American News Commentary

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THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS TAKEN
6 YEARS TO BE MADE . . .

This issue of the ANC Newsletter carries the
designation: "Vol. 13, No. 1." That means it is
the first issue of the 7th year of publication as
a weekly newsletter and commentary. We are
very grateful for the many email messages we
received last week -- and for those we expect
to receive on publication of this issue. As usual,
we have no financial resources to promote this
publication, but rely on you - our readers - to
encourage your friends to subscribe. Also, as
usual, there is no subscription fee, and we have
never solicited any financial contributions. We
remain solidly Christian, Conservative and
Evangelical in our positions on current events.
IF YOU HAD NOT PLANNED TO DO SO --
please, right now, forward this issue to your
friends, urging them to subscribe. Thank you!

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DOMESTICALLY, AND ON A WORLD
BASIS, AMERICA, UNDER OBAMA,
SEEMS DESTINED FOR FAILURE
AND POTENTIAL DISASTER

Here is a "mini-editorial" from the Internet this
week: "When will the American people wake
up and realize the office of the POTUS is not
a cultural iconic position and should not be
treated like a freaking celebrity? This is a
serious job meant for someone who takes it
seriously." (Infidelesto)

It is not enough that our apprentice president
has denied (before a Muslim audience) that
this is a Christian nation, and has ignored the
statistical facts (82% Christian, 11% non-
religious, leaving 7% for all other religions,
Jewish, Islamic, etc.) and declared that we are
one of the largest Islamic nations on earth. Or
when making one of his very frequent TV
speeches at Georgetown University (a Catholic
institution) demanding that a crucifix carving
over a doorway be covered during his speech.
(Perhaps an overlooked reminder: there are
more Catholics than Islamics in America.)

Nor enough that he bowed before a Muslim
king, and apologized to the world of nations
for America's "arrogance" in supporting other
countries in time of war.

Nor enough that he stands by his campaign
threat to encourage the use of abortions and
to repeal the federal law which establishes the
time-honored, God-given concept of marriage
being between a man and a woman.

Nor is it enough that he now threatens to enact
a nationalized health plan -- an action well and
concisely clarified by Doug Patton in these
few words: "American innovation fuels
progress in medicine across the globe.
Nowhere on the planet has collectivist health
care worked without rationing and medical
mediocrity. We cannot allow this left-wing
coalition of media and government to destroy
the greatest health care system in the world.
If we do, we may never get it back."

And it is not enough that his "tax and spend"
stimulus theory has already created far and
away the largest long term debt in this nation's
history, with no end yet in sight, but already
imposing a financial burden upon future
generations they may never be able to repay.

And if those few examples of the agenda
being followed by the Obama administration
are not enough to merit the words "failure" or
"disaster," there are the instances of behavior
which bring into focus the need for "someone
who takes the job seriously."

There are, for example, the very costly "date
nights" here in America, and even overseas
where the president and Mrs. Obama turned
down an invitation to dinner from the French
President of France, and instead went on
another costly "date night" (under intense
secret service care) in a Paris bistro. Or during
his appearance as a guest comic on a late night
TV show when he made an insensitive and
belittling remark about the Special Olympics
while doing a comic routine about his own
poor bowling scores.

Or his complete silence and no expressions
of concern about the murder of an American
soldier on duty at a military recruiting station --
but his haste on the next day to order federal
level involvement after the killing of a late-term
abortion provider.

Internationally, his gaffes are multiplying
as he insults the British Queen and British
Prime Minister by totally inappropriate gifts,
and also returns a gift of the British embassy
(a bust of Winston Churchill) as something he
didn't want around his White House. And his
cautiously mild comments on the savage
treatment of protestors in Iran, on the grounds
that he doesn't want to "meddle," and intends
to negotiate with the Iranian government -- but
Iran's Islamic rulers responded by demanding
punishment "without mercy" (even executions)
for the protestors, and the Iranian president
demands "repentance" from Obama for having
instigated the riots of protest.

As American Christians, what do we expect
of our president? In 1620, while still on board
the Mayflower, William Bradford, speaking for
the pilgrims described their voyage as being
"for the glory of God, and advancement of the
Christian faith." Throughout the founding
years of this nation, the expression of that faith
was never abandoned. Beginning with George
Washington's inauguration in 1789, and for the
220 years thereafter, every president of the
United States has been a Christian. Even
knowing as little as we do about Barack Obama,
Obama, we expected a Christian president. But
should have been warned. The inaugural oath
was somehow mixed up, and the next day in
the Map Room of the White House, the oath
was readministered -- but this time no Bible
was used. Soon he would ask that his Muslim
name, Hussein, which he had forbidden to be
used during the campaign, be prominently
featured. Before a Muslim audience he denied
that America was a Christian nation ... bragged
(inaccurately) that we were one of the largest
Muslim nations in the world. He then wet on
to apologize for America's arrogance in our
participating in wars where hundreds of
thousands of our military died to help protect
smaller nations from their oppressors. Instead
of showing "arrogance," or even pride to be
an American, he bowed humbly before the
Saudi king (an Islamic). In office as president
he has renewed his promise to increase access
to abortion procedures, and to repeal a federal
law which establishes marriage as in accord
with the traditional, God-given standard as
between a man and a woman.

But those aren't the behaviors which we had
expected from the president of the United
States. No president in history has ever so
rejected the Christian heritage of America.
No president in history has ever brought such
shame on this nation in the eyes of the world.
These are things which concern American
Christians at this point in our nation's history.

And our responsibility as American Christians?
To pray for God to give our president wisdom
and courage to do what is right, and not to take
us further down the road toward destruction of
this nation which was founded on, and which
has always been known as, a Christian nation.

