Post-Election Comment: Skin Color & Blindness

I am glad that the presidential election campaign, which seems as if it started about 6 years ago, is now in “the history books.” Certainly it will go down in history as a turning point: the first African-American elected president of the United States. It does speak symbolically to the broadmindedness of the general American public, our general desire to be above race and to be color-blind. This is something that does pertain to the moral universe of the Christian. One might well argue, rightly, that apart from the Christian gospel and its embrace of all the races, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, it’s not likely we’d see something like this.

The irony about the election of our first black president, an irony which I wish did not exist, is that while blacks have risen from the indignities and injustice of slavery in which their bodies were sold and consumed as property, and have endured segregation and second-class citizen status and racial discrimination, and have now one of their own elected to the highest office in the land, this very president-elect, Barack Obama, will increase the death toll among black human beings if he fulfills his promise to enact a Freedom of Choice Act, which will serve as a firewall around Roe v. Wade, the Dred Scott decision of our times. Helping to fund abortions also will likely disproportionately increase the number of black victims consumed by this holocaust. Someone might point out that policies about abortion, too, in this post-racial age of enlightenment, should be colorblind, so anyone who cares about the skin color of its victims is a racist, and that appeals to blacks about not aborting black babies is an appeal to a presumed racism on their part.

Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin is not now the burning issue of our time, however. It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place. The human skin of the baby in the womb, the human skin of the severely disabled (candidates for “selective” abortion), the human flesh and blood of the elderly, and the bodies of those near death, from whom we cut organs while they are, yes, still, alive—this human flesh is abused and sacrificed on various altars. Resting on the hard-earned laurels of enlightened colorblindness, many have forgotten, or deny, the sanctity of the very flesh about which we say we are so indifferent as to its color.

Now that, I submit, is a modern blindness of the highest (or lowest) order, not much different from Dred Scott's perspective on slaves. We’ve removed the log of judging by skin color, only to have plucked out the very eye.

Comments

[Kamilla]

"Discrimination based on the color of one’s skin is not now the burning issue of our time, however. It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place."

Bravo!

Kamilla

[labrialumn]

A Kenyan-Indonesian isn't exactly what is meant by African-American. That latter Alan Keyes is.

Skin color obviously mattered a great deal since blacks voted 93% for BHO, even though they voted conservatively on ballot initiatives regarding defending marriage and babies.

[Stuart Koehl]

>>>It’s that we’ve forgotten the value of human skin in the first place."<<<

Actually, if you go on the web, you can get quotes on human skin in $ per cm2. You can get quotes on other organs, too--hearts, livers, kidneys, corneas, lungs--all illegal in the U.S. but not in other countries.

What we have not really wrapped our minds around is the value of a human soul.

[Bob]

Labrialum, are you sure they didn't vote for things like California's Prop 8 because Obama was forced to lie and say he is against gay "marriage"? Did you see the flurry of ads from the Prop 8 people that showed either Obama and McCain or Biden and Palin, emphasizing that all of them were (supposedly) against gay "marriage"? I think the same people who voted for Obama because of the color of his skin (as you note, he's decidedly not "black") are the same folks who voted against gay "marriage" because they were told to. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

[Juli]

A Kenyan-Indonesian isn't exactly what is meant by African-American.

Barack Obama is Indonesian because he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia?

[Michael Obama]

I am glad Barack H Obama won as the White man, McCain lost. John McCain is a White supremacist and a member of KuKluxKlan. If John McCain had won, apartheid era would commense in United States, since, McCain is America's equivalent to Saddam Hussein.

John McCain seeks a White America, while Barack H. Obama seeks a color blind America, where all races, homosexuals (regardless gay and lesbian), blacks, whites, jews, greeks, and transexuals must have same rights.

Today, we see racial apartheid towards homosexuals and transexuals under the George W Bush administration, which resembles South African apartheid regime.

[holmegm]

>Barack Obama is Indonesian because he spent part of his
>childhood in Indonesia?

Is he American because he spent the other part in America?

[W.E.D. Godbold]

Hey, I spent a week in Germany in 1992. Can I be a German-American. :-)

[Joe Long]

The Dredd Scott decision was far more legally defensible - and better yet, eventually reversible - than the left-wing sacrament of abortion. American slaves, while chattel in some legal senses (horrible ones) were not literally slaughtered.

