Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

OBAMA AND THE "MAN OF DESTINY" POSE

What do you make of this characteristic pose?  I can't see it as anything other than Messianic [not in Jesus' sense] and superior.  It's the pose of a man who considers himself  "The Great Man of the Century," "The Deliverer."  Am I wrong?

Jay Nordlinger seems to agree:

Obama looks arrogant, whether he’s arrogant or not.  I don’t think he can help it: It’s the upturned chin. When actors want to preen and so on: They turn that chin upward. Yikes.

Jonah Goldberg interprets the upward chin this way:

He puts his chin up like that to show that he is peering off into the middle distance of history. He sees farther than the rest of us, so we should follow him to the sunny uplands of History.

Nordlinger adds to what he had written earlier:

Enough readers to notice — say, 15 — have written (all independently, of course), “Reminds me of photos or newsreels of Mussolini.”  Hmmm.  Now, this is just a stylistic point, mind you. I’m sure NRO readers mean nothing nefarious by it. Compared with Il Duce, our president is surely Il Dolce.

Me:  The pose strikes me as creepy.  Presidents are not monarchs, nor are they demigods.  The scary worldwide adulation (and near hysteria) that attended this man's election to the presidency (fueled by media puffery), has simmered down for now, but should it be rekindled, I shudder for America and the world. 

See my previous post highlighting an important article by Fouad Ajami to which I appended a personal comment on "original sin."  See also my earlier posts on "Obama as Messiah."

ECONOMIST ARTHUR LAFFER PREDICTS AN ECONOMIC 'TRAIN WRECK' AHEAD

- Update 1/30/10 - Wintery Knight has produced a MUST READ post on Friday's 5.7% GDP growth announcement.  Don't be fooled.  Read WK's post to understand why the numbers need to be seen as disappointing.

- (Original post) - A friend called my attention to Donald Lambro's article: "Laffer: Obama's 'Train Wreck' Ahead."

The famed economist, whose supply-side, tax-cutting policies enacted by President Reagan in 1981 put the economy on a record-breaking, 25-year economic trajectory of growth and prosperity, is telling Americans not to be lulled by sporadic signs of growth this year, because the economy is headed for a sharper decline next year when tax rates are expected to jump sharply, sending the economy into a new tailspin.

“It will make the decline in U.S. output from 2010 to 2011 worse than the decline in output in 2008 and 2009 which will catastrophic,” Laffer said in an interview with HUMAN EVENTS.

WHY DOESN'T OBAMA INITIATE ANY PRO-FAMILY POLICIES?

Good question.  The Family Research Council points out things we may have missed in listening to President Obama's State of the Union speech:

"Tonight the President also proposed expanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit which would only benefit families if: both parents work, a single parent works, or one parent works and the other is in school. In other words, it completely discriminates against families with stay-at-home parents, who wouldn't see a penny from this plan. The President's plan further drives a wedge between parents and children as it would encourage parents to place their children in government approved day-care rather than encouraging one parent to stay home and personally care for their off-spring.

"This new socialized child care proposal comes on the heels of a proposed major marriage tax penalty included within the President's health care bills. A tax penalty on married couples only serves to discourage couples from marrying while encouraging societal instability through cohabitation and divorce.

"If this administration cared about getting families back on their feet, it would double or triple the across-the-board child tax credit and let parents decide how to spend the money. For many, it may be all the incentive they need to stay home and care for their kids.

And what about this on improving education?  

The President said, "The best anti-poverty program is a world-class education," when volumes of FRC research will tell you that the best anti-poverty program is an intact marriage and family.

SITTING IN AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP WATCHING THE TV SHOW "THE VIEW"

I was pleased to clip an auto dealer's 1/2 price coupon for an oil change.  I knew the dealership would try to sell me "needed repairs," but that was okay.  The oil change price was great, and I wasn't under any further obligation.  As I sat with several others in the waiting room we were assaulted by -- you guessed it -- a television set (how does one escape?) turned on first to "Dr. Oz," and then to "The View."  I had a book with me, and actually managed to read a few pages, but at the same time overheard some of the "stuff" taking place on TV.   The potty-mouthed "View" stunned me.  Questions rose in my mind:  "Do people watch this stuff?  Doesn't the pollution disgust them?"  The subject matter and language reminded me of a Bible verse:  "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth."  (Ephesians 4:29)  I had never thought much about that verse until today.  Now I think I understand a little better what the Apostle Paul was getting at.

The full verse reads: "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."  (ESV)  What a beautiful verse!

PETITION CONGRESS AGAINST REPEALING THE "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" POSITION ON HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE MILITARY

I've just signed the Family Research Council Action petition to members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees.  The petition reads:

In 1993, after extensive public debate, Congress adopted and President Clinton signed a law (Public Law 103-160) which declared that "The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability."

Nothing has changed since that time regarding the needs of the military or the nature of human sexuality that would justify any change in that conclusion. Therefore we, the undersigned, strongly urge you to oppose any legislative efforts to repeal, or administrative efforts to evade, the military personnel eligibility provisions of that law.

Do not let our military be used to advance a radical sexual agenda.

If you agree, sign the petition here.

- Update: Though I think signing the petition a good idea, I also think Jonah Goldberg offers wise counsel.  He predicts Democrats won't be pushing this before the 2010 elections, and it could be a mistake to get super-vocal about it prematurely.  Read Goldberg's take.

