Tuesday
IN JUST OVER A MONTH WE CAN BRING REAL CHANGE TO AMERICA
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This week's Introductory Editorial Comment: Among all the messages
we receive daily, one this past week was a hysterical reaction to remarks
supposedly made by a Member of Congress criticizing some of the acts
of the Obama administration, concluding with this statement, "This is the
single most important election ever in the history of this country." It
isn't that we disagree with that conclusion -- it is that we don't agree with
the process through which that conclusion was reached. We think that
the Nov. 2 election is indeed important -- possibly the most important in
American history -- because the president and his Democrat controlled
Congress have ignored the mantra of Bill Clinton's campaign: "It's the
economy, stupid." We are told by the National Bureau of Economic
Research that the recession ended in June, 2009. Yet since January of
2009 when Mr. Obama took office, we have lost 3.2 million jobs . . .
the 9.6 unemployment rate is higher than in June, 2009 when the current
recession "officially" ended. Household net worth is $10.7 trillion less
than in 2007, and foreclosures are continuing at record levels. And just
a few days ago it was reported that the number of persons living in
poverty is now the highest in more than 50 years. So, yes -- we agree
the Nov. 2 Election Day is tremendously important-- possibly the most
important in our nation's history. We can make substantial changes in
membership of both the Senate and the House, and re-establish the
economic and moral standards which made America great.
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IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE NOVEMBER 2 ELECTION
DAY IS NOW LESS THAN 5 WEEKS AWAY -- IN JUST OVER
A MONTH WE CAN BRING REAL CHANGE TO AMERICA
It is an amost unheard of situation to be facing an important national
election with both major political parties -- Democrat and Republican --
utilizing identical positions. Two years ago Barack Obama swept into
power using the slogan, "Change you can believe in." In less than two
years it became painfully evident that the "change" he was making in
America was not something that the American people wanted, and the
operative term for the Republicans in this upcoming election has been
"Change" from the failures of the Obama administration. But the
Democrats are equally aware that the country is in a serious mess, and
adopted as their slogan, "Change that matters." So in this important
election, both parties are advocating "change" from what the Obama
administration is doing, or attempting to do.
We have often referred to this as the "Age of the Polls," but how
else than by the use of polls are we going to find out where Americans
think their country is going, or where they want it to go, and what they
want it to become? Every recent poll places the economy at the top of
the list of concerns of the American people. From a Gallup poll report
on September 21, for example, the Economy, at 33%, tops Jobs and
Unemployment, Healthcare, and Immigration, with War at the bottom
at only 3%. And as to whom could best handle the Economy, Gallup
has Republicans at 44% and Democrats at 36%, while a Rasmussen
Poll has Republicans at 47% and Democrats at 39%.
But when the poll is directed specifically at Americans' opinions as to
how Mr. Obama is handling the economy, most polls (Marist, Gallup,
and AP/Gfk, for example) disapprove his performance by 56% to 41%.
The Rasmussen poll differed slightly, with a disapprove/approve ratio
of 50% to 35%.
And there is small -- if any -- comfort for the Obamites in poll reports
on other subjects. Take the totally Democrat controlled Congress, for
example. During the past year the positive approval of the Congress
has ranged from 9% to 16%, with the negative opinions running from
53% to 71%. This week the public's favorable opinion of Congress was
fixed at 10% with the negative opinion at 56%. And the stars of those
unfavorable ratings are Nancy Pelosi, easily the most disliked Member
of Congress, at -59%, with a positive rating of 34% -- but over in the
Senate Harry Reid is gaining on her hold on the most disliked position,
with a negative rating of 50% and a positive rating of 30%.
