"The radicals of that era were successful in giving the communists power to bring forth the killing fields and slaughter 2.5 million people in Cambodia and South Vietnam. Did they stop the war, or did they bring the war to those innocent people? In the end, they turned their backs on all the horror and suffering they helped create and walked away," he wrote in an article titled "My Concerns for America."

Moving forward to today’s political stage, Mr. Voight issues this warning that demonstrates that previous posts here on the topic of Mr. Obama’s ideological predilections are not off target:

In his newfound voice, Mr. Voight also boldly warns of the consequences of electing the current antiwar candidate: "If, God forbid, we live to see [Barack] Obama president, we will live through a socialist era that America has not seen before, and our country will be weakened in every way."

Hi there! Since you're reading this, you must be interested in joining the Liberal Linguists Society. We are a progressive group of people who study and use the language of Liberals in everyday life. Over the next few weeks, we will show you just a few words that are a must when speaking the Liberal Language.

1. ADOLF HITLER (ey-dolf hitt-lerr)- Forget what you learned in school about the German leader who killed millions of Jews, Christians, homosexuals, mentally-handicapped, and minorities for the sake of purifying the human race. He was not Adolf Hitler. He was an Adolf Hitler wannabe. The real Adolf Hitler, when using the name in the Liberal Language, is the American President George W. Bush, who also killed millions of Jews, Christians, homosexuals, mentally-handicapped, and minorities for the sake of purifying the human race. Just kidding. He just disagrees with our views.

2. FREEDOM (soh-shuh-liz-uhm)- To a select few uneducated blue collar workers, it means "the ability to think, say, and pursue dreams to your heart's content". But to the Academic and Political Elite (and the Liberal Linguists Society), it is defined as the following:

"Freedom (As taken from the Progressive and People for Change Dictionary, 2008 edition): A fickle, naive, and sickening idea that gives people the right to choose the clothes they wear, the church they attend, the words they say, and the job they want."

3. RACIST (kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv)- A person who doesn't vote for Barack Obama(The Messiah).

4. CHRISTIANS (ter-er-ists)- A horrible group of people who follow the teachings of Jesus. They have the audacity to practice unconditional love and true tolerance, and are worse than Islamic Extremists who fly planes into buildings and blow themselves up on buses.

Well, that is your lesson for this week. Please join us next Sunday for the continuing lessons on how to become an expert in the Liberal Language.

"I am really astonished at the mood in this room," commented one witness, George Mason University School of Law professor Jeremy Rabkin.

"The tone of these deliberations is slightly demented," Rabkin said. "You should all remind yourselves that the rest of the country is not necessarily in this same bubble in which people think it is reasonable to describe the president as if he were Caligula."

"It seems that we are hosting an anger management class," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the committee's senior Republican. "This hearing will not cause us to impeach the president; it will only serve to impeach Congress's credibility."

We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

Foregoing a complete analysis of the premise of his statement, a premise I would contend is flawed to the very deepest level, let us also call to mind another plank of his platform put forth a little earlier, that of “community service” from the country’s youth:

So when I'm President, I will set a goal for all American middle and high school students to perform 50 hours of service a year, and for all college students to perform 100 hours of service a year. This means that by the time you graduate college, you'll have done 17 weeks of service.

We'll reach this goal in several ways. At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities. At the community level, we'll develop public-private partnerships so students can serve more outside the classroom.

A closing item: remember the full name of the Nazi Party? The National Socialist German Workers Party.

Much is being written about Obama's self-love fest in Berlin the other day.

Victor Davis Hanson is at his usual best here.  But probably the most astute commentary on the event, and on the history leading up to it, can be found here, of all places.  An absolute must read.  The first paragraph reads:

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

Another leftist myth, one that is usually perpetrated in the mainstream media, has taken another hit this week. According to The Wall Street Journal, President Bush’s 2003 tax cuts led to possibly the largest hike in taxes paid by America’s wealthy in history. The Journal bases its findings on new data released by the IRS, which shows that in 2006 those with incomes over $344,806 paid 40 percent of income taxes in this country; those earning in the top 50 percent paid 97.1 percent. On the other side, those earning below-average salaries paid taxes at the lowest percentage ever, at 2.9 percent.

