Did These Get By You?

For those of you doing duty in the culture wars, here's a few of the best articles from recent days.

* “Stephanopoulos’s Long, Long Record of Loyal Service to the Clintons” (John Fund, National Review)

* “Teacher assails practice of giving passing grades to failing students” (Jay Mathews, Washington Post)

* “The Death of the Green Energy Movement” (Stephen Moore, Daily Signal)

* “House of the Stacked Deck of Cards: The privilege of being Hillary Clinton” (Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard)

* “Al Sharpton’s daughter sues city for $5M after spraining ankle” (Kathianne Boniello, New York Post)

* “Germany’s Green-Power Program Crushes the Poor” (Robert Zubrin, National Review)

* “The US Lost 1,335 Soldiers in Anbar. ISIS Just Took it Back…Thanks Obama” (Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit)

* “What if the World’s Most Expensive Fighter Planes Can’t Defeat Our Enemies?” (Mike Fredenburg, National Review)

A Case in Point of "Real" Racism

1) Incoming Boston University professor Saida Grundy calls "white college males" a "problem population” in angry tweets. And in other recent Twitter messages she says that "white masculinity is THE problem for America's colleges." And "Deal with your white (%*#*@), white people; slavery is a ‘YALL’ thing.” And "Every MLK week I commit myself to not spending a dime in white-owned businesses. And every year I find it nearly impossible."

2) Is she fired? No. Boston University Robert Brown acknowledged that her messages could be “hurtful” but then gave her plenty of understanding.  "I do not say this lightly or without a great deal of consultation and soul-searching," Brown's letter reads. "I understand there is a broader context to Dr. Grundy's tweets and that, as a scholar, she has the right to pursue her research, formulate her views, and challenge the rest of us to think differently about race relations. But we also must recognize that words have power and the words in her Twitter feed were powerful in the way they stereotyped and condemned other people."

3) Saida Grundy apologizes...in her way."I regret that my personal passion about issues surrounding these events led me to speak about them indelicately. I deprived them of the nuance and complexity that such subjects always deserve."

4) And the response of other liberals? Hey, Saida ain’t racist! You are! A hashtag campaign ensued and a petition of support which read, “Racism extends to virtually every institution in American society - including higher education. Calling Professor Grundy's tweets racist minimizes the very real effects of racism for people of color in the United States."

5) So calling white people names; smearing all white people by making them responsible for slave ownership; insisting that white males are the primary, if not sole, problem in American colleges; and bragging about race-oriented discrimination in consumer decisions — that’s not racism. Real racism is thinking that Professor Grundy is out of line.

6) Saida Grundy starts her job in July.

Don't Miss These "Must Reads"

* “How Obama’s Made Sure to Leave Every Part of the World More Dangerous than He Found It” (Robert Ehrlich, National Review)

* “Catholic University Investigated for Offending Muslims by Having Too Many Crosses” (John Hayward, Breitbart)

* “US to award Iran $11.9 billion through end of nuke talks” (Adam Kredo, Fox News)

* “The 7 Steps the Next President Should Take to Boost Our Economy” (James Carafano, The Daily Signal)

* “Christian schools will have no choice about gay marriage” (Michael Farris, USA Today)

* “Conservative Nebraska Legislature tackles liberal issues” (Anna Gronewold, Associated Press)

* “Stay Quiet and You'll Be Okay” (Mark Steyn, Steyn Online)

* “Bigot Peter Singer: Don’t Pay to Treat Disabled Babies” (Wesley J. Smith, National Review)

What Happened to Jefferson's Plea for Freedom of Conscience?

In addition to its own immensely lucrative profits from surgical and chemical abortion, our government gives Planned Parenthood yet more money...as in more than $540 million every year! And, of course, most of those citizens are profoundly grieved and offended at the barbaric destruction of human lives the wicked business commits.

Jefferson (and the rest of our nation’s founders) would be dumbfounded and aghast at how the American dream has turned out.

The Lasting Impressions of a Pro-Life Witness

We received an encouraging note today from a veteran sidewalk counselor and pro-life leader who serves the cause in another part of the country. We have known and appreciated her friendship for many years.

We thought you might find her message of interest as well.

