Tuesday
THE PAST WEEK WAS NOT ONE OF
THE BEST FOR BARACK OBAMA
`
ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT
IT THE PAST WEEK WAS
NOT ONE OF THE BEST
FOR BARACK OBAMA,
HERE AT HOME OR
INTERNATIONALLY
Obviously we do not have the time or the space to comment at length on
things that continue to go wrong with the Obama proposed program to
"change" America. Instead we will comment on just two from the past few
days. and on the overall angst which the American people are manifesting.
First, domestically: the report that for the month of September the
national unemployment rate had increased to 9.8% came as not only
as a shock, but also a set-back for the Obama administration's claim
for the success of its "stimulus" program. That was the highest level the
unemployment rate had reached in more than two decades, and the
number of new job losses also exceeded expectations with 263,000 more
jobs lost. (A substantial increase over the 201,000 jobs lost in August.)
The spin put on this report by the administration is that the number of job
losses is slowing. But with 15.1 million jobs lost since this recession
began, the actual percentage of job losses is increasing because of the
base of fewer employed people.
Unfortunately, we can all remember that when they began administering the
economy the Obamites promised that if their stimulus program were
adopted the unemployment rate would not exceed 8%. And among other
incorrect predictions, in mid-September Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke said that the recession was probably now over. Now with the
national unemployment rate already at 9.8%, a rate of 10% seems likely in
the not too distant future. No, it's really not over, Ben.
And internationally, the prevailing news is that Chicago was not selected
by the International Olympic Committee as the host city for the 2016
games, but that it was eliminated from consideration on the first vote. The
crack US team of persuaders who confidently expected to win by the
sheer force of their personalities, included President Obama, his wife,
Michelle, and popular entertainment star, Oprah Winfrey. But they failed
abjectly in their pitch to the IOC. Chicago was the first city eliminated --
didn't even get to a second round vote. The problem may have been that
Mr. Obama was required to extol the advantages of Chicago, and he just
isn't accustomed to saying anything good about America. It appears that
his teleprompters are not programmed in that way.
So, in just those two instances, among others, it was not one of Mr.
Obama's best weeks. On other fronts, his demand for the "public option"
or government-run health insurance was not doing well in the Senate, and
on a national basis, the polls show American voters just don't want it. His
plan to shut down the Guantanamo detention facility and relocate the
detainees elsewhere ground to a slow-down or halt -- even his most solid
Democrat states do not want to accept the terrorists. And despite all his talk
about diplomatic approaches to Iran, the threat of a nuclear war is ever
present. Meanwhile, even with his excessive TV appearances and public
speeches on just about every opportunity, his performance approval
numbers continue to tumble, and the Rasmussen daily approval index
remains firmly in negative territory.
And now only 49% of American voters believe that the national economy
will be better in five years -- that figure is down from 64% who felt that
way at the start of the year. Even the TV show the Liberals love, "Saturday
Night Live," has gone so far as to ridicule his lack of accomplishments.
But Obama is still in power, and both Houses of Congress are firmly in
Democrat hands. And some of the actions currently underway provide
serious concerns for American Christians. FOCA ("Freedom of Choice
Act") will do more than any action since Roe v. Wade to increase the use
of abortion. An amendment to prohibit any use of public funding of
abortions through the proposed health reform act (offered by Senator
Hatch, R,UT) was rejected by the Democrat controlled Finance Committee
by a 13-10 vote. The committee also defeated an amendment to protect
the rights of doctors and nurses who refuse to perform abortions, and an
amendment to require proof of identity for individuals enrolling in the new
healthcare plan was also defeated by the Democrat majority. Action to
repeal DOMA ("Defense of Marriage Act") and thus increase national
recognition of same-sex "marriage" is expected shortly. So despite some
major setbacks in his sweeping program to "change" America, President
Obama still has tremendous power through his control of the Congress --
all of which makes the upcoming elections in 2010 all the more important if
we are to have any hope of the reclaiming of America to bring it back in
accord with its founding principles.
