Tuesday
TWO HEADLINES!
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A SIMPLE, BUT SINCERE, NOTE OF THANKS for all of
the email messages -- embarrassingly complimentary -- concerning
last week's issue, admittedly prepared under somewhat difficult
circumstances as we are trying to adapt to different computer
equipment. But better days are ahead, and we intend to make
ANC an even stronger voice for the Christian, Conservative, and
(true - not pseudo) Evangelical cause. In this issue there is a
suggested message you might send to your friends to urge them
to subscribe (for free) to ANC. We will be grateful if you choose
to use it widely . . . and wisely. Again: many thanks!
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ARE YOU READY FOR TWO HEADLINES AS
THOUGHT STARTERS FOR THIS WEEK?
(1) PEOPLE WHO REALLY KNOW WHAT IS
HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON HAVE
STRONG THINGS TO SAY
(2) WASHINGTON IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH,
OR IGNORING THE OPINIONS OF MOST
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
With respect to Headline No. 1, each week in recent issues we
have featured quotes from various leaders in contemporary (and
sometimes historic) thought. If our choice of quotes has seemed
to tilt toward the Christian or Conservative viewpoint -- yes it
has. And for more than one reason. First, we speak from a
Christian, Conservative and (true - not pseudo) Evangelical
position, and second, the expression of our position is not going
to be found in the elite media, which is so strongly oriented to
the Left or Liberal position. So we are providing opinions you
are not going to read elsewhere. Fair enough?
We are reminded of, and agree with, this principle of our
Founding Fathers: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever
may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our
passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
--John Adams, 1770
From columnist David (not Rush) Limbaugh: "With the perceived
catastrophic economic crisis of 2008-09, President Barack
Obama captured the presidency at the perfect time in
America's modern history for him to unleash his grandiose
socialist policies ... With the nation in near panic over the
impending doom of the economy, Obama presented his now-
infamous "stimulus plan" ... spending more than $800
billion of borrowed money to 'jump-start' the economy ...
Sometimes he allowed his exalted opinion of himself to
seduce him into projecting that his plan would guarantee
that unemployment would not exceed 8 percent ... A year
later, with employment still about 10 percent, Obama has
dispatched his minions to tout the enormous 'success' of
his plan ... By every reasonable measure, his stimulus plan
has been an abject failure."
From former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney: "The
president accuses us of being the party of ‘no.’ It’s as if he
thinks that saying ‘no’ is by definition a bad thing. In fact,
it is right and praiseworthy to say no to bad things. It is
right to say no to cap and trade, no to card check,
no to government health care, and no to higher taxes."
And a financial note from Alan Reynolds: "President Obama
seized on the one-year anniversary of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as an opportunity to take
credit for the belated and tenuous economic recovery. The
bill was launched last year amid grandiose promises of 'shovel
ready' make-work projects... In reality, as the CBO explains,
'five programs accounted for more than 80% of the outlays
from ARRA in 2009: Medicaid, unemployment compensation,
Social Security ... grants to state and local governments ...
and student aid.' In other words, what was labeled a 'stimulus'
bill was actually a stimulus to government transfer payments
-- cash and benefits that are primarily rewards for not
working, or at least not working too hard. It turns out that
raising the unemployment rate by a percentage point or two
is the only clearly identifiable effect the stimulus act had on
the jobs market. It stimulated unemployment."
And there is this somewhat humorous comment from Ken
Blackwell: "President Obama’s gaffes are less frequent
than Biden’s gaffe-a-day act, but they are no less revealing.
YouTube watchers have had a laugh at the Commander-in-
Chief’s latest stumble. Speaking about the military, he
referred to a medical corpsman as a “corpse-man.” The
President apparently was unfamiliar with the term."
(And apparently no one on his staff had thought to add a
phonetic key along with their instructions on how to use
the ever-present teleprompter.)
We have frequently reminded our readers of President
Obama's repeated assertions that America is no longer a
Christian nation. Writing as Guest Columnist in "Perspectives"
on Feb. 20, Ken Ham summarized the present situation well:
"Certainly, this great nation has massive economic and
other problems. But the greatest problem in the country --
one that underlies America's present difficulties -- is a
spiritual one. Sadly, even the church by and large does
not recognize this change, much less knows what to do
to restore the biblical foundations in this country."