As for the President-elect's racial identity, he wrote an entire book about it - a most revealing and terribly pretentious thing to do. I suppose nothing is more natural to our current society, than that we should elect a President so eaten-up with "Daddy issues". "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" is all about struggling for racial identity - and he ultimately ended his quest in Jeremiah Wright's church.

Awkward title. Should have gone for something shorter, punchier - maybe just "My Struggle". Was that one taken or something?

[DwightP]

Perhaps you and the other commentators who place abortion in the left-wing column of sins could explain your reasoning: Under Bill Clinton, the incidence of abortion actually declined because of more supportive and responsive social programs. Then, despite the Republican, right-wing Party control of White House, both houses of Congress, and a majority on the Supreme Court, the legality of abortion not only did not change dramatically, but its incidence actually rose?

[DwightP]

Perhaps you and the other commentators who place abortion in the left-wing column of sins could explain your reasoning: Under Bill Clinton, the incidence of abortion actually declined because of more supportive and responsive social programs. Then, despite the Republican, right-wing Party control of White House, both houses of Congress, and a majority on the Supreme Court, the legality of abortion not only did not change dramatically, but its incidence actually rose?

[Joe Long]

"Perhaps you and the other commentators who place abortion in the left-wing column of sins could explain your reasoning..."

Um, because Left-wingers endorse it, promote it, fund it, celebrate it?! Including, of course, left-wing Republicans - your mere party distinction there, is entirely irrelevant to the question. The GOP's failure to fight abortion is endlessly frustrating to the Right.

By your logic, lynching blacks didn't need to be banned; instead, social programs could have reduced the number of lynchings, by raising the self-esteem of the white community and addressing "root causes". Eventually perhaps, lynchings could have been safe, legal, and rare. (Of course, those which hadn't been stopped by addressing "root causes" could still be federally funded, a la Planned Parenthood. We could have a grant-funded "Klanned Rope-N-Hood" to parallel it.)

[labrialumn]

Bob, I noted that he isn't *African-American* as the article was using it - a descendant of slaves held in America. That isn't his heritage. It is the heritage of Alan Keyes, and I think also Condoleeza Rice. (It is true that according to his living family members in Kenya, he is only 1/16th black (and 7/16ths Arab)(and that may be one reason why he has refused to release his college and grad school records - he may be registered as an Indonesian, and he may have illegally taken aid for African-Americans, which he doesn't qualify as) but that isn't what I was talking about)

Juli, because BHO was a *citizen* of Indonesia. And since Indonesia did not allow dual citizenship at that time, he had to have lost his US citizenship. That makes him invalid to stand for President. Further, there is no evidence that he ever became an American citizen again, nor that he ever legally changed his name back to Barack Hussein Obama. He may be the first illegal alien for whom a majority of electors were elected. He apparently isn't even legally a Senator, let alone a candidate for President.

Joe, Bill Ayers ghostwrote _Dreams_. . .

Dwight, I don't know where you are getting your information, but it is incorrect.

[houghton G]

I am persuaded by Fr. Martin Fox's comments on Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog (and apparently on Fox's own blog) that FOCA will not pass--too many congressmen, from both parties, come from districts that would oppose the total undoing of all the limits placed on abortion over the years and Obama will need their votes on other issues.

But I fear something much worse from Obama. His total lack of principles--brazen lying, brazen voter registration fraud, brazen reversal on campaign funding, brazen fundraising fraud etc. and his utterly cynical ambition to become president that dates back two decades or more and dictated all his career moves--points to a pragmatic pursuit of power that is more dangerous than if he were a principled pro-abort.

He promised Planned Parenthood FOCA would be his first priority. He will sell them out on that with no twinge of conscience. (He will doom us in a different way--his SCOTUS appointments, combined with the extra-constitutional Democrat stonewalling of Bush's mandate to reshape the judiciary at both SCOTUS and lower federal levels, will destroy any chance ever of regaining the courts. And the courts upholding bureacratic tyranny will be the method by which Christians and pro-lifers will be persecuted in the generation to come, not to mention the other sorts of havoc a "living constitution" court will wreak on everyone.)

But the cynical pragmatism already visible--Pelosi already suggesting the Bush tax cuts may need to be made permanent--is truly frightening. The Democrats know better than to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. They will not raise taxes into a recession. They will not blunder abysmally, as many Republicans hope, and set the stage for a Republican comeback in 2010 or 2012.

No, what we are seeing is the next stage of a mutually beneficial compact between global business and a purely power-driven political nomenklatura class.

