Turning the Tide...: October 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Obama Administration: An Unholy Mess

by Candace Salima, Senior Contributor, US Daily Review

posted on 29 October 2012

On September 11, 2012 the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked. The consulate staff immediately enacted emergency protocol. A flurry of emails were sent to the State Department pleading for rescue. Email after email was sent by the consulate staff ensconced in the safe rooms, while RPGs were being fired into the consulate by terrorists. The State Department chose not to respond, leaving Ambassador Chris Stevens, consulate staff member and former Air Force Captain Sean Smith, and other members of the staff to fend for themselves.

A short distance away, at a CIA safehouse, agents were requesting permission to intervene at the consulate and safe the people inside. They asked for permission to offer aid to the besieged consulate, but were denied. Former U.S. Navy SEAL, Tyrone Woods and at least four others ignored orders and raced to the consulate. Under fire, they rescued the Americans remaining at the consulate and recovered the body of Sean Smith. Ambassador Chris Stevens was already missing by the time they arrived.

They returned to the CIA annex and reported what they’d found and again asked for support. Again they were denied. Read More >>

Other articles by Candace Salima on US Daily Review

Joe Biden Says America's Fine
Movie Corner: Argo
Circumstances of Childhood Does Not Dictate Your Future
Mitt Romney's Plan
Statue of Responsibility

Friday, October 26, 2012

OPSEC Hits the Obama Administration Hard

The pending broadcast of SEAL Team Six on National Geographic has been heavily edited by Harvey Weinstein to feature a prominent Barack Obama, although he was decidedly absent during the planning and execution process. It has been reported that he was left out of the Osama bin Laden raid until SEAL Team Six was well past the point of no return. That, however, has not stopped Obama from spiking the bin Laden football a number of times as if he'd accompanied the SEALs into the compound and fired the bullets that killed bin Laden himself.

OPSEC, a organization comprised of former special forces and intelligence officers, has taken exception to the loose lips of the Obama Administration which resulted in the deaths of a large crew of Navy SEALs in Afghanistan a week or two after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Angry that SEAL Team Six has been re-edited to a false set of events, OPSEC has released this ad.

According to a press release, the ad seeks to “hit the Obama Administration for not telling the truth about the attacks in Libya that cost the U.S. Ambassador, two former SEALs and another U.S. diplomat their lives while also having politicized the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.”

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Accountability for Benghazi, Libya

Kimberly Guilfoyle is reporting that by next week the Administration's fall guy will be chosen and charged. Here's my thought, I hope the American people are not satisfied by this. I don't want the fall guy, I want to know who made what decisions and the appropriate people in prison, for a very long time. Four people are dead. Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glenn Doherty did not have to die. Stevens did not have to be raped, murdered, and his body dragged through the streets.

The head of Ansar al-Sharia, the terrorist organization who committed these atrocities sits sipping coffee in a streetside cafe without the slightest concern that the Obama Administration will come after him. And I'll tell you why he has no concern:

The Obama Administration knew the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi Libya was being attacked while it was happening. They chose to not send in military support, and it resulted in the brutal deaths of four Americans. I am horrified by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, his administration and the media for the callousness they've displayed in dealing with the the brutal murders of four Americans. The first U.S. Ambassador to be murdered in 30 years, and likely the first one to ever be raped. And ABC/NBC/CBS remain deaf, dumb, and mute. FoxNews has covered it extensively. MSNBC and CNN, very little. And they keep on saying the American people don't care. I care. I care very much and I want answers and accountability.

13-Year Old Jenny Gives Reports Card to Romney/Obama

Jenny is a 13-year-old 8th grader who's been interested in politics for a couple of years. She was confused about the claims of the Democrats and the claims of the Republicans. So, she decided to look at the facts and do a report card for President Barack Obama and one for Governor Mitt Romney. She compared them and now presents her findings in this video.

As a side note, I love this little girl. She has an amazing grasp of the facts.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Mitt Romney at the Al Smith Dinner

Mitt Romney did a great job last night at the Al Smith Dinner. I'm thinking Dennis Miller wrote the jokes that the Governor delivered with perfect aplomb. It's just a guess, whoever wrote the jokes did a fabulous job. Enjoy.