Speaking to this point, Pastor Jonathan Falwell wrote as
follows: "We live in troubling times. Christian parents
need the wisdom of Christ in their lives to be able to
navigate the difficult waters that often come our way.
James 1:5 has the solution for us: 'If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God.'”
And finally, this sobering, thought provoking comment
from Robert Ringer: "The United States of today bears
little resemblance to the country I grew up in, and I'd be
willing to wager that, the way things are now going, the
United States of the next five to ten years will bear even
less resemblance to the country we are living in today."
But as David Limbaugh puts it: "Despite all of Obama's
assaults on America and its solvency during the past year,
we have witnessed one encouraging development: The
American people aren't buying his propaganda anymore --
so let him keep talking."
Which leads us into Headline No. 2, and here very little has
changed from last week or the week before, etc., etc. Despite
all the "spin" put on daily developments by the president and
his press agent, the (almost) always smiling Robert Gibbs, a
new poll from CNN/Public Opinion discloses that 86% of the
American people feel that our government is broken. The
daily Rasmussen Presidential Approval Index this week puts
Obama at -19, the lowest rating yet received. His performance
approval rating remains at +47%, its lowest level yet -- but even
at that level he has a higher approval than his two leading cohorts,
Senator Reid at +31% and Speaker Pelosi at + 37%. Congress
itself holds an approval of +20%, with 63% of Americans wanting
the incumbents in Congress to be replaced in this year's election.
And there is this new poll from CNN/Opinion Research
which discloses that 52% of Americans feel that President Obama
does not deserve re-election in 2012. In this poll 44% said they
would vote to re-elect the president, but Obama faces a 44-52%
deficit among both all Americans and American voters.
As for Obamacare, the health care reform which has played such
a major role in the president's first year, 61% of the American
people do not like it, and feel that the president and Congress
should start over. An equal number -- 61% -- feel the whole health
reform plan should be postponed and new attention be given to the
economy. But in spite of all this evidence ... all these facts ... the
president has called for a health care summit this week, to which
Republicans have been invited, but in advance of that summit, he
this week made public his own version of what he thinks a health
care reform plan should be.
As evidence of the approach the Liberals are taking, note this
quote from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month:
"We (Liberal Democrats) will go through the gate. If the
gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too
high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we will
parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform
passed." This despite the fact that the American people
clearly do not want this plan.
All of which brings us to the question: "What can we, as
Christians, do? We have so very often urged American
Christians to pray for wisdom to be given to our leaders, and
to ask God to save, to help and to bless America. We should
recall the words of John Wesley from the 18th century:
"God does nothing but in answer to prayer." Or the
promise of James 5:16 (NIV), "The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective " So easy to say, but so
difficult to actually do. But the Church must repent of her
failures, get serious and believe the God we say we worship,
and ask Him to help. The Scriptures are filed with evidence
of God's willingness to "heal the land" (II Chron. 7:14)
when His people are faithful in prayer.
And on another level of action, we can vote for leaders
whom we are confident will respond to the will of the
people, and help reclaim this nation for God and restore
it to the basic principles upon which it was founded. We
have frequently reminded our readers that election day is
Nov. 2 when we can replace many of the liberal Senators
and Congressmen who are taking us so far to the Left.
And remember: election day is now only 251 days away!
We hope we'll be forgiven for pre-confessed plagiarism.
Admittedly, we borrowed this idea, and revised its wording
slightly to accomplish what the publishers of "The Patriot Post"
intended for their excellent publication, whose purpose is very
similar to ours.
Please take a moment and suggest to your family, your friends
and your associates that they subscribe to ANC. An easy way to
do this is to copy and paste this sample message and send it to
people in your email address book.
"I subscribe to American News Commentary (known as "ANC"),
a weekly informative and entertaining analysis of current news,
politics and opinion on a broad range of topics, as seen from a
Christian and Conservative viewpoint, with a strong reliance on
constitutional limits on our government and the promotion of
traditional American values. The subscription is absolutely free.