So what, as Christians, can we do in these difficult times? In our
September 23 issue we pointed out that in the 2008 elections which put
Barack Obama in power, 54% of Catholics, a large share of main line
Protestants and even a good percentage (25%) of Evangelical Christians
voted for the "change" which candidate Obama promised. We concluded
that summary with these words, "These facts help answer the question as
to who elected Barack Obama." Given his performance to date. it would
seem that Evangelicals and most nominal Christians, plus Catholics who
follow the church's teaching about abortion, would be ready to correct the
errors which they made in November of 2008. We are instructed to be both
"light" and "salt" in the world in which we live. We are also instructed not
to put our light under a basket, but to let it shine and be seen, and we are
warned against our salt losing it's taste -- in other words our opinions must
remain clear and strong and meaningful. We are encouraged to pray for
those in authority, and beyond that, to become what the Apostles were
spoken of -- "those who have turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6)
As Christians our responsibility remains as a three-fold program . . . to pray
for our leaders, that their eyes may be open to the truth and that they be
given wisdom to act in accord with the truth . . . to speak our minds (as a
simple suggestion, take a few moments to phone (202) 224 - 3121 and tell
your Senators and Congressional members what you want them to do) . . .
and to work -- get ready for the 2010 elections and take the first step in
calling this nation back to what it was, and what is must be.
But we often wonder about the so-called "mega churches" -- as
an interesting comment on this subject, Chuck Colson, in his "Breakpoint"
column spoke about his "Centurions" program, and said that one of the
program's graduates, Matt Guerino, put it this way: "A majority of
evangelical churches today seem intent on feelings—how people feel
when they walk in the door, when they listen to the preacher, when they
leave after the service. Much of our preaching sounds like a
Christianized version of popular self-help thinking." Just as this nation
needs to return to the principles upon which it was founded, so the
Christian church needs to return to the principles upon which Jesus Christ
established it, that it should be such a powerfully effective force that even
the gates of Hell could not withstand its onslaughts.
Very frequently, it seems, we have to ask: Who can we believe?"
This past week former President Jimmy Carter insisted that he never said
that the protests against President Barack Obama were driven by racism in
his interview with Brian Williams on NBC TV on September 15. In that
interview he said very clearly that "there is an inherent feeling among
many in this country that an African-American should not be president.”
But during last week's interview with Candy Crowley on CNN he backed
off those remarks and said, “If you read the remarks carefully, you’ll see
that’s not what I said." And he added, “I said those that had a personal
attack on President Obama as a person, that was tinged with racism,
but I recognize that people who disagree with him on health care or the
environment, that the vast majority of those are not tinged by racism.”
And he concluded, “What I actually said, if you look at the transcript,
is what I just repeated to you.”
The problem is that a replay of the tape of the NBC interview shows that
the original remarks, as reported, are exactly what he said, and his revised
version on CNN is absolutely incorrect and untrue. What is embarrassing
for him and destructive of his credibility, is the fact that the two conflicting
tapes are being shown side by side on YouTube, available on line through
Newsmax.com.
Given the failure of the American presentation in behalf of Chicago for the
2016 Olympics, Mr. Carter can probably add to his use of the race card
the charge that the IOC ruled against Chicago because the American team
leaders were all blacks.
And Jimmy Carter isn't alone . . . remember "Actress/activist" Janeane
Garofalo? She's back. Last Friday night she used a media appearance on
HBO (with Bill Maher, naturally) to smear anti-Obama protesters as
racists, saying, "it's obvious to anybody who has eyes in this country that
tea-baggers, the 9-12ers, are clearly white power movements," and she
expressed regret that "so few people are willing to say that yes, it is
racism, straight up racism."
And a Founding Father said: "A feeble executive implies a feeble
execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase
for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its
theory, must be, in practice, a bad government."
