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03-2012 The Summit – 02/15/2012 NEW On February 9-11, we hosted the 2012 Oak Initiative Summit. It was an exceptional gathering with many calling it the best yet. It began with a stunning presentation by Kevin Freeman, the author of Secret Weapon, which well deserves its present rise on the New York Times bestseller list. It is a brilliant and scholarly work on one of the greatest threats to America in these times—economic terrorism. |
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02-2012 Campaign 2012 – 01/12/2012 The response to my evaluation of the candidates on our TV show and in a previous Bulletin was far more than I was expecting. After having received many requests for an update, this is it. Of course, these are my personal perspectives, and we “see in part, and know in part,” so I do not claim to have the complete picture. The following is what I see at this time concerning the 2012 Presidential candidates, and then I will address the campaign itself. Michele Bachmann Even though she has dropped out of the race, her campaign offers some important insights into the political landscape of this time. She is brilliant and insightful. She is a strong, tenacious, and uncompromising leader with a strong moral compass who could be an effective President one day, and maybe even a great one. I think the war between she and Pawlenty killed both of their chances for this time, though it took the tenacious Bachmann a lot...Read
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01-2012 'A Year Like No Other' – 01/11/2012 This could be the best year of our lives. It will also likely be the most challenging. It’s not either/or, but both. Many ultimate issues will be determined this year. They can be determined in a way that gets us back on the path of greater peace, stability, and prosperity. They could also be determined in a way that leads to the worst economic and political meltdown in history. Even if this is the case, if we’re prepared to resist the tyranny that always seeks to gain entrance in such times, this could be a reset, a kind of jubilee that enables us to return to the foundations of our greatness and strength. One thing is for sure: We may die of a lot of things, but boredom will not be one of them! The Mayans saw 2012 as the end of the world. In a way they may be right—it could be the end of the world as we know it. Key civilization markers are pointing to this year being one of the great demarcation points in history. ...Read
2011
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16-2011 The End if Near – 11/28/2011 The end of America as we know it is near. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. We are at the place where we will return to the remarkable and wise foundations on which the nation was built, or we will cease to be a Republic at all. Which it will be will likely be determined in 2012. This is not to say that this will happen next year, but the choices we make over the next year will determine how we end up, and then we will get there very fast. Remember the saying, “If you do not change your direction, you will end up where you are headed”? We are now headed toward an ultimate collapse and meltdown of America as we know it. If this happens, we will not just morph into some European style socialism. As we can see, that is failing too. The alternative is the worst kind of totalitarian tyranny. The 2012 elections will no doubt be the most important of our lifetime and maybe our history. Even so, all of the choices that will determine our future are not just about the elections. Our government is in crisis, and if radical change does not come next year, we will not survive as a Republic much longer. ...Read |
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15-2011 Brain Freeze – 11/11/2011 It was a historic brain freeze. It was so dramatic that it eclipsed the sexual harassment allegations being made against Herman Cain and child sex abuse charges that have rocked Penn State University. There never may have been a brain freeze in history more extraordinary or embarrassing than Gov. Rick Perry's at the November 9 Republican Presidential Debate when he could not remember the third department of the Federal Government he would eliminate as President. It is very likely that this clip will be played over and over for as long as we have Presidential campaigns. It is already being assumed that it cost Perry any hope of capturing the Republican nomination. Has it? ...Read |
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14-2011 A Teaching Moment – 10/27/2011 I received a good number of emails with questions about Herman Cain’s recent statement, or misstatement, on abortion. In an interview he claimed to be prolife, but then took the basic pro-choice position that it is the right of the person and the family who is involved to decide whether to have an abortion, not the government. This implies that there should be no laws made by the government restricting the taking of human life. This is a very wrong position on a most crucial issue, but it did not come as a big surprise to me. Why? I’m not surprised because I had such a superficial and misguided understanding of abortion myself for a long time. Even after I had been a pastor for more than a decade, I still held the same position and did not see the contradiction in it. I’m not justifying this, but using this to illuminate something that could be the key to turning the whole tide to the prolife cause. ...Read |
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13-2011 There is Hope – 10/21/2011 The debate in Las Vegas Wednesday night obviously caused significant alarm among Republicans. The bickering and fighting among most of the candidates hit a new, and very discouraging low. As David Gergen said afterwards, President Obama was the biggest winner of that debate. There was no doubt much rejoicing in the White House as they watched this one. Though this debate may not have been fatal to any one candidate, it was no doubt a major setback to all of them, and to the Republican Party. As a conservative, and a Republican, I was deeply grieved by this debate, and I do not doubt that we will be seeing video clips of this debate from the Democratic Party and Obama campaign in ads through the election. Even so, there is hope! ...Read |