The Journal also points out that the number of wealthy citizens increased dramatically between 2003 and 2006. During that period, the number of millionaires in the U.S. grew from 181,000 to 354,000. The taxes paid by these and other wealthy households are credited with lowering the budget deficit to 1.9 percent of the gross domestic product, a remarkable reduction in such a short amount of time.

As liberal politicians continue to call for the rich to “pay their fair share” in taxes and decry President Bush for his “giveaway to the rich,” these facts expose the situation for what it is, says the Journal: “a figment of the left’s imagination.”  

What I want to do is take a brief historical interlude here that might explain both these observations, albeit not in a way that Obama’s campaign will particularly want you to know.

Back in the first half of the 20^th century, the Communist Party sought to establish their own deadly form of government throughout the world, believing themselves to be the ultimate end of evolutionary development in human government, and thus inevitable. Their goal was to hasten the inevitable to its final conclusion, to wit, to each according to his need, from each according to his ability. This worldview is vastly deficient in its ability to describe the realities of the world, and has failed miserably every time it has been implemented. Nevertheless, in their efforts to establish Communism, they left clear records of their stratagems.

In the latter half of the 20^th century, one of the men who helped reveal the Communist’s plans was a Dr. Fred Schwarz. In his book, You Can Trust Communists (to be Communists), Dr. Schwarz points out the following (emphases added):

The Communist formula for effective action is a simple one. It may be summed up: Discover what people want, promise it to them, and go to work to get it for them that you may come to power over them. This is the Communist program of action in any situation.

            In Marxist schools the Communists study the groups that compose a given society. They study the emotions of each group, their longings and their grievances, and they devise a program to exploit these ambitions and resentments. They believe that each group of people is so short sighted and so selfishly motivated that, provided you are working in the interests of their most pressing desires in the immediate environment, they will pay no attention to what you are promising and promoting at a distance.

            The Communist is not at all disturbed by the fact that he may be working simultaneously for two groups with conflicting interests and objectives. This is not inconsistency; it is the application of science.

            The Communists have one objective–to come to power. They will do whatever is necessary for them to achieve this goal.

Does any of this sound familiar? Note the emphasis on the emotional, the visceral, and not the cognitive and cerebral. If you think about it, you might reject it. Dr. Schwarz then continues,

Speaking at a girl’s school in Dallas, Texas, I outlined to them the Communist formula for advance: Find out what people want, promise it to them, and go to work to get it for them in order to come to power over them. One girl asked the very natural question, “If Communists promise people all sorts of thing but do not fulfill their promises when they come to power, why are they not thrown out?” I replied, “If I get into this room by promising you girls that I have a lotion that will make each of you very beautiful, and if, as soon as I get in here, I pull out a machine gun and train it on you, why don’t you throw me out?” Communism is, in essence, the fulfillment of the dearest ambitions of the populace, and retaining power by the efficient use of force.

This is one reason we don’t want to let any more leftist Democrats into office. Our only protection to date has been our Constitution, and even that has been frayed at the edges by activist judges appointed by leftists. He continues,

Their program of deception is so often successful for two reasons. In the first place, as far as people can observe in the local situation, the Communists are sincere and keep their promises. It is a characteristic of Communist conduct to work hard and sacrificially for the immediate needs of the group they are endeavoring to exploit.

The appearance of sincerity, and of really caring for people, is just that: appearance only. While they may keep their promises, it is a case of being careful what you wish for. If you give up your freedom to get you wish, is it really worth it?

