Today's Posts

The 5 Essentials of Reformation Religion

Special Ops Veterans Speak Out

Are We In for A Romney Win -- And a Conspiracy-Dominated Autumn?

Who Does Planned Parenthood Want to Win the Election?

Those 5.2 Million Jobs Obama Created? Not Even Close.

Famed Christian Apologist Is Voting for Romney

The 5 Essentials of Reformation Religion

It was on this date in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his "95 Theses" on the church door at Wittenberg, thus beginning the theological and cultural movement that would be known as the Protestant Reformation.

For my Catholic friends who would like to read a quick, cogent description of what exactly were the foundations of the Reformation (which will also help you to understand the current convictions of your evangelical pals…like me), I think you'll find this an excellent piece.

Indeed, I'd suggest a careful reading of the article by evangelicals themselves who are known to sometimes get these very important matters kinda' muddled.

The article is from a Presbyterian pastor up in Michigan, Kevin DeYoung, and was passed on to me by another Presbyterian pastor for which I have great respect and affection, Dr. Phil Kayser from right here in Omaha.

Special Ops Veterans Speak Out

Are We In for A Romney Win -- And a Conspiracy-Dominated Autumn?

This race is over, but the conspiracy theories are about to begin. And, boy howdy, are things going to get ugly. To wit, Mitt Romney will defeat Barack Obama for the presidency on November 6, after which there will be hysterical blowback…

It is not only the politically interested who will adopt this view — even casual observers will be sucked in. We often see leftist orthodoxy morph into popular convention. This is because, while there are some smart people on the left, it requires almost no thinking to be a liberal. Simply absorb the political sentiments you hear in almost any Hollywood film, or on most any television program or newscast and, presto, you’re in. Repeat these nostrums at school or work and you will be rewarded. Augmented by the emotional satisfaction of the left’s perpetual righteous indignation, this dynamic becomes self-fulfilling and very cozy.

And it’s that snorting indignation warming up in the bullpen that augurs an ugly autumn. After Obama loses, every bellyacher you know will take to the worldwide interwebs to blame the Bilderbergs, Bain Capital, Big Oil, Brigham Young — basically anyone but Obama himself. It will be insufferable. Theories will be all over the map, mutually contradicting one another, but advanced with furious certainty. Again, we see this often. The showerless outrage of the left knows no bounds, and it is impervious to reason...

(Theo Caldwell, "The presidential race is over, cue the conspiracy theories," Daily Caller)

Who Does Planned Parenthood Want to Win the Election?

I wonder who Planned Parenthood, the mega-abortion corporation who has become enormously rich from performing hundreds of thousands of abortions every year, selling scads of ineffective birth control drugs to American youth, and gleaning huge grants from federal, state and local governments (totaling some $487.4 million), would like to see win next week's presidential election?

It's a no-brainer, of course.

Planned Parenthood wants Barack Obama, their good friend and the most pro-abortion president ever, back in the White House. And to help make that happen they are spending $12 million in his behalf. And, no, that doesn't count Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood's luxuriously paid president, taking a leave of absence from her normal duties to campaign full-time for Obama.

And the other guy? Well, Mitt Romney poses a great danger to Planned Parenthood. He's no abortion zealot. Indeed, he's promised to close off the tap to Planned Parenthood of federal taxpayer dollars. And he's promised to reinstate the Mexico City policy which would stop American tax dollars paying Planned Parenthood's abortionist friends in foreign countries.

Whose side do you want to be on?

Those 5.2 Million Jobs Obama Created? Not Even Close.

The effects of sheer incompetence and an unpopular political philosophy (i.e. unfair wealth redistribution) are awfully ugly. So, why not lie big and lie often -- and then depend on the mainstream media to help you hide the truth from public scrutiny?

Welcome to the modern Democrat Party, baby.

President Obama has lately been touting the claim that he's created 5.2 million new jobs as President. His fantastic boast is featured in a new TV ad. But FactCheck.org says not so fast. Those claims are "inflated," to say the least…

FactCheck goes on to note that far from an actual gain of 5.2 million, once earlier losses are removed, Obama has in fact only realized some 967,000 jobs, which includes a credit of 453,000 private-sector jobs which will be added through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) benchmarking process...
(Warner Todd Huston, Breitbart.com)

Famed Christian Apologist Is Voting for Romney

Many of my fellow evangelicals will recognize Dr. Norman L. Geisler.  A seminary president, a skilled debater, a forceful pro-life advocate, and an author of innumerable books on theology, apologetics and the cults (including Mormonism), Geisler is a theological conservative who has, for decades, been one of America's most effective defenders of the Christian faith.

Norm Geisler uploaded this observation on his Facebook page this morning.

Should a Christian Vote for a Mormon?

We are not voting for a cult; we are voting for a candidate. If the person is pro-life, pro-family, pro-American , pro-free market, and pro-Israel, then vote for him regardless of his religious affiliation. If I need a good doctor or a good attorney, I don’t ask about his personal convictions but about his professional competency. Martin Luther once wisely said, “I would rather be ruled by a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian." In this election the call between the candidates is not even close. I am voting for Romney.

Geisler has more about his decision on his web page right here.

And, if you missed last week's post which provided links to Randy Alcorn's detailed look at political questions, check it out.

Today's Post

A Very Momentous "When Swing Was King"

The Political Crisis and the Need for Dramatic Change...in Seven Minutes

On Voter Fraud, Vandalism and the Decline of Civil Engagement

The World Is Not Doing Well: A Few Reports

Meat Loaf Gives Romney an Amazing Endorsement

Obama, Clinton, Biden: Appalling Responses to Father of Slain Navy Hero

Another Despicable First: Obama's Sleazy "First Time" Ad

A Very Momentous "When Swing Was King"

Yesterday afternoon we presented "When Swing Was King" (for the 11th time this month, 1 more to go) at a place we'd never been before, an assisted living facility down in Papillion.

Upon first surveying the place, I really thought we might have to cancel for it was a very difficult room in which to play music and display a Power Point show. The room was the entrance hall/welcome center -- large, dramatically angular, high ceilings, and absolutely flooded with light from windows and skylights. We do have black plastic curtains we sometimes use but this was way beyond that trick.

But on our side were three things: 1) the fact that it was a very overcast afternoon which made it dark enough that the audience could see the screen pretty well, 2) the facility had provided a sound system that I could use for the program commentary (our system just takes care of the music itself), and 3) we had a large contingent already on hand who seemed quite eager for us to give them a show!

The average age of the residents at this facility we were told was 92 but the affectionate, heart-warming time we shared together made us all feel like the title of one of the songs we played, "Younger Than Springtime." We had been warned that the residents of this place didn't get involved with special activities very much but the crowd was quite large, very enthusiastic, and most appreciative. The staff was extremely helpful and they were thrilled at how well it went. "Oh, this was so great. We know you're busy but is there any way you could fit us in to your schedule?"