And this may be the only time I'm willing to post anything more by Barack Obama on my blog. Unlike Mitt Romney, everyone knows I simply cannot abide the man. Methinks Dennis Miller should have written these jokes too, because these were not as amusing. Enjoy.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

I am a Woman and I support Mitt Romney!

I am a woman and I support Mitt Romney

I am a Senior Contributor at www.usdailyreview.com, a Director in the doTERRA IPC organization, a public speaker and an author. I also host my own show, Turning the Tide with Candace Salima, doing specials which are posted exclusively on my YouTube channel. And last, but in no way least, I am a woman and I support Mitt Romney.

Liberal talking heads say that Mitt Romney was on the wrong side of equal pay in Tuesday's debate. Really? Because nearly half his cabinet were women and they were paid commensurate with their experience, education and abilities. Barack Obama, on the other hand, grossly underpays the women in his cabinet and according to Valerie Jarrett, fosters a hostile workplace in the White House.

So tell me this, Mitt Romney has proven with his actions that he values women, Barack Obama has proven with his that he does not. Where's the question?

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mitt Romney Wins 2nd Debate and This is Why

Urgent Message from Dick Morris

Dear Reader:

Mitt Romney won the second debate with Barack Obama!

Frankly, Obama's attacks against Romney were nothing less than pathetic. Perhaps the major turning point in the debate — the "aha" moment for millions of undecided Americans — was when Mitt Romney so eloquently listed the key statistics of Obama's record.

The facts about Barack Obama's record are simply indisputable — and disastrous! I have been urging publicly that Romney's campaign focus on Obama's record, not just in public utterances but in campaign ads as well.

This is why — just before the debate — I worked with Super PAC for America to release a powerful new ad that cuts through the political spin and directly cuts to the bone. This ad was released just days before Romney's performance — but it sounded just like Romney's recap of Obama's job performance statistics.

Super PAC for America is dedicated to go directly to the American people to expose Barack Obama for the almost total failure his administration has been. The Super PAC’s 30-second ad opens with a black screen and, in total silence, the following indisputable statistics scroll up on the screen:

—23 Million Unemployed or Underemployed

—47 Million on Food Stamps

—5.5 Million Homes in Crisis/Foreclosure

—$4500 Drop in Household Income

—$5.5 Trillion of New Debt

—$716 Billion in Medicare Cuts

—$2.6 Trillion for Obamacare

—$1.9 Trillion in New Taxes in Obama’s Budget

—100% Increase in Gas Prices

In the middle of this scroll, a roar begins to be heard chanting "Four more years, four more years . . . "

And then when the scroll ends, the chanting ends and a voice comes on and says, "Four more years of this?

"You've got to be kidding!"

The Super PAC for America urgently needs your help to place this ad in key swing state markets across the nation.

No group is running such clear and powerful ads, not even the Romney campaign. That's why I decided to join Mike Reagan, national chairman of Super PAC for America. Mike believes like I do that we can't leave it to chance that Obama's record will be fully exposed.

Mike has also reached out to key advisers who were close to his dad, President Reagan, and helped him win two national elections by a landslide.

Mike is using Super PAC to put together a winning formula to defeat Barack Obama. Mike asked me to serve as Chief Strategist for Super PAC and devise the ads that will speak directly to the American people.

What I like most about Super PAC is that it is not afraid to speak the truth. In the 2010 Congressional elections, Super PAC for America raised millions and played a role in dozens of close House races.

I believe Super PAC was crucial in helping the GOP win a landslide in the 2010 elections.

When I was watching the debate last night and heard Mitt Romney finally and powerfully recite the "facts" that will end Obama's presidency, I said to myself, "YES!"

It was as if Mitt Romney watched our Super PAC ad and finally got the message. All we need to defeat Barack Obama is to tell the American people the facts, simply, honestly, repeatedly.

Here's how Mitt Romney put it in the debate Tuesday night:

"I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a repeat of the last four years. . .

"He said that by now we’d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work.

"I wasn’t the one that said 5.4 percent. This was the president’s plan — didn’t get there.

"He said he would have by now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security because he pointed out they’re on the road to bankruptcy. He would reform them. He’d get that done.

"He hasn’t even made a proposal on either one.

"He said in his first year he’d put out an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges — didn’t even file it.