On a broader scale, 29% of the American people feel we are headed in
the right direction, while 66% feel we are going the wrong way. And
this report must cause real discomfort in Liberal circles -- 52% of
Americans feel closer to the Tea Party views than to Mr. Obama's. And
the real clincher on the public opinion front is that this week 61% of the
American people favor the repeal of Obamacare, and 59% expect that
health care costs will go up under the new law, despite the president's
last minute efforts to convince the public that his favorite achievement --
rammed through into passage by those two highly disliked Congressional
leaders -- is really good for them. That is one hard sell!
And where does President Obama stand alongside all those Democrat
problems with public approval? Because poll resuilts vary slightly, we
thought it best to find an average of 7 major national polls, and can state
that on average, 44.7% approve of his performance as president, with
51.1% disapproving -- which is slightly better than his leaders in both
houses of Congress. In the Rasmussen daily approval ranking, he holds
on to a double digit negative score in the mid teens. And it is fortunate
for Mr. Obama that he is not standing for re-election this year -- a new
George Washington University Battleground poll shows that only 38%
believe he deserves to be re-elected. Although the poll showed that the
respondents hold a fairly high personal approval of Mr. Obama, it is his
policies -- most notably Obamacare and dealing with the economy --
which are unpopular.
Taking into account all those negatives, the effects are obvious as we
approach the Nov. 2 elections. . For the American people, according to
the poll reports on actions of th Obama administration and its Congress,
our opinions and viewpoints have been ignored. The present members
of Congress, House and Senate, have not acted in accord with the views
of the people they were sent to Washington to represent, but have taken
their orders from President Obama. For the Democrat party, it is difficult
for members of the House and Senate to face national elections with a
consistent record of acting contrary to the opinions and best interests of
their constituents.
Alan Gottlieb, writing in a Conservative Action Alert, enlarged upon
the conclusion we mentioned in the Editorial Comment: "We are facing
the most important election in our nation's history. The outcome of
the November elections will determine if Washington can continue to
steamroll their anti-American spend, spend and spend agenda through
Congress." Allen West, Congressional candidate in Florida, offered this
great one-liner: "It's November or never. We are at war. Wake up."
And now our usual: "What can we do ?" Beginning in January of
2010, week by week in every issue of this year, we have reminded our
readers of how many days remain until Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010; as
of today, there are now just 34 days remaining. And with those timely
reminders we have offered the two-fold suggestion as to what we, as
Christians, can do: PRAY and VOTE. We have often pointed out that
in order to vote, you must be registered. Our good friend, Dick Innes,
publisher of "Daily Encounter," reminds us that less than 60% of those
who regularly attend church are registered to vote If we are going to
take the important step of beginning to reclaim this nation to its founding
principles, Christians are going to have to vote on Nov. 2. If anyone
has not yet registered, here is a simple way to meet that requirfement:
80% of the U.S. population -- we can make a difference.
Simply replacing the present Congress with new Conservative members
does not mean that we will immediately have a perfect government in
Washington -- but it will be better than what we have now. If we want
God to bless America, we are going to have to reverse the anti-Christian
direction in which our nation is now headed -- with the emphasis on
direction in which our nation is now headed -- with the emphasis on
unrestricted abortions . . . homosexual marriage . . . kicking God out of
our schools . . . limiting freedom of religious expression . . . but you
know what is happening. In this month we have before us, let us do
everything we can to restore sound moral standards and sound economic
principles in our government.
We are aware that the Liberals -- including our president, apparently --
do not like to be reminded of the viewpoints of our nation's Founding
Fathers. But they have to admit that George Washngton was our first
president, who in 1789 made this statement: "It is the duty of all Nations
to acklnowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will,
to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection
and favors."
As always, there is much to learn from "What Others Are Saying."
Robert Ringer: "By now people should be beyond surprise when a
tea-party candidate upsets an establishment Democrat or Republican
... After all, they've had a year to get used to it. Nevertheless, the tidal
wave of tea-party-candidate victories continues to surprise - and
upset - many media pundits and, even more so, establishment
politicians... That's a battle that was over a long time ago - and the
losers were the hate-mongering left and disbelievers on the
establishment right."
