Wednesday
THE MONTH OF MAY!
THIS WEEK'S BRIEF EDITORIAL COMMENT: For Barack Obama
this week marked the end of his visit to Europe, and the return to the stark
and tragic reality of the destruction of parts of our nation by the tornadoes
which swept across the heart of the country. And he was faced with a day
of prayer, called by Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri. (One can almost hear
the usual objections from the ACLU!) It was a dramatic change from all the
wining, dining, and ping-pong games of a trip which he chose not to interrupt
and come home to offer words of comfort and promise of restoration to his
fellow citizens. But we should not be surprised; he has often demonstrated
that he just does not understand the responsibilities which come with being
president. At best his administration may be considered a "work in progress."
And meantime another Memorial Day has come and gone -- its real meaning
recognized by some Americans, but observed by many as the first holiday of
the Summer, and a time for barbeques, picnics and a day at the beach. There
is another important national date to observe: Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012,
now just 524 days from today . . . 524 days to pray for God's blessing on
America, and for wisdom as we vote.
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THE OLD FAMILIAR PHRASE, "THE MERRY, MERRY
MONTH OF MAY," WAS NOT AN APPROPRIATE
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONTH OF MAY, 2011
In the memory of this writer, growing up in the 1920's, May 30 was always
called "Decoration Day," and was a day for visiting the cemeteries of family
members, decorating them with flowers or with snmall flags for those who
had served in the military. It was always an American day of remembrance,
created by an Army general in 1868 as a time for honoring those soldiers
who had given their lives during the Civil War. Through the years, the name
was changed to "Memorial Day," and in 1971, under President Nixon, the
last Monday in May was set aside as a national day of remembrance. Today
that meaning is almost lost in the celebration of the Summer's first holiday.
Tom Ruck, award winning author of "Sacred Ground," offered this word
about Memorial Day, 2011: "Alone, we stand as the shining beacon of
liberty and freedom to the world. The freedoms we enjoy today have
not come without a price and are too often taken for granted. Because
of the brave men and women -- who, from the very start of our nation's
existence, have worn the uniform of all branches of the military so we
can live in freedom without fear -- we have the freedom to worship as
we choose; vote as we choose; travel from one end of this great country
to the other; and the opportunity to succeed or fail in pursuing our own
individual versions of the American dream."
The month of May, 2011, was not one of Mr. Obama's best; in fact, it
may conceivably be ranked among his prime "months to be forgotten." Early
on, his undeclared, "it's-not-really-a-war," war with Libya was not going well.
The president has still not complied with the War Powers Act of 1973, passed
by Congress in an over-ride of President Nixon's veto. (Whether one chooses
to like it or not, it is still the law of the land.) The effort to remove Muammar
el-Qadhaffi as ruler of Libya drags on, with no end immediately in sight unless
the offer by Russia to seek a resolution of the conflict may result in some sort
of a solution. And in Syria, President Assad, whom our State Department has
always called a "reformer," continued to kill those civilians who object to his
oppressive regime. Then there was Osama bin Laden's capture, killing and
his burial-at-sea within 24 hours -- removing him as the master-mind of al
Qaeda was, of course, a great accomplishment; how it was carried out has
left great scars in our relationships with Muslim countries in the middle-East.
And then the troublesome month ended with what can best be described as
an unfortunate confrontation -- before TV cameras -- with the Israeli Prime
Minister Netanyahu. It was the kind of mis-match that Mr. Obama will
certainly seek to avoid ever again. And then, after leaving the country for a
visit to Europe, the president was again upstaged by Mr. Netanyahu in his
address to a joint session of Congress where he received more standing
ovations than Mr. Obama received in his State of the Union Address before
that same audience.
And the European trip was no winner. He bungled his appearance at the state
dinner given by the Queen at Buckingham Palace by demonstrating an
ignorance of protocol by talking over the British National Anthem during his
toast to the Queen. Then his speech to Parliament was "panned" -- that is the
word used to describe the press reaction. At the G-8 conference, the real
leadership in the Palestinian-Israeli situation was demonstrated by Canada,
not the U.S . . . and the final affront was the snubbing of the president by
Polish great, Lech Walesa, who refused to meet with Mr. Obama.