Well, maybe so.

We know we have to limit the number of "When Swing Was King" presentations -- Claire and I do have plenty of other things we do for Vital Signs Ministries -- but we also yearn to bring this delightful, soul-stirring program to as many places as we can. We frequently pray that the Lord shows us just where we most need to be. And the size of the crowd here, the joy the residents obviously experienced, the enthusiastic help we had from the staff, and the many friendships we were able to launch in just this one afternoon -- all of this suggested that this was definitely a place we should try and squeeze into our monthly schedule.

But what about that well-lit room? On an ordinary day, it would be way too much for residents to watch the show. Well, the Lord seemed to have that covered too for just the day before we had made our first evening presentation of "When Swing Was King" at an independent living complex and it was a big hit. Unexpectedly big. So that's what we offered to this facility.

And that's what they immediately accepted!

Now for just a few of the fun and inspirational moments from yesterday:

One lady told Claire. "I enjoyed this so much. It brought back so many memories -- memories that gave me a lump (holding her throat) but memories that were just wonderful." Claire replied, "Yes, all of our memories, even some of the sad ones, are precious to us, aren't they?" The lady said, "Oh yes. You're so right. I do hope you come again soon."

I started a conversation with one of the fellows by asking him about his tattoo. It turned out that he had been in the U.S. Army, serving in the Pacific during World War II. But that's not where he got the tattoo. He got that earlier when he was serving in the Portuguese navy! We had a swell time talking about some of his experiences.

There were several other highlights from our visits after the show including the 97-year old lady who told us about her father's woodworking back in North Dakota; people remembering dances attended at Peony Park and other places; and the woman's husband who used to tell the neighbors when they left for vacations, "If you see the house burning down, just try and save the Guy Lombardo records!"  She also explained how the bartenders at Peony Park used to hate it when Guy Lombardo came to play because everybody was always on the dance floor instead of sitting at the tables drinking.

The same lady (very tall and pretty) told me how glad she was when she met her  husband in Saginaw, Michigan because he was handsome and 6' 7". "Finally, I had someone I could dance with! And, boy, did we love to go dancing." I asked her to tell me a bit more about him (he died several years ago) and she was really pleased to do so.

And one other thing from yesterday that's interesting, at least to Claire and me. Because of the way the staff had set up the microphone and speaker stands, I had to "set up shop" in the front of the audience rather than at the back where I usually do. The result was that the audience seemed even more engaged than usual. Now, Tom Sharman from Tesco Studios had suggested this quite awhile ago, "You're an important part of the show, so be where they can see you instead of being a disembodied voice at the rear." We now see that he was right. And even those things I thought might be distracting to an audience, like fiddling with the equipment, giggling at one of the pictures on the screen, or moving along with the music, Claire decided were actually a plus. So, from now on, up to the front I'll go.

All in all, it was a delightful and momentous "When Swing Was King" event -- for them and for us. Please keep praying for this ministry and do consider coming along sometime to join in the fun. They'd love to have you.

The Political Crisis and the Need for Dramatic Change...in Seven Minutes

Looking for a nifty film clip to show your friends and family members who are yet undecided...or who might be leaning towards the incumbent? Dare them to watch this very moving, very persuasive piece.



(Thanks to David Ommen for the tip.)

On Voter Fraud, Vandalism and the Decline of Civil Engagement

My friend from the Pacific Northwest, Jack Niewold, is a fellow I have relentlessly urged to start his own blog. After all, he's a well-read, bold and insightful Christian gentleman who writes remarkably well and his book, Frail Web of Intention, was one of the most provocative books I've read in the last couple of years.

I know that a regular blog hosted by Jack would reach many more readers, readers who would appreciate and benefit from his stimulating commentary on religion, culture, and other adventures of life.

But until I persuade him to visit Blogger and take the ten minutes necessary to set up that blog, I'll have to settle on periodically bringing you samples of Jack's Facebook entries. Like this one...

 Most of the voter fraud and political vandalism that is in the media today is perpetrated by the Left. That is to say, members of the Democratic Party. The case of Jim Moran's son in Maryland and the hoax letter in Florida are but the latest examples.

Of course not all Democrats are criminals, but most political criminals are Democrats. When I lived in the Bay Area, I had my home and cars defaced while displaying Republican signs, and once, when I had a Bruce Herschensohn bumper sticker on my car, I was chased down and threatened when driving through Hayward.

There is no question in my mind that the liberal mindset is an authoritarian mindset, and that it views democracy as something only to be used, as opposed to something to be cherished as an end in itself.

Given the chance--in view of union card check, campus speech codes, and hate crime legislation (among other heavy-handed tactics)--the liberal tendency is to silence and outlaw opposition rather than contest it in the framework of law and public debate.

I'm sorry the once-great Democrat Party has come to this, but we have to face the fact that only one of the political parties is, in the best sense, "democratic."

The World Is Not Doing Well: A Few Reports

 * "British hospitals are being bribed to put patients on pathway to death." The Daily Mail reports on cash incentives offered to hospitals who meet a set percentage of patients who die on their wards."

* Amazon and Costco make huge donations to promote homosexual marriage.

* The U.N. Human Rights Council looks like it's going to call for a boycott of U.S. companies that do business with Israel.

* Mental institution patients have been signed up to vote (probably breaking the law) in North Carolina. And, you guessed it, most of the patients have been helped to register as Democrats.

 "An explosive story about the massive wealth accumulated by the family of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao prompted the Chinese government to block the Web site of the New York Times early Friday morning, just days before a sensitive, once-in-a-decade transition of power from Wen and others to a new generation of leaders."

* "Jeep, the rugged brand President Obama once said symbolized American freedom, is considering giving up on the United States and shifting production to China."

* British ExxonMobil oil chief assassinated in Brussels street.

Meat Loaf Gives Romney an Amazing Endorsement

“I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States,” Meat Loaf said in a black silk shirt with sparkly buttons down the front and sequined designs on the sleeves. “Storm clouds [have] come over the United States. There is thunderstorms over Europe. There are hail storms, and I mean major hail storms, in the Middle East.

“There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere,” Meat Loaf said. “And there’s only one man that on the other night, when President Barack Obama, God bless him, said to Mitt Romney, ‘The Cold War is over’ – I have never heard such a thing in my life.”

The singer was referring to the presidential debate earlier this week, during which President Obama ribbed Romney for once declaring Russia America’s No. 1 geopolitical foe.

“The man needs to understand Putin and Russia, so I want you to know that there is one man who will stand tall in this country and fight the storm and bring the United States back to what it should be – Gov. Mitt Romney,” Meat Loaf said to roars from a crowd packed into a football stadium here.

