The Conservative Edge

There is an old saying about a leader of a country, that he (or she, I suppose) should keep friends close, but keep enemies closer. Josef Stalin used that principle ruthlessly, as he maintained power by killing anyone he thought would threaten him in any way. I’m sure other dictators and despots employed similar tactics. I believe that Saddam Hussein studied the methods of Stalin, and achieved similar results in Iraq.

You wouldn’t expect such behavior, even on a smaller scale, from a Nobel Prize winner. Nor should an agent of “Hope” and “Change” have a conspicuous dark side of hate and mistrust. But President Barack Obama seems to be nurturing a grudge against those who publicly express any kind of disagreement with his actions and policies.

Of course, he is not alone in his disdain of the detractors. The liberals and Democrats always talk a good game, but get extremely annoyed when anyone dares to question them. They are all schooled in the art of debate, and in speech-making and presentation. Indeed, I saw one editorial cartoon recently that suggested that the Nobel Prize should have gone to Obama’s teleprompters. The Democrats think that we should be awed by all the wonderful words and catchphrases that roll off their glib tongues.

But it’s amazing how upset they become when average Americans start to question their political grandstanding. No wonder that so many of the recent “town hall” style meetings have become so contentious. Real people started voicing real concerns, and expressed genuine displeasure with the illogical and twisted legislative processes put in place by the leading Democrats. Some members of the Democratic party started referring to these average Americans as uneducated rubes who were un-American and unpatriotic for causing such commotions in public forums. No wonder they have begun hiding their legislation from the public. They don’t want any debate on the bills they are ramming through Congress.

Now, President Obama is taking aim at conservative media programming. Senator Lamar Alexander has observed some of Obama’s obsessive behavior, such as the Obama White House adopting an attitude similar to that of the Richard Nixon White House four decades ago, that “everybody is against us and we are going to get them.” The President has also said that he will call out people who oppose him and boycott Fox News network. To his credit, Alexander, a member of the congressional Republican leadership, said he is “suggesting that the president back up” and “don’t start an enemies list.”

So Obama and the liberals want to squelch all dissent, silence opposing media outlets, and prevent debate on legislation. Maybe they, too, have been reading about Stalin’s methodology. Oh well…if the Nobel Prize commission has a history of awarding the peace prize to people like Yassir Arafat, then perhaps Obama is in good company after all.

I’ve been hearing a lot about prophecy and the Antichrist lately. The History Channel, especially, has featured programs that combine mysticism with the writings of Nostradamus to predict the fate of mankind. There is also no shortage of books that claim to accurately expound the Biblical prophecies that pertain to our generation.

It is amusing to watch some of the prominent TV evangelists and prophecy experts make their assertions about the future. They give the impression that they have this Antichrist thing all worked out, especially in their descriptions of what they think the Antichrist will be like. For example, they insist that the Antichrist will be charismatic, successful, attractive, and able to sway large numbers of people by working miracles. But, if you watch the TBN network, and other televised ministries, you will find that the Antichrist description best suits the televangelists themselves. Just about all of them attempt to be charismatic, influential, successful, gather large followings, and work miracles, especially by faith healing. How ironic that the religious miracle-workers best fit their own predictions of the coming Antichrist. Maybe we should beware the televangelists the most.

Then, there are the followers of Nostradamus to deal with. Whenever a major world event takes place, they claim to have found it in the writings of Nostradamus. The trouble is, none of them seem to know enough about the “prophecies” to give any kind of warning ahead of time. There were no Nostradamus devotees, that I can remember, who shouted from the rooftops on September 10, 2001, that an attack on the World Trade Center was going to happen in the next 24 hours. It reminds me of stock traders who follow chart patterns; they can tell you what kind of pattern is developing, but only after the stock has already made its moves.

Maybe the whole idea that a single Antichrist will take control of the entire world needs some rethinking. There is actually some scripture in the Bible that says we should recognize the presence of many Antichrists; and that the existence of many Antichrists will help to identify the true end of the age. This is quite sensible. The Book of Revelation describes one beast that is dreadful in appearance, with seven heads attached to one body. So, it can be easily understood that power can manifested among several power-hungry individuals. Indeed, just look at some prominent members of the United States government, to see the beast of Revelation in action. They are attempting to devour America, and set themselves in positions of authority in this country and perhaps the world.

You won’t hear that from the televangelists and Nostradamus—until after it happens, of course.