The Left's Inevitable Move To Totalitarianism

Have you noted these recent headlines?

Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans

Jackie Chan: Action star suggests Hong Kong curb rights

Harry Belafonte Suggests that Barack Obama Jail Political Detractors

The left begins with mocking, maligning and marginalizing their ideological opposition.

But, if and when the left has enough raw power, they inevitably move to silence their opposition altogether. 

And this isn't just the nature of the left in Communist Russia or China.

Consider the aggressive assaults on free speech and freedom of religion conducted by the Obama administration. Consider the evidence of gross and widespread voter fraud. Consider the moves of Democrats to diminish the influence of talk radio, Fox News and conservative bloggers while at the same time seeking government financing of "progressive news programming."

No, Binky; if you're not part of the program, you're gonna' be part of the purge.

Today's Posts

The Evil Among Us

Racing Through December

Let's Thank Senator Johanns for Standing Up for American Freedom

Carefully Considering the Birth Control Pill

"What's Up with John Boehner?"

The Evil Among Us

You just know the pundits will be looking to link today's Connecticut school massacre to the availability of guns, economic pressures, the lack of civility in political discourse, and so on.

But will any of them dare to speak of the most obvious things which have stained America so badly with lawlessness and death; namely, the forced removal of religion from public life, the erosion of the sanctity of life, and the abysmal failure that is the American justice system?

God, have mercy on the families of those directly affected by today's mindless evil. And have mercy on America.

Racing Through December

Whew. This has been quite a week -- and it's still far from over!

Behind us (just since Monday) is blogging -- a dinner party at our house -- getting the monthly Vital Signs letter out -- making major revisions in the Christmas edition of "When Swing Was King" -- serious housecleaning in anticipation of this weekend's parties -- a talk to 65-70 kids and parents attending the Faith Bible Church AWANA Christmas party -- writing a short story to include in our personal Christmas cards and letters -- the regular Tuesday morning confab at Panera's -- getting Christmas presents out to my siblings all over the country -- a dinner out with friends.

And, of course, I can't fail to mention the delightful, stimulating morning Claire and I spent on Wednesday with longtime friend and former Nebraska governor, Kay Orr and her daughter, Suzanne Gage at Kay's lovely home in Lincoln. Near the end of the morning, our experience was enhanced even further when Kay's husband, Bill, returned from a men's Bible study to join in the conversation. This is a warm, intelligent and principled Christian family indeed and we are very honored by their friendship.

Oh yes. I almost forgot.  We have presented the Christmas edition of "When Swing Was King" at six different facilities this week! And we have another this afternoon!

What else is still to come this weekend? There's Christmas caroling tomorrow morning in front of the evil Planned Parenthood abortion mill...Sending over my monthly article for the church newsletter...Sermon and Sunday school preparation...Preparing for Saturday's Claire's Christmas tea that she hosts here for the female members of her family (Saturday)...Sending out the Top Ten from Vital Signs Blog...Baking cookies for the neighborhood Christmas cookie exchange (Sunday)...

And we may even try and get in a few hours of sleep too!

Ah, December!

Let's Thank Senator Johanns for Standing Up for American Freedom

One of the pet principles of post-modern progressives in media, government and academia is that the enlightened globalists of the United Nations could do a far better job of governing America than...well, the American people. That's why these folks are up in arms against Mike Johanns and other Republican Senators who voted last week to block the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Don't be misled by the slogans and slurs being tossed out by the Washington Post. For this treaty was not about helping disabled people at all. Rather, it was a callous attempt to use a worthy cause as camouflage for yet another encroachment on national sovereignty.

That's why Senator Johanns voted against the thing. Not because he doesn't care about the disabled but because he cares about the disabled as well as American freedom, security, and the rights of self-determination.

And, make no mistake, those latter values have proven over and again to yield more effective care for the weak and needy than anything the globalists can deliver.

That is why Joni and Friends, one of the most exemplary disability rights groups in the world, was among the many conservative organizations and the hundreds of thousands of American citizens who stood strongly against the UN Convention.

Others who opposed the dangerous principles contained in that treaty? The Family Research Council. The Home School Legal Defense Association. Heritage Action. Let Freedom Ring. Concerned Women for America. The Eagle Forum. Patriot Voices. And many more.

