The First Week

What do you think of our President's performance so far? Have you been tracking any of his actions in his first week in office? I know one thing I'm not happy about is the proposed stimulus plan (but more on that to come later this week).

In this post, I want to deal with a life or death issue.

On January 23rd, President Obama removed restrictions on U.S. funding for groups that provide abortion services abroad. Simply put, more of your tax money will now go to organizations that support and promote abortion.

Obama himself in a statement released on the topic, said these groups promote "safe and effective... family planning." AHHHHHH! Abortion as a safe and effective way to plan a family?

You can read more on the matter in this article.

January 22nd was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in this nation. Since then there has been a strong push to normalize a horrendous and murderous practice under the name of women's rights or privacy rights. My friend Clayton had a recent post detailing abortion statistics since 1973 when it was made legal in the U.S. Some of the most staggering numbers to me were the estimated 24 abortions a second while over 2,000,000 people wait to adopt babies (in the U.S. alone).

How is your president doing?

You can check out his other policy agendas in relation to family and civil rights on the official White House website: www.whitehouse.gov. Along with this increased funding for abortion, you'll find:
1.Obama's pledged support for the LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) community
2.His desire to expand the "hate crimes" bill to include gender identification (Could make it illegal for pastors to say homosexuality is wrong from the pulpit).
3. His support for overturning the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military.
4. His expansion of human embryonic stem cell research
5. And his opposition to any constitutional overturn of Roe v. Wade

I wonder if people who voted for Obama considered the moral implications of such a decision.

"A Carefully Crafted Self-Contradiction"

I know my sister already posted some inaugural thoughts, but I wanted to share some additional thoughts on Obama's speech from an article called "We the Government" by Terrence Jeffrey, of CNSNews.com.

Jeffrey points out that Obama's speech makes it clear that, although he talked about things such as hard work, risk taking and personal responsibility, he is attempting to completely change the heart of our nation from "we the people" to "we the government."

I'll quote a couple of the paragraphs I thought summed it up well, but you can read the rest of the article here if you're interested.

Jeffrey said:

"At the beginning of his speech, Obama said 'We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.'

But even as his oath to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States' faded into the winter air, he rejected any limit on government other than 'wether it works.'

If President Obama were to go back and read the founding document whose first three words are 'We the People,' he would discover that from beginning to end it limits the power of government."

Inaugural Thoughts

Facts and Opinions on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration (I leave it to you to decide which is which):

It was a magnificent view down the Washington Mall... Nearly 2 million people in attendance.

It was cold. At noon in Washington D.C. it was about 28 degrees with a windchill even colder (about 17). I guess it's more important to have a designer coat at these things, as opposed to a suit or dress. The warmest January 20th Inauguration was for President Reagan in 1981... 55 degrees.

Best Dressed (at the Inauguration): Michelle Obama. And rightly so. It's kind of like not wanting to upstage the bride at her wedding. Although Aretha Franklin's hat may have come close. :) I was not, however, a fan of Mrs. Obama's ball gown.

As every journalist and commentator noted, and as I likewise agree, a peaceful transfer of power is an amazing thing.

Thought Rick Warren did a great job. Way to mention Jesus and remind all people and nations that they will be accountable to Him one day. Not sure why he received so much criticism for participating in the invocation. Are we not called to pray for our leaders no matter if we agree with them or not?

Obama voted against Justice Roberts' nomination to the Supreme Court... Said he "lacked empathy" (wow... I won't even go there now). Roberts was then the one to administer Obama's inauguration and oath of office.

The only time Obama's full name was used was during his oath of office: Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama was sworn in using the Lincoln Bible... yep, the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used in his inauguration in 1861... pretty cool.

President Obama delivered his speech well... No shocker there. His head speech writer is 27 yr. old Jon Favreau. How does one go about getting that job?

I liked his call to responsibility on the part of all Americans.

Wasn't too sure about lines like "remaining true to our founding documents". We're already so far gone and I highly doubt Obama would take us back. And "remaking America"? Not sure I'm gonna like his way of "remaking" it. It's quite evident that he has a different view of government than I do. I do congratulate him though on inspiring new energy and participation in the political system.

240,000 tickets were available for seating on the Capitol steps.
5,000 port-a-potties were available for public use.
$150 million (estimated) spent on Inaugural festivities... so much in fact that President Bush had to declare Washington D.C. in a state of emergency to get all the public funding needed.
10 Official inaugural balls.

The Military Ball was for me the most touching to see. The Youth Ball got on my nerves. It was like, if you're young and cool, then you must be an Obama supporter. Well, I'm young and cool, and I'm not. :)

Overall a very fascinating day. I know most people are hopeful in what Obama will do. I, personally, am a little scared.

