Posts Tagged → Obama
Why America Needs a Mormon President
Why America Needs a Mormon President
By Josh First
October 22, 2012
Among many other reasons also pleasing to Americans’ innate sense of fairness, America needs a Mormon president like America needed a Quaker president (Nixon), a Catholic president (Kennedy), and a black president (Obama). Expanding inclusiveness compels Americans to set aside theological differences, drop old bigoted views, accept diversity of faith and opinion, and embrace all the colors in the rainbow. A Mormon candidate for president is the latest color, and he deserves to be judged for his good character as have others before him.
Mormonism is an innately American faith, and perhaps it’s such a quintessential American faith that it may be our most American faith. So it’s rich irony that Mormonism is “new” to so many voting Americans.
Based on Christianity, Mormonism uniquely melds both America’s founding faith and its frontier identity. The frontier experience that created America from the ground up and shapes our most cherished liberties to this very day. Freed men, indentured servants, pioneers, adapting Indian tribes, all who lived the frontier experience contributed to all others living an individual freedom unimaginable in feudal Europe. Throwing off the British yoke unleashed a wave of liberty and creativity only recently checked by the very government grown out of its own founding documents.
Every one of America’s founding documents and rights therein is a product of the frontier, each a distillation of experiences and expectations by those who had come to live beyond the long arm of an unjust law. From “We Hold These Truths Be Self Evident,” to the Third Amendment’s prohibition against quartering soldiers in private homes, and so on, the frontier experience shaped every subsequent generation’s expectations. Even those living in liberal urban enclaves can own a gun for protection, if they so choose.
Enter the Mormons. Very much a distinct and integral part of the larger, defining westward migration that took the American frontier from Upstate New York to the California coast, the early Mormons saw themselves as an extension of the Biblical Jews, whose own frontier experience at Sinai and in its wilderness had rendered a code of life similar to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
Reaching their own ‘promised land’ in their own de facto colony, the early Mormons established independence in what is today Utah. Yes, polygamy in Western Civilization was last practiced hundreds of years ago, and it is odd to see people doing it today. Happily, polygamous Mormons are a minority. Overall, and most important, Mormons are a happy, friendly, law-abiding, quietly spoken, hard working, patriotic, tax-paying bunch. They are people we’d like as neighbors. Have you met a mean spirited, unpleasant Mormon? Neither have I.
In 1908, the famous author Zane Grey was so powerfully impressed by “Emmet,” a Western hunting guide, that he wrote often about him in his Field & Stream magazine stories. His first description verged on Biblical: “Emmet was a Mormon, a massively built gray-bearded son of the desert; he had lived his life on it; he had conquered it and in his falcon eyes shone all its fire and freedom.” That Mormons are emblematic of American liberty is not a new idea, and hopefully this 2012 election will re-introduce it powerfully.
Several years ago, I climbed on board a helicopter for a real estate project, and met two kindly older men. They worked for the Mormon church, and were buying farmland. Turns out, the Mormons own a lot of farmland, on which they grow corn, wheat, barley, and other grains. They also own factories that manufacture those grains into food. They also own planes, trains, trucking companies, ships, logistics and distribution centers that, literally vertically integrated from the ground up, freely and cheerfully give that food away to hungry people of all faiths across the planet. If you ask me, this is a good religion; it is a positive force. It gets my deepest respect and appreciation.
Mitt Romney is a bit too nice. He sometimes lacks that overt fire and passion that leaders typically use to inspire. Frustratingly, he has changed some political positions to suit political exigencies. But right beneath his smiling demeanor is a son of the American desert, a son of the American frontier, a true son of America. We really need that noble character right now, as we return back to our roots and to the basic elements that make America great, and as we move away from being ‘transformed’ into something unrecognizable and perpetually broke.
Tonight is the last of the presidential debates of what is the most defining, most important presidential election of my lifetime. Afterwards, for the next two weeks Mitt will be on the campaign trail. Join him, if you can. Please lend a hand one way or another. Go door-to-door with literature, make phone calls to voters, donate ten bucks, or talk to your family and friends about the kind of political change we can believe in and that we need. Our nation’s future depends upon it.
Follow the conversation at www.joshfirst.com or on our Josh First Facebook page
What a Fall Day for Middle America
What a Fall day to remember.
Flag football with Son and his team, including a Kids vs. Parents game that the parents lost, to the kids’ supreme pleasure.
Bought and then replaced the battery in my daughter’s car.
Split the last of the oak and stacked most of it.
Gathered the loose oak bark and piled it around the magnolia tree, where Viv wants good bark mulch.
