I'm Going to Disneyland!

Obama, 2/17/09

"During and since the campaign, Obama has said that the Taliban cannot be allowed to retake control and that Al Qaeda cannot have safe havens in Afghanistan, noting that the Sept. 11 plotters were there, not in Iraq."

www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/02/obama_reportedl_3.html

Obama, 7/23/09

"President Obama has put securing Afghanistan near the top of his foreign policy agenda, but "victory" in the war-torn country isn't necessarily the United States' goal, he said Thursday in a TV interview...

The leaders of the largest contributors to the coalition find themselves having to justify both their reasons for deploying troops and their management of the war effort. Britain, Italy and Australia are among those adding forces ahead of Afghanistan's Aug. 20 presidential election.

They say a Western pullout at this time would enable a resurgent Taliban to take over the country and give Al Qaeda more space to plan terror attacks against the West. Some emphasize humanitarian aspects of their missions, like development aid and civilian reconstruction."

www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/23/obama-victory-necessarily-goal-afghanistan/

Top Afghanistan General, 9/21/09

"The top military commander in Afghanistan warns in a confidential assessment of the war there that he needs additional troops within the next year or else the conflict “will likely result in failure.” '

www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/world/asia/21afghan.html

White House Press Secretary, 9/28/09

"The White House confirmed the worst-kept secret around these days: President Obama will go to Denmark this week to help bolster Chicago’s campaign for the 2016 Olympics."

www.suntimes.com/sports/olympics/1794187,obama-copenhagen-olympics-chicago-092809.article

White House Press Secretary, 9/29/09

Gibbs Explains Why the President Has Only Talked to General McChrystal Once in 10 Weeks

blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/gibbs-explains-why-the-president-has-only-talked-to-general-mcchrystal-once-in-10-weeks.html

General McChrystal is the top U.S. general in Afghanistan.

This is seriously Mickey Mouse!

Another Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us

The narcissism of President Obama is trumping his sworn oath to protect this country. The writer of this column says that he thought he would never see the day when France (that's FRANCE for all of you in Scio) would be pushing the United States for action on such a grave international challenge. Ditto. Amazing.

"President Obama wants a unified front against Iran, and to that end he stood together with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown in Pittsburgh on Friday morning to reveal the news about Tehran's secret facility to build bomb-grade fuel. But now we hear that the French and British leaders were quietly seething on stage, annoyed by America's handling of the announcement.

Both countries wanted to confront Iran a day earlier at the United Nations. Mr. Obama was, after all, chairing a Security Council session devoted to nonproliferation. The latest evidence of Iran's illegal moves toward acquiring a nuclear weapon was in hand. With the world's leaders gathered in New York, the timing and venue would be a dramatic way to rally international opinion. He had been "frustrated" for months about Mr. Obama's reluctance to confront Iran, a senior French government official told us, and saw an opportunity to change momentum. But the Administration told the French that it didn't want to "spoil the image of success" for Mr. Obama's debut at the U.N. and his homily calling for a world without nuclear weapons, according to the Paris daily Le Monde. So the Iran bombshell was pushed back a day to Pittsburgh, where the G-20 were meeting to discuss economic policy."

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574441402775482322.html

Middle Finger Salute

September 25, 2009:

"President Obama said the international community has put Iran on notice with its response to the revelation that the Islamic regime has been secretly building a nuclear facility."

www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/25/accuse-iran-building-secret-nuke-plant/

September 28, 2009:

"Iran tested its most advanced missiles Monday to cap two days of war games, raising more international concern and stronger pressure to quickly come clean on the newly revealed nuclear site Tehran was secretly constructing."

www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9AVS76O0&show_article=1&catnum=-1

Keep that pressure coming boys! By November the Iranians should be field testing their nukes.

God Has Not Left the Building

It is way too easy to narrow focus on American politics and miss other important stories - like God is alive and well and doing His work, thank you very much. Mea culpa! To make amends, I will pass along a great story that needs to be told.

Two Salem Alliance people have just returned from a teaching mission in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq and shared this story about one of the participants. Salem Alliance Church committed this year to a multi-year mission in the Middle East in conjunction with CAMA Services, the international mission arm of the C&MA, pledging $400,000 and more importantly people to the mission work Iraq and Jordan. Both money and people have begun to flow into the Middle East from Salem. A teaching seminar for pastors is what drew the SAC people to Kurdistan.