Ronald Reagan: "Freedom is never more than one generation away
from extinction. It must be fought for, protected ... or one day we will
spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children
what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
Skip MacLure (in Conservative Outpost): "This brings us to the
current mid-term elections. The present Congress now has a track
record for the electorate to view ... The facts are that they, and the
president, have failed in all respects... With a history they'd rather
forget, and a president that is now causing embarrassment to his own
party, the Democrats are left with only one option. They can not
campaign on success stories or policies, so the demonization of the
opposition is the final line of defense."
Steve Chapman (Chicago Tribune): "If you arrived here from Mars
in the last couple of months and watched a lot of TV news, you would
quickly reach this conclusion: Americans hate Muslims, and Muslims
hate America ... There is no question that feelings on both sides are
running higher than usual. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks,
says the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of Americans had a
favorable view of Islam, but today, the figure is 30 percent."
Edwin J. Feulner (Heritage Foundation): "The stakes couldn't be
higher for our nation at this moment. In the coming monhs,
Americans will help choose which direction our nation's future will
take ... All indications are that we are approaching one of those
pivotal moments in our political history, a tipping point. It will be a
test of our national character."
Hugh Hewitt (Law professor and talk show host): "The deep gloom
that has settled on the country is only in part economic. Hard times
have come and gone before, but in the modern networked age never
has so obviously a clueless set of leaders been so completely and
obviously inept, tone deqf and at the same time inarticulate."
Ayn Rand (Novelist, 1962): "There is no difference between
communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same
ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force; socialism
by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide."
And now, some random "Afterthoughts" . . . because there are so
many important items, the comments will be brief . . .
We can't ignore the Afghanistan war . . . yesterday a suicide bomber
killed the deputy governor of Ghanzi province (and five others) in the
latest assassination of a government official. This has been the bloodiest
year since 2001, with military and civilian deaths at record levels. On
average, 21 people are assassinated each week. More foreign troops have
died thus far in this year than in all of 2009. Writing in Stratfor Global
Intelligence, George Friedman said, "The United States isn't going to
defeat the Taliban. The original goal of the war is irrelevant and the
current goal is rather difficult to take seriously... The United States
needs a withdrawal that is not a defeat... Such a strategic shift is not
without profound political complexity and difficulties."
Americans are not knowledgeable about religion - even their own.
A new survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports
that only about half the questions were answered correctly, and the
highest scores came from atheists and agnostics, and from Jews and
Mormons. What ever happened to Chistian education in our churches?
The mass exodus from the Obama administration continues, and
can't be ignored. Last week we mentioned some of the past, present and
future defections from Obama's staff, and the pace has continued, with
Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, updating the date of his dearture to "any
day now." Larry Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
has announced that he will leave after the November elections. And
Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Stability, Herbert Allison,
who helped oversee the troubled TARP program, has also resigned. All
these departures leave only Treasury Secretary,Timothy Geithner, as part
of Obama's original economic team. The White House appears to be
working hard to convince the media that all these defections are merely
routine, and have nothing to do with the failing economy or the president's
plummeting poll numbers.
Colbert and Congress - the joke is on us. It is easy to understand why
the American public's opinion of Congress is at an all time low. The
recent appearance of TV comedian Stephen Colbert in a formal hearing
left few people laughing. Colbert engaged in what amounted to mockery
of his hosts. Rep John Conyers (D, MI) is Chairman of the Judiciary
Committee, and early in the hearing used his time to ask Colbert to leave,
but Zoe Lofgren (D, CA) who invited Colbert to appear did not rescind
her invitation. However, the Democratic leadership is at odds over the
event. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) said, Of course I think it
is appropriate... I think it's great." But the House Majority Leader,
Steny Hoyer (D, MD) disagreed, "I think his testimony is not
appropriate." Leaves one wondering what will be the next act for an
already disgraced Congress.
