Wednesday
The American News Commentary
Pro-Christian, Pro-American, Pro-Conservative
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~Vol. 19, No. 1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ July 4, 2012 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ © 2012 ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In what may be the last issue of ANC, some great thoughts for the week:
"It is not our job to protect the people
from the consequences of their political choices.”
-- Chief Justice John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court, 2012
"The greatest calamity which could befall us would be
submission to a government of unlimited powers."
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.
Taxation follows that, and in its train, wretchedness and oppression."
"Excessive taxation ... will carry reason and reflection
to every man's door, and particularly in the hour of election."
-- Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and 3rd U.S. President, 1801-1809
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ONCE AGAIN, AS SO OFTEN IN THE PAST, OBAMA'S LACK
OF CREDIBILITY IS FRONT AND CENTER, OR AS SUZY
RICE REFERS TO HIM: "OBAMA, THE LIAR"
There are times (not often, I have to admit) when you really have to feel sorry for
him. Like the past few days . . . here he was, all set to spin the results of the
Supreme Court decision on Obamacare into something favorable for his cause . . .
but there were those terrible fires in Colorado -- plus the floods in Florida and the
extreme heat and power outages ravishing the mid-Atlantic States -- all displacing
news of his "victory" with weather related headlines. And so he was forced to visit
Colorado, even though he had not even spoken once to the Democrat Governor,
John Hickenlooper, for over two weeks, while thousands of acres of the state
were being destroyed by fires. But he quickly put it all behind him, and enroute
back to Washington, was constantly on the phone from Air Force One, begging
for more money from his supporters to help get him re-elected.
But first, let us be reminded of the words of John Adams concerning the
signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776, to take effect two days
later on July 4: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch
in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by
succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be
commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God
Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games,
sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to
the other, from this time forward, forever more." In support of that Declaration,
those men pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Our leaders of
today don't make statements like that.
The much heralded, and quite broadly misunderstood SCOTUS decisions
merit discussion and comment, but that doesn't mean that the misunderstanding by
the public will be resolved, or that the discussion -- pro and con -- will end. The
media had hyped us into an angst concerning the end-of-term pronouncements by
the Court. But when they all finally came down, one has to be reminded of the
memorable statement by Harry Lyme (played by Orson Welles) in the classic 1949
British film, The Third Man: "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias, they had
warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo,
Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly
love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce?
The cuckoo clock."
In the Arizona immigration law decision, there was a split decision -- the state lost
some authority, but other authority remained in force. In the Obamacare decision, the
promise, the pledge, that Mr. Obama made to the American people was proved to
be a lie, and Obama's supposedly sacrosanct "Middle Class" will be assessed a
heavy tax to pay for Obamacare.
[The enforcing of what emerged from these decisions raises the query: "Where is
Spiro Agnew when we need him? Whatever else may be said about Mr. Agnew,
it must be said that he had a way with words! In his absence we will make an
attempt to say what he might have said: "The application of Constitutional law is in
the hands of a coterie of incompetent liberal sycophants appointed to enforce Mr.
Obama's imposition of his despotic, socialistic, anti-religious plan to fundamentally
transform the United States of America." (Examples: Kathleen Sebelius, Sec'y.
HHS; Janet Napolitano, Sec'y. DHS; Eric Holder, Att'y. General; Leon Panetta,
Sec'y. Defense; etc., etc.)]
And what of the Chief Justice Roberts opinion? Concerning some of the
excited and occasional vitriolic pros and cons, it must be said that many of those
viewpoints are being expressed by individuals who see only the media headlines,
and who do not understand the broad overall subject. The highly regarded and
very articulate Conservative columnist, Suzy Rice, made this analysis: "President
Obama, despite his history of recorded statements swearing 'this is not a tax,'
made preposterously victorious statements in the past few hours about this
decision by the Court with no admission that he’s engaged in massive fraud
upon this nation, legislatively and otherwise. He sold legislation as 'not a tax'
that is deemed Constitutional only as a tax. Obama, The Liar."
We here at ANC have seen the effect of this opinion as Chief Justice Roberts
handing the November election to the GOP -- with this major caveat: are the
Republicans astute enough to realize this effect and act on it? Jack Marshall,
writing in Ethics Alarms, summarized the decision in these words: "Roberts
simultaneously blocked the slippery slope of Congressional dictatorship
raised by the mandate’s chief detractors, while still allowing major legislation
duly passed by Congress to survive. It was a performance worthy of Solomon,
and whatever one thinks about the healthcare law itself, Roberts deserves
praise and admiration for taking this bold route... unless something in the
opinion suggests otherwise, the U.S. Supreme Court discharged its
Constitutional duty with care, consideration, professionalism and integrity."