SARAH PALIN - "WOMEN'S RIGHTS GROUPS: YOUR DOUBLE STANDARD IS SHOWING"

Once again Sarah Palin enters the public fray to offer a common sense perspective. 

PAUL GIGOT INTERVIEWS CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL - "REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN EUROPE"

Below is a video interview conducted by Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal with Christopher Caldwell, the author of Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West.  (HT: The Astute Bloggers)   I learned several things from this interview.  It's six minutes long and worth watching. As well, click through to read this comprehensive review of the book.

Melanie Phillips, author of Londonistan (whom I have blogged about previously here and here) discusses Islam in Britain - especially the role of universities and government in fostering immigration and political correctness. 

How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within - Part 1

Part 2 -

THOUSANDS OF PRO-LIFERS THRONG WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR THE 37TH ANNUAL MARCH FOR LIFE

They came (200,000 is the estimated number), on Friday, January 22nd, 2010, the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.   

Dr. Zero: [my emphases]

Friday brought the annual March for Life to Washington, D.C. Held on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, it brings us the bittersweet comedy of watching the media studiously ignore a massive, peaceful protest in the nation’s capitol, even on a slow news day.

Me: I didn't watch any newscasts Friday night, but if the media did, indeed, totally ignore a gathering of 200,000 at the nation's capital, then their credibility is not simply at "zero" but 10 feet under water.  Unbelievable.  And contemptible.

Dr. Zero again:

When the media does pay attention to the March for Life, it typically describes the event as a dreary vigil held by a graying herd of humorless, elderly scolds. Have a look at this photo gallery of the 2010 event and decide for yourself if this is an accurate description. Consider also this remarkable survey that shows six in ten young people believe abortion is morally wrong. Pro-lifers are not a dwindling band of tired footsoldiers decomposing at their posts.

Me: Indeed.  Julia Dunn of the Washington Times described the crowd as "mostly college-aged."  Wow.  Contrast the pro-life enthusiasm of youth with what I call the dying "old guard," and (to quote Dr. Zero) "its disproportionate influence over media coverage, as can be seen from Newsweek’s hit piece on the March for Life rally."

Ironically, the "dying old guard" describes President Obama himself, he who came dressed up as a "new voice" who would bring about "change" and "hope."  Could anything be more tired and hackneyed than the statement he issued Friday?

President Obama's statement on Supreme Court's historic abortion decision

Today we recognize the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which affirms every woman’s fundamental constitutional right to choose whether to have an abortion, as well as each American’s right to privacy from government intrusion.  I have, and continue to, support these constitutional rights. 

I also remain committed to working with people of good will to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and families, and strengthen the adoption system. 

Today and every day, we must strive to ensure that all women have limitless opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

Me:  If Obama paid a speechwriter to write that, he should demand his money back.  Unless, of course, he believes it.  And apparently he does.  One could justly paraphrase his statement this way:

When a baby is detected growing in a mother's womb, a mother is confronted with a serious choice of whether or not to kill her baby.  Uppermost in a mother's consideration must be the high probability that a child will limit her opportunities to fulfill her dreams.  That being the case, it is perfectly acceptable to torture and kill the child via a variety of currently employed methods.   Priorities are priorities.

I pass over without further comment Obama's statement concerning "each American's right to privacy from governent intrusion."  This from the man who would intrude the government into every other aspect of a citizen's life!

Update: Wintery Knight linked to this post and added valuable material of his own.  Note especially Congressman Mike Pence's two minute YouTube speech at the March for Life rally and Pence's excellent  op-ed on his website. in which he invokes the memory of William Wilberforce and reiterates his desire to deny Planned Parenthood federal funding.  To which I say, Amen!  It's past time.  Mike Pence bio here.

NEW BOOK BY PATRICK SOOKHDEO: "FREEDOM TO BELIEVE: CHANGING ISLAM'S APOSTASY LAW

The Barnabas Fund (a British Christian charity) reviews the book (available at Amazon here).

Islam is a one-way street. Non-Muslims can convert to Islam, but Muslims are not allowed to convert from Islam. Those who become Christians, or leave Islam for other reasons, face very serious penalties.

All schools of Islamic law specify the death sentence for an adult male Muslim who chooses to leave his faith. Most give the same punishment for women. The law also imposes many other penalties on apostates, and provokes powerful hostility towards them amongst Muslims.

But change is possible. Some liberal Muslim scholars have argued that the apostasy law should be abandoned, so that people can leave Islam without fear of reprisals. In late 2009 a group of mainstream Muslim leaders in Britain asserted that “people have the freedom to enter the Islamic faith and the freedom to leave it”. These voices will be strengthened by non-Muslims also calling for repeal of the law.

Dr Sookhdeo’s new book promotes the case for abolition. In the first section he sets out the Muslim teaching on apostasy from the Islamic sources, and in the second he looks at the debate amongst contemporary Muslim scholars about the law and related issues. The third section reviews the treatment of converts from Islam in the world today, using country profiles and individual case studies.

MOVIE REVIEW: "TO SAVE A LIFE"

Mark Early, of "Breakpoint," says a new independent film is now out and "teens are praising this film for its realistic and relevant portrayal of their world and responding enthusiastically to its message."  Early writes: 

It’s entitled, To Save a Life. It honestly portrays the enormous challenges facing our teens today. Written by a seasoned youth-pastor with a degree in film, this story doesn’t shy away from the real life-and-death issues our young people face.