“Like I said, never before have I endorsed a single candidate ’til now, so let me hear y’all repeat after me,” Meat Loaf said, leading a call-and-response with Mitt Romney’s name, the crowd repeating it after him.

Meat Loaf wasn’t done. After playing a musical interlude, the musician grabbed the microphone – which at times was decorated with a red cape – and continued his endorsement.

“Mitt Romney has got the backbone,” he said. “Go out and vote. Let me tell you what: I know there’s one thing that you’ve been taught your whole life, is that you never argue politics or religion with your friends. But 2012 is completely different.

“I have been arguing for Mitt Romney for a year,” he said. “I made three phone calls today to Democrats in California, and I got two of them to switch to Romney, so two out of three ain’t bad. So you get out there and you argue with your relatives, you argue with your neighbors, you get in fights over politics and religion, ’cause we need Ohio! God bless ya. We love ya. Thank you. Keep rockin’ – and Mitt Romney!”

Obama, Clinton, Biden: Appalling Responses to Father of Slain Navy Hero

Example One: 

“When [Obama] came over to our little area” at Andrew Air Force Base, says Woods, “he kind of just mumbled, you know, ‘I’m sorry.’ His face was looking at me, but his eyes were looking over my shoulder like he could not look me in the eye. And it was not a sincere, ‘I’m really sorry, you know, that your son died,’ but it was totally insincere, more of whining type, ‘I’m sorry.’”

Woods says that shaking President Obama’s hands at his son’s memorial service was “like shaking hands with a dead fish.”

“It just didn’t feel right,” he says of his encounter with the commander in chief. “And now that it’s coming out that apparently the White House situation room was watching our people die in real time, as this was happening,” Woods says, he wants answers on what happened—and why there was no apparent effort to save his son’s life.

“Well, this is what Hillary did,” Woods continues. “She came over and, you know, did the same thing—separately came over and talked with me. I gave her a hug, shook her hand. And she did not appear to be one bit sincere—at all. And you know, she mentioned that the thing about, we’re going to have that person arrested and prosecuted that did the video. That was the first time I had even heard about anything like that.”...

(From "Father of Slain SEAL: Who Made the Decision Not to Save My Son?" by Daniel Halper at Weekly Standard.)

Example Two: 

The father of one of the former Navy SEALs killed in the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya says President Barack Obama wouldn’t even look him in the eye and Vice President Joe Biden was disrespectful during the ceremony when his son’s body returned to America. He also says the White House’s story on the attack doesn’t pass the smell test.

Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods, called into “The Glenn Beck Program” on TheBlazeTV Thursday and recounted his interactions with the president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden at the ceremony for the Libya victims at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He told host Glenn Beck that what they told him, coupled with new reports that indicate the Obama administration knew very good and well, almost immediately, that a terrorist attack was occurring in Benghazi, make him certain that the American people are not getting the whole truth.

Vice President Biden, as he has become known to do, reportedly made a wildly inappropriate comment to the father who had just lost his hero son.

Woods said Biden came over to his family and asked in a “loud and boisterous” voice, “Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?”

“Are these the words of someone who is sorry?” said Woods.

(Jason Howerton, The Blaze.)

Another Despicable First: Obama's Sleazy "First Time" Ad

If you needed further proof about just how much the President has cheapened the Presidency, consider his latest ad, which not only compares voting for him for the first time to losing virginity, but also ridicules those who might not want to lose their virginity to just any politician. This is the peer group peer pressure people across the political aisle have complained about in high schools for years.

But our President is adopting it as a last minute campaign strategy. If you need any further proof we live in a fallen world destined for hell fire, consider the number of people who have no problem with the President of the United States, via a campaign ad, ridiculing virgins and comparing sex to voting...

The reason Barack Obama is running this ad is because he is done trying to get independent voters. He’s given up. Despite campaign rhetoric about fighting for evangelicals, he’s given up there. He’s given up on Catholic voters. He’s given up on the South. He’s given up on men who have daughters. He’s given up on moms. He’s given up on everyone expect his core base of singles, gays, and minorities, including college kids he is desperate to get back to the polls…

(From "Cheap Tricks and One Night Stands" by Erick Erickson over at RedState.com.)

Today's Posts

Christianity & Politics: Some Crucial Questions

A Quick, Video Review of the Benghazi Cover-Up

What's Up? (A news compilation)

Christianity & Politics: Some Crucial Questions

Popular author, preacher, family man, and pro-life activist Randy Alcorn is really one of the good guys. The founder and Director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, Randy has been an eloquent and influential Christian leader for many years and, over the course of most of those years, we have known him personally and can vouch for his integrity, moral courage, wisdom, and inspiring work ethic. Several of his books, Heaven, Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments, Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions, and Safely Home are in my list of absolutely indispensable reading and we find Randy's blog to be an ongoing source of rich enlightenment.

Well, from that blog come a few essays of particular relevance right now to Christians who are trying to determine who to vote for in the coming elections. They are provocative (in this best ways) and I urge you to not only read through them yourself but pass them along to others.

* Election 2012, Part 1: Racial Issues, Helping the Poor and Financial Responsibility

* Election 2012, Part 2: Which Candidate Will Best Protect Religious Liberties?

* Election 2012 Part 3: Which Candidate Has More Christian Beliefs? (And Should I Vote for a Mormon?)  If you're particularly interested in this question, you might also want to read my own brief column, "Why Would a Christian Vote for a Mormon President?"

* Election 2012 Part 4: Do the Candidates Have Different Positions on Abortion and Does it Matter?

*  Election 2012 Part 5: Is it Wrong to Vote for the Lesser of Evils? Shouldn’t We Instead Vote for a Third Party Candidate?

A Quick, Video Review of the Benghazi Cover-Up

What's Up?

 Among other things:

* A Project Veritas sting operation caught (on video tape) the field director for Virginia Democratic Rep. Jim Moran (his own son Patrick) in a jocular conversation about how to engage in vote fraud. Indeed, Moran advises James O'Keefe (who is playing the part of a Moran supporter lining up fake ballots) on how to best get away with the crime. Was the result a juicy news story covered by all the networks and the other mainstream press? Uh, no. But the damning tape did force the younger Moran to resign for what the campaign referred to as "clearly an error in judgment." In other words, he was wrong not so much for the despicable, treasonous crime of aiding in vote fraud as simply getting caught on tape doing so.

* Martin Sheen may be a favorite of liberals for his roles in "The West Wing," "Apocalypse Now," "Gandhi" and for being the father of the loutish libertine, Charlie Sheen, but his views on the sanctity of life have remained remarkably conservative. Here's a report that suggests why.

* Monday night's presidential debate was supposed to focus on foreign policy, but several domestic items were shoved in by the candidates including one which was one of special relevance to Michigan voters. "For the first time, the two candidates went head-to-head on the Government Motors details — and Obama got it wrong. Badly wrong. Damn-the-facts-I’m-clinging-to-my-talking-points wrong." Here's the story from Henry Payne at NRO.

