"Watching Sarah Palin's speech to the Tea Party National Convention last [Saturday] in Nashville on PJTV, it was clear that she has a rapport and comfort with the Tea Partiers that is unmatched among politicians at the national level," writes Mark Tapscott at the Washington Examiner.

Related
National Tea Party Convention as Cultural-Political Earthquake
From Going Rogue to Going Constitutional

"While Barack Obama remains obsessed with George W. Bush, Sarah Palin hardly acknowledged his existence in Nashville at the Tea Party convention," writes C. Edmund Wright at American Thinker. "Her back to the future vision for America skipped right over all the Bush years and went back to the principles of Ronald Reagan."

C-SPAN 1 has scheduled live coverage today of Joseph Farah and Angela McGlowen at 9 p.m. eastern.

Also, PJTV is providing "live wall-to-wall coverage, Friday and Saturday" (registration is required, but it's free). 

"The central argument in favor of same-sex marriage or overturning 'don't ask, don't tell' contains a fatal flaw," writes Frank Turek in a new column. "In fact, this is the flaw at the heart of the entire gay rights movement."

"House Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) said [yesterday] that Harry Knox, who serves on President Barack Obama’s faith-based advisory council, appears to be an 'anti-Catholic bigot' and should resign as a White House adviser," reports CNSNews.com.

"Earlier this week," CNSNews continues, "Knox said he stood by a statement he made last year that Pope Benedict XVI is 'hurting people in the name of Jesus' because the pope does not support promoting the use of condoms as a means to stem the spread of HIV."

This Is Good:

I thought long and hard about my participation in this weekend's event. At the end of the day, my decision came down to this: It's important to keep faith with people who put a little bit of their faith in you. Everyone attending this event is a soldier in the cause. Some of them will be driving hundreds of miles to Nashville. I made a commitment to them to be there, and I am going to honor it.

But participation won't be limited to those in Nashville who have a ticket. It's much bigger than that. Because the Tea Party movement is spread out across the country — with no central offices or annual events — this is an opportunity to connect with like-minded folks. Yes, there will be speeches given in a room in Nashville. But we'll also be speaking with thousands of Americans watching online at twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA, or through various news outlets. And the conversation will continue on my Facebook page.

This Is Even Better:

My only goal is to support the grassroots activists who are fighting for responsible, limited government — and our Constitution. In that spirit, any compensation for my appearance will go right back to the cause. [emphasis added]

Read all of Palin's "Why I'm Speaking Tea Party Convention."

Related
From Going Rogue to Going Constitutional

"Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is under increased pressure after the head of Greenpeace called for him to step down," reports the U.K. Telegraph.

Jane Chastain writes at WorldNetDaily:

Radical feminist groups have been burning up the airwaves and chewing up newsprint in an effort to persuade CBS to reconsider its decision to air a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl featuring football star Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam, called "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life" . . . .

Feminist groups are tying themselves in knots over this ad and the reason couldn't be more obvious. They claim to be "pro-choice," so why not simply celebrate Pam Tebow's choice?

These feminist spokespersons are afraid to attack Tim Tebow or his mother directly. Instead, they attack Focus on the Family, a group that promotes adoption and pregnancy help centers that offer tangible help to women with crises pregnancies.  

Related
Don't Fall for "Pro-Choice" Ploy on Tebow Ad

"After CBS agreed to run a Super Bowl commercial featuring Tim Tebow, several feminist and pro-choice groups rose up in protest against the ad, calling on the network to pull it," reports Casey Curlin in a story titled "Liberals Tackle Groups Trying to Sideline Ad" at the Washington Times.

"Now, however," reports Curlin, "even some liberals are calling those attacks misguided, saying the choice to give birth to an unborn child is also part of pro-choice beliefs."

In other words, as long as the "pro-choice" premise that allows members of one class of humanity (pregnant women) to decide whether members of another class of humanity (preborn citizens of the United States) live or die, so-called liberals are supposed to happy. And "conservatives," too, I suppose.

Independently minded people should not fall for this ploy. Why? Because the pro-life position is not a "private belief" but an ethical fact. And for this reason, compassion requires revolt against any kind of self-styled "progressive" inhumanity imposed upon individuals currently residing in mothers' wombs across the land.

Human life, created in the image of a verifiable and knowable Creator, has intrinsic and objective value. And although liquidating innocent life under the banner of "choice" or "reproductive rights" has been an effective PR campaign in a society dehumanized by secular thoughtforms, its cruelty and inhumanity remain self-evident truths to any thinking person whose eyes are not blinded by pretheoretical ideological commitments.

Tim Tebow and his mother are to be commended for publicly affirming what is at the heart of the mission statement of the United States of America: That human beings have been "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," and "that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," states the Declaration of Independence.

Tim and his mother have made a personal choice, but the content of their choice is anything but private: It affirms a universal truth that appies to all people and across all cultures.

By the same token, the "pro-choice" position isn't just "private." It's wrong and inhumane in its public consequences (50 million dead, and counting), and no free-thinking and responsible person ought to allow his or her life to suffer under the impositions of any such barbarism masquerading as emancipation. 

And, by the way, the Super Bowl is a great place to draw a bright line of distinction between "pro-choice" barbarism and that brotherhood of humanity that extends even to "the least of these." In the fight for life and freedom against death and tryanny, the real choice could hardly be more basic. In this contest of light over darkness, it's either win or die: If humanity wins, kids live and get to see the light of day. We're pulling for the home team. 

Jan Taylor, a friend of South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford, looks forward to reading Staying True, a memoir detailing the "private ordeal behind her very public betrayal" (see product description at Amazon) by husband and Gov. Mark Sanford, who was having an affair with a woman from Argentina.

Taylor writes:

I have known Jenny for 14 years. I have not read the manuscript but have been in weekly contact as she labored over the contents. The way she lives her life, and has lived her life, gives credence to the book she would produce.

Any traveler know that where there is much darkness, a "lamplighter" is invaluable. One wants this particular lamplighter, Jenny Sanford, to be filled with honesty, integrity, probity, and with a generous portion of empathy and truth.

Jenny Sanford is to be trusted because of the path that she has trod and the serious thought, prayer, and intellect that accompanied her as she walked.