The film tells the story of Jake Taylor, a young man who has it all: a basketball scholarship, the ideal girlfriend, and the right friends. But faced with the demands of the in-crowd, Jake has written off

THE BRITISH LEGACY OF LIBERTY AND PROSPERITY

Mark Steyn posts:

Look at those Heritage rankings of economic freedom . . .

1) Hong Kong
2) Singapore
3) Australia
4) New Zealand
5) Ireland
6) Switzerland
7) Canada
8) United States
9) Denmark
10) Chile
11) United Kingdom
12) Mauritius

Nine out of the Top Twelve jurisdictions are current or former realms of the British Crown — and the Top Five are a clean sweep. Given its contribution to liberty and prosperity in the world, the self-loathing of modern England and its disdain for its own inheritance is perverse and, ultimately, crippling.

Me: Spot on! (As they say..)

WAR AGAINST "INFIDELS" TAKING PLACE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

- Update 1/23/10 from CNS News via Wintery Knight blog: "One Year Later, Obama Administration's Top Religious Post Still Vacant.  Excerpt:

One year after President Obama took office, the administration’s top international religious freedom post remains empty, at a time when a wave of religious persecution is troubling veteran campaigners.

“President Obama has not yet named an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom,” a State Department press officer confirmed by phone late Wednesday.

The Christian advocacy organization Open Doors USA launched a petition Wednesday urging Obama to appoint an ambassador immediately, saying that leaving the position unfilled violated U.S. law.

“By not having an ambassador-at-large for the past 12 months, the U.S. has failed to demonstrate the importance of religious freedom,” said advocacy director Lindsay Vessey.

- (Original Post) - Cliff May asks why the rest of the world refuses to pay attention and express outrage:

Connect these dots: In Nigeria this week, Muslim youths set fire to a church, killing more than two dozen Christian worshippers. In Egypt, Coptic Christians have been suffering increased persecution including, this month, a drive-by shooting outside a church in which seven people were murdered. In Pakistan, Christian churches were bombed over Christmas. In Turkey, authorities have been closing Christian churches, monasteries, and schools, and seizing Christian properties. Recently, churches in Malaysia have been attacked, too, provoked by this grievance: Christians inside the churches were referring to God as “Allah.” How dare infidels use the same name for the Almighty as do Muslims!

In response to all this, Western journalists, academics, diplomats, and politicians mainly avert their eyes and hold their tongues. They pretend there are no stories to be written, no social pathologies to be documented, no actions to be taken. . .  [more . . .]

On Tuesday, Coptic Christians took to the streets in front of the UN to protest the killing of Christians by Muslims in Egypt.  Pamela Geller offers commentary and a gallery of pictures of which the following are samples:

It is time for America, for President Obama to demand that President Mubarak end this genocide.

Colson - The American Press doesn't cover religion well at all!

SEN. SPECTER TELLS REP. MICHELE BACHMANN TO "ACT LIKE A LADY"

Unbelievable.  Click here.   Anybody want to bet Specter will not be returned to the Senate? 

Wintery Knight posts a list of Bachmann's videos.  She's dynamite.  Check out those videos!  In many ways she is more articulate than Sarah Palin.  Palin will be campaigning on behalf of Bachmann later this year.

CNN & CNBC - ANYTHING BUT "FAIR AND BALANCED"

More details here.

REPORTS: JUDGE RULES THAT RIFQA BARY WILL REMAIN IN FOSTER CARE UNTIL AGE 18

Wintery Knight cites Fox Orlando and offers the following excerpt:

FOX affiliate WTTE-TV in Columbus, Ohio is reporting that Rifqa Bary, the teenage Christian convert who ran away from her Muslim parents to Florida because of claims that her life was in danger, has reached an agreement with her parents.  Reports indicate that they have agreed she will remain in the custody of the Ohio Office of Families and Children until she reaches 18 years of age, or the family, collectively, decides they want to go to counseling.

[...]The judge decided the teen would be able to receive third-party correspondence and that he would not force mediation between Bary and her parents. Bary did not make any public comments as she exited the court room.

Me: I am hesitant to post this story because it seems so incomplete.  Pamela Geller cites a report from an observer in the court room, and headlines her post, A deal was cut today in the trial of Rifqa Bary. In exchange for pleading guilty to the charge of being "unruly", Rifqa will not have to return home.

To me there remain a host of unanswered questions.  Many commenters on Geller's post agree.

AKIANE KRAMARIK - CHILD ARTIST PRODIGY PRODUCES ART INSPIRED BY GOD

I am grateful to a friend who e-mailed me the following:

This is almost unbelievable.  I will tell you the basics, she is now 12 years old.  She started painting at age 4.  Her Mother is an atheist so God was never discussed in their home and she really had never been taught anything about Him or the Bible.  She has visions and has told her Mom she has visited heaven numerous times.  She gives God the glory for her talent.  She has never had an art lesson.  PS. Her family now believes in God.  (This 3 minute clip is from CNN).   Me: I think she is now 15.

If you found yourself saying "incredible" while watching the above video, then you absolutely must watch the next 8 minute video as well.  It inspired me, and I think it will inspire you also.