* "CBS Busts Obama--and Itself--in Benghazi Cover-Up" (Joel Pollack at Breitbart.com)

* "Lobbyists for the nation’s largest labor unions have had the run of the White House during its occupancy by a president who pledged from his first day in office to curb political influence." I guess, "run of the White House." The official logs (which do not list the meetings in the coffee shop nearby that Obama aides have favored) show nearly 500 visits by union lobbyists through last June.

* Nathaniel Botwinick reports on Debbie Wasserman's "alternate reality."

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz seems to reside in a different reality than the rest of us. After the debate last night she said: "What I was surprised about Greta, during the entire section of the debate on the Middle East, Mitt Romney didn’t bring up Israel once and I think it just shows he isn’t committed to Israel as he says he is and has really only used the issue as a political opportunity."

The only problem for Wasserman Schultz is that a mere glance at the transcript of last night’s debate shows that Romney mentioned Israel eleven times. Here are three examples of Mitt Romney expressing his support for Israel: "We also have to stand by our allies, I think the tension that has existed between Israel and the United States is very unfortunate...When I am president of the United States, we will stand by Israel. And if Israel is attacked, we have their back...The turmoil with Israel, I mean the president received a letter from 38 Democratic senators saying the tension with Israel was a real problem.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s attempt to spin the president’s abysmal record on Israel is unbecoming, and let us hope that Florida’s Jewish community will take note of Mitt Romney’s actual statements in the debate in their state.

* The "brave new world" of science gets more bizarre and immoral by the day. Here's a story about Oregon researchers creating human embryos using genes from one man and two women.

* Want another reason to vote for Mitt Romney? If Barack Obama is re-elected, Hillary Clinton now says she might renege on her promise to only serve one term and stay on for awhile as Secretary of State.

* President Barack Obama came into office in 2009 riding a wave of hope and change. Unfortunately, he has not delivered on the nation's yearning for change nor on the specific promises he made to fix what is broken. The president is asking the country to be patient, but his plan isn't producing results that would merit more patience, and the president hasn't spelled out what he would do differently in a second term.

Hope and change are still what Americans are seeking. This time, Republican challenger and Michigan native Mitt Romney offers the best hope of changing the nation's fate...

That's part of the Detroit News editorial today endorsing Mitt Romney for President.

* Here's one thing we can be sure of about the Benghazi affair: almost everything we've been told since by the mainstream media is a lie, invariably one designed to shore up the creaky and desperate Obama administration.

Consider how quickly the story was spun by Obama's amen corner in the liberal MSM. It should, according to any objective news sense, have been a shocking tale of how a woefully unprotected ambassador was murdered in cold blood by Al Qaeda affiliates. Instead, it almost immediately became – of all things – an excuse to demonstrate why Mitt Romney was unfit to be president...

Instead, the post-Benghazi media coverage quickly became an exercise in finger pointing designed to show that it was anyone's fault but the Obama administration's. First, the attack on Romney. Then, the attempts to deflect attention on to the poor sap who made the anti-Islam hate video (which supposedly – though not at all in fact – provoked the fatal assault in the Benghazi consulate) – as if in some way to persuade us all that, hey, the lynching of the ambassador and his staff/protection kind of wasn't that bad because, hey, we sort of invited it…

This is a big deal.

The Obama administration's duplicity and mendacity is nothing those of us who've been observing, aghast, his disastrous foreign policy approaches since at least his infamous Cairo surrender monkey speech couldn't have predicted. And while it's nice to see his chickens coming home to roost and encouraging to realise that his chances of becoming a second-term president are diminishing by the minute, it's hardly a situation you might call – hmm what's the word? Oh yeah – "optimal" for the grieving relatives of the four men who died needlessly in order to satisfy the President's wishful thinking that the Al Qaeda threat is diminishing and that there's nothing wrong with the Middle East's intractable problems that can't be solved with a few emollient words, beautiful lies and maybe the occasional NASA-endorsed outreach programme….

From "Benghazi and Obama: the media is trying to shore up this desperate administration" by James Delingpole at the Telegraph.

* More vote fraud news. This involving Democrats in Arkansas.

Nine people have been charged with voter fraud in a district in Arkansas, after a scheme was uncovered in which half-pint bottles of vodka were used to buy votes.

Three of those charged have pleaded guilty, including Democratic State Representative Hudson Hallum who has since resigned. Hallum had allegedly told a local city councilman — who is now a co-defendant — that they “need to use that black limo and buy a couple of cases of some cheap vodka and whiskey to get people to vote.”

In addition to these alcohol-fueled voter incentives, this scheme involved absentee ballot fraud and destroying absentee votes for opponents.

“I mean, I guess I always knew, all along, it was wrong,” said Hallum in an interview. “But at first I really didn’t think it was that big a deal, because I’d always heard that’s what everybody did.”

Today's Posts

"I Love the Songs of 1941!"

Women Deserve Much Better Than Planned Parenthood

Okay, Obama Lied. Planned Parenthood Doesn't Do Mammograms. But Why Don't They?

Does Obama Deserve the Title, The Abortion President?

Tyndale Fights Government Oppression

A President with No Horse Sense

When Will the Media "Fact-Check" the Planned Parenthood/Mammogram Lies?

"I Love the Songs of 1941!"

"You know, I really and truly love the songs of 1941."

Dolores, one of our favorite fans of "When Swing Was King," told me this after Claire and I had presented our latest WSWK program at the nursing home where Dolores lives. I figured she said it because we happened to have three songs in this latest edition from that particular year: "Dancing in the Dark" by Artie Shaw, "Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington, and "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" by the Andrews Sisters. However, Dolores' reason was something deeper.

"1941 was the year I was 16."

Ah, that's it. Hearing these songs were such a blessing to Dolores because it brought back memories of her family, of participating in scrap drives for the war effort, of the permission her mother gave Dolores to finally wear lipstick, of football games and school dances at Omaha's Tech High, and so much more.

"Oh, we listened to the radio programs as a family; you know, the serials like The Shadow and Fred Allen. But what we loved most of all was listening to the music. And I remember so well those wonderful songs of 1941 and all those other years from way back then. Thank you so much for bringing this music back to us!"

You are so welcome, Dolores. It is a pleasure and and honor beyond compare.

Women Deserve Much Better Than Planned Parenthood

Okay, Obama Lied. Planned Parenthood Doesn't Do Mammograms. But Why Don't They?

President Barack Obama, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, and countless supporters have claimed again and again that Planned Parenthood provides mammograms. President Obama did so in the second presidential debate, describing the “millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for . . . mammograms.”