This week just one more "Mini-editorial" --
"What Difference Can One True Patriot
Make? Ask Thomas Paine that question…or
Thomas Jefferson or John Adams. Ask Ronald
Reagan… Before they stepped forward and
made a difference, they were all just average
Americans that nobody ever heard of. We
know their names only because of the
contributions they made to freedom and
liberty! As American patriots desperately
search for a way to end the current
Obamanation of our Constitutional Republic,
and all the freedom and liberty it provides ...
keep two things in mind… One man often
makes the difference ... You are by no means
alone! Freedom was purchased by only a few."
(J.B. Williams)

An important note on a current event:
It is becoming quite apparent that there may have
been more to the much publicized handshake
between President Obama and President Hugo
Chavez a few weeks ago. Now the tiny Central
America nation of Honduras has sought to
oppose the illegal plot of President Zelaya to
hold onto power by rewriting the constitution
to extend his term of office. As a result, the
Courts and the Congress ordered his removal
from power, and returned that power to the
Honduras Congress. As IBD editorialized,
"During his campaign, President Obama
made a big deal of criticizing leaders who
are elected democratically but don't govern
democratically. He's had a chance to show
that it mattered in Honduras. He didn't. That's
the sorry story as Honduras' now ex-president,
Mel Zelaya, last Thursday defied a Supreme
Court ruling and tried to hold a "survey" to
rewrite the constitution for his permanent re-
election." Now Chavez, Castro and other left-
leaning leaders in Latin America have organized
support for Zelaya -- and President Obama has
decided to follow them, has declared the
governmental action as "not legal" and is now
threatening US sanctions on the tiny drug-
plagued, dirt-poor country of 7 million, even
threatening to halt its $200 million in U.S. aid,
immigration accords and a free-trade treaty if
it doesn't put Zelaya back into office. This
doesn't seem to be what America has always
stood for -- the rule of law and the will of the
people. It will be interesting to see how this
matter plays out so close to our shores. One
unsettling development is the support of the
United Nations for Zelaya, which should be a
warning to right thinking people.

A distinguished patriot's quote for the day:
"The ultimate determinant in the struggle now
going on for the world will not be bombs and
rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of
spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the
beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we
are dedicated." -- Ronald Reagan, Address to
the British Parliament, 1982


Some Random Afterthoughts . . .


Readers still seem to like them, so here are
just a few "one liners" from this week's reading:

"Liberals hate America, so they assume
everyone else does, too." (Ann Coulter)

"Reading what Obama is doing to this nation
makes reading the obits relaxing." (Gene L.
Jeffries)

"I think there are Christians who struggle
with the sin of homosexuality -- but 'proud
homosexual Christians?' That's an oxymoron
to me in the same way as I would say 'proud
adulterous Christians.'" (Peter Labarbera)

"The more one sees President Obama in
action the more you realize that the leader of
the free world is not a big fan of democracy."
(from the Blog: "Yid with Lid")

After weeks of high level pressure, the
House of Representatives passed President
Obama's "Cap and Trade" environment bill
by just 7 votes. One news account described
the action in these words: "House Narrowly
Passes Bill Designed to Influence Earth’s
Climate by Restricting U.S. Industry and
Imposing Costs on American Families."
And under the headline: "Al Gore Invests
Millions to Make Billions in Cap-and-
Trade Software," this story was interesting:
"Al Gore’s venture capital firm has invested
$6 million in a software company that stands
to make billions of dollars from cap-and-trade
regulation — further fueling controversy that
Gore lied about his profiteering from cap-and-
trade to Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and
the House Energy and Environment Sub-
committee during testimony in April." And
you were wondering why Al was working so
hard in support of this bill!

We have never done this before! We all
receive videos forwarded to us by friends,
and some of them are informative, and some
-- very frankly -- are a waste of our time. But
here is one on the familiar "YouTube" that is
extremely well done, and presents a much
needed message in the language and style of
the 1700s when this nation was being formed.
Click on this link to view it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA

Last week's White House infomercial that
we announced, earned this review from a TV
rating viewpoint: "President Obama's town
hall meeting on health care delivered a sickly
rating Wednesday evening." With just 4.7
million prime time viewers, the Obama show
on ABC had the fewest viewers in the time
slot. And it wasn't in competition with other
top rated network shows. An IBD Editorial
described it in these words: "ABC's prime-
time special starring President Obama was
shameless journalistic favoritism. But as a
promotional event, it backfired; the broadcast
revealed no public demand for his vision of
health reform."

Perhaps part of the show's failure may be due
to the fact that the American people simply do
not want the sort of health insurance program
the president is proposing. It may also be due
to the possibility that the president may have
overstayed his welcome on the nation's TV
screens. An analysis by the Business and Media
Institute found that some 60% of the 75
minutes of airtime was used up just by the
president talking. On a show that was
advertised as being a dialogue on the future
of US health care, a total of only 12% of the
program -- less than 10 minutes -- was made
up of questions and comments from the
audience. Or perhaps the president simply
needs a reincarnation of Ed McMahon to
introduce him with "Here's Barack!"

One is reminded of the old story about a newly
flavored and heavily advertised dog food
which wasn't selling well. In a conference at
dog food headquarters one of the salesmen
reported to management: "The dogs just don't
like it."

A Founding Father on the right to vote:
"Let each citizen remember at the moment
he is offering his vote that he is not making
a present or a compliment to please an
individual — or at least that he ought not so
to do; but that he is executing one of the most
solemn trusts in human society for which he
is accountable to God and his country."
-- Samuel Adams, 1781
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THIS MAY NOT MEAN MUCH TO YOU,
but this is the last issue of Vol. 1 of this
newsletter. We began on a weekly basis on
June 16, 2003, so we have now completed
6 years. Next week's issue will be "Vol. 13,
No. 1" and we will have something special
to say about it. For now please remember
the link which will take you to each week's
issue in case email delivery to your in-box
fails: http://american-news.notlong.com
Thank you . . . and enjoy this week's issue!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


IF THE LATIN PHRASE 'QUO VADIS'
IS EVER TO HAVE MEANING IN
AMERICA, THAT TIME IS NOW


"Whither goest thou?" "Where are we
going?" Accompanying the use of this
phrase in our current discourse is another
one, this one in English rather than Latin:
"Be afraid ... be very much afraid." A
very hasty bit of research found several
different applications; one by Lee Brodie
with reference to the stock market; another
by Phil Kerpen referring to the Obama
administration's plan for a national Value
Added Tax (VAT); another by Joe Hakum
with reference to voting for Barack Obama;
another by Tracey Watson with reference
to teaching sex to teen-agers in school,
and another with reference to the book
with that title, by Anne Schraff.

It is, obviously, a perfectly valid practice
to utilize those two phrases in combination --
"Where are we going . . . be afraid, be very
much afraid." And when we apply the first
one ("Where are we going") to the present
situation in America, the second one ("Be
afraid, be very much afraid") follows quite
logically.

The Obama administration is doing much
that is beyond our primary focus of interest,
including a sweeping reform of our health
care systems; spending vast amounts of
money (trillions of dollars) to cover financial
shortfalls in various businesses; taking on
the managing and operating of banks, auto
manufacturers and other aspects of our
national life, and incurring debts in massive
proportions for future generations to repay --
those are not our main concerns, but our
apprentice president and the coterie of his
liberal, left wing sycophants, who, in their
initial efforts have awed us as they displayed
their total incompetence -- they are remaking
America to fit their preconceived mold (but,
admittedly, better days may be ahead).

