WE KNOW GOVERNOR RICK PERRY PRAYS—BUT WHICH? TO THE CHRISTIAN GOD OR THE MUSLIM GOD?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Richard Johnson

We highly commended Governor Perry August 5 Here and August 7 Here for his bold leadership at The Response day of prayer and fasting in Houston, August 6, 2011.

We even reprinted Governor Perry’s opening prayer. He did not end the prayer in the name of Jesus Christ as most Christians have learned to do. Still, the prayer seemed solidly Christian. One could think Governor Perry addressed his prayer to the God of the Bible; the God of Christians and Jews. Could that thought have been wrong? Is it possibly a stealth application of Biblical language by a convert to Islam?

I do not make the charge about Governor Perry. But his conduct, the past 8 to 9 years, concerning Islam needs to be questioned and fully answered. We will not cover the range of questions in this post. Instead we will focus on Governor Perry’s actions to have Islam (An Ideology at war with the United States) taught in Texas public schools.

Many States have worked to restore the “Public Schools” to the time when they gave children a vigorous and generally factual education. That happened here in Minnesota as we battled the administrations of Governors Arnie Carlson and Jesse Ventura from 1991 to 2002 as they aggressively employed devices to diminish and destroy discipline and facts—notably through “Profiles in Learning.” Minnesota ended the “Profiles” and achieved significant restoration in 2003.

The restoration process started much earlier in Texas as Governor G. W. Bush began his reform in 1995. In 2001, the Texas schools were solidly teaching facts in most areas.

Things changed in Texas. Governor Perry met and became a close personal “friend of the Aga Khan, the religious leader of the Ismailis, a sect of Shia Islam that claims a reported 15 to 20 million adherents worldwide. Sprouting from that friendship are at least two cooperation agreements between the state of Texas and Ismaili institutions, including a far-reaching program to educate Texas schoolchildren about Islam.” (Salon Magazine, August 10, 2011) More from the Solon story:

Perry met the Aga Khan during a 2000 family trip to Paris (the Aga Khan owns a large estate, Aiglemont, north of the city), the Austin American-Statesman reported in 2008. Two years later, Perry spoke warmly at a dinner in Houston hosted by the Aga Khan. Over the years the governor attended other Ismaili events in Texas, culminating in a pair of formal agreements.

One, in 2009, provides for cooperation between Texas and the Aga Khan’s organizations in the “fields of education, health sciences, natural disaster preparedness and recovery, culture and the environment.” Perry was quoted at the official Ismaili website as saying at the signing ceremony that “traditional Western education speaks little of the influence of Muslim scientists, scholars, throughout history, and for that matter the cultural treasures that stand today in testament to their wisdom.”

August 15, two days after Perry’s Presidential announcement, Pamela Geller wrote in The American Thinker:

. . . Sounds good. But Perry has been sucked into the propaganda vortex, and is now wielding his enormous power to influence changes in the schoolrooms and in the curricula to reflect a sharia compliant version of Islam. He is a friend of the Aga Khan, the multimillionaire head of the Ismailis, a Shi’ite sect of Islam that today proclaims its nonviolence but in ages past was the sect that gave rise to the Assassins. Perry has concluded at least two cooperation agreements between the state of Texas and the Ismailis, including a comprehensive program to feed children in Texas public schools and taqiyya nonsense about how Islam is a religion of peace. Another agreement stipulates that Texas officials will work with the Ismailis in the “fields of education, health sciences, natural disaster preparedness and recovery, culture and the environment.” Perry let on that this was all about whitewashing Islam’s bloody historical and modern-day record: “traditional Western education speaks little of the influence of Muslim scientists, scholars, throughout history, and for that matter the cultural treasures that stand today in testament to their wisdom.”

August 18, Geller, at her own Atlas Shrugs, wrote at length with detail about the Texas school systems muslin indoctrination program and linked to the actual Web Site for the complete San Antonio Independent School District Islam program. I reviewed the entire complete and very well done Site. You cannot. Within days, the Islam Program pages were taken down. But there is A cache system that stores all Web pages. However, those cached pages were also taken down. Before that happened, I downloaded:

  • 2 Word files with lessons
  • 4 pdf files (57 pages)
  • 3 Power Point files (64 slides)

Pamela has reproduced much of these lessons on Islam material at Atlas Shrugs here.

