What’s interesting in the news today?
1. Well, there’s confusion in the White House, so of course there’s confusion among the troops.
From FoxNews “America’s GI “boots on the ground” in Iraq are so frustrated with the White House message about their mission against the Islamic State — which Vice President Biden vowed Wednesday to chase “to the gates of Hell” — that they’re wondering how they’ll accomplish the goal “when we can’t even leave the front gate of our base.”
Biden on Wednesday delivered what was probably the toughest statement to date from the administration, declaring, after another U.S. journalist was beheaded by the Islamic State, “we will follow them to the gates of Hell until they are brought to justice.”
But his tough talk was at odds with a message delivered earlier in the day by President Obama, who said that while his administration’s goal is to “destroy” ISIS — it also is to “shrink” it to a “manageable problem.”
Amid the mixed messages, a source in contact with special operators in Iraq told Fox News that “frustration and confusion reign” among Americans on the ground there.”
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2. Has the President checked out?
From RedState “Many people suggest President Obama has checked out. He treats the ever growing threat of ISIS as an abstraction. Sources from within the administration are now more openly admitting that for almost a year intelligence and Pentagon officials have advised the President of the threat. He has chosen to do very little. Last Wednesday, he said we would “shrink” ISIS and make it “a manageable problem” as opposed to eliminate it.
A few weeks ago, I had dinner with a sitting governor and a dear friend of mine. The friend leaned over to the governor and me and said Barack Obama is to America as Clarence the Angel was to George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Barack Obama is showing the world what it would look like had America never been born. As this friend later wrote, “Unsurprisingly, Bedford Falls is now Pottersville, and it’s a terrible place. Unfortunately we do not get to revert to the tolerable if modest status quo at the end of the lesson: George Bailey will eventually have to shell the town and retake it street by street from Old Man Potter’s Spetsnaz.”
Consider how far the world has collapsed in the past year. Again, my friend noted, since Labor Day weekend last year the Chinese expanded their air defense identification zone to incorporate the territory of other nations, the Russians annexed Crimea, ISIS rose, the Russians invaded Ukraine, Mosul fell, the Hungarian liberal democracy collapsed into Russian aligned authoritarianism, a Central American refugee crisis spawned a border and humanitarian crisis in the United States, the Egyptians and Emiratis attacked Libya without telling the United States, Iraqi Christians and the Yazidi are suffering genocide at the hands of ISIS, NATO is scrambling to shore up its eastern-frontier defenses, mainstream anti-Semitism is re-emerging, the Americans are on the verge of yet another war in Iraq, middle America is seeing race riots, etc., etc.
Seventy-five years ago this past Monday, German tanks rolled across the Polish border setting off World War II. Sixty-nine years ago this past Tuesday, World War II ended as the Japanese formally surrendered. In the nearly seven decades since, the West has established a world wide peace. Though not flawless, we have lived a relatively stable and secure existence. In just the past year, Barack Obama has largely undone seven decades of gains toward peace.”
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3. Someone should have told these two that you only get away with this type of influence peddling if you’re in the White House or Congress.
From MSNNews “Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were convicted Thursday of using his office to promote a dietary supplement in exchange for gifts in a public corruption case that derailed the career of a onetime rising Republican star.
A federal jury in Richmond convicted Bob McDonnell of 11 of the 13 counts he faced; Maureen McDonnell was convicted of nine of the 13 counts she had faced. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 6. Both bowed their heads and wept as a chorus of “guilty” kept coming from the court clerk.
The couple left the courtroom separately and remained apart. Bob McDonnell left first and walked into a witness waiting room; Maureen McDonnell came out later, hugging one of her daughters while weeping loudly. She went into a separate waiting room.
The couple was charged with doing favors for a wealthy vitamin executive in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. They also were charged with submitting fraudulent bank loan applications, and Maureen McDonnell was charged with one count of obstruction.”
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4. Democrats are pushing an amendment to limit the free speech rights of pro-life groups. Time to earn that blood money the abortion industry dumps in their coffers.
From LifeNews “A leading pro-life group is sounding the alarm about a measure Senate Democrats are pushing that would place stringent limits on pro-life free speech when it comes to campaigns and elections.
The National Right to Life Committee today warned members of the U.S. Senate that it will “scorecard” the upcoming Senate roll call on a proposed constitutional amendment. The pro-life organization informs LifeNews that the amendment would allow Congress and each state legislature to restrict or prohibit virtually any type of communications to the public that might “influence elections.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that he will seek Senate action on the measure on September 8. Fifty Democratic senators have so far expressed support for the measure.
