# 1058 (11/14) "The Audacity of Arrogance"

The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)

PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

PRAISE GOD!  Two Americans, including Kenneth Bae (after more than 2 years) have finally been released after unjust imprisonment by North Korea.
 http://townhall.com/tipsheet/danieldoherty/2014/11/10/kenneth-bae-released-post-n1916642?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm

NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER:1) Let's be  praying that God showed us grace in giving us representatives who will sincerely work to DO NO HARM to us and future generations. Let's also be praying that should He have chosen to give us those who WILL do us harm, that He extends mercy to us now and for the years ahead. His will is now done as far as the  results we have. Now it's up to us to be diligent to hold those elected accountable!, and 2) Let's be praying that the present lame-duck session in Congress will not be allowed to pass legislation that will do harm to our country as they can easily do. (See post #1051 - 'Return of the Zombie).

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: Save Christian Mom Asia Bibi from Execution - A Christian mom has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for her faith. Asia Bibi was falsely accused of “blasphemy” – speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Now this wife and mother of five will hang for her Christian faith.She would be the first woman executed under Pakistan’s Shariah blasphemy law.This is the ultimate human rights violation. We’re mobilizing our international affiliate – the European Centre for Law and Justice – and its partner in Pakistan to stop this atrocity. Add your name to our letter to the government of Pakistan demanding Asia Bibi’s freedom.Go to http://aclj.org/persecuted-church/save-christian-mom-asia-bibi-from-execution; please add your signature to mine and over 35,000 others AND pray for Asia Bibi.

U.S. Supreme Court has Reconvened: Let's be praying WHENEVER the Court is in session as their decisions can have impact on GENERATIONS to come. The fact that they may have an opportunity this session to actually vote on same-sex "marriage" where it has the same impact on this country that Roe v. Wade did should be motivating enough!

ELECTION DAY, NOV. 4th.  Let's begin praying that the American people will have wisdom in voting into office those who will lead our communities and nation with integrity and wisdom from God and DO NO HARM!.

WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:

Friday, Sept. 26th - Two Year Anniversary of  Pastor Saeed Abedini's Imprisonment in Iran! - [NOTE TODAY'S POST!]

We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]

PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\

- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him

- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ

- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans

"Not Everyone Happy with Religious Ambassador Pick," Caitlin Burke,July 29, 2014;

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/July/Obama-Taps-Rabbi-for-Religious-Freedom-Ambassador/  "..An estimated 76 percent of the world's population live in countries where religious freedom is restricted. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States must take a strong stand against those violations. "Around the world repressive governments and extremists groups have been crystal clear about what they stand against, so we have to be equally clear about what we must stand for," Kerry said. "We stand for greater freedom, for greater tolerance, greater respect, for rights of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience," he said A key development in the 2013 report is the large number of displaced members of religious communities, including entire Christian communities in Syria and Iraq that have been forced to flee their homes because of persecution."

SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november

Of course, let's CONTINUE PRAYING FOR AN END TO THE EBOLA CRISIS IN WEST AFRICA AND THE HEALING OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN INFECTED.

PRAY FOR THE CRISIS HAPPENING NOW IN IRAQ (see post #907) Pray that allied forces will be able to drive the group ISIS back (see post #964)

/PRAYER ALERT- UKRAINE: As the Lord leads, please pray: 

*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.

*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church']  as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.

*About President Obama and  to use wisdom in crafting our  foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.

Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]

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"The Audacity of Arrogance" - Jackie Gingrich Cushman | Nov 13, 2014; http://townhall.com/columnists/jackiegingrichcushman/2014/11/13/the-audacity-of-arrogance-n1917757/page/full

In the week following the shellacking of his party in the midterm elections, one might think that President Barack Obama would be conciliatory and humble. Instead, he has continued to be audacious -- but with arrogance rather than hope.

The day after the elections, during a White House news conference, Obama said this in response to a reporter's questions about the possibility of changing focus based on the mid-term election results: "The key is to find areas where the agenda that I've put forward, one that I believe will help strengthen the middle class and create more ladders of opportunity into the middle class, improve our schools, make college more affordable to more young people, make sure that we're growing faster as an economy and we stay competitive -- the key is to make sure that those ideas that I have overlap somewhere with some of the ideas the Republicans have."

Based on this answer, from Obama's perspective -- it's about taking his agenda as it currently is and looking for overlap with Republicans who will be in charge of the legislative branch of our government.

He did not mention the need to rethink his agenda, even though his policies were resoundingly rejected at the polls. His response -- the audacity of arrogance. While the American people might have voiced their objections to his policies at the polls, he is going to continue with the agenda he has already put forward, because, of course, he knows better.

According to a poll released by Gallup earlier this week, "the majority of Americans want the Republicans in Congress -- rather than President Barack Obama -- to have more influence over the direction the country takes in the coming year.... Republicans' 17-percentage-point edge over Obama on this measure exceeds what they earned after the 2010 midterm, when Americans favored Republicans by an eight-point margin (49 percent to 41 percent). It also eclipses the nine-point advantage Republicans had over Bill Clinton following the 1994 midterm in which Republicans captured the majority of both houses." (Telephone interviews conducted Nov. 6-9, 2014, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.)

Obama and his advisors would do well to understand that the American people have made their views clear in the recent election, and that they are not happy with the current direction. But if you believe you are smarter and better than the average voter, why pay attention to elections?

Unfortunately, more evidence emerged this week underscoring the Obama administration's audacity of arrogance. Two recently surfaced videos of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber, who helped architect Obama's key health care legislation, provide a peek at who controlled the legislation. He noted that a change in presentation worked for passing the legislation because "the American people are too stupid to understand the difference." Plain people too stupid to understand.

Welcome to the audacity of Obama. It's not his audacity to hope that is off-putting; it's his belief, and those of many other liberals, that they are smarter than the rest of the nation (i.e., me and you). If you understand that this is his point of view, then his actions and his unswerving belief that government is the best answer to any question or problem begins to make sense.

So Obama's arrogance continues. Why wait for the new (Republican) Legislature to enact laws regarding immigration issues when executive orders can be written instead? Why change the laws on the books when one can simply direct administrative departments to defund areas to prevent enforcement of laws? Why let the American people be in charge when those in government are so much smarter?

The audacity of arrogance. It's hard -- if you believe that you are better and smarter than everyone else -- to believe that the American people can get things done and can lead the way toward prosperity without big government.

Obama should be careful. History has proven that Americans are many things, but tolerant of arrogance is not one of them.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

Jackie Gingrich Cushman is a speaker, syndicated columnist, socialpreneur, and author of "The Essential American: 25 Documents and Speeches Every American Should Own," and co-author of “The 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours”.


"Who Are You Calling Stupid?" - Cal Thomas | Nov 13, 2014;
 http://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2014/11/13/who-are-you-calling-stupid-n1917797?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl