Kerry at the Convention

Good heavens! I thought John Kerry had taken his wife’s dowry and completely retired to his little mansion on Nantucket where he could contemplate his lifetime of public failures. But no, just as he did back in his Vietnam days, he resurfaced and made headlines. Of course, as a young officer on swift boats in the Mekong delta, all John Kerry did was convince his peers that his primary mission was to shop for medals. These were the same medals he publicly tossed away at that antiwar rally while he cozied up to Ho Chi Minh’s favorite actress, Jane Fonda, and told nasty lies about his comrades in arms. But then, just when you thought he was permanently out of sight, John appeared at the virtual Democrat convention to speak fondly of himself, of Barack Obama...Oh, yes, and of Joe Biden. 

A Protesting John Kerry

As he has throughout his political career, Kerry told several whoppers last night. The biggest? He reminded the nation how he and Obama, and presumably with the blessing and moral support of Joe Biden, "eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon." This was, of course, a lie and Kerry knows it. If he doesn't, he's a bigger fool than most of us think. The agreement with Iran -- a, non-binding, unconstitutional agreement since it did not receive Senate ratification as a treaty -- asked Iran only to delay its development of nuclear weapons. It certainly did not "eliminate the threat." In return for this meaningless delay, Obama-Kerry removed all sanctions and gave the murderous Iranian regime a huge pile of untraceable cash subsequently used to finance terrorist activity throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. The result of the agreement? Iran continued to develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems while supporting worldwide Islamist terrorism, and did all these wondrous things thanks to funds provided by U.S. taxpayers. Aren't we proud?

This appeasement of Iran brought to mind a comment by Winston Churchill, the statesman most despised by President Obama:

Another lie involved his claim that the Obama administration put together that multi-nation coalition to destroy ISIS. Yes, there was a coalition but it had little effect on ISIS, and certainly didn’t “destroy” it. In fact, by pulling out of Iraq, the Obama administration turned the “J-V Team” into the Varsity that went on to control large parts of the Middle East and extend its terrorist activities. It took the aggressive anti-ISIS policies of the Trump administration to destroy ISIS. And how about Libya, Mr. Secretary of State? Oh, yeah. I guess that debacle occurred under your predecessor, the equally incompetent Hilary Clinton. All that “leading from behind” can be a real challenge if the folks in front decide to go in a different direction. Like Russia invading the Ukraine and taking over Crimea while the US watched and did nothing to help. How did Obama put it to Russian President, Dimitri Medvedev, back in March of 2012? “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” And two years later, after that election, Russia invaded.

There’s also Kerry’s ludicrous claim that the Obama administration stopped Ebola before it became a pandemic. Talk about apples and oranges. Unlike COVID-19, that was airmailed to us and the rest of the world thanks to the policies of the Chinese Communist Party, Ebola was pretty much confined to parts of West Africa. I believe there were less than a dozen U.S. cases. 

Rewriting history is always a dangerous game, especially when those who lived it are still alive and can refute revisionist claims. 

Going Poilitical Again...

Since the 2016 presidential campaign, my opinion of our president has undergone more than a little change. I was no Trump supporter, but neither was I a "never-Trumper." Before and immediately after his election I was leery of the man and his intentions. It was hard to believe he really meant what he said, especially when some of what he said, and how he said it, seemed so outrageous at the time. For example, his campaign comments about John McCain's status as a POW during the Vietnam conflict were particularly offensive to me, a veteran of that war and, like McCain, a naval aviator. I was never a fan of John McCain, the man or the politician, and believe the Republicans couldn't have chosen a worse candidate to compete with Barack Obama. But McCain's military service was honorable and not worthy of ridicule by someone who never served in the military. This, plus other Trumpian campaign statements, caused me concern. And yet, despite my misgivings about the man, I predicted Donald Trump's election fairly early (see my post of July 18, 2016), and did so for a number of reasons:

First, I agreed with candidate Trump that the American people had become increasingly fed up with career politicians, especially Washington politicians, who promise everything and anything during their campaigns. Once established in Congress, however, many, perhaps most, vote against the good and the will of their constituents, and do so without embarrassment. I thought that Donald Trump's clearly stated mission -- Drain the Swamp -- appealed to enough voters to make his election probable.

