THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: A current events round-up for conservatives

† Prediction: Christians Will Be “Extinct” In The Holy Land Within 60 Years: Iranian Christian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has a stark choice to make: Recant his faith and convert to Islam or be executed by the state (related article, third item on the page), The Washington Times reports:

Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht in October 2009 for questioning Islamic control of religious instruction of Iranian children. He was first charged with illegal protest and later with the more serious crimes of apostasy and evangelizing Muslims. He was convicted in September 2010 and sentenced to death. His wife was given life in prison, and his attorney, Iranian human-rights lawyer Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, was convicted separately of "actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime," sentenced to nine years in prison and barred from practicing law for a decade.

Mr. Nadarkhani appealed the death sentence, which was affirmed by Iran's Supreme Court in June 2011. Prosecutors acknowledged he had never been a Muslim as an adult but said the apostasy law still applies because he has "Islamic ancestry." Hearings were held in September to give Mr. Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant his faith and avoid execution. When asked to repent his Christian beliefs, Mr. Nadarkhani replied, "Repent means to return. What should I return to?" The court pressed that he should return "to the religion of your ancestors, Islam." Mr. Nadarkhani said, "I cannot."

Reminiscent of early Christian martyrs, Nadarkhani wrote in a 2010 prison epistle that it “pleases” the true believer to share Christ's suffering, “Because the believer knows he will rejoice in his glory."

† Has Obama Been Humbled?: Nope, not yet, if this interview with “60 Minutes” is any indication (related article, third item on the page). At the end of the interview, Obama told Steve Kroft, “I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president – with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R., and Lincoln – just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history.” Note that he said “possible exceptions,” meaning that he thinks a case could be made that he accomplished more than any president in U.S. history in the first three years of his only term in office.^TM But here’s where things get really interesting: According to The Blaze, CBS edited the tape to remove the boast – it still appears in the transcript – suggesting that the leftist journos at the network that used to employ Dan Rather are either trying to protect Obama from his own hubris, or that they share Bill Clinton’s view of 44’s spectacularly failed presidency.

† Let Them Eat Steak!: Part VIII: With President Barack Hussein Obama and the rest of his family again travelling separately to their 17-day Hawaiian jaunt (related article, seventh item on the page), taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $4 million, according to Hawaii Reporter:

The total cost (based on what is known) for the 17-day vacation roundtrip vacation to Hawaii for the President, his family and staff has climbed to more than $4 million [from $1.5 million last year]:

TRAVEL: $3,629,622 [Obama’s round trip flight to Hawaii via Air Force One; the rest of the family’s flight on Air Force Two; USAF C-17 cargo aircraft that transports the presidential limos, helicopters and other support equipment to Hawaii]

HOUSING: $151,200 [the Obama’s pay for their beachfront rental, but taxpayers cover costs for housing U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Seals nearby]

HOTEL: $72,216 [$177 per night for 24 members of the president’s staff to stay at the Moana Surfrider Resort]

LOCAL TAXPAYER COSTS: $260,000 [overtime for police officers and an ambulance that travels with the president 23/7]

UNKNOWN COSTS [including, security-related upgrades to phone lines, bullet-proof windows, gas and car rentals for president’s staff]

The total cost (based on what is known) for a 17-day round trip vacation to Hawaii for the President and his family and staff and security is an estimated $4,113,038.

To which, The Stiletto adds:

You better get it while you can.

You better get it while you can.

If you wait too long, it'll all be gone,

And you'll be sorry then.

† Inside out candidate Newt Gingrich has turned the race upside down: The Stiletto made the case that Mitt Romney is the Hillary Clinton of the 2012 election. But The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger argues that it's Newt Gingrich, because he is toughening the eventual nominee for the general election campaign:

For months, Mitt has been The Front-Runner, whatever the polls said. It's hard to say that after last Saturday's GOP debate.

About a third of the way in, Newt Gingrich said to Mr. Romney: "The only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994."