--Alexander Hamilton, 1788
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
A few classic "one liners" from this past week . . .
"The next time that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears before an
international tribunal, it must not be as an honored guest at the United
Nations General Assembly. It must be as a defendant in the dock of the
International Criminal Court." (Pastor John Hagee)
"Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly
failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson." (Geoffrey P. Hunt)
"There has been a growing narrative taking hold about Barack
Obama's presidency in recent weeks: that he is loved by many, but
feared by none; that he is full of lofty vision, but is actually achieving
nothing with his grandiloquence." (Tim Reid, UK Times)
"... ultimately, it comes down to the fact, it seems to me, that he seems
to have some malevolence toward this country which is unabated."
(Tammy Bruce)
"The major function of secrecy in Washington is to keep the U.S.
people from knowing what the nation’s leaders are doing."
(John Stockwell)
And not exactly "one liners," but a selection of comments arising
out of President Obama's initial UN speech . . .
"It was a combination of anti-Americanism, apologies to our sworn
enemies and outright foolishness." (Gary Bauer)
From former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger on Barack Obama:
"a nice, well educated adolescent."
And even French President Sarkozy found it difficult to take Obama
seriously, and said: “We live in a real world, not a virtual world. And the
real world expects us to make decisions. ...President Obama dreams of a
world without nuclear weapons…but right in front of us two countries
(Iran and North Korea) are doing the exact opposite.”
But as former President Bill Clinton warned while he was in office: "You
know, by the time you become the leader of a country, someone else
makes all the decisions. … You may find you can get away with virtual
presidents, virtual prime ministers, virtual everything."
People are talking about . . .
Jimmy Carter's inane charge of "racism:" "Former president Jimmy Carter
said, 'I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated
animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he
is a black man.' That's from a man who earlier referred to Obama as
'This black boy' on the Jim Lehrer 'News Hour'" (Walter Williams)
The UN and the recent G-20 Summit: "While all eyes were on the
rantings of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, the United
States -- under President Obama -- was surrendering its economic
sovereignty at the G-20 summit." (Dick Morris)
America's loss of strength in the world: "From Afghanistan to Iran, North
Korea to Venezuela, Russia to China, America’s enemies are concluding
there is nothing to fear from America. From Poland to France, Great
Britain to Israel, our friends are concluding there is no resolve in
America. I am no prophet but on this I can predict with certainty: The
headlines in the months ahead from around the world will make it clear
that America is in retreat and that tyrants are on the move."
(Gary Bauer)
On the UN speech from one of our allies: "President Obama, I support
the Americans' outstretched hand. But what did the international
community gain from these offers of dialogue? Nothing."
(French President Nicolas Sarkozy)
And the UN is talking about the suicide bomber who this week struck at
the UN office in Islamabad, the Pakistan capitol, killing 5 staff members.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "a heinous crime." On
previous occasions the UN has tended to condemn Israel for reacting to
the ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli cities -- none of which were termed
"heinous." It appears to be an illustration of the validity of the old adage,
"It all depends on whose ox is being gored."
Poverty in America's cities . . . the percentage of the population living
at or below the poverty line.
1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
5. St. Louis , MO 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%
Different as those cities may be, they have at least one thing in common --
they all have Democrat mayors, and most on a frequent recurrent basis.
The lesson to be learned? Do the math. It is the poor who continue to
elect Democrats, and they still remain poor.
And these Founding Fathers said: "An honest man can feel no
pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1813
"In Europe, charters of liberty have been granted by power. America has
set the example of charters of power granted by liberty. This revolution in
the practice of the world, may, with an honest praise, be pronounced the
most triumphant epoch of its history, and the most consoling presage of
its happiness." -- James Madison, 1792
To which we might add this quote from the 19th century:
"A State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile
instruments in its hands -- even for beneficial purposes -- will find that
with small men no great thing can really be accomplished."