Bill and Hilary

And second, although Hillary Clinton was perhaps the best candidate the Democrat party could have nominated, she was still a horrible candidate. She seemed to exhibit an attitude of entitlement, as if she and only she deserved to be president. This is the kind of elitist attitude despised by many Americans. It's an attitude we'd expect from socialist elites who believe they are so much smarter than the rest of us that they should have the power to plan every aspect of our lives. Despite her husband's Rhodes Scholarship and his two terms as president, I'm pretty sure she's convinced she's the smarter of the two. She might well be right. I also believe a large number of Americans had come to view her as unethical in the extreme and hoped she and her husband would vanish from the public square. Some voters probably feared a Clinton presidency more than they hoped for a Trump presidency. And others simply didn't believe her or like her. I never really thought Hilary Clinton could be elected president. I could not believe our nation had fallen that low.

Donald Trump won the election, and like most of the nation, I sat back and wondered how this most unusual president would carry out the responsibilities of the office. Since then, however, I have come to appreciate his rather unorthodox approach to things political. Don't get me wrong, though; I am still astonished, and often perplexed, by some of his comments (and his tweets). And yet his use of Twitter and other unorthodox means to communicate directly to the American people and the world, thus bypassing a hostile and increasingly irrelevant media, is a stroke of true genius. Although I don't always agree with the man. I suspect we're probably on the same page more often than not. And most surprisingly I usually know exactly where Donald Trump stands on any given issue. If he changes his stance, he doesn't dance around the issue, but lets us know. He is actually willing to admit a change in belief or policy, and to tell us why. This is more than refreshing; it's unheard of in modern American politics. We have become so accustomed to politicians and their constant lawyerly spin (apologies to my few honest lawyer friends) that we have come to accept their behavior as "normal."

The career politician's approach to his responsibilities eludes me. I've known quite a few over the years, and if I were to name one trait that most of them shared it would be their unfamiliarity with the truth. Instead of accepting the Gospel maxim, "The truth will set you free" [Jn 8:32], they seem to believe that the truth will lose elections. A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to name the members of Congress whom I most respect, and I decided it would be best to ignore the question. Whenever I've spoken well of a politician he or she soon says or does something that causes me to regret my words of praise.

President Trump Rally

I'm pretty sure President Trump honestly believes he is speaking the truth. And he delivers it in plain, non-political, unrehearsed language. It's the kind of talk most Americans hear around the dinner table or when they share their views at work or with their friends. Like me, you might not always agree with him, but unless you're a denizen of the far left, consumed by hate, you probably find him refreshing.

As I look back on the past few years, I am truly amazed that Donald Trump, who is so despised by the mainstream media and his political enemies on both sides of the congressional aisle, has accomplished so much. But even more amazing, to me at least, is that I am in agreement with so many of these accomplishments.

Perhaps most encouraging is his pro-life record, one surpassing that of all his predecessors. I never expected this of him, largely because other Republican presidents talked pro-life during their campaigns but did little while in office. I just assumed Donald Trump would be no different. How inspiring to encounter a president who took action and courageously took the heat that predictably followed.

Pro-Life Support for Trump

I also agree with President Trump's decision to move our embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is our only real ally in the Middle East, the only nation in the region with a truly representative form of government. Israel isn't perfect, but then neither are we. And every nation, including Israel, should strive to do what is best to further its citizen's interests and defend itself from aggressors. The rest of the region is a sewer, a collection of despotic regimes that truly despise both Israel and the United States. Worse, far too many of them support, bankroll, or harbor the Islamist terrorists that have plagued the world for so long.

