Tuesday
OBAMA'S ANTI-CHRISTIAN POSITION
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IT ISN'T SOMETHING ONE OFTEN DOES, but it is important
to do so, and by that we mean that it is important to understand why
you do certain things during your life span, and to make it clear to
others the reasons for the things you do. So if anyone asks why we
spend so much time -- and money -- to research, write and publish
a weekly Newsletter and Commentary for which we receive no
compensation, we find the answer in a statement by Thomas Jefferson,
a Founding Father and third United States President, written in 1816:
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of
civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. If we
are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the
responsibility of every American to be informed."
To the best of our ability, we try to fulfill this principle established by
one of the most important founders of our nation, and to continue to
emphasize the Christian moral convictions of those founders, and the
importance of adhering to the Constitution they established. To some
extent, our efforts are appreciated. This comment from an industrial
engineer on America's East coast: "Keep up the good work. It is
important." And this from a retired university professor in California:
"This is a great issue and the commentary is terrific. I delight in
reading ANC. It has a flavor and emphasis not to be found
anywhere else that I have observed."
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THE "DISINVITED," A CLUB GROWING
IN MEMBERSHIP AS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S
ANTI-CHRISTIAN POSITION AGAIN ATTEMPTS
TO DESTROY THE FOUNDING CHRISTIAN HERITAGE
OF OUR NATION
In last week's issue we cited a new Christian advocacy link
(http://www.michaelyoussef.com) in which the author, Dr. Michael
Youssef, recounted how he had been invited, then disinvited, to offer
the invocation at an affair honoring General Petraeus. There was also
a reference to an article in the National Journal commenting on the
invitation, followed by the disinvitation, of FRC president Tony Perkins
from offering a prayer at a military affair. Now Franklin Graham, the
son of Billy Graham, himself a national and international Evangelical
leader, has been "disinvited" from his invitation to speak at a Pentagon
observance of the National Day of Prayer on May 6. Graham had
already been named Honorary Chairman of the 2010 observance of
the National Day of Prayer.
So membership in the "Disinvited Club" is growing. We are reminded
of the famous sign on the desk of President Harry Truman: "The buck
stops here." In other words, President Truman made it clear that the
ultimate responsibility for major national decisions was right there in the
office of the president. And for decisions involving the US military, the
ultimate source is the Commander in Chief -- in this case President
Barack Hussein Obama.
But we should not be surprised. Mr. Obama has boasted again and
again that America is -- in his opinion -- no longer a Christian nation.
He was raised within the Islamic faith, and despite his attending for
many years the church pastored by Jeremiah Wright, whose best
known pronouncement was that rather than saying "God bless
America," we should say "God damn America," we have never
seen any proof of Mr. Obama's conversion to the Christian faith.
(Nor any proof of where he was born, his college education, etc.)
And closely enmeshed with these exclusions from offering prayers
at military events, is the recent ruling by a Wisconsin federal judge
that the National Day of Prayer itself is unconstitutional -- but we
expect that decision to be overturned shortly. And amidst all the
controversy about the Day of Prayer, it is to be hoped that the real
meaning of the observance is not forgotten or is misunderstood. The
presidents whom we think of as having issued calls for the nation to
unite in prayer -- Washington, Lincoln, Truman, Reagan, for example
-- did not hide their Christian faith behind some political hedge. They
were open and sincere in believing that God's people should turn to
Him in a time when this nation needed His help and His guidance. The
National Day of Prayer is an important observance, and requires the
leadership of true believers who know the Lord to whom they are
praying. It is not a mere ritual for public acclaim. It is a time for a nation
founded on Judeo-Christian principles to turn to the God of the Bible,
to thank Him for His blessings, and to renew our dependence on Him.
But let's look at the good side! One of our readers wrote to
point out the obvious fact, that the National Day of Prayer has been
given by its anti-Christian enemies the greatest burst of national
publicity that could be imagined. We are sharply reminded of the
abiding truth of the word of God -- in Psalm 76:10 we read: "Surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee ..." So the National Day of
Prayer and its Honorary Chairman have become front page news,
and some Christians who otherwise might not have been planning to
join in prayer to the Lord on this day will now be inclined to do so,
and the evil intent of these enemies of God will be turned into praise
for Him, exactly as the Scripture states.
Summarizing this high level command decision to disrupt observance
of the National Day of Prayer in the Pentagon, Tony Perkins (founding
member of the "Disinvited Club") wrote: "This decision is further
evidence that the leadership of our nation's military has been
impaired by the politically correct culture being advanced by the
Administration. Under this Administration's watch we are seeing
the First Amendment, designed to protect the religious exercise
of Americans, retooled into a sword to sever America's ties with
orthodox Christianity. For those Christian leaders who have
avoided the controversy of political issues, saying they just wanted
to preach the gospel -- this should be a wake-up call!" And Tim
Wildmon, president of American Family Association expressed it
this way: "The military dumped Rev. Graham because, according
to spokesman Col. Tom Collins, 'We're an all-inclusive military.'