The man they told about came from a small village outside one of the larger cities in Northern Iraq. Television is widely available now in Iraq and he went out and bought a flat panel TV and a satellite package so he could watch porn. God had other ideas, though, because all he could get were two Christian stations. One night Joyce Meyer (an evangelist) came on and he thought, "Well, she's female - I guess I'll watch and see if something happens." It did. By the end of the program, he had given his life to Christ.

Over the next couple of years he led 15 other people in the village to Christ. He would pick them up 5 at a time in his van on Sundays and they would worship God while driving around because it was too dangerous to do so in a fixed location. He also kept the groups insulated from each other in case one was penetrated by a Muslim spy.

Unfortunately, a spy did get in and he ended up being dragged outside of town, beaten severely by the local Muslim brethren (altogether now - "Islam is a religion of peace.") with the grand finale being some goon holding down his arm while another pounded on it with the butt of his rifle breaking the arm in several places. He was told if he came back to the village, they would kill him.

He somehow managed to get to a friend's house in the country and holed up there. He had heard about the pastors' conference where the Salem Alliance people were teaching and called a friend in a far-away city to come by and pick him up to go to the conference. And he made it, attending faithfully and participating throughout the conference.

This is a story worthy of Acts or Paul in the Epistles and it apparently is not uncommon in Iraq. God has definitely not left the building, thanks be to God! And please remember this unnamed Christian brother in your prayers - his courage is an inspiration.

Iron Curtain 2 Coming to a Country Near You?

Mark Steyn thinks so, given the knee-jerk tendency of the Obama Administration to appease tyrants in the hope they will be reasonable, chief among them Czar Putin in Russia:

"Vladimir Putin is no longer president but he is de facto czar. And he thinks it's past time to reconstitute the old empire – not formally (yet), but certainly as a sphere of influence from which the Yanks keep their distance. President Obama has just handed the Russians their biggest win since the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Indeed, in some ways it marks the restitching of the Iron Curtain. When the Czechs signed their end of the missile-defense deal in July, they found themselves afflicted by a sudden "technical difficulty" that halved their gas supply from Russia. The Europe Putin foresees will be one not only ever more energy-dependent on Moscow but security-dependent, too – in which every city is within range of missiles from Tehran and other crazies, and is, in effect, under the security umbrella of the new czar. As to whether such a Continent will be amicable to American interests, well, good luck with that, hopeychangers."

The U.S. clearly can't be bothered by this stuff when there are so many more fun things to do at home like change the health care system and make everything green.


www.ocregister.com/articles/obama-missile-defense-2572467-nuclear-iran

The Sting?

Have you ever wondered why health care is getting the center ring of the D.C. circus when other issues like a nuclear-armed Iran with a nutball's hand on the button, El Jefe (Hugo Chavez) now offering to let Iran build a backup nuclear plant in Venezuela in case someone (the "evil" Israelis) take out the current facilities in Iran, that ever-fertile source of world crises, North Korea, is lobbing possibly nuclear-tipped missiles over Japan towards Hawaii, and the American economy is in shambles and fluttering in the wind? Well, I have too. Health care is important and all, but it isn't an issue that compares to a country getting wiped out with the short flight of a few ballistic missiles or an economy that could do a Titanic for a number of different resons. Does the Obama Administration really think that health care reform is more important than these other potentially life-and-death issues or is this a distraction while they run the real con with the other hand? Either way the answer isn't good. If the answer is "yes" then their judgment is profoundly skewed. If the answer is "no" then what is the real con? I fear the agenda, whatever it is, will not help the U.S. get back on track, but rather will take us off in directions we have never been before and not good ones either.

Salt and Light

The other day (9/15/09) I wrote a piece about the the nature of organizations - they tend to look after themselves and not worry about the interests of those they are supposed to serve. While this is all too true, it's important to note that there are lots of good people who day in and day out truly try do a great job for their students, patients, customers, etc. In my experience, many of these workers are Christians who are living out Christ's admonition that we are to be "salt and light" to the world. Matt. 5:13-16. I sometimes imagine what life would be like if all of a sudden, all His followers were taken out of the world - it's not a pretty picture. So good job Church! Thanks for being salt and light to a world in desperate need of both.

Bad Moon Rising

The ever-vigilant IAEA finally came around today to what many other intelligence agencies had already concluded - Iran is on the verge of getting an atomic bomb and a missile delivery system to boot. www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,551501,00.html The U.S. answered with its own robust response - it canceled the anti-missile system bases in Poland and the Czech Republic designed to shoot these very missiles down. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090917/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_missile_defense_35 Both Poland and the Czechs have been strong supporters of the U.S. bases and had put their necks on the line with Russia over allowing these bases. Obama has graciously responded by tossing them to the Russian Bear. What a guy!

