More audacity from Obama...minus the hope and change

"There's a reason Thurgood Marshall took up the cause of Linda Brown. There's a reason the Little Rock Nine defied a governor and a mob," Obama said. "It's because there is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than an education that can unlock a child's God-given potential."

Unlocking that potential, though, means both acknowledging the challenges facing black youth and then finding a solution to problems that are the legacy of decades of institutionalized discrimination.

"We have to say to our children, `Yes, if you're African-American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that somebody in a wealthy suburb does not have to face," Obama said, returning to his tough-love message familiar from his two-year presidential campaign.

"But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school," he said. "No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands."

Unfortunately, our new president's modus operandi has been all too clear: put forth platititudes that sound good in the itching ears of the target audience, only to belie them by actions. Obama is absolutely correct about the importance of education in combatting poverty. His actions, however, have not borne out in practice what he professes to believe. Witness the DC voucher program.

Here, Obama single-handedly destroyed a successful program that was actually helping those languishing in poverty. Now lest I be accused of being just another white, conservative, Obama basher, I'll let Juan Williams, who actually wept for joy on air the night Obama was elected illustrate what's wrong with Obama's education policy:

This is an outrage to me. … This is so important that you give young people a chance to have an education in America and especially in a failing public school system like you have in the District of Columbia. This voucher system is a direct threat to the unions. And so I think everybody on Capitol Hill, that’s getting money from the NEA or AFT, they should be called on the table. They should ask them, ‘where do you send your kids to school? And are you willing to say these kids getting the vouchers…and doing better than the rest of the kids, that these kids aren’t deserving of an opportunity to succeed in America?’ You just want to scream. Why Duncan and Obama aren’t in the forefront of education reform is an outrage and an insult to the very base that voted for them.

Williams is rightfully indignant. Obama has betrayed the very base that put him into office. Instead of supporting a program that offered genuine hope and change, Obama sold out his constituents to the teachers' unions. And where does Obama send his kids? If you think it's the DC public schools, think again. But then again, it's alright for Obama and the limousine liberals to live one life and expect a different one for his constituents.

Obama is making policy that will guarantee segregation. The rich will continue to have access to quality private education while the poor will be stuck with no options. And yes, this policy will overwhelmingly continue to affect African-American children. How is this enabling folks to claim their destiny? Where is the hope in this policy? How is this change from the failed practices of the past?

President Obama has audacity to be sure. I don't believe I could get up in front of people who placed their trust in me and lie directly to their faces the way he has done. For shame.

Walking by faith

I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

These words by Jeremy Camp, echoing Paul's statement in II Corinthians 5:7 have become very dear to me over the past year. Permit me to digress from my usual commentary and simply share my experiences over the past year. They have profoundly shaped my spiritual outlook. I have been waiting to write this post for some time now. It is only now that God has provided a "bookmark" of sorts that I can relate my journey of walking by faith.

This has been without a doubt the most difficult year of my life. Last summer, I learned that due to financial troubles, there was a good chance the school which I was leading would close after the next school year. That would mean I, along with my dear friends and colleagues, would lose our jobs, and that our mission to which we were wholly devoted would come to an end. In September, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Over the next two months, I would have to watch her succumb to this dreadful disease. In the aftermath of her death and her funeral, I became quite disillusioned with many in my family. They simply were not who I thought them to be. Damage was done, much of which may be irreparable. In January of this year, the final decision of our board to close the school was handed down. For the next six months, I was to preside over the "death" of this family of God. More hurtful was my disappointment in many men of faith, in whom I had trusted. They seemed unconcerned about the human fallout from their decisions. In the meantime, I searched for God's guidance with my next job. Where should I go? What should I do? What was His will? These questions plagued me as I sent out resumes and went on interviews. Three times I was flown in as a finalist for a position. Each time, it appeared that God's will was going to be revealed. Three times, I learned someone else was selected and it was time to begin searching anew.

During all of this, Satan nagged at me, planting negative thoughts in my mind. I felt forsaken; but the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus' words on the cross: "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani." I felt confused, unsure of my next steps; but the Spirit reminded me of Abraham, Noah, Moses, and countless others who did not know the "end game" but walked in faith nonetheless. With each doubt that Satan put into my head, the Holy Spirit countered with encouragement from His Word. These sources of encouragement did not come from scripture alone. Often they were delivered by some "angel" in my life. Perhaps they were unaware of the encouragement they were offering, but it was there nonetheless.

The bottom line: In my moment of great doubt, confusion, and pain, God was working His plan all along. Even though I could not see His handiwork clearly, even though I was blind to the eventual outcome, He was walking ahead of me, making my paths clear.