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12-2011 Crystal Night Remembered – 10/07/2011 In just over a month from now, on November 10, 2011, many of our neighbors will remember a painful day from their past – to them it is known as 'Kristallnacht' or 'Crystal Night'. As Edmond Burke stated, “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.” What took place on November 9-10, 1938 brings the story of Crystal Night into our present and it is now our responsibility to remember. The horrors it released across Europe carried Western Civilization into some of its most uncivilized times. This must never be forgotten so that it may never be repeated. On "Crystal Night," or "The Night of the Broken Glass," Jewish homes, shops and synagogues were ransacked across Germany, and many were burned, as storm troopers and civilians attacked Jewish property with sledgehammers, rocks and anything with which they could cause damage. Ninety-one Jews were killed and 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps, beginning the atrocity that would eventually lead to the murder of six million Jews - one of the darkest times in human history.... ...Read |
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11-2011 The Candidates – 10/04/2011 The most frequently asked question that I receive is for my opinion of the Republican Presidential candidates. There is much evidence that people are more engaged in the process this time and have a resolve to know the candidates. Many believe that President Obama did not get vetted by the media or even his challengers, and there is good evidence the citizens of the U.S. will not allow that to happen again. This engagement is cause for hope. The following is a brief personal perspective of the present candidates. This is personal, and may or may not be the view of the other leaders or members of The Oak Initiative. I hope you find them useful, and I will give them in alphabetical order. Michele Bachmann I first met Michele Bachmann at a lunch that Gen. Boykin and I had with about twenty conservative congressional leaders in early 2009. At the time, I had never seen or heard of her, but after the lunch I told Gen. Boykin that she and Mary Fallin (now Governor of Oklahoma) had more leadership than... ...Read |
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10-2011 Suspend the Elections - Blow the Trumpets – 10/02/2011
It was Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, and the day I first heard North Carolina Democratic Governor Bev Perdue suggest that constitutional elections should be suspended. The reason being floated for suspending the elections was so that politicians could concentrate on the seriousness of the national problems rather than putting effort into being reelected. Even to suggest such an idea is chilling and ought to be sobering. While it is not unexpected considering the people who are currently in power, it is none the less disturbing. “I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won’t hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover, I really hope that someone can agree with me on that.” Governor Bev Perdue. (article) This is nothing to joke about. In the first few months of the present administration many conversations were already being held about the next election and the presidential election of 2012. I recall hearing one prophetic voice, ...Read |
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9-2011 House On The Rock or House On Fire – 08/15/2011
“These things” that the Lord referenced here all seem to all be unfolding now. As declared in Hebrews 12:26-27, “everything that can be shaken will be shaken,” and everything is now being shaken. Even the most powerful, stable, and wealthy nation on earth is tottering on the edge of collapse. According to the verse above, our response should be the following: 1) “straighten up”, and 2) “lift up our heads” because our redemption is near. To “straighten up” is what our parents used to tell us when we were getting out of line. It means the same thing here. We must put off the sin, dissipation and lukewarm spirit to walk uprightly before the Lord. To “lift up our heads” implies walking in encouragement, and boldness. Where does this boldness and encouragement come from? We’re told in Proverbs 28:1 that “…. the righteous are bold as a lion.” Again, “the righteous” are those who do what is right in the sight of the Lord. There is no greater peace, joy, or confidence that we can have more than knowing that we are right with the Lord. ...Read |
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8-2011 The House Is On Fire – 06/12/2011 When I opened one of my news apps this past Sunday morning, these headlines jumped out at me: The Dow Has Longest Weekly Slump Since 2004 Housing Prices Fall Beats Great Depression Slide Florida Couple Forecloses on Bank China Divests 97% of Holdings in U.S. Treasuries More Americans Think Economy Will Never Recover We predicted at our New Year’s Conference that 2011 would be one of the most intense and dangerous years of our lifetime, but I did not think it would qualify for this by April. One friend said that he lived in a town that had been so devastated by the economy that when a tornado recently hit, it did 6 million dollars worth of improvements! Certainly we are in troubled times, and though there will be respites, we must be prepared for the times or we will be consumed by them. If we are prepared for them, every crisis can be an opportunity. In spite of the seemingly overwhelming challenges we are now facing as a nation, and the prevailing sense that America is in decline, this could be our best chance to return ...Read |
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7-2011 A Resolution for Israel – 05/23/2011 The events of this past week make the Oak Initiative’s Board Resolution to publish a position on Israel even more timely and imperative. We would not be too dramatic to say that a Rubicon has been crossed and that we are at a major demarcation point in our history. In a most shocking and reprehensible way, America betrayed one of its most faithful and important allies, Israel. Not only has our President placed one of America’s best friends in the world in jeopardy of her very survival, stating that as a basis for peace in the Middle East Israel should return to its pre-1967 borders, but as history testifies, what we do to Israel comes back on us for good or evil just as the Lord promised. Those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed. If this proposal stands, we have no doubt put our own nation in jeopardy as well. ...Read |