"This is a president who has not been able to do what he said he’d do. He said that he’d cut in half the deficit. He hasn’t done that either. In fact, he doubled it. "He said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It’s gone up by $2,500 a year. And if 'Obamacare' is passed — or implemented, it’s already been passed — if it’s implemented fully, it’ll be another $2,500 on top.

"The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, look, I’ve created 5 million jobs.

"That’s after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country.

"The unemployment, the number of people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million Americans.

"There are more people in poverty — one out of six people in poverty.

"How about food stamps? When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps; today 47 million people are on food stamps.

"How about the growth of the economy? It’s growing more slowly this year than last year and more slowly last year than the year before.

"The president wants to do well; I understand. But the policies he’s put in place, from 'Obamacare' to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory policies — these policies combined have not let this economy take off and grow like it could have." Well, all I can say is "BRAVO Mitt!"

Mitt Romney was eloquent and persuasive.

But now the debate is over and the spin has started.

Some liberal media groups even had "snap" polls taken saying Obama won the debate! And the major news networks are trying to once again to confuse voters about the real issues.

This makes the job of Super PAC for America so important.

Mike Reagan and I and the thousands of donors to Super PAC for America realize this is a fight for the future of America.

I can't even contemplate a future led by a second-term President Obama We must stop him. We can stop him.

Now is our moment. Help us in this cause today. Time is short!

Donate Here Now.

Thank you.

Yours for America,

Dick Morris

P.S. The Super PAC for America can accept personal and corporate donations in unlimited amounts. Mitt Romney's campaign is handcuffed by federal donation limits. We are not. Make your voice heard in a very powerful way by Donating Here Now!

Paid for by Super PAC for America. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. www.superPACforAmerica.com.

Super PAC for America does not make contributions to candidates. Funds raised by Super PAC for America will only be used for independent expenditures in support of or opposition to candidates. Super PAC for America is permitted to accept contributions from individuals and corporations in any amount, provided that contributions from foreign nationals lacking permanent resident status and contributions from federal contractors may not be accepted.

Contributions to Super PAC for America are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

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Top 10 Lies Told by Barack Obama Last Night

Lie: Obama Claims Bush Did Not Cut Planned Parenthood

CNN's Candy Crowley Admits Mitt Romney was Right on Libya

Obama's Lies on Drilling Debunked

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Paul Ryan v. Joe Biden, the Laughing Buffoon

On October 11th we watched Congressman Paul Ryan, the head of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress debate Vice-President Joe Biden, who gave a remarkable imitation of a laughing buffoon. Here, Congressman Ryan speaks of the fiscal discipline necessary to get America back on the road to economic recovery.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Mitt Romney FOREIGN POLICY ADDRESS TO THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

MITT ROMNEY | 8 OCTOBER, 2012

Watch Mitt Romney give his Foreign Policy Speech here.

I particularly appreciate the introduction from my good friend and tireless campaign companion, Gov. Bob McDonnell. He is showing what conservative leadership can do to build a stronger economy. Thank you also Congressman Goodlatte for joining us today. And particular thanks to Gen. Peay. I appreciate your invitation to be with you today at the Virginia Military Institute. It is a great privilege to be here at an Institution that has done so much for our nation, both in war and in peace.

For more than 170 years, VMI has done more than educate students. It has guided their transformation into citizens, and warriors, and leaders. VMI graduates have served with honor in our nation’s defense, just as many are doing today in Afghanistan and other lands. Since the September 11th attacks, many of VMI’s sons and daughters have defended America, and I mourn with you the 15 brave souls who have been lost. I join you in praying for the many VMI graduates and all Americans who are now serving in harm’s way. May God bless all who serve, and all who have served.

Of all the VMI graduates, none is more distinguished than George Marshall—the Chief of Staff of the Army who became Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, who helped to vanquish fascism and then planned Europe’s rescue from despair. His commitment to peace was born of his direct knowledge of the awful costs and consequences of war.

General Marshall once said, “The only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it.” Those words were true in his time—and they still echo in ours.

Last month, our nation was attacked again. A U.S. Ambassador and three of our fellow Americans are dead—murdered in Benghazi, Libya. Among the dead were three veterans. All of them were fine men, on a mission of peace and friendship to a nation that dearly longs for both. President Obama has said that Ambassador Chris Stevens and his colleagues represented the best of America. And he is right. We all mourn their loss.

