Wednesday
CONFLICTS ARE RAGING
THIS WEEK'S EDITORIAL COMMENT: In 1780, Samuel Adams,
one of the most influential of the Founding Fathers, wrote concerning the
importance of the qualifications of leaders of this new nation which he and
his colleagues were creating: "If men of wisdom and knowledge, of
moderation and temperance, of patience, fortitude and perseverance,
of sobriety and true republican simplicity of manners, of zeal for the
honour of the Supreme Being and the welfare of the commonwealth;
if men possessed of these other excellent qualities are chosen to fill the
seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid
and permanent foundation." It must be noted that in addition to their
wisdom, knowledge, patience, fortitude and simplicity of manners, Adams
said that our leaders should show a zeal for God. He gave no indication that
this is not a Christian nation, nor has any of the 43 presidents who preceded
him, until Barack Obama made such an assertion; and despite his public
claims of being a Christian, he has actually shown equal or more respect for
the Islamic religion of the Muslims. His continued defection from the historic
Judeo-Christian principles upon which this nation was founded is a matter of
serious concern for all Christian believers. This is not the kind of leader the
Founding Fathers intended.
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OUR CLOSEST ASIAN ALLY IS IN A MAJOR DISASTER;
CONFLICTS ARE RAGING IN THE MIDDLE EAST;
OUR ECONOMY IS IN FREE FALL, AND OUR
PRESIDENT TOURS SOUTH AMERICA
But before we get into those issues, we want to remind our readers of the
continuing need for prayer for our nation and our leaders and for the crisis
situations all over the world -- in many of which our fellow Christians are in
serious risk of persecution and death. Last year we kept posting prayer
reminders prior to the November election -- and Christians took action and
displaced the Liberal leadership in the House of Representatives and put
into office a Conservative majority, made some inroads in the Senate, and
elected a majority of Conservative governors. Now there are just 594 days
till the Nov. 6, 2012 Election Day. We must increase our majority in the
House, gain a majority in the Senate, add some more governors, and elect a
Conservative president. If we were to adopt a motto or slogan for this prayer
effort it might be: "For God and country, complete the restoration in 2012."
There are times when you have to admire Barack Obama, even if, like
the majority of the American people, you do not like his job performance as
president. With our strongest ally in Asia experiencing one of the greatest
natural disasters of all time ... with rebellions sweeping across the Middle East
... with our economy deteriorating daily... he was not dismayed; he took off an
afternoon for golf, partied at the Gridiron dinner, entertained athletic teams at
the White House, went on TV to display his pick of basketball rankings, and
then took off for a sightseeing visit to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador, making it
a real family outing by taking along his wife, their two children and his mother-
in-law. In discussing the visit to Brazil (where apparently the Obamas had not
yet visited), he said that he thought he should visit the nice beaches of Rio, and
maybe take a trip up the Amazon. But they do have to get these vacation trips
in while they still have the taxpayer-paid use of Air Force One.
As for the crises in Japan and the Middle East, one commentator expressed it
this way: "The man-child president has made a choice to dither, or in
Obama 'newspeak' -- set a deliberate pace." "Dither" isn't a much used
word in our vocabulary today, but a brief dictionary definition is: "to hesitate
indecisively." His "dithering" resulted in this headline: "FRANCE LEADS,
U.S. FOLLOWS, BUT THE WAR AGAINST GADDAFI IS ON." As
is so often the case, Mr. Obama outsourced the attack on a Muslim nation to
other countries: France, Great Britain, and Italy among them.
Amid the confusing aspects is Mr. Obama's previous strong demand that
Gadhafi must go -- he seemed to be stamping his foot when he said that,
again and again. But now the White House is firm in its assertion that regime
change is not their intention. It's all part of the Obama administration's
credibility crisis. No one believes them.
