Wednesday
YES, OUR WORLD IS IN A MESS!
THIS WEEK'S EDITORIAL COMMENT: The perception by our
Founding Fathers of the future of the nation they were creating continues
to be tremendously significant in the unsettled times we are currently
experiencing. In 1805, Mercy Otis Warren, who was known as the
"Conscience of the American Revolution," wrote, "It is necessary for every
American, with becoming energy to endeavor to stop the dissemination
of principles evidently destructive of the cause for which they have bled.
It must be the combined virtue of the rulers and of the people to do this,
and to rescue and save their civil and religious rights from the
outstretched arm of tyranny, which may appear under any mode or
form of government." Remarkably applicable to our current situation!
In this issue we will be spending less time in commenting on the events
which are featured in the daily news, and look instead at the issue which
our Founding Fathers considered so important: national and individual virtue,
to use their term, or moral issues, to use a more contemporary term. The
results may prove to be disturbing, to say the least.
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YES, OUR WORLD IS IN A MESS, AND IT SEEMS
TO GET WORSE EACH DAY; BUT THERE ARE
IMPORTANT ISSUES BEYOND ALL THAT WHICH
ARE BEING IGNORED. TODAY WE'LL CONSIDER
THEM
What more appropriate phrase to start with than this very frank appraisal
of our world from columnist Suzy Rice: "The world — the world of the
human population on a global level — is nuts. The news, it is full of
crazed, mad men and women running amok, actions characterized by
barbarity and something I describe as sub-civilization."
The media reported news has been mainly focused on two events: the
disaster in Japan and the dissention and revolt in the Middle East. On Japan,
what can be said? Each day's news report seems to conflict with the previous
day's report. And this is understandable. This was an unprecedented triple
disaster of a major earthquake (followed by after-shocks in the 6.0 range or
higher), a massively destructive tsunami, and a nuclear crisis of dimensions the
world's experts have not been able to compute. Already more than 27,000
are confirmed dead or missing . . . a quarter million are homeless, with their
communities all but obliterated. Relief aid efforts have been seriously impaired
due to the radioactive dangers. Current estimates place the cost at $300 billion,
which would make this the most expensive national disaster on record -- but
those estimates are by no means final. As we have so often urged: prayer for
God's comfort and healing is our primary responsibility.
But the Japan disaster has been displaced by the Middle East crisis.
Again: what can be said? Our man-child president brought new meaning to
the terms "indecisive" and "dithering." On Monday night he gave a much-
heralded speech to explain his position on Libya, and it reminded one of the
classic quote from "The Third Man" film: "In Italy for 30 years under the
Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they
produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In
Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy
and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." One of the
national commentators opined that the administration must have considered it
to be important -- there were 8 American flags as a backdrop.
We did a quick analysis of 12 editorial commentators, more than half Liberals;
2 gave solid positive reactions to the speech; 9 were negative on it, and 1 was
neutral. Here are two examples: Bobby Eberle (in The Eagle): "Americans
are still scratching their heads wondering if Obama knows what he's
doing." And columnist Barry Rubin: "The Western intervention in Libya
is the kind of thing that makes governments feel good and look good ...
but is of little or no strategic importance." As Americans, we are left
confused and with no explanation of our goal or purpose. A few days ago, Mr.
Obama stamped his foot and declared petulantly "Gadhafi must go!" Then
on Monday night he said: "to include regime change would be a mistake."
Yesterday, his Secretary of State Clinton was in London, agreeing with other
coalition members that removing Gadhafi is necessary. And as for Syria,
where protests and the killing of protestors are as evident as they ever were
in Libya, Ms. Clinton says the U.S. regards Syrian President Bashir Assad as
a "reformer,” and we will not intervene on behalf of the protestors as we did
in Libya. As is often the case, the best advice is to "stay tuned."
But there are other issues which are more important to Christians, and
we do represent more than 80% of the U.S. population -- even though Mr
Obama keeps insisting that this is not a Christian nation. In some other
countries of the world, where a majority -- even far less than 80% -- is
Muslim and follows the Islam religion, that country is always referred to as
a Muslim nation. It's an example of the idiom, "in the eye of the beholder."
In his own words used during his presidential campaign in 2008, candidate
Obama said: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian." We have
often spoken of the Obama administration's "Credibility Crisis" -- or in other
words, people just don't believe what they say. In this particular context, two
national surveys in August, 2010, substantiate this fact. A Pew Research poll
showed that 34% think Obama is a Christian, down from 48% in 2009, while
18% think he is a Muslim, up from 11% in 2009. Similarly, a Newsweek poll
in the same time period showed that 42% think he is a Christian, down from
51% in 2009, and 24% think he is Muslim, up from 13% in 2009. One of the
problems is that in addition to the other unavailable documents, like his birth
certificate, his college records, etc., is the lack of any baptismal certificate,
attesting to his baptism into the Christian faith. Or perhaps he never was.