Simply send your request to:
We thank you, and we think your friends will thank you, too!
And do you remember the old "earmarks"problem? It
doesn't seem to have gone away. As a presidential candidate,
Mr. Obama called for reducing congressional earmarks to the
1994 level, or about $8 billion. But the money directed by the
nation's lawmakers to specific projects in their districts actually
rose to $15.9 billion in Obama’s fiscal year 2010 budget. Eight
of the top 10 earmark recipients in the Senate are Democrats,
and 6 of the top 10 are members of the Appropriations Committee.
(These facts are from Taxpayers for Common Sense, which is an
independent watchdog group.)
As usual, a few of the "One Liners" you tell us you enjoy,
as selected from our research during the week . . .
"He [Obama] is simply the wrong man, in the wrong job,
in the wrong country, at the wrong time in history."
-- Paul Hollrah
"The question is not, Has God forgotten America? but,
Has America forgotten God and His Word?"
-- Charles Stanley
A touch of humor from the CPAC conference: After saying
that Lindsey Vonn had been stripped of her Gold Medal for
her downhill run at the Olympics, Mitt Romney quipped:
"The judges determined that President Obama was going
downhill faster than Lindsey."
"Something is coming together, something is brewing.
Something big is going to come out of what is going on
today." -- Ron Paul
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
Are you unhappy where you live? Consider the list of
"America's Most Miserable Cities," released this week by
Forbes. Some of the factors taken into account include
Rate of Unemployment, High Taxes, Weather, Violent
Crime, and Local Government Corruption. In order, the
top 10 cities are: Cleveland, OH ... Stockton, CA ...
Memphis, TN ... Detroit, MI ... Flint, MI ... Miami,
FL ... St. Louis, MO ... Buffalo, NY ... Canton, OH
and Chicago, IL.
Ready for a touch of humor? The guys at OhMyGov! this
week ran this tongue-in-cheek announcement:
GM Announces it newest vehicle: the "2010 Obama"
This car runs on hot air and broken promises. It has three
wheels that speed the vehicle through tight left turns. It comes
complete with two Teleprompters programmed to help the
occupants talk their way out of any violations. The transparent
canopy reveals the plastic smiles still on the faces of all the
“happy” owners. Comes in S, M, L, XL and 2XL It won’t
get you to work, but hey, there aren’t any jobs anyway!
Reflecting on the principles of our Founding Fathers,
Lisa Richard offers this evaluation: "Washington became
president to serve the people, work for the people, to be
held accountable to and for everything he did. His pay,
he believed, was to go toward his public service, not
personal whims. That philosophy is now considered
whimsical. Washington wanted to serve, not dictate or
control. He had no desire for a life term befitting
monarchs like today's leaders. Washington saw his role
as one bestowed upon him with honor he must uphold
or leave office in disgrace. That attitude today is
considered old-fashioned."
We continue to be impressed and should never forget
or ignore the wisdom and foresight demonstrated by our
nation's Founding Fathers and its later leaders.
"Every government degenerates when trusted to the
rulers of the people alone. The people themselves,
therefore, are its only safe depositories."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have
trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great
nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
HEAVY RESPONSIBILITIES TO ACCEPT
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THIS ISSUE MAY LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT in one
way or another. We are just getting accustomed to a different type
of computer, and using a different operating system. If any of our
readers have switched overnight to the new "Windows 7, " they
know what we are talking about. But one way or another we plan
to create, publish and distribute this issue! Among other changes
you will note that we have used the liturgical color of purple for
the season of Lent, which begins today -- Ash Wednesday. And
perhaps it should be noted that your Senior Editor reached the age
of 91 last week, adding a new note of seniority, but maybe not
adapting too quickly to changes from established procedures!
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AS WE ENTER THE CHURCH YEAR SEASON WHICH
COMMEMORATES THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION
OF JESUS CHRIST, AS CHRISTIANS WE HAVE HEAVY
RESPONSIBILITIES TO ACCEPT IN TODAY'S WORLD
The Scriptural records of the Birth of Jesus -- the Nativity story --
and of His death on the cross and resurrection -- the Easter story
-- are the foundational elements of the Christian faith. (They were
included among the "Fundamentals" of our faith, and from that
term came the division of Protestantism called "Fundamentalism,"
with -- unfortunately -- an aggressive and belligerent manifestation
of our faith.) But those accounts of His birth and of His death and
resurrection, are familiar and are retold at those seasons each year.