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6-2011 Dollars and Sense – 04/08/2011 For months now, we have lingered on the edge of either a government shutdown or another stopgap measure to keep the government going for another few weeks of indecision on the part of our leaders. They are haggling over somewhere between $10 and $30 billion in cuts. The higher number is what our government runs up in deficits about every five days! This is even worse than trying to use an aspirin to cure brain cancer. The basic responsibility of Congress is to provide the Federal government a budget. For the last two years, Congress passed just about every kind of bill but a budget. Now the Democrats are trying to pin the needed cuts on Republicans, and the Republicans are trying to avoid the political fallout from it. While they box so as to beat the air, a far more devastating problem is creeping up that none of our leaders seem to see coming. ...Read |
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5-2011 The Middle East and the Midwest – 02/23/2011 The Middle East has erupted like a chain of volcanoes with dissent pouring forth in nearly every Muslim country in the region. Mubarak’s regime in Egypt fell faster than seemed possible, encouraged by the regime change that protestors were able to accomplish in Tunisia. Other regimes will likely fall in coming weeks, if not days. The Middle East has been the source of unending trouble for the world with its many religious, political, and economic challenges. Even though there is presently so much confusion and turmoil, ...Read |
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4-2011 "Triumph of Democracy" in Egypt? – 02/16/2011 It is easy to fall in with the euphoria that now has taken hold in the aftermath of Hosni Mubarak's resignation yesterday. Already people in America and in the Middle East are exulting over the "triumph of democracy" in Egypt. So it is perhaps not popular for some like me, to sound the alarm bell. Doing so does not mean I applaud the Mubarak government and its thirty years in power. It foes mean that I see plenty of dangers ahead ...Read |
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3-2011 Terrorism and Liberty – 02/12/2011 At the conclusion of World War II American citizens demanded and received a return to normalcy that included lifting all restrictions upon their rights and choices. This was also the case in every previous declared war. In order to win in war citizens understand the need for sacrifice which sometimes includes temporary limitations on the normal rights of individuals, but when the war ends so do those limitations. Our fathers and mothers as part of what has been called the Greatest Generation ...Read |
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2-2011 What is Wrong with Sharia Law? – 02/04/2011 With the massive demonstrations threatening to topple the government in Egypt and several other Muslim nations in the Middle East, a great concern for the rest of the world has been the potential for The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to seize power. Until recently little was known or understood about the shadowy MB in America and much of the west, but in the last few years it has been the subject of so many articles, books, and lectures that it is now becoming very well known, and understood. This awareness has gone up very dramatically in just the last couple of weeks with its almost constant mention on the news in relation to the meltdown ...Read |
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1-2011 Our Devotion and Resolve – 01/19/2011 I began saying in 2006 that every election from now on will be more important than the previous elections. This includes mid-terms. I think this has proven accurate. I have also been saying that each year would get even more intense, and I think this has been true, and will continue to be. I am not saying this to vindicate myself, but to affirm how important it is for us to know the times, and to be prepared for them. Those who have been drawn to The Oak Initiative have tended to be mature enough to face the reality of the times and issues, and also have the resolve and courage to do what they ...Read
2010
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World Changing Events – 12/14/2010 The following are world events now unfolding that have the potential to have a major impact on our times. The message of the 2010 elections not heard by Obama or Congress. If the deal worked out between the Republican leadership in congress and President Obama is an indication of the kind of change that the 2010 elections are going to result in then it appears not to be much.
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World Changing Events – 11/30/2010 The following are world events now unfolding that have the potential to have a major impact on our times. WikiLeaks complicates U.S. foreign policy. More than 200,000 pages of classified and sensitive U.S. State Department documents being opened to the world by WikiLeaks.
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Remembering Crystal Night – 11/10/2010 It will always be our responsibility to remember. As Edmond Burke stated, “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.” What took place on this date, November 10, seventy-three years ago, brings the story of “Crystal Night”. The horrors it released across Europe carried Western Civilization into some of its most uncivilized times. This must never be forgotten so that it may never be repeated. ...Read |
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The End of The Beginning: "The Cabin Dream" – 11/04/2010 On November 2 the people of the United States spoke very loudly and very clearly—refuting the Obama agenda. There is reason to hope again and to expect the kind of changes that most Americans do believe in—freedom, smaller, less intrusive government, lower taxes, and sound management of the people’s trust and resources. It was a very encouraging victory, but by no means the end of the fight—it is the beginning. Too many times Christians have seen their candidates take office, and have gone back to sleep while the slide into the moral and economic mire we are now in continued. We are too close to the precipice to let this happen again. ...Read |