Wednesday
WASHINGTON IS BROKEN!
THIS WEEK'S BRIEF EDITORIAL COMMENT: Last week we had to
admit that May hadn't been our greatest month, and certainly not for President
Obama. And June isn't getting started as being much better. The national rate
of unemployment -- even by the usually deceptively optimistic Obama Labor
Department figures -- has moved up to 9.1%. A few weeks ago when it
dropped by .10%, it was heralded as a great achievement by the Obama plan.
This week's increase by the same amount was brushed aside by our glib,
teleprompted leader as a "bump in the road" enroute to his mythical recovery.
And his "non-war" war in Libya drags on ... in Afghanistan, president Karzai
is signalling that he wants our military out of his country ... in Syria, the Obama
administration's "reformer," President Assad, continues to kill objectors to his
oppressive regime ... in Yemen: who knows?... in Egypt, the Muslim
Brotherhood seems poised to take control, and Israel's long-time friend has
opened the border to facilitate the supply of arms to Hamas. All-in-all, another
month is well on its way toward becoming one-to-be-forgotten. Certainly not
the foundation for a sitting president to build his re-election campaign on.
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WE FOUND THIS HEADLINE IN "REDSTATE," AND FELT IT
WAS WORTH REPEATING: "WASHINGTON IS BROKEN,
AND NEEDS LEADERSHIP. WHERE IS PRESIDENT
OBAMA?" YOU BE THE JUDGE IF IT APPLIES
But first, here is a comment from a very familiar voice . . . for more than 50
years, Billy Graham was the voice of Christian evangelism, in America and
internationally. Earlier this year he responded to some questions on current
events, and made this profound assessment of Christian responsibility in our
difficult times: "The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in
nature, and our calling is to declare Christ’s forgiveness and hope and
transforming power to a world that does not know Him or follow Him."
He prefaced that statement with these words: "The central issues of our time
aren’t economic or political or social, important as these are."
Whether or not he intended to do so, Mr. Graham has expressed a dichotomy
that defines our Christian responsibility today. It can be doubted that he meant
for his responses to reflect an "either-or" position -- EITHER reforms in our
social, economic and political practices, OR proclaiming the Gospel. It is far
more likely that he meant for his responses to reflect a "both-and" position --
BOTH restoring a moral standard to our social, economic and political
practices, AND proclaiming the Gospel.
And it is that "both-and" position that we need to re-establish in our nation.
We have drifted in recent years so far from what America used to be; what
it was founded to be. To call to mind just a few of our downward actions ...
in 1947 the Supreme Court ruled on the "Separation of Church and State,"
opening the door for Madalyn Murray Ohair and her 1962 lawsuit which
literally kicked God out of our schools ... in 1973 the Supreme Court ruled
to make abortions legal, and since that time some 50 million babies have
been killed ... in 2010 President Obama signed the repeal of the "Don't Ask
Don't Tell" law which restricted open homosexuality in our armed forces, in
fulfillment of a campaign promise to his homosexual supporters ... and at
present Mr. Obama is fulfilling another promise to those homosexuals -- he
is actively attempting to repeal DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and
thus open the door to same-sex marriages in every state. And this president
scornfully dismisses Biblical teaching on homosexuality as an "obscure verse
in Romans," but speaks reverently of the "holy Quran," ignores observance
of the National Day of Prayer, but sponsors gala recognition of the Islamic
holy period of Ramadan.
In the face of such anti-Christian trends in our nation, we do indeed need the
"both-and" practices of which Billy Graham spoke, and an adherence to God's
promise in II Chron. 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."
One of our nation's Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, in 1781 expressed
our need in these words: "And can the liberties of a nation be thought
secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the
minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are
not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country
when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever."
Our continuing responsibility, as Christians: we have often shared this
verse of Scripture, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for
kings and for all that are in authority ..." (I Tim. 2:2) Thus we have been
maintaining a period of prayer, leading to the next national election day, Nov.
6, 2012 . . . and there are, as of today, 517 days to pray for our nation, for
our leaders, and for God's direction as we vote next year.