One of their major projects -- the reform
of our healthcare system will be presented
tonight (June 24) in an extended "infomercial"
from the White House on ABC-TV -- which
is currently being referred to as the "All Barack
Channel." (For those of us whose memories
are keen enough, we can recall the years when
CNN was referred to as the "Clinton News
Network.") As Doug Patton wrote this week:
"The mainstream media is so in love with
Barack Obama that they continually try
to one-up each other in their sycophantic
coverage of their new president. But ABC
has raised the stakes by taking up residence
in the White House for a day in order to
spew the Official Party Line on health care."

Some of the undertakings assumed by the
Obama administration are not only beyond
our main area of concern, but are also
proving to be "firsts" for any American
president in the history of our nation. They
include the socialist-style operation of our
institutions like major banks and industries.

But there are also other "firsts" which do
directly concern us -- such as being the
first president to deny America's position
as a Christian nation ... the first president
to apologize for our "arrogance" in our
sacrifices in behalf of the free world in
previous world wars ... his much heralded
speech from Cairo included blaming our
nation for colonialism, for conduct of the
Cold War and somehow for all of the
frustrations Muslims face ... he also
apologized for our efforts to stop terrorism
after 9/11... and he has also been the first
president to expand the use of American
funds to encourage the killing of babies
through abortion ... the first president to
pledge to repeal federal law defining the
traditional Christian concept of marriage
as being between a man and a woman ...
those are some Obama administration
"firsts" which concern us Christians.

As patriotic Americans, it is our challenge
to speak out against the president's often
repeated shaming of our nation before
other countries of the world. We have
always been and must always be a people
proud of our nation, and all that America
stands for. We should never have to see
our president bowing the Saudi king, or
apologizing to anyone, anywhere, for our
role in history. For some reason all of this
reminds us of the statement made by Mrs.
Obama in February of 2008, during the
presidential campaign,"For the first time
in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of
my country."

Taking all these factors into account,
if we ask the first question, "Where are we
going?" the answer will prompt the use of
the second phrase, "Be afraid . . . be very
much afraid."

Something has to be said about the riots
in Iran. But what? There are so many views
being expressed -- but no one, not even
those most directly involved -- knows what
is going to happen. One headline expressed
it this way: "From Jimmy Carter to Barack
Obama -- a horror story." Looking back
some 30 years to 1979, it is true that then
President Carter was largely responsible for
aiding in deposing the pro-West Shah and
then placing in power Ayatollah Khomeini,
whom Carter trusted and endorsed as being
a "holy man." Upon Khomeini's death in
1989 he was succeeded by the present
Ayatollah Khomeini, who is the supreme
ruler of Iran. The recent election with much
suspicion of fraud, became the divisive
issue to cause several days of rioting, but
with little apparent lasting effect on the
government of Iran. The four presidential
candidates were all selected and approved
by Khomeini. With the ousting of the Shah
in 1979, millions of pro-West Iranians fled
to other countries. The result is that today
some 50% of Iranians are under 30 years
old and have known no other government.
An underlying yearning for freedom and
liberty prevails, and the US had allocated
millions of dollars to encourage such views,
until the Obama administration cut off those
funds. While what Carter did was indeed a
horror story -- but that was 30 years ago.
President Obama has offered mild words
of rebuke, but has been openly and frankly
afraid of being accused of meddling -- yet
he keeps insisting he wants to negotiate
with President Ahmadinejad, and that could
surely be considered as meddling. Along
with everyone else, we will have to wait to
see what happens. One thing we do know
for sure_ Jimmy Carter should be restrained
from traveling around the world, making
further blunders and recommending our
support for the wrong people -- who would
merit the title of "terrorists" if that word were
included as acceptable in the new politically
correct lexicon.

Last week we offered "Mini Editorials"
to share with our readers thoughts from
others who have similar concerns about
what is happening to America. Here are a
few from this week's research, carefully
chosen from perhaps a score of "possibles."

"The president has a lot on his plate, so I
don’t want to be unfair. It takes a lot of
hours to bankrupt a nation while running
several major industries and getting ready
to direct health care and control our
climate. He needs to drop something from
the 'to do' list. Here’s my suggestion: You
could stop bashing democracies like Israel,
which is on our side, and instead bash
tyrants that hate America." (Gary Bauer)

"History is made by the conservatives and
re-written by the liberals. They still credit
Mikhail Gorbachev for the fall of the Soviet
Union. Not Lech Walesa. Not Margaret
Thatcher. Not Pope John Paul II. And
certainly not Ronald Reagan. No, never
Ronald Reagan. That would be an
admission that peace comes through
strength and that everything the Left told
us for 70 years about the Soviets was a
lie. Gorbachev. Sure, just like death cures
cancer." (Don Surber)

“Considering Obama’s questionable
place of birth, his early education in a
Muslim school, his denunciation of our
closest allies, his unqualified apologies
for our nation’s beneficence to the world-
at-large, his blatant inaccuracy
concerning our Judeo-Christian heritage,
his indefatigable effort to dismantle the
traditional concept of marriage and the
certain butchery of innocent babies via
the abortion process, the rupture of the
undeniably finest medical system the
world has ever known, it is more than
difficult to ignore the view that his
agenda is the total eradication of the
principles and practices that in
combination have made the United States
what native-born and legally-constituted
American citizens have desired. If such
does not constitute treason, then truth
itself has ceased to exist." (Gene L. Jeffries)

President Obama's signing a memorandum
extending benefits to the same-sex partners
of federal employees "is a direct violation
of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
and a big step toward redefining marriage.
The president thumbed his nose at the rule
of law and continues to undermine marriage
as society’s most pro-child institution...
Congress already defined marriage for
purposes of federal law in 1996 with the
passage of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Treating same-sex partners as the
equivalent of spouses is therefore a direct
violation of DOMA and merely Obama's
contribution to the clearly-stated, gay-
activist agenda of redefining marriage
and family.” (Tom Minnery)

"So far, 'hope and change' has meant
spending trillions we do not have on
expanded government we do not need.
Meanwhile, the huddled masses of
Iranians yearning to breathe free think
hope and change means something
more. But the new American colossus
stands all but silent, her beacon dimmed,
her luster tarnished. Please, Mr. President,
prove me wrong. Stop voting 'present' on
democracy." (Jonah Goldberg)

A quote from a Founding Father as we
come to Independence Day, the 4th of July:
“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?
And 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


Some Random Afterthoughts . . .


