Friday
MOST IMPORTANT YEAR IN U.S. HISTORY!
Friday, January 20, 2012, of our 10th year of publication
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Some thoughts about our government by the men who created it:
"If there is a form of government, then, whose principle and foundation
is virtue, will not every sober man acknowledge it better calculated
to promote the general happiness than any other form?"
John Adams, 1776
"If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours
of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them,
they must become happy."
Thomas Jefferson, 1802
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IN THIS "MOST IMPORTANT YEAR IN U.S. HISTORY," GOOD
GOVERNMENT IS ONCE AGAIN A SUBJECT TO WHICH
WE SHOULD GIVE CAREFUL CONSIDERATION
But first, there are two topics which are dominating our news recently, and
we should probably take a moment to comment briefly on them. First, there is
the video of American Marines urinating on the bodies of some slain Taliban
fighters in Afghanistan. No civilized persons in anywhere near their right mind
would condone such behavior. Our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and our
Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, used terms like "total dismay" ... "outraged"
... and "utterly deplorable," and promised that "those who participated would
be held accountable and punished." NATO spokespersons joined in expressing
disapproval of the act, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai (whose rapport with
President Obama is almost non-existent) spoke of it as "completely inhumane
and condemnable in the strongest possible terms.” [That is much stronger
language than he uses in speaking of Taliban atrocities in his country.]
But isn't it strange -- one of those "imponderable questions" -- why none of them
have voiced any outrage over the elimination of all Christian churches in
Afghanistan, nor have they spoken any words of condemnation when Islamists have
beheaded Infidels (people who do not profess the Islamic faith), and have murdered
Christian pastors, raped Christian women and destroyed Christian churches in country
after country throughout the Muslim dominated world. Why do those acts not cause
the same reactions that this urinating incident has produced?
The other prominent item in our news is the ongoing series of primaries to
select a Republican candidate to oppose Mr. Obama in the November presidential
election. ANC has not made, and will not make, any endorsement of any candidate,
but we do have some thoughts on this seemingly never-ending schedule of "debates"
and primary elections. As the jockeying for top position continues, the verbiage gets
nastier, and one can easily conceive of the Obama campaign staff members making
careful note of all the attacks on one another from within the four or five GOP
candidates. Mark Alexander, publisher of Patriot Post, pointed out: "Sadly, the
Republican presidential contenders are still running plays out of an antiquated
and self-destructive political attack playbook. They do so at great cost, both
financially and to the ultimate objective of defeating Barack Hussein Obama."
And it should be noted that Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first two primary
battles have been decided, the unemployment rates are 5.7% and 5.2% respectively,
both well beneath the national average. But the next three primary elections will be
in South Carolina (Jan. 21) with a 9.9% rate; in Florida (Jan. 31) with a 10% rate,
and in Nevada, Feb. 4) with a 13% unemployment rate. The interests and concerns
of the voters in those three states will be greatly different from those in the first two
states. So, boring as it may seem, there is still much to be learned from this process.
And now concerning our announced topic: Good Government. In any research
on the history of the government of the United States, it is absolutely necessary to
go back to the positions held by leaders of this nation, and such research very clearly
discloses that the character of the nation's leader has always had a profound influence
on the government itself. Our first president, George Washington, said this in 1778
about the character of his fellow Americans who made up this new nation: "While we
are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly
ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished
character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished
character of Christian." A few years later, in 1789, President Washington said,
"The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable
principles of private morality." In similar vein, John Adams, our second president,
said in 1798, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Building upon the foundation of the testimony of our Founding Fathers on the relation
of moral and Christian character to good government, now reprinted for the first time
since 1890, a new edition of Edward Giddings's American Christian Rulers, offers
biographies of nearly 200 American statesmen, and serves as a call to action, in this
election year, to restore America's integrity in this corruption burdened 21st century.
Since Giddings compiled his record of our national leadership, in 1892 the U.S.
Supreme Court issued this conclusion in a case, "This is a Christian Nation." In
1911, President Woodrow Wilson stated, “America
And in 1947, writing to the Pope, President Harry Truman said of America
is a Christian nation.”
ignorance, the height of foolishness, or an arrogant attempt to paint the U.S. as
something he would prefer it to be. Whatever his reason, he denies both history and
all relevant facts.
Some court problems we face today were foreseen by our Founding Fathers.
Consider this statement, posted earlier this week by Giacomo, writing in
Godfather Politics: "Unless we get real Christians in positions of leadership
in our nation and they appoint judges who will rule on the constitution and
not their own personal agendas, it won’t be long before Christians have no
rights and we’ll be the outlawed religion here in what once was a Christian
nation." And then consider this statement from Thomas Jefferson in 1820: "You
seem to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional
questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us
under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men,
and not more so...Their power is the more dangerous as they are in office for
life, and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control.
