Showing posts with label catastrophe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catastrophe. Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - 39 reasons a Hillary Clinton presidency would be catastrophe for America.

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New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

39 reasons a Hillary Clinton presidency would be catastrophe for America.

by joelcrosenberg
It is now increasingly clear that Hillary Clinton will win the Democrat nomination for President. In my view, her election will be a disaster for the American family, American workers, Americans serving in the military, and for American national security.
As commanded in the Scriptures, I will pray for her, as for all leaders. But I cannot vote for her. Here are 39 specific reasons -- specific things she has said, positions she has taken, lies she has told, and values she has espoused, all that I disagree with. (True, there are so many more reasons why she would be a disastrous president, but I think this list will suffice for now.)
Readers of this blog will remember that earlier this year, during the GOP primaries, I wrote two columns about Mr. Trump. The first was titled, "32 reasons a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe for America." The second was titled, "Seven more reasons a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe. Trump must be stopped." That second column was dated March 1st. Two and a half months later, it does not appear now that Trump will be stopped. He seems on track to win the Republican nomination and to square off against Hillary in the Fall campaign.
Where does that leave the American people at this point? I honestly don't know, but I confess I am grieving.
In 2012, I wrote a non-fiction book called, Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?  Four years later, it feels to me like the American ship of state is hurtling towards an iceberg, and both people vying to be captain want us to accelerate rather than turn before it's too late.
I was born in the United States. I was raised in the United States. I remain a loyal American citizen, even though I now live with my family in Israel -- regularly shuttling back and forth -- and have dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, as allowed by U.S. law. I love America more than I can possibly explain. My family found freedom and safety and opportunity there. We found a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ there. We learned the Word of God there, and made some of our dearest friends on the planet there. So what is unfolding in the country of my birth is as heart-breaking to me as it is surreal.
But while so much of the road ahead is foggy for me, a few things remain clear: I must trust in the sovereignty of God, come what may. I must continue to pray regularly and faithfully for a sweeping spiritual revival in the American Church, and for a Great Awakening among the broader American public. I must pray more earnestly than ever that followers of Christ across America, myself included, will preach the Gospel -- and preach the "whole counsel of God" -- in the power of the Holy Spirit, and faithfully make disciples, and engage with their fellow Americans with love and gentleness and respect.
Darkness is falling. The forces of freedom are in retreat. But God is good and God is great and I'm grateful that I can rest in His love and mercy. I hope you can, too.


