Transcending the Culture War

In my general perusal of the news this morning, I came across an article in the NYT titled, "On Abortion, Obama Is Drawn Into Debate He Hoped to Avoid." This is said because Obama is going to be giving a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame and because he's in the process of finding a replacement for a Justice Souter.

According to the NYT, President Obama "has pursued a careful two-pronged strategy on abortion, enacting policies that secure a woman's right to the procedure while vowing to move beyond the culture wards that have divided the nation on the issue for more than three decades." I'll say! Obama, in his less than four months in office has done the following:

• repealed the Mexico City rule (which prohibited funding of abortions overseas with tax dollars)

• reversed the decision on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research

• stripped funding for abstinence-only sex education

• is currently seeking to reverse regulation allowing doctors protection if the refuse to perform abortions

• is consistently naming abortion rights advocates to top jobs

As the NYT so aptly put it, he has "delighted abortion rights advocates." 

The president would like us to think that he's a highly nuanced individual. Tilting his head just so for the camera, looking ultra-presidential (even if decidedly practiced), he says that "culture wars are so '90s" and that knowing when life begins is "above my pay grade." Of course, abortion is "a moral and ethical issue" but it's an issue "best left to women and their doctors." Or, considering the fact that he's even against parental notification, perhaps we should rephrase that to "best left to women, children, and their doctors." Seriously, anything goes as long as his daughters aren't faced with having made a mistake and being "punished with a baby." 

I just think it's so interesting that Obama sees himself as somebody who can just rise above a culture war by talking. It seems to me that no matter what he says to try and make people think he's "nuanced," he has picked a side in the culture battle. He says that he "respects life" and that he views abortion as a "moral tragedy." But, frankly, this statement just doesn't mesh with a person who so adamantly advances the destruction of life. When someone is murdered in the street, this is also a moral tragedy... and one for which there is justice, be it ever not so swift. Why is it good enough for the unborn to simply acknowledge that their death is a moral tragedy while ensuring the continuation of such travesty?

The author of the NYT article believes that conservatives are "frustrated by what they regard as Mr. Obama's skillful efforts to paint himself as a moderate." I'm not so much frustrated by Obama's skill - since I don't think he's been all that effective in painting himself in such a way. I am frustrated by the media's attempts to cover up Obama's lack of character. 

And, certainly, I'm frustrated by the left's attempt to declare the "culture war" over simply because they have their guy in office at this moment. It's not possible even for Barack Obama to rise above the abortion debate by pretending he's something that he's not.

The Next 1300+ Days

I haven't been able to blog for a while... and not because there's nothing to write about. Not because I'm just way too busy. Not because I don't know what's going on. Only because what's going on has me in the dumps so bad that nobody would want to read a thought I have.

But I've been sufficiently chastised. And I'm back to the blogging board with a brief overview of my latest irritants. 

• First, try to find some reasonably priced ammunition for your firearm. Oh... everybody's out, you say? Yeah, I know. But you can order and it will show up at your door in about two months time. That's what we did. 

• And I'm thinkin' that the fact that everybody is arming up might be what led to the DHS releasing a memo about the right-wing terrorist threat that exists in the country. Of course, no right-wing group has blown up any buildings or hijacked any aircraft... but we're labeled as potential terrorist threats nonetheless. Oh - why do I say "we?" That's because I technically fit the definition of those worth watching according to the memo. Granted, I'm not a returning vet (because that was one of the dangerous groups), but I am pro-life (another dangerous bunch), and I do believe in state's rights (another qualification). I suppose I should put a disclaimer in here saying that Janet DID apologize for her slight to the troops. But she appears to stand by her indictment of the rest of us. Meanwhile, actual terrorism is referred to by the DHS as "man-caused disaster" because "it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur." Uh-huh.

• We've had news that the Obama administration is planning to release the Gitmo prisoners... and just let a passel of them live here. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why somebody thinks this is a good idea. 