A new book discusses, among other things, Obama's religious beliefs.
David Limbaugh (that's David, not Rush) just released another book,
"Crimes Against Liberty: An Indictment of President Barack Obama." No
punches pulled in the title, or in the book. One aspect of the book relates
to our recent discussions about Mr. Obama's religious beliefs, and his
unusual claim, "I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian." Limbaugh
points out that Obama is often carefree when speaking of the Bible truths,
which should be the basis for anyone's Christian faith. He recalls Obama
saying "it depends on which Bible you're talking about. Is it talking
about Leviticus where God kills all those people, orders people to be
killed, or you're talking about the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus
talks?" Limbaugh found that statement "amazing," and then adds, "A
believing Christian would have a hard time mocking God the way he
did if he believed the Bible was the inspired word of God." That would
doubtless apply to a "devout" Christian also.
There are more "Afterthoughts," but no more time or space. So let
us reflect on some viewpoints of our Founding Fathers . . .
"It is too early for politicians to presume on our forgetting that the
public good, the real welfare of the great body of the people, is the
supreme object to be pursued, and that no form of government
whatever has any other value than as it may be fitted for the
attainment of this object." -- James Madison, 1788
"The instrument by which government must act are either the
AUTHORITY of the laws, or FORCE. If the first be destroyed, the
last must be substituted; and where this becomes the ordinary
instrument of government, there is an end to liberty!"
-- Alexander Hamilton, 1794
ELEMENTS OF THE PAST WHICH CAN BE RECALLED INTO OUR MEMORY
`
HIS WEEK'S EDITORIAL COMMENT: It always seems to be wise to
have a general theme to follow ... and that being true, our theme for this
week is that it makes sense to remember the past when planning the future.
That is obviously a restatement of Edmund Burke's "Those who don't know
history are destined to repeat it." We have often cited that observation
because for some 220 years it has proved to be true, and because it seems
to be particularly appropriate to observe in our present situation, in both
the political and religious involvements.
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IT IS OFTEN VERY IMPORTANT TO PAUSE
FROM THE DAILY RUSH TO DO SOMETHING,
AND REFLECT ON ELEMENTS OF THE PAST
WHICH CAN BE RECALLED INTO OUR MEMORY
Our first step in memory recall takes us back to the year 1787 . . .
We have often -- in fact, in every issue -- cited a quotation from some
of our nation's Founding Fathers, and very frequently those quotations
have been a form of expression of their Christian beliefs. One of the
most familiar quotations is this one from Benjamin Franklin, spoken at
the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when he called for prayers as
they worked to create our Constitution: "I have lived, Sir, a long time,
and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this Truth,
that God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall
to the ground without His Notice, is it probable that an Empire can
rise without His Aid?"
That was 223 years ago, when our nation's Founding Fathers created the
Constitution that would be the governing document of the United States
of America. They believed in, and this nation was founded upon, historic
Judeo-Christian principles. Just above their signatures - the first one was
"G. Washington" -- was the date: "the Seventeenth Day of September
in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven."
Last Friday we observed "Constitution Day" as the official beginning of
Constitution Week, which was signed into law by President Eisenhower
in 1955. As he did in 2009, President Obama issued a perfunctory
proclamation in recognition of the event, "I encourage federal, state
and local officials, as well as leaders of civic, social, and educational
organizations, to conduct ceremonies and programs that recognize our
Constitution and reaffirm our rights and obligations as citizens of this
great Nation." At least, for a change, he spoke well of America.
There were so many expressions of opinion about the Constitution on
Friday. Conservative commentator Andrew Zarowny, who is spoken of
as "Washington's Top Secret Weapon," said, "Once a revered document
of Liberty, the Constitution has been beaten up over the years. Many
people, like President Obama, think of it not as a means to secure
freedom, but as a restriction on what government can do." In similar
vein, Catherine Snow, in "Citizen Link," commented, "The Constitution
is under attack like never before. The liberal, elite establishment
positioned throughout various pillars of society -- politics, government,
media, education and entertainment -- want to dismantle this founding
document and seem willing to replace it with international laws suited
to their goals."