Until someone tells us differently, and
as long as our readers write to say they enjoy
them, we will continue to bring you some
of the "One Liners" we come across during
the week's research. Admit it: there is a lot
of truth expressed in just a few words.

"Today, fact and truth suffer the narcissism
of a generation of self-indulgent ideologues
who have sought to shape the world to their
belief system, doing so armed with little more
than falsely elevated self-esteem." (Frank Salvato)

"Don't Call What Happened in Iran Last
Week an Election." (Christopher Hitchens)

"Love or lust, Obama and the fawning press
need to get a room." (Phil Bronstein)

"Of all the enemies we face today and may
face tomorrow, the most dangerous is our
own wishful thinking." (Ralph Peters)

"Barack Obama is overexposed and under-
challenged." (Brent Bozell)

As we were saying about polls: President
Obama had been faring well in the various
polls in weeks past, but in more recent
weeks his approval ratings by the American
people have been slipping. The Gallup poll
showing approval of his job performance
had averaged 63% since his inauguration in
January. This past week it had slipped 5%
to 58. Rasmussen's daily approval rating
index had been around 30 after inaugural
day, but had been in steady decline into the
+1 to +3 range until the past weekend when
for the first time it slipped into negative
territory. On a longer time scale basis, only
31% of voters believe that the US will be the
most powerful nation in the world at the end
of this century. 35% disagree and 34% are
not sure. This headline caught our attention
this week: "Are the American people
starting to catch on"?

Apparently the president's daily personal
television appearances have not been
accomplishing all that he intended for them
to do. And apparently also, many Americans
are tired of his irresponsible talk and reckless
actions in snubbing allies like leaders of
Great Britain and France, while fraternizing
with Islamic oriented countries.

People are saying about the president's
obvious desire to become a TV personality,
that it could be pointed out that Obama
spent more time with TV talk show host
Stephen Colbert, taping a segment for his
part in a TV comedy show, than he did in
responding to the turmoil in Iran this week.
And someone suggested that NBC had
perhaps acted too hastily in naming a
replacement for Jay Leno on the network's
"Tonight Show."

A Founding Father's government quote:
"If the people let government decide what
foods they eat and what medicines they take,
their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state
as are the souls of those who live under
tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson

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"THE SPEECH" IS OVER; THE CHOSEN
ENVOY ARRIVES; NOW JERUSALEM
AWAITS ACTION FROM AMERICA

It is not difficult to find fault with and to criticize
many of the decisions and programs being issued
almost daily by President Obama, who has been
described by some commentators as an "apprentice
president." But there is at least one major area of
his activities which is of major concern to American
Christians. That is his attitude toward Israel which
has now taken about a 180 degree turn from the
traditional American policy with respect to our long
time staunch ally in the Middle East.

Among his actions and proposals which might seem
questionable to Americans are the billions -- or even
trillions -- of dollars designated to be spent in what he
calls "stimulus" plans to solve our serious economic
problems -- but of which only a small amount has
actually been used, so his claims of benefits already
achieved seem to be a political spin with no basis in
statistical facts to support them. Then there are his
diplomatic gaffes including insults to other long time
allies, Great Britain and France. And there is the
looming dread of a nationalized health insurance
program costing undetermined costs, and with the
possibility of putting our medical services on
what has been called a "rationing" basis, as our
existing programs like Medicare are stripped to
pay for providing health service to illegal immigrants
-- an aspect of the proposal opposed by 80% of
our nation's people.

But our relationship with Israel becomes the main
focal point for Christian concern. A few weeks ago
our president declared to a Muslim audience that
we are no longer a Christian nation. Now just last
week former President Clinton told a Muslim group
that America is no longer a country dominated by
Christians and a powerful Jewish minority, and said
that given the growing numbers of Muslims, America
should be mindful of the changing demographics,
which led to Obama's election as president. Both
Obama and Clinton are apparently unmindful of the
facts that the most recent polls report that America's
Christian majority is 82%, with Muslims and Jews
combined amounting to about 5% of our population.

Meanwhile, Israel sits and awaits the decision of the
American powers-that-be concerning the ongoing
conflict between Israel and Palestine The Obama
envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, just spent
time in both Israel and Palestine, and left the same
reassuring message with both that "America will
not turn its back on Israel" and "America will
not turn its back on Palestine."

Even Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State, has
done an abrupt turn-about from her position while
campaigning for president, when she said that if
Iran should attack Israel, the US would "totally
obliterate them." Last week she said “I don’t
think there is any doubt in anyone’s mind that,
were Israel to suffer a nuclear attack by Iran,
there would be retaliation.” But when asked if
that retaliation would be from America, she said.
“Well, I think there would be retaliation.”

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has been told
by the US to adopt a two-state program, with Israel
and Palestine existing side-by-side, with Jerusalem
divided so that part of the city becomes the Palestine
capital. Mr. Netanyahu has offered to enter into a
program to solve the conflict, with Israel existing as
a recognized state alongside a demilitarized Palestine,
and with Jerusalem remaining a unified city as the
capital of Israel, under Israeli control. But as one
editorial writer explained the impasse: "It's always
pretty much the same: Israel makes concessions,
and Palestinian groups respond with suicide
bombings and rockets."

And it is with respect to America's treatment
of Jerusalem that American Christians must have
great concern, given God's often expressed love for
His chosen city. “But I have chosen Jerusalem,
that My name might be there.” (II Chron. 6:6)
The heart of Israel is Jerusalem. As a city with no
great importance in manufacturing, commerce or
political power, the eyes of the whole world are
clearly focused on the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is God’s city and the Lord speaks often
about His city: "This is my resting place for ever
and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have
desired it." (Psalm 132:14) In Ezekiel 43:7 God
says of Jerusalem, "This is where I will dwell in
the midst of the children of Israel forever."

And we are instructed, "Pray for the Peace of
Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee."
(Psalm 122:6) Remember God's promise to
Abraham, "I will make of thee a great nation ...
and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse
them that curseth thee." (Genesis 12:2-3) And
God spoke through the Prophet Zechariah, saying,
"I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and
Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth ... I will
save my people ... and they shall dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people,
and I will be their God in truth and in
righteousness." (Zechariah 8:3,8)

And, of course, Jerusalem is important to Christians
because Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death and
resurrection all took place there. Mr. Obama (as
does Mr. Clinton) has much to learn about the
Biblical view of Jerusalem and Israel, and about
America's heritage as a Christian nation.

But there is an element of hope: Rep. Randy
Forbes (R-Va.) believes that the United States is a
nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and
has introduced a bill (H.R. 397) -- the "Spiritual
Heritage" bill, designating the first week in May as
“America’s Spiritual Heritage Week.” Forbes said
his introduction of such a bill was brought about by
Obama's speech in Turkey, when he said that this
is no longer a Christian nation.