An overdue response to your March letter:

Hi Denny,

[You wrote] in your March letter — “A pro-life witness outside an abortion business insures that men and women – even those who ultimately decide to commit the abortion – will forever remember that someone was there to plead with them, “no, don’t do this.”  They will retain in the memory of their abortion experience that someone was standing up for their child…and for the mother’s spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. That provides a tremendous incentive for repentance, a motivation to seek forgiveness and healing from the God Who delivered His Son to die for mankind’s sins.”

So true!  And here’s another thought:  I’ve wondered exactly what sort of feelings the woman will have as she remembers us, but I recently received an answer in one case at least:  I was told by the leader of a local post-abortion group that one of the women in the group said that she remembers me (her description was amazingly accurate after more than a decade) and the memory of my presence there is actually comforting  to her now.  She views it as God, in His love for her, reaching out to her even at that last minute.  That was comforting to ME, that she wasn’t allowing the memory solely to “beat her up” even more…  

Please say hi to Claire for me. 

May God continue to bless your work!

Did You Know You're Giving Planned Parenthood $540 Million? Every Year?

Just a quick reminder:

According to Planned Parenthood’s own accounting, the mega-abortion business scored $58.2 million in excess revenue for the year, making their net assets more than $1.3 billion. That’s right, B as in billion (not to mention base, blasphemous, and barbaric). And Planned Parenthood rakes in a big chunk of that cash from American taxpayers, like over $540 million every year now.

Remember also that Planned Parenthood’s abortion numbers remain consistently high (nearly 900 abortions every single day) despite the fact that its overall clients have substantially decreased. That doesn’t square very well with the business’ constant claims of providing health care to men and women. Indeed, under Cecile  Richards’ leadership, Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening and prevention services have been cut by more than half. And their other services, never serious enough to give much attention to, are falling off almost completely.

For instance, in that latest annual report, Planned Parenthood boasts of committing 327,166 abortion procedures in one year while only making 2,197 adoption referrals. Do the math yourself.  It works out to about 149 abortions for each single adoption referral.

No, behind all the slogans, Planned Parenthood is all about abortion. And it is being helped along substantially with your tax dollars.

Infuriating? It sure ougta’ be. So write yourCongressman and Senators. And tell your co-workers and your Sunday School class and your sweet Aunt Gertrude. It’s way past time that Planned Parenthood is denied a place at the public trough.

"Best Reads" From the Weekend

* “The Disgraceful Republican Cave-in on Loretta Lynch” (Andrew C. NRO)
McCarthy,

* “The liberation of President Obama” (Washington Times editors)

* “Our Mean-Spirited President Cuts Loose” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)

* “Over 75? Sign here if you're ready for death” (Sophie Borland, Daily Mail)

* “How Christianity invented children” (Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, The Week)

* “Hillary Thinks She Is Bigger Than God” (Ed Driscoll, PJ Media)

* “The Clintons' Little Tin Box” (Clarice Feldman, American Thinker)

* “Feds Play the Race Card to Crush Parents’ Revolt Against Common Core” (David French, NRO)

Living Unplugged

Obama's Mess in the Middle East

Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, and a former senior director of the National Security Council has written a very lucid, very important article for Mosaic. "Tectonic Shift in Obama's Iran Policy" details how Barack Obama's shameful nuclear deal with Iran is just the beginning of a whole lot of trouble. The president’s goal, at the expense of America’s allies, is full-fledged détente with Iran.

I print a few paragraphs below but, believe me, you'll find the full article very helpful in understanding the mess our president is creating.

Exaggerating the successes of Lausanne may have been a savvy maneuver against the president’s domestic critics, but it weakened his hand against the Iranians by telegraphing his deep personal investment in the negotiations. Failure to get a deal would now be a major embarrassment. Knowledge of this fact gave Khamenei an opening, which he exploited with his defiant speech. Not so fast, the speech signaled to Obama. In order to get the agreement that you’re already celebrating, you must pay—in the form of more concessions to me. 

If past behavior is anything to go by, Obama will give Khamenei what he wants. Indeed, American concessions have propelled the negotiations forward at every stage…

One of Obama’s greatest diplomatic successes is to have persuaded much of the world, including many of his critics, that the primary goal of his Iran diplomacy is to negotiate a nuclear arms-control agreement. In fact, the primary goal is détente with Iran.