The Front-Runner looked stunned, as if he'd just been hit with a left hook out of nowhere. …

If we have learned anything about Barack Obama the past three years it's that he enjoys hitting. He will be merciless with Mitt. Ask Hillary. Ask the respectful Republicans that Obama pistol-whipped in that George Washington University speech. Ask Wall Street's Democrats. …

Newt Gingrich will either get Mitt Romney into shape for 2012, or he will take Mitt down in next year's primary contests before the former Massachusetts governor gets himself, and his party, in over his head. …

Newt Gingrich's flaws have been posited. Mitt Romney's inadequacies are known. It's time to put these two in a cage together so that one can emerge a fighter, ready to compete for the presidency.

 

Posted by Victoria Knox  -  Source:  TPN

Immigration and Self-Preservation

I will be the first to admit to being annoyed by automated phone instructions that direct me to press “one” for English and “two” for Spanish. It is more than a minor inconvenience. It is a matter of principle. If immigrants are to make a meaningful contribution to society they must do a little work before they are given all of society’s benefits. That includes taking the time to learn English. It’s the same logic that was used to put me through a semester of pledging before being admitted to the ranks of the Sigma Chi fraternity in 1986.

But the statist says he does not want American institutions to teach immigrants our language, our history, and our culture. He says he does not want to do so because of his commitment to the religion of moral relativism. He says that to do so would send the wrong message that American culture is somehow better than other cultures.

Of course, the statist is being less than truthful. The very fact that we are flooded with immigrants shows that we are superior to other countries like Mexico. The fact that past nations like East Germany have had to build walls to keep people in, not out, shows they are aware of their inferiority. We don’t need to worry about hurting their collective feelings.

So the statist may as well admit that it is not out of principle – as if moral relativism can, indeed, be principled – that he makes immigration so easy. The reason is one of raw power. He wants more votes in order to advance the statist agenda.

The statist may, from time to time, claim that his stance on immigration is pragmatic rather than principled. This is at best an unprincipled distortion of the truth. He cannot claim that amnesty is a “solution” to the “problem” of filling low wage jobs that poor people will not fill. It is his stance on immigration that drives down wages in the first place. Surely one cannot claim credit for solving the problems he created himself.

It is hardly surprising that the statist mentality leads not just to a desire to erode borders but, also, to a desire to erode our national defense. Those who are unwilling to see our nation as superior are hardly in a position to argue for military superiority. The same mentality that leads to faith in moral relativism leads to faith in the United Nations. But George Washington saw things differently. In 1793, he said the following:

There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.

At a time when America is flirting with statist policies, other nations are moving beyond their own borders in search of resources, which, if obtained, could drastically change our standing in the world. Russia is claiming the North Pole as its own in order to obtain more oil. China is making contracts with Latin America in pursuit of the same goal.

Meanwhile, the statist is unconcerned. America is only five percent of the world’s population. But it consumes twenty-five percent of the world’s energy supply. The statist “solution” to the “problem” of such global inequality is to make America poorer.

This statist mentality is so pervasive that it threatens our economy, our national security, and every aspect of our individual liberty. Its advance has been made possible, not just by Democrats, but also by unprincipled Republicans. Herbert Hoover made FDR’s New Deal possible with protectionist policies following the stock market crash of 1929.

George W. Bush has similarly enabled President Obama with his TARP policies of 2008. His statement that he “abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system” will live in infamy. It has secured his place in history as the Republican Jimmy Carter – a president so inept that he took down an entire party for a whole generation.

But thank God groups like the Young America’s Foundation and the Leadership Institute are working to produce a new generation of conservatives who will help rebuild this nation based on conservative principles. And thank God Mark Levin has written Liberty and Tyranny to show them just how to do it.

I believe Mark Levin is correct in asserting that we must limit the Supreme Court’s judicial review power. We must do so by establishing legislative veto power over Court decisions with a supermajority vote of both houses of Congress. That would be more in line with the Framers intent than the status quo.

I believe Mark Levin is also right in asserting that we must end the monopoly of government education by applying anti-trust laws to the National Education Association. We must do the same for the American Federation of Teachers.

Whatever we do, we must act soon. For, it was Ronald Reagan who warned us: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our grandchildren what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

by Mike Adams

Source: Mark Levin (2009) Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto. New York: Simon and Schuster.