Then-candidate Obama said the “next president needs to unite the nation.” I like the way the AP put it because it is so representative of a ongoing reality:
COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a slap at his chief rival, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday the most important asset the next president can offer is the ability to unite the country.
And thus Obama slaps Republicans in the mouth even as he celebrates his ability to rally them behind him. You see, being a Republican means being divisive and mean-spirited; being a Democrat means being unifying and nice. “Bi-partisanship” means Republicans coming alongside Democrats and never vice-versa. And if you don’t believe that, just turn on the TV news.
Did being a “bi-partisan” Republican work for John McCain? The mainstream media used to love him; he was their favorite Republican. At least until the general election, when he was morphed into the epitome of every Republican evil. And now that he is a “loser” as well as a “maverick” Republican, the media love him again.
We find out that 57.4% of Obama supporters didn’t even know that Democrats had already been in control of Congress for the last two years. Lousy Congress! People got so upset with the way Congress was running things that they went out and voted all those bums out and replaced them with Democrats. When the bums screwing up Congress had actually been Democrats all along.
It was Democrat Barney Frank – speaking as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee – who said just before Fannie and Freddie blew up and destroyed our economy:
I think this is a case where Fannie and Freddie are fundamentally sound, that they are not in danger of going under.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were under direct CONGRESSIONAL oversight. Not Bush’s. But who got left holding the bag?
Barney Frank has represented the Democratic voice regarding Fannie and Freddie for years. Back in September 11, 2003 – when Bush was trying to regulate Fannie and Freddie the first time – Barney said:
”These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
Then the obnoxious turkey had the unmitigated gall to waddle out and say that “years of irresponsible failure to regulate have led us” to this crisis.
Nancy Pelosi blamed the economic disaster on “right-wing ideology” and on Republicans following a “no regulation” mentality.
The message was a complete and total lie. In reality, Democrats were all over the failure, going back to the Carter years, going back to “The Community Re-investment Act,” going back to Democrats refusing to regulate the housing market because doing so would supposedly be unfair to the minorities who needed these unsustainable loans. But it worked. The country roundly rejected Republicans and embraced Democrats. They now have total control of the country.
In the same vein, 60% of Democrat Senators voted for the Iraq War. Democrat after Democrat after Democrat publicly voiced the need to overthrow Saddam Hussein. And then the moment things got tough and President Bush needed the country to unite over a decision the country had already made, Democrats cut and ran on him and called him the worst kind of liar. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid comes out and says, “I believe that this war is lost,” and Jack Murtha accuses innocent Marines fighting for our country of the most henous war crimes.
Democrats turned a war many of them had supported into a partisan political bloodsport. They were utterly despicable beyond belief. They were willing to see this country burned to the ground if doing so meant they would get to rule over the ashes.
And they won because of it.
What should Republicans do about it?
I’m seeing it all over: we need to come together. We need to unite around Obama. We need to heal as a nation and move forward… That sort of thing. And I’m wondering where the people who are saying that now have been for the last 8 years of unrelenting rage directed at Bush and Republicans?
I wrote an article entitled “Do Unto Obama As Liberals Did Unto Bush.”
It generated the following criticism from the Daily Beast:
Ironically, some wingnuts on the right are blaming Democrats’ techniques on their newfound commitment to tear down the next President of the United States. Take one particularly unhinged culture warrior, Michael Eden of TheAmericanSentinel.com, who writes: “Barack Hussein Obama and his Democratic lackeys get to wear the bullseyes on their foreheads for the duration of the next election cycle…don’t let a bunch of appallingly blatant hypocrites tell you that you owe Obama one more iota of respect than they gave Bush… It’s time to start burning down their houses and salting their fields.”
“One particularly unhinged culture warrior.” I actually liked the ring of that. Thought about making it my byline. Michael Eden – one particularly unhinged culture warrior.
I noticed the writer didn’t even try to overcome my thesis: that Democrats had been unbelievably hateful to Republicans – especially epitomized in the figure of George Bush – for the past 8 years. Rather, I was personally attacked for suggesting that Republicans return the favor. I mean, how DARE I suggest we do to them what they did to us? What kind of monster am I for using a liberal tactic against liberals?
This is my gripe: Democrats tear us apart and burn our houses down when Republicans are in power, and then tell us that we need to come together and unite around our leadership when Democrats are in power. And Republicans fall for it like Charlie Brown eagerly trying to kick the football while Lucy the liberal promises to hold it for him.
Democrats burn Republicans house down when its the Republicans in charge of the house. And then – in the interest of doing what’s best for the country – Republicans help Democrats put the fires when the tables are reversed.
Charles Schumer deliberately causes a run on a bank in a politically motivated effort to bring down the economy so voters will blame Republicans.
An important angle in the IndyMac failure that may get lost in ominous headlines tonight and tomorrow: federal regulators pointedly cited U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in explaining the bank’s failure. In simple language, federal regulators blamed Schumer for a run on the bank.Here’s from the press release issued by IndyMac’s regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision: “The OTS has determined that the current institution, IndyMac Bank, is unlikely to be able to meet continued depositors’ demands in the normal course of business and is therefore in an unsafe and unsound condition. The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York. The letter expressed concerns about IndyMac’s viability. In the following 11 business days, depositors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from their accounts.