In the president’s thinking, détente will restrain Iranian behavior more effectively than any formal agreement. In addition, it will also open the way to greater cooperation with Iran on regional security. Détente will permit the United States to pull back from the Middle East and focus more on its domestic priorities. Finally, it will vindicate Obama’s ethos of “engagement,” which he sees as a superior alternative to the military-driven concepts of American leadership championed by his Republican opponents. In short, détente will secure Obama’s legacy.

By contrast, Khamenei is pursuing highly specific goals. Three stand out above all others. He is seeking, first, to preserve Iran’s entire nuclear infrastructure; second, to repeal the sanctions on the Iranian economy; and third, to abolish the international legal regime that brands Iran a rogue state. In all three areas, Obama has already satisfied his core demands…

The disarray and atomization among the anti-Iranian states in the Middle East means that they (like the American Congress) will likely prove incapable of mounting a decisive opposition to Obama’s détente. But their inability to stop it does not mean they will ever accept it. They will remain dedicated to contesting Obama’s policy, and they will continue to fight back against Iran and its proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq—not to mention new venues that will appear over time.

Détente, therefore, will deliver disequilibrium, the exact opposite of the effect intended. By negotiating an arms-control agreement, the president has shifted the tectonic plates of the Middle East order. And for tectonic plates, it takes a move of just inches to level whole cities.

Did I Miss Anything Important?

Maybe. How about these articles?

* “Free Speech in Peril” (Myron Magnet, City Journal)

* “The Abortion Industry and Human Traffickers: Partners in Crime” (Becky Yeh, Live Action)

* “California Committee Passes Bill to to Force Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortions” (Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com)

* “Hillary's Terrible First Week Is A Bad Omen For Democrats” (Editorial, Investors Business Daily)

* “Former Sen. Coburn on what's 'disgusting' about Washington” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, Washington Examiner)

* “Canadian bioethicist attacks conscientious objection” (Michael Cook, BioEdge)

* “An education is a terrible thing to waste: Too many Americans are wasting precious years and vast amounts of cash acquiring a college education.” (Kevin Ryan, Mercator)

* "A Traitor Comes Home: A Look at the Zaccheus Narrative" (Denny Hartford)

A Traitor Comes Home

“And He entered and was passing through Jericho.” (Luke 19:1) This is the short and unpretentious beginning to one of the most well-known narratives of the New Testament, the story of Jesus’ encounter with the short-statured taxman, Zaccheus. But though this is a familiar account, there’s still much to apply from its teaching and, quite possibly, a few new things to learn too. Let’s take a look.

Tread the rest of the April LifeSharer from Vital Signs Ministries right here.

A Few "Wow" Articles Not To Be Missed

* "Police: Muslims threw Christians overboard during Med voyage" (Associated Press)

* “Faith Takes a Furlough” (Tony Perkins, FRC)

* “Former TSA Agent: Groping Scandal Is Business as Usual” (Jason Edward Harrington, TIME)

* “Girl Scouts Troop Hopes to Attract Transgender Recruits” (Austin Ruse, Breitbart)

* “Chelsea Clinton — $10M Apartment, $3M Wedding, $600K Job: I Just Don't Care About Money” (Leslie Larson, New York Daily News)

* “ESPN suspends reporter after ugly towing-lot rant” (Mark W. Sanchez and Justin Terranova, New York Post) (Warning: the video clip accompanying this story contains the reporter's profane and vile language. And was the lady fired by ESPN as she certainly should have been? No. She was "suspended" for one week!)

* "Obama Says Cuba Doesn’t Sponsor Terrorism. So What Are All These Hijackers and Bomb-Makers Doing There?" (James Kirchik, Daily Beast)

"Uneducated and Untrained" Witnesses

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13: NASB)

The local society around Peter and John could not figure out the source of their confidence.  The Greek words give special meaning to what the locals really thought of these two bold men.  First, they were said to be uneducated.  The Greek word is “agrammatos,” which is literally “without grammar.” Peter and John were uneducated fishermen who would, using our terminology, “slaughter the King’s English.”  Second, these men were untrained. This is a word that looks better in English than Greek, for the Greek word is“idiotes.” I think you can figure out what English word grew out of the original Greek!  In essence, the community considered Peter and John to be illiterate idiots! 