QUICK TAKES ON FAITH AND REASON (APOLOGETICS)

Recent discoveries:

William Lane Craig on the Flying Spaghetti Monster (3 min 39 second video)

Tawapologetics:  Did Jesus Really  Say that?  The Reliability of the New Testament Gospels (Web article) 

Wintery Knight - The Case for Christian Theism  (Web links to articles and debates)

Book (ed. by John Piper and Justin Taylor): The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World.  Video and audio of the talks here.

Truthbomb Apologetics: Free Apologetics e-book library

Wintery Knight (On Intelligent Design) - Audio of Debate Between Stephen Meyer and Peter Atkin

Note: Charles Colson has important things to say about Stephen Meyer's book Signature in the Cell   Dr. Douglas Groothuis, for his part, rhapsodizes:

The book is no less than magisterial, an adjective that curmudgeons such as myself seldom use. At every level--philosophical, scientific, historical and literary--it is a superb treatise.    Reading every word of its 508 pages of text (not counting end notes)--as I did--repays the reader greatly.

ROBERT PARK VS. THE UNDERWEAR BOMBER

Claudia Rosett has written that all too rare column, a comparison between a genuine hero (Robert Park who walked into North Korea to plead freedom for its citizen-slaves) and a murderous killer in the service of Allah (the Underwear Bomber).  Somehow, in recent weeks, I had missed the story of Robert Park,  a 28-year-old missionary, about whom Rosett writes:

An American of Korean descent, Park offered himself up peacefully, on Christmas Day, for the cause of life and liberty for others. He went to northeast China, and from there walked across the frozen Tumen River into North Korea. Witnesses told reporters that as he went, he called out, in Korean, messages of God’s love, as well as “I am an American citizen.” He took with him a letter to North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-il, asking Kim to open his country and shut down his prison camps.

It is now almost three weeks since Park vanished into the shadows of North Korea. As he expected, he was seized by North Korean authorities. . .

Do read the rest of Rosett's column.  And remember to pray for Robert Park.  We may also ponder Rosett's closing words:

But Park, with his deliberate act of self-sacrifice, chose to embody a message that should be bracing for Americans to honor and remember: That it is not the place of free men to accommodate evil, but to call it what it is, and challenge it – not on its own terms, but on ours.

Update: Park’s final interview with Reuters is here. (HT: Wintery Knight Blog)

ARE "Google" AND "YouTube" PRO-ISLAMIC AND ANTI-CHRISTIAN?

It sure seems that way.  When the Google story broke -- "Google Blocking 'Negative' Stories on Islam," Google said it was just a snafu.  But now, as Pamela Geller points out, YouTube is operating in exactly the same manner. (Google owns YouTube).  Check it out.

I discovered the bias independently.  For a long time (throughout most of 2009), anyone who googled "Muddling Toward Maturity Blog," would be taken to "Muddling Toward MaturityBlog: Anti-Christian" - one of the subcategories on my blog!  I had to write the following message, dated May 26, 2009, to those who used Google to come to my blog:

WEIRDNESS WITH THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE AND "MUDDLING TOWARD MATURITY"

For those who have ever used the Google search engine to find "Muddling Toward Maturity," you are probably aware that Google always brings people directly to one of my sub-topics, "Anti-Christian."  I wonder why that is so.  Does Google have a bias?  I don't know, but be that as it may,  I have many other topics!  If you have newly arrived at the "Anti-Christian" sub-topic, please check current posts here.

(This message was first posted January 19, 2009.  Because Google continues to send searchers to the "Anti-Christian" sub-topic, it requires reposting.)

Today things are better.  Now if you google "Muddling Toward Maturity Blog," you are taken to my home page.  But the 2nd item listed on Google is "Muddling Toward Maturity Blog: Anti-Christian."  I have scores of sub-categories on my blog, many with more posts than "Anti-Christian."  So why does the Anti-Christian category come up as the second listed?  You answer the question.

RIFQA BARY - WHY HER CASE IS SO IMPORTANT

- Update 1/16/10 - Pamela Geller reviews all the news she herself has  broken in the Rifqa Bary case, none of which the major news organizations have reported. 

- (Original post) - Jamal Jivanjee (her close friend) says: [my emphases]

The next important date for you to put on your calendar is Thursday January 28’th.  This is the date that her trial for dependency is set to begin.  Obviously this date may change, but at this point this is the date that the Franklin County juvenile court has set for her trial regarding dependency.

 . . . I am convinced that God has elevated Rifqa’s case to one of the most significant cases in our nation today.  I am convinced that Rifqa’s life of tremendous love for Jesus and commitment to radical prayer in the face of tremendous suffering is a challenge and example to much of the sleeping institutional American church.  In addition to challenging the American church, Rifqa’s courage in standing up against the brutality and injustice that many other women and converts out of Islam face from Islamic ideology is breaking the dam of fear that millions of others currently live under.  Simply put, Rifqa’s courage to live will continue to give scores of people the courage to break free from this bondage as well.    

The key factor in all of this is Rifqa’s testimony.  Since the beginning of all of this, there has been a concerted effort to keep Rifqa quiet, and her testimony from getting out.  There has also been a concerted effort to direct attention away from what is really important in this case…Rifqa’s story!  The enemy knows that the more that Rifqa’s life is made known, the more that the truth will be exposed.  Groups like C.A.I.R. have an agenda to paint a positive picture of Islam at any cost, and that is why this powerful national organization is advising and directing Rifqa’s parent’s attorneys in their attack against her character and testimony, as well as an attack against those that have helped her.   