A few issues ago we asked: "Quo Vadis, America?" This week, after
seeing this headline on a current news story: "Unemployment Goes Up,
Obama Declares Victory," we are faced with that same question: "Where
is America going?" That headline came after a dismal week of economic
reports, as in the Heritage Foundation: "The economic news keeps getting
worse for America. Last month, the unemployment rate went up to 9.1
percent, the economy added only 54,000 jobs, and the average length of
unemployment rose to more than nine months, the longest since the
Labor Department started keeping track in 1948. But despite all the
writing on the wall, President Barack Obama wants you and the 13.9
million unemployed Americans to hang on for the ride," a ride, which Mr.
Obama admitted, may incur a few bumps in the road. (Adding to all that bad
news, the government revised the employment figures for March and April to
show 39,000 fewer jobs were created than they had previously estimated.)
"Stubbornly high unemployment numbers, cratering home prices, stock
market plunges -- there's only one upside to all these depressing figures,"
wrote columnist Gary Rivlin, "They may finally force Washington to stop
obsessing over the deficit and get to work on fixing unemployment."
We could well ask that same question about the Obama administration's plans
internationally, with the announcement, relayed to us from Great Britain via the
London Telegraph, that in Afghanistan, American officials have set a goal of
direct negotiations with Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban. During a visit
to Islamabad last month, Marc Grossman, Washington's special envoy to the
region, appealed for help in contacting the reclusive Taliban leader, according
to Imtiaz Gul, the head of the Center for Research and Security Studies in
Islamabad. "He said we are looking for people or groups that can
demonstrate their access to Mullah Omar," Mr. Gul said. In February,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated a major change in policy involving
talking with the Taliban, and during his current farewell trip to Afghanistan,
soon outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted that talks would
start "by the end of the year." Mr. Grossman, the replacement for special
envoy Richard Holbrooke, has been nicknamed "Mr. Reconciliation," and has
reportedly been told to focus on tying up an agreement that will speed up the
return of American troops from Afghanistan.
In the light of these dramatic swings, one is inclined to find some credence in
the essay "When will Obama crack in public?" by Mychal Massie, Chairman
of National Leadership of Black Conservatives, in which he pointed out,
"Obama continues to exhibit behavior that at best can be described as
mobocratic, and at worst, reveals a deeply ndamaged individual." In that
connection, Massie cites Steve McCann's assessment of Obama in American
Thinker, where he wrote, "His performance was the culmination of four
years of outright lies and narcissism that have been largely ignored by
the media, including some in the conservative press and political class
who are loath to call him what he is in the bluntest of terms: a liar and
a fraud...It is apparent that he has gotten away with his character flaws
his entire life, aided and abetted by sycophants around him..."
A viewpoint on Syria we don't often hear, from Mahmoud Harmoush,
Imam of the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley, CA: "Although the bodies
of slaughtered men, women and children strewn across the Syrian
countryside appear pixilated in videos secretly recorded with cellphone
cameras, the Syrian regime's crimes against humanity have never been
clearer ... The limitations on the United States to intervene militarily
are readily apparent. However, evil that cannot be changed with action
must be opposed clearly and unequivocally with words. Republicans and
Democrats at all levels should express a consistent message to the
international community that the Syrian regime has lost its legitimacy."
Given the liberal bias of the Main Line Media, we use our research
capabilities to bring you "What Others Are Saying" to help you to stay informed.
Dr. Alan Bates, M.D. (Straight Talk commentator): "The un-American
Left which now controls the Democrat Party reveled this week under a
delusion that they had struck a chord with America's seniors...The party
of 'hope and change' is more aptly named the party of 'do nothing and
lies', and an increasing majority of Americans are fed up with the greed
and corruption of the Demagogue Party."
Skip MacLure (in Conservative Outpost, on Obama's education plans):
"They are not educating our children… they are indoctrinating them. Our
Government Indoctrination Centers are predating them by forcing them
to be exposed to a lifestyle and its attendant practices that about 80%
of the public find repugnant and many find immoral."
Rachel Alexander (co-editor, Intellectual Conservative): "While the
Obama administration has been busy bailing out irresponsible financial
institutions and big business, individual homeowners have been left with
little relief, and many forced to file for bankruptcy."
Prophecy News Watch: "The coverage of recent events in Egypt is
further proof that Western elites cannot see the forest for the trees ...
Neither the military nor the protesters are calling the shots anymore in
Egypt, if they ever were. That is the job of the Muslim Brotherhood...So
much for Egypt's liberal democrats ... As for the military, they see
themselves as engines for a transition from Mubarak's authoritarian
secularism to the Brotherhood's populist Islamism."
