on the Mount during
his address, which opens the door to this question:
Why would the president go to a Catholic university
to deliver a speech quoting the Sermon on the Mount,
and demand that a symbol of the sermon’s author be
covered up? His statement that we do not consider
ourselves to be a Christian nation continues to take
on more meaning.

Two headlines about the Latin America Summit:
"Presidents Thaw US-Venezuela Rift" and
"A summit of Latin American and Caribbean
leaders has ended with no agreement on a joint
declaration"
The first one is partially true -- President Obama shook
hands with President Chavez, who controlled the
photo-op session. That probably could be considered
something of a "thaw." At least our president did not
bow down to Chavez as he did to the Muslim King of
Saudi Arabia during his European visit.

The second one is most certainly true -- there was no
agreement developed or issued from the summit. Mr.
Chavez came to the meeting with his polished rhetoric
firmly in place: "I am convinced that the path to a
new, better and possible world is not capitalism,
the path is socialism...I hereby accuse the North
American empire of being the biggest menace to
our planet." As to his broader goal, he stated that
Venezuela has "a strong oil card to play on the
geopolitical stage ... It is a card that we are going
to play with toughness against the toughest country
in the world, the United States." And concerning
President Obama, he said, "The least I can say is
that he's a poor ignoramus; he should read and
study a little to understand reality."

Following the Summit, Mr. Chavez seemed pleased
with his meeting with President Obama, and the changes
being brought about by the Obama administration, saying:
“It would seem that the changes that started in
Venezuela in the last decade of the 20th century
have begun to reach North America,” But let it be
said that Mr. Obama smiled happily through all of the
meetings with other leaders, friends or foes.

One observer on the scene in Trinidad wrote as
follows: "As Cuba’s Fidel Castro lays sick and
potentially dying - Hugo Chávez has assumed the
mantle of leadership from the Godfather of
communism and, with the aid of Venezuela’s
massive oil income, is building influence and
uniting every anti-American entity for one sole
ambition, the destruction of the United States of
America and the irradiation of its global influence."
Any measurable "thaw" between the two countries was
certainly not evident.

These are difficult times for us who hold to the
Christian faith. But we dare not sit back, ignore what
is clearly happening all around us, and simply do
nothing about it. We don’t usually think that history
can be shaped by silence or neglect, but Edmund
Burke, the 18th century Irish philosopher and Member
of the British parliament took an opposite view: "The
only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for
good men to do nothing." If we were to have a motto
or slogan for our life and actions in the days just ahead,
that would certainly be acceptable.

Quote of the week: (Is Washington listening?) From
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaking of Iran:
"You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult
controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed
believer gets hold of the reins of power and the
weapons of mass death, then the entire world should
start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”

And from our Founding Fathers: "My ardent
desire is to keep the United States free from
political connections with every other country, to
see them independent of all and under the influence
of none." -- George Washington, 1795
"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all
nations, entangling alliances with none, should be
our motto. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1801

Some Random Afterthoughts . . .

Our readers seem to enjoy the "one liners" that
we come across in our research -- like this one from
the Center for Individual Freedom, on-line:"American
success and a President's success are not always
synonymous. To the contrary, a Presidential failure
can often benefit America, and a Presidential success
can often harm America."
Or this one, author unknown: "What Washington needs
is adult supervision."

A first for Britain's Prince Philip, who this past
weekend became Britain's longest serving Royal
Consort, passing the record of 57 years, 70 days, held
by Queen Charlotte with King George III. Philip long
ago passed the record of Albert, as husband of Queen
Victoria, at 21 years. Philip's record is one not likely
ever to be surpassed.

A violation of fairness, but a triumph of personal
integrity . . . we're speaking of the Miss USA pageant,
last week in Las Vegas, where finalist Carrie Prejean,
a student at San Diego Christian College (founded by
"Left Behind" author Tim LaHaye) was relegated to
first runner-up instead of being crowned "Miss USA"
because of her answer to the final question. She was
asked to give her opinion of "same-sex" marriage, and
she replied that her upbringing and her belief was that
marriage was between a man and a woman. One of
the judges described her answer as "dumb." In any
event, it clearly cost her the title. It is further evidence
that as Christians, we are living in difficult times. (P.S.
In our viewpoint, Carrie was clearly the most
beautiful contestant.)

One ray of good news among the gloom: according
to the most recent data available from the Federal
Bureau of Economic Analysis, America still produces
more goods than any other country -- including China.
America currently accounts for about 20% of the
world's manufacturing output -- although we are currently
losing our share of the world market, and China may
soon overtake us as the world's leading producer.

From Samuel Adams, "The father of the American
Revolution, 1771: "The liberties of our country, the
freedom of our civil constitution, are worth
defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend
them against all attacks. We have received them as
a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they
purchased them for us with toil and danger and
expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted
them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an
everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation,
enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be
wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or
be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and
designing men."
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