President Bush takes the blame – it’s all on his budget – for an $852 billion bailout – and then allows Barack Obama to have half the funds available for his own agenda. Bush and Republicans get all the blame; Obama and Democrats take all the credit. That’s the way the game is supposed to be played. It’s been the way the game has been played for years.
So you can understand why liberals would become angry at me for suggesting we start burning the Democrats’ house down. Salt their fields. Lay waste to their countryside. Storm their castles. Burn, pillage, and mutilate.
Democrats are vicious, mean-spirited little cockroaches. They are very much like the Palestinians who can get away with anything just because it’s what they do.
Republicans are expected to be mature adults who do what is best for the country. They are like the Israelis who are expected to react to the Palestinian terrorists with perfect restraint even as their own death tolls rise because of that restraint.
My view is this: Democrats are going to go into shrill histrionics on cue over the “right wing attack machine” anyway; why not finally really give them one so they can see what it feels like?
Every single time Democrats blamed, and attacked, and backstabbed, and undermined, it hurt Republicans. Keep saying the war is going to go to hell, keep saying the economy is going to go to hell, and it will. And then when it DOES go to hell – at least in part because they tearing it down – they were the ones who predicted it all along.
Don’t let them benefit from our cooperation. When we come together to help them when they run the show, and they turn on us like rabid dogs when we run the show, we lose. We get all the blame; they get all the credit. We can’t keep playing that game.
Maybe, just maybe, if Republicans force feed Democrats their own nasty tactics (Bush lied, people died; Republicans are killing the planet; General Betray Us? Etc. etc.) – we can finally come to an “understanding” so we finally all act like mature adults at some point in the future.
There’s that old dentist joke: the patient reaches out and grabs the dentist by the testicles and says, “Now, we’re not going to hurt each other, are we?”
It’s like how the M.A.D. doctrine – Mutually Assured Destruction – operated. M.A.D. worked because BOTH sides had enough firepower to wipe out the other. And BOTH sides believed the other would be willing to use their weapons if the other did. So neither side used its weapons.
Democrats used their nuclear arsenal on Republicans for the last 8 years. And it worked beautifully for them.
Now it’s our turn. Don’t just grab their metaphorical testicles; punch them there repeatedly until they are green-faced and vomiting. Make them plead for unity and really mean it – not just demand unity as their due when they refuse to give one particle of it themselves. We need to start firing missile after missile after missile until the silos are empty.
And when liberals howl, “You’re tearing the country apart!” Snarl, “Why didn’t give a damn about that for the last eight years when YOU were tearing the country apart, you intellectually and morally dishonest hypocrites!?!?”
We truly DO need to ultimately come together as a nation in order to survive. But “coming together” is a two-way street. After the last eight years, I’m frankly sick of my political Party bringing water balloons to gun fights.
Start Thinking Right 
January 21, 2009 at 5:27 pm
On any major legislation in which Republicans have not been able to amend or have not been able to filibuster they should — all of them — vote”present” — this is especially true of bailout and hot-button social issues — I’ll bet the first time they do this (or seriously threaten to do this) they will quickly have their parliamentary rights restored.
January 21, 2009 at 6:24 pm
You raise a good point, referring to Nancy Pelosi – the`”queen of bi-partisanship” herself – eliminating procedures that have been in place for 100 years so that pork-laden Democrat legislation can sail through without rebuttal or public exposure.
January 21, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Publicize your blog
This is a great list of url submission sites.
January 22, 2009 at 7:12 am
So, you’re called an “unhinged culture warrior” by a liberal. Boy, are you doing something right!!!
You are able to write what is in my mind and heart. I could not agree with you more. I am sick and tired of Republicans and Christians being “nicey nicey” to these people who are out to change America into something SOME of us think is dangerous and oppose with all our hearts.
We can and should fight with truth and conservative principles and oppose the Democrats and their leftist agenda every step of the way.
Michael, this is somewhat off subject as it deals specifically with how Christians are to respond to President Obama in regards to prayer for him. I don’t know if you read Farrah’s article and the firestorm he created among some of the Christian blog sites. If you have the time or interest, I would appreciate your comments. Thanks.
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=86469
http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/culture-war/joseph-farah-pray-obama-fails/
http://ceruleansanctum.com/2009/01/links-for-this-inauguration-day.html
January 22, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Very informative article, well put together it provided for a great read. Im going to forward this blog to my work study group so that they can read and review this article also. You’ve got a new subscirber!
January 22, 2009 at 8:24 pm
HL,
I read the first article by Farah (“Pray Obama Fails”) and completely agree.
The Scriptures tell us that government – as an institution – is ordained by God. God gave man human government to help man govern man given his sin nature. But we also know that the apostles said they needed to respect the higher authority of God whenever human government’s commands and God’s commands diverged. See Acts 4:18ff. And was Jesus’ storming of the temple and overturning the tables “legal”?
