"INDEPENDENCE DAY IS A TIME TO REAFFIRM THAT AMERICA MUST STAY STRONG TO PRESERVE PEACE" - Kay C. James / @KayColesJames / July 03, 2020 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/03/independence-day-is-a-time-to-reaffirm-that-america-must-stay-strong-to-preserve-peace/ [AS I SEE IT: As dangerous are the implications of the Leftists in Congress trying to cut our defense budget, notice that it does not make the news cycle of the mainstream media. They seem to busy to promote panic and report fake news tthey also choose to ignore this kind of real news. Shame on them! - Stan]
Addressing West Point graduates in 1981, President Ronald Reagan said, “A truly successful army is one that—because of its strength and ability and dedication—will not be called upon to fight, for no one will dare to provoke it.” (Photo: EMP Photography/Getty Images)
As Independence Day approaches and Americans look forward to celebrating the unparalleled peace, prosperity, and freedom that this nation has provided, many in Congress don’t seem to understand that we have these gifts because we maintain a powerful and ready military that prevents our adversaries—from communist dictatorships to terrorist states—from destroying what so many lives and so much treasure have been sacrificed to preserve. President Ronald Reagan aptly called it “peace through strength.”
Yet, precisely at a time when the nation is reeling from a deadly disease outbreak, racial unrest, and economic upheaval, lawmakers in the House of Representatives are proposing to weaken this country even further. They have leveraged the tragedy of the global COVID-19 pandemic to renew their quest to slash our defense budget. They argue that America should turn inward and ignore the many looming outside threats to our security.
It’s not surprising that the far left is trying to push its agenda during a time of crisis when Americans are distracted. After all, we’ve heard politicians on the left openly say before that they shouldn’t let “a serious crisis go to waste” and that the pandemic is “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.” Members of Congress have already held up desperately-needed pandemic relief for hundreds of millions of Americans because they demanded that relief bills include unrelated items like solar and wind tax credits, collective bargaining power for unions, stricter emissions standards for airlines, and same-day voter registration.
As if holding relief for ransom wasn’t despicable enough, now they want to pursue an agenda that would once again dangerously compromise the safety of every single American: significantly reducing military funding at a time when those who want to do us harm are increasing theirs.
The Russian and the Chinese communist governments are openly hostile to the United States and have attempted to influence our elections, invaded our allies, and spread propaganda through our media. The Chinese government lied about the coronavirus and the fact that it could be transmitted to humans, causing a disastrous delay in the U.S. response that likely cost thousands more lives. Russia and China also continue to build up their militaries, including their nuclear capabilities, which they use for aggression, not for maintaining peace.
For the time being, America maintains the military advantage, but if we don’t invest in upgrading decades-old ships, planes, tanks, and other equipment, we will soon fall behind.
In its quest to dominate the world, China is growing military spending by over 6% a year, while the U.S. defense budget is not even keeping up with inflation. With a weaker and less capable American military, our adversaries would feel even more emboldened to act aggressively toward us and our allies. If they ever gained the upper hand against us militarily, it would take years for us to catch up, and by that time, it may be too late. When they’ve had the upper hand with other nations, they’ve shown their propensity to use it.
The United States has maintained military superiority for so long that many take it for granted, but it’s far from guaranteed. We must ensure that the bad actors who desire to dominate and destroy other nations—including our own—never win this competition. The United States will only be able to do that if we have a defense budget that is sufficient to support our current troops and equip them for the future. Reagan, when addressing West Point graduates in 1981, stated, “A truly successful army is one that—because of its strength and ability and dedication—will not be called upon to fight, for no one will dare to provoke it.”
No one wants war, but slashing our defense budget and reducing our troops’ ability to do their jobs when our adversaries are becoming more aggressive would create a situation that could more easily lead to one. Those in Congress who don’t understand these threats are unwittingly putting our entire nation at risk. As we prepare to celebrate the independence of our nation and its founding promises of peace, prosperity, and freedom for all people, it’s important that we never take those precious gifts for granted. We must cherish them and pass them onto our children and grandchildren. We must also be prepared to fight for them, or else we will surely lose them.
Independence Day isn’t only about celebrating that moment in 1776 when we declared our independence and our freedom. It’s about reminding ourselves what we must do each and every day to preserve that freedom for this and future generations.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
[This article originally ran in The Washington Times.]
Kay C. James is president of The Heritage Foundation. James formerly served as director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and as Virginia's secretary of health and human resources. She is also the founder and president of The Gloucester Institute.
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This is the final article in a series on the importance of achieving peace through strength and keeping U.S. national security strong. Both long have been Heritage Foundation principles and a great foundation for America’s national power. Some voices call for reducing defense spending to focus on the response to COVID-19, but the need to fully fund our military never has been greater. Read the previous entries in the series [https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/06/29/despite-covid-19-us-cant-afford-to-cut-defense-spending/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/06/30/us-cant-be-negligent-or-irresponsible-in-military-funding-decisions/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/01/uncertain-times-is-when-we-need-steady-defenders-the-most-so-why-hurt-the-pentagon-now/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/02/dont-allow-a-vocal-fringe-minority-to-cut-our-much-needed-defense-investments/]and learn more about the state of our military in the 2020 Index of U.S. Military Strength [https://www.heritage.org/military-strength].
