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Vol. 18, No. 12 March 28, 2012 © 2012
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An enduring statement to remember today, and in all the days to come:
"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state
but from the hand of God."
President John F. Kennedy, 1961
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IT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR US
TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION IN STATEMENTS
COMING FROM THE OBAMA WHITE HOUSE
While ANC has often expressed concern over the pronouncements and/or actions
of President Obama which have been anti-Christian and anti-American in nature,
we have never referred to Mr. Obama as a "liar," and we have never actually said
that he has lied to the American people. We have said that Mr. Obama and his
administration has a "credibility problem," and frequently faces a "credibility crisis."
Other observers of the Obama administration have been more frankly outspoken
on this subject. For example, Jack Marshall in his very discerning commentary,
Ethics Alarms, recently used this heading: " A Question For President Obama
and His Campaign: Why Lie?" Another illustration of a growing trend among
commentators is this heading from an in-depth article by Ron Reale, of Western
Center for Journalism: "How Many Times Has Obama Lied To The American
People?"
In each of those articles -- as in other similar ones -- there are many examples of
what those writers have characterized as "lies." But even as there are "sins of
omission and sins of commission," so there are "lies -- or non-truths -- of omission
and of commission." Both techniques are employed by the Obama administration,
and their use results in what we have chosen to call a "credibility problem."
And this whole trend of thought merges into laying the blame for problems or
solution failures on someone else. For example, Keith Koffler, writing in the White
House Dossier, observes: "President Obama has passed the buck to others –
mainly George W. Bush – for no less than 13 problems that characterize his
presidency." And he goes further, stating that: "Obama is aggressively staking a
claim for successes for which Bush shares significant or nearly all responsibility."
And there is this further step in the lack of credibility matter, as defined by President
John F. Kennedy: "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie --
deliberate, contrived, and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive
and realistic." (Yale Commencement address, 1962)
To whatever degree, and in whatever mode, we find ourselves as a nation. living
under the rule of a president and administration acting in accord with an ongoing
pattern of credibility failures. Two voices from the past, one from some 300 years,
and another from more recent times, summarize the solution well: "Where thou art
Obliged to speak, be sure speak the Truth: For Equivocation is half way to
Lying, as Lying, is the whole way to Hell." (William Penn, 1693) ... "Where all
else fails, tell the truth." (Donald Regan, President Reagan's Chief of Staff, 2001)
America is being confronted with an ideological conflict. From CNS News
on Mar. 23: "Ten days after Saudi Arabia’s foremost religious leader called
for a demolition of all churches in the Arabian Peninsula – in line with a
purported injunction by Mohammed – the U.S. government and other allies
of the kingdom have yet to react." This does present something of a conflict.
Let's see; our present president said: "America is no longer a Christian nation"
-- so it may be considered logical for our country not to respond. But that same
president also said, "I am a Christian. I am a devout Christian." So it doesn't
logically follow that he would ignore such threats. Obviously, there is a real conflict
here. How does that old saying go: "Oh! what a tangled web we weave, when
first we practice to deceive!"
As an introduction to our reminder about our Prayer Countdown to the
Nov. 6 Election Day, recall these words from Founding Father Samuel Adams
in 1781: "Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote
that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual --
or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the
most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God
and his country." There are, as of today, 223 days until Nov. 6 -- 223 days
to pray for our nation or leaders, and for God's direction as we vote for new
leaders. And beyond our own shores, we must never neglect to pray for our
fellow believers who are threatened with persecution - even extermination -- in
Islam dominated countries all over the world. Mr. Obama may dismiss the words
of St. Paul as "obscure verses," but for Christians, our Holy book -- the Bible --
has real meaning, as Paul writes, "I exhort therefore, that first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all
men; for kings and or all that are in authority." I Tim. 2:1-2)
Our weekly feature, "What Others Are Saying," becomes more important
day by day, as the left-leaning Main Stream Media distorts the news
Chuck Colson (and this is very important!): "Welcoming different
viewpoints and beliefs is said to be one of the crowning glories of the
modern university. Unless of course, your viewpoints and beliefs happen
to be Christian. Sadly, back in 2010, the Supreme Court...ruled that a
public college may refuse to recognize a student organization if it restricts
membership or leadership to students who share the group’s core beliefs.
In other words, campus student organizations like InterVarsity or Campus
Crusade now run the risk of being kicked off campus if they say that only
Christian students may hold leadership positions. The Court ruling says,
in effect, that Christian groups must allow people who hold non-Christian
beliefs into leadership ranks."
[Here it is important to remember the quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln:
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy
of the government in the next.”]
Robert Ringer (in A Voice of sanity): Commenting on this quote, "The issue
in the presidential race is not the economy, but an oppressive government
that's taking away people's freedom," he said: "The ever-worsening state of
the economy (and, yes, it is getting worse) is but a symptom of the ever-
worsening state of our freedom (the cause). The government cannot 'fix'
the economy. Only free people can do that."
Simba Tian (in Religion today): "The 'ethnic cleansing' that Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir has undertaken against black Africans in the
Nuba Mountains is also aimed at ridding the area of Christianity,
according to humanitarian workers. By targeting Christians among people
who are also adherents of Islam and other faiths in the Nuba Mountains,
military force helps the regime in Khartoum to portray the violence as
'jihad' to Muslims abroad and thus raise support from Islamic nations."
