Very sad...

Those who know me know I seldom lack for words; for a rare moment in my life, I'm speechless.

My wfe said sometimes it's best just to get the spanking over with, rather just trying to prevent it. Smart lady.

I wonder if that's what the Germans said in 1933...

David, Hitler had a strong positive following. His support was based on more than the lack of the people's support for a weak opponent:

Hitler had a plebiscite held on 19 August 1934, in which the German people were asked if they approved of Hitler merging the two offices [presidency (Führer) and Chancellor]. The Ja (Yes) vote amounted to 90% of the vote. --Wikipedia

Also, Hindenburg was a weak candidate (in his near-senility) who was put forward as the only one who could win over Hitler. He did win (re-)election in 1932...and he appointed Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.

Hindenburg didn't save them. He ended up giving legitimacy to Hitler's power grabs.

Hindenburg was the one who appointed von Papen though, so doesn't the responsibility still rest with Hindenburg?  He was supposed to be the one to keep Germany ok, but he didn't. Hindenburg wasn't the answer. Do you agree? What should the people have done instead of elect Hindenburg?

>>> What should the people have done instead of elect Hindenburg?

What I mean to say is, what should the God-fearers have done in the 1932 election when it was looking like Hindenburg or Hitler?  If we say that the most important thing was preventing Hitler from being elected by electing Hindenburg, I fail to see how it helped.

What should the God-fearers have done in the years preceding the 1932 election? Did they pick the least bad candidate each election as the nation continued to slouch toward Hitler? Surely it would be good to consider alternatives to this approach.

What I mean to say is, what should the God-fearers have done in the 1932 election when it was looking like Hindenburg or Hitler?

Electing Hindenburg wasn't the point of no return.  The 1933 election and the deals that came after it were.  And in the parliamentary phase it isn't a perfect comparison to our system.  But voting for a micro-brew party would not have been the answer then either. 

I remember when we were arguing with Mr. Hart and he seemed to have so much difficulty taking on board that we have each, for the present, been given a sliver of political authority by God.  Now we seem to find that folk don't want to exercise their vocation to protect their neighbor as best they can but to avoid voting for somebody imperfect.  Always a whole loaf or starvation.  Fact is that as poor a choice as he was in some ways there were a substantial number of children who were born because he was President that would have died if Gore or Kerry had been elected.  But this apparently holds no meaning.

My 13 year old son asked me why Obama got re-elected. I said "Do you go throughout your day without a thought towards God and without fear of Him?" He said, "Yes". I told him that the church in America and the nation that used to fear God have turned their back on God and no longer fear Him. I said that God always judges his people when they turn their back on Him and toward other gods. I challenged my son to seek God, to run toward Jesus Christ as His only hope and to think about how to obey God all the time. This sobered and also helped us both.

Mark Steyn has the best pithy analysis of yesterday's vote from a non-religious perspective, namely that a critical mass of voters " ... are very comfortable with Big Government, entitlements, micro-regulation, Obamacare and all the rest — and not much concerned with how or if it’s paid for."

The future of America is now modeled on more than the Rome of Paul's day.  Think, instead, of Pharaoh's Egypt, where another critical mass of citizenry believed Pharaoh was the answer for everything. And America's fate may also be modeled on Pharaoh's Egypt, where the government's impotence was put on international display. 

Christians? Take your action agenda from the prophet Habbakkuk. You'll know that you've "got it" when you get to where Habbakkuk got to -- rejoicing in the midst of judgment.

You could try politics over here in the UK...abortion has not been an electoral issue for years, if it ever was one...we are taxed even more heavily than you are...yet we can't even afford to put aircraft on our aircraft carriers...our "Conservative" party is really rather leftist...we are overly regulated...I could go on, but that would be depressing. However, I am reminded that the political situation in Israel was pretty awful at the time when the Lord Jesus was born on this earth. Perhaps when Christians stop putting their hope in men (and women) and start putting their hope in the Man who is God, things will improve. This must start with him next to me, sorry, with me.

Pastor, since Obamacare is all but set in stone now that Romney is out of the picture, and since it requires all plans with few exceptions to provide abortifacients, sterilization, etc., and since it will be required of all people to purchase the plans or be penalized, how will you advise your congregation?  As a pastor, you will be exempt, but even those who work for Christian organizations will no longer be able to follow their consciences, since the Obama administration has now narrowly defined what a church is. 

when the Bushes ruled it was still spend like crazy and do nothing to protect the innocents

That is an erroneous statement.  At a minimum pulling all US funding for abortion outside our borders saved lives.  Presumably foreigners are also made in the image of God.  Additionally the judges they've appointed, while not yet overturning Roe v Wade, have allowed abortion laws that have begun to circumscribe the practice (which means lives saved).  This kind of talk is why the whole "I won't vote Republican" talk comes across as silly talk.

Dear Denver,

You wrote,

He [President George W. Bush] also gave us Justice Roberts, the deciding vote on Obamacare, which is I think the final step towards Gov't takeover of every aspect of our lives, which I think will lead to forced public education, a loss of the first and second amendment, forced abortions/child limits, [italics mine], etc.

While I understand your concern for our country and indeed share it, with all due respect, wasn't our election this week for a president, not dictator-in-chief? There is only so much that any president can do on his own. Furthermore, not all the Supreme Court justices always vote reliably in the same manner in every decision. And as you well know, our Congress remains divided; with the Republicans in control of the House and the Democrats in the charge of the Senate (without the majority needed to stop a filibuster). 

To close, I firmly believe that even though our people are deeply divided politically, religiously, and culturally, there would be mutiny if some of the things you think may happen do. Americans may be dumb but we aren't stupid.

Denver,

Since David may or may not agree with the post you recently replied to, please don't attribute it to him. I wrote it.

Thanks,

Sue McKeown 

Kamilla,

Several days late and probably numerous dollars short :)...

Is it possible one reason for this that it seems like many people these days (and just not young people) never seem to pick up a newspaper, much less a weekly newsmagazine? Or maybe this is just the outgrowth of what you said above. 

From what I've observed, this is not new. I've known friends, neighbors, coworkers who never had a newspaper delivered to their home/apartment/dorm room for 20+ years. 

And to be truthful, even though I've subscribed to a daily/Sunday newspaper and a weekly newsmagazine since I started college and read most of the content, I was in my mid-30's before I cared much about the U.S. with respect to the rest of the world (except for things for Lech Walensa and the like).