Politics | Ain't Complicated

“Just as Real and Admirable”

Frankly, I was astounded to read this earlier this morning.

Furthermore, it happened Saturday night. I didn’t learn about it till this morning. Lemme see — Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — six days later. And I don’t exactly stay isolated from the news.

Has this story been buried?

President Obama delivered an unprecedented message to the Human Rights Campaign Saturday night. Sounding more like a homosexual activist than a sitting president, Obama went well beyond his expected message of “I’m here with you” on the homosexual agenda.

“My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time in which we put a stop to discrimination against gays and lesbians — whether in the office or on the battlefield,” Obama told an estimated audience of 3,000. “You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman.”

Even Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese was stunned at the breadth of Obama’s statement, calling it “something quite remarkable.”

“This was a historic night when we felt the full embrace and commitment of the President of the United States,” Solmonese said in a post-speech statement. “It’s simply unprecedented.”

Sounds like the folks at Human Rights Campaign got far more hope and change than they dared expect.

Oh, America!

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

“But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 1:10,16,19,20).

Here’s my source: Obama: Homosexual Relationships ‘Just as Real and Admirable’ as Heterosexual Marriage

Congress Tries to Cover Gays Better

Congress acts to extend hate crimes to cover gays

The House voted Thursday to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, significantly expanding the hate crimes law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.

With expected passage by the Senate, federal prosecutors will for the first time be able to intervene in cases of violence perpetrated against gays.

Civil rights groups and their Democratic allies have been trying for more than a decade to broaden the reach of hate crimes law. This time it appears they will succeed. The measure is attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill and President Barack Obama – unlike President George W. Bush – is a strong supporter. The House passed the defense bill 281-146, with 15 Democrats and 131 Republicans in opposition.

[…]

Many Republicans, normally stalwart supporters of defense bills, voted against it because of the addition of what they referred to as “thought crimes” legislation.

“This is radical social policy that is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can’t pass it on its own,” House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

GOP opponents were not assuaged by late changes in the bill to strengthen protections for religious speech and association – critics argued that pastors expressing beliefs about homosexuality could be prosecuted if their sermons were connected to later acts of violence against gays.

[…]

Some 45 states have hate crimes statutes, and the bill would not change the current situation where investigations and prosecutions are carried out by state and local officials.

[…]

Tom McClusky, vice president of the conservative Family Research Council’s legislative arm said the next step likely would be contesting the legislation in court. “The religious protections are pretty flimsy,” he said. He contended that Democrats were trying to move their “homosexual agenda” this year because it would prove unpopular with voters next year.

The Deepening Iran Crisis

OK, so I’m a little slow…. In his article dated October 5, 2009, George Friedman of Strategic Forecasting reports:

Two major leaks occurred this weekend over the Iran matter.

In the first, The New York Times published an article reporting that staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear oversight group, had produced an unreleased report saying that Iran was much more advanced in its nuclear program than the IAEA had thought previously. According to the report, Iran now has all the data needed to design a nuclear weapon. The New York Times article added that U.S. intelligence was re-examining the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of 2007, which had stated that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.

The second leak occurred in the British paper The Sunday Times, which reported that the purpose of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly publicized secret visit to Moscow on Sept. 7 was to provide the Russians with a list of Russian scientists and engineers working on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

[…]

If Netanyahu went to Moscow to deliver this intelligence to the Russians, the only surprise would have been the degree to which the Israelis had penetrated the program, not that the Russians were there. The Russian intelligence services are superbly competent, and keep track of stray nuclear scientists carefully. They would not be surprised by the charge, only by Israel’s knowledge of it.

[…]

Two conclusions can be drawn. First, the Israelis no longer need to add to their knowledge of Russian involvement; they know what they need to know. And second, the Israelis do not expect Iranian development to continue much longer; otherwise, maintaining the intelligence capability would take precedence over anything else.

It follows from this that the use of this intelligence in diplomatic confrontations with Russians and in a British newspaper serves a greater purpose than the integrity of the source system. And that means that the Israelis expect a resolution in the very near future — the only reason they would have blown their penetration of the Russian-Iranian system.

[…]

The least that can be said about this is that the Obama administration and Israel are trying to reshape the negotiations with the Iranians and Russians. The most that can be said is that the Americans and Israelis are preparing the public for war. Polls now indicate that more than 60 percent of the U.S. public now favors military action against Iran. From a political point of view, it has become easier for U.S. President Barack Obama to act than to not act. This, too, is being transmitted to the Iranians and Russians.