The letter, signed by National Right to Life President Carol Tobias, Executive Director David N. O’Steen, and Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, referred to the proposal as “a radical assault on the Bill of Rights.” It underscores how the amendment could allow states to prohibit pro-life groups from issuing scorecards letting pro-life voters know how their elected officials in Congress voted on key pro-life issues.”
If this fails they can always turn the IRS lose on ’em like they did with other conservative groups.
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Wandering Views 
#4. This is serious business!
There is no chance a constitutional amendment like that will pass. At least it won’t be ratified. But the fact that they are thinking about it is bad news. The purpose of the first amendment was to affect elections.
That’s what it’s about. They say that its directed to right to life groups. It is directed to everyone with an opinion about anything at all.
We need to watch this.
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Frankly, I don’t really want to know this stuff: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/09/04/putins_nuclear_option_russia_weapons?utm_content=bufferb2486&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
I’ve read too much history, particularly leading up to the wars. I’m uneasy.
Matthew 24, anyone?
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Anon…..
Others have referenced Matthew 24 today as well.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/rev-graham-i-read-news-i-can-t-help-wonder-if-were-last-hours
“As for the religious persecution in the Middle East and elsewhere, Rev. Graham questioned whether “the world is coming apart at the seams,” adding, “There appears to be no end to the bad news. The killing of Christians by Muslims from Indonesia to Bangladesh to Pakistan. China tearing down church buildings. Christians tortured, beheaded, and crucified in Iraq, with villages burned and churches destroyed, and much the same in Syria.”
“American pastor Saeed Abedini is still imprisoned in Iran for his faith,” said Rev. Graham. “Throughout Northern Africa, the Middle East, and many parts of the world, the church of Jesus Christ—and anyone or any group who bears His Name—is under attack.”
“In our own country as well, there is great opposition to the church of Jesus Christ,” he said. “We see this throughout the media, the entertainment industry, government, and politics.”
Rev. Graham continued, “Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24 when they asked Him about the signs of the end of the age. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and pestilence. He told them, ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.’”
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Politically I think what we’re seeing with Putin’s posturing and the beheadings is what happens when the U.S. essentially exits the world stage. We’ve made a concerted effort to withdraw over the past six years, to (as some commentator said) both speak softly & carry a tiny stick.
The world has noticed.
And vacuums will be filled. Now we’re seeing others around the world pushing back, testing us — but also feeling pretty confident that we won’t do anything. Not really.
There’s a jockeying for position going on now that the U.S. has stepped back from its once acknowledged role as a free world leader. And it’s not pretty.
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I think Matthew 24 is the warning; I don’t think it’s anywhere near as bad as what is portrayed–yet. Which begs the question–how do we live now?
Surely it will get worse.
I think it means we continue to worship our God, seek to serve him through being his hands and feet to others (believers and nonbelievers alike), remain true to the calling he has put on our life, preach the Gospel, rejoice in suffering and watch for his return.
The good news is this suffering is only temporary for those who know Christ. His promise is true: “if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Heaven is our ultimate home; he’ll just take us through a lot of interesting places to make himself known to a world that doesn’t know the peace that passes all understanding.
We can do no less.
“Though he slay me, I will yet praise him.”
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And regarding free speech, what about “Truthy”?
http://freebeacon.com/issues/feds-creating-database-to-track-hate-speech-on-twitter/
“The federal government is spending nearly $1 million to create an online database that will track ‘misinformation’ and hate speech on Twitter.
“The National Science Foundation is financing the creation of a web service that will monitor ‘suspicious memes’ and what it considers ‘false and misleading ideas,’ with a major focus on political activity online. …”
Now I wonder (not) which “false and misleading ideas” they’ll target most?
It’s always been interesting to me that efforts to limit speech seem to consistently come from the left.
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Chiming in from a post-mil perspective, and not intending to be argumentative, I don’t think Matthew 24 applies to these events. The apocalyptic references Jesus made there were in response to the disciples asking about *the destruction of the temple.* The world is in bad shape in a lot of places, but it’s also a lot *better,* in many ways, than it was during that first A.D. century.
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True.
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Matthew 24:”For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” That refers to the destruction of the temple?
As for tribulation, as I said. “It’s easy for us on the corner of Washington and 5th Ave. to talk about escaping tribulation, but for that woman who was chained to a wall in Sudan, the father watching his child starve to death, the man who was crucified, the people who were beheaded, the escape from tribulation has no meaning.” For them, the tribulation is already here.
We don’t need to speculate, but we do need to watch and be prepared. It can come here.
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Matt. 24:21, it is.
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Matt 24 1-2:
Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Referring to *that statement,* the disciples asked (v3),
“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
It appears to refer to the destruction of the temple, which would certainly mark the end of that Old Covenant age.
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