I suppose one can argue that titans of finance and capital always have been amoral, but I don't think that was always true. Perhaps in tendency, but not totally--I think of the Grace family that ran a big firm (the Grace Commission) and others like them in the mid-20thc. In any case, I think the homosexual revolution tipping point came when IBM etc. began introducing coercive gay-friendly policies, which made the Unnatural mainstream. The gays had been campaigning for this, of course, but their success was limited to universities and Boyztowns across the country until the corporate world signed on--in pursuit of a lucrative market. Perhaps business has always been that way but only in the last half-century have utterly Unnatural social movements made a bid for mainstream status (slaughtering the innocents, mainstreaming homosexuality).

My point is that I think we are going to see the blossoming of the compact between Wall Street, the big corporations, the big business of entertainment and sports etc., on the one hand, and the Obama-led Democrats and "moderate" (amoral) Republicans on the other that has been in the making for a generation or two.

The savaging of Sarah Palin by Democrats and "moderate" Republicans alike during the campaign and now from "moderate" Republicans jockeying to put the social conservative wing of the party in its place mark the real dividing line--belief in God and moral principles derived from that belief, on the one hand, and freedom to do whatever the pursuit of Power requires, on the other.

None of this is new to readers here. But it struck me that a lot of conservatives who expected that the neophyte Obama would lurch so hard to the Left that he would engender a conservative renewal are wrong. Having acquired the levers of power after an 8 year hiatus, with SCOTUS in their grip and the media totally in the tank, the way is clear now to cripple the opposition, which is not the Republican Party (hopelessly fragmented, even the conservatives among the Republicans hopelessly fragmented between amoral Libertarians and social Conservatives) but the remaining principled Christians and Jews.

And they will succeed at this because of decades of softening up artillary barrages, the half-century of court rulings that have deprived the opposition of equal rights under the law and crippled their ability to communicate via the schools and the public square.

The Power-Compact will cripple opposition free speech, probably not headon via the Fairness Doctrine but by backdoor methods, manage the economy so that it keeps on laying silver or copper eggs if not golden eggs--strong enough to, if not now, eventually, provide funding for the Power-Compact's longterm control. And the Orwellian march through the schools--the key to stultifying future opposition, will solidify.

The situation is analgous to 1932 in Germany. Hitler was despised by many of the elites in business and universities etc. as a little man of no consequence. But German industrial titans saw that they could keep themselves from being totally nationalized and turned out on their ear by making common cause with Hitler rather than fighting him and he saw that he could plunder their resources much more easily if they cooperated than if he tried to take them over and run them himself.

[houghton G]

Labrialum,

When I first read Jack Cashill's claims that Obama's Dreams book was ghostwritten by Ayers, I scoffed. Cashill's evidence seemed slim. But I have to say that the most recent computer analysis adds some serious credence to the claim. See
http://worldnetdaily.com/files/FictionFixer-Obama-Ayers-2.pdf

WND is not a trustworthy site by any stretch of the imagination, but just because it's wrong on a lot of things, doesn't mean that Cashill is not on to something. We do know that Obama had major writer's block and his initial book contract was terminated because he failed to produce. Then suddenly he produced this masterpiece. Finally, a classics professor at Ohio State U. has pointed out the very curious and guarded language of the preface to the second edition, in which Obama studiously avoids ever explicitly claiming to have written the book.

See http://thepostliberal.com/2008/10/obama-in-plain-sight-intro-to-dreams.html for Heiden's analysis.

Regarding Obama's eligibility to be president, I do think there's something very fishy about his refusal to set the controversy to rest by releasing an authentic birth certificate. But as long as he stonewalls, there's no way to prove a negative.

And even if it could be proven that he does not meet the natural born citizen requirement, it wouldn't matter. He would miss meeting it by a slim technicality--his mother was one year shy of the five years of continual residence after the age of 14 that she would have needed for her son to be a natural born citizen, if he was born in Kenya, as some of his Kenya family members insist he was.

That technicality would quickly be waved aside as insignificant in the court of popular opinion. So pursuing it is foolish.

But it does point to how poorly vetted the candidate was, how demagogically elected he was. And that is truly troubling. We have marched that much farther down the road to bread and circuses demagoguery that permits bureacratic tyranny to reign.