There is another part of Jesus' life and ministry which is not spoken
of as often -- the final moments of His earthly ministry. Those
final words spoken before He ascended into heaven should have
special meaning for us, His followers today, as they did for those
first century followers. We find them in all four of the Gospels,
in Matthew, chapter 28; in Mark, chapter 16; in Luke, chapter 24,
and in John, chapter 21.
Taken together, in the Gospel records sequence, these are His
final instructions:
(Matthew)"Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you..." (Mark) "Go ye, therefore into all
the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned ..." (Luke) "Repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in His name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem, and ye are witnesses of these things
..." (John) "Feed my lambs ... feed my sheep ... feed my
sheep ... follow thou me."
Through the years, now no less than at any other time,
Christians have accepted from those words of Jesus what
has come to be known as the "Great Commission"-- to
go into all the world and preach the Gospel (evangelize)
everyone. And through the years perhaps an over-emphasis
on evangelism as the primary ministry of the Great
Commission has evolved from these words of Jesus.
It is obvious that Jesus intended for His followers to do
more than merely evangelize, or preach the Gospel. We
are instructed to preach the Gospel -- to evangelize -- yes,
of course. But we are also to teach the things which Jesus
had directed us to do, the ways in which He instructed
us to live -- for example to be salt and light in our world
(Matt. 5:13-14) And He intended that those who had
responded to our evangelistic efforts should be baptized,
and become part of His church. And they should observe
the things He had commanded of us and thus be His
disciples, or as He said, "Follow thou me." An old
saying expressed it in these words, "It is easier to
become a Christian than to be a Christian.".
So in those final words of Jesus as He concluded His
earthly ministry, a heavy responsibility was placed upon
us as Christians, as members of His Church. And we
cannot fulfill that responsibility by sitting back, doing
nothing, and allowing our world -- our nation, if you
will -- to destroy itself because we did not speak up
and act in accordance with the instructions of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
All of which leads us to the question: "What can
we, as Christians do?" One of the great mission
organizations of the 20th century used to feature this
motto: "Some can go ... others can give ... all can
pray." Nothing new or different about that concept
-- but it is true that as we see our nation going downhill
morally and religiously, we can pray for God to give
wisdom to our leaders as they make decisions which
can adversely affect America and the world. Some have
suggested that rather than simply saying "God Bless
America" we should say "God Save America," or
"God Help America."
And we can back up our prayers with our actions as
we face each election day, and we can vote into public
office men (and women) of high moral character... even
beyond that, as the Founding Fathers intended: men of
Christian beliefs and convictions.
"It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often
that this nation was founded not by religionists, but
by Christians, not on religion but on the gospel of
Jesus Christ" -- Patrick Henry, 1765
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other." -- John Adams, 1798
"Providence has given to our people the choice of
their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the interest
of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians
for their rulers." -- John Jay , 1816
It is disturbing, even frightening, to note how far President
Obama has departed from the intents and purposes of
our nation's Founding Fathers, as evidenced by his often
repeated assertion that this is no longer a Christian nation,
and his strong endorsement of Islam as a religious faith.
In addition to our prayers for the survival of America and
for wisdom to be given to our leaders, we can exercise
the ultimate political power which is ours -- to vote on
November 2 of this year -- now just 258 days away --
and elect to office new Senators and Congressional
Representatives who will act to restore this nation to
what it was founded and intended to be.
And pause to reflect on this word about voting from
one of our Founding Fathers, Samuel Adams in 1781:
"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."
A thoughtful word of caution from Randy Alcorn of
One News Now about the careless use of email messages
which we may receive. The point in question: "Well-
meaning Christians sometimes forward me emails
that I find out later are not true." His advice is to be
sure the message is from a reputable and reliable source
alerting us to things happening with respect to moral and
ethical issues which we as Christians support. And he
reminds us that God holds us accountable for every word
we say. Jesus said, "But I tell you that men will have
to give account on the day of judgment for every
careless word they have spoken." (Matt. 12:36).