-- John Stuart Mill, 1856
ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT
IT THE PAST WEEK WAS
NOT ONE OF THE BEST
FOR BARACK OBAMA,
HERE AT HOME OR
INTERNATIONALLY
Obviously we do not have the time or the space to comment at length on
things that continue to go wrong with the Obama proposed program to
"change" America. Instead we will comment on just two from the past few
days. and on the overall angst which the American people are manifesting.
First, domestically: the report that for the month of September the
national unemployment rate had increased to 9.8% came as not only
as a shock, but also a set-back for the Obama administration's claim
for the success of its "stimulus" program. That was the highest level the
unemployment rate had reached in more than two decades, and the
number of new job losses also exceeded expectations with 263,000 more
jobs lost. (A substantial increase over the 201,000 jobs lost in August.)
The spin put on this report by the administration is that the number of job
losses is slowing. But with 15.1 million jobs lost since this recession
began, the actual percentage of job losses is increasing because of the
base of fewer employed people.
Unfortunately, we can all remember that when they began administering the
economy the Obamites promised that if their stimulus program were
adopted the unemployment rate would not exceed 8%. And among other
incorrect predictions, in mid-September Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke said that the recession was probably now over. Now with the
national unemployment rate already at 9.8%, a rate of 10% seems likely in
the not too distant future. No, it's really not over, Ben.
And internationally, the prevailing news is that Chicago was not selected
by the International Olympic Committee as the host city for the 2016
games, but that it was eliminated from consideration on the first vote. The
crack US team of persuaders who confidently expected to win by the
sheer force of their personalities, included President Obama, his wife,
Michelle, and popular entertainment star, Oprah Winfrey. But they failed
abjectly in their pitch to the IOC. Chicago was the first city eliminated --
didn't even get to a second round vote. The problem may have been that
Mr. Obama was required to extol the advantages of Chicago, and he just
isn't accustomed to saying anything good about America. It appears that
his teleprompters are not programmed in that way.
So, in just those two instances, among others, it was not one of Mr.
Obama's best weeks. On other fronts, his demand for the "public option"
or government-run health insurance was not doing well in the Senate, and
on a national basis, the polls show American voters just don't want it. His
plan to shut down the Guantanamo detention facility and relocate the
detainees elsewhere ground to a slow-down or halt -- even his most solid
Democrat states do not want to accept the terrorists. And despite all his talk
about diplomatic approaches to Iran, the threat of a nuclear war is ever
present. Meanwhile, even with his excessive TV appearances and public
speeches on just about every opportunity, his performance approval
numbers continue to tumble, and the Rasmussen daily approval index
remains firmly in negative territory.
And now only 49% of American voters believe that the national economy
will be better in five years -- that figure is down from 64% who felt that
way at the start of the year. Even the TV show the Liberals love, "Saturday
Night Live," has gone so far as to ridicule his lack of accomplishments.
But Obama is still in power, and both Houses of Congress are firmly in
Democrat hands. And some of the actions currently underway provide
serious concerns for American Christians. FOCA ("Freedom of Choice
Act") will do more than any action since Roe v. Wade to increase the use
of abortion. An amendment to prohibit any use of public funding of
abortions through the proposed health reform act (offered by Senator
Hatch, R,UT) was rejected by the Democrat controlled Finance Committee
by a 13-10 vote. The committee also defeated an amendment to protect
the rights of doctors and nurses who refuse to perform abortions, and an
amendment to require proof of identity for individuals enrolling in the new
healthcare plan was also defeated by the Democrat majority. Action to
repeal DOMA ("Defense of Marriage Act") and thus increase national
recognition of same-sex "marriage" is expected shortly. So despite some
major setbacks in his sweeping program to "change" America, President
Obama still has tremendous power through his control of the Congress --
all of which makes the upcoming elections in 2010 all the more important if
we are to have any hope of the reclaiming of America to bring it back in
accord with its founding principles.