And as Heritage legal scholar, Ed Meese, pointed out in "Morning Bell,"
it is being seriously challenged: "We are faced today with two different
roads, one of which follows the path of liberty set by our Founders in
the Constitution, and one which diverges from that path and leads us
down the road to tyranny. There are two different warring camps
within our society, and the ongoing battle between those camps has
been graphically illustrated in recent primary elections and by the
vicious fight over the nationalization of our healthcare system."
We probably quote Thomas Jefferson more often than any other of our
nation's Founding Fathers. As the primary drafter of the Declaration of
Independence, and our third president, he has always provided the best
expression of what the Founding Fathers intended this new nation to be.
It has become almost an "oxymoron" to use the term "Jeffersonian
Democrat," for it is difficult to find anyone more estranged from what
the Democrat party has become than Thomas Jefferson. Concerning the
Constitution, he was possessed of tremendous foresight that Liberals
would one day want to interpret the Constitution "progressively," and
in that regard he wrote to Supreme Court Justice William Johnson in
1823: "On every question of construction of the Constitution, let us
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 intended against it,
conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Thus our first "memory recall" is concerning the Constitution, which is
well described by historian Catherine Drinker Bowen in the title of her
book, "Miracle at Philadelphia." Early in 1788, George Washington
wrote to General Lafayette, "It appears to me, then, little short of a
miracle, that the Delegates from so many different states, which
states you know are all so different from each other, in their manners,
circumstances and prejudices, should unite in forming a system of
national Government, so little liable to well founded objections."
And as Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, said of the event, "Tis done. We have become a nation."
We should never forget our American heritage as so clearly defined in
"The Constitution of the United States of America," or that it begins
with these words, "We the People . . ."
Our second memory recall is to a much more recent time -- the 1950s,
or the mid-point in the 20th century. One doesn't have to be over 200
years of age to recall accurately the Evangelical resurgence of those
days -- since it was only about 60 years ago, a person 12 or 15 years
old at the time would have a reasonably accurate understanding, so
individuals younger than 70-75 today would have to rely on second-
hand accounts that some writers wrote during that period.
This is no "second hand" account. During the 1950s, despite the fact
that "revival" is neither a New Testament word or concept (neither
"revive" or "revival" appears in the New Testament), we used as the
theme for our evangelistic efforts, "Revival in our time," and we spoke
constantly of "Mid-century revival." That phrase came from the book
of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk (3:2), "O Lord, revive thy
work in the midst of the years ..."
Those were different times than we are experiencing today. There was
respect for churches and the Christian faith. America was considered
by all to be a Christian nation. We were enjoying essentially a time of
peace. The Korean "police action" (so named by President Truman)
drew to a close in 1953. The very long Viet Nam conflict became a
combat zone for America in 1965. But in those intervening years, the
operative term was "The whole world was safe in the bosom of
Eisenhower."
And the probably most over-preached text during all those years was the
very familiar II Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land." Ignoring the fact that "revival" is
not a New Testament concept, and the fact that this was God's message
to Solomon and the people in which He set forth the conditions for His
blessings -- this was widely called "God's blueprint for revival."
But even taken out of context of time and purpose, these words remain
as the enduring truth of a promise by our eternal God. These are the
conditions which God always expects of His people: that they should
demonstrate humility, pray, seek His will and repent of their sin ... and
His blessing will always follow.
God spoke to the king, the ruler of the nation. But His specific word
was concerning the people, those who are identified by their belief in
Him. The message of that verse is as true today as it was in Solomon's
day. God has set before us the conditions to receive His blessings.
Perhaps "revival" isn't the best term. Perhaps "spiritual awakening" is
a better one. But God's conditions are clear and unmistakable.