You can believe this mountain of evidence convicting Governor Perry or go with Politico, “Is Perry Dumb?”

Posted in Defending Christianity, Jinad/Shariah, Reclaiming and Restoring America | Leave a comment

EGYPT: THE DEMONSTRATORS, THE GOVERNMENT; DIFFERENT GOALS—FOR NOW

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Richard Johnson

The demonstrators after Friday’s “prayers” (There may have been more police than demonstrators.)

CAIRO: Over a thousand protesters gathered in front of the Israeli embassy following Friday prayers in what was dubbed the “Friday of Expelling the Ambassador”, reiterating their demands to cut diplomatic ties with Israel, after the shooting of five Egyptian soldiers on the borders on Aug. 19.

“We don’t want a single Israeli on our land anymore,” Sa’deya Mohamed, 70, told Daily News Egypt.

And, “The people want the right of our martyrs in Sinai be regained,” protesters, holding the Egyptian flags, chanted outside the embassy amid tight security. Others shouted: “The people’s first demand is to have the ambassador evicted.”

One of the protesters shot in the air and managed to leave the scene before police could arrest him, according to witnesses.

A 23-year-old Egyptian, Ahmed Shahhat, climbed to the roof of the 13-story apartment building housing the embassy early Sunday morning and removed the Israeli flag from the roof, replacing it with an Egyptian flag he had carried with him.

Shahhat, who became an instant folk hero in Egypt, said his action had come in protest against the killing of the three Egyptian soldiers. A resident in the building opened his balcony door for Shahhat, who made the rest of the way down by elevator and was welcomed by thousands of protesters who have been demonstrating outside the building with calls to suspend the Israel-Egypt peace treaty.

The Government is on a different course, sending more troops into Sinai

Because, surprise, surprise, one immediate result of the “Arab Spring” is a brand new branches of al-Q’aida and other terrorist groups now operating in Egypt’s Sinai desert. One group is al-Qa’ida in the Sinai Peninsula. Another group calls itself al-Shabab al-Islam (Youth of Islam).

This, together with last week’s attack in which eight Israelis were killed by Palestinian militants who infiltrated the border, moved Israel to agree to significant additional Egyptian troop deployment. (Earlier this year, before the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Israel permitted Egypt to send thousands of extra soldiers to northern Sinai to combat Islamic gunmen operating there.)

What could go wrong with that? Expect the Egyptian government, after elections, to be far more in line with the demonstrators at the Israeli embassy than with Israel.

Posted in Obama, World Events | Leave a comment

ANOTHER FALSE OR ANTI-AMERICAN PRINCIPLE FROM OBAMA

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Richard Johnson

In my January 14, 2011 email distribution, the DAILY CALL, I rejected diversity as government policy or activity. I wrote:

THE FALSE PRINCIPLE —DIVERSITY

By definition, diversity is: the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization. For example:

  • The city is known for its cultural/ethnic diversity.
  • The school aims for diversity in its student population.
  • There is a greater diversity in the city’s population now.

These would be facts. Diversity is obviously not an American principle. As used by “Cultural Police,” it is in tension with Multiculturalism. Each culture is supposed to be special and preserved. On the other hand, your group must be diverse. (Go ahead and laugh.)

Study “The school aims for diversity” fact. Do you see the school administration or board or constituency believing they have a virtue here? Some State and Federal law prescribes diversity. This can include, for example, “sexual identity” and exclude, for example, Christianity. Families must now be represented with proper diversity; Heather Has Two Mommies, for example.  It might happen that Heather has two mommies. It should never be a societal goal.

As we restore America, just like Jim Crow, diversity laws must be repealed.

President Obama, as he has done before, ignored my point. He is again moving America further off its moorings. Consider this report from the Blaze:

Obama Executive Order Creates ‘Office of Diversity and Inclusion’

In yet another expansion of government through Executive Order, the Obama administration has created an Office of Diversity and Inclusion to boost minority participation in the federal work force.

Judicial Watch reported on this new government office Wednesday, and stated that the Obama administration’s goal is to:

“Eliminate demographic group imbalances in targeted occupations and improve workforce diversity. To attain this, special initiatives have been created targeting specific groups, including Hispanics, African Americans, American Indians, women and gays and lesbians.”

You can read the entire executive order here, but below is an excerpt that summarizes its mission:

“By this order, I am directing executive departments and agencies to develop and implement a more comprehensive, integrated, and strategic focus on diversity and inclusion as a key component of their human resources strategies.”