So what, as Christians, can we do in these difficult times? In our
September 23 issue we pointed out that in the 2008 elections which put
Barack Obama in power, 54% of Catholics, a large share of main line
Protestants and even a good percentage (25%) of Evangelical Christians
voted for the "change" which candidate Obama promised. We concluded
that summary with these words, "These facts help answer the question as
to who elected Barack Obama." Given his performance to date. it would
seem that Evangelicals and most nominal Christians, plus Catholics who
follow the church's teaching about abortion, would be ready to correct the
errors which they made in November of 2008. We are instructed to be both
"light" and "salt" in the world in which we live. We are also instructed not
to put our light under a basket, but to let it shine and be seen, and we are
warned against our salt losing it's taste -- in other words our opinions must
remain clear and strong and meaningful. We are encouraged to pray for
those in authority, and beyond that, to become what the Apostles were
spoken of -- "those who have turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6)
As Christians our responsibility remains as a three-fold program . . . to pray
for our leaders, that their eyes may be open to the truth and that they be
given wisdom to act in accord with the truth . . . to speak our minds (as a
simple suggestion, take a few moments to phone (202) 224 - 3121 and tell
your Senators and Congressional members what you want them to do) . . .
and to work -- get ready for the 2010 elections and take the first step in
calling this nation back to what it was, and what is must be.
But we often wonder about the so-called "mega churches" -- as
an interesting comment on this subject, Chuck Colson, in his "Breakpoint"
column spoke about his "Centurions" program, and said that one of the
program's graduates, Matt Guerino, put it this way: "A majority of
evangelical churches today seem intent on feelings—how people feel
when they walk in the door, when they listen to the preacher, when they
leave after the service. Much of our preaching sounds like a
Christianized version of popular self-help thinking." Just as this nation
needs to return to the principles upon which it was founded, so the
Christian church needs to return to the principles upon which Jesus Christ
established it, that it should be such a powerfully effective force that even
the gates of Hell could not withstand its onslaughts.
Very frequently, it seems, we have to ask: Who can we believe?"
This past week former President Jimmy Carter insisted that he never said
that the protests against President Barack Obama were driven by racism in
his interview with Brian Williams on NBC TV on September 15. In that
interview he said very clearly that "there is an inherent feeling among
many in this country that an African-American should not be president.”
But during last week's interview with Candy Crowley on CNN he backed
off those remarks and said, “If you read the remarks carefully, you’ll see
that’s not what I said." And he added, “I said those that had a personal
attack on President Obama as a person, that was tinged with racism,
but I recognize that people who disagree with him on health care or the
environment, that the vast majority of those are not tinged by racism.”
And he concluded, “What I actually said, if you look at the transcript,
is what I just repeated to you.”
The problem is that a replay of the tape of the NBC interview shows that
the original remarks, as reported, are exactly what he said, and his revised
version on CNN is absolutely incorrect and untrue. What is embarrassing
for him and destructive of his credibility, is the fact that the two conflicting
tapes are being shown side by side on YouTube, available on line through
Newsmax.com.
Given the failure of the American presentation in behalf of Chicago for the
2016 Olympics, Mr. Carter can probably add to his use of the race card
the charge that the IOC ruled against Chicago because the American team
leaders were all blacks.
And Jimmy Carter isn't alone . . . remember "Actress/activist" Janeane
Garofalo? She's back. Last Friday night she used a media appearance on
HBO (with Bill Maher, naturally) to smear anti-Obama protesters as
racists, saying, "it's obvious to anybody who has eyes in this country that
tea-baggers, the 9-12ers, are clearly white power movements," and she
expressed regret that "so few people are willing to say that yes, it is
racism, straight up racism."
And a Founding Father said: "A feeble executive implies a feeble
execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase
for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its
theory, must be, in practice, a bad government."