. . . Please pray for Rifqa to have wisdom and much courage in the days ahead regarding decisions that she will need to make, and please pray for an opportunity for Rifqa to get the truth out to the court and the nation regarding her true testimony of Jesus, and the threat and opposition that she faced as a result.  I believe this is very significant!

Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs has more.  Important stuff...  Rifqa remains isolated; she still has no visitor's list!  As Geller says,

This isolation is a form of psychological torture. I thought Obama said no torture for jihadists. So why is a girl in America, guilty only of freedom of religion, allowed to be psychologically tortured? This is mental abuse, and the fact that the parents are behind it with a terror organization as their hatchet man speaks volumes as to what would happen to Rifqa if they ever dared to send her home. . .

ANDREE SEU - NOVEL IDEAS FOR ANYONE WISHING TO START A NEW SEMINARY

Andree Seu, a writer for WORLD magazine, has "a modest proposal for a new seminary."  She herself is a seminary grad, so her opinions have personal experience (and a critique) behind them. 

Biographies are very important. Prime real estate in the curriculum should go to Charles Finney's "Holy Spirit Revivals," Trevor Yaxley's "William & Catherine" [The Life and Legacy of the Booths, Founders of the Salvation Army], the lives of Adoniram Judson, George Mueller, etc. (Philippians 3:17). These strengthen the soul because they are not mere history but testimonies, and "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."  . . .

. . . Study the Bible rather than theological systems, which are once-removed. God's power is in His Word, not in man-made constructions superimposed on it. Verse-by-verse is most helpful. All the rest will fall into place nicely.

. . . Allot enough time for a reading assignment to encourage the student to praise and pray his way through the book. The act of storing knowledge without immediate responsive worship is toxic to the soul. There is no subtler snare than intellectual pride. 

. . . Invite speakers from outside your camp. You'll be surprised how much of the Bible you missed. Close the seminary down for a week and have everyone listen to Beth Moore's "Believing God."

. . . If you find yourself reading more theology books than Bible, quit seminary immediately. 

There's a lot more. . .

Me:  When I read Seu's views, I was at first sympathetic.  I still am to a large extent.  I agree with the need to make Bible study central, and it's true that a "devotional approach" is commonly lacking at many (most?) seminaries, but on the other hand, it would be a disservice to exclude serious theological study and even comparative religion.  The mind must be expanded as well as the heart.  Critical thinking must proceed hand-in-hand with compassion, humility, and prayer.  I suspect Seu would agree with my comments.

HAITI - UNBELIEVABLE DEATH AND DEVASTATION

- Update:  Donations may be given to several solid Christian ministries, including: Catholic Relief Services, Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse, or World Vision.

- These photographs from the U.K. Daily Mirror (many from the air) bring home the disaster in a particularly powerful way.

One private hospital in the north of Haiti is operational - Hospital Sacre Coeur, a 73-bed facility in Milot, Haiti

The "Anchoress" [utilizing a Roman Catholic lens] has an open thread running on the on-going situation in Haiti.

cf. Thomas Sowell's 2003 essay on the enormous blessing of a country being rich and prosperous.  

Photo below: hundreds congregate in public squares after their homes have been destroyed.

THE PROLONGED RECESSION THE RESULT OF OBAMA'S FOOLISH ECONOMIC POLICIES

As Ed Morrissey says:

The economic policies of the Obama administration have lengthened the recession and delayed what would be the normal recovery process, mainly by signaling to investors and businesses that costs will go up in taxes and energy prices, as well as burdensome mandates on health insurance.  As a result, people are not investing their money into job-creating risk but are sheltering their cash instead.

Morrissey posts the following chart which shows employment figures by months after the start of recessions.  He credits the Minneapolis Federal Reserve and King Banaian for the chart.

The production numbers look similar:

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES AND BLOGS - PART ONE

A friend new to the internet sent me an e-mail asking for websites and blogs I would recommend.  I sent an e-mail in response, annotating each suggestion offered.  Below is what I wrote, (my first installment):

My personal reading habits include a daily look at the Drudge Report - http://www.drudgereport.com/ - which contains a hodgepodge of news links.  It has proven influential down through the years and is read by millions.  Matt Drudge broke the story of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.  Many people check the blog several times a day.

National Review Online - http://www.nationalreview.com/ - publishes a daily website with a variety of articles, but they also publish a blog, The Corner - http://corner.nationalreview.com/ -  to which writers contribute throughout the day.  They often link to important articles appearing elsewhere on the internet.  It's

ANNE APPLEBAUM - WE NEED A SMARTER WAY TO FIGHT THE JIHADI ELITE

Anne Applebaum writes on what she calls the "international Jihadi elite" - the well-educated committed Muslim jihadists who don't fit the stereotypical impoverished, backward, tribal Muslim.    Applebaum is beginning to get it.  The threat to Western freedom and way of life is religious and ideological and the conflict must be engaged on those grounds.  Will the West open its eyes to that reality?  Her awakening may be a hopeful sign.