This new bureaucratic arm of the White House will apparently work in addition to the already staffed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which investigates and enforces federal discrimination laws.

Posted in Obama, The Cost of Democrats, Understanding Bog Government | Leave a comment

THE REAL REASON, WITH OBAMA’S HELP, BUBARAK WAS FORCED OUT

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Richard Johnson

Million Man Protest Said Set For Friday

Today will be the sixth day of protestors surrounding the Israeli Embassy in Cairo demanding the ambassador leave. Popular opinion in Egypt overwhelmingly opposed the Mubarak government peace treaty with Israel. The Obama Administration knew this as they enabled the mob in Egypt to force Mubarak out February 11, 2011. Here are the core facts from the Blaze:

While anti-Israel activists have been demonstrating outside Israel’s embassy in Cairo for the fifth day in a row, Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Saba’a reported Wednesday that protest organizers are now calling for “a million-man protest” to take place outside the embassy on Friday.

Using Facebook and other social media tools, organizers allege the demonstrations aim is to forcibly remove Israel’s ambassador to Egypt and close the Israeli embassy altogether.

Protesters reportedly chant “expell the ambassador immediately.” Some demonstrators have even gathered outside the ambassador’s Cairo residence and called on local residents to join them in order to “force the ambassador to leave Egypt.”

Posted in Jinad/Shariah, Obama, World Events | Leave a comment

ARAB SPRING OR LYBIA BURNING?

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Richard Johnson

OR

YOU DECIDE

President Obama, leading from behind, “This much is clear, the Gaddafi regime is coming to an end and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people.” With the help of the “mighty” NATO, the Libyan rebels appear to have won. 

Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, after being rumored dead, appeared before cheering armed loyalists outside the family’s residential compound in the early hours of Tuesday. “Tripoli is under our control. Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli,” he told journalists outside the compound at Bab al-Azizya, smiling broadly and flashing the V for victory sign despite the rebels’ encroachment.

“I am here to refute the lies,” the 39-year-old said about reports of his arrest, and accused the West of waging a “technological and media war to cause chaos and terror in Libya”.

There is this report of a draft for a Libyan constitution:

Although Libyan rebels only just took control over the capital city of Tripoli over the weekend, a draft version of a new constitution for the transitional state has allegedly been penned and appears online. What is perhaps most disturbing, however, is that the charter’s “principal source of legislation” will be Sharia law. Even with a new regime, “reform” still does not seem to be an operative word for a new Libya.

According to Part 1, Article 1 of the alleged draft: “Islam is the Religion of the State, and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia).” Heritage points out that other phrases contained in the draft, such as “there shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law” and “judges shall be independent, subject to no other authority but law and conscience” seem all the more foreboding given the basis for the country’s entire legislation will be Sharia law.

Pamela Geller, in Israel, continues responding to the attack on Israel from Egypt; albeit quietly (for her): 

More of the putrid, fetid blossoms of the Obama supported Islamic spring. Of course, we knew this. Atlas called it as soon as the Muslim Brotherhood revolution began to unfold began in January. The Islamic supremacists and their leftwing useful idiots couldn’t wait to oust the first (and only) Muslim country to sign a peace accord with Israel. Mubarak, America’s most reliable Muslim ally for 30 years, was thrown under the bus by the Muslim Brotherhood stooge in the White House. Has the leftwing media who propagandized this horror as all sweetness and light corrected the record? Are they capable of picking up a bucket of water and making even so much as a feeble attempt to help put the fire that they helped start and spread? These moral cowards are incapable of humanity.

Other threads:

Senator John McCain says he has many friends on Libya’s National Transitional Council. Interesting.

I am a subscriber to Stratfor for the core of my global intelligence. In the briefing Monday afternoon, Analyst Bayless Parsley made this point:

The main problem of the National Transitional Council is that it’s an umbrella group that brings together several different groups of people, who really only have two things in common. They’re collectively referred to as the Libyan rebels, and they all share a desire to oust Moammar Gadhafi from power. The second you take that common mission away from them, you immediately open the door to in-fighting.

Posted in Obama, World Events | Leave a comment

ON OBAMA’S WATCH: ISRAEL ATTACKED FROM EGYPT—TO SAY AGAIN, ISRAEL ATTACKED FROM EGYPT

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Richard Johnson

Did you hear? Seven dead, Mr. President. Your Administration generated Arab Spring, Mr. President. This is the icon for the carnage that is on your head, Mr. President.