Like Trump, I too am not a big fan of the nation-building goals of our protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although I'll admit my views have undergone some change in recent years. But I've always believed that any effort to develop democratic systems in Muslim-majority nations is doomed to failure. Islam is far more than a religion; it is a societal totality that strives to permeate and control every aspect of a people's life. Its governing rule of law -- shariah -- is simply incompatible with democratic, representative forms of government. Any attempt to democratize a fervently Muslim nation will eventually fail. Such attempts will also be overwhelmed by the growing number of Muslims willing to use force (I.e., terror) to achieve their Islamist ends. 

Pope Benedict XVI (2006)

Most informed people now realize Pope Benedict was absolutely correct when he addressed violence and Islam during his Regensburg lecture in 2006. It was the ideological intolerance of both Islamists and Western academics that drove the criticism and violence that followed the pope's well-reasoned remarks.

President Trump has shown he understands the need to destroy the Islamist terrorist organizations whenever and wherever they arise and thrive. This may well be his most difficult international challenge because this aim runs counter to the appeasement efforts of so many of our European allies, and of too many in our own government, including both the state and defense departments. Yes, indeed, it's easy to hide in that murky swamp water.

President Obama made a total mess of the Middle East. Examining his policy in the region, one would think his every decision was driven by what would be best for the Shiites of both Syria and Iran. His do-nothing approach to the atrocities the Syrian government inflicted on its people only strengthened Russian presence in the region and increased Iranian influence. Repairing the long-term damage caused by President Obama's agreement with the Iranians is a case in point. I find myself in full agreement with President Trump's decision to dump the agreement, a non-treaty even the current Congress would never have supported. Russia and China are certainly long-term threats, but Iran, the world's foremost exporter of terror, must be dealt with today.

I also support the president's tax cut, a piece of legislation to which only a socialist would object. Whenever we have slashed taxes, especially taxes on businesses, the economy has boomed. It happened when John Kennedy cut taxes, just as it happened when Ronald Reagan did the same. And yet not a single House or Senate Democrat voted for this tax cut. Democrats have certainly changed since Kennedy's time. Indeed, their rejection of the legislation tells us much about the current core beliefs of the Democrat party, a party that has moved increasingly to the far and irrational left.

What the Democrat Party Once Believed

President Kennedy, when promoting his plan to cut taxes, said, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low -- and the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut taxes now." He was right and his tax cuts led to a period of remarkable economic growth. Like Kennedy and Reagan, Trump also ignored the deficit hawks of his own party, believing that the tax cut will, in the long run, lead to a significant increase in revenues. Ironically, many Democrats, and more than a few Republicans, who have never uttered a word against increased deficits were suddenly all aflutter, expressing fears about the legislation's potential impact on the deficit. Go figure.

When it comes to immigration I find myself wondering why we don't focus on the root cause of illegal immigration. Most immigrants flock to our borders because they want to leave the failing economies and corrupt governments of their native lands. How often have individual bishops, much less the USCCB, challenged the corrupt governments of Latin America and elsewhere? They seem far more interested in attacking our nation for trying to control immigration and protect our borders. And how often do our politicians do anything to encourage our corrupt neighbors to change their ways? If these nations actually developed free economies and truly representative governments perhaps they, too, would become lands of opportunity. As for those screaming for "no borders," I think we can safely ignore them for the ideologues (or "useful idiots") they truly are. The only aim of those pulling their strings is to destroy this nation. Every nation has the obligation and the right to control its borders -- how much control is something its citizens must decide. This is a question that Congress has danced around for some time, but time is running out. I suspect the President and the voters will force the issue sooner rather than later.

As for North Korea, President Trump's efforts to overcome the horrendous mistakes of previous administrations should be interesting to watch. For the first time since 1953 this vicious, totalitarian regime seems to realize they are dealing with someone who won't allow them to break agreements. I expect these negotiations will take some time, quite likely several years, before they bear real fruit. We'll see what happens.

Then there's China, the world's most populous, communist, totalitarian state. It is a nation ruled by those who murder and enslave, a pack of liars and thieves who will do anything, absolutely anything, to maintain their power. Like Mafia dons, they dress up in their shiny suits and smile at the cameras while they plan the destruction of all that is good. They cleverly instituted some elements of a free economy because they realized their socialist policies had failed and they needed to bankroll their ever expanding base of power. But make no mistake, every Chinese firm is under the thumb of the ruling Communist Party leadership. 