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. JOHN BOLTON, PREDICTS "OBAMA'S NEXT THREE YEARS"

I consider John Bolton one of the wisest and most perceptive foreign policy experts we have.  His analysis of President Obama seems right on target to me, though I find it chilling.

The best way to predict Obama’s foreign policy in the next three years lies not in examining how he deals with the accumulated baggage of Iraq, Afghanistan, Middle East peace, and the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs. Important as those are, they constitute what Obama has had to confront. We should ask instead what he will attempt to establish once he has become less encumbered by the inherited issues. Here, the record shows three critical characteristics. . .

Read on . . .

WORKING FOR FOX CALLED "SATAN'S NEWS NETWORK"

Shendy Hershfield worked this summer as a Fox intern and penned a short article, "Going to Work for 'Satan's' News Network:  My Life as a Fox Intern."

I had an amazing opportunity this past summer: I was an intern at the Fox News Channel for the Hannity show.  I worked with some of the greatest people in the TV industry.  That being said, it was amazing the reactions I got from some when I said I was an intern there.  The way some of them acted, you’d think I had gone to work for Satan.  [more...]

Me: I doubt Fox critics ever watch Fox.  They pick up the bile from the liberal stations and never do independent investigation.  That doesn't say much for one's first-hand judgment.

JOHN PIPER'S Q&A WITH PRISON INMATES

Pastor/theologian John Piper's 30 Minute Q&A (video) with prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) can be found here. I was blown away by the depth of the questions and Piper's thoughtful answers. These men are serious Bible students!  My guess is that the depth of the Q&A session found at this prison would rival or surpass a similar session in an average evangelical church.

HUMAN SACRIFICES "ON THE RISE" IN UGANDA AS WITCH DOCTORS ADMIT TO RITUALS

Oh my... if this doesn't turn your stomach!   (From the U.K. Telegraph).   (HT: Drudge)  So all religions are the same, are they?  Oooh boy...

The Telegraph's sub-heading reads, "Witch doctors in Uganda have admitted their part in human sacrifice amid concerns that the practice is spreading in the African country."

One man said he had clients who had captured children and taken their blood and body parts to his shrine, while another confessed to killing at least 70 people including his own son. . .

According to officials trying to tackle it, the crime is directly linked to rising levels of development and prosperity - and an increasing belief that witchcraft can help people get rich quickly. . .

"They go and capture other people's children. They bring the heart and the blood directly here to take to the spirits," he said.

"They bring them in small tins and they place these objects under the tree from which the voices of the spirits are coming."

[more . . .]

NONIE DARWISH: PRESIDENT OBAMA STEADYING AND SUPPORTING A TOTTERING ISLAM

Nonie Darwish, the courageous former Muslim raised in Egypt and now a U.S. citizen, has written two books, Now They Call Me Infidel (2007) and Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law (2009).  She is co-founder of Former Muslims United.  Today she penned an important article: Obama's New Year Gift to the Saudi King.  (HT: Atlas Shrugs)  (my bolding)

The West is not fully aware of what is happening in the Muslim world today where taboo topics are being discussed by brave Muslim reformists and former Muslims. There are ground braking Arabic TV and internet shows aired inside homes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, etc, discussing what ordinary Muslims were never allowed to heard before. The brilliant Rachid Hmami, a Former Muslim turned Christian and originally from Morocco, has a show, Suaal Garii ‘Daring Question,’ that is making shock waves across the Middle East. Another equally effective show, is that of the brave Coptic priest, Father Zakareya Botros, who was imprisoned in Egypt for proselytizing to Muslims. Father Botros’s show is a huge success in exposing

WE DON'T UNDERSTAND ISLAM IF WE DON'T UNDERSTAND "TAQIYYA"

"What's 'taqiyya'," you say?  It is the Qur'anic sanctioned appropriateness of a Muslim to lie or deceive a non-Muslim.  Raymnd Ibrahim writes about it in the Middle East Quarterly (Winter 20010).  It's a MUST-READ for anyone who wants to understand Islam.  Has anyone in the State Department or the Pentagon studied Islam?  Perhaps, but if so, their voice is not being heard. 

As for the rest of us, Alicia Colon asks, "Why Won't the MSM Cover Islam?  What Are They Afraid Of?  She links to powerful videos we would rather not look at.

A PREACHER'S LIBRARY (MARK DEVER'S) TO BEAT ALL LIBRARIES

Mark Dever is the pastor of Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. and a prolific author.  The video comes from Together for the Gospel.  I can imagine many people struggling with jealousy when they see this video.  Others, on the other hand, will be pleased to show this video to complaining wives saying, "See, by comparison I don't have many books at all!"  Some of us will be encouraged by the "pile" he has on the floor!  It's comforting to know we're not alone!  (See also this picture of William F. Buckley's desk.  How does he find anything?)

MOST ANCIENT HEBREW MANUSCRIPT DECIPHERED

Eureka Alert from University of Haifa:  (HT: The Astute Bloggers)

Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who deciphered the inscription: "It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research."

