Wednesday
"CONFUSION" IS THE CORRECT
TERM FOR AMERICA THIS WEEK!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011, of our 9th year of publication.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thought for this day and this week:
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought
to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to
the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come."
Samuel Adams, at the signing of Declaration of Independence, 1776
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LAST WEEK WE SPOKE OF "CONFUSING TIMES." CURRENT
EVENTS ARE PROVING WE WERE RIGHT. "CONFUSION"
IS THE CORRECT TERM FOR AMERICA THIS WEEK.
There will be no major commentary on the subject. Instead, we will present
various aspects of the confusing times that are so much a part of life in America
and throughout the world.
Confusion in political campaigns. How can we interpret this headline from
the San Diego Union Tribune as anything but "confusing?" "GOP CANDIDATE
ROMNEY PLANS NEW 11,000 SQUARE-FOOT HOME IN LA JOLLA."
With millions out of work ... many losing their homes, and living on the streets ...
new record numbers existing on food stamps ... this doesn't seem to be an action
that would encourage American voters to put him in the White House. But what
kind of a house did he buy for $12 million just 3 years ago, and now plans to
bull-doze into rubble? The brochure listing the $12 million property described it
as "sophisticated and understated in its decor, offering complete privacy
and unsurpassed elegance." But all of that "unsurpassed elegance" will not be
destroyed; the plans for the huge new home will keep the lap pool and the spa.
More confusion in political campaigns. While Mitt Romney is still only a
potential Republican candidate for next year's presidential election, Barack Obama
has already assumed the candidacy for the Democrats. His campaign trips -- unlike
opposing candidates -- are paid for by American tax payers, and under the guise
of visiting some of the possible "swing" states in an effort to create more jobs for
the millions of unemployed Americans. But the "confusing" aspect is in the fact that
Obama is making this "jobs" tour in a $1.1 million custom designed bus -- made in
Canada, by Quebec based Prevost bus manufacturers. The basic model is VIP
H3-45, called the company's "top of the line," and described by a company spokes-
person, as being "the more luxurious model." The Obama administration bought
two of the million-dollar busses, and supposedly will make the other one available for
the Republican party candidate. But the Republican candidate would presumably have
to pay for the campaign travel expenses, if he chose to use the extra Obama bus.
Confusion in religious matters. In less than one week, the Islam holy month of
Ramadan, will be over -- a time marked by that religion's followers fasting during the
day, and by giving more to charity and do extra righteous deeds. Those "extra
righteous deeds" by a system of belief which Mr. Obama keeps describing as being
peaceful and cultured, are what we can't stand much more of. Just last weekend, as
the close of Ramadan approached, Gaza militants launched barrages of rockets deep
into Israel early Friday during the worse spasm of terrorism against Israel all year. At
least twelve rockets were fired at Israel overnight from Gaza, on top of some 30
rockets and mortars being fired at Israel on Sunday. This brought the total to more
than 140 rockets and mortars fired at Israel since Thursday. Gunmen who appear
to have originated in Gaza, crossed into southern Israel through the Egyptian
desert to ambush civilian vehicles traveling on a remote road, killing eight people.
Six were civilians, and two were members of Israeli security forces responding to
the incursion. These attacks signaled a new danger for Israel from its border with
the Sinai Peninsula, long quiet under the rule of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, but
what has now been created is virtually a no-man's land in the Sinai desert. A suicide
bomber also detonated himself near the Israel-Egyptian border over the weekend.
Eight Jews were killed in Thursday's jihadist attacks on an Israeli public bus, and at
least 30 were wounded. And in other parts of the Muslim world -- in Indonesia, for
example, the largest Muslim nation -- the burning of Christian churches and the
destruction of Christian communities continues. No, Ramadan can't end too soon!
Dr. Michael Evans (Jerusalem Prayer Team) reports that Fatah Foreign
Relations Director, Nabil Sha’ath, said last week about the Obama peace plan:
“The story of two states for two peoples means that there will be a Jewish
people over there, and a Palestinian people here. We will never accept this.”
Dr. Evans concludes, "There can be no peace. There will be no peace."
Jan Markel (in her Internet column, Understanding the Times):"Friends of
Israel today are treated like we have a mental disease. Even within
evangelicalism, we are scorned and marginalized. What is our crime? I guess
it's our interpretation of the Bible for we see Israel's land as God-given, not a
piece of property that can be divided up and handed over to terrorists."
Amid all the confusion, it's encouraging to recall how things used to be.