The problem is the mammogram claim is untrue, as was just cleverly highlighted by “Schedule Your Imaginary Mammogram Day,” a phone campaign that found no Planned Parenthood clinics capable of breast cancer screening. Planned Parenthood has neither the license nor the machines. The most the abortion giant has ever done is refer women to outside mammogram providers, filling the role of the Yellow Pages or Google.

Yet the claim is persistently made, despite its falsehood, in order to rebrand Planned Parenthood not as the abortion business it is, but instead as a health care provider...

Why doesn’t Planned Parenthood just offer mammograms? Doing so would do real good while saving their public defenders from credibility diminishing lies…The problem for Planned Parenthood—which thinks and acts much more like a business than most people realize—is that mammograms are much less profitable than the relatively lucrative procedure of abortion…

Read the full text of "Why Planned Parenthood Won’t Provide Mammograms" by financial analyst, researcher and pro-life advocate, Keith Riler. It's published at First Things.

Does Obama Deserve the Title, The Abortion President?

Do you really think there's any doubt that Barack Obama is the most pro-abortion president (perhaps the most pro-abortion politician, period) of all time?

If so, or if there remain any of your family members, friends, co-workers, or fellow church attendees who are in any doubt, please note the following list compiled by Steven Ertelt over at LifeNews.com of bill signings, speeches, appointments and other actions. The list provides staggering evidence of just how zealous Obama has been in protecting, promoting and even demanding that taxpayers provide for abortion.

Forget the shallow slogans. Get pass the myths. Consider the facts.

Tyndale Fights Government Oppression

My parents founded Tyndale House Publishers 50 years ago as a Christian publishing company. From the very beginning we have published Bibles, and we also publish a wide range of other Christian books. Our corporate purpose is “to minister to the spiritual needs of people, primarily through literature consistent with biblical principles.”

I’ve always thought—in a theoretical way—that I might someday face a situation where the government was asking or telling me to do something that was counter to God’s law as I understood it. If such a situation arose, I hoped I would have the backbone to stand tall and disobey the government mandate. Well, that day seems to have come…

Read the rest of Mark Taylor's moving article here.

A President with No Horse Sense

Last night, President Obama petulantly tried to explain to Mitt Romney why the Navy should have less ships: 'You mention the Navy, for example, that we have fewer ships than we had in 1916. Well, governor, we still have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed.' The president forgot that certain aspects of our military haven’t changed, such as the need to impose American power wherever and whenever necessary, and sometimes that requires even horses.

At the start of the Afghan conflict, U.S. special forces rode alongside their Northern Alliance allies to overthrow the Taliban. Their efforts on horseback were so instrumental that earlier this week in New York City, a new statue was dedicated at the 9/11 Memorial to the horse soldiers of Afghanistan…

Here's more of "Horses Actually Are Still Important" by Nathaniel Botwinick over at NRO.

And, as the little poster below shows, President Obama's snarky "horses and bayonets" remark didn't quite fit the fact-check in another way.

When Will the Media "Fact-Check" the Planned Parenthood/Mammogram Lies?

Also see this eye-opening item.

Today's Posts

Obama's Criticism of Romney Is, In Fact, A Compliment

On Marriage, God's Word Is Final

Hercules, Paul Bunyan, Barack Obama and Other Mythical Heroes

To Obama Administration, Fort Hood Wasn't a Terrorist Attack Either

The Birth Dearth Is Bad for Business, Baby

While Chris Matthews Cries "Racial Hatred," Media Totally Ignores Real Hatred

Obama's Criticism of Romney Is, In Fact, A Compliment

“Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.”

That was President Obama’s jibe at Governor Romney in the foreign policy debate just ended. We figure the reason the governor sat there without responding is that he was just too flattered…

The foreign policies of the 1980s were the foreign policies of President Reagan. The Gipper came into office in a period of stagflation, with the Soviet Union on the march and a yawning military gap with the communist world. When he handed over the reins to his vice president, after eight triumphant years in the White House, the country was in an economic boom, the Berlin Wall was about to come down, and the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse. Victory was at hand in the Cold War.

Mr. Romney would not defend — and cannot be accused of preferring — all of the social policies of the 1950s; racial segregation was still legal and same sex relationships were still closeted, for example. But what does Mr. Obama have to say about other features of the Fifties? There were far fewer abortions, divorce rates were radically lower — half — of what they’ve been running in recent years. Out of wedlock births were way lower. Authority was more respected. There was a greater sense of modesty and decorum, many of us sense (others may resent it).

The economic policies of the 1920s, well, that’s the best thing that Mr. Obama has ever said about Mr. Romney. The 1920s started out in a recession, as bitter as the one that greeted Mr. Obama. President Harding, briefly, and then President Coolidge turned things around with a program of tax cuts and spending cuts. They produced the Roaring Twenties, which featured full employment and one of the greatest bursts of innovation — airplanes, phones, automobiles — in history. The stock market soared. The dollar was as good as gold, and we were not at war. Debt was reduced. The size of the federal budget actually dropped during Coolidge’s presidency.

So we’d like to think that Mr. Obama has stumbled onto something here. If voters get the idea that Mr. Romney can deliver the foreign policy of the 1980s, when we defeated a vast, hostile conspiracy in Soviet Communism, then Mr. Romney is moving in the right direction. No one wants the social faults of the 1950s, but if Mr. Romney stands for the virtues of family and faith, of decorum and respect that flourished then, he’d be a refreshing change. If he stands for higher birthrates, as we had in the 1950s, he’s a winner. Our guess is that if people really believe Mr. Romney will replicate the 1920s, they’ll elect him in a landslide. The fact is that — for America and for the GOP — the 1920s, the 1950s, and the 1980s are a winning combination.

("The Winning Combination," an editorial from the New York Sun.)

On Marriage, God's Word Is Final

Hercules, Paul Bunyan, Barack Obama and Other Mythical Heroes

"Obama Is Right" by William L. Gensert over at American Thinker is a must read.

 After all the suffering America has experienced while he was busy getting the "policy right," there is no one left who still believes in Barack's brilliance.  After watching him in two debates sans teleprompter, his reputation as humanity's greatest orator has evaporated along with his lead in the polls.

From the 23 million Americans unemployed or underemployed and the 46 million people now on food stamps, to the decline in workforce participation and the explosion of people on disability, many now realize the fallacy of his reputedly deft decision-making skills.  His claim in the last debate of having created 5 million jobs rings hollow to an electorate seeing fewer people working today than when Obama took office.

Yet, the story he insists on telling America is that he saved us.

He maintains that his near-trillion-dollar stimulus -- ultimately a reward to political backers and crony capitalist buddies -- avoided a great depression, despite the worst economic recovery since WWII and 42 months of 8%-plus unemployment.  Remember "saved or created"?

We are now supposed to believe that 1.3% economic growth and 7.8% unemployment is the "new normal," and it is only ungrateful bastards who refuse to see this as success.