Paul Harvey (famed U.S. Newscaster): "One would think by listening to
all the propaganda about the United Nations that they are some sort of
benevolent, peaceful organization. Never in the history of the United
Nations has it stood for anything but killing and violence. They have
never kept peace anywhere on this globe."
Sen. Rand Paul (R, KY): "In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade
ruling forced abortion-on-demand down our nation's throat. For 39 years,
nine unelected men and women on the Supreme Court have played God
with innocent human life. They have invented laws that condemned to
painful deaths without trial more than 56 million babies for the crime of
being 'inconvenient.'"
Chris Gadsden (writing in The Patriot Update): In trying to understand
Mr. Obama's attacks on religion, he points out that it "can only be explained
by Obama’s mixture of warped political correctness, a lack of knowledge
of our Founding Fathers’ belief in God that is manifest throughout our
founding documents, and a perverse hatred of our country in its current
faith-based and free market form. Surprise! We all know this... He is not
a good man and we know it. It should not be a shocker that he is
attacking religious beliefs."
And in our hours of research, we always find a few "One Liners"
Jeff Dunetz (writing in The Lid): "Barack Obama represents the biggest threat
to individual freedom in my lifetime (Joe Biden might even say in the past
500 years)."
Al Capp (creator of Lil Abner): "Anyone who can walk to the welfare office
can walk to work."
Matt Smith (Pres. Catholic Advocate): "White House prepares for Easter, by
Attacking Catholics."
Jay Sekulow (ACLJ Chief Counsel): "Roe v. Wade made it a "right" to end
the life of an unborn child; ObamaCare forces every taxpayer to help pay
to end the life of an unborn child."
V.P. Joe Biden has topped his ridiculous "middle class" statement at the John
Kerry affair, as reported last week. This week we have another classic quote
from Mr. Biden -- this one at another $5,000 per person reception and campaign
fundraiser at a private home in New Jersey. Recalling the decision to send Navy
Seals to attack a home in Pakistan and kill Osama bin Laden, he said: “You can
go back 500 years. You cannot find a more audacious plan." That time period
would extend from 1512 to today, encompassing our Revolutionary War, our Civil
War, World Wars I and II, and all the other wars in between. Hmmmm. One of the
comments we read was: "Oh, I dunno, Joe, I think a bunch of farmers fighting
the worlds lone superpower for independence is a tad more audacious." [We
might suggest that to charge people $5,000 to attend these campaign fundraisers,
to hear Mr. Biden make such outlandish statements, is really the height of audacity.]
And, as always, there are a few "Afterthoughts" for you to consider . . .
Those friendly, cultured Muslims of whom Mr. Obama speaks so warmly,
and whom some of our so-called "Evangelicals" feel we can share religious beliefs,
have made new headlines in Egypt. This follows last week's pronouncement by
Saudi Arabia's "Grand Mufti" that no Christian churches can be allowed on the
Arabian Peninsula under an Islamic hadith from Muhammad. Following the death
of the Christian Coptic Pope, Shenouda III, last week, the Salafist Islamics in
Egypt have expressed rejoicing in his death, saying: "We rejoice that he is
destroyed. He has perished. May Allah have his revenge on him in the fire of
hell -- he and all who walk his path." [Not much love of fellow man there!]
At times like these we tend to remember Senator Everett Dirksen (R, IL),
a powerful Washington political figure in the 50's and 60's, if for no other reason
than the quote attributed to him, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon
you're talking real money." Amid all the bailouts of recent months, that quote
often comes to mind. And this week another bailout -- $41 billion -- is in the works
to subsidize the healthcare retirement benefits of postal service employees -- the
kind of benefits that are relatively scarce in the public sector. Democrat nostalgia
for the past is very difficult to overcome. They are completely averse to gradually
winding down the Postal Service. Senator Claire McCaskill (D, MO) has even
suggested that people write more letters so that the USPS will have more work.
So, as Senate Bill S.1789 proceeds with Harry Reid's help, get ready to be
tapped for another $41 billion to aid another dying industry.
Occasionally even the N.Y. Times admits a problem exists. The latest
N.Y. Times/CBS News poll found that 69% of Americans think that we
should not be at war in Afghanistan. That is a sharp increase -- just 4 months
ago 53% said we should no longer be engaged in the Afghanistan war. The
opinion as to how the war is going showed an even sharper change -- in
November, 2011, 42% felt that the fighting was going "very badly" or
"somewhat badly." The latest poll (March 21-25) shows 68% feel that way.
In these difficult -- even dangerous -- times for the American nation, the
views of our Founding Fathers take on new meaning and importance.
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure
when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?
Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his
justice cannot sleep forever. -- Thomas Jefferson, 1810
"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore
who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and
pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the
solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free
governments." -- Charles Carroll, 1800
Another week ... another issue of ANC. And again we stress our three point
purpose: pro-Christian, pro-American and pro-Conservative. And we are "anti"
ell those who hold opposite views. If this represents your view, there are two
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