But there was one other thing the community saw in Peter and John—they had been with Jesus!  This was a testimony to the belief in the risen Lord.  Everyone knew they had been with Jesus before the crucifixion, but the change in demeanor was proof to the community that they had been with Jesus after the crucifixion, giving tangible proof of His resurrection. Better to have the presence of the risen Lord in your life than the best education this world can offer! 

From “No Replacement” by Dr. Randy White, one of the daily devotional columns you can find at “Word for the World with Dr. Randy White” on Crosswalk.com.

By the way, the above illustration is from the painting “Peter and John Running to the Tomb” by Eugène Burnand (1850 – 1921).

Christian “Witnessing”

Dr. Michael Youssef has these comments about witnessing:

…Many Christians talk about witnessing but most don’t have a truly accurate view of what being a witness means. To better understand the term, just look at what a witness in a court trial does. His duty is simple: to tell the truth about what he experienced. He is not responsible for fully understanding the law or the process; he is only obligated to tell what he saw and heard. Telling others what we experienced when we met Jesus is our duty as witnesses for Christ, and it should be our joy to do so.  How can we keep the gift of salvation quiet and not share it with others?

The Samaritan woman was not a Bible scholar and did not fully understand all that had just happened to her, yet she could not contain her excitement. Her simple testimony was to tell everyone she met, “Come and see.” That sums up our role as witnesses: we are to invite others to come and see what Jesus has to offer them. We are messengers, bearers of the most valuable invitation people will ever receive.

Christians are often relieved to learn they are not responsible for saving souls; that role is divine and not ours. Just as a witness is not responsible for the verdict, we are not held accountable for whether the people we invite to know Jesus ever accept that invitation. A witness only tells his experience and then leaves the outcome up to the judge or jury.  In the same way, we share the Good News and then the Holy Spirit takes over…

“Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef” is a daily devotional available on Crosswalk.com right here.

Repeal the Death Tax...Please!

After a Facebook post earlier today in which I linked to a recent article in the Rapid City Journal in which Senator John Thune advocates a repeal of the death tax, I wrote, "Bob Thune's little brother advocates an idea that's long, long overdue. Why not add a call, e-mail, or handwritten note to YOUR political representatives urging them to co-sponsor and work hard for the passage of the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015. (Thank you Senator Thune. Thank you Senator Fischer. And I'd like to thank you too Senator Sasse but you haven't co-sponsored this important bill yet! Come on, brudda.)

I then e-mailed Senator Sasse using his Senate website. I included the link to Senator Thune's article, the gist of my remarks, and a second appeal.

So, what about it, Senator Sasse? Will you please co-sponsor this legislation? I'd love to add a postscript to Vital Signs Blog and my Facebook page applauding you for doing so.

Thanks for your consideration.

Denny Hartford
Director, Vital Signs Ministries
Omaha

Ecuador President Trashes America. Our President Applauds the History Lesson.

From Fausta’s Blog comes an illuminating (and sad) report on the Summit of the Americas:

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador managed to tear himself away from Twitter to give a speech condemning the U.S., and portraying Latin America (and especially Ecuador) as a paragon of freedom and human rights. 

Barack Obama was next, and he agreed with Correa!

Obama stated, “I wanna make one last comment, er, addressing er, some of the points that er, president Correa raised that I’m sure will be raised by a few others during this discussion. Er, I always enjoy the history lessons that I receive, er, when I’m here.

Having prefaced that, Obama continued, “I am a student of history so I tend to actually be familiar with many of these episodes that have been mentioned. I am the first one to acknowledge that America’s application to concern around human rights has not always been consistent. And, I’m certainly mindful that there are dark chapters in our own history in which we have not always observed the principles and ideals upon which the country was founded. Just a few weeks ago I was in Selma, Alabama celebrating the 50th anniversary of a march across a bridge that resulted in horrific violence and the reason I was there and the reason it was a celebration is because it was a triumph of human spirit in which ordinary people without resort to violence were able to overcome systematic segregation. There voices were heard and our country changed. America never makes a claim about being perfect, we do make a claim about being open to change.”