Ben Johnson (writing in White House Watch): "Obama sent an already
overstretched American military to take sides in the Libyan civil war, as
part of the NATO operation known as Operation Odyssey Dawn. Now,
well over 60 days into the fight, the war proceeds with no sign of
Congressional approval and a promise of 'no let-up.' By the most liberal
reading of the War Powers Resolution, this is illegal."
Douglas Schoen (political strategist):
Gas and grocery prices are soaring,
the housing market is crashing to new lows, and yet another dismal jobs
report has confirmed a stubbornly high unemployment rate."
Heritage Foundation (on the danger of cyber terrorism): "Protecting
America is no longer just a matter of diplomacy and sending armed
forces overseas to fight. In the past 10 years, national defense has
become a multifaceted intelligence enterprise, requiring additional
expertise against nuclear, cyber and chemical threats from our enemies."
And for the "Understatement of the Year" award, it goes to:
George Friedman (writing in Stratfor): "Obama’s speech on Israel, and
his subsequent statements,created enough ambiguity to make exactly
what he was saying unclear."
And a selection of a few more-or-less "One Liners" . . .
"We're on the verge of a great, great depression." -- Peter Yastrow,
Market Strategist, on CNBC
"We're falling into a double-dip recession." -- Robert Reich, former
Secretary of Labor, writing in Christian Science Monitor
"Our plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit. Our fallback plan is
for Congress to pass the debt limit, and our fallback to the fallback
plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit." -- Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner, on May 25.
And here are a few random "Afterthoughts" . . .
Like death and taxes always being with us, so also so are the polls,
and the latest Rasmussen Reports discloses that Nancy Pelosi is holding on
to her ranking as Congress' most disliked leader. Just 28% of likely U.S.
voters have a favorable opinion of the former Speaker of the House, with
63% viewing her unfavorably. But she is doing somewhat better than the
Majority Leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, for whom only 21% give him
a favorable rating, with 50% holding an unfavorable view of him.
We know that here in America the media is basically anti-Christian, and
apparently the same is true in Great Britain, even with the venerable BBC. In a
survey recently conducted by the BBC itself, this statement summarized the
general tone of the results: “Christians are specifically mentioned as being
badly treated, with a suggestion that more minority religions are better
represented, despite Christianity being the most widely observed religion
within Britain.”
And on the subject of polls and surveys, here are few more reports: a
recent Gallup poll disclosed that 91% of respondents consider extramarital affairs
as immoral sins. Others in the top 5 immoral sins were polygamy, cloning humans,
suicide and pornography. And in another survey conducted by the Government
Business Council among Senior Executive Service members of the Obama
administration, the emerging opinion was that President Obama's political
appointees are "inept, incapable, and needlessly politicize the basic
functions of whole segments of the federal government." (We really didn't
need a survey to tell us that.)
President Obama proclaimed June as LGBT Month. The proclamation
stated, "The story of America's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
(LGBT) community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and
daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue the task of making
our country a more perfect Union." And the president noted his own record
on issues which the LGBT community advocates: "Since taking office, my
Administration has made significant progress towards achieving equality
for LGBT Americans." Obama is not the first president to recognize LGBT
month. Former President Bill Clinton did so in 1999. Mr. Obama has issued
such a proclamation each year he has been in office.
And another of Obama's top appointees, Austan Goolsbee, chairman of
the president's Council of Economic Advisers, has announced he is leaving,
and does so with his position about the same as when he inherited it; with the
economy in the doldrums, no clear path to recovery in sight and the
unemployment rate continuing at above 9%. Washington policy-watchers
seem to explain his departure as because he felt frustrated and tired of
seeing what he viewed as necessary policies sacrificed to the imperatives of
political positioning and compromise.
Some memorable thoughts from our Founding Fathers, and others . . .
"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in
religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can
be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican
governments." -- Benjamin Rush, 1806
"Born in other countries, yet believing you could be happy in this, our
laws acknowledge, as they should do, your right to join us in society,
conforming ... to our established rules." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1801
And from a 20th century president: "Settlers came here from mixed motives...
Generally defined, they were seeking a broader freedom. They were
intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance to the
principle of self-government...It has been said that God sifted the nations
that He might send choice grain into the wilderness."
-- President Calvin Coolidge, 1923
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