[W.E.D. Godbold]

Do you guys like predicting bad things before they happen? I'm all for reacting to any bad things that *actually* come down the pike, but you guys seem like you're trying to engender worse will than is necessary. There's a bit in the Screwtape Letters were the uncle advises his nephew to get the patient to try to react ahead of time (in a wartime situation) instead of just concentrating on what he has to do at the moment. You guys think this approach is spiritually healthy?

[houghton G]

For W. E. D. Godbold,

When bad things of the sort we are talking about actually come down the pike it's too late to do anything about them. And as I noted, the present predictions have to do with a continuation of bad things that came down the pike long ago--above all the deadening of consciences, loss of principles, celebration of cynical power/pragmatism that Roe v. Wade represents. But R v W itself was only a continuation of Holmesean legal positivism (another form of elevation of Power over principle) that had been in motion for a half-century.

So, we are reacting to things that have already happened. Slumbering insouciance is dangerous. It may already be too late to stop this freight train--all that is left is to "stand to our tackles and play the hero, if we have the spittle for it," to quote (approximately) Robert Bolt's Thomas More. But even then, it helps to have clarity of mind about just why we are faced with no option except standing to our tackles in the face of judicial and bureacratic tyranny.

I am most dispirited by the internecine sniping that has already begun among the social conservatives (Palin-scapegoating etc.). It was lack of unity among social conservatives that led to McCain's nomination and doomed candidacy. The loser, however, is not McCain, but our last chance to regain SCOTUS for the cause of life.

Cassandra's are never much liked. I'd much rather not be a Cassandra.

But, "I show you the times," Bolt's More said to the Duke of Norfolk, after Norfolk impatiently chided More for being so obtuse and "lawyerly." Norfolk responded optimistically: "This isn't Spain, you know," words that Cromwell later threw back in his face at the point when it finally became clear to Norfolk that Cromwell had him cornered and that he faced a choice of siding with Cromwell against More or going down at More's side.

[GL]

Where were all the pro-life voters? Maybe they were never born because "pro-life" Christians have been using artificial contraception for going on 80 years and with a vengeance for the past 40 years.

How many pro-life voters would there be by now had "pro-life" Christians not used contraception during the past several decades and reared the children conceived as a result to believe the word of God that children are a blessing and, what follows as night follows day from that Scriptural teaching, that limiting one's family size shows profound lack of faith in the veracity of His word.

From That Hideous Strength:

"Sir," said Merlin, "know well that she [Jane] has done in Logres a thing of which no less sorrow shall come than came of the stroke that Balinus struck. For, Sir, it was the purpose of God that she and her lord should between them have begotten a child by whom the enemies should have been put out of Logres for a thousand years."

Perhaps it was "the purpose of God" that Christians "should . . . have begotten . . . child[ren] by whom the [the scourge of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, etc.] should have been put out of [the United States]. But, instead, we have proven to be like Jane.

If we want to end abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and a host of other horrors, then instead of spending our time politicking, perhaps we should be spending it conceiving and rearing children in the faith. If we put first things first (i.e., demonstrating our trust in our Lord by obeying Him), then all these things (i.e., ending the culture of death) will be added unto us.

[James the lesser]

From what vast pool of candidates would a pro-life president draw his nominations? It seems from this end as though the law schools graduate students pretty well catechized that RoeVWade is bedrock.

[jm]

"And since Indonesia did not allow dual citizenship at that time, he had to have lost his US citizenship."

You have no idea what you're talking about. This is inexcusable pantently ignorant or a intentional falsehood. If you ever took the time to consult with someone who did know a little somethign about such things, you would learn it is nearly impossible for an adult to renounce American citizenship. I would suggest it is as impossible as such things can be for a minor to renounce American citizenship. Indonesia has nothing to say about this.

Obama's Hawaii birth certifcate has been released for public inspection. Hawaii officials confirm it's genuine.

You can view the certificate here:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/

The rest of your comments, built on a foundation of falsehood are ridiculous. Keep the tim foil helmet on at all times, please. I hear Alcoa works best.

W. E. D. speaks with widsom here. Please reflect on his final question.

[labrialumn]

JM, you mean the certificate of live birth with the white-outs and lack of official stamped seal,lacking fold marks, and referring to his father as African, when in 1961, were it genuine, would have said "Negro"?

That one?

I prefer to believe the eyewitness testimony of two or more witnesses who were present in the delivery room when he was born to an obvious fake certificate of live birth (which is NOT a birth certificate)

Barry Soetoro appears to be an Indonesian citizen, but I don't know how to persuade the willfully ignorant.

