Please give me a President who Prays

I hear the hue and cry of the Left (Socialists, Liberals, Progressives, Democrats, whatever) over the audacity of the Governor of Texas not only attending, but leading a prayer service called “The Response.”  Burdened as I am with a love of our history, I recalled an episode where one of the Founding Fathers who popular mythology brands as non-religious, stood up and his faith changed the direction of a country if not the world.   

In her book "Miracle at Philadelphia; The Story of the Constitutional Convention May to September 1787" Catherine Drinker Bowen tells the story of a deadlocked Constitution Convention.  The delegates had come to loggerheads over how the various States would be represented.  Big States of course didn't want to come under the sway of the smaller ones while the small States didn't want to be overwhelmed by the larger ones.  Chaos had reigned for several weeks until Benjamin Franklin who had not spoken much at the Constitutional Convention stood up and addressed these remarks to the President of the Convention George Washington: 

"In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understandings?"

Bowen explains: Franklin here reminded the Convention how at the beginning of the war with England, the Continental Congress had had prayers for divine protection - and in this very room, "Our prayers, Sir, were heard," said Franklin, "and they were graciously answered.  All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Super-intending providence in our favor.  To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity.  And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? . . . . I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of man." 

If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground unseen by him, Franklin continued, was it probable an empire could rise without his aid?  "I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.  We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word to future ages.  And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance despair of establishing governments of human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, and conquest."   

"I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service." 

A delegate from Georgia - William Few, described that morning of June twenty-eighth as "an awful and critical moment.  If the Convention had then adjourned, the dissolution of the union of the states seemed inevitable."

The motion by Franklin was defeated largely because there were no funds to pay clergy, however ministers did attend to the convention at no cost.  Jonathan Dayton (NJ) recorded that after the renewed focus on God “We assembled again; and . . . every unfriendly feeling had been expelled, and a spirit of conciliation had been cultivated.”  

A motion by Edmund Jennings Randolph (VA) for the entire group to attend a special day of prayer on July 4^th was passed.  In his book “The Myth of Separation” David Barton reports:

“. . . the entire Convention assembled in the Reformed Calvinistic Church and heard a sermon by Rev. William Rogers.” 

The newly found sense of cooperation resulted in “The Great Compromise” our bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.  

In our current on-going disaster they have tried everything else – surely prayer couldn’t hurt. 

Is it any wonder then that Governor Rick Perry thought that our Nation could benefit from prayer? 

I know who I’m voting for in 2012.  

       

MY Blog

I started blogging in the summer of 2007 on the Yahoo platform.  The thing that propelled me into the blogosphere was the fight put up by liberals (socialists, progressives, democrats, whatever) over the Rule of Law Resolution passed unanimously by our courageous County Board of Supervisors.  The first time I heard “Yes We Can!” only it was “Si Se Puede!”  (Liberals aren’t very original)

I had been toying with the idea of blogging at the time and that outrageous protest propelled me into blogging in order to express my views on that incident.  I have been throwing up a post about once every three or four days on average now for the last four years. 

I have met some very interesting characters during that time.  Some I don’t always agree with – you only have to scroll down a bit to see that my opinion doesn’t always meet with universal acclaim.  However it is my opinion and without being rude – I don’t really care what anyone thinks about it.  I think that I have proven a willingness to debate and to argue as well as air those comments on MY Blog. 

However I have also met a particularly vicious breed of coward that lurks out in the blogosphere, cloaked in anonymity who likes to throw rocks and name call yet refer to it as “debate.”  It is not a “debate” when I say “President Obama is responsible for our down-grade to a AA+ bond rating.” And they respond “You’re a stupid &#^$%#&.”  I know you liberals don’t get that – but that kind of response does not add anything to the National discussion on debt, wars, poverty, taxes, or anything else. 

James Delingpole remarked not long ago that his conservative opinion had attracted vicious attacks from the left.  He said (using a soccer metaphor) “They like to attack the player rather than the ball.”  That has certainly been my experience with your standard liberal encountered in the blogosphere.  Nothing you ever say is true – they deride your service, your education, your parentage, your employment history, and of course your intellect.  They also tend to swarm.  They mock, they deride, they insult, and ridicule.  When you have finally had enough and you wash your hands of them they say: “You are afraid to debate me. HA!”  One antagonist loves to insult and then when he detects anger in a response you get “I hit a nerve . . . “ as if he achieved some epic victory.  Childish you say – yes it is, and there is no reason for us to subject ourselves to it. 