  1. For years, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton adamantly argued that Iran's government had absolutely no right to enrich uranium -- until she flip-flopped and supported a deal that gives Iran the full legal right to enrich uranium, and eventually enrich as much as they want"I’ve always been in the camp that held that they did not have a right to enrichment," she told The Atlantic magazine. "Contrary to their claim, there is no such thing as a right to enrich. This is absolutely unfounded. There is no such right."
  2. Now, Hillary says she is "very proud" of the Iran nuclear deal that gives Iran that full legal right to enrich uranium. [NOTEFor more on why the Iran nuclear deal is so dangerous, please click here.]
  3. Now, Hillary takes a great deal of credit for making the deal happen. "I spent 18 months putting together the sanctions against Iran so that we could force them to the negotiating table," she said on November 6, 2015.
  4. "Hillary Clinton Opened Door to Key U.S. Shift Toward Iran Nuclear Deal -- At State Department, the Democratic front-runner and an aide softened their stance against letting Tehran enrich uranium." -- Wall Street Journal headline, September 8, 2015.
  5. "Hillary Clinton makes forceful case for Iran nuclear deal" -- London Guardian headline, September 9, 2015
  6. "Clinton backs Obama's ISIS strategy in Democratic debate" -- Reuters headline, December 20, 2015.
  7. As a senior member of the administration, Hillary supported President Obama's enormous dramatic cuts to U.S. military spending. The national security portion of the federal budget has plunged from over 20% to under 16%, and from 4.6% of GDP to only 3.3%. The Army has cut its ranks by 40,000 troops. The Navy has cut the number of ships from 600 ships during the Reagan administration to only 272 ships today. This is almost as low as back in 1916 when we only had 245 active ships. While U.S. Navy ships are far more advanced than back in 1916, of course, having so few jeopardizes America's ability to defend the homeland and her allies and project power in crisis spots around the world.
  8. Hillary led the Obama administration's failed "reset" policy with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- yet she says she might try it again. During a presidential debate, NBC's Lester Holt asked, "Secretary Clinton, you famously handed Russia’s foreign minister a reset button in 2009. Since then, Russia has annexed Crimea, fomented a war with Ukraine, provided weapons that downed an airliner, and launched operations, as we’ve just discussed, to support Assad in Syria. As president, would you hand Vladimir Putin a reset button?” Clinton refused to rule trying the disastrous approach a second time, saying, “Well, it would depend upon what I got for it,” Clinton said.
  9. Hillary calls the Obama administration's Libya policy her "greatest moment" as Secretary of State, even though President Obama himself calls it his "worst mistake."
  10. Hillary says she supports requiring Israel to withdraw to the 1967 lines -- even though President George W. Bush gave a written promise to Israel in 2004 that the U.S. would support "defensible borders" for Israel and would never force Israel all the way back to the indefensible 1967 borders; even though the Washington Postcalled this a "major shift" of U.S. foreign policy; even though this would mean forcing Israel to divide her capital of Jerusalem; even though this would mean forcing Israel to give away the Jewish and Christian Quarters of Jerusalem; even though this would forcing Israel to give away the Golan Heights to the murderous Assad regime, even as Syria is imploding; even though the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is serving in the 11th year of his four year term and refuses to call new elections; etc.
  11. Hillary was Secretary of State during the "worst crisis" in U.S.-Israel relations "in 35 years."
  12. Hillary is proud of the fact that as Secretary of State she was the "designated yeller" at Israel's Prime Minister, trying to force him to take positions that the Israeli government felt would put their people in danger.
  13. Hillary emerged during the 2016 Democratic primaries as the chief supporter and defender of President Obama's domestic, economic and foreign policies -- "Hillary Clinton Clings to Obama’s Legacy in Democratic Debate," noted a Time magazine headline.
  14. President Barack Obama has endorsed Hillary because he sees her as fully committed to implementing his third term in office -- "Barack Obama tells Democrats it's 'time to unite behind Hillary Clinton,'" noted a March 2016 headline.
  15. Hillary -- just in this campaign cycle alone -- has proposed increasing taxes on the American people by $1 trillion
  16. Hillary -- just in this campaign cycle alone -- has proposed $1.1 trillion in increased federal spending.
  17. Hillary fully supports Obamacare, and absolutely refuses to repeal it -- "Not on my watch," she says.
  18. Hillary not only fully supports the federal government's takeover of the private health care industry, she insists it was her idea -- "It was called HillaryCare before it was called ObamaCare,” she told voters in Iowa.
  19. "Hillary Clinton: I Would Not Appoint Someone to the Supreme Court Who Didn’t Support Abortion" -- Life News headline, March 29, 2016.
  20. Hillary said she is glad her husband vetoed the ban on partial birth abortion.
  21. Hillary fully supports homosexual marriage now, even though she was steadfast against it for a decade until she flip-flopped in 2013.
  22. Hillary has proposed "a sweeping gun control" plan in defiance of the Second Amendment -- a striking flip-flop from her previous positions.
  23. "Secretary Clinton changes her position on (gun issues) every election year, it seems, having one position in 2000 and then campaigning against President Obama and saying we don't need federal standards," said Maryland Democrat Gov. Martin O'Malley, during the December 19, 2015 debate.