We have never done this before. But there is
much to be said for the idea of sharing with our
readers some "mini-editorials" on a variety of
important current events. So here are a few we
noted this week, presented on the basis of being
"fair and balanced" -- we report, you decide.

On the importance of good governance to the
Christian cause, by Rev. Phil Ashey, American
Anglican Council: "Good governance serves the
spread of the Gospel. Good governance enables
people to exercise their spiritual gifts to the
glory of God and for the expansion of God's
Kingdom. Good governance brings healing to
divisions and unity to the church. Good
governance raises up new people for mission
and multiplies ministries. Good governance
sets apostles and evangelists and intercessors
free to pray, lead people to Jesus Christ, plant
churches, and teach them everything that Christ
has commanded us."

On the meaning of marriage, by Rev. J. Lee
Grady, Charisma Magazine: "Marriage is a holy
institution, and the church should keep it that
way regardless of where our culture ends up
drifting on this issue. God preached the first
wedding sermon. The Scripture says: "For this
reason a man shall leave his father and his
mother, and be joined to his wife; and they
shall become one flesh." (Gen. 2:24, NASB).

A slight spelling error, by Ted Nugent, hard rock
guitarist and conservative political commentator:
"In an effort to deflect criticism of their
ongoing program to bankrupt the entire nation,
the Democratic leadership has labeled the
Congressional Republicans as the 'party of no.'
The Democrats would have been correct had
they checked their spelling. It is not 'no' that
defines the Congressional Republicans but
rather 'know.'"

On Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor by Pat
Buchanan writing in in Human Events: "No one has
brought forth the slightest evidence she has the
intellectual candlepower to sit on the Roberts
court... the Obama media have been ballyhooing
her brilliance -- No. 1 in high school, No. 1 at
Princeton, editor of Yale Law Review... Two
weeks ago, The New York Times reported that,
to get up to speed on her English skills at
Princeton, Sotomayor was advised to read
children's classics and study basic grammar
books during her summers. How do you
graduate first in your class at Princeton if your
summer reading consists of 'Chicken Little' and
'The Troll Under the Bridge'"?

And this Note on President Obama, by
Pat Boone, legendary entertainer: "'We're no
longer a Christian nation' ...'America has been
arrogant' ... 'After 9/11, America didn't always
live up to her ideals' ... 'You might say that
America is a Muslim nation.' Thinking about
these and other statements made by the man
who wears the title of president ... I keep
wondering what country he believes he's
president of..." (Good question!)

As American Christians, what do we need in
this troublesome hour? Our prayers must be two-
fold, first, asking for God's guidance for our new
president, and second, asking God to provide us
with new leaders in Conservative principles, both
from a political and religious (Christian) viewpoint.
At the moment no such leaders seem to be in
sight, but God knows who they are and where
they are. We grow impatient, but we must trust
God to answer our prayers, in His time.

Not from a Founding Father, but from a very
wise former president, "I do not believe there is
a problem in this country or the world today
which could not be settled if approached
through the teaching of the Sermon on the
Mount... I had faith in Israel before it was
established, I have in it now. I believe it has a
glorious future before it - not just another
sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of
the great ideals of our civilization." President
Harry S. Truman


Some Random Afterthoughts . . .


Some of our readers seem to enjoy the "one
liners" we have been sharing from week to week.
Most seem to be surprised how much truth can be
expressed in just a few words. Consider these, for
example, from this week: "Muslims in Pakistan
expressed their appreciation for President
Barack Obama's speech by bombing a fancy
hotel in Peshawar... Obama's 'I'm OK, You're
OK' speech would be hilarious, if it weren't so
terrifying. (Ann Coulter)

"More than 1.6 million jobs have disappeared
since the stimulus package was signed in
February. Government can't create jobs, only
dependency." (IBD editorial)

"People are being scammed already," said VP
Joe Biden, explaining that waste is inevitable with
so much stimulus money at stake.

And in line with today's theme, "According to
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman
of the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, many
American Jews are beginning to have buyer's
remorse and are regretting their support for
Barack Obama." (Ronald Kessler)

Rev. Jeremiah Wright is at it again: President
Obama's former spiritual mentor (for more than 20
years) who expressed his feelings about America
with a profane curse, said last week about the
former member of his church in Chicago: "Them
Jews ain't going to let him talk to me. I told my
baby daughter that he'll talk to me in five years
when he's a lame duck, or in eight years when
he's out of office." Small wonder that President
Obama has such a poor grasp of the meaning of
the Christian faith.

A follow-up on a previous item: Last week we
expressed some aspects of our concern over the
Cairo speech. Now here is strong evidence that
our concern was justified: UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon strongly endorsed the speech, saying
that he "hopes that President Obama's message
will herald the opening of a new chapter in
relations between the United States and the
Islamic World," and that he "strongly welcomes
its message of peace, understanding and
reconciliation." Enough said. No comment.

The latest poll on Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme
Court nominee: Last week's Rasmussen poll shows
that Americans by a huge majority -- 83% --
prefer "equal justice" under the law, rather than the
Obama standard of "empathetic justice." The
poll disclosed that those 83% of American voters
say the courts should apply the law equally to all
Americans, rather than using the law to help those
who have less power and influence. The majority
view was shared by Republicans, Democrats and
non-affiliated voters.

Thoughtful quotes from a great president:
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It
does not mean to stand by the president.... To
announce that there must be no criticism of the
president, or that we are to stand by the
president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the
American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
- - - - - - - - - -

`





WAKE UP, AMERICA: OUR NATION FACES
SERIOUS PROBLEMS, MANY OF WHICH
PARTICULARLY AFFECT CHRISTIANS

The primary news event of the past week has been
"the Speech" delivered by President Obama in Cairo
-- the teleprompted utterance apparently ranked by
the fawning elite media as worthy of being assigned
a place in history alongside Jesus' Sermon on the
Mount. It is not our intent or purpose to analyze that
speech. Enough analyses have already been made,
pro and con, to enable anyone employing the formula
"we report, you decide" to form their own opinion.

But considering the overall situation, there is much to
concern the American people in general, and American
Christians in particular. Just three reflections from the
not-too-distant past are helpful in making any such
consideration. During the 2008 election campaign, Mr.
Obama forbade any reference to his middle name
"Hussein." It was obviously his fear that it would remind
voters of his Muslim heritage. (Today "Hussein" is very
much in use by the president, and "BHO" have become
the politically correct initials of choice.)