The Communist Dons

Unlike his predecessors Trump seems to recognize the truth about China and his negotiations with the communist leadership will surely break the mold. When he hammered the Chinese with tariffs and other barriers, the talking heads and Wall Street hand-wringers screamed and assured us the president would drive us into economic ruin. Many said the same thing when Trump was elected in November 2016, but our economy instead experienced continued record-setting growth. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly in the long term, despite the efforts of the Senate Democrats to block confirmation votes on the president's judicial and executive appointments, most of these appointments, particularly those of federal judges, have been wonderful. Once again a president is appointing men and women who actually read and understand the Constitution and reject ideological activism. If President Trump serves another four years the federal judiciary will likely experience historic change.

Our president, like all men, is far from perfect, but he's certainly far better than the collection of wannabes the Democrat Party offers us. Every single one of them supports the great atrocity of our age, the deliberate, pre-meditated murder of the most innocent among us. I fear God's judgment, not for me, for I'm too near the end of my life. No, I fear for my children and grandchildren, and for all who may well face a faith-testing decision to choose between a culture of life and a culture of death. 

Here's something I trust all the faithful can agree on: Pray for our nation and our president.

The Absent Republicans

As you may have noticed, if you read this blog, I am by no means a fan of Donald Trump. But I cannot imagine a worse scenario for our nation than the election of Hilary Clinton. For no other reason than the makeup of the Supreme Court, it is critical that she be kept out of the Oval Office. I am, therefore, appalled that so many notable Republicans have not only refused to attend their party's national convention, but that some have actually declared they will not vote for the party's candidate. Whom do they think their lack of support will benefit?

A few moments ago, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, during an interview with Fox News anchor Stuart Varney, in effect said that Trump must pay more attention to these reluctant Republicans (including, by the way, Sununu himself) who are important figures in the party and the government. Governor Sununu thought Trump should have scratched the speeches by family members and replaced them with speeches by a few of these reluctant non-supporters. He went on to suggest there was far too much family focus at the convention. Actually, the speeches by Trump's wife and son made me a bit more inclined to like the man himself. But the irony, apparently lost on Sununu, was his claim that he couldn't attend the convention because he was campaigning for his son, who is running for governor of New Hampshire. Remarkable isn't it?

Anyhow, my first reaction, and that of Dear Diane, to Sununu's comments was, "Who does this man think he is?" We the people are the important ones here, not those who are elected by the people to do the people's business. The people are sovereign in these United States of America. Politicians are servants of the people, or at least they should be, and the only thing that should motivate them is the good of the people, the good of the nation. If their little noses are out of joint because they lost an election or were treated in a less than friendly way by another politician...well, too bad. As we used to say in Naval aviation: suck it up and fly the mission. That's what you're paid to do. I suggest our reluctant Republicans do the same.

Enough! This is why I despise politics today.
____________________

A timely postscript for those Christians who are considering a vote for Hilary Clinton. The readings for today's Mass include the opening verses of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD came to me: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you" [Jer 1:4-5].

This reading was followed by a selection from Psalm 71 which included:

You are my hope, Lord; my trust, GOD, from my youth. On you I have depended since birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength; my hope in you never wavers" [Ps 71:5-6].

Yes, before we were formed in the womb, we were known and loved by God. And in our nation we have slaughtered well over 50,000,0000 infants in the womb, all known and loved by God. This is why, above all else, this election is so critical.

Pray for our nation.

Reluctant Politics

My, my...the Republican Convention is underway in Cleveland, and I find myself inundated with things political. It's everywhere, and about the only way to escape is to flip the remote to Animal Planet or to one of the old movie channels. But, of course, most of us don't. We feel compelled to follow it on the cable news network of choice. There's an attraction to it all, not unlike that which draws us to watch a grisly horror movie or a news story describing some horrific crime. Yes, indeed, like these, modern political theater appeals to our basest instincts...and so, we watch.