As a Christian individual man, I am called to turn the other cheek. But what about when I am a soldier? My “cheek-turning” becomes “center mass to the chest” killing. Are there Christians who believe ANY act of violence is unscriptural? Yes. And these would probably also tell us to do whatever the government says. But they are MUCH in the minority; we’ve had the doctrine of “just war” since Augustine and even before.
I also think of the founding fathers – who were deeply steeped in the Judeo-Christian worldview. I think they nailed it in the Declaration of Independence. Basically, God who created us ordained certain things and certain freedoms. And if the king usurped those things, they had the right to overthrow the tyranny.
But there’s something even deeper. Why should we “pray that Obama fails”? Because if Obama “succeeds” it amounts to a proof that the worldview based on the Bible is false. Socialism, big-government as savior, as a God-substitute, abortion, homosexuality, all of these things are what we should pursue. Obama wins, we lose. Our worldview loses credibility.
Now, we know from the Bible that the last days that the end times are coming when evil DOES gain the upper hand temporarily. But we aren’t to be working to advance THAT kingdom, are we?
So yes, I want Obama to fail. He’s the worst abortionist this country has ever seen by far. I want his policies to fail. Only if he turns around and pursues godly policies would I hope or pray for anything else.
January 23, 2009 at 3:37 am
I completely agree, thanks for reading and commenting.
“Are there Christians who believe ANY act of violence is unscriptural? Yes. And these would probably also tell us to do whatever the government says. But they are MUCH in the minority; we’ve had the doctrine of “just war” since Augustine and even before.”
I’m really glad you stated this fact. Reading various blogs, I didn’t know how to determine how many Chrisitans shared this view. It was perpelxing and frustrating to me. Thanks!
January 23, 2009 at 11:00 am
I like what Ivan Denisovich suggests.
For the rest Republicans and Conservatives should gird their loins and protect America as much as they can against a tide of moral decay and do some “knee-work” for the wisdom, the courage and the strength that the Nation will need to repair the damage when Obama goes, hopefully end 2012. We should work harder [give up on dreams – give them all a rest] and learn to bite the bullet in the meantime. Obama is a temporary phase that will go away.
January 23, 2009 at 4:17 pm
hl,
On my view, if I were witnessing to you about Christ and you slapped me in the face for it, I would (I hope!) turn the other cheek. If you broke into my home and tried to threaten my family, however, I would shoot you.
If I could advance my career by lying or falsely blaming someone else, I would (I hope!) be honest even at the cost of my career. If I were hiding Jews in my basement and the Nazis came door-to-door to ask if there were any Jews in the house, I would lie my head off.
It is not that morality is relative; it is that the situations in which we try to pursue objective morality are relative. There is often a higher morality involved. I would argue that being a father who stands up and fights for his family is better than being a “non-violent” person. I would argue that being a person who shelters Jews from Nazis is better than being an “honest” person.
And it’s the same way with our response to the government. Sometimes – often times – there are higher issues involved that make a blanket edict to always “submit” immoral. And to tell me that I can’t even so much as “speak out” against evil, or against evil government policies, or against evil leaders, is immoral. I for one am not going to shut up.
I add that my views have changed in the last 8 years. The way the left went after Bush, Republicans, the right, and traditional morality has been amazing. And now WE’RE supposed to “be bipartisan”? We are in a war. It is a total war in every way but shooting. And we have to figure out how to fight in this war.
January 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm
NoBama,
I hope you’re right. But I see entrenched structural realities that make me fear otherwise. I see a propaganda media that is right out of the Soviet TASS days. I see a massive fundraising apparatus that seems to work outside the law with few if any checks. And I see a people who are becoming more and more stupid by the day.
And right now, I believe I’m seeing the beginnings of a transformation of government and of society, such that government takes over society. And once this transition is in place, it won’t go away. Bureaucracies never die once they are born. This transition will change the very fabric of our culture, and we have to fight like mad to prevent it before it happens (and before it is too late).
January 24, 2009 at 2:24 am
Michael,
I agree. I have just been mystified at the voices, Christian and otherwise who state we have to unify, support and give O a chance, for the good of the country. Good grief! I do not think his agenda is good for the country!!!
It seems like people are not THINKING, nor considering the higher issues as you state. The ignorance is stunning.
I think it is a time to BOLDLY speak the truth in love.
January 24, 2009 at 7:01 am
I still very definitely have “anger issues.” I feel betrayed.
I still remember seeing the Wright statements (from the church Obama attended for 23 years) and thinking, “No way!”
And this weasel won.
Obama wins, conservative principles and the Judeo-Christian worldview lose. I for one do not want him to succeed, and hope he fails big time. And I’m willing to take my lumps in that process.
A lot of people who are saying, “Let’s all united behind Obama!” are the same liberal hypocrites and RINOs who tore Bush, McCain, and Republicans down so bitterly to get Obama elected in the first place. I say, “How DARE they tell us to put partisanship behind us when they ONLY cared about partisanship for the last 8 years.”