• President Obama has had his first 100 destructive days in office, and the press made a huge stinking deal of this. Watching them kiss his butt and slobber all over him was a bit nauseating if not somewhat entertaining... I especially liked the efficient reporter who asked the question that has most been on my mind... "Mr. Obama... after your first 100 days, what is it that you find the most enchanting about the office?" Uh-huh. Yeah, I really want to know. What is it, Barack, that enchants you? Oh, and by the way, when will you be releasing a photo of your shirtless self? We've seen Michelle's arm muscles, now we would love to see your pectorals as well. ...C'mon. Seriously? Is this the best that we can do? Doesn't anybody in the press corps want to know what in the heck makes Obama think he has the right to fire somebody from GM? What, pray tell, in the Constitution of the United States (which he recently swore to uphold) gives him the authority to take over the banks? Doesn't anybody want to ask him where the hell he's putting our liberty once he takes it away?

• Another irritant was when Lisa Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency (created in which article of the Constitution again??) was interviewed on National Public Radio? Talking about the proposed cap-and-trade tax policy, she said, "The president has said, and I couldn't agree more, that what this country needs is one single national roadmap that tells automakers, who are trying to become solvent again, what kind of car it is that they need to be designing and building for the American people." Oy. Frankly, our country doesn't need a "single national roadmap" to anything but the highways. Not having a single, national roadmap is what's often referred to as "capitalism." Even the interviewer on NPR questioned this idea by saying, "Is that the role of the government? That doesn't sound like free enterprise." Yeah... that's because it's not. Obama doesn't believe in free enterprise and has never really effectively pretended to. Jackson (not overly practiced in the double-speak required in selling her positions) said, "Well, it is free enterprise in a way. Um, ah, you know, first and foremost, the free enterprise system has us where we are right this second. And so some would argue that the government has a much larger role to play than we might've when Henry Ford rolled the first cards off the assembly line." Right. Capitalism is bad - we need to replace it with a national roadmap to... 

• Then we have the pig flu. I, for one, love the fact that the media is making such a big deal out of this. Last summer I got really cheap tomatoes because the media created a fear-frenzy over eating them. My family had gazpacho, salsa, margarita pizza, and various other meals with tomatoes all summer long. It's beginning to look like this summer will be the summer of bacon, pulled pork sandwiches, crown roast, pork chops, pork and beans, etc... It doesn't matter that you don't catch the pig flu from eating pig. People are weird and they're going to stop buying pork -- and I'll get mine far cheaper than last year. 

• I really love Obama's claim during his 100 days news conference that "We began by passing a Recovery Act that has already saved or created over 150,000 jobs." Which jobs are those, I wonder? Of course, the US job market has dropped well over a million jobs since Obama took office... not that I'm blaming this on him. I'm just saying that I doubt his claim is even remotely true. But it's darned convenient that it's not provable. How do you count a hypothetical job savings? 

• Another statement Obama has made in recent days that is worth noting for a chuckle or two: "I've personally asked the leadership in Congress to pass into law rules that follow the simple principle: You pay for what you spend, so that government acts the same way any responsible family does." (Laugh track inserted here.)

• But the thing I read recently that depressed me the most was by Mark Alexander, the editor of The Patriot Post. I have been reading his essays for years and have always thought him to be a thoughtful and reasonable individual. My opinion of him has not changed upon reading his most recent essay... I still view him exactly the same way. My view of our national situation, however, has changed somewhat. Mark says, "There are now more than 65 million gun-owning Patriots across this nation, many of whom have taken sacred oaths 'to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.' We stand ready to honor that oath, understanding that, in the words of John Adams, 'A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.'"

These are serious statements. The idea of an armed uprising is a horrible thought. But the scariest thought I have these days - and the most depressing - is this: With 1300+ days to go, can we keep our free republic without one?

In studying United States history, I have often wondered if I would have been among the people willing to rise up and fight for independence or if I would have been one of those who, fearing the cost, would say "just pay the tax and forget it." It's beginning to look like I might have that question answered after all... which would you rather? A bitter cup of depression? Or a can of whoop-ass?