[Bobby Winters]

Lab, it's over. Let it go.

[NJI]

JM, what are your credentials to say that you know more about citizenship than any other person on this website? You just issued some fairly serious ad hominem attacks for speculation... and proceeded to offer your own speculation as fact. Unless you offer credentials that would make your speculation more valid than the person you are attacking, you merely put yourself in a bad position.

You are correct that Obama's birth certificate has been verified. Houghton G's point is still valid... the lack of thorough vetting of the candidate is disturbing. There shouldn't even have been a question.

Please consider looking beyond the particular claims that you find personally irksome to the bigger points under discussion... specifically, in this case, the demonstrated demagoguery that points back to a lack of what I believe used to be called "moral fiber".

[NJI]

*sigh* If only so this doesn't become a continuing issue...

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Oct31/0,4670,ObamaBirthCertificate,00.html

My apologies for the double post.

[Bob]

If there's nothing to hide, why hide it?

And that's complete nonsense that American citizens don't have any "interest" in whether The One is an American citizen or not. But hey, I guess that means we can elect Arnold now, because who would dark ask to see his papers?

[Me]

Thank you so much for this commentary. It is good to know others feel the sadness of this election and the reverse discrimination that came from it. The "Blacks" in our area are rejoicing over a "Black" being in office. I thought this was not a racial election. And I didn't look at it that way, but guess I'm not allowed because I am white (well actually red for native american and white for italian, but it only seems to matter if your skin is dark). When choosing to vote looked at experience and Godliness. Obama does not have this. He rejected the church, is for killing innocent babies and taking from hardworking people who earn their money to give to poor people who choose not to help themselves. I know, because I was a social worker and I saw sooooo many people "work the system". Those who truely wanted to succeed did, because there are MANY resources there for them. They do have to work for it, just like the rest of us.
I am sickened, saddened and scared for our future as a country. God be with us!

[labrialumn]

Bo, but it isn't. The Electoral College hasn't voted. And there is something called impeachment. And finally, Truth Is.

[jp]

"JM, what are your credentials to say that you know more about citizenship than any other person on this website?"

Perhaps it's becasuse I make my living having to know a thing or two about international law and the law of U.S. Citizenship.

Perhpas it's because apparently I can use the internet better than some who post here, and I check it before making bald assertions about the status of someone's citizenship.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html

and perhpas, as your link to Fox makes clear, it is now no longer possible in good faith to assert that the Hawaiil birth certificate was altered, concealed or doctored.

The candidate was vetted, acurately and to the satisfaction of all people who do not need tin foil to protect against the voices.

Which leads us back to WED Godbold's unanswered question.

[Nick]

Let's not get Arnold. Here in Californication he's the closest think to the Right that we can elect. While he's smart on the economic issues (he tried valiantly for some good reform) he is a social conservatives recipe for disaster. He's somewhere to the Left of The Former Mayor of New York During 9/11.

As to the Troll up above I don't know how Bush ever got tagged as a white supremacist. Much less McCain of all people. I've heard this so many times from otherwise intelligent people that my head has nearly exploded.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

I think very highly of this Post-Election comment (which is by a sister in Christ from Colorado) titled Grief and Disillusionment Bring New Hope:

"I'll admit it. I'm grieving.

I know that no human being is our savior. A different election outcome would not have brought Heaven on Earth. My hope is not in politicians. My hope is in the Lord.

But I'm grieving.

Grief is appropriate for a devastating loss, for the death of a loved one. And for me, that's what this election represents.

But let me be very clear about this. I don't think America is in mortal danger because of the candidate who won. I believe the opposite.

I believe that the candidate won because America is in mortal danger. That's why I said that I grieve over what this election represents, not over what it did.

And frankly, if the other candidate had won, I would not feel much better.

If America had truly been a vital nation "Under God," not only would the outcome have been different, but we wouldn't even have been presented with the same candidates or the same issues. This election didn't so much change the country as it revealed it.

And so I grieve the death of a dream.

I know that the America I love is really an ideal, a dream, a hope. For many years, the America I love has not been the America that I live in. And more and more I'm having to admit that the ideal, the dream, the hope could never really be achieved by human beings. Democracy is the best human form of government, but it is still human, and so will still be brought down by the weight of its own sin. It can only work as the Founding Fathers dreamed IF it is a godly nation seeking to be led by godly leaders.