  24. "We didn't lose a single person" in Libya, Hillary actually said during a nationally televised debate during the 2016 campaign. Yet this is patently untrue. As Politico noted, "her comments ignore the 2012 attacks at the U.S. mission and CIA outpost in Benghazi, which killed four people including U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens."
  25. "Hillary Clinton's big Benghazi lie" -- London Telegraph headline, October 24, 2015
  26. "'She Lies!': Mom of Benghazi Victim Blasts Hillary for Not Telling the Truth" -- Fox News headline, October 22, 2015
  27. Hillary as Secretary of State fully supported President Obama's Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, but then she flip-flopped as a 2016 presidential candidate becoming totally opposed to it.
  28. "45 times Secretary Clinton pushed the trade bill she now opposes" -- CNN headline.
  29. Hillary once called the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal she now opposes "the gold standard" of all U.S. trade deals -- "This TPP sets the gold standardin trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field," she said as Secretary of State on November 15, 2012.
  30. “This is a classic political decision that you can flip-flop if you flop over to the popular side of an issue,” said David Alexrod, a Democratic strategist who advised President Obama’s bids for the White House, on CNN [regarding Hillary's flip flops on supporting the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal; see below]. “The great risk, though — her great liability in this race so far — has been this sense that she’s been inauthentic. This lurch on this issue opens her up for another charge of inauthenticity.”
  31. Hillary in February 2016 vowed to dramatically expand amnesty for illegal immigrants. "I will fight for comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for you and for your families across our country," Hillary said. "I will fight to stop partisan attacks on the executive actions that would put Dreamers, including those with us today, at risk of deportation. And if Congress continues to refuse to act, as president I would do everything possible under the law to go even further. There are more people, like many parents of Dreamers, and others, with deep ties and contributions to our communities, who deserve a chance to stay, and I will fight for them."
  32. "Hillary Clinton vows to expand Obama amnesty to more illegals" -- Washington Times headline, May 5, 2015.
  33. "I remember landing under sniper fire," Hillary told reporters during the 2008 presidential campaign, speaking of a visit to Bosnia in 1996. "There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." But as the London Telegraph reported, it never actually happened. "News footage of the event however showed her claims to have been wide of the mark, and reporters who accompanied her stated that there was no sniper fire. Her account was ridiculed by ABC News as 'like a scene from Saving Private Ryan.'"
  34. "Video shows tarmac welcome, no snipers" -- PolitiFact headline, noting, "Yes, Clinton later acknowledged that she was mistaken, but it's hard to understand how she could err on something so significant as whether she did or didn't dodge sniper bullets. Quite simply, this kind of hyperbole deserves our harshest assessment. We rule Pants on Fire."
  35. "For more than a decade, one piece of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's informal biography has been that she was named for Sir Edmund Hillary, the conqueror of Mount Everest. The story was even recounted in Bill Clinton's autobiography" -- except that it's completely not true, the New York Times reported. "Sir Edmund became famous only after climbing Everest in 1953. Mrs. Clinton, as it happens, was born in 1947."
  36. "Hillary Clinton's absurd claim that she's the only candidate being attacked by Wall Street" -- PolitiFact headline, noting that Hillary said on the 2016 campaign trail, "I'm the only candidate in the Democratic primary, or actually on either side, who Wall Street financiers and hedge fund managers are actually running ads against." PolitiFact responds: "Wall Street financiers and hedge fund managers are running ads against Clinton. But to say she’s the only one being attacked by people associated with the financial sector is preposterous. The financial sector has contributed to both sides of the aisles, including to Clinton’s own campaign. Groups backed by Wall Street have run attack ads against virtually every candidate. Clinton’s claim rates Pants on Fire!"
  37. "Clinton exaggerates Republicans' plans to 'privatize' Social Security" -- PolitiFact headline. In April 2016, Hillary said on the campaign trail that the Republicans "still want to privatize (Social Security). In fact, their whole idea is to turn over the Social Security trust fund to Wall Street." PolitiFact responds,"Clinton’s statement takes a longstanding Democratic exaggeration about the scope of GOP overhaul proposals and makes it even further off-base by implying that payroll tax revenues would flow directly to Wall Street without any input from beneficiaries. We rate the statement Mostly False."
  38. "I have now put out all of my emails," Hillary said on Meet the Press in April 2016. But that's not accurate. PolitiFact states: "In reality, only about half of the emails sent or received by Clinton on her private email server have been released."
  39. "Every politician flip-flops," notes a Politico columnist. "But Clinton flip-flops so frequently that course changes have become her signature move."
[This column is based on my personal beliefs and opinions. I share them in my personal capacity as an American citizen and an author. They do not reflect the views of The Joshua Fund, which is a non-profit organization and takes no political or legislative positions.]
joelcrosenberg | May 15, 2016 at 8:05 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-4KW