All this has been a different way to arrive at: "What can we do?"
There is no question that our nation needs a change. As we approach
Election Day, Nov. 2 -- now just 41 days from today -- we have an
unemployment rate which has risen to 9.6% ...a Dow Jones average
stuck in the low-10 thousand range ... the trade deficit has grown to
$123.3 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 12.9% over the
first quarter ... home sales are plummeting while repossessions are
soaring ... a poverty rate which has reached its highest level in over
50 years, with 1 in 7 Americans living in poverty ... and on moral
issues we are abandoning our traditional Christian principles on
abortion, homosexual marriage and are approaching the loss of our
First Amendment Freedom of Religion rights.
"Change" is the operative word. Barack Obama swept into power on
the slogan "Change we can believe in." Now that it has been proved
that his changes cannot be believed, the Democrat party has renounced
the old Obama slogan in favor of a new one: "Change that matters."
And on that point, both major political parties are agreed: a change is
needed. As Christians, we know that what is needed is God's blessing
on our nation in accordance with His conditions we cited above.
God's first condition is for us to humble ourselves. The Scriptures
offer many admonitions in this regard -- "God giveth grace to the
humble ... humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God."
(I Peter 5: 5-6) And Paul added this word "to every man, not to think
of himself more highly than he ought to think." (Romans 12:3) And
"God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
The Lord's intent for us is clear: humble ourselves.
The second condition we know well: pray. Again, the Scriptures are
replete with admonitions on this subject; just this one reminder, "In
every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:6)
Then God asks that we seek His face, to know His will, and Paul wrote:
"Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
And finally: turn from our wicked ways. The Bible word is "repent" or
"repentance," which literally means a change of mind, a change in the
direction the individual is going. Again, this is so often commanded in
the Scriptures ... Jesus said, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark
1:15) ... Paul added that God "commandeth all men everywhere to
repent" (Acts 17:30) ... and told King Agrippa that he preached to all
men "that they should repent, and turn to God" (Acts 26:20).
Every one of God's conditions for His blessing on our nation, and our
world, are as true and believable today as when they were first given to
Solomon. That is the change we need, a return to the moral values set
forth in the Word of God. And as we meet God's conditions for His
blessing, we must also accept our responsibility to bring about change in
our government by putting into office leaders who put moral values first
in fulfilling the obligations of their office.
We have previously suggested that anyone interested in joining thousands
of other Christians in prayer for our nation should consider Dr. Michael
Youssef's "God Save America" program -- which you can reach by going
to: www.leadingtheway.org. This is a Bible centered program for prayer,
reflecting the solid Evangelical ministry of Dr. Youssef. More recently,
beginning this past weekend, Chuck Colson and Jim Garlow announced a
program endorsed by at least 80 Evangelical leaders, called "Pray and
Act," an outgrowth of the "Manhattan Declaration" which we strongly
supported when first announced. It may be reached by going to:
And in addition to prayer, our responsibility includes voting to replace
the present members of Senate and the House with candidates who will
put moral issues first in their legislative activities. On Nov. 2 all of the
members of the House and about one-third of the Senate will be voted
upon. The two important words to remember are: Pray and Vote.
Skip MacLure, writing in "Conservative Outpost," offered these sage
words of counsel about the upcoming Election Day: "Barack Obama's
America doesn't exist and never has. Seen through the eyes of
Conservatives, it's a bleak and desolate landscape. We should win in
November. We should win really big in November. What we have to be
very careful of is over-confidence. Over-confidence has a way of
creeping in, especially when all the political forecasts, even the left's
own, are indicating a huge sea-change. In the short term we have to
be prepared for the left's usual election ay hi-jinks." Well spoken!
As always, we can learn from "What Others Are Saying."
Wafa Sultan (Syrian born author): "It is crucial to study the
supremacist ideology of Islam and to recognize, for example, that the
building of a mosque especially at Ground Zero is viewed by Muslims
as a decisive victory over the infidels in Islam's march to establish its
ultimate goal: the submission of all others to Islam and Sharia law."