But ultimately the president did deign to visit Joplin, and on Sunday he
spent 3 hours there for photo-ops, and a speech at the day of prayer service
proclaimed by Governor Nixon. His words, nicely read, as always, from the
teleprompter, were strange, in view of the very short visit: "We will be with
you every step of the way. We’re not going anywhere. The cameras may
leave. The spotlight may shift. But we will be with you every step of the
way until Joplin is restored and this community is back on its feet. We’re
not going anywhere." The auditorium had a capacity of 1,900, but many in
the deeply conservative city chose not to come. In retrospect, Mr. Obama
might wish that he had returned immediately after the tornado struck, and had
shown some real compassion and concern for Americans who had known
one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in American history.
And as this month of May came to a close, the Palestinian-Israeli problem
is still with us, and no resolution in sight. The Obama administration had sided
with those in Egypt who wanted President Mubarak removed -- and now our
long time ally, and friend of Israel is to be tried for his life. And those who
filled Cairo's Tahrir Square, demanding Mubarak's ouster, were back in the
same spot last week, calling for a "second revolution," and carrying banners
reading, "Egyptian revolution is not over." Lurking in the background is the
ever-present Muslim Brotherhood, ready to assume control. And last week
Egypt opened the border with Gaza, making possible the supply of weapons
for the Palestinians to attack Israel. The Rafah border crossing had been shut
by a joint effort of Egypt and Israel after the terrorist organization Hamas
took control of Gaza in June, 2007. It has been stated that if the Palestinians
put down their weapons, there would be no more war. If the Israelis put
down their weapons, there would be no more Israel.
Mr. Obama made this veiled threat of leaving Israel to stand alone against
their Muslim enemies,“Israel will face growing isolation without a credible
Middle East peace process … The status quo is unsustainable, and Israel
too must act boldly to advance a lasting peace.” What Mr. Obama does
not understand is the Biblical promise of God, "For I will take you from
among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries and will bring
you into your own land ... Ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
(Ezekiel 36:24,28).
Dr. Michael Evans of the Jerusalem Prayer Team summarized it well: "The
Holy City is forever and eternally the property of the nation of Israel. It
is an historical fact. It is a Biblical promise. Jerusalem is the only city on
earth where God has set His name...and the only city that comes with a
curse upon all nations who rise up against it."
Because the "elite media" (press and TV) are so liberally biased, we
continue to bring to you examples of "What Others Are Saying" so that you
have a broader spectrum of opinions from across America.
Investors Business Daily: "On issue after issue, Republicans are putting
forward serious, sober and often politically risky solutions to the nation's
most pressing problems, while Democrats play class-warfare games and
stoke the public's fear."
Tony Perkins (FRC): "While the House cranks out plan after economic
plan, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) seems perfectly content to coast along in
the sea of futility. Occasionally, he'll drop anchor--but just long enough
to reject a proposal passed by the lower chamber."
Robert Ringer: "Now that our dear leader has again shown his
contempt for Israel and his sentimental attachment to radical Muslims,
Israelis are feeling the heat from Jew haters worldwide more than at
any time since World War II. Obama's modern-day version of the final
solution is for Israel to simply cooperate in its own suicide by giving up
the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. (Predictably,
he has since fudged a bit on the issue for political purposes.)"
Skip MacLure (in Conservative Outpost on Mr. Obama's conflicting
comments on Israel): "It’s going to be a tough act to follow...selling
out our strongest and best ally in all of the world. Now, Obama has
proclaimed loudly that 'No, no, you guys got it all wrong… I didn’t say
what I said, even though the entire world heard me say it.'"
without raising taxes.' That's the conventional wisdom at the better
cocktail parties from Washington, DC, to Boston -- and, thank
goodness, it's wrong."