According to the Reuters & AP, Gunmen crossed into Israel Thursday from the Egyptian desert. They launched a series of attacks in southern Israel, killing seven people, wounding 25 and threatening to destabilize the volatile border region that includes the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula. This is the deadliest attack against Israel since 2008.

It is clear the gunmen were Hamas/Al Qaeda, so the Egyptians have not yet attacked Israel. Not yet.

We have had 22 posts at the Trumpet since the Obama generated “Arab Spring people’s demand for democracy” in Cairo January 25, 2011. The first post here was January 30 where we were more than skeptical about the “surge of the people for democracy.” At that time we did not know the American government was actually an organizing force for the uprising in Tahrir Square, Cairo. We did know America’s biggest social media/browser businesses would be implicated.

My prediction January 30, of a coming disaster that would have global implications, turned out to be too conservative. Operatives in the United States State Department began secretly laying the groundwork for a civilian uprising in Egypt after the Election of Obama but, incredibly before his inauguration.

There is an organization, The Alliance of Youth Movements, founded to train young revolutionaries the effective use of Social Media. A cofounder of AYM is Jared Cohen, a member of the Board of Directors of Google and an advisor to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. 2008 Outgoing Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice may also be implicated because of the December, 2008 secret activity.

The very public United States of America Department of State involvement in the 2009 Alliance of Youth Movements is shocking. Equally as shocking is the list of co-sponsors.

Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual will open the Alliance of Youth Movement’s second annual summit in Mexico City on October 14, 2009. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Facebook, Hi5, Google, MySpace, Gen Next, Howcast Media, MTV, PepsiCo, Mobile Behavior, Univisión, Interactive Media, Inc., Causecast.org, WordPress.com, Edelman, and YouTube, the event will convene individuals, government officials, academics, and private and public sector leaders from around the world October 14-16, 2009, to explore ways to advance grassroots movements seeking positive social change through 21st century technology and tools.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton first announced this summit in March 2009 during her digital town hall on the campus of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. The Secretary is committed to connecting and empowering these young community leaders.

Participants in the summit will discuss a variety of practical topics, including politics, resisting violence, and technology; sustainability and long-term planning; and the use of viral video in social movements. The sessions will be streamed live during the conference through participated h news sources and other Web sites.

To learn more about how to get involved in the 2009 Alliance of Youth Movements Summit in Mexico City, or to watch it live, visit http://youthmovements.howcast.com/

We don’t know how many “young Egyptians” participated in the summit and discussed a variety of practical topics, including politics, resisting violence, and technology; sustainability and long-term planning; and the use of viral video in social movements.

We do know Google’s top man in the Middle East is Wael Ghonim, stationed in Dubai.  Ghonim is an Egyptian national. Ghonim created a Facebook system through which he generated the 400,000 Egyptian “democracy demonstrator’s” January 25, in Cairo.

With this in mind, President Obama’s statement, Feburay 11, 2011 (in this New York Times report) in reaction to the Mubarak resignation becomes even more revealing in retrospect. Be sure to read it all:  

President Obama heaped praise on the peaceful protesters who deposed Hosni Mubarak on Friday, declaring, “Egypt will never be the same,” even as his national security team acknowledged that the swift uprising would almost certainly upend American strategy in the Middle East.

Standing in the foyer of the White House, where just a week before he had started to press Mr. Mubarak for immediate reforms without calling for his resignation, Mr. Obama described the Egyptian uprising as a model of nonviolence and moral force “that bent the arc of history.” While comparing the 18-day protests to Gandhi’s peaceful resistance to British rule, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the student protests that brought down a dictator in Indonesia, he also set out a series of benchmarks that he said he expected the Egyptian military to follow, warning that “nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.”

“That means protecting the rights of Egypt’s citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the Constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free,” he said. “Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt’s voices to the table.”

Mr. Obama’s tone was optimistic, and he promised the crowd in Cairo’s Tahrir Square — which was listening to his brief broadcast live via Egyptian state television — continued American support for Egypt. That support, however, is likely to take new forms: Administration officials agreed that the $250 million in economic aid was a pittance compared with the $1.3 billion in annual military aid, and the White House and the State Department were already discussing setting aside new funds to bolster the rise of secular political parties. Under Egypt’s current Constitution, alternatives to Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party are all but banned.