Dinesh D'Souza (India born Conservative author): "Barack Obama
is the most anti-business president in a generation, perhaps in
American history. Thanks to him the era of big government is back.
Obama runs up taxpayer debt not in the billions but in the trillions.
He has expanded the federal government's control over home
mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy. The
Weekly Standard summarizes Obama's approach as omnipotence at
home, impotence abroad."
Michelle Bachman (R, MN): "We've spent nearly two years under the
control of Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and
Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And in less than two short years, Americans
have been burdened by a $2.6 trillion government healthcare takeover,
a national debt that has ballooned to $13 trillion, a nearly 10%
unemployment rate reminiscent of the Jimmy Carter years, a failed
$800 billion 'stimulus' bill, a $700 billion TARP bailout and an $18
billion boondoggle 'jobs bill' that created no jobs. If this is what 'hope
and change' is all about, I want nothing to do with it."
Eric Rauch (Conservative author): "All forms of Liberalism --
whether educational, political, or theological -- are nothing more than
reactions against 'traditional' beliefs and ways of doing things. Like
atheism, liberalism is a negative belief system in that it can only ever
communicate what it is against, instead of what it is for."
Jonah Goldberg (National Review): "As the Los Angeles Times
reported over the weekend, 'Obama's coalition is frayed and frazzled.'
Independents defected long ago, and young people are heading for
the door, less interested in the next New Deal and more interested in
a job. And every day Obama seems more like the Lord's unwitting
herald of the revolution to come."
R. W. Tracinski (TIA Daily): "We're going to need a new crop of
radicals in Congress. They won't just need to engage in parliamentary
stalling tactics to gum up the legislative works. They will need to
launch an all-out battle to restrain an administration that is fully
committed to using its unchecked, tyrannical regulatory power to
override the will of the people and to destroy what is left of American
liberty."
Austin Hill (Author, Editorial Columnist): "For the entire duration
of his presidency, Barack Obama has articulated a vision of 'the
Muslim World,' as he calls it, and practitioners of the Muslim faith,
that conveniently ignores what is frighteningly obvious to most
Americans: that some of the most horrific and gruesome murders
and terrorist acts on the planet these days are committed by people
who call themselves Muslims, and claim to be following the edicts of
the Koran."
And now some random "Afterthoughts" . . .
Another installment in the ongoing saga of Barack Obama's faith.
There is a tendency on the part of the Liberals, well demonstrated by
the elite, main-line media, to adopt the opinion that "it doesn't matter,"
and by default, we should just accept the view that he is a Christian.
(Without opening up a whole new debate, the question might well be
raised: "Do those people have any idea what it really means to be a
Christian?") Looking back, in an interview in March, 2008, candidate
Obama said he prays to Jesus every night, believes in abortion rights
and thinks gays should be able to marry ... and said, "If people find that
controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount,
which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure
passage in Romans. That's my view." The "obscure passage" which he
spoke of so scornfully, is half of the entire first chapter of the Book of
Romans, written by Paul, who wrote 13 of the 27 books, approximately
one-third (31.57%), of the New Testament. And in the Sermon on the
Mount, the closest Jesus came to speaking of marriage, was concerning
the God ordained concept of marriage between a husband and wife, and
the possibility of a husband getting a divorce from his wife -- hardly an
approval of a homosexual union! One might wonder if Mr. Obama or his
spiritual advisors have actually read the Sermon on the Mount? And in
January of 2008, Mr. Obama told "Christianity Today" magazine: "I am
a Christian, and I am a devout Christian." Hmmm ... how often have
you ever heard a Christian friend say "I am a devout Christian?" It all
does make one wonder . . . And how does he explain away the fact that
when he addresed the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Saturday, he
left out the words "the Creator" when citing the statement of the
Declaration of Independence on the rights with which we are endowed?