I do hope I get over at least some of the anger stuff, for my own health and well-being, mind you.
January 24, 2009 at 7:51 am
Thank you to hl for both you comments. You are a person after my own heart and thank you to Michael for his responses to you. Keep at it, both of you.
So, with this having been said please allow me to correct myself about “Obama as a passing phase” in my previous comment. I referred to him as a person, as all of us, each one being just so small as to be almost irrelevant during the short time every single human being dwells on earth, thus did not refer to the great harm a person can do while dwelling here.
On that I agree with you that so much harm has already been done and I greatly fear for much more, but that is, on the other hand, a story which goes back to the sixties of the previous century when “modern liberalism” first became a power. Obama as such is really a product [one of the first] of that disease and in a way it was always inevitable, though highly regrettable, that a product of the disease would rise to power one day to assist in the final destruction of the moral fiber of the Nation, and we have this all over the World right now.
That is why I said that we have to do a lot of serious “knee-work” to fight the disease. No way have I ever said that I agree with them, nor will I ever accept their terms of power. I frankly don’t understand how anyone can rejoice about Obama as President. His moral views on everything dear to me offend my sensibilities; his views on pregnancy and abortion I find abhorrent in the extreme and nobody must ask me to respect that. I won’t. Period.
January 24, 2009 at 9:03 am
I hear what you are saying and I think MANY of us relate to the betrayal and anger you are dealing with.
I don’t think we are gong to be able to get over it anytime soon.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01232009/news/politics/prez_zings_gop_foe_in_a_timulating_talk_151572.htm
HOW DARE THIS MAN DO THIS!
January 24, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Agree with your whole shebang, NoBama.
I find myself very conflicted about what to pray for re: America. For years I have prayed that God would bless this country and keep its people safe. But I became so embittered at the unceasing hate and anger directed at Bush, at Republicans, at conservatives, and at Christians that it has left a lasting imprint on me.
I don’t pray for “America” anymore. I pray for Christians everywhere – most certainly including in America – and I also pray for our soldiers, for their divine protection. I pray for the soon return of Christ. That last prayer, I believe, entails the reduction of America as a major power.
We have a judgment day coming. And I think it IS coming soon.
January 24, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Hl,
In a weird way, the liberals have made me more like themselves. And I hate that, too.
All my life up to this point, I thought that both parties should put partisan maneuvering and meanness aside to do what was right for the country. But the unrelenting hate, hostility, and bitterness from the left for the last 8 years has changed that. And – worse yet – I discovered that this country has been reduced to the level of moral stupidity that the mindless anger of the left works – and worked.
We’ve been in a culture war for years now. But few conservatives have actually been fighting. We’ve had liberals pushing and pushing and pushing, and conservatives have largely just given in rather than deal with the confrontation.
As an example, take Prop 8 in California (gay marriage). Even though we won, we’re in all likelihood going to lose. Either the courts will overturn the will of the people, or Obama will overturn the Defense of Marriage Act that allowed states to have the right to decide the issue for themselves. They keep fighting till they win, and they use every means to win.
Somehow we’ve got to quit giving in and start fighting like we mean business.
January 25, 2009 at 3:01 am
I understand and agree NoBama.
Michael,
I don’t think Christians for the most part have been taught that we’ve got to quit giving in and start fighting like we mean business.
I watched a DVD series about John Adams. I noticed the fierce debate over ideas and actions that our founding fathers engaged in as they worked to form our system of government.
I was reminded that freedom of speech and vigourous debate is structured into our system as checks and balances to prevent one party or person from gaining the corrupting position of TOO MUCH POWER! They did not want another authoritative, controlling TYRANT!
I DON”T WANT ONE NOW!!!!
A lot of these men were Christians and they knew how to fight because their very existence depended on resisting the tyranny that oppressed them.
Today, we are told by our government, the MSM and many leaders in the Church we need to unify for the good of the country. It’s as if being “NICE” and going along is the greatest virtue on can aspire to.
I think our founding fathers lives proved, they had a different understanding of Chrisitan duty than what I am observing today.
January 25, 2009 at 3:06 am
Cycles and/or Circles
I have wanted to say this for many years but the ignition to fire just never worked until Michael’s last two Comments to hl and Nobama. It jumped out of the keyboard after that and I don’t quite know where it is going but I hope it contributes to the debate on hand and to a solution somewhere.
The fortunes, the rise and fall, the good and the bad of Nations, Countries and Dynasties happen in cycles. Sometimes one can pick up the start of a cycle or it’s end quite clearly; at other times one cycle [or a circle] goes into another never ending circle.
Let me handle the latter first and get done with it. Africa has been running in cycles of turmoil and one upheaval after the other. Apart from the Colonial cycle they just never made it, with the exception of old Egypt where they had their moment of glory once and have since stabilized. The rest moves from one circle to the next. Some could have made it but never did; most just never had a chance because they didn’t want it.