The attacks against us in Libya were not an isolated incident. They were accompanied by anti-American riots in nearly two dozen other countries, mostly in the Middle East, but also in Africa and Asia. Our embassies have been attacked. Our flag has been burned. Many of our citizens have been threatened and driven from their overseas homes by vicious mobs, shouting “Death to America.” These mobs hoisted the black banner of Islamic extremism over American embassies on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

As the dust settles, as the murdered are buried, Americans are asking how this happened, how the threats we face have grown so much worse, and what this calls on America to do. These are the right questions. And I have come here today to offer a larger perspective on these tragic recent events—and to share with you, and all Americans, my vision for a freer, more prosperous, and more peaceful world.

The attacks on America last month should not be seen as random acts. They are expressions of a larger struggle that is playing out across the broader Middle East—a region that is now in the midst of the most profound upheaval in a century. And the fault lines of this struggle can be seen clearly in Benghazi itself.

The attack on our Consulate in Benghazi on September 11th, 2012 was likely the work of forces affiliated with those that attacked our homeland on September 11th, 2001. This latest assault cannot be blamed on a reprehensible video insulting Islam, despite the Administration’s attempts to convince us of that for so long. No, as the Administration has finally conceded, these attacks were the deliberate work of terrorists who use violence to impose their dark ideology on others, especially women and girls; who are fighting to control much of the Middle East today; and who seek to wage perpetual war on the West.

We saw all of this in Benghazi last month—but we also saw something else, something hopeful. After the attack on our Consulate, tens of thousands of Libyans, most of them young people, held a massive protest in Benghazi against the very extremists who murdered our people. They waved signs that read, “The Ambassador was Libya’s friend” and “Libya is sorry.” They chanted “No to militias.” They marched, unarmed, to the terrorist compound. Then they burned it to the ground. As one Libyan woman said, “We are not going to go from darkness to darkness.”

This is the struggle that is now shaking the entire Middle East to its foundation. It is the struggle of millions and millions of people—men and women, young and old, Muslims, Christians and non-believers—all of whom have had enough of the darkness. It is a struggle for the dignity that comes with freedom, and opportunity, and the right to live under laws of our own making. It is a struggle that has unfolded under green banners in the streets of Iran, in the public squares of Tunisia and Egypt and Yemen, and in the fights for liberty in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Libya, and now Syria. In short, it is a struggle between liberty and tyranny, justice and oppression, hope and despair.

We have seen this struggle before. It would be familiar to George Marshall. In his time, in the ashes of world war, another critical part of the world was torn between democracy and despotism. Fortunately, we had leaders of courage and vision, both Republicans and Democrats, who knew that America had to support friends who shared our values, and prevent today’s crises from becoming tomorrow’s conflicts.

Statesmen like Marshall rallied our nation to rise to its responsibilities as the leader of the free world. We helped our friends to build and sustain free societies and free markets. We defended our friends, and ourselves, from our common enemies. We led. And though the path was long and uncertain, the thought of war in Europe is as inconceivable today as it seemed inevitable in the last century.

This is what makes America exceptional: It is not just the character of our country—it is the record of our accomplishments. America has a proud history of strong, confident, principled global leadership—a history that has been written by patriots of both parties. That is America at its best. And it is the standard by which we measure every President, as well as anyone who wishes to be President. Unfortunately, this President’s policies have not been equal to our best examples of world leadership. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East.

I want to be very clear: The blame for the murder of our people in Libya, and the attacks on our embassies in so many other countries, lies solely with those who carried them out—no one else. But it is the responsibility of our President to use America’s great power to shape history—not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events. Unfortunately, that is exactly where we find ourselves in the Middle East under President Obama.

The relationship between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Israel, our closest ally in the region, has suffered great strains. The President explicitly stated that his goal was to put “daylight” between the United States and Israel. And he has succeeded. This is a dangerous situation that has set back the hope of peace in the Middle East and emboldened our mutual adversaries, especially Iran.