As Independence Day approaches and Americans look forward to celebrating the unparalleled peace, prosperity, and freedom that this nation has provided, many in Congress don’t seem to understand that we have these gifts because we maintain a powerful and ready military that prevents our adversaries—from communist dictatorships to terrorist states—from destroying what so many lives and so much treasure have been sacrificed to preserve. President Ronald Reagan aptly called it “peace through strength.”
Yet, precisely at a time when the nation is reeling from a deadly disease outbreak, racial unrest, and economic upheaval, lawmakers in the House of Representatives are proposing to weaken this country even further. They have leveraged the tragedy of the global COVID-19 pandemic to renew their quest to slash our defense budget. They argue that America should turn inward and ignore the many looming outside threats to our security.
It’s not surprising that the far left is trying to push its agenda during a time of crisis when Americans are distracted. After all, we’ve heard politicians on the left openly say before that they shouldn’t let “a serious crisis go to waste” and that the pandemic is “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision.” Members of Congress have already held up desperately-needed pandemic relief for hundreds of millions of Americans because they demanded that relief bills include unrelated items like solar and wind tax credits, collective bargaining power for unions, stricter emissions standards for airlines, and same-day voter registration.
As if holding relief for ransom wasn’t despicable enough, now they want to pursue an agenda that would once again dangerously compromise the safety of every single American: significantly reducing military funding at a time when those who want to do us harm are increasing theirs.
The Russian and the Chinese communist governments are openly hostile to the United States and have attempted to influence our elections, invaded our allies, and spread propaganda through our media. The Chinese government lied about the coronavirus and the fact that it could be transmitted to humans, causing a disastrous delay in the U.S. response that likely cost thousands more lives. Russia and China also continue to build up their militaries, including their nuclear capabilities, which they use for aggression, not for maintaining peace.
For the time being, America maintains the military advantage, but if we don’t invest in upgrading decades-old ships, planes, tanks, and other equipment, we will soon fall behind.
In its quest to dominate the world, China is growing military spending by over 6% a year, while the U.S. defense budget is not even keeping up with inflation. With a weaker and less capable American military, our adversaries would feel even more emboldened to act aggressively toward us and our allies. If they ever gained the upper hand against us militarily, it would take years for us to catch up, and by that time, it may be too late. When they’ve had the upper hand with other nations, they’ve shown their propensity to use it.
The United States has maintained military superiority for so long that many take it for granted, but it’s far from guaranteed. We must ensure that the bad actors who desire to dominate and destroy other nations—including our own—never win this competition. The United States will only be able to do that if we have a defense budget that is sufficient to support our current troops and equip them for the future. Reagan, when addressing West Point graduates in 1981, stated, “A truly successful army is one that—because of its strength and ability and dedication—will not be called upon to fight, for no one will dare to provoke it.”
No one wants war, but slashing our defense budget and reducing our troops’ ability to do their jobs when our adversaries are becoming more aggressive would create a situation that could more easily lead to one. Those in Congress who don’t understand these threats are unwittingly putting our entire nation at risk. As we prepare to celebrate the independence of our nation and its founding promises of peace, prosperity, and freedom for all people, it’s important that we never take those precious gifts for granted. We must cherish them and pass them onto our children and grandchildren. We must also be prepared to fight for them, or else we will surely lose them.
Independence Day isn’t only about celebrating that moment in 1776 when we declared our independence and our freedom. It’s about reminding ourselves what we must do each and every day to preserve that freedom for this and future generations.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
[This article originally ran in The Washington Times.]
Kay C. James is president of The Heritage Foundation. James formerly served as director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and as Virginia's secretary of health and human resources. She is also the founder and president of The Gloucester Institute.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the final article in a series on the importance of achieving peace through strength and keeping U.S. national security strong. Both long have been Heritage Foundation principles and a great foundation for America’s national power. Some voices call for reducing defense spending to focus on the response to COVID-19, but the need to fully fund our military never has been greater. Read the previous entries in the series [https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/06/29/despite-covid-19-us-cant-afford-to-cut-defense-spending/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/06/30/us-cant-be-negligent-or-irresponsible-in-military-funding-decisions/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/01/uncertain-times-is-when-we-need-steady-defenders-the-most-so-why-hurt-the-pentagon-now/; https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/07/02/dont-allow-a-vocal-fringe-minority-to-cut-our-much-needed-defense-investments/]and learn more about the state of our military in the 2020 Index of U.S. Military Strength [https://www.heritage.org/military-strength].
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against
the disorder of the world. - Karl Barth
the disorder of the world. - Karl Barth
"Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer."- Stan
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World-Wide Prayer Requests:
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Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
Church burned to ashes in INDIA. In India, Pastor Sameer* and other believers in his village faced brutal persecution from their community. As the number of believers in the village grew, so did the opposition; Christians were told to renounce their faith … or else. Finally, Hindu extremists accused the Christians of opposing Hindu tradition and the culture of India by embracing Christianity; the extremists burned the small hut used for church fellowship.
Sameer’s immediate concern was to find a safe place for the believers to continue their regular prayer meetings. When partners of Open Doors heard about the situation, they arranged to assist the Christians in the area by constructing a hall where they could once again meet for worship and prayer.
July 3 - Thank God for a new church building that can accommodate more people.
*Representative name or photo used to protect identity.July 3 - Thank God for a new church building that can accommodate more people.
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