America hasn't been that for a long, long time. So November 4th, 2008 was inevitable. If it hadn't happened this year, it would have happened in 2012, or 2016. In fact, I suspect that in God's eyes, Election Day was a minor blip. He's been watching our moral and spiritual decay and our blatant rebellion growing worse and worse throughout our history.

If a gardener knows that the root system of a vine runs under his whole property, he won't be surprised to see any particular shoot pop out of the ground. Besides, our Gardener can't be surprised by anything. He removes kings and raises up kings (Dan. 2:21).

We are the ones who feel the shock, because we had hoped the roots wouldn't send up this particular sprout. We feel the threat of the power that this shoot wields. And we see the danger that it poses to America.

But if we look at any one individual as the greatest threat facing our nation, then we misunderstand the danger.

The danger is never in the sprouts. It's in the root.

Our nation made this choice, and made all of the previous choices which led up to this choice, because our nation desperately needs God and has rejected Him. And that, my friends, is what we need to grieve. Not the outcome of the election, or the man it will put in office, though there is a great deal of heartache that will no doubt follow those two things.

Let me say it again.

We are headed for a great deal of grief now that we've chosen this president. But the heartache will not be primarily the result of the election or of the new president. It will be the result of national apostasy, of which November 4th was only a symptom.

We should not be grieving as if yesterday marked a horrible defeat for a great nation. We should be grieving as those who recognize that our nation ceased to be great decades ago, and has been self-destructing for a long time. Let our prayers focus around our lost nation, pleading with God to grant us repentance from sin, and grant us true Spirit-led revival.

And by all means, let's be disillusioned.

"Disillusionment - noun - a freeing or a being freed from illusion." (Dictionary.com)

We, as God's people, are called to walk in truth, not in illusion. And faith in human government is faith in an illusion (Ps. 118:9, Ps. 146:3, Jer. 17:5-8.)

When God strips away illusions, He is doing us a great kindness. The process may be painful, because we tend to love the little dreams we've clung to. But the end result is something far better than any illusion could ever give.

The result is real hope. Not a false hope based on the supposed virtues of any politician or nation, but a true hope in our Heavenly King and our eternal home.

Php. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

How often have we Americans read that, and said that? How often have we actually meant it? I fear that, for many of us, those have just been words, nothing more.

God is going to change that. When "Hate Crimes" laws are passed which get your pastor (and mine) thrown in prison for preaching the truth of God; when Obama fulfills his promise to sign our nation on with the Alliance of Civilizations, which among other things defines all who believe in absolute truth as "terrorists" and says parents who teach their children exclusive dogmas are guilty of child abuse, then we're all going to begin to long for our Heavenly home much more fervently.

But that's where our main allegiance should have been all along.

So I, for one, will grieve in my own way, but I will also have hope, for the truth of Php. 3:20 is becoming more real to me already. No one, NO ONE can corrupt that Heavenly city, and its King will never be deposed!

Praise God!"

[NTBH]

Thank you, TUAD for your thoughts. I really appreciate what you had to say.

[Stuart Koehl]

I actually think the Left will be far more disappointed with the Anointed One than will those of us on the right--after all, our expectations are so low that anything short of absolute catastrophe will be seen as miraculous deliverance. On the other hand, The Big O's supporters believe he can walk on water, make the blind see and the lame walk. They are certainly in for a fall--in fact, it already seems to be happening, if their reaction to the appointment of Clinton White House retread Rahm Emmanuel is any indication. In fact, all those who voted for "change" must surely pulling out their hair when they review the array of status quo types being lined up for every major position from SecState to Defense, to Treasury to Commerce. Nothing transformative in any of them. And, in fact, Obama seems smart enough to realize that if he emulates Clinton of 1993-1994, he'll end up in the same place as Clinton ca. 1995-2000. Also, the system is set up to ensure nothing gets done, and since the Dems did not pick up a clear 60-seat majority in the Senate, and made most of their inroads from among the ranks of "moderate" Republicans, the ones who are left are not going to be inclined to go along with radical change. When those who turned out to vote for He Who Must Not Be Named realize he's just politics as usual, they're going to wake up feeling a lot worse than a sailor who has been on three day bender.

And then, of course, I will laugh.

[Chris P]

"Left-wingers endorse it, promote it, fund it, celebrate it?!"

Is of course a complete freaking lie. But then that's what Christians do - LIE.

Liberals aren't forcing anybody to have an abortion. But Christians are taking away gays rights and religious folks in another country have stoned a 13 year old to death for being raped.