And it must be remembered that the real problem is not with a Supreme Court
decision, but with Barack Hussein Obama and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi
and the Democrat controlled Congress who conspired together to inflict upon
the American people the monstrosity known as "Obamacare."
For Christians, there is so much on which to focus our prayers: our prayer
countdown to Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012 now has just 125 days in which to
pray for our nation, our leaders, and our place in future history. This has been so
often called the most important election in our nation's history. In so many ways,
this is absolutely true. Let's use these 4 months to seek God's guidance as we go
to the polls and vote to restore America to being the nation it was always intended
to be, but not as being reshaped by the present administration.
And there are hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans who are suffering
from natural disasters . . . fires, floods, storms, sweltering heat . . . and across the
world, in India, floods are taking a devastating toll of lives and destroyed homes.
And in so many countries of the world Christian believers are being persecuted,
their churches destroyed and their lives sacrificed by Muslim jihadists. There is
so much to pray about during these Summer months.
Our good friend, Dr. Michael Youssef, has called for an army of prayer warriors,
100,000 strong, to pray between July 4 and Election Day, 2012. To enroll, go to:
As the left dominated "Main Stream Media" continues to distort the news,
it becomes important to note "What Others Are Saying."
Derek Prince (writing in Jerusalem Connection): “If there had been no Jews,
there would be no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible, and no Savior.
How much would any of us have without those five things? No wonder Jesus
Himself said in John 4:22: 'Salvation is from the Jews.' Every person who has
received salvation through faith in Jesus owes their whole spiritual inheritance
to the Jewish people.”
Jeffrey H. Anderson (in the Weekly Standard): "In the wake of the Supreme
Court's decision upholding the constitutionality of Obamacare, the principal
choice now facing Americans on November 6 will be whether to keep
Obamacare or to repeal it. The question is a binary one, and the answer --
expressed almost entirely through their presidential vote -- will go a long way
toward determining the future course of this great nation.... the Court has
cleared the field. The stakes are historic. The citizenry will decide."
Gary DeMar (writing in Godfather Politics): "Governments are all about
power and money. People with power want money, and people with money
want power. Almost every political decision that has ever been made can
often be reduced to (1) who benefits monetarily and (2) who benefits with
more power and authority over other people. That’s why our founders tried
to limit the power and taxing authority of the national government with a
Constitution...The Robert’s decision should not have surprised us. The
courts have been acting contrary to the Constitution that they took an oath
to uphold for nearly 200 years."
Tony Perkins (FRC): "Holder but not wiser. Either way, the stain on
Holder's career, which is only compounded by his party's disapproval, will be
difficult to blot out. Is there any greater irony than America's chief law
enforcer being held in criminal contempt? And while some may characterize
this as an embarrassment for the Justice Department, the real impact
spreads far wider. Americans have watched in astonishment as the
administration defies marriage laws, pornography laws, marijuana laws,
gambling laws. To them, this is a repudiation--not just of Eric Holder--but
of the years of contempt this President has shown for the Constitution."
Rep. Michelle Bachman (R - MN): "No man is above the law, including
the President of the United States, including Eric Holder. They are thumbing
their nose at the rule of law. People won't stand for that."
Tom McClusky (writing in Family Research Council): "If you didn't
believe this was the most important election in our lifetime, I bet you do
now. The Supreme Court shocked us all with a ruling in favor of most of
ObamaCare. Many will want to focus on the decision itself. I want Family
Research Council Action supporters to train their eyes on who is to truly
responsible; President Obama and the Congress who gave us this
monstrosity. And then do something about it... That includes holding every
elected official and candidate accountable for their votes and where they
stand on this issue."
Ayn Rand (author, Atlas Shrugged, 1957 - more than half a century ago):
"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from
men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who
deal not in goods, but in favors; when you see that men get rich more easily
by graft than by work, and your laws no longer protect you against them,
but protect them against you… you may know that your society is doomed."
As is our usual practice, here are a few "One Liners" we came across in
our research during this past week . . .
Jerry Newcombe (TV host, The Coral Ridge Hour) writing in Perspective:
"ObamaCare decision proves elections matter."
Sarah Palin (former Governor of Alaska) on FOX The Five: "The only
promise Obama has kept was to fundamentally transform America."