His actions, which put into effect his convictions and beliefs, do little to
indicate that he is a Christian. He ignored any recognition of the National
Day of Prayer, but in a gala event at theWhite House celebrated the Islam
holiday of Ramadan. We recall his statement, shortly after his election, that
the Muslim call to prayer was "the sweetest sound on earth," and the TV
interview when he inadvertently spoke of "my Muslim faith." Beyond
those actions, he made a campaign promise to repeal DOMA, the Defense of
Marriage Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton.
He remains committed to that goal, so much so that he has ordered his
Justice Department to stop defending DOMA against attacks, although this
is a federal law.
And Mr. Obama's long term plans start with indoctrinating our youngest
school children. His "Safe Schools Czar" (one of more than 30 appointed
"Czars," at last count) is Kevin Jennings, a practicing homosexual, whose
goal is expressed clearly: "every school, public private or parochial has
an obligation" to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum. His plan is to teach the
children when they are young -- kindergarten, first and second grades, and
eliminate any concept of traditional values, which will be treated as old
fashioned, out of date, or as bigotry.
He pushed through his health care reform bill (Obamacare), which provides
federal funding for abortions. (This week's polls show 58% favor its repeal.)
Efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in the Congress are meeting with strong
Democrat opposition. And now he is taking his beliefs to an international level,
by urging the UN's Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, to combat
discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world. The U.S. position
is not in the form of a binding resolution, but has helped win over a few new
countries to his cause, and a formal resolution could be voted on later this year.
None of these anti-Christian efforts by the Obama administration and its
Democrat supporters has gained support among American voters, according
to all recent polls. Rasmussen's Daily Presidential Tracking report shows Mr.
Obama still with double digit negative scores, and the overall favorable
opinion of Congress is at just 13%. Obama's involvement in Libya's civil
war received only a 47% approval rating in a Gallup Poll -- the only time
that any U.S. military intervention has received less than majority approval
from the American people; 37% disapproved the action. In a Reuters/Ipsos
survey only 17% view Obama as a "strong and decisive military leader,"
and 36% see him as "indecisive and dithering."
On the economy -- not exactly a pro or anti-Christian issue, but there is
Paul's admonition: "Owe no man anything." (Romans 13:8) -- here, also,
Mr. Obama is not doing well for America and the American people. In
spite of the administration's claim that the economy is strong again, the
latest polls show that nearly 2/3 of Americans (64%) feel that we are still in
a recession. The latest Rasmussen poll shows that only 10% of Americans
feel the economy is good, while 52% feel it is poor.The Congressional Budget
Office (CBO) says that the president's budget for 2012 causes deficits that
will push the public debt to $20.8 trillion by 2021. The CBO warned that
such uncontrolled federal debt would lead to a Greek-style fiscal crisis. These
critical issues --moral and financial -- add major new importance to the 2012
elections for which we are urging prayer.
And his ban on drilling for oil from America's rich resources on land and off-
shore, is forcing us to rely on his favored Muslim nations for oil, and is forcing
gasoline to the $5. per gallon price in line with the announced goal of his
Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, that we should get the price of gasoline
up to the level of European countries. Now this is an aspect of mishandling
the economy which directly affects Christians, as well as every American.
Always important is our responsibility to pray for God's comfort and
healing for the people of Japan, still experiencing the life and nation changing
effects of earthquakes and tsunami . . . and for the patriots of Libya and the
other Arab nations who are seeking freedom from oppression . . . and for
the Christians in so many countries who are suffering persecution, and in
all too many cases, death, from Islamists. And here in America there are
now 587 days till Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012, when we can vote to restore
America to being the kind of nation our Founding Fathers intended it to be.
The great Civil War general, Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th president, wrote in
1885: "The right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are
oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to
relieve themselves of the oppression, if they are strong enough, either
by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a
government more acceptable."
The always perceptive and cogent Mark Alexander, writing in the
Patriot Post, offered this comment on the major prevailing aspect of today's
current events, and with it we will wind up our discussion: "Finally, it's
worth highlighting how utterly disagreeable is the military operation
label "Odyssey Dawn." An odyssey is a very long, convoluted saga --
not an event wrapped up in a few days, as this effort has been
promoted, thus far. We're hoping that the Pentagon has a good sense
of humor and irony. Otherwise and unwittingly, it may have aptly coined
the beginning of yet another endless military journey. It might be nice
to rid the world of Moammar Gadhafi. But before we commit American
lives and resources toward doing so, shouldn't we first pause to ask the
question: At what cost?"