The liberals I know are far more ethical than crazy religious folk. When are you going to do something about that Fred Phelps?

[Janet]

GL:

AMEN!!!

[Rachel Hauck]

>>>John McCain seeks a White America, while Barack H. Obama seeks a color blind America, where all races, homosexuals (regardless gay and lesbian), blacks, whites, jews, greeks, and transexuals must have same rights.

>>>Today, we see racial apartheid towards homosexuals and transexuals under the George W Bush administration, which resembles South African apartheid regime.

To this poster: what country do you live in? George Bush is nothing like apartheid and homosexuals and transsexuals are treated nothing like blacks in S. Africa.

Let's just get some reality here. Homosexuality and Transsexuality is sin, as is fornication and adultery, or pedophiles.

Some of us are saddened by the weight of sin in this nation.

And McCain a member of KKK? You prove your ignorance by such silly, unfounded comments.

People like you frighten me more than the KKK. At least we can stop them.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

Chris P.: "But then that's what Christians do - LIE."

Stuart Koehl: "And then, of course, I will laugh."

Granted it's not in context, but I will join Stuart in laughing.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

Chris P.: "But Christians are taking away gays rights..."

What right would that be Chris P.? The "rights" of Gays to Call for Violence Against Christian Supporters of Proposition 8?

"In a stunning reaction to the passage of state constitutional marriage protection amendments in California, Arizona and Florida, several self identified homosexuals on a number of homosexual blogs are advocating violence against Christians and other supporters of traditional marriage. Additionally, some homosexuals are calling for church burnings in response to yesterday’s three state referenda in defense of natural marriage.

In a blog entry titled “You’ll Want to Punch them” on Queerty.com, poster “BillyBob Thornton” wrote, “… I have never considered being a violent radical extremist for our Equal Rights, But now I think maybe I should consider becoming one.” “Stenar” asked, “Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT.” “Angelo Ventura,” said, “… hope they all rot in hell, those servants of a lying, corrupt devil!

BAN RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM!” And, “Jonathan,” warned, “I’m going to give them something to be f – ing scared of. … I’m a radical who is now on a mission to make them all pay for what they’ve done.”

Meanwhile, over at JoeMyGod.blogspot.com, “World O Jeff,” said, “Burn their f–ing churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers.” While, “Tread,” wrote, “I hope the No on 8 people have a long list and long knives.” “Joe,” stated, “I swear, I’d murder people with my bare hands this morning.”

And on the Americablog.com Web site, “scottinsf” posted, “Trust me. I’ve got a big list of names of mormons and catholics that were big supporters of Prop 8. … As far as mormons and catholics ... I warn them to watch their backs.”"

[Michael]

Chris--

Read. That is all.

[Ethan C.]

Do not feed the trolls.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

Did someone's "rights" get taken away here after an election?

"An unusual sight greeted Jerusalem police as they entered one of Christianity's holiest sites Sunday morning: dozens of monks punching and kicking each other in a massive brawl.

Monks from the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations were preparing for a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City when a disagreement led to a full-fledged fist fight.

Many among the dozens of monks came away with cuts and bruises, said police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.

[Stuart Koehl]

>>>Monks from the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations were preparing for a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City when a disagreement led to a full-fledged fist fight.<<<

What's new? You are witnessing an age-old tradition. Most of the sites in the Holy Land are shared among several different Churches--the Orthodox and the Armenians are only two; there are also Copts, Syrians and Catholics. On the great feast days, especially Nativity and Pascha, everything is very tightly scheduled, and if one Church's service slops over into the next Church's time slot, the incoming Church is likely to just set up and begin without waiting for the earlier Church to finish. Sometimes this can get a bit contentious--and in fisticuffs may ensue.

This is why the steward of the keys of the Church of the Anastasis in Jerusalem has been in the hands of one (Muslim) family for centuries--nobody can accuse them of favoring one Church over another.

[Janet]

GL:

Excellent point!! You're not apt to find too many who make that (to me) obvious connection. I pray for forgiveness for myself and my own children for stopping the lives that should have been from ever coming into being. I know this is an ecumenical blog, but I just have to say the relief I felt upon my conversion to Catholicism at being able to confess my use of contraception in my first general confession was incomparable!

Janet

[jp]

""he'll end up in the same place as Clinton ca. 1995-2000."