I have learned a great lesson, maybe THE great lesson: I am a blind man in this world. I need the omniscient power of my Lord to guide me. That is a troublesome lesson for many of us, especially me, to learn. I treasure my "sight." I am an academic, a philosopher by nature and vocation. I have always desired and have devoted my life to "seeing more clearly." Indeed, God has revealed much to me in the course of my studies. Still, there is so much more I don't know, and even more I never will. That is why I must submit myself to him. As much as I would like to blaze my own trail in this life, I haven't sufficient sight to do so.

I mentioned in the opening that I've been waiting to write this piece. I vowed to do so out of faith in Him. For some time now, though I didn't know what His will would look like, I knew it would be done anyway. I chose to walk by faith, even when I could not see.

I say this not with pride or hubris, but with all humility. The only thing He required of me was the will to continue. As Kipling put it:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"

That's what walking by faith is. It's the determination to hold on to God when all you have to go by is His promise. I praise Him for giving me that strength; and I praise Him for his steadfast love and faithfulness.

Thanks for letting me share my experience with you. We serve a great and wonderful God who desires to give us rich rewards if we'll only trust in Him.

I'll be on the road for awhile

I don't know how regularly I'll be able to post. I'll update any new posts on my Facebook.

It is for freedom that we have been set free

These are the words of the apostle Paul in Galatians, chapter 5:

1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

This thought is important to us, not just as Christians, but as Americans. If we strip away the cultural anachronism of circumcision here, there is much that is instructive to 21st century America.

It is a paradoxical human truth that we struggle do deal with freedom, and all too often, we voluntarily surrender it for the comfort of slavery. That is what Paul is talking about here.

Look at America. Before Washington could even finish taking the oath of office, many Americans were ready to make him king, even though they had just sacrificed to throw off the burden of monarchical oppression. Had not FDR died, how many terms would Americans have allowed him to serve? Look at us today. We are quick to run to the government to solve our problems, surrendering our liberty in the process. Rather than exercising our liberty and dealing with the consequences, we are ready to surrender it in search of a "magic fix."

This tendency goes hand in hand with our selfishness. It can be argued that we have arrived at this current mess due in large part to our own self-indulgences. Paul gives strict warning against this. Freedom brings liberty, but not license. We Americans have struggled with this. Over the years, we have treated our freedom much like a teenager left alone in the house for the first time. We have indulged ourselves on debt and debauchery, not denying ourselves anything. We can readily see the results. It has carried us down the road to destruction as a nation. And instead of accepting our responsibility for our selfishness, we have pointed the finger at others and have run to our "daddy," the government, to fix it all. This approach will not sustain our liberty. It will only ensure our continued dependence.

What Paul preaches is true. It is only when we exercise our liberty in the service of others; in the pursuit of mutual edification, that this freedom can be productive. That is the role for the Christian, and that is the role for America.

Happy Independence Day!

This piece by Bruce Walker says it all:

But when speaking of what they wrote in 1776 -- signing their own death warrants, in some respects -- they might ask us this: "We did not mean to confuse you. That is why the words we chose were so clear. You are free creatures of God. Government is your creature, your chattel, your tool -- nothing more. We studied history long before we wrote our brief statement of liberty. You own government or rather the spirit of free men owns government. You fret about ‘stuff.' Why? We are all dead now, as we knew we would be. But we chose to die free, following our consciences - that is the only real choice in life. What confused you?" The principle of liberty is easy. All it requires is courage and honor.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/remembering_what_the_declarati_1.html

Nice gesture, Helen, but it's too little, too late

“Nixon didn’t try to do that,” Thomas said. “They couldn’t control (the media). They didn’t try.

“What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Thomas said. “They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them.”

Thomas said she was especially concerned about the arrangement between the Obama Administration and a writer from the liberal Huffington Post Web site. The writer was invited by the White House to President Obama’s press conference last week on the understanding that he would ask Obama a question about Iran from among questions that had been sent to him by people in Iran.

“When you call the reporter the night before you know damn well what they are going to ask to control you,” Thomas said.

“I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well--for the town halls, for the press conferences,” she said. “It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame.”

When Helen Thomas starts assailing a Democrat administration, something's not quite right. Too bad the grande dame of the Washington press corps waited this long to recognize what many of us noticed during the primaries: Obama has used the press to do his bidding. He used them to take down Hillary, and then co-opted them during the campaign to demonize McCain/Palin. All the while, the considerable investigative powers of the mainstream media remained silent about Obama's more than questionable associations, his background as a "community organizer (i.e. socialist), and his lack of bona fides as an executive. Now Thomas and company are shocked to find Obama is manipulating the press with unheard of audacity? Sorry, Helen, the rest of us poor schmucks out here saw him for what he was a long time ago.

Birds of a feather flock together

"Look, a rule of thumb here. Whenever you find yourself on the side of Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and the Castro twins, you may want to reexamine your assumptions."




So "interfering" on behalf of the democratic protestors in Iran is off limits, but we can "interfere" on behalf of a wannabe dictator? Is this guy for real?