As you already might have guessed, I have come to despise politics, largely because I find it a very dirty business in which honor and the good of the nation rarely, if ever, outweigh personal gain. And secondarily because I cannot think of a single living politician whom I respect...not one. I certainly realize that the upcoming presidential election might well be the most important of my lifetime, so I suppose I should be more enthusiastic, more focused on the politics of it all. Have I become jaded as a result of all this? Perhaps. But I'm insufficiently introspective, so I really don't know. Neither do I care.

I only occasionally discuss politics on this blog, and usually because a political issue touches on things theological or moral. But the current political storm is so heated and gusty that I just can't ignore it. So let me just throw out a few brief, and very personal, observations that have ripened in my aging brain these past few months as I have watched American presidential politics march by.

About Donald Trump...I find him semi-articulate, far too shallow in his thinking, and of questionable temperament; and yet he was able to convince enough primary voters to handily defeat a collection of seemingly more qualified candidates. Who could have predicted this? Well, one person did: Donald Trump.


And so, like him or not, we must take him seriously, and we must also admit he has struck a nerve with a large number of Americans. Looking back on the past year, I can understand why. Many, perhaps most, Americans believe strongly that the folks who have held the reins of power in Washington simply don't care about the nation and its people. They have a valid point. And as many Republicans discovered during the primaries, the voters weren't angry at just the Democrats. If you inhabit the Boston-NY-DC corridor, you probably don't understand this. But if live out in the national hinterlands you know exactly what it means. As a result, come January a lot of folks might be looking for a job. The world is focused on the upcoming presidential election, but the results of the congressional elections might actually be more surprising.

About Hillary Clinton...According to her newest best friend, Director of the FBI Comey, it would seem she is not only a likely criminal but also a serial liar. Of course, anyone who has followed Hillary Clinton's long and checkered career already knew that.

Nobody -- not even her strongest supporter, not even her husband -- seems to like her. I suppose we can safely say that even Hillary Clinton doesn't like Hillary. As for me, I could never support her simply because she, like the current president, sees nothing wrong with killing babies by the millions. Anyone who holds such belief is seriously flawed and should not hold any public office.

About the big loser...Well, the biggest loser is Bernie Sanders. This not-so-nice Brooklyn Marxist from Vermont convinced enough uneducated college kids, their equally uneducated parents, and their Woodstockian grandparents to vote for him that he actually gave Hillary, Inc. a bit of a scare. The Democrats tossed a few socialist bones onto the platform so he could gnaw on them during his convention speech, but ultimately Bernie will be no more than a footnote.


The other losers...all those Republicans who never had a chance to claim the nomination  but whose grossly inflated egos drove them into the race. With few exceptions, they all complain about Trump's victory while ignoring the fact that their numbers -- Heavens! There were almost 20 of them! -- made his victory possible. Such a collection of foolish, egotistical men (and one woman) has rarely been seen in politics before.

I'll admit here that I'm no fan of Donald Trump, but I find the actions of some of his Republican opponents to be despicable. Remember how they attacked Trump when he balked at signing the pledge to support the party's ultimate nominee? He finally signed it. They all did. But now many have decided to ignore that pledge.Their word then means nothing. I find that dishonorable, which for me is about the worst thing you can say about another human being.


They all act like little children who didn't get their way. Ohio Governor John Kasich refuses to attend his party's convention, a convention being held in his state. In a sense, by his snub he insults himself. How bizarre. And sadly, Jeb Bush, of whom I once thought rather highly, has joined with Lindsey Graham, and stated that they will neither support nor vote for Trump, the Republican nominee.

The problem is evident. When people have been long embedded in the political establishment, they cannot accept intruders who don't play by their agreed-on rules. If you're not a member of the club, if you don't accept those rules, you'll be pushed to the sidelines. Party affiliation means little. It's why they are able to compromise so easily on moral issues instead of leading the people to understand and accept that which is morally right.