In his remarks, Mr. Obama promised “whatever assistance is necessary” to pursue a “credible transition to a democracy.”

But as he spoke, White House officials were assessing the longer-term impact of street revolutions that have deposed two dictators in less than a month, starting with the ouster of Tunisia’s leader, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Middle East leaders from Saudi Arabia to Jordan to Yemen have moved to pre-empt similar uprisings.

In Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of which depended heavily on Mr. Mubarak, officials were blistering in their criticism of Washington, arguing that the United States abandoned a long-time ally without first building in guarantees that Egypt’s revolution could not be hijacked by religious extremists.

In his final press briefing at the White House on Friday, Robert Gibbs, Mr. Obama’s press secretary, told reporters, “I think it’s important that the next government of Egypt, as we’ve said in here many times, recognize the accords that have been signed with the government of Israel.” But other officials have acknowledged privately that if Egypt turns into a noisy democracy that includes the Muslim Brotherhood, there will undoubtedly be political debate in Egypt about whether the 1979 peace accord with Israel should remain in force.

“We don’t think that there is any real chance the Egyptian military would have any interest in seeing the peace accord walked back,” one of Mr. Obama’s senior aides said this week. “But it’s a warning we must issue.”

The Saudis, like Mr. Mubarak himself, portrayed the uprising as the creation of “foreign powers,” which was widely interpreted as code words for Washington and other Western powers.

“We are astonished however at what we see as interference in the internal affairs of Egypt by some countries,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said Thursday, as Mr. Mubarak was still clinging to power. In an unusually direct shot at the White House, he said, “We are shocked to see that there are countries pre-empting even the will of the Egyptian people,” never addressing the fact that the protests in Egypt seemed both widespread and homegrown.

But, back to the attacks launched on Israel from Egypt. It is instructive to recall the words of Egypt’s new Muslim boss, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, concerning Israel when he address the throng at Tahrir Square after prayer, Friday, February 18, 2011.

“Al-Qaradawi asked the Egyptian army to open wide the Rafah crossing and to pray for the re-conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims, so that he and the Muslims could pray in security at Al-Aqsa Mosque. This part of his sermon was cheered and applauded by the crowd….”

Of course, the Rafah crossing was opened within weeks of Mubarak’s departure.

Lastly, it is telling that this MEMRI translation of an Egyptian video, showing children “prosecuting” Mubarak, was released August 18, 2011. It turned out to be the same day as the deadly attacks on Israel from Egypt.

One of the children (prosecutors) charges,

“You are Israel’s best friend. Israel was the country most saddened by your fall and your trial, because you were helping them to kill the Palestinians and to occupy their lands.”

Go ahead and watch it.

Posted in Jinad/Shariah, Obama, World Events | Leave a comment

JESUS A MARXIST? WELL, AT LEAST THIS ONE CONFESSES HE IS AN ATHIEST

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Richard Johnson

I am a deeply believing Christian—orthodox Christian. Yes, lower case o. For the purposes of this Post, I’ll confess to being a Conservative Christian—capital C. The Blaze has a story about, Gregory Paul, an atheist, who wrote an article claiming Conservative Christians have perverted the clear message and teaching of Jesus “from Marxism into Capitalism.”

The smaller point is, of course, about the side splitting irony of an Atheist volunteering to correct Christian teaching. Here is a perfect example of Mr. Paul’s “help.”

Many conservative Christians, mostly Protestant but also a number of Catholics, have come to believe and proudly proclaim that the creator of the universe favors free wheeling, deregulated, union busting, minimal taxes especially for wealthy investors, plutocrat-boosting capitalism as the ideal earthly scheme for his human creations.

The Creator of the Universe, creating Man in his own likeness and image with their own free will, expects (the Creator of the universe does not, “favor”) humanity to be without sin. But, they decided to be free-wheeling, brother killing, king makers of themselves instead. Since the wages of sin is eternal death and since the Creator of the universe is a just Creator of the Universe, He came and saved them from eternal death by serving their sentence for them.

Capitalism is, of course, not an ism. It is just a tool. It can and is used for good and it can and is used for evil. Socialism (Marxism) is a system devised for either those who call themselves Atheists, like Gregory Paul or those who call themselves Christians, like Barak Obama, to take your stuff—your property and, more importantly, your freedom.