Given the unreliable media, "What Others Are Saying" is important.
Erick Erickson (Editor, RedState.com): "We are stuck into this mess
and now the question becomes how to accomplish something worthwhile
rather than turning what little American prestige that remains after two
years of this abominable administration into a flaming holocaust on the
altar of internationalism and feel-goodism."
Robert Ringer (on a government shut-down): "A government shutdown
is a way to stop a whole lot of government spending without having to
fight to repeal anything. I believe that about half of the voters want to
see a government shutdown - and keep it shut down until Congress
agrees to cut the budget by an amount equal to the $1.7 trillion deficit
... for starters."
Col. Bob Pappas (USMC, ret): "Has there ever been a more incompetent
or, in the alternative, intentionally destructive US Administration? There
was Carter with his merry brood of hillbillies who out of sheer stupidity
brought new meaning to the word "incompetent" to Government. But
Carter was otherwise harmless, Obama's is intentional and intended to
diminish the U.S in the world community."
Ben Shapiro (columnist and a real graduate of Harvard Law School):
"As the price of oil skyrockets, as our debt levels rise to new highs and
our housing market drops to new lows, President Obama decides that it is
a fantastic time to start dropping bombs on Libya. Nobody, including
Obama, seems to know what our objective is in Libya."
David Limbaugh: "Obama will remain as clueless, impervious and
intransigent about the ineffectiveness of his foreign policy as he is to the
proven failures of his domestic ones, and he'll learn no lesson from any
of this. In his eyes, he is remaking America for the better -- and that's
the only way he's capable of seeing it."
Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei: "We don't know whether the current U.S.
president is mindful of what he is uttering, or if he is unconscious and
confused."
As usual, in this week's research we found a few "One Liners" . . .
"Obama must realize that he's now in the regime-change business."
-- Benny Avni (in the New York Post)
"Destroy the family, you destroy the country." -- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
"Call it the Goldilocks military plan: Not too much, not too little, not
too unilateral, not too American." -- Mesh Report on Obama's Libya war
"The Obama Administration plumbs new depths of stupidity daily."
-- Gary Bauer, in End of Day
And, as usual, here are a few random "Afterthoughts" . . .
Interesting: a Middle East view of America. Tariq al-Homayed, chief
editor, Saudi newspaper, al-Sharq al-Awsat, expresses the combination of
shock and horror at the Obama Administration. He complains that the
statements coming from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sound "more like
what we'd expect to hear from the Iranian foreign minister, " and adds,
the "contradictory statements coming out of Washington have become
more than merely perplexing; they are also suspicious."
"Euphemism" is an interesting word. A dictionary definition is: "the
substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may
offend or suggest something unpleasant." With that in mind, consider
these few euphemisms: (1) From the Bush administration years, "Enhanced
interrogation" instead of "torture." (2) From the Obama administration
years, "Kinetic military action" instead of "war." And "undocumented
immigrant" instead of "illegal alien." In each of those cases it's a new and
politically correct way of referring to current happenings.
There is this bit of good news from California. Last week the San
Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals announced it will not lift a
temporary ban on same-sex "marriages," despite strong pressure from lawyers
for the homosexual minority arguing against Prop. 8. The California law was
overwhelmingly passed in 2008, defining marriage as between a man and a
woman. Supporters of same-sex "marriage" have had the assistance of the
state's Attorney General, Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in attempting to get the
ban lifted. However, the Court refused to lift the ban until the state's Supreme
Court rules on the constitutionality of the law -- and hearings before the state's
highest court will not begin until September.
And there is this encouraging note: In a new book, Megashift, author
James Rutz says Christianity, not Islam, is the fastest growing religion on earth.
This may not be the case in America, but Rutz points out that Christianity is
sweeping acoss Africa, China and Southeast Asia, and states, "The growing
core of Christianity crosses theological lines and includes 707 million
born-again people who are increasing by eight percent a year."
We continue to be impressed by our Founding Fathers' wisdom.
"Human government is more or less perfect as it approaches nearer or
diverges farther from the imitation of this perfect plan of divine and
moral government." -- John Adams, 1770
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal
government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the
State governments are numerous and indefinite." -- James Madison, 1788
"Most bad government has grown out of too much government."
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1807
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