For those not familiar with Communist philosophy, a second very important point is the leftist doctrine of the dialectic nature of progress. I will let Dr. Schwarz explain:

Dialectical progress takes place in a certain pattern. The Communist slogan is: “Nature acts dialectically.” Wishing to advance dialectically in a room full of people, I do not walk through the aisle and straight toward my goal. Nor do I move slowly through the crowd shaking hands with friends and acquaintances, discussing points of interest, gradually nearing the objective. The dialectical pathway is different. It consists of a resolute forward advance followed by an abrupt turn and retreat. Having retreated a distance there is another turn and advance. Through a series of forward-backward steps the goal is approached. To advance thus is to advance dialectically.

            The Communist goal is fixed and changeless, but their direction of advance reverses itself from time to time. They approach their goal by going directly away from it a considerable portion of the time. Lenin wrote the textbook, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. Chinese Communist schoolchildren are taught to do the dialectical march taking three steps forward and two steps back. If we judge where the Communists are going by the direction in which they are moving, we will obviously be deceived.

            The Communist method of advance may be likened to the hammering of a nail. It is a very foolish person who brings the hammer down with a crashing, resounding blow and then keeps pushing. When the first blow has spent itself, back must go the hammer in preparation for the next blow. A person seeing the reverse movement of the hammer as an isolated act in time and not understanding the process of which this was a part, might find it difficult to believe that this hammer was driving in the nail. When he sees the backward swing as portion of a complete process, he realizes that the withdrawal is as important as the downward thrust to the realization of the objective.

Realize that Barack Obama’s goal (as is that of the Democratic party) is to gain the power of the presidency. Then compare the observations with which we began this post with the strategy and philosophy outlined above, and you tell me if Mr. Obama’s connections to leftists and his leftist record of what little he has done professionally makes any more sense to you. As an experiment, replace the word “Communist” in the above extracts with the word “Democrat” or “Obama” and see if it conforms to what you read in the New York Times.

“Americans are beginning to notice Obama’s elevated opinion of himself. There’s nothing new about narcissism in politics. Every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. Nonetheless, has there ever been a presidential nominee with a wider gap between his estimation of himself and the sum total of his lifetime achievements? Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted ‘present’ nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and as legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself. It is a subject upon which he can dilate effortlessly. In his victory speech upon winning the nomination, Obama declared it a great turning point in history—’generations from now we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment’ —when, among other wonders, ‘the rise of the oceans began to slow.’ As economist Irwin Stelzer noted in his London Daily Telegraph column, ‘Moses made the waters recede, but he had help.’ Obama apparently works alone.”

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. "

In an election campaign in which not only young liberals, but also some people who are neither young nor liberals, seem absolutely mesmerized by the skilled rhetoric of Barack Obama, facts have receded even further into the background than usual.

This passage with all its “I will” statements is usually assigned to Satan himself in his rebellion against his sovereign Lord and Creator. The declaration expresses an extreme pride and ultimate arrogance, forming an unbounded hubris that proclaims a created being will be like God.

This is precisely what man does when he thinks he can make judgments on the so-called “quality of life” of other individuals. Ultimately, to make such judgments even about one’s own life is a proclamation of one’s own godhood and a denial of the wisdom and sovereignty of the true and living God. The slippery grounds of the bioethics arena are slippery precisely because man thinks he has the wisdom and knowledge of God and thus the ability to make decisions for himself and others that are, in fact, not within his jurisdiction at all.

I am sick of euthanasia advocates whining about people’s “quality of life” as a justification for murder, to give “assisted suicide” its true name. I am sick of the arrogance that decides to starve and dehydrate someone who is inconvenient to maintain physically (usually related to monetary expense) all because they think/believe/conclude this loved one has no “quality of life” and on that basis should be terminated. “Oh, it’s the only humane and dignified thing to do!” Really? How would you know, since your decision is based on your emotions and peer-pressure rather than objective principles rooted in reality and God’s Word?

Let’s examine this for a moment with this hypothetical thought experiment:

The grandmother is an alcoholic and the father spends his evenings out drinking in the taverns. His mother has tuberculosis. She has already given birth to four children. The first child is blind, the second child died, the third child is deaf, and the fourth child has tuberculosis. Now the mother is pregnant again. Given the extreme situation and the “obvious low quality of life” the fifth child is sure to experience, would you recommend an abortion?