Fausta’s Blog then provides links to a few indicators of Ecuador’s “high standing.”
They include:
* Heritage Foundation & Wall Street Journal's Index of Economic Freedom — Ecuador #147
* Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index — Ecuador #119
* Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index — Ecuador #146
* Institute for Economics and Peace/Economist Intelligence Unit: Global Peace Index — Ecuador #109

How’s that for history lessons?

About Those Subtle Nuances of Obama's "Mideast Policy"

The Best of the Weekend

Here's a few of the best (and most important) articles of the past few days:

* “The ‘Party of CEOs’ and Religious Liberty” (Maggie Gallagher, NRO)

* “Obama to Remove Cuba From State Sponsors of Terrorism List. Why That’s Bad.” (Ana Quintana, The Daily Signal)

* “Democrats Are the Real Abortion Extremists” (Ian Tuttle, NRO)

* “You Won't Believe Why a University Deactivated a Christian Group” (Fox News)

* “Sex educators urge births” (Shannon Roberts, Mercator)

* “Hillary Clinton, Champion of the Downtrodden?” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)

“Very Strong is a Working Supplication of a Righteous Man”

In the mysterious but wonderful union of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will, there is prayer.  Can prayer actually change the course of events then? Of course. Both the Holy Scriptures and personal experience say yes. And does it change the mind and heart of the intercessor? Yes again. Indeed, that is one of its primary and most important purposes. And does prayer please God? Does He enjoy hearing the worship, the meditation, and the appeals that come from His beloved children? Most definitely. So pray, my fellow saints. Pray without ceasing. Pray in humility, gratitude, and faith. And pray with a keen eye to the promises of Your heavenly Father.  

“Very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man,” James 5:16. (From Robert Young’s Literal Translation of the Greek text, published in 1862)

Truth: Remember It, Tell It, Live It

The injustice and cruelty of the Soviet Union’s vast organization of labor camps in the 1930’s and 1940’s are now well known. But that knowledge didn’t have to surface. Indeed, without the grace of God acting through such heroic individuals as Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the truth might well have remained buried by Communist cover-ups.

Solzhenitsyn's was the foremost voice raised against the grandiose and oppressive Soviet machine. Through rare courage and sacrificial efforts, he managed to alert the whole world to what was happening to countless numbers of innocent human beings.

Solzhenitsyn’s most famous (though not often read) book is the riveting 3-volume Gulag Archipelago. In that incredible work, the former slave camp worker documents the massive catalog of outrageous lies, violence, and criminal corruption perpetrated by Soviet Communism. In the Gulag (and even in his fiction), Solzhenitsyn serves as an historian. It is enough, he insists, to simply record what happened, to give the truth an open hearing. He had a bold faith that when people learned the real story of Soviet tyranny, they would resolve to never again allow the devil an open door to such blasphemy and brutality.

It is in this sense that Alexander Solzhenitsyn is hailed as a prophet – not as a foreteller, but as a “forth teller.” He held up the banner of truth. Simply by performing that service, he helped change the world.

Solzhenitsyn’s play The Love-Girl and the Innocent, set in a forced labor camp in Siberia in 1945, features one of the persecuted men listing just a few of the monstrous crimes performed by Soviet thugs that he has witnessed. The prisoner is beside himself with fury, feeling utterly helpless to do anything about this all-enveloping injustice. But in response, Pavel Gai, an imprisoned ex-soldier who has experienced more than his own share of horrors, answers him with chilling authority. “What can we do? Remember – that’s all.”

And that's what Alexander Solzhenitsyn did.  He remembered.  In fact, it was his constant plea to God to help him remember specific events, people, and situations so that he could record the true history of the Soviet Union's crimes against humanity and God. Solzhenitsyn desired more than anything else to be a faithful historian in order to effectively honor the victims but, more importantly, so that the preserved truth could set the future free.

Ronald Reagan was one of those who was inspired by those revelations and he acted on the knowledge that Solzhenitsyn had so bravely preserved. The Wall fell. The camps are now empty. Truth, just a simple presentation of the truth, can indeed destroy the darkness.

And now in our day, with the dark lies of totalitarianism, terrorism, appeasement, and false religion all pressing again to drown the truth, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's example and exhortations are as valuable as ever.