Viv clipped long grass around the stone wall out front and put away lots of lawn stuff that’s been around for a few weeks, with Nina’s help, including piles and piles of brown oak leaves.
This is the typical, pleasant life of Middle Americans all over the country on a beautiful Fall day. It’s a way of life that most Americans take for granted. It’s a way of life fully in Obama’s cross hairs, as he seeks an America where “everyone gets their fair share.” That forced redistribution of wealth is now and will continue to end the Middle American lifestyle.
How pleasing it is to see both Gallup and Rasmussen polls showing Romney pulling ahead of Obama nationally and in the swing states. Obama is claiming just seven states now, and that’s not many. This election is looking like it might be a blow-out, as Middle Americans realize just how much everything they take for granted is under assault and at risk with the Obama administration.
Who Won the VP Debate?
Last night USA VP Joe Biden and US Congressman Paul Ryan debated for the VP position.
Plenty of pundits weighed in during and after the debate, including me, and I won’t re-hash that here. We sent out several real-time tweets about Biden’s rude behavior and NPR reporter Martha Raddatz’s anti-Ryan aggression. Raddatz was supposed to be an aloof moderator, but as would be expected, she represented her NPR credentials to the T. She interrupted Ryan 31 times and was named by CNN commentators as “the third debater.” Raddatz is a demonstrated partisan Leftwinger, an activist posing as a news reporter.
Biden brought artificial passion, which is in demand after Obama’s catastrophically bad performance at last week’s presidential debate. Despite Biden’s disrespectful behavior, his constant laughing, interrupting, obnoxious sneers and running commentary, he did appeal to a certain group of highly partisan Democrats who are looking for a sign of life.
Ryan was both reserved and serious, and a little lackluster. Voters want real passion, real interest in the issues, a genuine drive for action. Ryan did not demonstrate that kind of passion. That is a hall mark of political insiders.
Neither candidate won, but if Ryan was too quiet, Biden was too goofy. He reminded people of a nervous person who is laughing out loud to appear confident, when inside he is not. And the Obama campaign has reason for losing confidence: The national polls are demonstrating a slow and steady turning of the American voter, away from the Obama Administration and toward the Romney-Ryan campaign. A majority of Americans are now supporting Romney, and the former swing states are lining up behind Romney. A greater question is this: After losing this election, will liberals admit the inferiority of their beliefs?
Surprisingly, to Me Anyhow, Romney Wins Round One
Mitt Romney is a heck of a nice guy, a good guy, an accomplished guy.
He has more competence in his pinky than Barack Hussein Obama has in his whole body. He is genuinely friendly.
But Romney is not known for being a toe-to-toe fighter, a brawler, or a passionate advocate for core American principles.
But last night, enough of all those attributes aligned for long enough for Romney to clearly outshine Obama in the first presidential debate.
Obama was petulant, smirking, arrogant, and glaring. He seemed bored, and above it all; all he needed to do was check his watch (George Bush Sr., 1992), or sigh dramatically (Al Gore, 2000), and he would have fully conveyed his displeasure at being at a debate, defending his policies.
Obama was anything but presidential.
At a rally today, Obama was heard on the radio saying that the Romney at last night’s debate was not the same Romney that Obama has been describing in his attack ads, including the one that Obama himself backtracked from because it was an outright lie.
Why didn’t Obama say that to Romney last night? Is he afraid to actually debate him?
Those who watch Obama’s personality and analyze his background would not be surprised if Obama is actually physically afraid of Romney. One of the most telling photos of any president was the one taken in the White House war room, as the Bin Laden raid unfolded. Obama is seen cowering, obviously afraid. The man simply lacks courage.
Those who know my political beliefs know that I was not a big Romney supporter. Without rehashing them now, suffice it to say that his strong points can also be his weakest points.
Last night, however, Romney gave me cause to open my wallet and make a donation to his campaign, something I had been reluctant to do after the anti-conservative Rule 15 fight on the RNC floor.
Mitt, you earned my support.
Benghazi: The Twelve Dollar Word for Screw-Up
Benghazi: The Twelve Dollar Word for Screw-Up
By Josh First
September 20, 2012
Benghazi is the Libyan city where America maintained an embassy. By long settled international law, an embassy is sovereign soil, an inviolate extension of the nation that owns it.
So the recent attack on the United States embassy there was an attack on the United States. All-out wars have begun over similar incidents. It is as serious an international incident as can happen.
So what happened after the attack? Our current government blamed a United States citizen who had exercised his First Amendment right to make a purported expose movie about Islam. That is, although the attack occurred on September 11th, an important American holiday due to catastrophic Muslim attacks against American citizens, our elected officials (Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice) continue to ignore the evidence.
