Rome is Burning – And We’re Having a National Fiddling Convention

BY PAUL E. SCATES

While politicians of both parties are fiddling away, mostly in squabbles about who has the most power, the issues that affect the daily lives of all Americans are being ignored. And if politicians aren’t yammering on endlessly about them, then to the distinguished members of the Fourth Estate don’t recognize those issues as newsworthy.

In my life I’ve heard people ask about how the ordinary German people could have simply stood by quietly while Hitler ascended to power, how the Russians allowed the Bolsheviks to seize control of the government, or how the Jews in Europe meekly acquiesced to the horrors of the Nazi-imposed holocaust, et al. In fifty years or so, people will be asking the same question about the demise of the United States as a world power, or even as a nation. So we need not ask ‘Why?’ or ‘How?’ others succumbed to their fates so meekly; all we have to do is examine what’s happening today in our own nation.

For example, how about our dependency on foreign oil? Oh, sure, the gasoline prices are down right now, so that issue is no longer important, even though we were paying over $4 a gallon just weeks ago. Even though OPEC has and plans to again cut production to bolster oil prices. The Iraqi oil minister just proclaimed that $80 a barrel (which equates to around $3 a gallon for gasoline) is a “reasonable” price. (No good deed goes unpunished.)

Our own politicians – you know, those who so unctuously pledge to “serve” their constituents’ interests – have steadfastly refused to harvest the oil we have in our own country in order to give us time to develop practical and affordable alternatives to the oil that gives our enemies such power over us. No, it’s not a long-term solution, but neither is paying over $700 billion a year to those who hate us, while leaving our own oil – estimated to be several times more than Saudi reserves – untouched. If you think oil-per-barrel prices won’t again skyrocket, sending gasoline to $4 or $5 dollars a gallon (or more), you’re hopelessly ignorant of world politics. Our politicians are not supposed to be that ignorant, yet they insist on maintaining our status as helpless prey to socialist wackos (Chavez in Venezuela) and filthy rich oil sheiks who support Islamic terrorists with the money we pay them.

How about debt? If any one of us owed money in the proportion that our nation owes, we would have long-since been bankrupt, penniless and homeless. The second-most powerful nation in history (the USSR) no longer exists, yet it wasn’t defeated militarily. It collapsed economically (in no small part due to the arms race with the U.S.). We owe more money to China that any of us could calculate, and more to Saudi Arabia and the other oil-producing nations, yet our politicians tell us that the “crisis” of the financial industry (and the auto industry, and whoever else decides they ‘need’ a bailout) requires us to allocate them money that we have to borrow! Try that in your own finances and see how long you keep the wolves from the door…yet our nation can do it indefinitely?

Now we have a president who is much a socialist as Hugo Chavez, who apparently hates this country that provided him such amazing opportunities, and who will oversee a Democrat-controlled administration for at least four years. Do you think we’ll begin drilling our own oil (which, by the way, would provide a huge economic benefit in equipment sales, thousands of jobs, etc.)? When the supposedly fiscally conservative Republicans increased our debt, do you think Obama and the Democrats, who are known for tax-and-spend and never met a government program that costs billions they didn’t like, will reduce it? No, even though we’re at a critical point in our history, facing the real threat of economic collapse and dependence on nations that hate us, it won’t happen. Why?

Because you and I allow our politicians to so cavalierly ignore these and other critical issues, while they busy themselves with who gets what party post, or who gets the most pork for their district.

I feel like I’m watching one of those nature shows on Discovery channel, where the slowest wildebeast in the herd is systematically cut off and surrounded by lions, then brought down and eaten, even while it’s still alive and aware of what’s happening. Our politicians are the cameramen; they see what’s happening, but they have other priorities, so the animal is savagely killed and eaten. Do you honestly think that the Saudis and other Middle Eastern nations care about what fate befalls us? Or China? Come to think of it, do you think any of our politicians, of either party, honestly care? Their arrogance and persistent non-action prove otherwise.

But then…so does our own unwillingness to demand that our representatives support our Constitution and act in the best interests of this nation. Don’t ask how Hitler or the Bolsheviks took power, or how the Jews so meekly succumbed to their fate. We’re showing exactly how it happened. Fiddle music, anyone?

Formerly a liberal and an atheist, Paul E. Scates served as a Marine in Vietnam and is a lifelong student of American history, politics and culture. A former contributor to national website TooGoodReports.com, he writes his staunchly independent Conservative and informed Christian commentary for his fellow ordinary, working Americans, the “we, the people” who are ultimately responsible for preserving our Constitutional liberties.