Then there was the speech last month in Turkey to a
Muslim audience where he declared that America is no
longer a Christian nation, but is a Christian, Jewish and
Muslim nation. (This erroneous statement was offered
despite the fact that a very recent poll reports that
America is 82% Christian, and that all the Muslims and
Jews combined account for less than 5% of our nation's
population, and ignores our long Christian heritage.)

And then on the eve of his trip to Egypt last week, to a
French TV audience he said: “If you actually took the
number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the
largest Muslim countries in the world.” (Who creates
these false statements he keeps making?) By comparing
at least 4 different sources of world population statistics,
America ranks between 19th and 33rd among nations
of the world in Muslim populations.

And then it should be noted that only once did he refer
to the Bible, while quoting from what he termed "the
Holy Koran" again and again. Once he made the brief
statement, "I am a Christian." If that is true, would
it not have been appropriate to rely more upon the
Bible than upon the Koran, if he is trying to create a
bridge of understanding between the two cultures?

One could also question the method employed in this
this supposedly history-making communication. He
said he wanted to reach the Muslims of the world,
and so he spoke from an Arab nation to Arab nations.
This despite the fact that only 20% of the world's
Muslims live in Arab countries. 30% live in the India
subcontinent, and 15.6% live in Indonesia -- and those
are obviously not "Arab nations."

One of the president's main points was expressed in
these exact words: "America and Islam are not
exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead,
they overlap and share common principles..." By
any standard, that is a strange comparison. "America"
is a nation ..."Islam" is a religious faith held by Muslims.
And one could ask, "What common principles?" The
teaching of Islam is that all non-Islamists are "infidels,"
and it is the purpose of Islamists to kill infidels. Since
the teaching of the predominant religious faith in America
-- Christianity -- is not to kill Islamists, it is difficult to
grasp the "common principles" he claims are shared by
America and Islam.

The president's accolades to the accomplishments
of Muslims through the years was dizzying... creating
the Renaissance in Europe ... inventing printing ...
composing great music ... erecting major architectures
of the world ... and finally the statement that Islam has
always been part of America's history. The facts do
not support that assertion. There were 56 signers of
the Declaration of Independence; 32 were Episcopal/
Anglican, 13 were Congregationalists, 12 were
Presbyterians -- not one Islamist among them. There
were 55 signers of the Constitution; 31 were Episcopal/
Anglican and 16 were Presbyterian -- not one Islamist
among them. (Again, one wonders who creates the
information that appears on the "TOPUS" -- the
Teleprompter of the President of the United States?"

One further comment -- Mr. Obama cited a quote
from John Adams, which spoke favorably of Muslims.
As of this moment, that quote has not been located in
any of the speeches or writings of John Adams. But
here is a quote most definitely written by him: "I insist
that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men
than any other nation . . . they are the most glorious
nation that ever inhabited this earth … They have
given religion to three-quarters of the globe, and
have influenced the affairs of mankind more, and
more happily, than any other nation, ancient or
modern." (1808) Given the Muslims' announced
intent of eradicating Israel from the face of the earth,
that isn't the sort of statement from one of America's
Founding Fathers Obama would choose to quote.

But these quotes from our nation's Founding Fathers
are also applicable to this point: from John Jay, the first
Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court: "Providence
has given our people the choice of their rulers, and
it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest, of a
Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for
their rulers." (1816) "Whether our religion permits
Christians to vote for infidel rulers is a question
which merits more consideration than it seems yet
to have generally received either from the clergy or
the laity. It appears to me that what the prophet
said to Jehoshaphat about his attachment to Ahab
'Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them
that hate the Lord?"' (2 Chronicles 19:2) affords
a salutary lesson." (1794)

And from Samuel Johnson, one of the signers of
the US Constitution: “It is apprehended that Jews,
Mahometans (Muslims), pagans, etc., may be elected
to high offices under the government of the United
States. Those who are Mahometans, or any others
who are not professors of the Christian religion, can
never be elected to the office of President or other
high office, unless first the people of America lay
aside the Christian religion altogether." (1788)

But where do we go now? It may be correct to
describe "the Speech" as eloquent, idealistic and
to a certain extent, entertaining. It was flawlessly
delivered as is any teleprompted speech. The New
York Times, essentially a voice of the Obama
administration, reported that it combined "idealism
and cunning," and included "historical distortions,
eloquent appeals and strained moral equivalences."

So the main remaining question with respect to our
dealings with the Muslim world is where do we go
now? And this perplexing condition is still with us,
that while it may be true that all Muslims are not
terrorists, it is true that to date, all terrorists have
been Muslims. "Common ground ... equal footing"
are nice to talk about, but difficult, or even impossible,
to achieve. There is a serious element of concern for
American Christians -- our president denies that this
is a Christian nation and a few days later (using
erroneous statistics) tries to establish America as
one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.

"The Sound of Silence" -- the story of two murders.
45 years ago (some of us can still remember) the duo
of Simon and Garfunkel had a top-of-the-chart hit song
by that title. Today it is appropriate to remember that
song, because it so accurately describes the reaction of
President Obama and his administration to one of those
two murders which occurred less than two weeks ago.
The first, on May 31, took place in a church in Wichita,
Kansas, when Dr. George Tiller, a leading proponent of
late-term abortions, was shot and killed. The second
murder, a day later, took place outside a US Army
recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, when Private
William Long was gunned down by a convert to Islam,
Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad.

Within 7 hours President Obama said he was "shocked
and outraged" by Dr. Tiller's murder. Within a day his
Justice Department had dispatched federal marshals to
guard abortion clinics, but has not sent anyone to guard
our military recruitment offices, even though more than
100 of those offices have been attacked in recent years.
Mr. Obama has remained silent on the murder of Private
Long by an Islamist, even though Muhammad had been
under investigation by the U.S. Federal Task Force on
Terrorism. (Probably now the Task Force on "man
caused disasters," the new politically correct term.)
He had additional weapons in his car; one wonders
how he was able to acquire them, while he was "under
investigation"?

A quote from a Founding Father, which we have
cited before, and which is very definitely a goal to
be sought for in our day and time: "The aim of every
political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain
for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern,
and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the
society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual
precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they
continue to hold their public trust." -- James Madison,
1788


Some Random Afterthoughts . . .


Our readers seem to enjoy the "one liners"
wecome across in our research. Here are a few from
this week's work:

"For Israel and the United States, the days of wine
and roses are over. As Rick Wagoner of GM can tell
Bibi, you take the king's shilling, you play the king's
tune." (Pat Buchanan)

"Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But
don't worry; God never blinks." (Regina Brett,
Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist)

"The administration is determined to prop up GM
as a jobs program for the UAW..." (George Will)

"Sorry, Barack Hussein, but there were no Muslims
among the passengers on the Mayflower or the settlers
at Jamestown." (Paul L. Williams, writing in thelast -
crusade.org.)