If Hillary wins in November, I think we can safely say that the electorate simply disliked her less than they disliked Donald Trump. But that scenario is hard to imagine, and so my prediction -- always a scary thing -- is that Trump will win.

Hilary and Classified Material

Back in my Navy days I held several positions that demanded daily, indeed almost constant, access and use of highly classified material. Most of it was classified either "Secret" or "Top Secret" and some, because it related to special circumstances that I still cannot discuss, was given a special classification. That said, I have no doubt that if I, or any of my colleagues in similar circumstances, had done what Hilary Clinton did, I would have spent many years in Leavenworth or another similar federal facility. At best, if my superiors and others were especially kind, my naval career would have come to a rather abrupt end without future access to classified material. This, in fact, is what happened to an acquaintance who neglected to lock both his office door and a safe containing Top Secret material before he left for lunch. Unfortunately for him, his Executive Officer happened to stop by his empty office and noticed the unlocked safe. To make matters worse, several civilian workers were in the area doing electrical work. Borrowing the words of FBI Director James Comey, this officer was "extremely careless in...handling of very sensitive, highly classified information." and paid a dear price for it.

FBI Director James Comey, looking concerned

When it comes to the handling of such material, carelessness, therefore, is never an excuse (at least it hasn't been until now). In other words, it shouldn't matter that the individual (whether he or she is a naval officer or a Secretary of State) didn't intend to share classified material with the bad guys. What matters is that carelessness (i.e., incompetence) created a situation in which those same bad guys could gain access to the material.

In my day, before the internet and email and web sites, security concerns were primarily physical; i.e., locked doors and safes, encrypted radio transmissions, basic computer security, etc. The internet changed everything. Back in the mid-seventies, when I taught a course in computer security at the U. S. Naval Academy, I would show my students how easy it was to gain access to a variety of computer systems via a network called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the foundational network from which today's worldwide internet evolved. In my 1975 classroom, using a regular commercial phone line, portable terminal, and acoustic coupler, I could easily enter this network and peek into many different computer systems. These included systems at military sites, DOD corporate contractors, and educational and research institutions. My point was that we needed more than mere physical security to keep the bad guys out.

Today, virtually every computer, including every smart phone and tablet, is connected to the internet. Of course the federal government maintains a few closed systems, but just about every other machine is vulnerable to cyber attack by either independent hackers or agencies of foreign governments. For this reason the federal government takes serious steps to safeguard the information stored on its systems and to ensure the safe transmission of classified material. For a Secretary of State to bypass these safeguards and completely ignore the real dangers of using a private server for her emails is almost beyond comprehension.

Director Comey, during today's televised monologue, seemed to realize all this as he laid out an almost perfect case for prosecuting Secretary Clinton for gross negligence in her handling of classified material. And then he tossed his case into the waste basket and recommended, well, nothing at all.

Bill and Hilary

I find it incredible that a Secretary of State would be this careless in her handling of highly classified material. But I find it even more incredible that there will be no legal consequences. Does this mean that other government employees can be equally lax in such matters and not worry about prosecution? Or perhaps Secretary Clinton is a "special case."

It's also evident, based on the FBI's investigation, that Secretary Clinton was less than honest when addressing such issues as the classification of her emails. A family trait, perhaps? Her husband, after all, to avoid a perjury conviction accepted a plea agreement, paid a $90,000 fine, and gave up his law license for five years. Today his wife was far more fortunate.

Brexit: the "Leaves" Win!

Unlike some Americans I'd hesitated to express my opinion in advance of yesterday's historic Brexit vote in the UK. A few of my British friends indicated they strongly resented our president's instructing the British people how they should vote (to stay in the EU) and then threatening to place the UK at the "back of the queue" when it comes to trade agreements. And so, although I was a leave supporter, I thought it best to keep my opinion to myself. But now that the results are in and the people of the United Kingdom have decided to leave the European Union, I can happily say, "Congratulations, Brits!"

Queen Elizabeth II may be the presumed constitutional sovereign of the UK, but yesterday the people openly declared their true sovereignty. By their vote they rejected the authoritarian rule of distant, non-elected bureaucrats and reclaimed both their independence from the EU and the freedom to govern themselves.