Can we believe that wishes, or rumors, sometimes do come true?
We all know Washington is a hotbed of rumors. One of the latest,
based no doubt on the many failures in his attempts to fulfill the
responsibilities of being president, is that Barack Obama may be
considering the option of being a one-term president, and will not seek
re-election in 2012. By way of support for that rumor is Michelle
Obama's response to the question about being the president's wife:
"Don't ask. It's hell. I can't stand it." The quote appears in the book
"Carla And The Ambtious," by journalists Michael Darmon and Yves
Derai, about Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Sarkosy. And
there are other rumors about change in the floundering Obama
administration -- Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may be leaving to run
for Mayor in Chicago upon the retirement of Richard Daley; Senior
Advisor David Axelrod, leaving possibly to run the 2012 campaign;
Defense Secretary Robrt Gates has announced his departure; National
Security Advisor James Jones is also rumored to be leavng. These
follow the confirmed departures of Budget Director Peter Orzag, and
the Head of the Council of Economic Advisors, Christina Romer. We
simply wait to see . . . and hold on to our wishes.
Add to the "Oh, How Quickly They Learn" file . . . according to
SFGate.com, at the $17,600 a person fund-raising dinner for Senator
Barbara Boxer at which Mr. Obama presided, the menu at the Getty
Mansion included Quail eggs and caviar, Salmon ceviche with avocada
and jicama on tortilla chips, a spring onion-asparagus tartlet with Meyer
lemon vinaigrette-dressed frisee salad, braised Kobe beef short ribs
with a potato puree and a salsa verde-topped spring vegetable ragout ...
all topped off with buckwheat crepes, roasted cherries and almond ice
cream. Just your typical, all American, middle class people meal.
It does make you wonder: Mr. Obama is about to notify Congress of
his plans to offer advanced military aircraft to Saudi Arabia worth up
to $60 billion. These are not missile defense upgrades, but fighter aircraft
and ground attack helicopters. The announcment has got to make Israel a
bit nervous. And for those critics who might jump on it -- the $60 billion
purchase probably has nothing to do with President Obama's humble bow
before Saudi King Abdullah in April, 2009.
A sober look at Joe Biden's "hundreds of thousands" of new jobs.
Consider for example, the $2.4 billion "advanced battery" program. The
Democrat Governor of Michigam, Jennifer Granholm, predicted, "The
federal battery program along with state initiatives are projected to
create 63,000 jobs in Michigan." But the facts are: Battery maker A123
Systems, Inc. received $239 million and opened a lithium ion battery
plant in Livonia, MI, employing 300 workers, mostly laid-off former
auto workers. Johnson Controls, Inc. last week started shipping batteries
from their plant in Holland, MI, built with $299 million in federal grants,
and employing 90 workers. That represents 390 jobs created for $548
million, or about $1.4 million per job. Quick figuring would reveal that
at this rate, the $2.4 billion federal advanced battery program would
actually produce 1,714 jobs, nationally. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles,
City Comptroller Wendy Greuel, in a 40 page report, pointed out that
after the city received $111 million in the so-called "stimulus" program,
there had been a total of 55 jobs created -- at a cost of $2 million per job.
It would seem that a simpler and probably more effective way to handle
the federal funds, would have been to randomly select 111 unemployed
people, and give them each $1 million.
There is so much more to say, but not enough time or space to say it.
So let's recall some of the opinions of our Founding Fathers, the men who
dreamed, fought for, planned and created this nation of ours . . . always
remembering that not everyone assigns the same value to their thoughts
as we do. "Whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it."
(Barack Obama)
"Excessive taxation ... will carry reason and reflection to every man's
door, and particularly in the hour of election."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1798
"I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple. Were we directed
from Washington when to sow, when to reap, we should soon want
bread." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1820
"I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too
many parasites living on the labor of the industrious."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1824
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