Think carefully and make your choice before reading on.

Now my apologies: I deliberately mislabeled this as an hypothetical to make a point. The above situation is actually historical, and if you chose to murder the unborn child by abortion, you “terminated” Ludwig von Beethoven and robbed mankind of some of the most glorious music ever to be written!

A large part of the problem is our cultural delusion that we have a right, not just to life, but to the “good” life, as usually defined by an absence of any pain and problems, lots of money, and the ability to do anything we want at any time we want with anyone we want…and woe betide anyone who or anything that gets in our way! With this attitude of entitlement so ingrained into our cultural fiber, it is little wonder that those who are, indeed, suffering, would themselves seek to escape the pain by playing god with their lives.

I do not mean to make light of, or trivialize, the sufferings that some do go through, and I understand (yes, from experience) how painful it can be to watch a loved one suffer. It still does not justify the arrogant assumptions of those who will narcissistically choose what is convenient for them at the expense of others, or who encourage others to do likewise. It does not justify playing god with your life or that of another. It still goes back to pride. Our prideful sin nature rebels against the reality that we are not in control, and the sense of helplessness when reality sends us something painful compels those driven by feelings and narcissism rather than conviction and principle to conclude that the ends justify the means and to take any step necessary to relieve what is ultimately their own pain.

The Christian worldview does include a unique tension between seeking to alleviate pain and suffering (cf., e.g., Isaiah 58:6-10), and learning to live in spite of pain and suffering, deriving benefit and developing character from such, a concept anathema to the modern mind.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  (Romans 5:3-5)

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers [various] temptations [trials]; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  (James 1:2-4)

(As a sidebar, the liberal inability to grasp that character comes from going through trials rather than having Big Brother help you avoid them is one reason such people do not see the difference in character between McCain and Obama. McCain has been through a far greater fire, and regardless of what we think of his policies, it has given him a depth of character that runs to far greater levels that the shallow dross seen in his democratic opponent.)

Those who cannot see the potential gain in going through suffering eventually loose hope, and their hopelessness yields tragic results. A recent example of such is reported here:

Whilst a woman in the UK with MS seeks the right to have her husband take her to Switzerland for assisted suicide to the cheers of euthanasia advocates and the media, other MS patients have been effectively treated with their own bone marrow stem cells.

Hopelessness is really frustrated pride, and in this case leads to individuals seeking to play god with their own lives when a solution is at hand. The press release has some very encouraging statistics regarding the treatment (with adult stem cells, I might add, not embryonic):

“All patients appeared to respond to treatment”, reported Dr. Ionova. Improvement was seen in 62.3%, and stabilisation occurred in 37.7% of patients. Progression after improvement occurred in 7.1% and progression after stabilisation in 11.8% of patients.

There were no deaths during the course of the study.

Out of 26 patients included in the quality-of-life analysis, 24 exhibited a response and preserved a good quality of life during the follow-up. No unexpected treatment-related adverse events were observed.

According to Dr. Ionova, immunosuppressive therapy plus autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation appears to be a safe and effective therapy for multiple sclerosis, Dr. Ionova concluded.

Foster child denied shot at new liver:  A Central Florida foster child needs a life-saving liver, but doctors have taken him off a transplant list because they fear he cannot recover from surgery without a stable home.

Blofield, "In dying in combat the solder does something that most others do not in dying; the soldier’s life is made complete as well as finished."  God's plan is not for soldiers to complete their lives as casualties of war. If that were true, we would all want to die. We fight against evil and some lose their lives in the fight.  God's plan is for all of us to live rich and fulfilled lives. The fact that some of us choose a profession that may someday take our lives and leave our loved ones behind, is a personal choice. We do it in love. Love for our country, love for our families, and love for our neighbor. That is God's ultimate plan and commandment.
 

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:12-13 NIV

Thank you and God's blessings to all the families who have sacrificed and especially to those whose loved ones have paid the ultimate price for freedom that will never be free. May God's protection be over all that continue in the fight.