The larger point is that Christianity has been attacked for years from within by tools of Satan who proclaim that Jesus Christ is a Marxist. The prominent forms are:

  • Liberation Theology most prominently in Latin American Catholicism
  • Black Liberation Theology in much of the American black church
  • Social Justice in much of the American Protestant church.

These are always offered by Satan as a way to clean up and disguise covetness and theft. Shared sacrifice, ya know. “Just trying to spread the wealth around,” ya know. From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs, ya know. A Congressman asked a panel of oil executives, “don’t you believe in shared sacrifice?” “No,” one replied, “we believe in shard opportunity.”

“But, didn’t Jesus teach, feed the hungry?” Yes. Here is precisely what Jesus said in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 25:

34Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, `Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35For I hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in;
36naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.’
37Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, `Lord, when saw we Thee hungering and fed Thee, or thirsty and gave Thee drink?
38When saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee?
39Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?’
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, `Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’

Jesus expect each of us to feed and house and visit and cloth those in need. Those who claim to feed and house and cloth and visit with money they confiscated from you are worthy of the wrath He expressed when He said it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for that crowd who are so full of themselves to enter heaven. That is what the Creator of the Universe thinks of, “Spreading the wealth around.”

Posted in Defending Christianity | Leave a comment

TELL US ABOUT A FEW OF YOUR PAST LIVES, MR. HUNTSMAN—A SHORT POST IN VALUABLE SPACE

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Richard Johnson

We usually ignore the Jon Huntsman campaign here, but a Huntsman Tweet Thursday, caused us to respond with this “near tweet.” According to the Daily Caller, Huntsman tweeted his displeasure with a Governor Perry statement on evolution. “To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me Crazy,” Huntsman wrote.

Now, Herman Cain can assure his Atlanta neighbors that Jon Huntsman will not be a “Mormon worry.” Now that we understand Huntsman’s belief system, we can look forward to hearing about a few of his most colorful past lives.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

THE SCOTT JOHNSON PARADOX OF LINCOLN AND BACHMANN

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Richard Johnson

(Of course Scott Johnson, like the rest of us, gets to see Lincoln in retrospect.)

Scott Johnson is one of the proprietors of Power Line. It is one of the most influential conservative Blogs and deservedly so. But Johnson, and his longtime writing partner, John Hinderaker, have been serving America against Progressive lies for years before the birth of Power Line in 2002. For example, they wrote, The Truth About Income Inequality, in 1995 in which they powerfully refuted the constant litany from the Progressives of how unfair our American system is.

My admiration for Scott Johnson goes back nearly 2 decades. He, like me, is a student of Abraham Lincoln. Beginning in 2004, every July 4th, Johnson posts THE ETERNAL MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE DAY. It is the conclusion of Lincoln’s Great speech of July 10, 1858, Johnson writes, “It concludes with an explanation of the meaning of this day [July 4] to Americans with matchless eloquence and insight in words that remain as relevant now as then.”

I agree so wholeheartedly, I will reprint Scott’s post each year in honor of America, Lincoln and Scott Johnson.

That said to explain the sadness that comes with the necessity to write the rest of this post—to call Scott on his astonishing smallness and bitterness over the campaign events in Iowa last week. It was unleashed in a post Friday, August 12, in which he besmirched and belittled every candidate save his favorite, Governor Pawlenty. He flicked every candidate, except Congresswoman Bachmann, away like a piece of lint. Congresswoman Bachmann got more serious treatment. She was the sole reason, in Mr. Johnson’s mind, why he feared Pawlenty would not be President.

Michele Bachmann: Michele Bachmann was a backbencher advocating conservative causes in the Minnesota Senate, where Republicans were a decided minority during her years in office. She continued the role in Congress, where she has yet to achieve a position of political responsibility. To the extent that she has become a lightning rod as a national figure, she has drawn on her native gifts to turn herself into a fundraising machine. With her Iowa roots and appeal to a conservative base, her moment has come around as a presidential candidate in the Iowa straw poll and caucuses. What Howard Dean was to Iowa Democrats in the 2004 cycle and Obama was to Iowa Democrats in the 2008 cycle, Bachmann is to Iowa Republicans in this cycle: the Ivory soap candidate, 99 and 44/100 percent pure.