AP reports that Barbara Walters will air an interview with Jenny Sanford this Thursday evening on ABC's "20/20." Staying True officially goes on sale Friday.

Illinois GOP Gubernational Primary Today: "Holy mackerel!" said Republican gubernatorial hopeful Adam Andrzejewski after being told yesterday he'd been endorsed by Rush Limbaugh. 

This time it's the mayor of Tampa. Florida.

"Adam Andrzejewski refers to his opponents in the Illinois Republican primary as 'the Redcoats,' while calling his own grassroots campaign for governor 'the ragtag army'," writes Robert Stacy McCain at American Spectator.

"Revolutionary War metaphors come easily for Andrzejewski, whose showing Tuesday in Illinois will provide an early test of the ability of Tea Party activists to deliver votes in Republican primaries during this year's mid-term campaign."

Invited to Appear on MSNBC: While David Shuster promised journalistic fairness and objectivity, "a simple Google search of David Shuster and [ACORN-buster] James O’Keefe immediately finds that Shuster went into a Twitter frenzy to tar and feather James O’Keefe and propagated what are now provably false lies about the Landrieu case," writes Andrew Breitbart at Big Journalism.

Chris Matthews "has outdone himself," writes Tony Gallardo at American Thinker. "After the State of the Union Speech, he said, 'You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour.'

"Hold on there, fellow," says Gallardo, "you're going to fast for me. My head is spinning. You are telling us he is black, but you didn't notice he is black. Exactly how does that work?"

Gallardo concludes, "By repeatedly insisting that they are post racial," liberals are "telling us they are obsessed with race."

And what a sad, unnecessary obsession. By way of contrast, not as chest-pounding but as a simple, liberating fact of life, I'll reaffirm what I wrote yesterday (on Twitter and Facebook): "Sorry, but when I watch Obama speak, I see a man, not a skin color."

Speaker, author, and former atheist Udo Middelmann, president of the Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation, writes:

The assumption that God is behind all things happening, behind the earthquake in Haiti, Katrina’s destruction in New Orleans, and catastrophes as large as the Tsunami or as little as a household accident, is built on the view of a closed system universe.

There is an effect: therefore there must be a cause. True, but who or what is the cause?

If there is a single cause, there is no distinction between good and evil. If there are many possible causes, we do well to discern and oppose the destructive ones.

To blame historic Christianity’s God is not justified in light of Scripture and the person and life of Jesus. The Bible speaks of a world which now gives God grief, where people and nature are not "at peace," and where God interferes precisely because, as the Lord’s Prayer tells us, His will is not yet being done "on earth as it is in heaven." God sent prophets because what people did was in opposition to the will of God, not in concurrence with it. 

Likewise, Jesus, who is God in the flesh and the exact image of the Father, does not walk about holding people’s hands in their misfortunes and accompany them through misery. Instead he aggressively opposes sickness, false teaching, vile government, and death itself.

Where other religions and secular philosophies start with the assumption of the normality of things and events, as sad as they are, God describes a sickening abnormality in his creation and acts, speaks, protests, and encourages us to do likewise.

There is no fatalism in Jewish and Christian teaching, though many times it seems to be in the language and explanations believers use to erroneously comfort themselves. There is the sound of false piety from what is in fact a total contradiction to what Jesus taught and did.

The faith and hope that God’s sovereignty is expressed in every event is something for the future.

For the time being, Haiti, Tsunami, Katrina, and your child falling out of a swing are things you should be upset about. We should not settle into acceptance, but rise for energetic and healing intervention to prevent each and recurrent tragedies.

For a more thorough development of these ideas you may want to consult my book The Innocence of God.

In addition to his work at the Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation, Middelmann is also visiting professor of philosophy at The King's College in New York City. For more information, please contact Middelmann at The Francis A. Schaeffer Foundation, CH – 1882 Gryon, Switzerland.

"Much is being made of the president's peroration on the SCOTUS ruling last week permitting corporations to speak freely on political matters in federal elections," writes Clarice Feldman at American Thinker. 

"As he spoke, attacking the Court, whose members but for Chief Justice Roberts and Scalia were present, observers saw Justice Alito shake his head and say to himself 'not true'." (Here is video.)

"And he was right," says Feldman. "President and purported constitutional scholar Obama was once again showing he has no idea about the law."

"Fox is the most trusted television news network in the country, according to a new poll out Tuesday," writes Andy Barr at Politico.

"A Public Policy Polling nationwide survey of 1,151 registered voters Jan. 18-19 found that 49 percent of Americans trusted Fox News, 10 percentage points more than any other network."

From the Washington Times:

Mr. Obama came to Washington promising a new tone, an end to bitter partisanship, a new openness and frankness with the American people.

But transparency was obscured, partisan lines hardened, and the White House became an ivory tower of arrogance.

As Mr. Obama steps to the podium to give his State of the Union address tonight after a year in office, the man who stood above the world has crashed back down to Earth.

Molotov Mitchell reviews this "fantastic film featuring tremendous performances" from Gary Oldman, Denzel Washington, and Jennifier Beals.

The point of the film: In this "Christian 'Mad Max' story . . . . as liberal forces seek to destroy the Bible here in America, The Book of Eli paints a prophetic portrait of what could happen should they succeed."

"Stovall Witte, who worked as U.S. Rep. Henry Brown's first chief of staff before taking a position at Charleston Southern University, said Friday he is entering the increasingly crowded race for the 1st District seat Brown has held," reports SunNews.com. "Witte said he is resigning his position as the university's vice president for advancement and marketing to concentrate full time on the race."

When asked his opinion on the current Congress, Witte replied: "Stop the madness. We have people who seem not to realize we're at war. We have people who don't seem to care that they're passing laws that aren't in line with the Constitution. And then we're spending all of our children's money."

"A new poll shows Marco Rubio ahead of Charlie Crist for the first time in the race," writes Erick Erickson at Red State. "The Quinnipiac University poll has Rubio ahead by 3 and also beating Kendrick Meeks, the expected Democrat."