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - Seven more reasons a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe.

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Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Seven more reasons a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe. Trump must be stopped.

by joelcrosenberg
Today is Super Tuesday. Barring a miracle, Donald J. Trump will win decisive victories across the nation. Despite saying some of the most despicable things I've ever heard any  presidential candidate in either party say, Trump continues rising in the polls. Many analysts believe he's well on the road to winning the Republican nomination for president.
This would be an utter disaster. The threat Trump poses to the health and well-being of the American people and her republic cannot be overstated. Trump must be stopped.
On January 31st, I published a column laying out "32 reasons a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe for America." I provided links to one direct quote after by Donald Trump himself demonstrating how unprepared he would be for the presidency. I also provided evidence that he is trying to hoodwink Evangelical Christians into thinking he is one of us, and and that he is trying to hijack the conservative moment by claiming to support conservative policies today that have not been his positions for the rest of his decades in the public spotlight.
But every few days, we learn more about this man that shows how completely disqualified he is from serving as President, and how dangerous he would be as Commander-in-Chief.
What follows are seven more reasons. Study them carefully. They are chilling. The former head of the Ku Klux Klan is actively supporting Trump. This former KKK Grand Wizard is urging his supporters to do everything possible to elect Trump. White supremacists all over the country are supporting Trump. Trump is happily re-Tweeting their praise of him. When Trump has been asked to condemn the KKK and its leaders and all white supremacists and reject their votes, he repeatedly refuses to do so.
But that's not all. Trump has repeatedly praised Chinese and North Korean communist leaders for how they violently suppress pro-democracy dissenters in their countries. Trump has criticized past Soviet leadership for not using more violence to suppress the pro-democracy in the USSR. What's more, Trump repeatedly calls for violence against those who disagree with him and those who protest him at his campaign rallies.
I strongly urge you to carefully read through these examples. Click on the links and read the articles carefully. Share this material with family and friends. There are many more example, but these are important to focus on right now.
If you are in one of the Super Tuesday states, please go vote today for a serious, sound conservative. Vote for a candidate who has a realistic, serious chance of stopping Trump, winning the nomination, and putting a conservative in the White House next January. At this point, that would be either Sen. Marco Rubio or Sen. Ted Cruz. Yes, both have flaws and weaknesses. But both are born again Christians. Both believe in the Constitution. Either would be vastly better than Mr. Trump.
Even though Lynn and I are living overseas with our sons, we are still American citizens, and gladly so. We deeply love the United States. We are deeply burdened by how dangerous this moment is, that the GOP could end up nominating a man like Trump. We are horrified that many Evangelical Christians are either actively helping Trump, or making excuses for him, or not registering or turning out to vote against him and for someone who really is qualified to be President.
We are proud legal residents of Virginia. Thus, we have voted by Absentee Ballot. We are not going to say who we voted for you. Prayerfully make your own decision. But we definitely voted against Trump.
Have you voted yet? The stakes for America are incredibly high. Do your civic duty. And pray faithfully, earnestly, and consistently throughout today -- and the days ahead -- that the Lord would block Mr. Trump and have mercy on the country.
  1. Last month, David Duke, a white supremacist who was once Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, announced he was supporting Trump, and urged his followers to do all they could to help Trump get elected. "Voting against Donald Trump at this point is really treason to your heritage,” Duke said on the David Duke Radio Program Wednesday. “I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action. I hope he does everything we hope he will do.”
  2. Trump was asked three times on CNN to "unequivocally condemn David Duke and say that you don't want his vote or that of other white supremacists?" and three times he refused to do so. [See also, Donald Trump Refuses to Condemn KKK, Disavow David Duke Endorsement, a story in Time magazine.]
  3. Last week, 62% of the messages Trump re-Tweeted were from white supremacists. "Is Trump riling up the white nationalists by lending them his 5-million-follower megaphone whenever they praise him?" asked one reporter. "Or are racists, who love Trump for his anti-immigration polemics, just more likely than others to send [him]...the kind of praise he likes to retweet? " {See also this article in the New York Times, "Donald Trump’s Message Resonates With White Supremacists"; and a press release from the Anti-Defamation League, "ADL to Donald Trump: Distance Yourself from White Supremacists and Disavow Their Ideology."]
  4. David Duke told Fox News, "Do whatever you need to get elected."
  5. Trump has praised the ruthless dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, for how he "wipes out" his political opponents. “You’ve got to give him credit," Mr Trump said. "How many young guys — he was like 26 or 25 when his father died — take over these tough generals, and all of a sudden — you know, it’s pretty amazing when you think of it. How does he do that?...[H]e goes in, he takes over, he’s the boss. It’s incredible....He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. This guy doesn’t play games and we can’t play games with him. Because he really does have missiles and he really does have nukes."
  6. Trump has praised the Chinese communists for the way they brutalized pro-democracy protestors in Tianamen Square in 1989 and has said he thinks the Communist government in the Soviet Union weren't brutal enough suppressing dissent. “Russia is out of control and the leadership knows it," Trumptold a reporter in 1990. "That’s my problem with Gorbachev. Not a firm enough hand.” His interviewer asked, “You mean firm hand as in China?” Trump answered, “When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak … as being spit on by the rest of the world.”
  7. Trump often talks about wanting to engage in violence, particularly against those who disagree with him. Last November, Trump directed his private security detail to an African American protestor, saying, “Get him the hell out of here, will you, please? Get him out of here. Throw him out!” His supporters proceeded to punch and kick the man. Later, Trump defended his supporters, telling Fox News, “Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing." At a campaign rally in early February, Trump urged his supporters to "beat the crap" out of people who might disrupt the event by throwing tomatoes -- and then promised to pay their legal fees if they got in trouble."So if you see someone getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ‘em. Would you? Seriously. Ok? Just knock the hell—I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise." Later that month at another campaign rally, security removed an unruly protester, but Trump said he wished stronger action could be taken. “The guards are being very gentle with him,” Trump said. “I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you that.”
This man cannot be allowed to become the President of the United States. God have mercy on each of us, and on this great country.
[This column is based on my personal beliefs and opinions. I share them in my personal capacity as an American citizen and an author. They do not reflect the views of The Joshua Fund, which is a non-profit organization and takes no political or legislative positions.]