Barack Hussein Obama (POTUS): "If things continue as they have so far,
I’ll be the first sitting president in modern history to be outspent in his
reelection campaign.” [In a fund raising phone call just a few days ago.]
And here are a few "Afterthoughts" for this week's issue . . .
"If God is dead, America is in trouble" -- a headline in the Washington Times.
Referring to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, Jeffrey Kuhner reports
that: "The younger generation is becoming godless. Increasing numbers of
Americans under the age of 30 are skeptical about the existence of God. This
will have profound repercussions upon our society, fostering moral
disintegration and the eventual death of our Judeo-Christian civilization."
And Kuhner concludes: "Traditional America is dying. In its place, a new
liberal barbarism is being born." The Pew survey reports that belief in God has
dropped significantly among so-called millennials (those born after 1980) during the
past 5 years. The report indicated that 31 % of respondents say they doubt whether
God exists. And according to the Pew report, this is in stark contrast with other older
generations of Americans, who continue to believe in God in high numbers — ranging
from 81 to 89 percent. This trend does not speak well for the future of America.
It's a question that won't go away: What is the Obamas' religious faith?
Mr. Obama has been all over the place, trying to express it. Some of his quotes
from an interview with Chicago Sun Times columnist, Cathleen Falsani, include:
"I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to
the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that
we are connected as a people. But he has problems with religion, and is not clear
on the answers: "The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity,
is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There's the
belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven't embraced Jesus
Christ as their personal savior, they're going to hell." He doesn't believe that
he, or anyone else, will go to hell ... and he's not really sure about heaven, either.
"I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. When I tuck
in my daughters at night, and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and
I see in them that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that
they're kind people and that they're honest people, and they're curious people,
that's a little piece of heaven." In that same interview, he was asked for his view
of sin, and he replied that sin was: "Being out of alignment with my values." Not
exactly the orthodox Christian faith, of any version.
Mrs. Obama, just last week, explained her faith publicly, telling a conference of the
African Methodist Episcopal church that the life of Jesus Christ is a model for
democratic organizing: "Jesus didn’t limit his ministry to the four walls of the
church. He was out there fighting injustice and speaking truth to power every
single day. He was out there spreading a message of grace and redemption to
the least, the last, and the lost. And our charge is to find Him everywhere,
every day by how we live our lives.” Not much clearer than her husband's.
It is also questionable as to whether he holds to the Islamic faith in which he was
brought up . . . but this, too, is a bit murky. Islam, like Christianity, takes a different
position than Mr. Obama's on same-sex "marriage."
In the Middle East, the troubles never seem to end. In Egypt, at last it
can be said that they have a new president, but he is of the Muslim Brotherhood,
and what that means for the Christians in Egypt -- about 10% of the nation's total
population -- is yet to be determined. And for Israel, as Egypt's neighbor, what it
means in this regard is also yet to be determined. In Syria, the UN continues to
attempt some kind of a resolution to President Assad's continuing slaughter of his
own people -- estimates place those massacred at more than 15,000. The group
of 9 nations this past weekend failed to reach agreement on calling for Assad to
step down, a position forced upon them by Russia and China. The "agreement"
they reached was promptly rejected by Assad's opposition. So absent any
international intervention, the unofficial "civil war" will continue, with Assad
having strong support from Iran and Russia, while the rest of the world stands
by helpless or unwilling to intervene.
We can always learn from the previous leaders of our nation . . .
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a
corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom."
-- Patrick Henry, 1775
“I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what
was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best interests
of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.”
-- President Ulysses S. Grant, 1876
"No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any
man's permission when we require him to obey it...Obedience to the law
is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor."
-- President Theodore Roosevelt, 1903
This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, wrap-up of an issue of ANC.
For a variety of reasons -- financial foremost, but also age and physical
limitations -- with this Independence Day issue, ANC, as a regular weekly
newsletter and commentary, will change rather dramatically. This is no easy
decision, after 10 years. But the weekly schedule, of every Wednesday morning,
is finished. This is a time in American history when a commentary focused on
Pro-Christian, Pro-American, Pro-Conservative positions is truly needed. We
will try to prepare an issue on an irregular schedule. It would be helpful if you
could send a brief email note saying you would like to be kept on the list for
such a schedule. If you don't want to, it will ease our work load by deleting
your name and address from our group mailing services.
Many have written to say they have enjoyed the informal "Jerry Remembers"
feature. We'll try to send one occasionally.
ANC never charged any subscription fee, and it has been only in the past
year that we have asked for help. To those few who responded -- less than
50 in all -- thank you for your willingness to help
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
