The Audacity of Preaching

Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast – the Audacity of Preaching

Feb. 5, 2015 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/remarks-president-national-prayer-breakfast

Following is an excerpt of another very long-winded speech, which according to one present, sucked all the air out of the room.  My rejoinders are in red – an appropriate color for my heated comments.  Less than 2 years to get my licks in, so I must make good use of my time.

“…Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history.  And lest we get on our high horse [The less religious Left feels very uncomfortable when they perceive someone to have more moral compunctions – someone on a higher horse than they’re on] and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.  [This follows the Howard Zinn radical view of the world, and plays right into the jihadis’ characterization of us as Crusaders – they don’t need reinforcement and apologists.  In any case, truth be known, the Crusades were much more of a defensive/retaking of Christian sites following Muslim expansion, Mr. history buff.  Of course the Spanish Inquisition was not Christian by any standard, but I understand that in the Inquisition, some 2000 were killed over 20 years.  Compare that to the radical Islamists like Boko Haram killing that many in a week (or Nazis twice that many in a day, or Stalin, Mao…the non-religious Leftists who by far outdid any religious war, killing many tens of millions over a few years] – and much more barbarically and indiscriminately. Of course the Crusades & Inquisition were both some 800 years ago – he really has to stretch to find anything remotely comparable]  In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.  [I’ve never heard of Christianity being used to justify slavery or Jim Crow – if it was, probably a real exception.  Quite the opposite – it was Christian activists who brought an end to slavery, and discrimination, whereas still in many non-Christian cultures it continues.] Michelle and I returned from India -- an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity -- but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs -- acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation.  [And the point being?  That we should be frozen in inaction because we can’t recognize evil when we see it, and because we’re not perfect?  So much for Good Samaritan laws everywhere.  And we can’t be the world’s policeman?  Then who will be?  Russia? China? Iran? ISIS?....Yes, they have very effective morality police]

“So this is not unique to one group or one religion.  There is a tendency in us, a sinful tendency that can pervert and distort our faith.  [You mean like the perverted, racist, hate-filled faith of Reverend Wright & your church for 20 years?  It seems like mainstream Christianity – the majority of America – is perhaps the most tolerant, diverse, peace-loving culture & nation on the planet.  And the one that repeatedly self-sacrifices in war for the freedom of oppressed people everywhere. ]  In today’s world, when hate groups have their own Twitter accounts and bigotry can fester in hidden places in cyberspace, it can be even harder to counteract such intolerance. [Yes, just ask Conservatives who are incessantly demonized by you and your goons]  But God compels us to try.  And in this mission, I believe there are a few principles that can guide us, particularly those of us who profess to believe. 

“And, first, we should start with some basic humility.  I believe that the starting point of faith is some doubt -- not being so full of yourself and so confident that you are right.  [Yes, you should start with some basic humility – with your incessant narcissism and what some have called preternatural self-confidence.  You’re the last person who should be lecturing on the subject, with such audacity in front of a group of ministers.  You’re not the pastor-in-chief.  Ever think that you might be the one on the high horse?]   and that God speaks only to us, and doesn’t speak to others, that God only cares about us and doesn’t care about others, that somehow we alone are in possession of the truth. [Yes, you would know that feeling of being alone in possession of the truth, in all your inexorable certitude of Leftist, Alinsky-ite ideals – no less a religion, or substitute for one.  And you’re no less a zealot.]

“Our job is not to ask that God respond to our notion of truth -- our job is to be true to Him, His word, and His commandments.  [Try sticking to your job, which you’re failing miserably at, rather than lecturing us about ours.]  And we should assume humbly that we’re confused and don’t always know what we’re doing [As if you’ve hardly ever admitted any error, and not endlessly blamed others for problems, and relentlessly insisted on your way without compromise.]  and we’re staggering and stumbling towards Him, and have some humility in that process.  And that means we have to speak up against those who would misuse His name to justify oppression, or violence, or hatred with that fierce certainty. [Yes, we do need more to speak against such – not that you, Obama, do anything but typically apologize for them, and assign them moral equivalence that prevents us from taking action, because we can’t “get on our high horse,” or because for your petty political legacy you won’t allow for any troops on the ground.].  No God condones terror.  [Well, apparently a very large number of radical Muslims have a god who does, as anyone can read in the Koran, Mr. expert on Islam & religion]  No grievance justifies the taking of innocent lives, or the oppression of those who are weaker or fewer in number.  [They’re (ISIS & Al Qaeda) not talking about grievance – they’re talking about destiny, Mr. Solomon – a global caliphate.  Oh, that’s right….like Jimmy Carter says, Israel is the root of all problems in the Muslim world.]