I'll leave you with the words of Rev. Joseph Lowery, who gave the Inaugural benediction, and asked God to help us work for the day when:
Black man no longer told to get back man
Brown can stick around
Yellow will be mellow
Red Man can get ahead man
White will embrace what is right

Ha. Wow. Enough said.

My News Hiatus

So we've been MIA lately...

I confess. I have taken a good LONG break over the holidays from most things politics. I got lost in a few fiction novels, hit the road for some good family visits, and wasted time on Facebook. :) I've really had no desire to turn on my nightly news shows or check the internet blogs and headlines. Instead of talk radio in the car, I've much preferred my one-and-a-half year old singing Christmas carols at the top of his lungs (doesn't quite get all the words but sure knows the melodies and rhythms).

On top of that, Wade sister #2 (Kacey) (#2 only due to birth order, Kace) is about to give birth to her second baby soon, so I've had to cut her a little slack in the blog world. Hopefully you'll give us one last Kacey commentary before the wee one comes...

So, is there anything huge I've missed? What stories have you been following recently?

I'm sure I'll be back in the swing of things in no time. It is a new year. Happy 2009 faithful blog readers! Until then I leave you with a few of my favorite pics from our holiday celebrations.

A Few Good Men...

Where are all the good men (and women)?

Where are the statesmen like those who poured their lives out for this country? Where are the courageous and brilliant and MORAL leaders like those who crafted the most free and prosperous nation in the history of the world?

With the recent collapse of so many industries: housing, auto, insurance, and the ungodly greed and corruption that lay behind it... With the Blagojevich arrest and the light it shed on an often crooked political system... With sex scandal after sex scandal among our nation's elected officials...

It leaves me wondering...

Is there anyone out there who can withstand the pressures and temptations of leadership? Is there anyone who will govern or manage from a consistently ethical perspective? Have we completely lost our way as a nation? What we need are a few good men...

So if you know any on the local level, vote for them, or volunteer for their campaigns. Or perhaps you yourself could answer the call.

I will close, however, with one final thought in light of the Christmas holiday: In reality there is only ONE GOOD man. His name is Jesus. It is He who we celebrate this Christmas and always. His GOODNESS is our only hope for truth and life and liberty. Maybe all we need is ONE good man and just a few more people who will bow their knee to Him.

An Insightful Perspective

An African American pastor's thoughts on Barack Obama:  

http://stevemurrell.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/post-election-insights.html

Post-Election Thoughts

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know we are disappointed in America's choice for president. However, life goes on. Here are some of our post-election thoughts (in true Glenn Beck fashion):

This is what we KNOW:

• God raises up one man and sets down another. He is sovereign among the affairs of men and He is still King of kings and Lord of lords.
• As Christians we are commanded to obey and pray for our leaders, to submit to their authority and to malign no man (though we will respectfully disagree with many).
• Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. The government is not the source of righteousness in a nation, the Church is. No matter who is in office, the Church has a responsibility to Righteousness.
  
• Conservatism is not dead. Personally I think it was a lack of well-articulated conservatism that lost the election. Hopefully, there will be a resurgence and a ground-swell of conservative voices and a party organized around them.
• There were some bright spots on election day: In California, Proposition 8 passed, defining marriage as one man and one woman and reversing the court decision that legalized gay marriage. Florida also adopted their own Amendment 2, defining marriage as one man and one woman.
  
• Barack Obama is our nation's first black president... an amazing thing when only half a century ago blacks couldn't even drink from the same water fountain as whites.
• Obama ran a brilliant campaign (with a little help from the media).
• Some pretty amusing things were said last night on TV and in the blogosphere. Two of my favorites: Brit Hume of Fox News when commenting on Joe Biden said "He is loquacious, nay, even garrulous." A friend's facebook status: "I hope socialized medicine covers post-election depression syndrome."

This is what we DON'T KNOW:

• How Obama will govern. Will he remain consistent with his far-left, liberal voting record and associations? Or will he do as he promised in his campaign and move toward the center in efforts to unite the country?
• If the Republican party will return to its conservative roots or continue its shift to the left.
• If our country has reached the point of no return in our slide toward Socialism.
• If abortion rights will increase or all limits be removed.
• If things like the Fairness Doctrine will be reinstituted (what is up with the liberal obsession with unjust "fairness"?).
• If electing Obama as the first black president is worth the chains he may place on his own people (and more). I believe several of the policies he has presented will further enslave people to poverty, or at least to himself and a big-handed government.

So that's it from us. What are your post-election thoughts?