J.C. Derrick from World Magazine described the situation:

Disabilities group Joni and Friends, the organization started by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada, came out against the treaty in mid-November and sparked a petition signed by 9,000 parents of children with disabilities. Joni and Friends said the treaty would help promote the dignity of disabled persons, but the group “holds deep concerns regarding CRPD language on parental rights and the rights of unborn with disabilities.” 

...Joni and Friends and other opposition groups are also concerned about the treaty’s infringement upon U.S. sovereignty, which would include “unwelcome global regulations,” according to constitutional lawyer and Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly. “We don’t need a treaty that sets up UN busybodies to assure benefits and protections for persons with disabilities,” she wrote on the Eagle Forum website. “We already treat individuals, able or disabled, rich or poor, better than any other nation.”

Schlafly said feminists hope to expand abortion with the treaty since it guarantees rights in the area of “sexual and reproductive health and population-based health programmes.” The Vatican refused to sign the treaty on the grounds that it would be used to promote abortion. More than 115 countries had already signed the treaty when it passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July...

Michael Farris, founder of the HSLDA and an international law expert, said opposition to the bill doesn’t have anything to do with taking care of the disabled: “We oppose the CRPD for the simple principle that Americans should make the law for America.” 

Senator Johanns and the others who defended American freedom by voting against this sadly-misnamed United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities need to hear solid thanks from conservatives. And so I suggest you send letters, zip e-mails, or make calls which do just that.

You can use this HSLDA contact page to communicate to Senator Johanns. Or just contact him through this general info.

Carefully Considering the Birth Control Pill

Over on Randy Alcorn's blog is a brief post linking readers to a recent article decrying the move of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to recommend to the FDA that "birth control pills" be available over the counter.

And a main reason Christians should be outraged over the ACOG move is that all "birth control pills" contain in their chemical makeup an abortifacient action.

You heard me right. All so-called "birth control pills" have three effects on a woman's body. Two of them are contraceptive actions. But the third severely thins the uterine lining of the woman's womb so that if a child is conceived (and "breakthrough ovulation" occurs a lot more than what most people realize), that child is unable to attach to the uterine wall.

The tiny child dies. Secretly and unmourned.

Here at Vital Signs, we have opposed the "birth control pill" for all 30 years of our ministry. The scientific evidence of its lethal effects is just too strong to ignore. In Randy's blog post, he provides a link to the comprehensive study he himself wrote many years ago, a study that provides a clear answer (from science and theology) to the question, Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?

You can even get a free copy there at Eternal Perspective Ministries.

If you'd prefer something a bit shorter, Vital Signs Ministries also has a couple of articles you should check out. They are both on the VSM website and, interestingly enough, both were cited in Randy's book. Those articles are "Gambling With Life," and "The New Abortionists: Chemical Abortion in Contemporary Culture."

You would also do well to enhance your understanding of this issue (and sharpen your skills in communicating the case to others) by looking at a few of these pill-related posts from Vital Signs Blog:

The Pill Is 50. So Why Am I Not Celebrating?

Surgical Oncologist Argues: Birth Control Pill Is a "Molotov Cocktail" for Cancer

Does "The Pill" Kill Post Conception? Planned Parenthood Says "Yes" and "No."

Just the Facts...on Birth Control Pills

Birth Control Pills Increase Risk of Heart Attack/Stroke

Can the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? Let's Go to the Video Tape.

By the way, also in Randy's article is this link for the Food and Drug Administration so that you can pass along your principled opposition to the ACOG's recommendations.

Thank you, Randy Alcorn. For among everything else you have done in stimulating and equipping the Church to love and good deeds for the Master's glory, you have continued a strong and steady ministry in behalf of the sanctity of life. Way to go.

"What's Up with John Boehner?"

What's up with John Boehner? Has he lost his mind or something? There are a lot of conservatives who think he's gone around the bend. He's done precious little to convince anyone otherwise. He sounds more like a Democrat than a Republican these days, and he's giving credence to those who believe,"There's not a dime's worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats."

Read more of "Boehner's Boners," J.T. Hatter's latest American Thinker article right here.

Today's Posts

A Busy Wednesday

The Passing of Christmas

December's Doings...And More!