“And so, as people of faith, we [?] are summoned to push back against those who try to distort our religion -- any religion -- for their own nihilistic ends. [And this all supports the Left’s (his base) general anti-religious sentiment, that all religion is a problem.  Ignoring, again, the overwhelming death tolls of 20^th Century non-religious, leftist dictators.]

Things Aren’t so Bad (?)

Obama now says that 99% of Muslims disagree with suicide bombings of civilians.  But polls lately show that in several large Muslim countries at least 12 to 27% agree with the terrorists. 

Susan Rice says that the radical Islamic threat is not existential like World War II.  But they don’t want to do anything effective against ISIS or Iran now out of fear – will it be any easier or less existential when they have nukes?  WWII could have been more tractable and nipped in the bud had it been taken seriously and dealt with earlier.  A modern holocaust has already begun – it is existential to whole cultures and ethnic groups in the region, and we know of the barbarisms better than they did of the holocaust in WWII, and we have greater capability to deal with it.  Are we not therefore more to blame for not doing what we can?  All this administration can think of is existential threats to their political power, and so they sweep under the rug the real evils that they can’t bring themselves to acknowledge, or deal with.  Pseudo-evils like climate change, income inequality, trumped up racism, etc. are the ones they know how to exploit for political gain. 

And Rice says that we can’t allow ourselves to be buffeted by alarmism and a never-ending news cycle.  That’s right, after all -- pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.  Those aren’t really factual horrors, they’re just trumped-up Conservative alarmism to take us to war.  Actually being aware of what’s really going on (like the UN report above), rather than this administration’s narrative of “Al Qaeda is on the run, …ISIS is the JV team, …the crisis is over,” might actually demand some kind of action that might detract from the social agenda.  Maybe even (gasp!) some boots on the ground.  And we mustn’t have any of that, after Solomon Obama so wisely brought 2 wars to an end. 

Rice says that we should learn the lessons of Iraq.  And what, exactly, are those lessons?  Are they that all war is evil and never justified (as the Europeans apparently learned after WWII) – especially if declared by the evil, lying Bush?  Or that unilaterally declaring a war over while ignoring the insurgency waiting in the wings leads only to that insurgency gaining the upper hand?  We left at least some minimal troops in Germany, Japan & S. Korea after we’d won those wars – and for a reason.  But Solomon Obama of course knows better.  And look now at how devoid of war and atrocities Iraq & Afghanistan are!  Why, peace and prosperity and freedom and tolerance are just breaking out all over!  But don’t worry about that – it’s not existential.  And more importantly, Obama kept his promise to end those wars.  Not only is he fundamentally transforming America, but the world, as well!  Why, just look at all the hope and change!  So well-deserved is that Nobel Peace Prize.

And now Obama says that climate change is more of a threat than terrorism.

A Slip of the Anti-Semite Tongue

Referring to the Charlie Hebdo-related shootings at the Jewish kosher store in Paris, Obama said that they “randomly shot a bunch of folks in a deli.”  He (along w. Sharpton et al) is all too quick to attribute racism to an American policeman’s shooting of a Black man, but he can’t seem to bring himself to acknowledge the obvious, and what the terrorist himself said was hardly random.  And it wasn’t just a “bunch of folks.” 

Between this subversion, his disdain for Netanyahu, his many criticisms of Israel, and his lackadaisical concern over Iran getting a nuclear weapon with which it could carry out its threat to wipe Israel off the map, I don’t think it’s going too far to suspect or accuse him of anti-Semitism.  But of course anti-Semitism is now more politically correct among the Left in general (including recent incidents at colleges), and those who seem more interested in placating Iran, and the Arab radical Islamists who also vow to destroy Israel.  You do so at your own peril – “Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.” (Numbers 24:9)  The Left of course hates Israel for many of the same reasons it hates America -- values.

Hasan Shooting

After 5 years of being officially called “workplace violence” by this administration, finally the DoD officially called the Hasan shootings at Fort Hood an act of terrorism.  And the victims got the Purple Heart, just as in any war.  At least some are able to call a spade a spade. 

And here are some of my recent Facebook posts, for any who missed them….

ISIS Atrocities

A UN committee report now confirms that ISIS has been abusing, torturing and murdering children: crucifying, burying alive, beheading, selling into sex slavery & sexually abusing, forcing them to fight, be suicide bombers & human shields or watch their parents killed. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/isis-crucified-children_n_6… If we do nothing, we are no better than those who turned a blind eye to the holocaust.