What a place to be! Bring on those balanced budgets. Bush's inexcusable squandering of the surpluses should not go unforgotten.

I'll join in the laughter if we can return to 1995-2000.

[Stuart Koehl]

>>>What a place to be! Bring on those balanced budgets. Bush's inexcusable squandering of the surpluses should not go unforgotten.<<<

A close examination of the budget submissions for 1993-2000 shows that the only sector of government spending that declined was defense, which Clinton cut by close to fifty percent in real terms, squandering the military force that was built up under Reagan and George H.W. bush. Naturally, the fact that our present force is not sufficient to meet all current and potential needs has nothing to do with that.

But hey, I do defense budget analysis for a living. If you want to play with me, I'm right here.

What you should really be worried about his "entitlement squeeze". Ask me about that.

[Bob]

Wow, all weekend and none of the trolls answered my question: If there's nothing to hide, why hide it?

[labrialumn]

JP, "no longer in good faith possible"? That is bovine end product! Come on, that kind of rhetorical trick isn't going to confuse people here.

The very people you say vetted him, didn't, and now are starting to state that they find the cult of personality 'creepy'. Of course, they didn't say that until after those 'evuul' Christians were defeated, and murder to cover up sexual immorality was protected.

TUAD, and grieve for the 10s of millions who will be brutally murdered, and the loss of any refuge for civil and religious liberty on Earth (if these "shadows remain unchanged")

[W.E.D. Godbold]

Here's a useful petition that every person of good will should be able to sign without reservation.

[GL]

Gene,

I have added my virtual John Hancock to the petition. Thank you for pointing this out.

[Truth Unites... and Divides]

"TUAD, and grieve for the 10s of millions who will be brutally murdered,"

Labrialumn, I also grieve (but not as much) for those who either enable or who commit the murder of unborn life. What kind of calloused or confused conscience that person must have. (On the presumption that they have a conscience).

Seth R., where are you? I'll give you props for the following:

Catholics, Mormons allied to pass Prop. 8

[SH]

for abortion stats:

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/11/abortion-rates-under-clinton-and-bush.html

the truth.

[Joe Long]

"People like you frighten me more than the KKK. At least we can stop them."

"Stopped", past tense. Despite popular conspiracy theories and the self-promotional alarmism of the SPLC, the modern Klan is both miniscule and irrelevant, its membership perhaps equally divided between the mentally-challenged and assorted FBI infiltrators. To be dangerous, an organization like that has to have willing muscle, unscrupulous brainpower at the top, and a certain "critical mass" of quiet sympathizers in the general population. The Klan of the 30's had that, as the Democratic Party of the current day does.

[tekstil]

tekstil promosyon imalat

[medyum]

Medyumca.com http://www.medyumca.com Turkiyenin bir numarali Gizli Ilimler Portali. Medyum, Medyumlar, Buyuler, Cinler, Yildizname, Havas, Vefk, Astroloji ve Tarot hakkinda bilgiler...

[GL]

I have recently purchased and am now using the new Treasury of Daily Prayer published by Concordia Publishing House. It is a blessing and I highly recommend it.

The Old Testament reading for November 24 is Daniel 4:1-37. As I read it, I could not help but wonder whether we Christians, who have placed so much hope in princes to solve our nation's moral crisis are not somewhat like King Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon's great king, because he failed to recognize and give praise and glory to God, who alone "rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will," had not only his kingdom taken from him, but was driven into the wilderness for "seven periods of time." Perhaps we have come to think that it is by our efforts that God's kingdom will come to earth rather than recognizing and acknowledging that He alone rules.

If we the analogy applies, then we may have a long and painful period in the wilderness. There is, however, a happy ending to the story. At the end of his humiliation, Nebuchadnezzar was restored to his throne. And he had learned the lesson well:

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me,

and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,


   for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

      and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

   all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

      and he does according to his will among the host of heaven

      and among the inhabitants of the earth;

   and none can stay his hand

      or say to him, “What have you done?”

[Sevgi Büyüsü]

Stopped", past tense. Despite popular conspiracy theories and the self-promotional alarmism of the SPLC, the modern Klan is both miniscule and irrelevant, its membership perhaps equally divided between the mentally-challenged and assorted FBI infiltrators. To be dangerous, an organization like that has to have willing muscle, unscrupulous brainpower at the top, and a certain "critical mass" of quiet sympathizers in the general population. The Klan of the 30's had that, as the Democratic Party of the current day does.