Similarly, though not exactly identical, the World knows about other old empires [the Turks had their time, Greece had their moments of glory; there are many, suffices not to have to mention more] but I want to concentrate on what is generally described as Western Civilization. Again though, I want to mention only a very few to limit the actual discussion to America and the United Kingdom.
Almost all “Western Countries and Nations” shared the Colonial Cycle in some way or another, either as the Colony or as the Colonial power. Cycles were almost always cultural or economic [trade] or a combination of the two. It was the two main driving forces for America; the United Kingdom developed out of their Colonial Times and the main difference with America was the right of America to trade independently. Culturally the two nations developed in parallel streams with very little to clash; once the War for American Independence ended [having been a war for trade more than anything else] the two countries developed as natural friends more or less.
They both went through the industrial development cycles, the Wars with France and Germany and the clashes with Communism and remained natural Allies.
Then [I must cut this short for now] 1960 came along and brought in its wake a thing called Liberalism. That in its “founding years” was not a bad thing at all. In fact there is still nothing wrong with the original idea of Liberty; it is when it became mixed up with human rights, technology and politics that it went wrong, to become the monster it is today.
But meantime one must understand Krutchev’s Russia, China, Japan and lately India developed without being affected by Liberalism. It is not something that concerns them much; whatever the humanists may say, these countries are getting stronger. Putin’s Russia is even stronger now that they have adopted capitalism and Japan is on the rise again with China going even faster. All these countries are building their strength in Trade and Technology. Please keep this in mind and that they are also by and large homogenous Nations though one may debate the point whether India is [I will leave that for another day because it suffices for this discussion to call them homogenous, certainly to a much greater degree than America or the United Kingdom].
This is the point where Michael’s concerns about America’s future role triggered in to turn the ignition on for this rambling.
These and the other homogenous Nations of Scandinavia are on the rise while Liberalism as it exists today has dragged America down into a hole from which escape is becoming more difficult every day. The United Kingdom has gone trough the same pain but they are managing it more efficiently [even seems as if they may get out of a never ending circle and actually enter a new cycle of expansion] but America has been loosing her direction.
In comes Obama [remember this is not a doctoral thesis and I am keeping it short] but in comes Obama to redefine homogeny and nationhood at a time when America is struggling to redefine her Identity, at the exact time when the great homogenous Nations I have mentioned are rising.
America’s obsession with Liberal Ideology, and its acceleration by Obama may lead to her doom.
I hate to say this because my heart goes out for the 46% who voted with their heads and hearts in the right place but that is where the decision has to be made.
Communism never got off the ground in America [it eventually also fell in Russia and China for the very same reason] because it was an outdated ideology before it started and Americans just never fancied the idea of Social [commercial or economic] Communism. In fact today even the idea of military Communism is pretty much something to laugh off; when Communism failed economically it also failed for military purposes.
But Liberalism became what some new scholars call Liberanarchism and this is the risk America does not even seem to grasp.
On that I will leave it for today but along with Michael, and adding a bit of my own, with utmost respect for him and my heartfelt abiding love for the 46%, I have to add that America must start to face the fact that it does not any longer occupy the Number One Leadership position in the World, nor can Obama assume He is now the Most Powerful Person in the World. He is not! China and Japan won’t laugh in his face [they do things quietly with stealth and certainty] but the mad Arab and the African tyrant will do the laughing; they are that way inclined.
Forgive me, but I had to say this. The homogenous Nations are on the rise, in economic terms and moral fiber [whether American Liberals squeal about human rights abuses in China or not] [Liberty does mean equality but Liberty eventually goes by the wayside if equality does not go hand in hand with equal responsibility] and these Nations will assume [and share] the Leadership role between them. America is falling apart at the seams; the great cycle has ended. Well, it really ended when Liberalism took over in 1960 but it managed to survive [through two people named Bush and one named Reagan, and one named Nixon] [don’t ever forget the last one] but it has now ended.
Others have fallen too [that is not new] and many have picked themselves up by the bootstraps to rise again. Others who were defeated in War remained unvanquished and fought again and won. Some have fallen through moral decay [someone else once said the Roman Empire sodomised and whored themselves out of an Empire] but I know of no other great Nation, Country or Dynasty who just threw it away for the ego of One Man. It is hard to understand why America wanted to be the first to do it.
January 25, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Old Georgia,
And I would argue that we’re helping them surge ahead of us.
As we pursue economic models that don’t work (even as China abandons its reliance on socialism), and as we pursue incredibly expensive “renewable” energy that will a) make our energy more expensive while b) making Russia/China/India’s less expensive. We’re using expensive energy that is inefficient; they’re buying coal and oil and surging ahead of us. And the funny thing is, as we use less coal and oil, it becomes even cheaper for them.
And the EU just elected what sounds like a pretty good leader, while we elected Obama.
It’s like this: “Is my head in your way? Here, let me saw it off for you (aren’t I polite?). Ugggh Ahhhgggg.” And voila, we’re dead so our enemies and competitors can have things easier.