Well, you'll have to excuse Rev. Graham for not feeling particularly
included at this point. Apparently the inclusiveness of the military
does not extend to those who speak the truth about Islam."
Graham commented on this current situation,"To act like a National
Day of Prayer is a bad thing or somehow subversive is ridiculous.
Surely our country needs prayer now more than ever," and added,
"As the father of a son serving in his fourth combat tour, I'd be
glad to know someone was leading a prayer service on the
National Day of prayer, or any other day." The objections to his
having a part in the Pentagon observance was based on comments
he made at the time of the "9/11" attack on America, when he spoke
of those who carried out the attack, saying that he considered Islam
"a very evil and wicked religion," and later in a Wall Street Journal
article wrote that he did not believe that Muslims were evil because
of their faith, but "as a minister I believe it is my responsibility to
speak out against the terrible deeds that are committed as a result
of Islamic teaching." Graham's remarks were based on the fact that
the "9/11" attacks were not carried out by Roman Catholics, Jews or
Buddhists, but by Muslim Islamics. It is probably an unfortunate
coincidence that this Day of Prayer event was scheduled at about the
same time Mr. Obama was issuing his decree that there could be no
more use of the term "Islamic Jihadists," or any linking of the words
"Islamic," "terrorism" and "extremism."
This is more than a disinvitation to a Day of Prayer event, and
Franklin Graham was right in his well expressed Christian convictions.
There is a very evident similarity among all the acts of terrorism
occurring in so many parts of the world. Whether we read the news
from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Gaza, or wherever, the same
underlying basic of Islamic extremism is there. And although the
Muslim advocates try to accuse the West, the civilized world, of
attacking and killing Muslims, the fact is that most of the victims of this
Islamic violence are Muslims -- we learn that from the news accounts
of the suicide bombing attacks throughout the Muslim world. It is
understandable that the followers of Islam should kill non-Islamic
believers, the "Infidels," because their holy book, the Quran, instructs
them to do so in more than 100 verses. But why kill so many fellow
Muslims? Former President George W. Bush wisely discerned the
heart of the current international problem, "The struggle against
militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict in
the early years of the 21st century." According to US government
spokespersons, we risk offending some people by referring to the acts
of Muslim Islamics -- the suicide attacks, the bombings, the beheadings,
etc. -- as acts of terrorism. The problem is that Mr. Obama has not
provided us with alternative, non-offensive words to describe what the
Muslim Islamics are doing, all over the world.
One more word before we leave the National Day of Prayer . . .
last week one of the groups of atheists operating in this country -- the
American Humanist Association, based in Washington, D.C. -- called
for the president to issue a call for a National Day of Reason, rather
than for a National Day of prayer (even though that has long been a
law of the land). The atheists must have been reading the Christian rule
book -- the Bible -- because therein God calls for the very same thing:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord..." It must
be quite embarrassing for the atheists to have the God they don't think
even exists, beating them to a call for reason thousands of years before
they thought of it. And God sets forth a major element of the Christian
faith in His call to reason: "... though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18) Probably we should thank the AHA
for reminding us of this centuries old word from the Lord.
And concerning another current major news story . . .
What is it that they don't understand about the word "illegal?"
Last week Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill passed
by a substantial majority of both houses of the Arizona Legislature,
establishing immigration enforcement standards in the State of Arizona.
Gov. Brewer signed the bill into law, despite the objection by President
Obama that it was "misguided," and he instructed his Justice Department
to examine it and decide if it is legal. Gov. Brewer could have ignored
the 70% of Arizona citizens who favored the law -- as President
Obama did in ignoring the majority of Americans who did not want
his Obamacare health reform plan, and the majority who now want it
repealed.
If his Justice Department should happen to read the Arizona law,
they will find that it closely tracks federal immigration laws -- laws
which the Obama administration has not seen fit to enforce. The result
is that Arizona has become the nation's busiest entrance-way for drug
and human smuggling from Mexico into the United States. In signing
the bill, Gov. Brewer said: "We in Arizona have been more than
patient waiting for Washington to act. But decades of inaction
and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable
situation."
Any casual reader of dictionary definitions will find that the word
"illegal" (or "unlawful") means something that is prohibited by, or not
authorized by law. When linked with the word "immigration," the
meaning becomes: "the movement of people across national borders
in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country."
"Illegal immigrants" are also referred to as "illegal aliens" to distinguish
them from legal aliens. However, under Janet Napolitano, head of the
Obama Department of Homeland Security, the terms "undocumented
immigrant," or "undocumented student," or "undocumented worker,"
are to be used instead of "illegal alien." But changing the terminology
does not change the facts -- and this is what the Obama administration
does not seem to understand. An "illegal" or "undocumented" alien is a
lawbreaker, subject to federal prosecution, even deportation.
