George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both House of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness;

Now therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been able to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations, especially such as have shown kindness to us, and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best."

Making History

America has become obsessed and enticed with the idea of making decisions for the reason of “making history. Americans were dazzled with the idea of electing Barrack Obama was so that we could be the first generation to elect the first black president. It meant that we finally were no longer a “racist nation” and we got the bragging rights to be the first to do it. Many people told me the only reason that were voting for Barrack Obama was so they that could help “make history”; that was cool to them despite that they knew none of his policy platforms.

Now one of the major arguments for the Democrats’ Health Care Reform legislation is that again, if we have the courage to vote it in, we will indeed MAKE HISTORY! Now, yes, everyone agrees that we need some kind of healthcare reform. We need to find something affordable for everyone. The Democrats try to define the debate, as it is the Democrats for Health Care Reform vs. Republicans are not for Health Care Reform. That is simply not true. Everyone agrees that we need improvement; the debate is over how we go about it. My boss, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, R-MD, wants to find a solution to this problem that will make healthcare more affordable and keep the power in the peoples’ hands, NOT give the government a monopoly over our health care coverage.

My point is that I’m seeing a disturbing trend today in America, where people are making decisions based only on the excitement that by doing so, they will make history despite considering what the consequences of these actions will mean. Many people have made history: George Washington, Ben Franklin, Adolf Hitler, and Osama bin Laden. Making history does not necessarily mean making a good decision. We need to be much more careful what history we choose to make for our future and for our children.

2009 or 1984?

The White House has declared an ongoing war on Fox News, claiming they do not produce real news because they don’t suck up to them like the other news stations. If Fox News airs anything unflattering about Obama, it must be opinion news.

Have you ever read George Orwell’s 1984? It was the warning of a totalitarian government that slowly took over, without the people realizing. The job of the main character, Winston Smith, was to rewrite history so that no one could ever disprove what the government claimed history was. The Big Brother government controlled all news media so that their agenda was clear and there was no way for any opposition or telling of the truth.

Thank goodness we have real fair and balanced news:

Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, gives a great analogy to this situation:

How would the Obama White House deal with Thomas Paine?He challenged the notion that the English King had unquestionable authority over the lives of his subjects. He challenged the notion that Americans were subjects at all, and for that, he made himself Public Enemy Number One of George the Third.

Fox News is doing something similar with the Obama White House today. In stark contrast to the other major media, Fox News (to which I am a contributor) is raising serious questions about the Obama agenda of endlessly expanding government through its economic stimulus, energy and health care policies.The Obama White House's war on Fox News is petty and political at the least, and an abuse of the presidency at the worst. And it's only part of a wider campaign to discredit and destroy the Obama's White House's perceived enemies, be they American businessmen and women or independent journalists.

Already, we've seen this administration put a gag order on an insurance company for warning its customers about the effects of Democratic health care reform, set up an email account for Americans to inform on their fellow citizens' criticisms of its policies, and declared open war on the Chamber of Commerce for its failure to remain mute in the face of the Obama administration's anti-business policies.

To have government officials on the payroll of the taxpayers engaged in the petty politics of institutional destruction, retribution and censorship is scandalous and shameful. To have the president and his senior advisors directing this activity is behavior unbecoming of the presidency.

In fact, it is behavior more in keeping with a monarch than a president.

The president and his advisors no doubt believe they are engaged in a tough but clever political strategy. Time spent attacking Fox, after all, is time not spent answering the American people's concerns about the economy and the costs of health reform. But while these tactics may have served them well in Chicago, they are a fundamental misreading of American history.

The lesson of Washington and Paine is that you can't stop a free people from talking, questioning and seeking the truth. Together, these two men declared American independence from the tyranny of unquestioned authority. They helped found a nation of individuals endowed with rights by their Creator, not granted rights by their king.

But the current White House doesn't seem to get this. If Obama were confronted with Paine today, it's not hard to imagine him sending out Rahm Emmanuel to call Paine a heretic or a pawn of the military industrial complex.

It's also not hard to imagine him failing as utterly as King George did.

One More Reason Why Newt Should be President...

Tim Keller on Anniversary of 9/11

Tim Keller on the Anniversary of 9/11 - Global Cities Initiative from Redeemer Video on Vimeo.

Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, made an interesting point on the post 9/11 life in New York City. This is just a short snippet of the sermon, but worth watching.

P.S. Redeemer was the church I attended in NY so I miss hearing his sermons!

GO RED

Tonight, one of my favorite buildings will light up red tonight. I have actually lived with The Empire State Building on the same block for three years and have always loved the different colors it is lit up with every night.

It has been red before, for Christmas, Valentine's Day, July 4th, etc... However, tonight, it will be red celebrating a different day: the Communist takeover of China which resulted in the brutal murder of millions of people.

Here's the rest of the details from Fox:

NEW YORK — New York is seeing red over the decision to turn the city's highest beacon — and one of America's symbols for free enterprise — into a shining monument honoring China's communist revolution Wednesday night.

The Empire State Building is set to be illuminated in red and yellow lights to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the bloody communist takeover.

Why would America, which is supposed to be a land of liberty and "a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere" now shine it's lights in favor of totalitarianism and torture?

Starbucks Mocks Concerned Citizens from Town Halls

I guess Starbucks, (and SNL, who first played this commercial) finds it humorous that American citizens are concerned about their health care, the top issue being debated in DC and probably will be radically changed by President Obama.
I have no problem with SNL making fun of both sides of politics, they used to do a good job at it, but I'm pretty sure if it had been the Democrats yelling at Town Hall Meetings this summer, this commercial would never have existed.

Peace Through Strength

President Obama, speaking for his first time at the United Nations World Summit, called for all the nations of the world to come together to fix the problems of our time: eco-preservation, global warming, the economy, and to work for a post-atomic age. He hopes that America can lead the world to peace without existence of nuclear weapons. Speaking specifically of North Korea and Iran, Obama said they “must be held accountable” for their disregard of UN policies and agreements in building nuclear weapons but includes that other nations cannot have weapons either.

Now, this sounds good, but there is a major problem with President Obama and others who hope for a post-atomic age. They are not understanding or considering normal human nature. If there are no consequences for bad actions or no authority with the power to stop someone from doing something, they will do it.

Do we wish there could just be world peace? Of course. But we have to realize that it will never happen. There are too many people with different beliefs and different values. Unfortunately, some nations’ ends are to rid the world of the infidels.

So what should America’s response be? Former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, once said that just because we don’t want to war doesn’t mean that others don’t want to war with us. We have to have the means and the willingness to fight.

Peace through strength. President Reagan faced a similar bully when he was in office, and the fear of the seemingly imminent Cold War had been feared for years before.

Notice, President Reagan was one of the most courageous Presidents who talked tough to Russia, yet he won the war without one bomb.

He understood that trying to appease an enemy will not help us; it is wimpy and un-American. So he stood up to the Soviets. He told them no. And he accomplished peace through strength.

America needs to stop asking terrorists to stop killing people, pretty please?

Too bad Joe Wilson isn’t in the audience for Iran’s President Ahmadinejad’s speech.

For your comparing pleasure:

Introduction

Dear Readers,

I am tired of keeping my thoughts and beliefs to myself, especially when new ideas and new voices are needed in America today.

The purpose of this blog is to discuss what Conservatives can do to get themselves together and win back America, on the local, state and national levels. I believe that America has been so successful thus far because of its traditional values and idealistic ends, but also because of the Founder's knowledge of human nature and realistic means to attain their ends.

However, current Republicans have lost sight of those goals and how to get there. Republicans can win favor in America again, but only by working hard with honesty, intelligence, humor, savvy and love for America and human life.

I know for a fact that there are hundreds of young conservatives graduating from college and entering the workforce who believe in traditional Conservative values - family, hard work, free markets, equality and freedom - and are ready to take America back, from Obama and McCain.

So, for the true Conservatives out there, here is our game plan from the late and beloved Tony Snow:

Right now, the world needs us. We need to let everybody know that we are not going to go slinking into the sunset, we are not going to fold our tents, and we are not about to walk

away from the high ideals and the grand accomplishments that we have achieved over the last generation.

So to the Doubters, to the Disconsolate, and especially to the Democrats:

Pass the Word -

We've Just Begun to Fight