It's Not Just a Fiscal Cliff We're Going Over

A Busy Wednesday

After quickly blogging this morning (a compilation of "Yipes Reading" items and links to recent VSM publications, the December LifeSharer letter and the essay "The Passing of Christmas"), Claire and I are headed down to Lincoln for a conversation with a longtime friend about politics, culture and writing.

Then it's back to Omaha for another "When Swing Was King" presentation this afternoon. And, if I can find some time, to put on the blog the Wednesday Tea Break items.

And then tonight I have a speaking engagement with kids and their parents down at Faith Bible Church.

Busy day.

The Passing of Christmas

Dear Virginia,

Because you have been such a loyal friend of Christmas, I wanted to write a personal letter to try and explain the sad news I’ll be announcing at a press conference tomorrow.  Virginia, I’m retiring.  I’ve already deleted my database, put the sleigh up on Craig’s List, and changed forever into civilian clothes. Mrs. Claus and I have sublet our cottage here to a Russian drilling crew (they insist they own the North Pole anyway) and we’ve sold the workshops to a Chinese toy manufacturer.  For ourselves, we’ll be moving to Malta, at least for awhile.  There are at least some remains of civilization on that island; the health care system is top notch; and the climate may well help my arthritis.
   
Virginia, I know this may seem like an abrupt and drastic move but, trust me, I really had no other choice.  I’m deeply saddened to think of the heartbreak the cancellation of Christmas will bring to good-hearted supporters like you.  Yet I also believe that the true friends of Christmas will sympathize with my plight…

Read the rest of "The Passing of Christmas" right here.

December's Doings...And More!

"But before we move into 2013, we have to take care of December duties.  And for a couple as deep into Christmas as Claire and me, that’s no small thing!"

The latest LifeSharer letter is up over at the Vital Signs Ministries web site.

The letter previews a few of the things we're planning for the coming year as well as Claire's and my hectic (but exciting) December's doings.

Check it out.

It's Not Just a Fiscal Cliff We're Going Over

As Barry McGuire asked in that challenging classic from yesteryear, "And you tell me, over and over and over again, you can't believe we're on the eve of destruction?"

Check out just a sampling of today's headlines.

* Only 7% of Detroit Public-School 8th Graders Proficient in Reading

* North Korea Launches Rocket, Hell Breaks Loose

* Report: Obama to Talk to Iran, Leave Israel in the Cold

* British government to legalize same-sex marriage

* Democrats threaten violence on Michigan House floor

* 526,421 family farms threatened by new death tax

* White House’s business adviser says China’s ‘state-run communism’ works

* 'Jedi' religion most popular alternative faith

* Clackamas Town Center shooting: At least 2 shot dead, more injured by man with rifle

* Teens Ask for Smoke, Kill Woman When She Replies "Get a Job" 

* French teacher suspended for asking pupils to write suicide notes

* California's Population Is Moving Out, Census Report Shows

* New marijuana laws cause confusion

* Former president Jimmy Carter OK with legalizing marijuana

* Our Government-Created Financial Crisis

Today's Posts

Now, This Is Christmas!

A Sweet "Reach Out" to the Neighbors

With Friends Like These: Republican Leadership Punishes Conservative Republicans.

Now, This Is Christmas!

Yesterday started with quite a morning. Claire finished getting the December LifeSharer letter into the mail and put together a hamburger soup to simmer all day in the crock pot. Meanwhile, I was down on the "old" computer frantically making making final revisions on our Christmas edition of "When Swing Was King" in hopes it would be ready for its debut performance at 2:30.

Those revisions had been extensive. For instance, I dropped altogether Benny Goodman's "Winter Weather" and replaced it with Gene Autry's "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." The BG song is a pretty good one (vocals performed by Art Lund and Peggy Lee, by the way) but I didn't think it could come close to "Rudolph" as a crowd pleaser. After all, with more than 25 million copies sold, it is the 2nd most popular Christmas record of all time. I'm pleased to say that my guess was spot on.

In addition to the song change, I changed over a third of all the pictures in the Power Point program. In this particular volume, that meant about 110 changes. I remember saying last year that the Christmas edition of "When Swing Was King" couldn't get much better.

I was wrong. It is.