He also saved the auto industry, claiming in the second debate a million jobs saved -- a nice trick, since as of September 2012, there were only 778,400 people working in the manufacture of motor vehicles and parts in the United States.

Why he didn't claim 2 million or 10 million jobs "saved or created," I will never know.  He could have used any figure.  He is after all, telling a story.  Why not make it a good one -- nay, a great one?…

His idea of bipartisanism was to offer the opposition the opportunity to do as they were told.  And when they refused, he labeled them as obstructionists.  His deeply unpopular ObamaCare passed without a single Republican vote, and the last two budgets he proposed didn't get any votes at all.  How's that for reaching across the aisle?

He sold himself to America as a constitutional scholar.  Yet when the minutiae of governing -- proposing and crafting legislation and lobbying for its passage -- got too difficult, he hit the links and ruled by executive order…

Disingenuously, he portrays himself as the "Energy President," while his policy has always been none of the above, unless it is wind or solar, which he calls the energy of the future when it is truly the energy of the past.  With Barack, it is always yesterday's answers to today's problems.  That's why he likes high-speed rail so much.

He is singlehandedly destroying the coal industry in America, while restricting drilling for oil in the Gulf and off our shores as well as on all public lands.  The EPA is now in the process of formulating rules to regulate "fracking" nationwide.  It's a safe bet that any new regulations won't increase production.

Yet, he has no problem taking credit for the boom in fossil-fuel development happening on private land -- something he couldn't stop.  Maybe next term he will be more successful.

Every other month, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar withdraws more land from potential energy development.  Most recently, he put nearly half of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska's North Slope off-limits, restricting development to 12 million acres with potentially 549 million barrels of oil.

In 2002, the Reserve, designated almost a century ago by Congress for energy development, was thought to hold 9 billion barrels of oil.  Mysteriously, in 2010, this estimate was reduced to 900 million barrels.  People notice when you pull billions of barrels of oil from potential production.  Change the story by redefining the estimate, and the news item goes from page 1 to page 19 when the administration puts America's resources off-limits.

...And that is the essence of the Barack Obama presidency.  It is a story of "redefinition," failure redefined as success, weakness portrayed as strength and a lack of ideas as transformational leadership.  He has redefined being responsible by using the qualifier "to some degree."  This way, he has the luxury of taking credit for all the good while blaming others for all the bad...

To Obama Administration, Fort Hood Wasn't a Terrorist Attack Either

The Pentagon during Barack Obama's watch is as irrational, obscurantist and cowardly as everything else connected to the Obama administration when it comes to calling terrorism…uh, terrorism.

For instance, though Major Nadal Hassan was motivated by jihadist material, had connections with al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, and shouted “Allah akbar” while murdering 13 and trying to murder many, many more, the administration refuses to call this a terrorist attack.

No, to the White House, the Pentagon lawyers, and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, the shootings were merely an example of (and I'm not kidding) "workplace violence."

If you can stand it, here's more from the Washington Times.

The Birth Dearth Is Bad for Business, Baby

While looking at a new outbreak of Boomer-bashing in the US media -- provoked by continuing economic woes and the election --I came across a columnist in the Atlantic magazine who gets what the basic problem is. “Demographics are economics,” says Derek Thompson. How true.

"In normal times, millions of people get married in their mid-to-late 20s. They spend lots of money on a wedding. They buy a car, often with a loan. They buy a house, always with a loan. They buy new furniture and appliances. With their time and money coupled, expenses that were once extraneous now feel reasonable. Maybe he was individually satisfied with sports bars and she with Netflix, but as a couple, it makes more sense to watch live sports and TV shows on their new couch, and so they buy cable. They have a kid, or more than a few. You know how the story goes."

You mightn’t like the consumer approach to marriage but it’s true that when a couple starts a home and family they buy stuff…And if they don’t, they don’t…

Even as singles, young adults are cutting back on significant purchases, Thompson reckons. If you move back home with your parents you could do without your own car, for instance.

So that sounds like a double whammy for the economy which is not compensated for by spending on phones and eating out. A loan from the government to pursue studies that you may take decades to pay back may help the economy to tick over but at the expense of even further delays in marriage and procreation…

He hopes that “babies will return with the economy”. But perhaps the economy will only return with the babies -- meaning that, whatever the economy is doing, more young adults should start to think about their futures in terms of marriage and family life and gear their studies and career choices to that end. It may take some moral courage, and not a little family support, to buck the trend.

Meanwhile, if the Boomers are to blame for anything it is for swallowing the two-child line sold them by the previous generation, the so-called Greatest -- or at least its business and political elite -- and its accompanying message to consume, consume, consume. There comes a point, surely, where buying stuff for a very small family -- and eventually just oneself -- begins to erode both the economy and humanity.

("What’s really wrong with the economies: the baby dearth" by Carolyn Moynihan at Mercator.)

Thanks to Rob Quiring for drawing this article to my attention.

While Chris Matthews Cries "Racial Hatred," Media Totally Ignores Real Hatred

Item #1

Presidential Debate III was more like “Rocky” Round 16, an afterthought where neither boxer really lands a clean punch on the other and where the crowd has dozed off or gone to bed. Only in the land of MSNBC were sparks flying.

Famously tingly MSNBC host Chris Matthews decided the whole race came down to, well, race. In one of the more outlandish rants of an outlandish career, Matthews said the right hates Obama more than they want to destroy Al Qaeda, according to The Hill. The rant is too priceless to edit:

“I think they hate Obama. They want him out of the White House more than they want to destroy Al Qaeda. Their No. 1 enemy in the world right now, on the right, is their hatred, hatred for Obama. And we can go into that about the white working class in the South and looking at these numbers we're getting the last couple days about racial hatred in many cases … this isn't about being a better president, they want to get rid of this president,’ he said.”

Other than that bout of inanity/insanity, the night was pretty mellow…

Item #2

Despite the issue garnering a significant amount of media interest as well as the attention of the Secret Service, Obama supporters continued their threats to riot and assassinate Mitt Romney if Obama loses in the aftermath of last night’s presidential debate.

As we reported last week, Twitter has been flooded recently with violent comments from Obama supporters. The increase in volume of the comments seemed to coincide with Romney’s poll numbers edging higher against Obama.

Not only have Obama voters been making open threats that they will riot and cause mayhem, they have also been caught making direct threats to assassinate Mitt Romney, prompting the Secret Service to announce that it was “aware” of the threats and would “conduct appropriate follow up if necessary.”

Despite the fact that the media reported extensively on threats made against Obama prior to the 2008 election, their silence on the threats made against Romney has been deafening. Indeed, the act of a few old guys hanging up empty chairs in reference to Clint Eastwood’s RNC speech garnered substantially more coverage and concern from the press compared to hundreds if not thousands of tweets threatening violence against Mitt Romney.