What can you say? These are the thoughts of a bitter and vindictive person. These are the thoughts that roll out of a person of the left, like Algore. Thoughts I would have believed completely out of character for Mr. Johnson. While the casual observer might draw different conclusions from the first couple sentences, as someone on the scene in Minnesota during the referenced period, I must sadly testify the story was purposely misstated and misleading. To compare Congresswoman Bachmann to Howard Dean is another indication of an adolescent reaction to not having his way—in other words, Obamian.

But, of course it didn’t end Friday. Sunday, August 14, In Pawlenty Pulls Out, Scott repeats his otherworldly assertion that, “Pawlenty is the generic Republican candidate at a time when the generic Republican seems to be what is called for to match up against Obama.” That is exactly what Governor Pawlenty projected, “I will be a cleaner, more efficient mechanic.” And obviously that is exactly 180 degrees from what We the People know we need. Mr. Johnson repeated his mischaracterization of Congresswoman Bachmann’s public service and then ranted:

Bachmann’s attacks on Pawlenty during the Republican presidential candidates’ debate this week were almost entirely false and demagogic. Those of us who admire her can’t help but think less of her as a result.

Out of respect, I’ll simply say, amazing. Anyone who saw the debate knows Mr. Johnson completely miscast and misrepresented the events. It was Governor Pawlenty who, like a hockey defenseman, high-sticked Congresswoman Bachmann and slammed her to the ice. In fact the green policies Governor Pawlenty pursued were never called “cap and trade” but they sought the same ends.

Governor Pawlenty’s remarks, about Congresswoman Bachmann, Sunday morning were generous and complimentary and stand in stark contrast to Mr. Johnson’s.

Here is the larger point, if Mr. Johnson had been on hand in 1859 and 1860, how would he have viewed the man he correctly so deeply admires, Abraham Lincoln? Presumably, Lincoln would have just been a “backbencher” in the Illinois Senate and a failure in Congress. Had Mr. Johnson heard that speech of July, 10, 1858 and the one before on June 16, 1858, would he have labeled them, 99 and 44/100 per cent Pure? Lincoln—the Howard Dean of his time? Eeeeyyyaaaooouu!

Posted in Remaking the Republicans | Leave a comment

“WE DON’T NEED A SPEECH, JUST PUT IT IN THE MAIL, Mr. PRESIDENT”

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Richard Johnson

I have a daily email message, the DAILY CALL. On reflection, yesterday’s should have been a post here. And now it is; without addition or subtraction.

According to the New York Times:

“President Obama plans a major speech on jobs after Labor Day in which he will lay out new proposals for jump-starting the economy and specific plans for legislative efforts to cut spending, White House officials said.”

“In early September, we will put forward proposals for jobs-creating ideas and economic growth ideas,” Mr. Carney said Wednesday morning. “We want to be aggressive with deficit reduction that helps pay for things you need to do in the near term to grow the economy.”

A major jobs speech by the president could help set a campaign narrative for Mr. Obama as this Republican challengers increasingly focus their attacks on his handling of the economy. Top aides to the president are eager to show that his ideas are being stymied by a recalcitrant Republican Congress.

Did you get that? This is a proposal with “new” ideas, not “old” ideas. (Go ahead and laugh.) 32 months into his term, the President will have proposals to “jump-start” the economy. My question is, “Why didn’t he do something to “jump-start” the economy 32 months ago?” Oh, you’re right. He did: $787 billion of “jump-starting.”  

The President will, “[P]ut forward proposals for jobs-creating ideas and economic growth ideas.” The Times didn’t report if this is to keep unemployment below 8%. Oh, you’re right again, the $787Billion stimulus of 2009 was spent to do that. Well, we can all be sure these new ideas will work at least as well as the old 2009 ideas. If they do, unemployment will likely not rise more than 2% or so to more than 11%.

Then the President wants to “be aggressive with deficit reduction that helps pay for things you need to do in the near term to grow the economy.” What could that mean? Oh, massive tax increases. I’ll bet that is his new idea. But wait, we may not have to worry. The President’s new idea may be to only raise taxes on the wealthy (small business owners).

The last point, “Top aides to the president are eager to show that his ideas are being stymied by a recalcitrant Republican Congress.” But, if I recall correctly, those mean “recalcitrant Republicans” didn’t stymie any of the President’s moves to “jump-start” or “grow” or “reduce deficits” in 2009 or 2010.

Speaker Boehner’s response was, “We don’t need another speech. Tell him to put it in the mail.”

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