The 15 or 20 or 30 million "illegals" in this country (no one really
knows how many) are using up and overcrowding our health care,
education, welfare and law enforcement facilities. Gary Karlin, writing
in the Evanston Conservative blog, reports that in reviewing just 14
news stories on this subject during the past year or so, he came up
with a total of $338 billion in government freebies given to illegal aliens
in addition to law enforcement costs. If the Arizona law helps to reduce
the adverse economic effects of this unregulated immigration explosion,
not only will the financial reserves of the most afflicted states be less
depleted, but in a time when some 16 million Americans are out of work,
these low paid unlawful workers will also cease further exhausting the
employment opportunities for American citizens and legal immigrants.
It can be said that even as parents often learn from the wisdom of
their children, so it is time for the federal government to listen and
learn from the governments of the individual states. In this regard, the
words of the Constitution and the opinions of the principal framer of
that governing document should be the rule for this administration, or
any other, to follow. In 1791 Thomas Jefferson wrote: "I consider
the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That
'all powers not delegated to the United States by the
constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
the States or to the people. (Amendment X)'" A few years later,
in 1800, Jefferson wrote as follows: "Our country is too large to
have its affairs directed by a single government...I believe the
States can best govern our home concerns, and the General
government our foreign ones."
Does anyone in Washington care what kind of government the
Constitution intended?
"Under this administration's watchful eye, Christianity is being
tossed from the public square." -- Tony Perkins
"It's like waving a red flag in front of politicians, and who wants
to say we don't support prayer? That's like being against apple pie
and motherhood." -- Charles Haynes
"With casual derision, President Obama recently dismissed the
people in the tea party movement and their little rallies as
'amusing.' It's a shame we can't find him amusing."
-- Dan Kennedy
people in the tea party movement and their little rallies as
'amusing.' It's a shame we can't find him amusing."
-- Dan Kennedy
We can learn much from noting "What others are saying,"
because these comments will not be found in the main-line media,
either press or TV . . .
Scott Rasmussen (national pollster): "Skepticism is the word of
the day. Most Americans lack confidence in the stability of the
banking system, most doubt that they will receive their promised
Social Security benefits, and most believe there is disagreement
within the scientific community about Global Warming."
Tim Wildmon: "What was birthed as a constitutional republic --
the land of the free and the home of the brave -- is quickly
becoming the land of the entitled and the home of an ever-
increasing debt that threatens to bring our country to financial
ruin."
the land of the free and the home of the brave -- is quickly
becoming the land of the entitled and the home of an ever-
increasing debt that threatens to bring our country to financial
ruin."
Newsmax.com: "The best way to move the peace process
between the Israelis and Palestinians forward is for all parties
to demand that the Palestinians abandon their tactic of 'just
saying no,' and insist that the rest of the Arab world move
toward normalization of relations with Israel."
Media Research Center: "For more than two decades, the
so-called mainstream media have preached the dangers of
manmade global warming... not even last November's exposure
of emails from leading scientists... showing them conniving to
fudge or suppress data, discredit critics, and distort the peer
review process -- has caused journalists to finally take a
skeptical approach to radical environmentalists' doomsday."
A Few Random Afterthoughts . . .
First, don't forget our weekly reminder -- Nov. 2 is election day,
now just 188 days away. . . and don't forget the new slogan: "In
November, we will remember." This can -- and must be -- our
great opportunity to reclaim this nation to its founding principles. But
in order to vote, you must be registered. It's easy to register on line.
Just go to this link: Register to vote.
Sudan: another of Obama's diplomatic "triumphs." During his
presidential campaign days, Obama was very strident in demanding
that the US exert more pressure on Sudan so as to avoid an ethnic
catastrophe there. But now when he is in a position to actually do
something, he has stopped expressing concern over the persecution
of so many Sudanese, including most of the Christian communities.
The Sudan president, Omar Hashin al-Bashir, (whose election Mr.
Obama's appointed representative General Scott Gration defended
by saying it was as free and fair as possible), is wanted by the
International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
President al-Bashir's own political party is called the National
Congress Party, and he boasts, "Even America is becoming an
NCP member. No one is against our will." Even Mudawi Ibrahim
Adam, probably Sudan's principal human rights advocate, said
recently, "They're very naive in Washington. They don't
understand what is going on."
And the UN goes on and on, in its usual dependable way: yes,
they can be depended upon to respond in the same way, time after
time. They have now increased their peace-keeping budget for this
year in Haiti, still recovering from the disastrous earthquake, to
$732.4 million -- and here is the "dependable" part: two-thirds of
that total amount will be spent on the salaries, perks and upkeep of
UN personnel -- not on residents of the devastated island. Some
things just never seem to change.
As "political correctness" re-interprets Constitutional law,
it is important for politicians today to recall these words from our
nation's Founding Fathers:
it is important for politicians today to recall these words from our
nation's Founding Fathers:
"The first and governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute
is to discover the meaning of those who made it." -- James Wilson,
1790, Member of first Supreme Court
"The true key for the construction of everything doubtful in a law
is the intention of the law-makers." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1808
"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the
time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit
manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning
may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform
to the probable one in which it was passed."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1823
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