Americans who simply display political signs expressing opposition to Obama’s policies have been treated as potential violent threats by authorities in the past, and yet not a single Twitter user has faced retribution for making direct and sometimes graphic death threats against Romney.

Leftists routinely cry foul and attempt to demonize conservatives as violent extremists whenever online rhetoric gets heated, and yet when their own engage in even worse conduct, their behavior is absolved and the media is disinterested...

Item #3

State Senator Neal Kedzie says his son was attacked while trying to stop someone from stealing his Romney/Ryan yard sign.

Whitewater Police (suburb of Madison, Wisconsin) tell NBC15 News this is an active investigation.

Here is the statement released by Senator Neal Kedzie:

Early on Friday morning, October 19th, my son Sean was awakened by noises outside his residence in Whitewater. As he went to see what the commotion was about, he noticed an individual removing a Romney/Ryan yard sign from his property. He yelled to the person that they were taking something not theirs and to return it immediately.

The individual returned the sign, however, a second person confronted and attacked Sean without warning.

Sean was wrestled to the ground by both persons, held down by a constricting chokehold, and struck repeatedly about the face and head.

He nearly passed out from the chokehold and suffered contusions to his face and eyes.

Fortunately, an alert neighbor heard the commotion, scared the individuals away, and called the police...

Today's Posts

Towards More Effective Praying Against Planned Parenthood

Deb Fischer Is "In" With Nebraska Sheriffs

Federal Stimulus Paying Workers to Play Cards, Read Magazines

Why Did the U.S. Just Listen to the Fight in Benghazi...But Not Send Help?

Still More Newspapers Endorse Romney

It's That Simple

DNC Chairwoman Goes Stone-Cold Stupid on Obama's "Kill List"

Towards More Effective Praying Against Planned Parenthood

Regularly recalling to our readers' attention the Vital Signs Ministries “3 for 5” prayer program against the mega-abortion corporation, Planned Parenthood, has to be a good thing.

So, here we go.

We’re asking believers to covenant together to pray at least 3 minutes a day on the 5 weekdays about specific issues related to Planned Parenthood’s ongoing assaults on the culture of life.  That could mean 3 minutes of prayer added to one’s morning meditations, a minute prayer lifted up three times a day…whatever.  And for every weekday, we’re encouraging prayers aimed at particular targets.  Again, this way we’re praying more AND praying for the very same things, agreeing with one another and the Holy Spirit to oppose the evil deeds of this mega-abortion corporation.  Below are the specific targets for each weekday, a sample prayer and a Scripture “springboard.”

1) Monday’s focus: Pray for Planned Parenthood’s scheduled victims for the week.

“This week many young women are scheduled to have their babies destroyed by Planned Parenthood abortionists.  Many more will abort children through the various chemicals that the business sells.  Father, we pray for many of these minds to be changed.  We ask that these moms will choose instead the guidance and loving assistance of pro-life family members, churches and pregnancy aid centers.  And we also pray that those who have already been exploited and victimized by Planned Parenthood find healing in the cross of Christ.”

Scripture exhortation: Deuteronomy 30:19 -- “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” (NASB)

2) Tuesday’s focus: Pray for shame and scandal to be the portion of Planned Parenthood.

“Holy Lord Jesus, today I pray that the immoral and violent nature of Planned Parenthood be increasingly revealed to the public.  Raise up journalists, lawyers, politicians, educators, celebrities, business leaders and more to expose the organization’s promotion and enablement of abortion, sexual perversion, promiscuity, and misuse of government funds.  Take from Planned Parenthood their financial support, their partnerships and their false cloak of respectability.”

Scripture exhortation: Ephesians 5:11 --“And so do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” (NASB)

3) Wednesday’s focus: Pray for spiritual conversion among Planned Parenthood employees and supporters.

“Please, Lord Jesus, reveal to those who work with, promote or otherwise support Planned Parenthood the organization’s inherent evils.  Give them a new understanding of the sanctity of life, marriage, family and purity.  And with repentance and conversion, make of these ‘born again’ people effective servants of Your grace and holiness.”

Scripture exhortation: 2 Corinthians 5:17 -- “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, new things have come.” (NASB)

4) Thursday’s focus: Pray for those who stand against Planned Parenthood’s assaults on the culture of life.

“Dear Jesus, today we earnestly pray for all those who seek to defend the least of these and to restore a sanctity of life ethic to our nation.  We pray for those who, in various ways, prayerfully oppose the barbarism of Planned Parenthood.  We ask You to provide wisdom, protection and spiritual power in abundance for sidewalk counselors, clergy, medical professionals, pro-life educators and especially for those who serve with pro-life pregnancy aid ministries.”

Scripture exhortation: Timothy 1:7 -- “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” (NASB)

5) Friday’s focus: Pray for a dramatic reformation of sexual ethics among American youth.

“Father, today’s prayer is for fresh and compelling conviction of Your truths regarding modesty, purity, self-control, and the blessedness of sexual relations within marriage.  Reveal these precious virtues especially to youth and to those who influence American culture.  And also, Lord, please expose for all to see Planned Parenthood’s perverse and counter-productive sex-ed philosophy.”

Scripture exhortation: Philippians 4:8 -- “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (NASB)

Note -- In order to better remember the prayer focus for each day, Claire and I concentrate on key words -- Monday: Victims. Tuesday: Scandal. Wednesday: Conversion. Thursday: Heroes. Friday: Youth. And we use an acrostic to help us recall those key words. VSCHY: "Vital Signs Can Help You" -- as in helping you to pray against Planned Parenthood!

Deb Fischer Is "In" With Nebraska Sheriffs

Among the endorsements of Deb Fischer in her run for the U.S. Senate, she's roped in the pro-life groups, the NRA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Omaha World-Herald, the Farm Bureau and, most recently, 69 county sheriffs.

Very impressive.

In those endorsements coming from the sheriffs, they cited Mrs. Fischer’s leadership, integrity and support for the law enforcement community. The list of endorsers included the sheriffs of Cherry, Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties.

“No one in this race is more dedicated to public safety than Deb Fischer,” said Douglas County Sheriff Timothy F. Dunning. “She will be a great friend to the law enforcement community, and her leadership, honesty, and dedication to public service will be a great asset to Nebraska in Washington.”

“Senator Fischer understands that public safety is a top priority of government, and she has helped ensure that law enforcement professionals have the resources they need to keep our communities safe,” said Dawson County Sheriff Gary W. Reiber.

Federal Stimulus Paying Workers to Play Cards, Read Magazines

Playing cards and board games, reading magazines, watching movies. That's what  Barack Obama calls "industries of the future." And he's using your tax dollars (via the federal government's infamous "stimulus" appropriations) to pay people to do these things instead of what he promised they would be doing; namely, making batteries.