You can almost see them in your mind’s eye, panting, sweating, disheveled, with spittle running down their chins, eyes glazed over as only in the truly mad – saturated in their phony victory.  I pity them, I hope they find peace, but you and I don’t have to wallow in the cesspool with them.  If that is the experience you want – you won’t get it here.  You always have MSLSD and Chris Matthews. 

So to all the various “Anonymouses” – yes I am a nasty old curmudgeon who won’t let you write dirty words on my blog.  And to my arch enemy Mud – you can’t communicate with my Mother through my blog – sorry - goodbye.  

      

Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Rich Man, Poor Man

With Friends Like You – Who Needs Enemies?

House Speaker John Boehner must feel like Lord Cardigan after “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”  He puts together a coalition of Republicans and brings President Obama’s string of victories to a screeching halt.  It was messy, it was ugly, and it was a collision that resulted in a less than optimal result, but it was victory and it tasted sweet to me.  If you have any doubt whatsoever just listen to the wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth on the left.  However after being pelted with insults and attacks from the left his TEA movement “allies” made him feel like General George Armstrong Custer at the Little Big Horn. 

President Obama signed the bill in private in the Oval office.  Compare that to all of his previous signings.  No ceremonial pens, no grinning gang of socialist goons looking over his shoulder.  No victory lap.  The President walked out to deliver yet another immature and petulant speech about “fairness” and “sacrifice.”  He lost and he knew it and there was nothing he could do about it.  

Republicans (particularly those with ties to the TEA movement) are being called “terrorists.”   The democrats (socialists, progressives, liberals, whatever) have completely flipped out.  That is superb news.  However the bad news is that we have a faction on the right that has flipped out too.  To listen to some of the feedback and angst (primarily from the politically naive TEA movement) you would think that Boehner lost.  That is utterly and completely absurd. 

If your new Congress critter told you that he or she was going to go to Washington, turn everything upside down, and teach them all a lesson – well they learned something very valuable in the last eight months.  James Madison and the gang developed a method of government that is resistant to that kind of thing and they did it on purpose.  What you saw from January 2009 to November 2010 is about as fast as the system can move.  It required a unique set of circumstances created by democrat majorities (indeed “super” majorities) in the House and Senate with a democrat in the White House.  Further, it required a group of people in charge who had no regard for our laws, our traditions, or the will of the American people.  That hasn’t occurred since the days of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  In that regard it was an anomaly that is unlikely to occur again in our life time. 

Even if Republicans (an I pray they do) recapture the White House, increase their hold on the House of Representatives, and flip the Senate to red – our regard for law and Constitutional principles will likely restrain us from the excesses of the Obama regime in executing the American Rescue Plan.  In short – this is going to take time and a lot of effort on the part of everybody to fix.  It isn’t going to get fixed overnight no matter what anyone thinks. 

Elections are the answer right now.  Send Boehner and McConnell reinforcements.  

 

Good Guys and Bad Guys

Some of my Patriotic friends are disappointed in the result of the recent compromise on the debt.  I am too.  As a result they are challenged with focusing their anger in an appropriate direction.  In the spirit of cooperation and harmony amongst my fellow conservatives, I am providing some assistance. 

We can’t lose sight of who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.  I freely admit that some of them change camp from time-to-time which does make identification difficult.  I’ve decided to use a method that an intelligence officer used for me one time.  We were part of a contingency package to go into a very nasty place.  He divided the groups, clans, and other organizations into three categories:  Usually Friendly, Usually Hostile, and Death.  Fortunately we never went there – note there was no “Allies” category.  I think that is appropriate for Congress.  I have grouped well known movie characters to illustrate:

Usually Friendly:

Think of characters like Dirty Harry (“Dirty Harry”), Mr. Bean (“Mr. Bean”) and Good Arnold in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” 

Representatives John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Michele Bachmann, Allen West.  Senators Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul (w/o Redbull), Jim DeMint, and Jeff Sessions.  Generally speaking this category includes nearly all Republicans with some notable exceptions.  There are no Democrats in this category – none, zero, zip, nada, squat. 