Tony Adkins (Conservative Action Alerts): "The mainstream media's
allegiance to President Obama is stifling their objectivity and
impartiality in seeking the truth. While Obama plays ping pong in
England and drinks Guinness beer in Ireland, the security of U.S.
soldiers hangs in the balance. Leaks within the Administration have
led to the release a SEAL Team Six member's name to a newspaper
in California."
Phil Cooke (in Charisma News on-line): "Our President's sadly
imperceptive declaration—announcing that any quest for peace
between the Israelis and the Palestinians 'must begin with a return to
the 1967 borders' --is a naked betrayal of our nation's historic and
just will to support Israel against antagonists that wish to destroy her
very existence."
And here are a few "One Liners" which we found this week:
"Barack Obama has become Yasser Arafat's dream come true."
-- columnist Oliver North
On Obama's undercutting of Israel: "Is this genuine antipathy toward
Israel or the arrogance of a blundering amateur?"
-- Charles Krauthammer, in the Washington Post
"As world burns, G8 leaders fiddle ..." -- Christian Science Monitor
“Each time he addresses the war in Libya, President Obama seems to
contradict himself.” -- editorial, Washington Post
And here are a few random, "Afterthoughts" . . .
If we may be permitted a touch of humor: This came in from some of our
readers this week, and we pass it on for your enjoyment. It is in the form of
an "Open Letter" . . .
Dear President Obama:
I am writing today with a somewhat unusual request. First and foremost,
I will be asking that you return the United States of America to its
August 20, 1959 borders so that Hawaii is no longer a state, and you
are no longer a citizen. Thank you.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
An interesting (and perhaps amusing) news story . . . "Obama‘s trip to
the UK hasn’t really been a hit with the locals. Not only did the British
media pan his speech to Parliament, but he was heavily ridiculed for his
botched toast to the Queen. And now, the city of London has just
slapped him with a fine. The Mayor of London announced that the
president’s motorcade and his limo “The Beast” would have to pay a
'congestion charge.' A 2003 allows the mayor to levy the fine for
excessive traffic since the streets were technically closed during the
president’s visit." (Comment: probably U.S. taxpayers will have to pay the
fine, plus the cost of flying that huge vehicle across the world to provide him
and his wife with their accustomed comfort in riding to and from tourist sites.)
An Interesting news story from the Washington Post: "Since 1997, the
military has spent more than $32 billion in vain on U.S. army weaponry
that was never built, according to a new study. Though the study has not
yet been published, it calls the Army Weapons Programs' fruitless efforts
'unacceptable.'" (No comment needed.)
This sort of makes Supreme Court justices seem human: Supreme Court
Justice Sonia Sotomayor says she received about $1.2 million to write a story
of her rise from a South Bronx housing project to the nation’s highest court.
She reported the payment for the as-yet untitled book from Knopf Doubleday
in an annual report of personal finances. (And that's only for her first book!)
Keeping up to date with the polls . . . a new poll released this week by
Gallup discloses that approval for Obama's performance as president is lower
among veterans and active U.S. military than it is among non-military people.
Based on interviews with more than 238,000 respondents between January
2010 and April 2011, only 37% of active or veteran military approved his
performance, against 48% of non military personnel.
A thought about a politically incorrect term:"Islamaphobia." A "phobia"
is an irrational fear, and there's nothing irrational about fearing a religion with
an excessively high proportion of adherents who think they're entirely justified
in blowing up innocent people who don't believe as they do, and decapitating
captured Westerners for the greater glory of Allah. From accounts of the
killing of Hindu believers in India by Islamists comes this thought: "It doesn't
matter whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or any other
religion. If you are not a Muslim you are the target of Muslim persecution
and slaughter."
Because our nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, our
Founding Fathers often spoke of the need for "virtue," which today we call
"moral values."
-- John Adams, 1776
"Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched
situation." --James Madison, 1788
“The great pillars of all government and of social life are virtue,
morality, and religion. This is the armor…and this alone, that renders
us invincible.” -- Patrick Henry, 1799
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