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing. The significance

REVOLT AGAINST THE MSM: "BIG JOURNALISM" WEBSITE LAUNCHED

Click here to find the new website. It looks gutsy.  It claims it will go after the stories the MSM refuses to investigate and publish, and it will hold the MSM accountable.  It will use big name writers.  The bell tolls for the MSM.   It's no longer just a few of us who have its number.  MSM, oldine media, has now been universally discredited as "propaganda news outlets" controlling what stories get play and which don't.   Thank God (literally) for an alternative media.  Big Journalism, if it delivers on its promise, will be a necessary site to visit regularly.  Editor-in-chief Michael Walsh says:

We stand foursquare with the Founders.  We believe in the First Amendment, not just for we, but also for thee.  We believe the phrase, “Congress shall make no law…” could not possibly be clearer.  We despise “political correctness” and everything it represents.  We will not be told, “you can’t say that,” because to accept that stricture means we cannot think it, either.  We believe that freedom of inquiry, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression are the fundamental liberties upon which this country was founded.  And we will fight to defend them.

As good as this website promises to be (hopefully), it won't displace the necessity of making regular visits to websites like Atlas Shrugs if one wants to keep up with Jihadism and anti-Semitism.

WHY HEALTH CARE COSTS KEEP RISING ASTRONOMICALLY

One simple answer:  someone else - not the patient -- is paying the bills!  For more details, see Mark Perry who appropriately titles his post, "Government Funding Increases Healthcare Costs."  HT: Jonah Goldberg (who offers brief comments as well).

COUNT THE LIES: OBAMA VOWED 8X TO TELEVISE HEALTHCARE NEGOTIATIONS

That's the flaming red headline Drudge put on his blog this morning.  It's truly shocking.  Go to Breitbart TV to see the 8 videos in succession. 

Is there a reason why people are becoming cynical, and particularly about the man occupying the White House?  For sure.

GOVERNMENT PAYROLL HAS REPLACED GOODS-PRODUCING JOBS

From Clusterstock:  (HT: The Corner)

We've gone from providing jobs in profit-making private industry to providing jobs in profit-eating government work. Toward the end of 2007, the total number of government jobs exceeded the total number of goods producing jobs. Welcome to the government payroll economy.

BRIT HUME ON TIGER WOODS' NEED FOR CHRISTIANITY

- Update 1/7/10 - A lot of flak has been thrown at Brit Hume for his public endorsement of Christianity as a religion of redemption and forgiveness.  Peter Wehner offers an extraordinary defense of Brit Hume.  Update 1/8/10 - See also Mollie Hemingway's excellent round up of commentary including her own.  From her I learned that 10 years ago Hume's son, Sandy, committed suicide at age 28.  That moved Hume  from being a merely nominal Christian to being far more deeply rooted in Christ.  Another update: Today Christianity Today published an interesting interview with Hume:  I don't want to practice a faith that I'm afraid to proclaim. I don't want to be a closet Christian. . .  Christianity is a religion for sinners. Christianity is not about the salvation of perfect people. Christianity is a way for people who are not perfect to be saved. What Mark Sanford needs is not less Christianity. He needs more of it.

- (Original post) - Well, one thing's for sure.  Brit Hume is a Christian and is willing to let everybody know it.  Following up on a comment he made Sunday, last night Hume said to Bill O'Reilly, "He [Tiger Woods] needs something that Christianity especially provides and offers, and that is redemption and forgiveness...   I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs."

PROF. BEN WITHERINGTON'S LIST OF "TEN 2009 BOOKS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT YOU SHOULD HAVE READ"

I take the title of Witherington's post as something of a joke, a professor's way of producing a wry smile on the faces of his indulgent audience.   If I had the time, I would go to Amazon and calculate the total pages of the 10 books.  I would bet the average is over 400 pages!  I wonder if he gives points for having heard of the books, let alone having read them?  If so, I can truthfully say I have heard of only three.  One, Richard Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, I had blogged about previously and offered a link to a radio interview/debate with the author.  Bauckham's book defends the trustworthiness of the New Testament gospels in new ways.  It arrived in the mail today, all 538 pages of it!!  It looks terrific.

QUICK TAKES

-- Former Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, looks gloomily towards 2010 Global Threats:

Too often, Mr. Obama seems either uninterested in the global threats we face, unpersuaded that they constitute dangers to the country, or content simply to blame his predecessors.  . .

He [Obama] entirely buys into the notion of "global governance," with the United States in time subordinating elements of its sovereignty to international authority.. .

Frustrated by their failures in the United States, the American left has increasingly resorted to international treaties and conferences to advance its agenda. Mr. Obama's administration is filled with people who share that worldview, including the president himself.

In short, if you were concerned in 2009 about America's increasing international vulnerability and its decreasing global influence, you will find little to celebrate in the coming year. Our adversaries sense weakness across the board in Washington, and they will not hesitate to take advantage of it.

-- After posting the headline, Hope and Change: Obama Names Transgender Appointee to commerce Department, Pamela Geller asks a very good  question: 

"Does Obama know anyone who isn't wacky, radical, militant, judeophobic, socialist, marxist,  pedophilic? ...... Does he chill with anyone who is normal?