Your tax dollars at work: a headlined news story
in last Sunday's paper put it quite clearly: "Obamas
have date night in a cozy Paris bistro." Earlier
the president and his wife had declined an invitation
to dinner with the President of France, Nicolas
Sarkozy, which would seem to have been appropriate
for our chief executive visiting in one of our friendly
nations. The story went on to recount the security
cost of the Obamas' "date night," as well as the
security cost for the sight-seeing tour of Paris
by them and their children.

This "date night" event is a function which other
of our presidents have never performed, and which
doesn't seem to be in the president's job description.
In line with all the other presidential Czars who will
be regulating so many aspects of our national life,
perhaps there should be a "Date Czar" to oversee
this activity, making a cost-benefit analysis, etc.

Judge Roy Moore heard from again: 6 years ago
the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court was
thrown out of office fore refusing to remove a granite
monument of the Ten Commandments from the state's
court house. Now Roy Moore is planning to run for
governor on the Republican ticket. He failed to win the
Republican primary or a similar attempt in 2006. He is
critical of the government's view that America is not a
Christian nation, and is still firm in his stand for the
recognition of God.

Is the "Evangelical" cause failing in America?
The answer is "Yes" if you accept the findings of an
internal poll of 100 members of the Board of the NAE,
the National Association of Evangelicals. The conclusion
of these participants in this month's "Evangelical Leaders
Survey" is that 94% think that for the next ten years the
number of Christians will increase on a world-wide basis,
but most of them feel that here in America the number of
Christians will possibly remain about the same,but are more
likely to decrease. Dr. Al Mohler, President of Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, whom we often quote, made
this comment: "The survey results represent at best a
misunderstanding of the Gospel, and at worst a repudiation
of the Gospel." Another truly Evangelical spokesperson
asked this question: "Who is out there totally committed
to just preaching the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and not
how to control greenhouse gases?" The NAE is not what it
used to be, nor is it what it was founded to be; example:
Barack Hussein Obama will be a featured speaker at their
convention later this year. But more about all that in another
issue.

One Founding Father's expression of his faith:
"If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind,
the mission of the Son of God into all the world would
have been unnecessary. The perfect morality of the Gospel
rests upon the doctrine which, though often controverted
has never been refuted: I mean the vicarious life and death
of the Son of God."

-- Benjamin Rush, 1798, signer of the Declaration of
Independence

ALMOST EVERY DAY, it seems, there is some
new and serious issue confronting Christian believers
-- and many of those issues involve or originate with
the new government of the United States. We cannot
deal with all of them, but instead focus our attention on
those which have a direct effect on American Christians,
and the political implications thereof. Thus, we comment
on the events of the day from a Conservative religious
(Christian) and political viewpoint. Send your comments
to us at: american_news_2008@yahoo.com.
- - - - - - - - - -

IF BARACK OBAMA IS RIGHT WHEN HE SAYS
AMERICA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION,
WE ARE A NATION OF HYPOCRITES,
AND WE ARE LIVING A LIE

But first, the latest Presidential proclamation:
On Monday President Obama proclaimed June to be
"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month.."
In the proclamation he states: "The LGBT rights
movement has achieved great progress, but there is
more to be done." He takes pride in having appointed
more openly LGBT's to government positions than any
other president. And this fact is also true, that he is the
first president to celebrate homosexuality.

Now back to today's headline: By definition,
"hypocrisy" is "falsely pretending to be virtuous,"
and synonyms are "insincerity, falseness, dishonesty."

If he meant it when he made that declaration to a
Muslim audience, the finger of falseness and
dishonesty was pointed directly at him, because in
view of the whole world, in taking the oath of office
as President of the United States, he had placed his
hand on the Christian Bible, and concluded his oath
with the words, "So help me God."

We sense that his election campaign promise of
"transparency" has been ignored in the face of the
facts from recent surveys (cited in last week's issue
of ANC) that 82% of Americans claim to be Christian,
with Jews, Muslims, Mormons and Pantheists together
accounting for only 7% with the remaining 11%
being skeptics, atheists, agnostics -- in other words
"non-religious." With those facts in mind it is difficult
to justify Mr. Obama's statement to a Muslim audience
that America is not a Christian nation.

This does not mean that all is well with the Christian
cause in America -- just as we lack for strong,
effective leadership in the Conservative political
arena, so we lack for strong, effective leadership in
the Christian arena. In London this past week, Steve
Clifford, the new General Director of the Evangelical
Alliance, addressed the need for the Church to be
involved in restoring Britain's moral values. In a letter
handed in to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office at
10 Downing Street, Clifford stressed that as Britain
faces problems of financial and political integrity, the
government should utilize the Church's expertise in
moral values and community involvement in helping to
solve those problems. "We are asking for a proper
dialogue, rather than token gestures, so that our
churches can play a substantive role in determining
policy," was Clifford's appeal. It would seem that a
similar letter from American Evangelicals might be
delivered to the White House.

Here in America, the Rt. Rev. David Anderson, President
of the American Anglican Council, the orthodox group
of churches which has broken from the ultra-Liberal
American Episcopal Church, has expressed it well,
"As the Western world turns further and further away
from God and His ordered plan for humankind, and
more and more toward the devices and desires of
humanity's own thinking, chaos enters our churches,
our legal systems, our schools, and almost every
aspect of the communities that we live in."

In similar vein, Fred Hutchison, the scholarly analyst
for Renew America, spoke to the problem this week:
"The mushrooming of seeker-sensitive mega-
churches throughout the land has had zero
influence on the postmodern culture. They have
had little influence on divorce rates, abortion rates,
or the prevalence of sexual immorality. They are
impotent in resisting the anti-family agendas of the
feminists and the gays."

Regardless of what President Obama says, or
believes, based on his upbringing in the Islamic faith,
the facts of history are that America was founded on
Judeo-Christian principles, and became the greatest
nation in the world because of is continued -- although
sometimes tenuous -- adherence to those principles.
We have often -- very often -- cited the statements of
our Founding Fathers, and of our nation's presidents
through the years. Not one United States president has
ever before made such a blatant denial of America's
adherence to the Christian faith.