The conclusion: Think carefully before forwarding emails
that may be false. (Think also about wasting the time of
the recipient.)
Fellow Christians: How should we react to this poll?
Group Publishing, a Protestant publishing firm, has released
results of a new poll, showing that restaurants and bars are
better than churches as places to meet new friends. Chilis,
Starbucks and pubs and bars were rated as the best places
to meet new friends by 18% of respondents; churches were
rated best by 16% with Internet sites like Facebook rated
best by 11%. But while churches may not be the best place
to meet new friends, they topped restaurants and bars as the
most friendly places, second only to home.
If you didn't tell us you like "one liners," we wouldn't
keep saving some that we find in our research each week.
"A distinct Obama governing style emerged, which was
half Harvard Economics Department, and half Boss
Daley." -- David Brooks, New York Times
“I am very optimistic about the future of Palestine and
believe that Israel is moving on the precipice of wane
and demise, and God willing its annihilation is for sure.”
-- Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei
"Fame is proof that the people are gullible."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"As Washington continues digging out ... bracing for
another 10 to 20 inches of snow ... With each falling
flake, Al’s global warming theory looks flakier and
flakier." -- Gary Bauer
And equally so, you say you enjoy reading: "What
Others are Saying," so here are a few interesting quotes
we found this week:
Larry Kudlow: "The disconnect between Washington
and the rest of the country has never been greater. Why
can’t the political class in D.C. produce a fiscal product
that voters, taxpayers, and investors are willing to
consume? According to the Washington Post, voters
want smaller government and fewer government services
by a large 58 to 38 percent margin. In a whopper of a
poll result, the New York Times reports that 75 percent
of Americans dislike Congress."
Arnold Kling: "The ones throwing the temper tantrum
right now are the Progressives. They think that the 2008
election gave them the right to operate like China’s
autocracy, and they are lashing out hysterically at those
they perceive as preventing them from doing so."
Floyd Brown: "ObamaCare was dead...until Republicans
decided to give it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The
American people had won until Republicans rushed in
to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory ... Someone
has to save these Republicans from themselves. Someone
has to save the American people from the possibility
that ObamaCare may come back from the grave, and
that someone is us."
David Ignatius on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic
revolution in Iran: "A hollowed-out regime that is better
at repressing its own people than at governing, and
that after three decades of fervent belief has reached
a cynical middle age."
Some Random Afterthoughts . . .
In case you missed it: In the latest CBS/New York Times
poll, Mr. Obama's disapproval rating jumped 5 points since
mid-January to 45%, while his approval rating stands at just
46%. In the Rasmussen daily Presidential Approval Rating
index Mr. Obama's score remains mired in negative double
digits at -16, or thereabouts.
Remember our warnings about the "Hate Crime Act?"
The Mayor of Lancaster, CA, Rex Harris, while speaking to
a group of Christian ministers recently, made this comment:
"We are growing a Christian community . . ." As Matt
Staver put it: "It's 'Open Season' on Christians." CAIR,
the Council on American-Islamic Relations, filed a federal
complaint that the mayor had violated the civil rights of all
non-Christians by his remark. Now the Antelope Valley
Human Relations Task Force has opened an investigation,
claiming that they have the authority to treat this as a "hate
crime" or "hate incident" which is now a federal crime. It
gives us some idea of how our freedom of speech -- even
from church pulpits -- may be affected by this action by
President Obama and his Congress.
Here's a timely and interesting note: In spite of all the
recalls for mechanical defects, the American public has a
higher regard for Toyota than they do for President Obama
-- 59% still have a favorable view of Toyota, while less
than 50% favor Obama.
We continue to be impressed by the wisdom and
foresight our nation's Founding Fathers demonstrated
again and again:
"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of
manners in a State than that all persons employed in
places of power and trust must be men of
unexceptionable characters." -- Samuel Adams, 1775
"The essence of Government is power; and power,
lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be
liable to abuse." --James Madison, 1829
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