Wednesday
SOME WEEKS AGO
THIS WEEK'S BRIEF EDITORIAL COMMENT: In last week's email
responses there was a question about why have an introductory Editorial
Comment, since each entire issue is our editorial comment. That's not
exactly true. Yes -- much of each issue does represent our own personal
viewpoint, but we also include comments from other spokespersons
whose opinions are relevant and important. Granted, we do hold firmly
to the Evangelical Christian Conservative position on theological,
political, educational, economic and cultural issues -- but we do not
present just our personal views, but also those of other knowledgeable
commentators. And here is our weekly reminder -- there are now just
643 days till Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012 . . . 643 days to pray and plan
to reclaim America from the disaster to which our present administration
is leading us. In these difficult days, both nationally and internationally,
prayer is the major asset which Christians always have available to use.
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SOME WEEKS AGO WE CITED THE OLD
BRITISH TV SHOW, "THAT WAS THE WEEK
THAT WAS" DURING ONE OF OUR TUMULTUOUS
WEEKS. ONCE AGAIN, NO OTHER TERM SEEMS
MORE APPROPRIATE
It seems that every challenge which Mr. Obama and his administration
faces is described as one which will "define his presidency." To date
the ratio of successes to failures has not been encouraging -- and now
this week we have two more challenges to consider.
First on our schedule this week is to finalize our recovery from the
"State of the Union" speech, and get back to facing the real problems our
nation is facing. We do have to confess that last week we made an error
in our quote from Shakespeare to describe that speech. We used the title
of a Shakespearean comedy: "Much Ado About Nothing." That was a
mistake. We should have used a line from Macbeth:"... a tale told by
an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." There was sound,
not much fury, but otherwise that description was accurate. So we do
apologize for using the wrong citation.
In retrospect, the "State of the Union" speech (SOTU), did not result in
a favorable definition of his presidency. The old familiar campaign style
oratory was there, along with the adroit use of the teleprompter screens,
strategically located so he could read them while facing different areas
of the audience. And it has been noted that during his 7,877-word SOTU
speech, he failed to use either the word "life" or "marriage" even once
-- a fact that has not pleased either the homosexual or family advocates.
As Mark McKinnon (Vice-Chrm., Public Stategies) summarized it in the
Washington Post: "The seating was bipartisan, the tone was collegial,
the president struck some centrist, even conservative notes. But in the
end, the speech was lacking in emotional connection ... and anything
approaching bold ideas for addressing our fiscal crisis ...
Some weeks ago we spoke of the Obama administration's "Credibility
Crisis" -- that you can't believe much they say. Let's look at just one very
small incident (but to individuals, these "small incidents" have meaning).
As your Senior Editor, I am literally a senior -- in the 90+ age bracket.
In the SOTU speech Mr. Obama said, "As we speak, this law is making
prescription drugs cheaper for seniors." Hmm: my generic prescription
drugs have doubled in price -- that's a 100% increase. And my specified
brand drugs have increased by 20%. To me -- just one senior -- that is a
"credibility crisis." If you can't believe him on small incidents, how can
we believe him on major pronouncements? As part of a harangue on the
House floor last week, Steve Cohen (D, Tenn.) said -- and correctly:
"Just like Goebbels, you say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat
the lie, you repeat the lie, and eventually people believe it."
The other "presidency defining" event is the present crisis in Egypt.
It has made for great TV coverage. For a week we have seen the anti-
Mubarak rioting across Egypt, almost on a 24/7 basis. Although similar
revolts are happening across the middle-east Muslim nations -- Tunisia,
Yemen, Jordan, etc. -- Egypt, the largest Muslim nation, has dominated
the news. One "expert" after another has been brought before the TV talk-
show cameras. We have heard so many opinions. Few have stressed the
religious overtones. Half of Egyptians support Hamas; 30% support
Hezbollah; 20% support al Qaida; 95% would welcome Islamic control
of their politics. Israel, our one dependable ally in that part of the world
already exists under an Islamic death warrant. It is apparent that when the
Mubarak regime ends, the successor regime will not be any form of a
democracy. Mubarak’s military domination will be replaced by Islamic
totalitarianism. America's greatest Arab ally will become our greatest
enemy. Israel’s peace partner will become its greatest foe.