And speaking of hypocrisy: everyone was shocked
-- and that is not a strong enough word -- by the
murder of Dr. George Tiller in his church on Sunday.
It is true that Dr. Tiller was an advocate of late term
abortion, but murder is a crime beyond understanding,
and a violation of God's law. The hypocrisy in this
terrible event is in the treatment accorded it by the
media and by the Obama government. Attorney
General Holder has proposed massive protective
measures for abortion clinics to prevent mass murders
by people who oppose abortions. A tremendous
backlash can be expected as an asset to President
Obama's pro-abortion agenda. Yet abortion involves
the killing of millions of babies simply because their
mothers do not want them -- yet no outcry for their
protection is heard from the media or the government.
The simple truth is that abortion and murder are both
wrong. What we are seeing is truly hypocrisy in action.

The newest Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia
Sotomayor, has been much in the news for the past
few days. The importance of such an appointment to
the highest level of our Judiciary was recognized by
one of our nation's Founding Fathers, Thomas
Jefferson in these comments: "The Constitution ...
is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary
which they may twist and shape into any form they
please." (1819); and shortly thereafter, in 1821, "It
has long, however, been my opinion, and I have
never shrunk from its expression ... that the germ
of dissolution of our federal government is in the
constitution of the federal Judiciary; ... working
like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little
today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its
noiseless step like a thief, over the field of
jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped." This was
the concern of one of the principal founders of our
nation and our Constitution.

Everyone may not agree with every opinion which
is expressed by Pat Buchanan, but it must be admitted
that he often employs a very explicit choice of words
to make a point. With respect to Judge Sotomayor,
last week he wrote: "Speaking at Berkeley in 2001,
Sonia told her audience, 'I would hope that a wise
Latina woman with the richness of her experience
would more often than not reach a better
conclusion (as a judge) than a white male who
hasn't lived that life.'

"Imagine if Sam Alito had said at Bob Jones
University, "I would hope that a wise white male
with the richness of his life experience would more
often than not reach a better conclusion than a
Hispanic woman, who hasn't lived that life.'"

As is often the case, Mr. Buchanan makes his point
quite effectively.

Not from a Founding Father, but from a highly
respected former President, and applicable to our
day and time: "The federal government has taken
too much tax money from the people, too much
authority from the states, and too much liberty
with the Constitution." -- Ronald Reagan


Some Random Afterthoughts . . .


We receive quite a few comments about the "One
Liners" we come across in our research. Here are a
few we noted this week: "Instead of poor America
on socialism becoming more like rich America on
capitalism, rich America on capitalism is becoming
like poor America on socialism." (Star Parker)
"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually
run out of other people's money." (Former British
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher)
"What am I going to tell the president when I tell
him his teleprompter is broken? What will he do
then?" (Vice President Joe Biden)

Your tax dollars at work: President Obama and
Mrs. Obama flew to New York on Saturday evening
to have dinner and attend a play at a Broadway theater.
No accurate estimate of how many thousands of our
tax dollars the "date" trip cost: aircraft, secret service
personnel, ground transportation, etc., etc. Is this the
kind of example the nation's president should set during
a time of financial hardship for so many ordinary citizens?
Well, hardly . . . but the old rule of the street seems to
apply: "If you've got it, flaunt it."

Some of the "elite media" not doing so well.
Although they are essentially the voice of the present
administration, the "Big 3" networks' evening news
broadcasts in prime time have lost about one-quarter
of their nightly audience since Barack Obama became
president. For example, CBS's nightly audience has
dropped about 27%, from an average of 7.72 million
viewers at the inauguration to 5.61 million in mid-May.
ABC's audience has fallen from 9.34 million to 7.14
million -- a drop of about 24%, and NBC has seen a
drop of 25% from 10.3 million to 7.69 million. It just
might be that the American public is growing tired of
the same teleprompted campaign speech every night.

The Israelis face some real problems: according
to World Net Daily, quoting a Palestinian Authority
official, President Obama and his administration told
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during
their meeting last week the U.S. foresees the creation of
a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. But
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted
last week that all of Jerusalem will always remain under
Israeli sovereignty. Our prayers need to be with Prime
Minister Netanyahu, and, as always, for the peace of
Jerusalem.

And that is one element of a major speech to be
delivered tomorrow by President Obama, to Muslims
from Cairo, a Muslim city. On a previous overseas
trip we saw photographs of Obama bowing in humble
subservience before the Muslim King of Saudi Arabia,
something no American president had ever done before.
He confessed that America has in the past been, in his
words, "arrogant," apparently equating our sacifices in
two world wars while protecting the world from
aggressors with being "arrogant." Shortly thereafter,
before a Muslim audience in Turkey he denied that
America is a Christian nation -- again, something that
no American president had ever done before.

What can be expected tomorrow? He has already
removed the term "war on terror" from a government
approved vocabulary. And while it may be true that
every Muslim is not a terrorist, the fact remains that
to date every terrorist has been a Muslim. He has
already begun taking a stand against our long time ally,
Israel, already under threat of extinction by another
Muslim country, Iran, and has promised Palestine
that they can have God's holy city of Jerusalem as
their capital. It may be noted that enroute to Cairo,
he will be stopping in Saudi Arabia -- some might
say it is to receive final instructions on the speech
from the Saudi King.

One element of the speech might be to emphasize that
the Obama administration State Department last Friday
sent a cable to all US embassies and consulates around
the world, authorizing them to invite Iranian officials to
Independence Day parties held at the embassies on or
around July 4. Such festivities usually include speeches
about American history and values, fireworks, and
traditional American foods like hot dogs, hamburgers,
apple pie and ice cream. One wonders if other Muslims
will feel left out if only Iranians are invited to attend
this most American of all of our celebrations?

Before asking Muslims for cooperation in shared
beliefs, whatever those may be, and in developing a
"common ground," he might do well to reflect on the
final words of instruction from Muhammad to his
followers, and the relevant comment from a strong
American president of the past.

From the Founding Father of Islam: “Know that
every Muslim is a Muslim's brother, and that the
Muslims are brethren; fighting between them should
be avoided ... Muslims should fight all other men
until they say, ‘There is no god but Allah.'"
(Muhammad, final instructions, 632 AD)

An appropriate response: "Christianity is not
the creed of Asia and Africa at this moment solely
because the seventh century Christians of Asia
and Africa had trained themselves NOT to fight,
whereas the Moslems were trained to fight.
Christianity was saved in Europe solely because
the peoples of Europe fought. If the peoples of
Europe in the seventh and eighth centuries, had
not possessed a military equality with, and
gradually a growing superiority over the Moslems
who invaded Europe, Europe would at this moment
be Muslim and the Christian religion would be
exterminated." -- President Teddy Roosevelt, 1916
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