Usually Hostile:

Covers Captain Barbarossa (“Pirates of the Caribbean”), Colonel Nathaniel Jessup (“A Few Good Men”) and Gordon Gecko (“Wall Street”)

Senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Scott Brown, and Rand Paul (on Redbull).  The only Democrat that fits in this category is former Senator Zell Miller.  I toyed with putting “Blue Dog Democrats” in this category – but when push comes to shove – they are still Democrats (Socialist, Progressives, Liberals, whatever) and when we needed them (Obamacare) they fell like a house of cards. 

Death:

Alex Forrest (“Fatal Attraction”),   Darth Vader (“Star Wars”). General Zod (“Superman II”). Jason (“Friday the 13^th”), Dr. Christian Szell (Marathon Man), and bad Arnold in the first “Terminator.” 

All Democrats.  Tell me you can’t see Nancy Pelosi putting a live Rabbit in boiling water?  Barack Obama - Darth Vader you haven’t made that connection yet?  Harry Reid and flash-backs of General Zod?  Chuck Schumer as a wimpy but still lethal Jason?  I know you are like me and listening to Barney Frank is like watching Dustin Hoffman getting his tooth drilled without Novocain by Dr, Szell.  The Terminator and Dick Durbin – yeah.

That should clear everything up for you guys with target acquisition problems.  

       

The Citizen Responsibility in the American Republic is Elections

Listening to the cacophony of voices in the aftermath of the recent debt deal has been confusing, instructive, and disappointing.  The bill that I wanted to pass was “Cut, Cap, and Balance.”  Of course the bill that I knew would never pass was “Cut, Cap, and Balance.”  So now as the ink dries on a compromise smelly steamer sitting on the President’s desk – no one is happy.  Though you have to admit if Representative Emmanuel Claver (Moron-MO) thinks this is a “Satan sandwich” – it must have some redeeming qualities.  So what to do?   

If you are a citizen – you are the highest ranking member of this Republic.  It is your responsibility by virtue of your status to ensure that the right people get into office.  In this country the way we do that is through work, contribution, and education.  You absolutely need to vote but your responsibility doesn’t end there. 

I think that some of these flashy protests are important – but I think that you will have more impact if you walk your neighborhood for your candidate and ask for your neighbor’s support.  If that isn’t your cup of tea (no pun intended) head over to the campaign office and make a few phone calls.  Sadly we don’t do a lot of envelope stuffing anymore – but it isn’t unheard of.  If you have no time – send a check.  A mailing to all the households in a Delegate district in Virginia could cost $5,000 to $8,000. 

There are guys and gals running around the Commonwealth of Virginia right now running for everything from School Board and Board of County Supervisors to Delegate and Senator to the General Assembly.  Citizens have the absolute responsibility to vet these people.  To go listen to them speak and debate.  Most importantly we need to get behind the good ones with “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”  It seems to be the least we could do.  The original group to do that was risking their lives.  

        

Obama solving Illegal Alien Problem

Even before he completes the destruction of the American economy, President Barack Obama’s economic program is bearing fruit.  It has been estimated that more than 300,000 illegal aliens from California have re-crossed the border and returned home to Mexico.  Apparently they either can’t find jobs in Obama’s “recovery” or they think that Socialism Mexico-style and drug violence won’t be as bad as Socialism Obama-style.  They may be right. 

There was an interesting piece in the Sacramento Bee last week titled “Improving Mexican Economy Draws Undocumented Immigrants Home from California.”  Actually that is liberal double-speak for “California Sucks So Bad Even Illegal Aliens Won’t Live there Anymore.”  The 12.3% unemployment rate in Sacramento just might have something to do with that. 

Keep reading the article – it points out that 836,100 illegal immigrants filed tax returns in California in 2008.  Really?!?  Why didn’t the IRS work with ICE to deliver those tax refunds?  They could have shown up with the check, filed everyone into a bus and cashed the check at the drive-thru on the way to the border.  My government never ceases to amaze me. 

When things are so bad that someone from Mexico is on the fence as to whether to stay or go – maybe, just maybe it’s time for a big shake-up in government. 

Obama has transformed our “shinning city on a hill” into Detroit or worse . . . Chicago.