David Limbaugh writes:

The more painful exposure we have to Barack Obama -- and we're talking hyper-exposure at this point -- the more we realize how narcissistic he is. Indeed, we are treated to this overexposure precisely because of his narcissistic impulses. He can't keep himself out of the spotlight.

So it was that on the heels of his crushing personal defeat in the Massachusetts senatorial election last week, Obama's principal reaction was, "This isn't about me."

When someone says that one time or a few times, you might believe him. But when he says it repeatedly (see below), you have to conclude he is protesting too much and means just the opposite.

An Observation on the Washington Culture Power Machine: Sadly, the "not about me" syndrome is an equal opportunity syndrome. Christians especially may want to be careful, in an age of "Big Christianity" (with insidious parallels to Big Government) and big celebrity, in the embrace of "Big Namism," as if the Lord God can work only through huge ministries the have as their center of gravity a star "spiritual giant" (with a professed PR record of humility -- just ask his carefully cultivated "supporters") who has "written" oh so many impressive books, articles, columns, and so on. All topped off with humble "not about me" "think tanks," etc., beginning to spring up named after the carefully packaged and marketed humble one. Some of these people will tell you to your face, and will say in front of thousands (or millions if on TV), that it's not about them, even as they ink book deals where other people do the real work but the supposed "brilliant thinker" takes credit (because it advances the "work of the kingdom" -- Ananias and Saphirra of Acts 5 might have loved that con, until they were exposed).

This of course is a tragedy. But there is hope, a better way. And for an authentic and humane Biblical alternative to this "ape the world" embrace of secularism ("pragmatically" effective but leaving a trail of dead and wounded in its wake), I would suggest (as a start) No Little People, an essential book of sermons by Francis Schaeffer (who actually lived the alternative). And to help flesh this out, you may also find "Francis Schaeffer: A Student's Appreciation of a Distinct Approach" a worthwhile read. You might also consider chapter 13 of Schaeffer's True Spirituality ("Substantial Healing in the Church") as well as chapter 13 of Nancy's Total Truth ("True Spirituality and Christian Worldvew").

The road to Hell is paved not just with good intentions but also with people doing the Lord's work in the world's way, even though they have had every opportunity to know and do better. You might say Washington phoniness camoulflaged with Gospel-talk stinks to High Heaven. Judgment day could be full of surprises. 

"It's not every day that a Nobel Prize winner becomes involved in a U.S. election, but Lech Walesa -- famed for his Cold War leadership of the Solidarity movement in Poland -- will be campaigning this week for a GOP gubernatorial candidate in Illinois," writes Robert Stacy McCain at American Spectator.

GOP gubernatorial hopeful Adam Andrzejewski is "seeking the seat previously held by impeached Democrat Rod Blagojevich and currently held by Pat Quinn," McCain continues. Andrzejewski is "backed by many Tea Party activists and has never previously held elective office -- a point in his favor, according to Walesa."

"Arkansas Democratic Rep. Marion Berry plans to announce Monday that he won't seek re-election this fall, people who have spoken to Berry told The Associated Press."

From Real Clear Politics: "President Obama uses two teleprompters while speaking to students at a school in Falls Church, Virginia."

Hat tip: Neil Russo

"Chief Justice John Roberts last week made it clear that the Supreme Court over which he presides will not hesitate to sweep away its own major constitutional rulings when doing so is necessary to defend America’s bedrock governing document," writes Theodore Kettle at Newsmax.

Two Points: "The announcement of that guiding core principle means two very big things. First, Roberts and his fellow strict constructionists on the court are now armed and ready with a powerful rationale for overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling if Justice Anthony Kennedy or a future justice becomes the fifth vote against Roe.

"Secondly, successfully placing Roberts atop the high court is beginning to look like former President George W. Bush’s most important legacy -- a gift that will keep on giving for conservatives for decades."

Report Back to the Front Lines: "It is now time to return, emboldened and better equipped, to where the battle for America is the fiercest, and reengage the tooth-and-nail struggle to prevent the Obama administration from fulfilling its all-encompassing visions of statism," writes Miguel A. Guanipa at American Thinker.

"The Augusta Chronicle reported on Tuesday that the All-American Basketball Alliance plans to kick off its inaugural season in June and hopes that Augusta will be one of 12 cities to host teams," reports the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

"But here's the kicker: According to a press release the newspaper and other Augusta media outlets received from the new league, 'only players that are natural-born United State citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league'."

One strains to believe that this is not a joke. But just in case it is not, here is my reply:

1. As the offspring of two parents of the "Caucasian race," I reject this league.

2. As a naturalized "Caucasian" citizen of the United States, having been born in Germany of a wonderful German woman named Annie, I reject this league.

3. As a person of color -- after all, "white" is a color -- I reject this league.

4. As a graduate of Butler High School (Augusta, Ga.) and Augusta State University, I reject this league.

5. Meanwhile, I shall continue to enjoy the sport of soccer with my brothers -- all of them "created equal" by God -- from Ghana, Morroco, Mauritania, Sudan, Trinidad, Jamaica, El Salvador, Mexico, Virginia, and parts elsewhere in the great U.S.A.

6. I'm human, and I'm proud.

On Facebook is a photo of a billboard with the following content:

A citizens guide to REVOLUTION of a corrupt government.

1. Starve the Beast, keep your money.

2. Vote out incumbents.

3. If steps 1 & 2 fail?

PREPARE FOR WAR - LIVE FREE OR DIE

On the radio: "I'll treat you like a lady," said Sen. Specter. "So act like one."

"Yesterday's huge Supreme Court victory for free-speech rights in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission serves as a warning to the Obama administration on other speech-related issues," states an editorial in the Washington Times.

"Several Obama appointees have denigrated the importance of the First Amendment, and one presidential appointee, Mark Lloyd, holds views fundamentally at odds with the Supreme Court and America's whole tradition of protecting free speech."

Here's a quote from Mr. Lloyd: "It should be clear by now that my focus here is not freedom of speech or the press. . . . This freedom is all too often an exaggeration. At the very least, blind references to freedom of speech or the press serve as a distraction from the critical examination of other communications policies."

The editorial concludes, "Yesterday's Supreme Court ruling stands as a rebuke to Mr. Lloyd's dangerous creed. There's nothing exaggerated about the importance of the First Amendment."