joelcrosenberg | March 1, 2016 at 2:45 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-4iS

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg: “The state of the Middle East is a catastrophe.” - My interview with CBN on the State of the Union, the presidential front-runners & the visit by Jordan’s King to Washington

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Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

“The state of the Middle East is a catastrophe.” My interview with CBN on the State of the Union, the presidential front-runners & the visit by Jordan’s King to Washington.

by joelcrosenberg
(Virginia Beach, Virginia) -- This morning, on the day President Obama was scheduled to deliver his final State of the Union address tonight before a Joint Session of Congress, I was interviewed on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
We discussed President Obama's performance in the Middle East, the President's stunning refusal to meet this week with Jordan's King Abdullah II who is on an official visit to Washington, and whether the two presidential front-runners are better prepared than Mr. Obama to deal with the rising threats in the Middle East.
"The state of the Middle East right now is a catastrophe," I explained. "President Obama's policies in the Middle East have been an utter failure because he has chosen, ideologically, to withdraw all U.S. forces and influence from the region....The region is on fire."
"Syria is in a total meltdown -- we're watching the implosion of a modern Arab state and an absolute human catastrophe," and the President has offered no plan to turn things around.
What's more, in 2015, Mr. Obama signed off on an insane nuclear deal that I noted will give Iran "two pathways to The Bomb" -- one if Iran cheats on the deal, and the other if Iran keeps the deal, waits ten years until all the restrictions are removed, and then races to build a whole arsenal of nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, the President is making Israeli leaders and Sunni Arab leaders feel that he has abandoned them while emboldening their worst enemy, Iran, and doing precious little to defeat the forces of the Islamic State.
"What is the President doing?" I asked. "The President today is refusing to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah, who is in Washington this week, because he's too busy. Too busy for our most faithful Sunni Arab ally?"
[Let me add: This stunning decision by Mr. Obama to snub the King of Jordan is as nonsensical as it is offensive. Jordan is in a hot war with the Islamic State. The King, a Muslim -- indeed a descendent of Muhammad -- is doing a heroic job confronting this barbaric enemy. How in the world could the President not make time to meet with him, listen to his perspective, and talk about how to work even more closely together. The President took time to meet with Matt Lauer of the TODAY Show this morning. I watched that interview. To refuse to meet with an ally in wartime in disgraceful.]
"The Saudis feel like the President of the United States has cut and run [from our allies]," I added during the interview. "The Jordanians feel this way. So do the Egyptians. The Israelis have the worst relationship with this President in the history of the country. So the region feels scared by two existential threats -- Iran, ISIS, and their Apocalyptic Islam."
"This has been a catastrophic year in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. If the President of the United States comes out tonight and says that the state of the union is strong and the state of our foreign policy, nobody in the region -- much less in our country -- will believe him."
"You cannot defeat an enemy you refuse to define. And I'm saying the President still won't call Radical Islam by its name. But Apocalyptic Islam is much worse. Why? Because Radical Islam wants to attack us, to drive us out of the holy lands and the holy places. But Apocalyptic Islam doesn't simply want to attack us, it wants to annihilate us and bring about genocide, in order to usher in the coming of their messiah."
"The novels -- The Third Target, and now The First Hostage -- take you, through the eyes of a reporter [J.B. Collins], inside this story to understand what might happen, worst case scenarios, if our leaders don't understand the threats that we face. The President doesn't understand it. But I'm also concerned that the two front-runners in the presidential campaign, Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump , that neither of them understand Apocalyptic Islam or are prepared to deal with it."
NOTE: We will post the full transcript soon.
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joelcrosenberg | January 12, 2016 at 8:39 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-3RU