From our national position, the White House was quite obviously caught
off guard by the extent of the revolt. Vice President Joe Biden declared
at the outset that Mubarak was not a dictator. Secretary of State Clinton
said it was not a question of who retains power, and spoke of "long term
stability." (It could be noted that Clinton has been dispatched to Haiti.)
Speaking of Mr. Obama's lack of positive action in this crisis, former
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton said that President
Obama "basically doesn’t care about foreign affairs," considering them
to be ancillary to his domestic agenda.
The latest move is that President Mubarak has now pledged not to be a
candidate in the next election, and will step down at that time. Whether
this will satisfy the demands of the Muslim Brotherhood, who apparently
is a moving force in the revolt, is yet to be determined.
Of all the evaluations of the religious aspect, Chuck Colson has expressed
it perhaps most clearly: "As Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries
teeter on the brink, we can see so clearly that the biblical worldview is
the only worldview that is rationally sustainable ... Yet another
worldview may soon be on display in Egypt for all to see. That's the
worldview of radical Islam. A worldview that denies that humans are
born free or that humans are made in God's image (that would be akin
to idolatry according to Islamic teachings)." And Mr. Colson added,
"On the one hand we applaud people seeking their freedom; on the other
hand we're deeply concerned that radical Islamist elements like the
Muslim Brotherhood may try to seize this moment and overthrow regimes,
which though totalitarian, are at least sympathetic to the U.S. ...Nor do
we want chaos to spread. As you follow what is happening in the Middle
East... be sure to be praying for peace."
We do the research to bring you "What Others Are Saying," because
these are the views of people whose opinions matter, and you might not
otherwise see them. Here are a few we found this week . . .
Timothy H. Lee ( VP, Ctr. for Individual Freedom): "Who but Barack
Obama could draw such false praise using the Sputnik space launch to
justify more… railroads? So what can we expect in next year’s State of
the Union? Musket subsidies in response to North Korean rocketry?
Telegraph spending in response to Wikileak hackers? By now,
intellectual sloppiness has become the primary distinguishing trait of
Obama’s State of the Union addresses."
Skip MacLure (in Conservative Outpost): "Barack has a problem. He
can get people to listen to him. Getting people to believe him is another
story altogether. He is learning the lesson that all liars learn sooner or
later. You can only go to the well just so many times and then even the
thickest airheads start seeing the light."
Seth Forman (Pol. Sci. Professor): "For someone who is constantly
lauded for his brilliance and high-mindedness, and who himself seems
never to stop talking about bipartisanship and unity, President
Obama never fails to be petulant, petty, hyper-partisan and, most
problematically, hypocritical."
Ed Lasky (in American Thinker): "With his image suffering and his
reelection chances up in the air, Obama was forced to respond the
way he normally does: with a bunch of hooey and public relations
chaff released into the airwaves."
Matt Patterson (Sr. Ed., Capital Research Ctr.): "For decades, the
government has been spending our wealth -- first everything we made,
then everything we are ever going to make, and now everything our
children and their children will ever make. How future generations
will judge us for the theft of their prosperity is not hard to guess."
Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister): "I think one thing is
clear: the fact that global anti-Semitism is renewing and expanding is
obvious... There is an ayatollah regime … and it knowingly and openly
calls for the elimination of at least another six million Jews, and yet
nobody says a word."
And, as usual, here are a few classic "One Liners" you might enjoy:
When asked what he would replace the Federal Reserve with, Thomas
Sowell replied: "It's like when you remove a cancer -- what do you
replace it with?"
From Skip MacLure, "The situation and the economy demand nothing
less than our dedicated vigilance."
And for this one we could find no source: "Fathom the hypocrisy of a
Congress that requires every citizen to prove they are insured ... but
not everyone must prove they are citizens."