THE RIFQA BARY ISOLATION CONTINUES

I remain very concerned for Rifqa Bary.  Pamela Geller published a report today that continues to fuel my concern.  Jamal Jivanjee, a pastor and friend of Rifqa's, wrote a summary of the situation as it now stands.  He reiterated her isolation and the strategy being imposed against her by Muslims and C.A.I.R. (Council on American-Islamic Relations).  Jivanjee concluded,

In the past many of you have emailed Franklin County Children’s services. This may be necessary again because this isolation of Rifqa has gotten worse and simply cannot be allowed to continue. The director of Children’s services may be the best person to contact about the abusive restrictions that are being put on Rifqa. Emails should be polite, yet direct. His name is Eric Fenner, and he can be contacted at this address: [email protected].oh.us

I wrote a polite letter to Mr. Fenner a few moments ago.  But I remain concerned about the effectiveness of the legal help Rifqa Bary is receiving.  Are there not wise legal minds able to see through Islamic manipulations ready and willing to take up this case?  Will Muslim strategies succeed in diverting attention away from Islamic practices of killing apostates?  Where is the Alliance Defense Fund?  Where is the American Center for Law and Justice?  Is the Family Research Council on top of this case?  These organizations must recognize that the battle must not be limited to taking on secularists desiring to overrule the Constitution.  The battle must be taken to radical Muslims who would do the same for their own ends as well.  Come on, you guys. . .

My previous posts on Rifqa Bary may be found here.

JONAH GOLDBERG - CAPITALISM'S BAD RAP

 National Review's Jonah Goldberg offers a brief essay on capitalism's accomplishments.

Every good thing capitalism helps produce — from singing careers to cures for diseases to staggering charity —  is credited to some other sphere of our lives. Every problem with capitalism, meanwhile, is laid at her feet. Except the problems with capitalism — greed, theft, etc. — aren’t capitalism’s fault, they’re humanity’s. Socialist countries have greedy thieves, too.

Goldberg's article is a MUST READ.  He updates it saying,

"I didn't acknowledge/stress enough how diluted and compromised American capitalism already is. . . "  I thought this piece on how to make countries rich, in Esquire, of all places, was pretty good.  - I'd be remiss if I didn't use this moment to once again plug Kling & Schulz's From Poverty to Prosperity.

THOMAS SOWELL'S NEW BOOK: "INTELLECTUALS AND SOCIETY"

Jonah Goldberg of National Review says Thomas Sowell's new book,  Intellectuals and Society is a "great, great piece of work."   The Amazon.com product description says:

One of the most surprising aspects of this study is how often intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society—and how little their views have changed in response to empirical evidence of the disasters entailed by those views.

An excellent video interview with Thomas Sowell on his new book is available here.  Highly recommended!  Update: The Sowell interview, segment 2, is here.  Segment 3 is here and 4 is here.  I like this quote from segment 5, the conclusion:

. . .  We’re becoming a nation of people who are propagandized from elementary school right on through graduate school in a certain vision of the world. Only the few, for one reason or another, stop and say — “wait a minute!” — they are the only ones left that we have to depend on.

ATHEISM VS. CHRISTIANITY: MICHAEL SHERMER & GREG KOUKL HASH IT OUT

They do so on the Hugh Hewitt radio program, the transcript of which Wintery Knight helpfully formatted:  Koukl offers as his final summary statement the following:

I started out talking about worldviews. And as a man trying to make sense of my world and finding a worldview that seems to fit reality as I experience it, I think atheism is way too austere for me, Hugh. It  commits me to too many counterintuitive things – everything comes from nothing, life comes from nonlife, consciousness comes from matter, morality comes from a reorganization of molecules. None of this seems to make sense to me. There is another alternative that seems to make a lot more sense, that a big bang needs a big banger, that a moral law comes from a moral lawgiver, that design comes from a designer. These notions are captured well, I think, in the Biblical account of life. And the person of Jesus, especially, exemplifying these notions, and then giving us a way to live that makes sense. And this is why I’m a Christian and not an atheist. I think it makes the best sense of the world as we know it. 

Me:  As I read the lengthy exchange between Shermer & Koukl, I felt something serious was left out.  Both men agree that there is inbred morality in human beings, though they arrive at that conclusion via vastly different means.  But the next step was never taken.  "So what happens when one breaks the moral law?  Is there such a thing as genuine "guilt"?  How does one deal with that?"    Such an existential dilemma -- it can be of crisis proportions -- they never dealt with.  I would have liked to have heard Shermer's response, especially since he takes inward intuitions seriously.

SOMETIMES CARTOONS SAY IT BEST

From SondraK:

Speaking of which, the foreclosure situation has been made worse by Obama's $75 billion program:

People on the cusp spent eight months paying into mortgages they will still eventually lose.  The danger of foreclosures will be extended, and now people have fewer resources with which to recover.   Read on . .

DOUG ROSS' FABULOUS 50 BLOG AWARDS

I found these awards interesting.  (HT: Atlas Shrugs)  Some I expected and refer to often (such as Pamela Geller, HotAir, The Corner, Michelle Malkin, and Drudge).  Some I would look at from time to time (such as Big Government, Gateway Pundit, Doctor Zero, MEMRI Blog and Michael Yon).  But here are new ones:

• The 'YouTube This!' Award for Best Video Blogging goes to: Pajamas TV.

• The 'It's Awfully Hot Here In This Sauna' Award for Debunking the Religion of Warming goes to Watts Up With That.

• The 'Nine-Hour Nostradamus' Award for consistently being ahead of the story goes to: The Astute Bloggers.

• The 'Salvador Dali' Award for Most Creative Blogging goes to SondraK.

And still more. . . 

WAYS IN WHICH A DOG "IMAGES" GOD FOR US