The markets, of course, will undergo a short-term panic because Wall Street and its overseas equivalents are populated largely by hand-wringing wimps. Too many of these lovers of the Obama/Clinton style of big government-big business cronyism would rather live in an authoritarian world of imaginary stability than in the messy, less predictable world where freedom reigns. And lest you think that I am overly partisan, many in the Republican establishment are just as committed to perpetuating this cronyism.

The vote in the UK mirrors the support among US voters for both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, two men whose campaigns have focused largely on criticizing the existing political establishment. Their criticism may come from very different ideological directions, but the support both have received reveals a high level of dissatisfaction among the electorate. 

Sanders, of course, gathered the support of the Woodstockian sentimentalists of my generation, but I'm pretty sure many of Sanders' youthful followers haven't a clue when it comes to socialism. Their political ignorance, abetted by a Marxist-friendly educational establishment, may have led them to enter the Sanders' camp, but I suspect many are more strongly anti-establishment than pro-socialist. How many will support Clinton, an entrenched establishmentarian, how many will support Donald Trump, and how many will simply stay home and play video games? Trust me, even the pollsters can't answer these questions.

Unlike Obama and Clinton, Trump is on the winning side in the Brexit vote. Whether this has an impact on his presidential prospects remains to be seen, but I think he should pay attention to the successful "leave" campaign led by former London mayor, Boris Johnson, who focused on the economy and the nuts and bolts of EU authoritarianism. We'll see if Mr. Trump can make this kind of transition.

How did the ancient Chinese curse go? May you live in interesting times.

Bill Clinton: Father of the Year?

Boy, it just doesn't get much weirder than this. Former President Bill Clinton who, along with his wife, is an avid supporter of so-called abortion "rights" -- i.e., This wonderful and much admired couple are all in favor of the massive killing of unborn children -- has been named "Father of the Year" by the National Father's Day Committee.

That's right, our former president, who is also an unapologetic serial adulterer, will receive this award at a luncheon in June because of his “profound generosity, leadership and tireless dedication to both his public office and many philanthropic organizations." [Read more here.] It would seem the committee overlooked some of his less than charitable deeds performed in his public office, specifically the one in the White House.

And, yes, I know we should love the sinner and hate the sin. Indeed, I pray for the former president and all our political leaders daily; but loving the sinner doesn't include praising him for his sins. And this is exactly what this committee has done. At some point we must step forward and speak the truth. Awarding him Father of the Year is akin to awarding Bernie Madoff Philanthropist of the Year.

And some doubt the direction in which our nation is headed.

Pray for our country.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Public Liars: They Just Can't Help Themselves

The pro-abortion crowd are probably the most obvious of the public liars we encounter daily in the media. The latest contributor is Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who, while testifying before Congress, stated that half of the women she had seen in Brazilian hospitals "were fighting for their lives against botched abortions."

Her claim sounded a bit over the top to some and so Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) asked her to produce some evidence as to when she had visited the hospitals or provide statistics to back her claim. To date neither she nor her staffers have been able to produce any evidence whatsoever.

According to the Catholic News Agency (CNA):

The National Catholic Register contacted Department of State spokeswoman Laura Tischler to see if there was any record of Clinton’s trip to Brazilian hospitals. Tischler said, "I am unable to confirm where or when the trip she referred to in her testimony was — where specifically in Brazil she was visiting or when the trip occurred."

Representative Chris Smith, who asked the question that prompted Clinton’s response, remarked, "Pro-abortion activists have a long history of making these type of unsubstantiated claims. That’s how they drive policy — with gross exaggeration of numbers, hyperbole and junk science," according to the NCR.

I'm pretty sure we'll get no answer from Secretary Clinton, whose penchant for uttering the "big lie" is almost as great as her husband's. Say it often enough and people will come to believe it.

The saddest thing about this little Capitol Hill drama is that as I write this several innocent unborn children have been murdered in a nation founded on a respect for life and liberty. Pray for us.