Looking back to the "Great Depression" of the 1930s, FDR's Secretary of the
Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, wrote about the failure of the "New Deal," which was
Roosevelt's plan to solve the crisis: "We have tried spending money. We are
spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work...I say
after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as
when we started ... and an enormous debt to boot!" Now in 2011, Academic
economist, Walter Williams, notes: "The bottom line is that Roosevelt's New Deal
policies turned what would have been a three-or-four-year sharp downturn into
a 16-year affair." And he adds, "The 1930s depression was caused by and
aggravated by acts of government, and so was the current financial mess that
we're in. Do we want to repeat history by listening to those who created the
calamity? That's like calling on an arsonist to help put out a fire."
And when we note the current day restrictions on the Christian faith imposed by the
Obama military, it is encouraging to remember that President Eisenhower (who was
a Commander in Chief who actually had military experience) authorized a code of
conduct for U.S. soldiers, which stated, "I serve in the forces which guard my
country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense...I
will never forget I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions
and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my
God and in the United States of America." Acting under similar Christian belief,
in 1962 President Lincoln ordered, "The Commander in Chief...enjoins the
observance of the Sabbath...The sacred rights of Christian soldiers and sailors,
a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian people...demand that
Sunday labor in the Army and Navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity."
(But what else should we expect; lest we forget, these presidents were Christians.)
Amid the fog of biased media opinion, here's "What Others Are Saying."
Peter Heck (opinion columnist): "Presidents own the failures that happen on
their watch. The disastrous and nationally humiliating downgrade of our
country's credit rating was not an inevitable consequence of uncontrollable
misfortune. It wasn't the result of gridlock or political wrangling between two
parties that have bickered over our national debt and credit since the days of
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It was a remarkable failure of
leadership by the man chosen to be the country's economic caretaker."
Frank Salvato (Mng. Ed. New Media Journal): "In one of the most galling
attempts in history to politically reposition a failing presidency... the
'Obamanation' is attempting to branding 'Congress and the 'political system'
as the culprits. Forget about hope and change. Forget about any dreams his
Father may or may not have had. This is audacity at its most egregious...
Mr. Obama is throwing his Progressive and Democrat allies to the wolves in
a transparent and insincere attempt to tack to the center."
Erick Erickson (writing in Human Events): "Obama can try to 'Barry
Goldwater Rick Perry' or 'John Kerry Mitt Romney.' But all Mitt Romney or
Rick Perry would have to do is turn Barack Obama into the 'second coming
of Jimmy Carter,' which he himself has already done for them."
Occasionally there a few "One Liners" which are too good to miss . . .
Isaac Asimov (American author and university professor): "Politically
popular speech has always been protected: even the Jews were free to say
‘Heil Hitler.’"
Adam Baldwin (actor and "small government conservative libertarian"):
"Scientifically speaking: Over time, what is the difference between Obama's
'dark cloud of tyranny' & Rick Perry's 'black cloud of debt?'"
GrasstopsUSA: "Hypocrisy and secrecy, thy name is Obama. It would
appear that Mr. Transparency, Barack Obama, doesn't believe that the rules
apply to him."
William Randolph Hearst: "A politician will do anything to keep his job,
even become a patriot."
And, as usual, selected at random, there are these few "Afterthoughts"
Our countdown of days to pray before our next Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012,
has dropped to 440 days . . . 440 days to pray for America, for our leaders,
and for God's direction as we go to the polls and vote to return America to the
kind of a nation it was always intended to be.
Another Founding Father, not often quoted: James Wilson was one of the
6 Founding Fathers who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. He was a Justice of the Supreme Court, and the first Law Professor
at the University of Pennsylvania. In his "Lectures on Law," written in the years
1789-1791, he explained the basis of our system of law: "Law...communicated
to us by reason and conscience...has been called natural; as promulgated by
the holy scriptures, it has been called revealed...But it should always be
remembered, that this law, natural or revealed...flows from the same divine
source; it is the law of God." And he continued, "Human law must rest its
authority, ultimately, upon the authority of that law, which is divine." We
tend to forget these principles upon which our nation was founded.
Who can you believe? On his recent campaign tour, at a Town Hall Meeting
in Illinois, President Obama said: "The economy has gotten better than it was
when I took office." Let's see: one of his first actions was a $787 billion
"stimulus" bill to keep unemployment below 8%. Since then unemployment has
averaged over 9% and another 1.3 million jobs have been lost. Our national debt
was at about $10.7 trillion in December, 2008. Today it stands at almost $14.6
trillion. And the U.S. credit rating was downgraded for the first time in history. If
that is better -- one shudders to think what it would be if things had gotten worse!
As always, there are great truths to learn from our Founding Fathers.
"Can the liberties of a nation be sure when we remove their only firm basis,
a conviction in the minds of the people, that these liberties are a gift from
God?" -- Thomas Jefferson, 1774
"The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that
disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has
ordained." -- George Washington, 1789
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with
human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition,
revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution
as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral
and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
-- John Adams, 1798
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