It is now apparent that the U.S. is going to do nothing about Iran. Vice President Biden was quoted today as saying that the anti-missile system was pulled because the Iranians don't pose a threat. Europe is doing nothing and in fact is selling Iran all kinds of high tech equipment that is probably being used to create the bombs and/or missiles. The ball is now solely in Israel's court and there isn't much doubt that they do feel threatened in a big way. As the song goes, this could be the start of something big.

Penny Pinchers

Ashley Herzog pens a most interesting column about the generosity of liberals vs. conservatives. She writes that:

"The General Social Survey consistently finds that conservatives give more of their time and money to the less fortunate. For example, conservatives are more likely to volunteer for charitable activities than liberals (27 percent to 19 percent). Arthur C. Brooks, author of “Who Really Cares?” found that charitable donations average $2,210 for conservatives and a paltry $642 for liberals—and that’s after excluding donations to churches and other religious organizations."

There is much more but the data show what my experience has generally been - when it comes to putting your money, as opposed to public funds, where your mouth is, most liberals simply can't be counted on. Give it a read. I would be interested in your comments.

townhall.com/columnists/AshleyHerzog/2009/09/16/liberals_are_more_selfish_than_conservatives

Why Don't Regulators Regulate?

Good question. My theory is that all bureaucracies exist for themselves and their mission is incidental. For example, schools exist to provide jobs for administrators and teachers and students just get in the way. The FAA exists to provide lots of jobs for controllers and inspectors who then do things like talk on the phone while helicopters and planes are running into each other over the Hudson or miss little things liked cracked wing panels on commercial jets. The mission is incidental.

A particularly egregious example of this principle involves the SEC. Bank of America took over Merrill Lynch in a shotgun wedding last year during the financial meltdown with the U.S. Government acting in the role of holding the shotgun and performing the ceremony. In seeking approval of the deal from shareholders, B of A said Merrill Lynch would not pay bonuses without B of A approval. In fact, B of A already knew that Merrill Lynch executives had accelerated $3.6 BILLION in bonuses and neither disclosed this in their required SEC filings to shareholders. Incidentally, these bonuses were paid despite the fact that Merrill Lynch lost $27.6 BILLION in 2008. Makes you wonder what kind of bonuses they would pay in a good year doesn't it? (Ed. note: I definitely missed my calling - I can run a company into a ditch for half that!) The SEC brought an enforcement action but couldn't be bothered to follow though, so it recently sought to settle the case for a measly $33 million. The judge, God bless him, refused to approve the settlement and ordered the case to proceed to trial. Now we will see who the connivers really are. What a surprise too that B of A was one of the biggest recipients of TARP money. Investigate Goldman Sachs anybody?

The moral of the story: government exists for government and the mission of protecting the citizenry is incidental. Think about it when you consider nationalized health care, cap and trade, and all the other Big Government goodies. Government will protect us - you betcha!

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/09/judge_rejects_secbofa_deal.html

Duh!

I am not a scientist but I must say I am not surprised by the "revelation" in this Oregonian article: "New evidence, however, suggests that both rain and snowfall may decrease across the region during dry years." Imagine - river flows go down during dry years. Who would have thought!!

www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/new_study_shows_oregon.html

Liberals Love Dictators

I have never understood why liberals are attracted to dictators like moths to a flame, but it's true. They did it with Stalin (See Walter Duranty, NY Times reporter, Moscow Bureau, 1930s,
www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/002/791vwuaz.asp ), Mao, Fidel is ever-popular, and now Tom Friedman snuggles up to Red China. My best theory is that they know the "masses" won't buy their "progressive" bilge and yearn to have dictatorial power to ram it down the collective throat of "the people." It's for their own good you know! I have read several of Friedman's books and liked them, so I am more than a little disappointed that he too has succumbed to the Kool Aid, as Michael Barone reports.

www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Tom-Friedman-hails-China_s-one-party-autocracy-8229077-59075192.html

A Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Presidency?