Commentator Dick Morris (for whom we do not have the greatest respect)
expressed it well: "Where is Barack Obama? Is he still in office? As he
jets off with his family for a taxpayer-paid vacation in Rio, does he
realize the world is falling apart around him? Does he realize that the
radical unrest and disturbances in the Middle East are driving oil and
gasoline prices so high that a double dip recession - this time with
inflation - is increasingly likely?" And Pat Buchanan wrote in similar vein:
"As for Obama, with our foremost Asian ally going through the agony
of its worst natural disaster and with revolution raging through the
Arab world, he has given us his picks for the Final Four in the "March
Madness" of college basketball -- and set off with Michelle to party in
Rio. How relevant is he?"
Concerning the disaster in Japan -- what can we say? Some of the
world's top nuclear scientists, and experts in the function of reactors, are daily
or hourly expressing their opinions. The news releases from the government
-- which reporters on the scene describe as "confusing" -- tell us one thing
one day and often just the opposite the next day. The absolutely best thing
for us, as Christians, to do is to pray for the Japanese people, for God's
comfort and healing, and to give wisdom to those in authority as they attempt
to deal with these multiple disasters.
We must not forget Muslim animosity against other faiths. We are so
besieged with so many headlined events around the world that we often
overlook the continuing attacks on those who hold other religious beliefs by
Muslims who hold to the Islam religion. Dr. Andrew Bostom, at Brown
University, said recently, "The hatred of Jews, so prevalent among
Muslims, long predates the establishment of Israel. This visceral bigotry
stems directly from the canonical teachings of Islam." The hatred of
which Dr. Bostom speaks is directed not only toward Jews but also toward
Christians. Daily there are attacks by Muslims on Christian churches, and on
Christian believers throughout the Muslim dominated world. One recent
attack in Samaria has shocked the whole civilized world, where the parents,
and three of their six children were brutally stabbed to death -- the three
month old baby decapitated. Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian
Authority, described the slaughter as a "heroic operation" by the Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade.
At times we have to face even unpleasant facts, and toward that end,
heading, "Bibleless Christianity." Here is a brief quote from that thought-
provoking article: "Our churches are a mess; weâ•˙re full of sin,
self-centeredness, compromise, and conflict. Most churches are
failing, and most of our youth are leaving. Weâ•˙re in deep trouble to
say the least ... The main cause of our troubles is ... our shallow
knowledge of the Word of God ... we no longer have the wisdom of
God to guide and instruct us. Weâ•˙re left with our own wisdom, and it
always fails us."
Dr. Moore reminds us that in the "Great Commission" which Jesus gave us
(Matt. 28:20), He told us to teach new believers to obey "all things" that He
had commanded us . . . and he further reminds us that those things that Jesus
taught are found in the Bible, and without the Bible, we are left with a
"Bibleless Christianity," which is an apostate Christianity. We would go
further and remind our fellow believers that in announcing the Church that
He would build (Matt. 16:18), Jesus said that the gates of hell would not be
able to stand against it. He obviously spoke of a Church on the march,
aggressively combating the forces of evil.
Everywhere in the New Testament, the importance of Christian believers
knowing the Word of God is stressed as being of the greatest importance.
For example, Paul in Col. 3:16 wrote that we should let the word of Christ
dwell in us; and in II Tim. 2:15 he instructed us to study so that we would be
approved by God, and not ashamed. As Christians we must show a
reverence for, and a knowledge of, the Bible even as the Muslims do for
the Quran and the Mormons do for the Book of Mormon.
With the media so unreliable, knowing "What OthersAre Saying"
becomes so very important in today's world. We selected a few quotes on
wide ranging subjects for this issue.
David Spady (Americans for Prosperity): "With government employees
earning six figure retirements, taxpayers are wondering why they have
to finance the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on a Government
Pension."
Michelle Malkin: "Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has once again earned
his nickname: Thurston B. Howell III. He's elite, effete and so hopelessly
out of touch with reality that his latest solution to America's fiscal
profligacy is...more fiscal profligacy, of course." (Editor's note: And the
Obama administration sends him all over the world to represent the U.S.!)