It is not clear to us that the Russians or Iranians are getting the message yet. They have convinced themselves that Obama is unlikely to act because he is weak at home and already has too many issues to juggle. This is a case where a reputation for being conciliatory actually increases the chances for war. But the leaks this weekend have strikingly limited the options and timelines of the United States and Israel. They also have put the spotlight on Obama at a time when he already is struggling with health care and Afghanistan. History is rarely considerate of presidential plans, and in this case, the leaks have started to force Obama’s hand.

So there you are.

If that’s going to keep you awake, you just as well read the full article, eh? Here you are: Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis

“Mark my words,
it will not be six months
before the world tests Barack Obama
like they did John Kennedy.”
—Joe Biden

Make It Rocky Road

No, not ice cream.

The not-so-distant future here in the United States, as forecast by a Chuck Baldwin (whoever he is):

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban God” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I’m not concentrating on the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. […]

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping.

[…]

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.”

[…]

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them.

Somehow, I don’t think he has FAFA solely in mind with that last sentence. If I’m right, I disagree with him. Vigorously. Biblically, in my view. (For the record, I do not agree 100% with Chuck Badlwin’s rhetoric and so forth. Not even close. I reference this article to expand your world view a bit — perhaps — but certainly not to endorse Mr. Baldwin or his theology.)

Anyway, you can read the full article here: It Is Going To Be A Rocky Road — it might do you some good.

Oh, you’re wondering what FAFA is, I suppose.

Firearm-Assisted Food Acquisition — another acronym of my very own arrangement and a PC-friendly way of saying hunting — Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! 🙄

Oh, having disclaimed Mr. Baldwin, allow me to claim Jesus and His Word:

“In the last days,
perilous times
shall come.”
2 Timothy 3:1

Polishing Politics

Fix the heart...and the surface will shine!

This post has slowly been developing in my computer for a while. Polishing Politics was the original title. Then I thought, “Politics needs far more than polishing!”

So I thought to change the title to something along the lines of Reforming Politics or Recreating Politics. But that’s less poetic.

Then upon a little additional thought, this one: “Perhaps polishing is the best we can hope for politics anyway.”

I decided to leave the original title.

I’m no politician (though I think I’d make an excellent one). Keep all of that in mind as you consider the advice I have to offer politicians and the political class. Read it all

“Get Out of the Pulpit”

That’s my message to you, pastor friend, if you’re going to become political in the pulpit.

Today is Pulpit Freedom Sunday:

More than 80 pastors nationwide will be participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s second annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Sept. 27. The pastors will preach sermons related to biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates or current government officials, exercising their constitutional right to free religious expression despite a problematic Internal Revenue Service rule that activists groups often use to silence churches.

Pulpit Freedom Sunday is an event associated with the ADF Pulpit Initiative, a legal effort designed to secure the First Amendment rights of pastors in the pulpit. Some of the pastors preaching Sunday will address the positions of candidates in current state governor’s races; others will address the positions of existing government officials or people who have declared themselves for office in future elections.

“Pastors have a right to speak about biblical truths from the pulpit without fear of punishment. No one should be able to use the government to intimidate pastors into giving up their constitutional rights,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “ADF is not trying to get politics into the pulpit. On the contrary, the whole point is that churches should be allowed to decide for themselves what they want to talk about. The IRS should not be the one making the decision by threatening to revoke a church’s tax-exempt status. We need the government to get out of the pulpit.”

Let them proclaim freedom from politics in the pulpit!

I have a modest proposal. Those preachers who want the government to “get out of the pulpit” will put their pen where their mouth is by signing a public commitment to stay out of politics.

Any pastors who do not get out of politics will “get out of the pulpit.”

Did I say that is a modest proposal? Yep. And it is. Just like it’s sensible.

But is it Biblical?

(By the way, how does anybody get into a pulpit?! I mean, it’s not like it’s a closet or a telephone booth or or a bathtub or a car or even some sort of clerical garb.)

USA Blinks; Putin Winks

I thought of that title when this photo greeted me at Drudge a few minutes ago:

Vladimir Putin wins, but at whom and why?

What’s with that?!

This?

Scrapping the missile shield

The Bush administration had said that the shield was intended to protect Eastern Europe from the threat of a nuclear Iran, but Russia bristled at the idea of U.S. interceptor rockets being set up near its border.

Maybe. But probably not.

But to whom is the Russian Premier or President or Prime Minister winking?