The afternoon show was a big hit. The residents of the independent living complex thoroughly enjoyed the show and, of course, we had a swell time bringing it to them. It was our first time with our new speaker system ($85) and it really improves the program. For one, the sound of the music is deeper, richer and more easily controlled. Second, it allows a mike for me that makes the program's commentary much easier to be heard in full. The new system also sets up quicker and has less to lug around.

Anyhow, the show was solid and we had a sweet time visiting afterward. It made a great start to our Christmas "When Swing Was King" season -- despite a remarkably unprofessional and unfriendly response from the facility's activity director.

We returned home to run to the store and straighten up the house because we had company coming over for a "soup supper" later on. We had just enough time to get around to 7 of our neighbors with a proposal for a neighborhood cookie exchange. (The flyer we passed around can be read in this post.) Then we took off for the second "When Swing Was King" presentation of the day.

This one took us to one of our newer venues, the memory-impaired unit of House of Hope on North 52nd Street. It's a wonderful place with caring staff and we feel very blessed to be able to minister here too. We ended up with a full house (35-40) who exuberantly sang along with these well-known Christmas songs. Claire and I were both moved quite deeply as we shared Christmas with these dear people.

Then it was home to have a delightful evening with Jeff & Randy Brown and Karla Struble. Randy and Karla (devoted pals from way back) were in the Christmas spirit too having been with us for the "When Swing Was King" singalong earlier. After the show, they swung by and picked up  Randy's husband, Jeff, and met us back at our place. Rolls, chips, crackers, cheese, hamburger soup (enriched even further with leftover roast beef dropped in!) and Christmas cookies were on the menu. And so was about three hours of warm, stimulating conversation.

It was a superb day. A day that most definitely illustrates the special opportunities for fun, faith and service that the Christmas season brings.

And please know that your participation in one of Christmas "When Swing Was King" shows would be deeply appreciated. And I'm pretty sure you'd have a great time too. The schedule is right here.

And now I'd better book. We have two "When Swing Was King" presentations today too!

A Sweet "Reach Out" to the Neighbors

We had already talked to a couple of our neighbors and received encouraging response to an idea we had to bring several other neighbors together a little bit. So we wrote up a special invitation and took it by 7 of our neighbor's houses yesterday afternoon.

The response was very positive.

We'll let you know how it goes but we thought we'd also pass the idea along to you. Who knows -- you might think it's a pretty nifty idea too!

Here's the flyer:

You’re invited to participate in a neighborhood Christmas cookie exchange!  It’s a simple but sweet way to observe the season and we’d love to have you join us.

How does it work?  Each household bakes 2 dozen cookies, brownies or bars.  Those are then brought to Denny & Claire Hartford’s (our address) around 4 o’clock on Sunday, December 16th.  (If necessary, they can be dropped off earlier.)  We will divide the cookies right then so that everyone goes home with an equal amount of everyone’s cookies.  The exchange process will take just a few minutes but it will give us a chance to touch base with neighbors and to enjoy some different Christmas treats. 

It would also be great if you would bring 6-8 copies of the recipe for your cookie.  Also, we’ll have punch and hot drinks to enjoy while we trade cookies.  See you on the 16th. 

With Friends Like These: Republican Leadership Punishes Conservative Republicans.

After two tension-filled years between Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his party's conservative core, GOP leaders have apparently decided that some members rocked the Republican boat a little too much. Last week, pro-family stalwarts like Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) were denied important chairmanships, despite meeting the GOP's demand for raising party dollars. Monday, the onslaught continued as the Republican Steering Committee voted to strip the most conservative members of their high-profile committee seats.

Unfortunately for Congress, the victims were among the most well-rounded conservatives in the House: champions like Reps. David Schweikert (Ariz.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Justin Amash (Mich.), and Tim Huelskamp (Kans.). For members like Huelskamp, who have consistently held the line on taxes and spending, the penalty was particularly severe. Not only did he lose his spot on the House Budget Committee, but the GOP robbed him of his post on Agriculture, a purely punitive decision given Huelskamp's farm-filled Kansas district.

Like the other targets, Huelskamp is being marginalized for choosing voters over the party line. By taking members like Huelskamp to the woodshed, the Steering Committee is also showing other conservatives what's in store if they buck leadership. "It's pretty disappointing," he told reporters. Republican leadership "might think they have silenced conservatives," said Huelskamp, "but removing me and others from key committees only confirms our convictions."