The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal... It has more wisely made
all the departments co-equal and co-sovereign within themselves."
And some years later, another wise president, Abraham Lincoln, wrote, in 1861: "If
the policy of the government upon vital questions, affecting the whole people, is
to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are
made, in ordinary litigation between parties, in personal actions, the people will
have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned
their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal." It is obviously time to
put into positions of leadership individuals who will return to governing within the
intended bounds of our constitution. [Remember: Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012]
A word of appreciation is due to Jack Marshall, who wrote in Ethics Alarms
a criticism of George Stephanopoulos and in doing so, expressed a reason why
ANC is so important for pro-Christian, pro-American, pro-Conservative readers:
"Such is the arrogance of our news media and its 'stars.' Our needs and
interests are subordinate to their whims."
So that you don't have to be misled by the liberal, left-wing biased Main
Stream Media, we do research to bring you "What Others Are Saying"
Robert Knight (writing in Perspectives, in One News Now): "The Obama
administration's lawlessness is becoming so obvious that nearly everyone
outside the so-called mainstream media has caught on... hard-core leftists
are delighted. They regard the Constitution as a sham document...and they
do think it's great fun to misquote the Constitution's religious freedom
guarantee while going about scrubbing the public square clean of America's
Christian heritage."
John Myers (writing in Liberty Alert): "Brace yourself for at least another
year of President Barack Obama selling out America's interests to Islam,
regardless of the economic or social consequences. We are more and more at
the mercy of Islam...in case you haven't noticed, Islam is not big on mercy."
Wes Pruden (writing in Conservative Outpost): "Conservatives are fractured,
split and mad at each other, brawling like Democrats. There’s only one man
who can unify the movement. Fortunately for the Grumpy Old Party, Barack
Obama is available, ready and eager".
Michael Boldin (writing in Tenth Amendment Center): "While the
Constitution is clear that the federal government is one of limited, delegated
powers – in practice, without popular resistance, the federal government
people do whatever they please."
Chuck Colson (writing in Breakpoint): "This month marks the 39th
anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s hideous decision to legalize
abortion on demand in the United States. Since then, some 50 million unborn
children have lost their lives. The constant killing, with the blessing of both
the government and the media, has coarsened our national life, and deadened
the consciences of many...Adding insult to injury, the Obama administration is
seeking to increase access to abortion through...ObamaCare."
To brighten the day's news, here are some thought provoking "One Liners"
"America is experiencing heart failure. Unless the hearts of men are changed
by exposure to the truth, the heart of a nation cannot awaken."
-- Matt Barber, writing in One News Now
"Obamacare, the most sweeping government usurpation of private industry
and individual liberty in American history."
-- Andrew C. McCarthy, writing in New Media Journal
"We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?" -- Sami Osmakac,
immigrant who plotted a suicide terror attack in Florida:
"Our single focus must be to defeat Obama, and frankly, I would fully endorse
a turnip in order to achieve that objective."
-- Mark Alexander, writing in Patriot Post
"It’s possible that the president and his team will suddenly turn out to possess
keen political skills they have been hiding somewhere for the past three years."
--Yuval Levin, writing in National Review Online
"Relying on diplomacy, threats and sanctions alone is simply not good enough.
We must maintain all our military options." -- J. F. Kelly, Jr., writing in the San
Diego Union Tribune
Occasionally our Founding Fathers used ironic humor: “The multiplication
of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment
of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife.”
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1821
And there are, as always, a few "Afterthoughts" . . .
We have often cited ads for new publications, and we found -- and liked -- this
comment about The Harbinger, the new book by Jonathan Cahn: "We are at a
crossroads. Either the church will act like the church in the New Testament
or it will collapse and the U.S. will become a Third World country and we
will not fulfill our destiny."
Just a passing item in the news: Those peace loving Islamists (as so described
by President Obama) are at it again in Iraq. Fifty-three people were killed in a
suicide bombing at a security checkpoint in Iraq on last Saturday. The victims were
Shia Muslims on their way to a mosque west of Basra. The bombing occurred at
the end of Arbain, a major religious observance in the Shia calendar. And on last
Monday a car bomb exploded inside a Shiite residential complex in Mosul, killing
at least nine people and wounding five more. These outbursts have renewed fears
of wider sectarian violence -- even an outright civil war -- in the country where the
Obama administration considered their job done, and walked away from their failed
efforts toward establishing some sort of democracy in the local government.
Our Founding Fathers spoke often about the government they had created:
"Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety,
prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private
interest of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, the people alone
have an incontestable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to institute
government; and to reform, alter, or totally change the same, when their
protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness require it." -- John Adams, 1776
And so, there it is, delayed by circumstances beyond our control . . . but after
having read this issue, please click HERE and give careful and prayerful thought to
what you can do about helping ANC to continue. We can't overly emphasize this
point: Our ability to continue publication is totally up to you.
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