"I battle against Obama for the cause of constitutional liberty," writes Alan Keyes. "But it makes no sense to get so caught up in the battle that we forget the cause. There's no harm in rejoicing in Obama's Massachusetts setback, so long as we remember that when two of our opponents fight, it's better for us if neither gains strength from the victory."

Yesterday in a column titled Olbermann vs. America, what I wrote regarding Keith Olbermann's unfortunate response to the stunning Scott Brown victory included a challenge to Sarah Palin:

Yesterday's vote in Massachusetts is a vote against estrangement from our national and creaturely identities. Yesterday stems the tide against freedom, and for that we give thanks.

But strategic victory and a strategic initiative await a critical mass of Americans who insist on returning homeward (and thus forward) to the Founding Vision -- the Declaration, the Constitution, etc. -- where a real Creator and not the pretend god of the secular state is recognized as the center of gravity of human freedom.

I have said and written many good things about the views of Sarah Palin, but it should be pointed out that her heartfelt affirmation of a "commonsense, independent agenda" may not be enough to meet the strategic challenge of our moment in history. For "commonsense" could have made you a slave in Athens, eaten by lions in Rome, headless in France 1793-94, "verboten" in Deutschland, and frozen in the workers' paradise. 

So I am happy to report that last night on Fox in an interview with Sean Hannity, the former governor of Alaska did in fact bring the Constitution to the fore. Here's how the interview concluded:

Hannity: If you had to look into the Gov. Palin's crystal ball for 2010, what do you see happening? Do you see this continuing? Do you see the Republicans taking over Congress? Do they have a shot at the Senate?

Palin: I do. I have a lot of optimism for some takeover of just commonsense conservatives being elected and being reelected to make sure that we have a sound agenda and sound policies to get our country back on the right track.

I see that the momentum is on the commonsense and constitutional conservative side, and that this provide[s] a whole lot of optimism for all the country.

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of the Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights to recovering America as a country that embraces freedom and dignity under God, as opposed to unfreedom and indignity under the heel of some kind of coercive, impositional state that in practice, in effect, seeks to replace the Creator.

Clearly, the Founding Fathers would have understood this emphasis. Just as clearly, Sarah Palin and the Republican Party would do themselves well to articulate and practice that self-same vision. Idolatry, including the idolatry of the secular state, makes for bad politics.

"U.S. President Barack Obama suffered a painful defeat in Massachusetts on Tuesday," writes Charles Hawley at Der Spiegel. "With mid-term elections looming, it means that Obama will have to fundamentally re-think his political course. German commentators say it is the end of hope."

"Fueled by Scott Brown's stunning 'Massachusetts Miracle,' the New York political scene is buzzing with talk of a movement to draft Larry Kudlow to challenge liberal New York Sen. Chuck Schumer," reports David Patten at Newsmax.

In many ways what you are seeing in Keith Olbermann's performance (Olbermann Renews "Teabagging" Attack on Scott Brown) is what American government and society would look like if secularist "liberalism" -- a worldview that rejects the Founding concept of a Creator who is the source of unalienable rights (and human reason and empirical data, by the way) -- wins the day.

That kind of secularism, if logically extended and lived upon, results in the abolition of unalienable rights, rational discourse, and the appeal to evidence. You will hear talk of "living Constitutions" and "values," but really all that's left is the inhumane application of raw power -- in the womb, the workplace, and the White House.

It is a recipe for America as wasteland.

For a Pretend Creator (i.e., a federal state) is not strong enough to carry the weight of rights, reason, and evidence. That kind of "god" will be crushed, and all that depends upon that kind of pretension will be crushed with it, including those who try to build a free society upon it.

Yesterday's vote in Massachusetts is a vote against estrangement from our national and creaturely identities. Yesterday stems the tide against freedom, and for that we give thanks.

But strategic victory and a strategic initiative await a critical mass of Americans who insist on returning homeward (and thus forward) to the Founding Vision -- the Declaration, the Constitution, etc. -- where a real Creator and not the pretend god of the secular state is recognized as the center of gravity of human freedom.

I have said and written many good things about the views of Sarah Palin, but it should be pointed out that her heartfelt affirmation of a "commonsense, independent agenda" may not be enough to meet the strategic challenge of our moment in history. For "commonsense" could have made you a slave in Athens, eaten by lions in Rome, headless in France 1793-94, "verboten" in Deutschland, and frozen in the workers' paradise. 

And perhaps rather surprisingly (ask King George), you could say that what the Founders gave us was actually uncommonsense, given the history of humanity in this hard world.

Yes: Extremely uncommon is the vision of the Declaration and content of the Constitution. Sadly, these brilliant documents do not keep us from making mistakes; happily, they do give us a basis for correcting them.

In contrast to secularists past and present, the Founding Vision gives a fixed point that liberates -- with a real Creator as the basis for real unalienable rights. Having a secure foundation is a good thing, because without a fixed point, talk of progress has no meaning.

I hope no one concludes from this a calling to hate an anchor on MSNBC, however heated or misguided the debate might be. The point is not hate, but love. Love of freedom and all the Blessings of Liberty from the One who gives the blessings, for everyone. This too is uncommonsense.

In a story titled "Shock Poll Victory Leaves Obama Reeling," Ros Krasny of Reuters reports, "U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would welcome [Scott] Brown to the Senate as soon as he received the paperwork from Massachusetts officials." 

Katie O'Malley writes at Human Events: "Call them Tea Partiers, grassroots activists, or any number of coarse and insulting smears from the likes of Keith Olbermann, their power and impact can not be denied after this stunning victory."

From OneNewsNow:

An appeals court decision favoring a Ten Commandments display in Grayson County, Kentucky, will likely not be appealed.

The display -- entitled "Foundations of American Law and Government" and found on the second floor of the county courthouse -- also includes the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, The Star-Spangled Banner and the national motto, among other things. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that it passes constitutional muster. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel and Liberty University argued the case.

"The White House communications director is lobbing new firebombs at Fox News, saying it is not 'a traditional news organization' and won't be treated as equal to other news networks," reports David a Patten at NewsMax.