Ironically, these members were only doing what Americans asked of them: holding the line on conservative principles--the same principles that led to the wave of GOP success in 2010. It's not only in America's best interest, but the leadership's, to have conservatives in the highest positions--men and women who are unapologetically strong on all three legs of the Republican stool: economic, social, and defense issues.

The problem GOP leaders face is that Washington is no longer the closed city it once was, where special interests and the liberal media reign supreme. Yes, the left-wing press and high-dollar lobbyists still wield significant influence, but these ousted members (and others) are mostly the product of grassroots, tea party-infused, pro-family conservatives who remain the Republican Party's only hope for a governing majority. The number of disaffected conservatives in Congress is growing at almost the same rate as those outside the Capitol. And as those two factors merge, it will spell serious challenges for the GOP establishment and their leaders. 

(Family Research Council, Washington Update, December 4)

Today's Posts

Solzhenitsyn on Suffering

This Just In: Planned Parenthood Is No Charity

In Response to Planned Parenthood's Abortion Orders, Some Affiliates Quit

Is There a Downside to Jim DeMint Leaving?

High School English Must Move Literature Aside to Make Room for Political Propaganda

And from The Book Den -- The Books of 2012: A Quick Overview

Solzhenitsyn on Suffering

Americans, even American Christians, tend to be shaped more by materialistic attitudes of comfort, health and pleasure than we are by the teachings of Holy Scripture. It is no wonder then that we are often clueless about the rich purposes of God which can be accomplished through suffering.

We want to be happy and fulfilled and popular -- even if Christianity has to be altered to make it conform to our wishes. We therefore miss out on much of what could transform us into the image of Christ. The Bible teaches that suffering is a normal part of life and, handled rightly, our suffering can yield an abundance of spiritual fruit.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, imprisoned in the Soviet prisons for years, learned this lesson well. For instance, in the second volume of his masterful work, The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn quotes approvingly an old Russian proverb, “If trouble comes, make use of it too.”

Well, trouble came in big doses to Solzhenitsyn: horrible overwork, constant intimidation and mistreatment, severe malnutrition, mental torture, life-threatening cancer, and years of separation from his friends, family and career.

Yet, as he developed his life of prayer and patience there in the camps, God was able to bring Alexander Solzhenitsyn to faith in Jesus Christ and to mold him into a spiritual champion -- a champion who would, quite literally, change the world. Solzhenitsyn knew well that that Russian proverb quoted above, so Christian in its import, was the key to these miracles. Even his gifts as a writer and historian, he credited to his sufferings: “I can say without affectation that I belong to the Russian convict world no less and owe no less to it, than I do to Russian literature. I got my education there and it will last forever.”

It is of the utmost value, however, for us to remember that it wasn’t just the trial that produced the treasure of Alexander Solzhenitsyn -- it was the trial rightly used to grow closer to God and thus become a better servant to man.

This Just In: Planned Parenthood Is No Charity

In Response to Planned Parenthood's Abortion Orders, Some Affiliates Quit

When pro-life publications reported that Planned Parenthood, the mega-abortion corporation that rakes in 80 million dollars every year PLUS being given another 350 million dollars annually from government coffers, was going to require every single office in their chain to begin performing abortions by 2013, those reports were treated with derision and disdain.

But those reports were true. And here's pretty dramatic evidence of just how true; namely, Planned Parenthood facilities fleeing the corral because of that abortion coercion.

Planned Parenthood of South Central New York is breaking away from the national organization, changing its name and going solo.

In early 2013, the group — which has locations in Binghamton, Norwich, Oneonta, Sidney and Walton — will become Family Planning of South Central New York, an independent nonprofit...

The agency’s local Strategic Planning Committee and Board of Directors unanimously approved independence because the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has mandated that all affiliates provide abortions by 2013. None of the local agency’s offices provide the service; instead, they refer women to nearby abortion providers.

Now, make no mistake, the rebel group here is not being heroic or even principled. They still will be encouraging and enabling young people to engage in immoral and unhealthy sexual practices; they still will be involved in abortion (dispensing chemical poisons themselves as well as sending women to surgical abortionists elsewhere); and they still are much more interested in profits than people.

But their jumping the fences of the Planned Parenthood corral does serve to show just how mean-spirited, autocratic and zealous for abortion is the "parent" organization.