For what it's worth: "Obamacare," the president's major achievement
during his first two years in office, is in some sort of difficulty. First,
the now Republican controlled House has voted (with some Democrat
votes) to repeal it. Harry Reid, the majority leader in the still Democrat
controlled Senate, said after the action in the House that we:“have to
understand that the health care bill is not going to be repealed…get a
new lease on life and talk about something else." And he may be right;
time will tell. But on Monday a Federal Judge heard the case brought by
26 states, and ruled that the entire law is unconstitutional. This headline
said it well: "OBAMACARE MEETS ITS DEATH PANEL," and Erick
Erickson commented, "Judge Vinson’s ruling ultimately tells a group
of people used to saying ‘yes we can’ that, in fact, ‘no, you can’t.’"
Naturally, the Obama administration will appeal the decision, and
ultimately it will find its way to the U.S. Supeme Court, and there exists
the possibility that the expressed opinion of the majority of the American
people will prevail, and that Obamacare will cease to exist.
And now here are a few random "Afterthoughts" . . .
It's happening in Britain; it could happen here. A recent study from
Great Britain shows that thousands of native-born Britishers are
converting to Islam, while membership in the Anglican church continues
to decline. Alan Wisdom, vice president for research at The Institute on
Religion and Democracy, is not surprised by the report: "When you
have a spiritual vacuum, something is going to fill it. And the Church
of England, and Christianity in Great Britain in general, has become
very weak in its proclamation of the gospel ... It may be now that the
numbers of Muslims who worship every week are greater than the
numbers of people worshipping in the Church of England." Studies
show that while 30 Anglican parishes close every year, 70 new mosques
appear across Great Britain.
It's happening in Australia; it could happen here. Key leaders in the
marriage and family movement in Australia have called for 21 Days of
Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and the Family. In announcing the effort
it was pointed out that family breakdown and social dysfunction is an
increasing national problem. It is estimated that 40% of marriages end
in divorce. Here in America the estimate is that 40 - 45% of marriages
also end in divorce. Churches and individuals are urged to join in this
nationwide call for prayer between February 1 - 21, 2011.
There seems to be a difference of opinion. Janet Napolitano, head of
Homeland Security, said last week: “2010 was a historic year when it
comes to securing and managing our borders and enforcing our
immigration laws...There are now more resources on the southwest
border in terms of personnel, technology, and infrastructure than ever
before in American history." But Arizona's Pinal County Sheriff Paul
Babeu -- named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff's Association
-- said Napolitano’s remarks were not surprising, but did not reflect
conditions in Arizona . . . and said she was divorced from reality. Who
are you going to believe?
They're busy in Washington this week. There is, of course, the crisis
in Egypt, that seems to have fallen out of first place, so much so that the
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been sent to Haiti. Major strategy
sessions are being held with respect to the worst snow storm of the
winter with even the head of FEMA brought into the inner circle. And
on Monday and Tuesday of this week the Federal Bed Bug Workgroup
held the National Bed Bug Summit to discuss bed bug initiatives, identify
knowledge gaps and outline ideas for improving control on a community-
wide basis, aimed at developing a national strategy.
A call to Al Gore for help: We can't stand any more global warming!
Major cities have already exhausted their annual snow removal budgets
-- and this is only the first week in February, and the worst storm is just
hitting the nation.
As usual, we present these statements from our Founding Fathers. . .
Senator Schumer (D, NY) -- often referred to as "little Chuckie Schumer"
-- said this week on CNN's "Meet the Press," "We have three branches
of government. We have a House ... we have a Senate ... and we have
a President." It is because of this lack of understanding of the structure
of our government on the part of some elected officials that we continue
to emphasize the purpose and intent of our nation's Founding Fathers, the
men who created the American government.
"If it be asked what is to be the consequence, in case the Congress
shall misconstrue this part of the Constitution, and exercise powers
not warranted by its true meaning ... in the last resort a remedy must
be obtained from the people who can, by the election of more faithful
representatives, annul the acts of the usurpers" - James Madison, 1788
"It is the citizens' choice, and depends upon their conduct, whether
they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and miserable
as a Nation. This is the time of their political probation; this is the
moment when the eyes of the World are turned upon them."
-- George Washington, 1783
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt."
--Thomas Jefferson, 1816
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