"The remarks by Dan Pfeiffer, who recently replaced Anita Dunn as the White House communications director, indicate that the administration has no plans to back off its strident anti-Fox News rhetoric."

"From Pittsfield to Framingham, North Andover to Dorchester, the candidates for US Senate made a last dash across the state yesterday, issuing their final pitches to voters ahead of a special election today that has drawn the eyes of the nation," reports Boston.com

Speaking of "final pitches," here's this confident toss from Republican underdog but now leading in several polls Scott Brown to Barack Obama:

Let me just tell you something, Mr. President. You can criticize my record. . . . But don’t ever start criticizing my truck . . . . 'Cause in a few months, I’m gonna pack up that truck and drive it right down to Washington.

"Chai Feldblum, the Georgetown University law professor nominated by President Obama to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has written that society should 'not tolerate' any 'private beliefs,' including religious beliefs, that may negatively affect homosexual 'equality'," reports CNSNews.com.

From the London Times:

A warning that climate change will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 is likely to be retracted after a series of scientific blunders by the United Nations body that issued it.

Two years ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a benchmark report that was claimed to incorporate the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming. A central claim was the world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.

In the past few days the scientists behind the warning have admitted that it was based on a news story in the New Scientist, a popular science journal, published eight years before the IPCC's 2007 report.

That would be impolite in certain toney circles, but Larry Thornberry at American Spectator ignores peer pressure and forges ahead.

Says the Man From Hollywood: "They're all in peril because of global warming. They're all in peril because of climate change . . . . When we did what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens."

Hat tip: Drudge

According to the Telegraph, the top 3 "most influential" conservatives in the U.S., in order of rank, are 1) Dick Cheney, 2) Rush Limbaugh, and 3) Matt Drudge.

Awakening Has Started: "For the longest time, average Americans were in a political stupor," writes Harold Witkov at American Thinker. "But not anymore."

What's happening? "In the past year," Witkov continues, "across this great nation of ours, an awakening has started. Individual Americans, by the droves, are experiencieng their own political eureka moments and transforming into conservatives."

"The Democrats have gone into ’sheer panic’ mode over Martha Coakley’s campaign in Massachusetts," writes Erick Erickson at Red State.

"If Scott Brown keeps Coakley down to a narrow victory -- never mind Brown winning in a state that really does not like Republicans -- it will send shockwaves throughout Washington, D.C., and probably expedite a wave of retirements and party flipping," Erickson concludes.

"Alec Baldwin, award winning actor and wannabe leftist political commentator, called on Congress to sink congressional health care legislation today, saying he would rather the federal government 'put a Major Oil Company Out of Business,' according to the headline of his column at the Huffington Post," writes Lachlan Markay at Newsbusters.

"Baldwin isn't the only liberal entertainer calling for the death of ObamaCare. Plans to tax so-called 'Cadillac' health care plans -- or the most expensive insurance plans -- have riled up some key Democratic supporters. The Teamsters Union and the AFL-CIO have protested, but now objections are also being raised by Hollywood's biggest unions."

The former governor of Alaska and author of Going Rogue -- currently ranked no. 19 at Amazon -- is off to a good start.

In two segments, Bill O'Reilly interviews the newest Fox News contributor, Sarah Palin, here.

"Anybody who thinks the threats of a socialistic health overhaul and big government haven't sparked a popular uprising need only look one place: Teddy Kennedy's Massachusetts," states an editorial at Investor's Business Daily.

From CNSNews.com:

The niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has denounced racially charged comments Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
 
The new book Game Change (Harper) about the 2008 presidential race states that Reid “believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he later put it privately.”  

Democratic leaders have defended Reid, as have black activists such as Rev. Al Sharpton, but Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., views the controversy differently.
 
“I don’t care who said it,” she told CNSNews.com. “It doesn’t matter to me. It’s still wrong. It’s outrageous to say that we are going to let a man have a position because he is light-skinned and he uses a Negro dialect when it is convenient.

"The Crist campaign says it is not true, but the writing is on the wall," says Erick Erickson.

"In step with the title of her No. 1 best-seller Going Rogue, former GOP vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin is bypassing the traditional summit for conservatives this year, the Conservative Political Action Conference, while planning to speak at a tea party event," reports WND.

"A Defense Department review of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has found the doctors overseeing Maj. Nidal Hasan's medical training repeatedly voiced concerns over his strident views on Islam and his inappropriate behavior, yet continued to give him positive performance evaluations that kept him moving through the ranks," reports AP.

Selwyn Duke says he is "always amused when people object to others' effort to convert them, especially since it's a daily occurence."

Nancy and I are having a terrific time learning and speaking at Awakening 2010.

See you Monday!

Karen Shuberg reports at CNSNews.com:

Brit Hume said he was “not surprised” by the media backlash over his Christian remarks to Tiger Woods on “Fox News Sunday” this week and that there is a “double-standard” when it comes to speaking publicly about Christianity versus other religions.

Hume, a Fox News analyst, told CNSNews.com: “There is a double standard. If I had said, for example, that what Tiger Woods needed to do was become more deeply engaged in his Buddhist faith or to adopt the ideas of Hinduism, which I think would be of great spiritual value to him, I doubt anybody would have said anything.”

From the Washington Times:

A founder of the 'tea party' movement said Wednesday he had a warning for Republican state leaders: Back conservative candidates or else other states will suffer the same backlash that toppled Florida's Republican Party chairman this week.

"We are turning our guns on anyone who doesn't support constitutional conservative candidates," Dale Robertson, who operates TeaParty.org out of Houston and helped start the movement nearly two years ago.

Fatal Flaw: "President Obama’s meeting with his top national security advisers does nothing to change the fact that his fundamental approach to terrorism is fatally flawed," writes Sarah Palin on her Facebook page.

"We are at war with radical Islamic extremists and treating this threat as a law enforcement issue is dangerous for our nation’s security. That’s what happened in the 1990s and we saw the result on September 11, 2001," she argues.

"This is a war on terror not an 'overseas contingency operation.' Acts of terrorism are just that, not 'man caused disasters.'

"The system did not work. Abdulmutallab was a child of privilege radicalized and trained by organized jihadists, not an 'isolated extremist' who traveled to a land of 'crushing poverty.'