Bill Kristol poses the question in The Weekly Standard. Apparently Obama is getting the shakes about a military request to ramp up troop numbers in Afghanistan. Will he or won't he do what is necessary to prevail in a war that even he has said is vital to U.S. interests? The Left is already starting to beat the drum more loudly to cut and run. These were the same folks who said that the troop surge in Iraq wouldn't work and would result in a blood bath for American troops. Well, we all know how that turned out. When is the American public going to realize that these folks stink as military and foreign policy strategists and whose acumen stops at one shell-shocked incantation: "Vietnam! Booga booga!" Our military has done the job and done it well in 1991, 2002-2003, and currently all over the world. Yes, war is hard and has its ups and downs, but the bad guys remain after us and we had better get used to doing what is necessary to take them out or we will be having a series of 9/11-type memorial events. Et tu Obama?


www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/938sdxzy.asp

Burkina Faso Hit by Massive Flood

I visited Burkina Faso in West Africa in 2008 on a teaching mission. This sub-Saharan country is literally one of the poorest in the world. We stayed in the the capital Ouagadougou on our first night in the mission guest house. It is on the banks of a dry river - dry because the annual average rainfall is 14 inches. Unfortunately, it recently rained 14 inches overnight and the worst flooding in over 90 years has left over 100,000 homeless in Ouagadougou. The CMA missionaries we worked with are outstanding people and they are spearheading relief efforts. Take a look at the field director's blog and if you are moved to give, I can assure you it will be money well spent. Matt. 25:40.

fielddirectorslog.blogspot.com/

9/11 - A Rememberance

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11. Peggy Noonan writes a touching column about how the horror of that day seared children and how it has continued to reverberate in their lives as adults. It is worth the time to read. I hope you will fly your flag tomorrow in honor of the 3000 fallen and as a symbol to all who live - never forget!

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574405092337409478.html

What a Surprise!

The Congressional Oversight Panel today announced that any hope of payback to the taxpayers of the $81 BILLION to GM and Chrysler - well fuggedaboutit. I'm shocked, shocked! I hear they are talking with Nissan about building the Cube under their own label. Why not go all the way? I say bring back a hybrid Aztek!!! We could name it the Gore.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090909/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tarp_oversight_panel_2

Diagnosing Lung Cancer with a Breath Test

Wouldn't that be a miracle? An Israeli research team is working on it and pleased with the results so far. My dad died of lung cancer and to be able to give people effective and cheap breath tests for lung cancer would be a real Godsend. This is one technology that cannot come on line too soon.

news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10346594-247.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

New Nominee for Ugliest Car

For a long time I have thought that the Pontiac Aztek was the ugliest car of the last 25-30 years and a lot of people agreed. www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658544_1658540,00.html Nissan has come out with a new model that I saw in the flesh (in the metal?) today and it is one ugly sucker. See what you think.

Tiger is a Quality Guy

Here is a son who did not forget the sacrifices of his father or other members of the military who have lived and died to protect the United States. His father would be proud. The speech was at the Obama inaugural festivities when he introduced the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.


www.pgatour.com/2009/r/01/19/woods.inauguration/index.html

St. John the Divine Returns

Former governor John Kitzhaber has deigned to grace us with his presence. Oh be still my heart! He wants to transcend partisan differences - which is liberalspeak for runover any Republican opposition on the road to Big Government. I mean seriously, how could Oregon government not be good with St. John the Divine in charge? For example, who needs Obamacare when we have Kitzhaber's Oregon Health Plan for which employers are now about to pay a 1% tax on health insurance premiums to fund in addition to their income taxes. I suspect that we can expect more such non-partisan "solutions" if the ex-gov returns to power with a solid Democratic majority in both houses. If a $2.2 billion tax increase in this recession year was good, then I'm sure these "non-partisans" will think that $4.4 billion is even better to meet Oregon's "needs" which, of course, they define and control. But I digress in my enthusiasm. Stay tuned. Idaho is looking better and better.

Dazed and Confused

The Salem City Council said "no" to a new tax. "No." What a nice word. I am dazed and confused, but thank you city councilors who voted "no." I guess it can be done!


www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909010349

Just a Blob of Fetal Tissue

That's what Planned Parenthood would have you believe. And for a small (maybe not so small) fee, it can be whisked away in a quick and easy procedure. More about "quick and easy" in another post, but let's talk about the blob of fetal tissue because the more science advances, the more the complexity of the baby is revealed. As Breakpoint reports, did you know, for example, that a baby remembers the sound of his or her mother's voice? Or songs sung during pregnancy? Or twins can remember games they played in the womb? Hardly are babies blobs of tissue. Rather they are bundles of complexity and potentiality, just as God intended them to be.

www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/12310-a-peek-into-fetal-memory