January 26, 2009 at 12:51 am
Virtually all of the founding fathers had extensive Christian educations. It was kind of hard not to, given that of the first 108 universities, 106 were specifically Christian institutions dedicated to the advance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
http://www.tysknews.com/Depts/Educate/history_part3.htm
And so these men thought like Christians – even those very few who weren’t Christian. They were also brilliant men, men far ahead of their time, who understood the need for the Judeo-Christian worldview.
Here are some quotes I’ve compiled: Statements by our founding fathers (who presumably understood what the Constitution that they themselves wrote and ratified meant better than Ruth Bader Ginsberg):
“We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
– John Adams
“…And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
– George Washington, Farewell Address, Sept 17, 1796
“Religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness.”
– Samuel Adams, Letter to John Trumbull, October 16, 1778
“The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor…and this alone, that renders us invincible.”
– Patrick Henry, Letter to Archibald Blair, January 8, 1789
“Without morals, a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion…are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”
– Charles Carroll (signer of the Constitution), Letter to James McHenry,November 4, 1800
“Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man towards God.”
– Life of Gouverneur Morris, Vol III
“Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age, by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity…in short of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.“
– Samuel Adams, Letter to John Adams, October 4, 1790
“In contemplating the political institutions of the United States, I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes, and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government. That is, the universal
education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible.”
– Benjamin Rush, “A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a School Book”, 1798
“In my view, the Christian Religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed…no truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian Religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”
– Noah Webster, Reply to David McClure, Oct. 25, 1836
“Information to those who would remove (or move) to America”: “To this may be truly added, that serious Religion under its various Denominations, is not only tolerated, but respected and practised. Atheism is unknown there, Infidelity rare & secret, so that Persons may live to a great Age in that Country without having their Piety shock’d by meeting with either an Atheist or an Infidel. And the Divine Being seems to have manifested his Approbation of the mutual Forbearance and Kindness with which the different Sects treat each other, by the remarkable Prosperity with which he has been pleased to favour the whole Country.”
– Ben Franklin, 1787 pamphlet to Europeans
“Independent of its connection with human destiny hereafter, the fate of republican government is indissolubly bound up with the fate of the Christian religion, and a people who reject its holy faith will find themselves the slaves of their own evil passions and of arbitrary power.”
– Lewis Cass, A Brigadier-General in the War of 1812, Governor of the Michigan Territory, a Secretary of War, a Senator, a Secretary of State. The State of Michigan placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God? That they are not to violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic. But will they keep it, or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens…”
– George Washington, Farewell Address, Sept 17, 1796
“Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand.”
– John Adams, Letter of June 21, 1776
They knew what they were trying to create/shape/build. They knew what they needed to have (e.g. religion) to build this nation so it could be free. They knew who their opponents/enemies were, and how their enemies thought. And they understood the importance to fight against tyranny and against people and ideas that would either allow tyranny to overcome or just outright institute tyranny.
They continue to be magnificent role models, don’t they?
January 26, 2009 at 1:30 am
I see the old Michael and like what I see. And I am with ya! This ‘’nicey nicey’’ business as one of your other incoming comments called it must cease. They want war; let us give them war! I remember when Kenneth Star was dead set on impeaching Slick Willie a whole bunch of Republicans said no, it’s not the right time for the Country. America first, they said. And Clinton got off the hook. Look what he and his merry bunch did to President Busch when they had the power, and riled up enough idiots amongst voters to even want to prosecute President Bush and others in his Administration for war crimes. What about the Country now?
Go full out at them every chance we get. That’s what I am saying. Every single dope addicts Democrat including Obama. Let’s go for them and save America before they ruin it completely.
January 26, 2009 at 5:05 am
Yes, they do. Thank you so much Michael for posting these quotes. I am going to print them out and also send a few of them to my little sphere of Christian “patriots”.
January 26, 2009 at 6:25 am
You’re welcome, HL. Thanks for appreciating them!
I have recently been making it a project to collect the founding father’s views toward religion. They clearly recognized that democracy and limited government could not continue without religion and the morality that derived from religion.
Today, there are so many atheists, secular humanists, and liberals trying to “pull the tablecloth” out from everything that allowed this country to become great. They are fools. You can’t take the foundations for limited government and freedom away and have such a government float in midair.
January 26, 2009 at 6:41 am
It’s always nice to have company – especially when you’re going to war.
I am continuing to personally struggle with two rival views: 1) As a Christian, I am a pilgrim who is “just passing through.” And “this land aint my home.” So I focus on purely spiritual matters, such as evangelizing the lost, feeding the hungry as an example of Christian love, etc. 2) As an AMERICAN Christian, I am a citizen with responsibilities to my society and my civilization. And there are people hard at work trying to pervert our schools, abort our children, socialize our government, and generally recreate society in their hateful godless image. And I owe the next generation to fight like hell to prevent this slide into total degeneracy from happening.
The problem with 2) is we have to be willing to get mean, because if we don’t we lose.