"He is an enemy of the United States, not just another criminal defendant." (emphasis added)

Read the entire statement from Sarah Palin.

"Under the category of looks-like-about-12-days-too-late, the State Department has announced it is revoking the U.S. visa for suspected Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab," writes Andrew Malcolm at the LATimes.

"That will show him and who knows how many others that the Obama administration really means business."

Hat tip: Instapundit

And that's even though Wikipedia pronounced Rush had died, and a "major news organization" made inquiries about the "fatal plane crash of Glenn Beck," reports Jim Meyers at Newsmax.

Said Mr. Hume on "Fox News Sunday" (transcript at Politics Daily):

Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it's a tragic situation for him.

I think he's lost his family, it's not clear to me if he'll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal -- the extent to which he can recover -- seems to me to depend on his faith.

He's said to be a Buddhist; I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith.

So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'

From AP:

Republican Party Chairman Michael S. Steele offers a simple explanation for why the GOP all too often lost touch with typical Americans after the Ronald Reagan era: "We screwed up," he claims in a new book offering a blueprint for the party's resurgence.

That "we" includes the last two Republican presidents and the most recent Republican candidate for president.

The name of the book is Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda.

"Ex-homosexual Lisa Miller has apparently disappeared following a court order to transfer custody of her daughter to lesbian Janet Jenkins, her former partner, on January 1st," reports Lifesite News.

From KNSS News Radio 1330: "Rush will return to the microphone on Wednesday, January 6th. Mark Steyn will be the guest host on Monday, January 4th and Tuesday, January 5th."

Hat tip: Big Hollywood

Best Wishes from us to everyone for a Happy New Year!

May 2010 be banner year for individual and corporate resistance to tyranny at home and abroad, and in following The Empirically Verifiably Resurrected Leader of the Resistance in knowing truth and thereby being set free (John 8:32) to live as whole people across the totality of life in a hard and dangerous world.

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues her reign as the Most Admired Woman in the eyes of Americans, but barely edges out former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin this year, 16% to 15%," reports Jeffrey M. Jones at the Gallup organization.

Meanwhile, in the Rearview Mirror: "Talk show host Oprah Winfrey and first lady Michelle Obama finish third and fourth."

Robert Stacy McCain writes at American Spectator:

During my trip to Orlando last month, I had the opportunity to meet Sal Russo, an alumnus of the Reagan campaign team who helped organize the Tea Party Express tour.

So when the liberal blog TPM portrayed the involvement of Russo's firm in the Tea Party movement as scandalous, I blogged in Russo's defense.

Today I received this e-mail from Joe Wierzbicki of the Tea Party Express organization . . .

"The tea-party participant -- the individual who is frustrated America's leaders don't seem to want to 'preserve and protect' the republic and gives up his or her own time, talents and money to warn elected leaders to choose the straight and narrow -- has been selected by WorldNetDaily editors as WND's 2009 'Person of the Year'," writes Bob Unruh at WorldNetDaily.

"72 hours after the Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253, Barack Obama finally checked in with the American people -- while still on vacation in Hawaii," writes J.C. Arenas at American Thinker.

"Will millions of anxious eyes fixated on television screen, the president emerged onto the tubes with an unpresidential look that suggested he had just finished a nightclub scene with Eva Mendes from the sequel to Hitch."

Janet Porter issues a 5-step call to action, including "A Cry to God for a Nation in Distress" to be held May 1, 2010, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

What Is Obama Really Up To? Our children cannot live in freedom if this insane recklessness is not stopped," David Limbaugh writes. "It's not about the economy, stupid! It's about the survival of this great nation."

"Conservative challenger Marco Rubio has surged into a dead heat in his Florida Senate campaign against establishment-backed Charlie Crist in a primary battle that is the first major test of the growing power of the "tea party" movement," writes Donald Lambro at the Washington Times.

"Despite the ease with which an alleged terrorist got an explosive aboard a Detroit-bound flight, the Obama administration says the incident shows the U.S. aviation security system worked," reports AP.

There are tremendous reasons to celebrate Christmas.

May you, family, and friends enjoy a blessed day of days.

We look forward to "seeing" you again next Monday, December 28.

"A campaign is being assembled to demand that the American Conservative Union, whose annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington draws the biggest names of the movement, reject a sponsorship from a homosexual activist group," reports WorldNetDaily.

"CPAC's tenuous 'Big Tent' could collapse altogether as social conservatives led by Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber threaten to launch a boycott of the conference . . . unless CPAC drops a homosexual activist group, GOProud, as a co-sponsor," WND quotes Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality as saying.

"Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Congress has the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance and that there is no constitutional limit on Congress’ power to enact such mandates, adding that this unlimited authority stemmed from the Commerce clause of the Constitution," reports CNSNews.com.

How Is This Constitutional? Harry Reid's Democrat-controlled Senate "Sets Up Requirement for Super-Majority to Ever Repeal Obamacare," alerts Erick Erickson at Red State.

Erickson recommends a solution that recalls the mainstream of the American experiment:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

"This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is one of those causes," Erickson concludes. "When the men and women who run this nation, which is supposedly a nation of laws not men, choose to ignore the laws and bribe the men, the people cannot be blamed for wanting to dissolve political bands connecting them to that government."

Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, author of Signature in the Cell, writes at Human Events:

Believers in human-caused global climate change have been placed under an uncomfortable spotlight recently.

That is thanks to the Climategate scandal, centering on e-mails hacked from the influential Climate Research Unit (CRU) at England’s University of East Anglia.

The e-mails show scientists from various academic institutions hard at work suppressing dissent from other scientists who have doubts on global warming, massaging research data to fit preconceived ideas, and seeking to manipulate the gold standard “peer review” process to keep skeptical views from being heard.

Does this sound familiar at all?

To me, as a prominent skeptic of modern Darwinian theory, it sure does.

For years, Darwin-doubting scientists have complained of precisely such abuses, committed by Darwin zealots in academia.

"The West is disappearing into a New World Order," writes Pat Buchanan, "and against globalism, the tea-party folks may represent our last best hope."