And the evidence is now clear that the attack was planned long in advance by heavily armed terrorists, one of whom was released by the Obama Administration from Guantanamo Bay prison.
Because bigger political purposes are served by blaming America’s free speech rights, these elected officials continue to ignore the evidence that undermines their public statements.
If lying to the public got Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton impeached, then why isn’t Obama in hot water? Obama is not getting heat from the mainstream media, because they agree with his blame-America thinking. His contempt for American freedoms is on display. His willingness to use the office of the presidency to name and abuse individual citizens for political gain undermines the office he now holds, but in the interest of expanding government power, his friends in the mainstream media will always look the other way.
Benghazi is now a twelve dollar word for a screwed up situation, both abroad and at home, and nothing is a bigger screw-up than a lying, deceitful president who undermines the Constitution he was elected to uphold.
www.joshfirst.com and on Facebook
Obama Attacks First Amendment, Defends Islamic Murderers
If you had a question about where Obama’s loyalties lie, you could read his small, short, and shocking statement about attacks on US embassies and staff.
“The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”
In other words, America’s First Amendment is at fault, not the violent and cruel behavior that led to a documentary film about Islam. Islam is based entirely on mocking, debasing, and exterminating all other religions and especially Christianity and Judaism. The Koran is filled with hate speech towards everyone else. But Obama doesn’t call them on that. No, instead he defends the Islamic imperialists who are tearing apart, burning, and bombing US embassies and killing our staff there. If you needed proof that, no matter where Obama was born, he’s not an American, this statement is it. Obama loves violent Muslims and hates free speech.
Please do your best to boot him out in eight weeks.
Dems Re-Hire God, Maybe
An international gasp awakened rank and file Democrats to the fact that Obama was leading them over a cliff, as a result of, most recently, eliminating the word “God” from the Dem platform and ditching the Jews by the side of the highway.
So this afternoon “God” was reintroduced to the briefly God-less at the DNC convention.
But it’s uncertain just how popular this action was, because if you watch the video (http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/3872849) of the convention floor vote, you can hear and see that the Dems are evenly divided on both God and security for Israel.
Moreover, there’s an Arab Muslim couple that is severely disappointed, the man gesticulating wildly, jumping up and down, yelling. His face and upraised arms are now the symbol of that historic, disagreeable floor vote.
One more thing catches me eye: The mainstream media had that video all over the web two hours ago, and now you can only find it on C-SPAN. Think the mainstream media is in the pocket of the Democratic Party?
Nahhhh…the media burial of this supercharged, radioactive video is purely coincidental.
Really, it is.
And the Democratic Party believes in God, really.
Watching BBC, PBS Anti-Republican Theme
Sitting here watching WITF, the local public TV station with my wife, as BBC reports all about Obama, failing to mention Romney at all. Obama evidently visited New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but Romney never did.
Fact is, Obama changed his schedule last second to catch up to Romney there.
Then we move on to the Tavis Smiley Show, where musician Ry Cooder debuts his “Mutt Romney Song.”
His song is all about how Mitt Romney had a dog on his car roof in a dog cage.
Ry Cooder didn’t write a song about how Barack Hussein Obama actually ate a dog.
Tavis laughs. Calls Ry’s music “inspiring,” and asks for Ry to explain his political views.
Then we listen to Ry Cooder insult Republicans and conservatives, joking about his songs that make fun of the people he disagrees with.
Apparently, Republicans are a threat to his free speech rights. Never mind that he is on publicly-funded television taking a harshly partisan attack to his opponents, he still feels threatened.
Well, ol’ Ry ol’ buddy, I feel threatened by the mis-use of my public funds for one-sided political messages being spread by NPR, BBC, and PBS. If these outlets were balancing their reports with equal demonization of Democrats and Liberals, then it’d be fair and balanced, so to say. But it’s not. This is unfair, un-American.
And then Ry and Tavis begin complaining to one each other about how unfair it is that they get held to and accountable for their statements by people on the Internet, and how unfair it is that they have to defend themselves against critics who find their messages on the ‘Net. All while these two guys are on publicly funded television, enjoying their own monopoly on spreading a political message.
Ry is supportive of the Occupy Wall Street, radical unions, Marxist activists, and others, he’s against gun ownership, self defense, and whites, and he just can’t understand why others disagree with him. He’s truly surprised that so many people don’t share his foolish, juvenile views.
WTF, WITF?
Revealing, isn’t it…
Isn’t it revealing that Barack Hussein Obama’s birth certificate was kept under wraps for years, and his college transcripts (showing his foreign student status) are still bolted down in a Fort Knox -type location, but he is still demanding Romney’s tax documents? Oh, the irony.