I don’t think we can have this “I will fight. But I will fight like a gentleman and honor and respect my opponents.” I think that’s another way of saying, “I’ll look nice losing.” And if THAT’S the outcome, I’d rather just stick with 1) above and abandon politics altogether.
But I don’t LIKE getting mean.
Hence the dilemma.
Unfortunately, we’re now in a society of moral idiots and apathetic and ignorant people. We’re now a country that has no idea what our founding fathers stood for, nor do we care. We’re no longer making our moral decisions based on virtue and genuine moral values, but on selfishness and pragmatism (what works for us). And we’re a society that would rather be entertained than informed. So the nasty, petty, mud-wrestling political tactics WORK!!!
It is the equivalent of the situation the Jews are in. They have to fight Hamas and Hezbollah. But when they fight, the vermin they’re fighting deliberately force them to kill women and children so they can scream about it and blame Israel. I thin the Democrats, liberals, and media are like Hamas et al in our political war. To win, we have to get nasty and mean and dirty, and then they scream about how nasty and mean and dirty we are.
What do we do? How do we fight? Or do we just find a nice neighborhood and take care of our kids and families?
January 26, 2009 at 10:08 am
Wow Michael you made this old heart glad today. Wow man. You don’t know how much; I had to use the back of the hand around the old eyes as I read all those things they said way back then. I admit to you I sat and soaked it up, and then I read them again and again. I have read many of them and some others in books; for forty years they instilled in me the belief that America can and will survive but I became despondent of late. In you come with those quotes just when I felt real down low and I said maybe the Lord had allowed Rob_N in to pester Michael in order to let him get all those quotes together just for me when I needed them.
Do many and me a favor one day. Put more, no put every single one you can get your hands [no, your eyes] on and publish them for us. When I have to go up the mountain one day I would like to clutch them to my heart, and go with joy.
I have a dream that you will publish a whole volume of them and that all American youngsters will read them this year! If I published it I will dedicate the book to President Bush, John McCain and to Sarah Palin.
January 26, 2009 at 10:53 am
My previous comment on your old quotes crossed with you new one on your dilemma and I am pleased on my side that it did because I night have written this one differently in an effort to reply to both and that would have been a dilemma for me.
Please allow me to compliment you once more because you happened to give me so much joy twice in one day.
We have a son aged 37 end March and a daughter aged 35 on May 30th. Erik works for himself and goes all over [he does management consulting and has just finished his first big contract for Deloitte Haskins, Gulf Region, in Dubai. Janine qualified as a medical Doctor in 2000 and will be writing her final exams in March and May and then just a few last months practice before she will qualify as a Trauma Specialist at Edinburgh Scotland [they call it Trauma, in America it would be called ER] but she is considering doing one more year or maybe two in order to specialize in Infant Trauma. She is bright but extremely modest and laughs when she says that if she does the two years extra she will have all the available letters behind her name, and then she giggles.
Why do I tell you this?
I don’t quite know myself why I am telling you at this time except that it is maybe like some other occasions when I said the words came jumping out of the keyboard.
I mean, why and how does Rob_N suddenly appear in your Box, and Coffee for that matter, and I counted a number who support and thank you from their hearts. See, maybe those letters all jumped out of keyboards so I can write to you about your predicament and maybe that’s why our children’s’ details had to jump out to be included.
I have a notion that I may at 69 this coming August be old enough to have been a contemporary of your father. It is my view that you have the abilities to cover both areas that you mention. Think about it. They are interlinked, and become more so in the current World. Who can handle both at the same time better than Michael Eden?
January 26, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Ole Grandpaw,
I am a “keeper” and “collector” of history. There is so much wisdom to be found. Our founding fathers were men whose intellects and understanding dwarf the lilliputian minds of liberal academics today. But you have to be a “seeker of history” today as well. You certainly won’t be taught these kinds of things in most schools. Today they teach you how to whitewash the truth, not to know and reveal it.
So I have a file of quotes, and when I come across another, I add it to the file. Brick by brick.
And we have more than just our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our Gettysburg Address (” that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”). We also have the charters and compacts that forged the country, the people, and the leaders who would come to hold these ideals:
On Religious Clauses in State Constitutions, proving that religion, Christianity, the Bible, and our founders’ understanding of the Constitution are entirely compatible.
http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/state.html
http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/ChristianHeritage/State_Constitutions.html
Early charters and compacts that provided the Christian religious foundation for our government:
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:q2F5rYVicJMJ:www.christianlifeandliberty.net/NoKingbutKingJesus.doc+state+constitutions+christian&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a
And we learn that our founding fathers – and those who came before our founding fathers, and those who came after them, all believed in religion as a basis for morality and our education:
Example from our universities, which informed and ignited the minds of our fathers:
“Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore lay Christ at the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”
– Harvard’s Rules and Precepts, 1636
Article III. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever by encouraged.