"A pro-family leader says organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference are engaging in 'moral surrender' by allowing a Republican homosexual activist group to co-sponsor the prestigious event," reports OneNewsNow.

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"The now-finished climate change summit in Copenhagen marks the 'arrogance of man,' former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said this weekend," reports The Hill.

"Rachelle Crile, 31, of Naperville was offering pro-life literature on a frigid day outside the Aurora, Illinois, Planned Parenthood clinic when she saw a car parked nearby occupied by two passengers," reports OneNewsNow. "She walked around the front of the car and approached the driver's side holding pro-life literature."
 
"That's when I saw him lift a gun up toward me," OneNewsNow quotes her as saying. "I kind of stood there for a second in shock looking at it. I picked up my hands, like, 'okay, I get the message'."

A poll by USA Survey "shows that 58 percent of Americans believe that decisions by the Obama administration have been 'bad for America,' as opposed to 37 percent who think Obama’s decisions have been 'good for America'," reports CNSNews.com.

"Allen West hasn't changed his core message since falling short in a run for Congress last year," reports Art Moore at WorldNetDaily, "but with the political winds now at his back, the retired Army officer's passionately delivered emphasis on constitutional principles of liberty, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense and free-market solutions is attracting an audience well beyond Florida's 22nd district."

Watch: "A video of his rally cry to the party base in preparation for a 2010 run has drawn more than 1.2 million views on YouTube.com," saysMoore at WND.  

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"In response to a Swiss vote banning the construction of new mosque minarets, a group of Muslims this month went into a church building in eastern Turkey and threatened to kill a priest unless he tore down its bell tower, according to an advocacy group," reports Will Morris for Compass Direct News at Christian Post.  

Hat tip: Joseph Lawler

"Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s favorability rating is up 4 percentage points since October -- placing her within 9 percentage points of President Barack Obama -- according to a new Gallup poll out Thursday," reports Andy Barr at Politico. "While Palin’s numbers have ticked up of late, Obama’s have remained stagnant after a drop in approval and favorability this summer."  

"Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) told CNSNews.com that Congress has the authority to force individual Americans to buy health insurance because the U.S. Constitution 'charges Congress with the health and well-being of the people'," reports CNSNews.com (here is audio).
 
However, as CNSNews notes, "The words health and well-being do not appear anywhere in the Constitution. The closest approximations to these words come in the Preamble, which includes the phrase 'promote the general welfare,' and Article 1, Section 8, which includes the phrase 'provide for the common Defence and General Welfare.' As per the CBO's historical analysis, neither of these phrases has ever been used to justify Congress forcing individual Americans to purchase something."

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"A student says a Dallas public community-college teacher compared crosses to swastikas while explaining a school ban on religious items made in ceramics classes," reports Chelsea Schilling at WorldNetDaily.

"Liberty Legal Institute sent a Dec. 15 demand letter on behalf of Joe Mitchell, a retired General Motors employee, Dallas resident and student, to Eastfield College in the Dallas County Community College District," Schilling reports. "The complaint accuses the school of an 'unconstitutional attack on religious expression in the classroom'."

WND reports that the attack, according to the complaint, was launched by ceramics department chairman James Watral, who was filling in for the "regular ceramics instructor on the first day of a spring 2009 class."

According to the demand letter, "As Mr. Watral was giving students a tour of the pottery department, he took them to a shelving area where ceramics pieces are stored prior to being fired in the kiln. Mr. Watral then pointed to a cross and stated in front of the entire class with contempt: 'I don't like that.'"

WND notes that "concerned individuals may contact professor James Watral by e-mail or by calling (972) 860-7656. Interim college President Jean Conway can be reached by calling (972) 860-7001." Here is the website of Eastfield College.

Two Camps: "Most people involved in public affairs fall into two grand schools," writes Bruce Walker at American Thinker. "Some believe that America is a unique nation, a nation built upon extraordinary and good moral values, and a country which is a microcosm of what the world should be. These people need not be Americans. Churchill, for example, was an unabashed admirer of America."

Anti-American Animus: "Other people believe that America is simply a very arrogant country," Walker continues, "a nation inhabited with bumpkins who believe too much in God, and because of its religious faith and confidence, the antithesis of what the world should be. This animus flourishes outside America, but it also has a strong camp following in America."

Where Is Obama? "Barack Obama is decidely in the second camp, Walker asserts. "He is an 'America denier'."

"I received an interesting note from Mary Hutchinson from Inspired Direct, a direct mail and fundraising company for non-profits, churches, and ministries," writes Phil Cook at The Change Revolution. "Her note really shook me, because it indicts so many national media ministries."

Among other things, in her letter, Hutchinson writes, "But here is the truth: I think all of these preachers would be horrified to know this happened. But they are too busy to know about it. They have messages to write, funds to raise, personal and personnel issues and TV programs to produce."

In fact, it is quite possible that some of these "ministries" are set up exactly the way the frontmen preachers/celebrities want them.

As for being "too busy to know about it" because "they have messages to write," and so on, the world might be shocked to know who among various best-selling "authors" and thinkers actually write very little of what goes out under their names, even while they take credit -- and thereby help rake in big donations, sometimes in the millions -- for being great writers, great thinkers, and all the rest.

Some of these dysfunctional organizations and household "names" are very well defended, and if America as a country is really to deal with its spiritual crisis, corruption in the midst of "Big Christianity" (as opposed to true sprituality) may have to undergo the kind of challenge we're beginning to see in the Tea Party resistance to corrupt, un-Constitutional "Big Government."

Don't be surprised come judgment day if more than one or two of today's "heroes of the faith" -- described as such by carefully orchestrated marketing and publicity programs in operation for years and years -- may be revealed as anything but. Scripture is quite open and honest about self-aware phonies in our midst, and we might do well to adopt that realism regarding some of today's big-time, hard-charging "leaders" as well.

As with Big Government, there's big money and big power in "Big Christianity," and that's why you'll find scoundrels finding refuge not just in "love of country" but in "love of God" as well. "Test everything."

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"Republicans' exchange over the prospect of man-made global warming goes another round as Palin responds to the California governor's assertion that her recent statements are an effort to gain publicity," reports a story at Foxnews.com.

"Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment?," Sarah Palin asked at 9:36 pm yesterday on her Facebook page.

"Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change," the former governor of Alaska continues.

"While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring Alaska’s job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act 'greener than thou' when talking to reporters," Palin concludes.

In this clip from Copenhagen, see Academy Award winner "We're not doing interviews right now" Al Gore score a touchdown for ignorance, hubris, and blind faith.

"Climategate just confirms what has long been obvious to those paying attention and living in the real world," writes Peter Ferrara at American Spectator. "Global warming never had anything to do with science. It was all about power and money."

But power for what? "The UN saw it as a grand opportunity to expand its powers into a world government, and, in fact, is still breathlessly pursing this undemocratic, neo-fascist nightmare in Copenhagen. That explains the IPCC's hopelessly bad science. Other world governments saw it as a tremendous opportunity to expand their power and control, and so joined in encouraging the Grand Hoax."

Why did the international Left and media join in the hoax? "The worldwide Left and media fellow travelers (imagining themselves as 'liberals') who philosophically, and quite naively, favor such centralized government control as a means to do 'good,' joined in perpetuating the scientific hoax as well."

What did Green extremists hope to achieve? "Environmentalist extremist groups saw it as the chance for the final victory in gaining control over all private business, and hopefully achieving the ultimate environmentalist dream in repealing the Industrial Revolution. Michael Crichton's State of Fear is now revealed as the ultimate sourcebook for understanding these environmentalist organizations."

Dave Welch writes at WorldNetDaily:

I would like to take a point of personal privilege (to use parliamentary terms) and address the pastors of Houston, of Texas and of the nation on what happened last Saturday in our runoff election for mayor and several city council positions. . . . I will let the victor speak for herself on the nature of the outcome:

"This election has changed the world for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. . . . just as it is about transforming the lives of all Houstonians for the better."

So stated Annise Parker, lesbian mayor-elect of Houston, Texas, after 54 percent of the 16 percent of voters who cared enough to show up declared that her private moral life and radical agenda to redefine family was irrelevant. Eighty-four percent didn't care enough.

Here's part of the problem, as Welch sees it: "Liberals have mastered the art of building a farm team and winning by starting at the bottom and running to the top. Conservatives notoriously have the 'King Complex' that municipal districts, school boards and city councils are below us, and start at the top without either experience or political capital."

Do we see a "King Complex" among Christians? That this may be the case, to some degree, seems evident if we simply replace the word King with the word Celebrity.

If I were the Devil, I could think of few better strategies than to get Christians to put just about all of their eggs into a few celebrity baskets. A few big names, a few big organizations, with lots of well-meaning people sending in their checks because:

* Big Name so and so has access to the White House -- But maybe that explains why we heard little to nothing about the growth of un-Constitutional government, spending, etc., from the "spiritual" giant of the hour, during that President's administration. You see, that kind of Biblical critique on behalf of limited government might cut down on White House access and hurt a PR fundraising machine that really needs "I was talking with the President the other day . . ." Sometimes, it seems, "speaking truth to power" works best when directed toward targets of great fundraising opportunity.

* Big Name so and so is a great worldview thinker/writer -- But then, it turns out, he, she, or the machine is rather dependent upon ghostwriters, researchers, radio script writers, column writers -- "authoring" work that becomes "his" after the "name" inserts a few well-placed phrases into the text or simply asserts ownership of other people's ideas (You're On Staff!). In such a system it is often imperative to keep staff harried and busy -- and well-paid, if at all possible -- lest they begin to think about the deceptiveness of what they're doing and consider how the Lordship of Christ might apply even to methods of ministry.

* Big Name says, "It's not about me" -- This is the He's-So-Smart-and-Humble Factor, which as Karl Rove and Vince Flynn in one of his Mitch Rapp novels note means it precisely is about the person in question. The energy, the PR, the image, the fundraising, the website, the biography, the praise from others, etc., etc., in some organizations seem absolutely to be "all about" the Big Name. A name sometimes created through ghosted columns and books, etc., creating alliances aka fiefdoms to mutually support and guard eachothers' backs, and so on. But behind the scenes running over people who truly speak against a secularism that all too often has co-opted much of the good that many well-meaning regular people hope to accomplish.

These are just a few observations based on our experience before and during our time here in the Washington, D.C., area.

My hope: Help protect those who follow -- many of whom care deeply about worldview and political engagement -- from being fed into a religious machine. And maybe to save you 10 or 20 years of energy poured into an activism of questionable strategic and spiritual value, if verifiable Scripture is your guide and if you appreciate the centrality of applying the liberating Lordship of Christ across the whole of life, including political life and including one's methods of ministry in the midst of cultural engagement.

This seems key: Just as politics is downstream from culture, culture in general is downstream from Chrisitan culture in particular. And to the degree that Christian culture or ministry might be darkened by "aping the world" (as Francis Schaeffer so emphasized), to that degree we perhaps should not be surprised at the darkness around us. Perhaps we -- you and I and our methods of  ministry -- are part of the darkness.

But if that is true, there is hope. We know where to begin in the humanity of truly loving our neighbor. We begin by looking in the mirror. If we can deal honestly with that, then maybe the culture and the politics will begin to line up as well.

That may seem like a long way to fix Houston, but it's the shortest route I know of.

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Obama gets a "D" for Delusional -- and that's "an understatement," writes David Limbaugh.

Atheistic Ideas, Inhumane Consequences: In "Sarah Palin and Obama Death Panels," author Darrow Miller, writing today in The Pearcey Report, agrees that although the "phrase death panels is not to be found in any of the current healthcare bills before Congress, the reality of death panels is, as the late Francis Schaeffer would argue, the inevitable consequence of an atheistic paradigm." 

"The New York Times recently revealed that, before abandoning the idea, Barack and Michelle Obama had considered eliminating the White House’s traditional nativity scene as part of an effort to celebrate a 'non-religious' Christmas," writes attorney and commentator Carol Platt Liebau.

"In light of that story," she continues, "it wasn’t entirely surprising to learn that this year, for the first time, the President’s Christmas card contains neither any mention of Christmas itself nor a quote from the New Testament. Obviously, the Obamas aren’t fans of overt displays of Christian religiosity."

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