After the barbaric burning alive of the Jordanian pilot by ISIS, it appears Jordan is fired up, and promising something significant -- beyond executing their terrorist prisoners, which they've done. At least there are some courageous leaders left in the world willing to not only call it evil, but also fight it. I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting fire with fire, with their air force raining down napalm to give ISIS a foretaste of their afterlife.

Jordan stands up to ISIS: ‘Kill our pilot and we’ll execute ALL your prisoners’
Read more at http://patriotupdate.com/…/jordan-stands-isis-kill-pilot-w…/

That would be one way to close down GITMO, the next time they threaten to behead an American.

Spread of Radical Islam

GEN KEANE: OBAMA ALLOWED AL QAEDA TO GROW FOURFOLD IN 5 YEARS
Tuesday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, former vice chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Jack Keane, said President Barack Obama’s “policies have failed” which has allowed al-Qaeda to “grow fourfold in the last five years.”

Keane said, “As you can see on the map, al Qaeda and its affiliates exceeds Iran and is beginning to dominate multiple countries. In fact, al-Qaeda has grown fourfold in the last five years. Third, the Islamic State of Iraq, ISIS, is an outgrowth from al-Qaeda in Iraq which was defeated in Iraq by 2009. After U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq in 2011, ISIS emerged as a terrorist organization in Iraq, moved into Syria in 2012.”

“Is it possible to look at that map in front of you and claim that the United States policy and strategy is working? Or that al-Qaeda is on the run? It is unmistakable that our policies have failed,” he added.

Here's a link to a short video clip of his presentation:

http://www.breitbart.com/…/gen-keane-obama-allowed-al-qaed…/

Holocaust Anniversary

On the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps of the Holocaust -- lest we forget. Never again -- let's make sure Iran & Islamic radicalism (Islamo-Naziism) don't repeat it. A Powerful 15-minute video by Spielberg, with Meryl Streep.

World Jewish Congress uploaded a new video.

Auschwitz, a brand new 15-minute documentary on the history of the Nazi death camp, produced by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Meryl Streep, will be permanently installed at the Auschwitz Memorial. The documentary had its premiere yesterday, in the presence of 300 Holocaust survivors. ‪#‎PastIsPresent ‪#‎Auschwitz70 - with USC Shoah Foundation

Romney's out for 2016...or is he?

A gracious exit to give the next generation a chance. But some are still reading between the lines -- since he says he still thinks he'd be the best current contender, but if none of the "next generation" adequately emerges,....?

Some are saying not exactly "Shermanesque" -- Wikipedia says that in the election of 1884, Republican General Sherman said "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected." Thirteen years prior, he had similarly asserted, "I hereby state, and mean all that I say, that I never have been and never will be a candidate for President; that if nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline; and even if unanimously elected I should decline to serve."[1] These statements are often abbreviated as "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve."[2]

The Washington Post article has a link to the full text of Romney's statement.

The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/…/mitt-romney-exit-spurs-scramble-for-do…

Real Clear Politics: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/…/romney_wont_run_for_pres…

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/…/mitt-romney-2016-presidential-elec…

The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/…/mitt-romney-isnt-running-f…/

I do admit that among the current possibilities, I have a preference for Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.  He’s turned his blue state around economically despite fierce opposition and recall attempts by the unions.  Sort of Romneyesque.  He’s demonstrated appeal to a broad base, and is well-spoken.  And he’s making a strong showing in recent polls.

Speaking of LDS presidential candidates….

A few years ago a very successful LDS regional governor in Mali, Yeah Samake, was running for president of Mali (vying w. Mitt to become the 1st LDS president).  I’ve just now learned what happened to him. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeah_Samake  Apparently the 2012 election was rescheduled due to the Islamist takeover, and he lost it in 2013 after the French helped retake Mali (at least the southern part -- Timbuktu is in currently in rebel hands?). So the LDS are 0 for 2 (or 3) in presidential races. 4 if you count Joseph Smith.

And speaking of Mali, and radical Islam, I just saw a powerful movie, "Timbuktu" -- that I highly recommend. Set in the namesake city in Mali (in northern Africa just south of Algeria), it was produced in neighboring Mauritania -- I assume because of the Islamist takeover of northern Mali. It offers intriguing insight into life there, before and after a radical Islamist takeover, at a very personal level -- for both the local victims & the intruding jihadis. And how there is no reasoning with the jihadis. Very disturbing. Makes me ever more disturbed about sitting back and doing nothing about the horrors abounding in the region. The review below mentions the region was re-taken by French & Mali forces in 2013, but the more recent map I showed a few days ago seems to indicate "not so fast" -- hence the "timeliness" of the film -- for Mali & the region.http://www.csmonitor.com/…/Timbuktu-gives-jihadists-a-human…