– July 13, 1787
“Cursed is all learning that is contrary to the Cross of Christ”
– Princeton’s Founding Statement, 1746
“…if the study of the Bible is to be excluded from all state schools; if the inculcation of
the principles of Christianity is to have no place in the daily program; if the worship
of God is to form no part of the general exercises of these public elementary schools;
then the good of the state would be better served by restoring all schools to church control.”
– National Education Association, 1892
And we find that our fathers were profoundly pro-life in their great wisdom:
“Americans! Ask the Declaration of Independence and it will tell you that its authors held for self-evident truth that the right to life is the first of the unalienable rights of man, and that to secure and not to destroy that right, governments are instituted.”
– John Quincy Adams, president of the united states
“Human life from its commencement to its close is protected by the common law. In the contemplations of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb. By the law, that life is protected.”
– James Wilson, signer of the constitution and the declaration; original justice on the u. s. supreme court
There is so much to learn from these great men who saw so far because their foundation was The Rock (Psalm 144:1)
January 26, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Thank you for your kind words, Ole Grandpaw. And thank you for raising two such fine children who will continue to work to make the world and America a better place after you.
I’ve never been a great Peter Jennings fan. But at least he used the words, “the Greatest Generation” to describe the WWII years. And you’re old enough to have been a little brother of one of our magnificent soldiers, and to have been bitten/infected by the power that gave them the ability to endure and overcome such evil as Hitler and Tojo. And you raised a son and a daughter with enough of that wisdom that they could go out and do positive and productive things.
You’re right about the possibility of engaging in both areas, I suppose. But it is still rather like fighting off the forces of darkness with a broadsword with one arm while simultaneously protectively cradling an infant in the other. I guess in a way THAT is why you mention your children who are no longer kids: in order to fight this fight, we have to have the love of a father protecting his home against those who would destroy his family even as he places himself between his children and those who would do them harm.
January 26, 2009 at 9:45 pm
And thank you for your kind words my friend, but I owe you for the stuff you printed here; I have read many but I shall now join you in the hunt for more. I also hope many more read this Box and I thank all those that I have just met by their names in here for their support of you. God Bless you all.
January 26, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Thank you, Ole Grandpaw. But of course, it is only my privileged to share important truth with those who appreciate it and who will further it by passing it on to still others.
Glad to hear you’re a fellow “truth hunter.”
January 27, 2009 at 3:21 am
Michael,
If I may, never under estimate the power of the written word. It is written that Harriet Beecher Stowe with her book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” reached the heart and conscience of our nation regarding slavery.
I pray the Lord uses your talent for writing and love of truth to reach many hearts and consciences in your generation and those to come.
It is truly one of your weapons in this war.
January 27, 2009 at 9:49 am
Thanks, HL. The story of how Uncle Tom’s Cabin outraged Christians (in particular) and helped build momentum to free the slaves is one of the amazing phenoma in literature.
I think that, unfortunately, we are rapidly becoming a people innoculated against genuine righteous outrage, though. We’re entering that “Brave New World” of Huxley where we’re just too dumb and too “entertained” to care.
One book that shaped my thinking on the power of media to dumb us down is, “Amusing Ourselves to Death” by Neil Postman. It’s a number of years old now, but that guy nailed the program.
February 21, 2009 at 11:29 am
Having just fallen on the “wrong” side of a now former friend who woefully claims “criticisms about Mr. Obama concern our black community because they were not made about Mr. Bush … blah, blah .. blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ”
Because I am white and I refuse to “disagree in love” but rather will “defend the Truth”, I have lost a “friend” who probably never was a friend. In fact, her parting comment which caused me to see the “friendship” and “fellowship” was no longer productive was the comment made by one who is most probably all along had been a mere “Job’s comforter.”
Reasoning did not work. Asking if pulling little babies out of the womb would confirm to her that “Mr. Obama” (as she worshipfully refers to him as), is in reality not the man she seems to believe him to be.
Her response is always “not everything they say about Mr. Obama is true.”
Well .. my, my, my .. if it becomes legislation .. will you then think it was “rumor?”
I will, for me and my house, never agree to disagree “in love” .. that is COMPROMISE and God calls us to STAND FOR THE TRUTH of HIS WORD!
February 22, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Sarah,
I’m sorry you’ve lost friends. Not to produce images of Clinton, but “I feel your pain.” There does come a point when people have too much “opposite” and not enough “in common” to sustain a friendship – and when that happens, it’s better to avoid “unequal yoking” even in friendships.
Sarah and Rebecca are my two favorite women’s names, btw. I’m sure you know that your name means “princess.”
Here are a few articles I’ve written on Obama and abortion:
I can not and will not support a president with this kind of record on human life. And in this case, despite what your former friend said, “It’s true.”
I guess I’m rather surprised that your fiend doesn’t think President Bush was criticized. I can only wonder where she was the last 8 years while some of the most vicious, ruthless, and hateful comments I’ve ever heard were made about George Bush.
I try to keep my articles factual; if I say a negative thing, I want to have a reason for saying it, or provide documentation that what I’m saying is true. But I don’t try to deny that I’m angry, just like you are. I am watching this country become Stalinist before my very eyes.