--Alexander Hamilton, 1788
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
A few classic "one liners" from this past week . . .
"The next time that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears before an
international tribunal, it must not be as an honored guest at the United
Nations General Assembly. It must be as a defendant in the dock of the
International Criminal Court." (Pastor John Hagee)
"Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly
failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson." (Geoffrey P. Hunt)
"There has been a growing narrative taking hold about Barack
Obama's presidency in recent weeks: that he is loved by many, but
feared by none; that he is full of lofty vision, but is actually achieving
nothing with his grandiloquence." (Tim Reid, UK Times)
"... ultimately, it comes down to the fact, it seems to me, that he seems
to have some malevolence toward this country which is unabated."
(Tammy Bruce)
"The major function of secrecy in Washington is to keep the U.S.
people from knowing what the nation’s leaders are doing."
(John Stockwell)
And not exactly "one liners," but a selection of comments arising
out of President Obama's initial UN speech . . .
"It was a combination of anti-Americanism, apologies to our sworn
enemies and outright foolishness." (Gary Bauer)
From former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger on Barack Obama:
"a nice, well educated adolescent."
And even French President Sarkozy found it difficult to take Obama
seriously, and said: “We live in a real world, not a virtual world. And the
real world expects us to make decisions. ...President Obama dreams of a
world without nuclear weapons…but right in front of us two countries
(Iran and North Korea) are doing the exact opposite.”
But as former President Bill Clinton warned while he was in office: "You
know, by the time you become the leader of a country, someone else
makes all the decisions. … You may find you can get away with virtual
presidents, virtual prime ministers, virtual everything."
People are talking about . . .
Jimmy Carter's inane charge of "racism:" "Former president Jimmy Carter
said, 'I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated
animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he
is a black man.' That's from a man who earlier referred to Obama as
'This black boy' on the Jim Lehrer 'News Hour'" (Walter Williams)
The UN and the recent G-20 Summit: "While all eyes were on the
rantings of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, the United
States -- under President Obama -- was surrendering its economic
sovereignty at the G-20 summit." (Dick Morris)
America's loss of strength in the world: "From Afghanistan to Iran, North
Korea to Venezuela, Russia to China, America’s enemies are concluding
there is nothing to fear from America. From Poland to France, Great
Britain to Israel, our friends are concluding there is no resolve in
America. I am no prophet but on this I can predict with certainty: The
headlines in the months ahead from around the world will make it clear
that America is in retreat and that tyrants are on the move."
(Gary Bauer)
On the UN speech from one of our allies: "President Obama, I support
the Americans' outstretched hand. But what did the international
community gain from these offers of dialogue? Nothing."
(French President Nicolas Sarkozy)
And the UN is talking about the suicide bomber who this week struck at
the UN office in Islamabad, the Pakistan capitol, killing 5 staff members.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "a heinous crime." On
previous occasions the UN has tended to condemn Israel for reacting to
the ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli cities -- none of which were termed
"heinous." It appears to be an illustration of the validity of the old adage,
"It all depends on whose ox is being gored."
Poverty in America's cities . . . the percentage of the population living
at or below the poverty line.
1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
5. St. Louis , MO 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%
Different as those cities may be, they have at least one thing in common --
they all have Democrat mayors, and most on a frequent recurrent basis.
The lesson to be learned? Do the math. It is the poor who continue to
elect Democrats, and they still remain poor.
And these Founding Fathers said: "An honest man can feel no
pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1813
"In Europe, charters of liberty have been granted by power. America has
set the example of charters of power granted by liberty. This revolution in
the practice of the world, may, with an honest praise, be pronounced the
most triumphant epoch of its history, and the most consoling presage of
its happiness." -- James Madison, 1792
To which we might add this quote from the 19th century:
"A State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile
instruments in its hands -- even for beneficial purposes -- will find that
with small men no great thing can really be accomplished."
-- John Stuart Mill, 1856
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