All Should Have an Equal Chance

American Minute from William J. Federer

The Confederates won the Second Battle of Bull Run, crossed the Potomac River into Maryland and captured Harper’s Ferry.

But the Confederate drive was halted at the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of fighting in American history.

In total, over a half million lost their lives in the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln decided to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

In his Second Annual Message, DECEMBER 1, 1862, President Lincoln wrote: “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free...We shall nobly save-or meanly lose-the last, best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain...a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.”

At Independence Hall, Philadelphia, February 22, 1861, Lincoln said: “The Declaration of Independence gave liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance...”

Lincoln concluded “This is the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence...I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it.”

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

Mayflower Compact Poll Results

Last week's poll on the Mayflower Compact is now closed.

The poll/question read as follows:

According to the Mayflower Compact, what are two of the reasons the Pilgrims made their voyage?

Most of the choices provided were valid to some degree (except for the third one), but the Mayflower Compact specifically states the reasons why they undertook their voyage to the New World to establish a colony. The key was the opening clause: "According to the Mayflower Compact..."

This is how respondents answered (two choices were allowed):

- Religious freedom 74%
- For the glory of God 37%
- To start a theocracy 11%
- To escape an oppressive king 51%
- Advancement of the Christian faith 20%

Now, only those both ignorant and afraid of religious faith would give the third answer because it simply isn't true. Never has been, and isn't today.

Answers #1 and #4 have some truth to them, as the Pilgrims were indeed looking for an environment where they could worship as their conscience dictated--something difficult to do in Europe where most countries had official church/state unions that tended toward oppression.

But #2 and #5 were the answers I was looking for. The Mayflower Compact begins:

"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia..."

If our country is to survive, we desperately need to rediscover our history and our heritage.

As Karl Marx said, "A people without a heritage are easily persuaded." And that is exactly what those who want to turn our nation 180 degrees from its foundation want.

They want us utterly ignorant and misled about our nation's history. They want us to believe a lie about our nation's Christian foundation and heritage. And they are on the verge of succeeding. If we are ignorant of the noble ideals of our heritage--or worse yet, are led to believe a lie about our heritage--it is so much easier to lead us down a path the United States was never intended to go...a path that leads to destruction and damnation.

We are on the cusp of losing it all. We must reject the pop propaganda and take responsibility to educate ourselves on our heritage. And we must help educate other Americans with whom we come in contact.

Our heritage is not perfect (none are), but it is noble, and it is a blessing from God.

And it's worth fighting for. And I will fight for it. Will you?

The Broad Compass of the Heavens

American Minute from William J. Federer

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was his first popular story, written while in San Francisco.

He then sailed to the Holy Land and wrote Innocents Abroad.

While on this trip, he saw the picture of his friend's sister, Olivia Langdon of Elmira, New York, and he fell in love.

Immediately upon his return, he met and married Olivia. His name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, born NOVEMBER 30, 1835.

In Innocents Abroad, 1869, Mark Twain wrote: "We dismounted on those shores which the feet of the Saviour had made holy ground...One of the most astonishing...observations is the exceedingly small portion of the earth from which sprang the new flourishing plant of Christianity."

Mark Twain continued: "The longest journey our Saviour ever performed was from here to Jerusalem - about...one hundred and twenty miles....He spent His life, preaching His Gospel, and performing His miracles, within a compass no larger than an ordinary county of the United States."

Mark Twain wrote: "In the starlight, Galilee has no boundaries but the broad compass of the heavens, and is a theatre meet for great events; meet for the birth of a religion able to save the world."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.

The Queer Twist That Real Things Have

American Minute from William J. Federer

His death went unnoticed, as he died the same day John F. Kennedy was shot, but his works are some of the most widely read in English literature.

Originally an agnostic, he served in World War I and became a professor at Oxford and Cambridge.

He credits his Catholic friend and fellow writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "Lord of the Rings," as being instrumental in bringing him to faith in Christ.

Among his most notable books are: The Screwtape Letters; Miracles; The Problem of Pain; Abolition of Man; and The Chronicles of Narnia, which include The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe.

His name was C.S. Lewis, born NOVEMBER 29, 1898.

Over 200 million copies of his books have sold worldwide and, 40 years after his death, continue to sell a million copies a year.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote: "All that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

C.S. Lewis wrote: "Christianity...is a religion you could not have guessed...It is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.