Here's the story (including an infuriating video clip from a local TV station, Lord bless 'em) telling about LG Chem, a $300 million lithium-ion battery plant that has been 1) heavily funded by taxpayers, 2) has been and still is paying people to play Monopoly, and 3) which has yet to ship out a single battery!

Democrat policies are really something, aren't they?

Why Did the U.S. Just Listen to the Fight in Benghazi...But Not Send Help?

Bing West, a Marine, an author, and a former assistant secretary of defense, asks a question that's on the minds of many, many Americans.

A U.S. ambassador is missing and his diplomatic team is desperately fighting off terrorist attacks. Our commander-in-chief and his national-security team in Washington are listening to the phone calls from the Americans under attack and watching real-time video from a drone circling overhead. Yet the U.S. military sends no aid. Why?

On September 11, at about 10 p.m. Libyan time (4 p.m. in Washington), Ambassador Chris Stevens and a small staff were inside our consulate in Benghazi when terrorists attacked. The consulate staff immediately contacted Washington and our embassy in Tripoli. The White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and numerous military headquarters monitored the entire battle in real time via the phone calls from Benghazi and video from a drone overhead.

Our diplomats fought for seven hours without any aid from outside the country. Four Americans died while the Obama national-security team and our military passively watched and listened. The administration is being criticized for ignoring security needs before the attack and for falsely attributing the assault to a mob. But the most severe failure has gone unnoticed: namely, a failure to aid the living…

In the past, presidents had taken immediate actions to protect Americans. In 1984, President Reagan had ordered U.S. pilots to force an airliner carrying terrorists to land at Sigonella. Reagan had acted inside a 90-minute window while the aircraft with the terrorists was in the air. The Obama national-security team had several hours in which to move forces from Sigonella to Benghazi.

Fighter jets could have been at Benghazi in an hour; the commandos inside three hours. If the attackers were a mob, as intelligence reported, then an F18 in afterburner, roaring like a lion, would unnerve them. This procedure was applied often in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Conversely, if the attackers were terrorists, then the U.S. commandos would eliminate them. But no forces were dispatched from Sigonella...

It is bewildering that no U.S. aircraft ever came to the aid of the defenders. If even one F18 had been on station, it would have detected the location of hostiles firing at night and deterred and attacked the mortar sites. For our top leadership, with all the technological and military tools at their disposal, to have done nothing for seven hours was a joint civilian and military failure of initiative and nerve...

Read the rest of "First, Aid the Living" at NRO's The Corner.

Still More Newspapers Endorse Romney

Here's a few excerpts from the editorials of newspapers recently endorsing Mitt Romney for President.

"Why Mitt? Reality Over Fantasy" (New Hampshire Union-Leader)

...Barack Obama was in Manchester on Thursday. When he came to Veterans Park in 2008, he sold “hope and change.” He was uplifting, inspiring. Last week, that was gone. In its place was the negativity, the deception, the nastiness that Obama once said he wanted to remove from politics.

Obama offered New Hampshire nothing but bitterness and envy. He attacked Romney with a litany of mischaracterizations and deliberate falsehoods. It was far from the uplifting message Obama delivered four years ago. But four years ago Obama did not have an indefensible record...

What Obama offers America is a fantasy. Sputtering economies are not sparked back to life by government-directed spending on industries hand-chosen by politicians. They are revived by unleashing the energy and creativity of the American people. The key difference between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama is that Romney understands that crucial economic truth; Barack Obama does not…

While Obama offers rhetoric and pipe dreams, Romney offers a real plan to bring the economy back to life. It is not the George W. Bush plan. Bush spent more than he took in. Obama, who doubled Bush’s level of deficit spending, accuses Romney of wanting to return to Bush-type deficit spending. It is not true, but if it were, that would be an improvement over the last four years.

Obama had four years — half of them with a Democratic majority in Congress — to try his way. Romney offers a better way, a realistic way, to restore American prosperity. We tried the fantasy. It did not work. Now it is time to stop dreaming and start growing again.

"For President" (Columbus Dispatch)

After nearly four years of economic stagnation, massive unemployment, record-setting debt and government intrusions into the economy that have paralyzed the private sector, the United States needs a new direction. For this reason, The Dispatch urges voters to choose Republican Mitt Romney for president in the Nov. 6 election…

In 2008, Americans made a leap of faith when they elevated the inexperienced Obama to the White House. That faith was not rewarded. This time, voters should place their hopes for change in experience, by electing Romney.

"Mitt Romney for President" (Tampa Tribune)

...Under President Barack Obama's liberal and inconsistent leadership, the country has limped along, barely a step ahead of another recession. The deficit soared, government expanded and the prospects of more regulations and taxes chilled corporate investment.

Just as we warned four years ago, this master orator has pushed "America toward a European-style social democracy." We don't question Obama's motives. The president sincerely believes in the inviolable ability of the federal government to make all things right. But Americans should see that this top-down approach doesn't work.

Romney, in contrast, would capitalize on individuals' ingenuity, not Washington directives...

"Mitt Romney for President" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

It sounds cliched, but it is a truism: America is at a crossroads. It can continue down the path of Leviathan government and an increasing dependence on it, or America can return to the path of limited government and the kind of prosperity-producing independence on which the Founders based this great republic.

The choice is yours. Our choice is the latter. And that’s why we enthusiastically endorse Republican Mitt Romney for president of the United States...

"Romney for President" (Houston Chronicle)

The Chronicle's backing of Barack Obama in 2008 broke a 44-year string of endorsing Republican candidates for president. Like so many others, we were captivated by the Illinois senator's soaring rhetoric and energized by his promise to move American politics beyond partisan gridlock and into an era of hope and change.

It hasn't happened. Four years later, President Obama's deeds have failed to match his words, much less his specific vows to cut the national debt by half and bring the nation's unemployment rate to 6 percent. As Texans, it is a particular vexation that this president's attitude toward the interests of our state has occasionally bordered on contempt, particularly in decisions relating to the NASA budget and the energy sector. The hurtful symbol of this attitude of insensitivity to Texans' feelings was the administration's choice to deny Space City's bid to become home to one of the retired space shuttles.

We do not believe four more years on the same plodding course toward economic recovery is the best path forward for Texas or the nation. And so we endorse the Republican team, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, in the belief that they can do better by Texas and the nation…

"Mitt Romney: New Leadership for More Economic Growth" (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)

(Another generally Democrat newspaper who endorsed Barack Obama in 2008.)

 Given the final two minutes to speak during Tuesday's second presidential debate, President Barack Obama quickly spotlighted what he said was the key distinction between his re-election candidacy and the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "There's a fundamentally different vision about how we move our country forward," Obama said.

He's right, and "fundamentally different" is what the nation needs. For that reason, Romney should be elected president on Nov. 6. The slow U.S. economy and its discouragingly high unemployment overshadow the other important issues in this election. Economic recovery must be spurred to a faster pace, and a change to Romney's leadership would do that...