Rich Lowry (Editor, the National Review): "The outraged reaction to
New York Rep. Peter King's hearings into the radicalization of the
domestic Muslim community was so mindless it bordered on a collective
self-lobotomy."
Sarah Palin (former Governor of Alaska): "Through a process of what
candidate Obama once called 'gradual adjustment,' American consumers
have seen prices at the pump rise 67 percent since he took office ... Let's
not forget that in September 2008, candidate Obama's Energy Secretary
in-waiting [Steven Chu] said: 'Somehow we have to figure out how to
boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.' That's one campaign
promise they're working hard to fulfill!"
James Carafano, PhD (Heritage Foundation): "The [Obama]
administration has been trying to keep up with the rush of world events
and developments at home, but at no stage does it seem to be showing
real leadership."
"Gadhafi is a killer. Unless Obama and the West do something, there's
a bloodbath coming." -- Richard Cohen, Washington Post
Libyan leader Gadhafi has "lost the confidence of his own people and the
legitimacy to lead." -- Barack Hussein Obama
"Liberalism is a mental disorder" -- Michael Savage
"National pathetic radio" -- Cal Thomas, speaking of NPR
"Catching up with events, but never leading." -- FSM Security Update,
speaking of the Obama administration
"If the Japanese can't build a safe reactor, who can?"
-- Anne Applebaum, Opinion Writer, the Washington Post
╲Itâ•˙s not Planned Parenthood. No, itâ•˙s planned genocide."
-- Herman Cain, author and talk show host
And then there are these random "Afterthoughts" . . .
Try as hard as they can, Congress can't keep up with Obama. In the
day when the House (followed soon by the Senate) voted to cut $6 billion
from government spending, the national debt rose by $71.9 billion. Whatever
Congress tries to do, Mr. Obama can outdo them -- in this case by a 12
to 1 margin. He may fail at just about everything else, but when it comes to
spending, he's a master.
You can't win them all! President Obama has reversed his two-year-old
order which he intended would prevent any new military charges against
detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo), as a step toward his pledge
to close the prison camp. But Congress has blocked the transfer of prisoners
from Gitmo to the U.S. for their trials. Mr. Obama said that he still intends to
close Gitmo "someday" -- but he may find that, as in the 1972 song by the
Creedence Clearwater Revival band, Someday Never Comes.
An interesting comment from Hillary Clinton, who last week announced
that she would not serve another term as Obama's Secretary of State, if there
were a second term: ╲No government can succeed if it excludes half of
its people from important decisions.╡ The comment seems to relate
directly to the Obama administration since more than half of the American
people do not agree with most of the actions taken by this administration,
such as Obamacare, etc.
Another interesting comment, this by Franklin D. Roosevelt, which
relates to recent protests by union members in Wisconsin: "All government
employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as
usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It
has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public
personnel management." (1937) Democrats, who revere Roosevelt as
one of their greatest leaders, seem to have moved some distance from his
position on this issue. For example, the court jester, Joe Biden, made this
assertion speaking to union members last week: "You guys built the middle
class...We don't see the value of collective bargaining, we see the
absolute positive necessity of collective bargaining...The only people
who have the capacity -- organizational capacity and muscle -- to keep,
as they say, the barbarians from the gate, is organized labor." Probably,
although one can never be sure about things Joe Biden says, he speaks for
the Obama administration.
Our Founding Fathers' opinions continue to be so relevant:
"I am not among those who fear the people. They, and not the rich, are
our dependence for continued freedom. And to preserve their
independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion
and servitude." --Thomas Jefferson, 1816
And this perceptive comment from a U.S. President, not one of our Founding
Fathers: "No country has been so much favored, or should acknowledge
with deeper reverence the manifestations of the divine protection. An all
wise Creator directed and guarded us in our infant struggle for freedom,
and has constantly watched over our surprising progress until we have
become one of the greatest nations of the earth."
-- President James Polk, 1846
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