Iran today has never been closer to a nuclear weapons capability. It has never posed a greater danger to our friends, our allies, and to us. And it has never acted less deterred by America, as was made clear last year when Iranian agents plotted to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in our nation’s capital. And yet, when millions of Iranians took to the streets in June of 2009, when they demanded freedom from a cruel regime that threatens the world, when they cried out, “Are you with us, or are you with them?”—the American President was silent.

Across the greater Middle East, as the joy born from the downfall of dictators has given way to the painstaking work of building capable security forces, and growing economies, and developing democratic institutions, the President has failed to offer the tangible support that our partners want and need.

In Iraq, the costly gains made by our troops are being eroded by rising violence, a resurgent Al-Qaeda, the weakening of democracy in Baghdad, and the rising influence of Iran. And yet, America’s ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence. The President tried—and failed—to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains.

The President has failed to lead in Syria, where more than 30,000 men, women, and children have been massacred by the Assad regime over the past 20 months. Violent extremists are flowing into the fight. Our ally Turkey has been attacked. And the conflict threatens stability in the region.

America can take pride in the blows that our military and intelligence professionals have inflicted on Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including the killing of Osama bin Laden. These are real achievements won at a high cost. But Al-Qaeda remains a strong force in Yemen and Somalia, in Libya and other parts of North Africa, in Iraq, and now in Syria. And other extremists have gained ground across the region. Drones and the modern instruments of war are important tools in our fight, but they are no substitute for a national security strategy for the Middle East.

The President is fond of saying that “The tide of war is receding.” And I want to believe him as much as anyone. But when we look at the Middle East today—with Iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in Syria threatening to destabilize the region, with violent extremists on the march, and with an American Ambassador and three others dead likely at the hands of Al-Qaeda affiliates— it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the President took office.

I know the President hopes for a safer, freer, and a more prosperous Middle East allied with the United States. I share this hope. But hope is not a strategy. We cannot support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds, when our defense spending is being arbitrarily and deeply cut, when we have no trade agenda to speak of, and the perception of our strategy is not one of partnership, but of passivity.

The greater tragedy of it all is that we are missing an historic opportunity to win new friends who share our values in the Middle East—friends who are fighting for their own futures against the very same violent extremists, and evil tyrants, and angry mobs who seek to harm us. Unfortunately, so many of these people who could be our friends feel that our President is indifferent to their quest for freedom and dignity. As one Syrian woman put it, “We will not forget that you forgot about us.”

It is time to change course in the Middle East. That course should be organized around these bedrock principles: America must have confidence in our cause, clarity in our purpose and resolve in our might. No friend of America will question our commitment to support them… no enemy that attacks America will question our resolve to defeat them… and no one anywhere, friend or foe, will doubt America’s capability to back up our words.

I will put the leaders of Iran on notice that the United States and our friends and allies will prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. I will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on Iran, and will tighten the sanctions we currently have. I will restore the permanent presence of aircraft carrier task forces in both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf region—and work with Israel to increase our military assistance and coordination. For the sake of peace, we must make clear to Iran through actions—not just words—that their nuclear pursuit will not be tolerated.

I will reaffirm our historic ties to Israel and our abiding commitment to its security—the world must never see any daylight between our two nations.

I will deepen our critical cooperation with our partners in the Gulf.

And I will roll back President Obama’s deep and arbitrary cuts to our national defense that would devastate our military. I will make the critical defense investments that we need to remain secure. The decisions we make today will determine our ability to protect America tomorrow. The first purpose of a strong military is to prevent war.

The size of our Navy is at levels not seen since 1916. I will restore our Navy to the size needed to fulfill our missions by building 15 ships per year, including three submarines. I will implement effective missile defenses to protect against threats. And on this, there will be no flexibility with Vladimir Putin. And I will call on our NATO allies to keep the greatest military alliance in history strong by honoring their commitment to each devote 2 percent of their GDP to security spending. Today, only 3 of the 28 NATO nations meet this benchmark.

I will make further reforms to our foreign assistance to create incentives for good governance, free enterprise, and greater trade, in the Middle East and beyond. I will organize all assistance efforts in the greater Middle East under one official with responsibility and accountability to prioritize efforts and produce results. I will rally our friends and allies to match our generosity with theirs. And I will make it clear to the recipients of our aid that, in return for our material support, they must meet the responsibilities of every decent modern government—to respect the rights of all of their citizens, including women and minorities… to ensure space for civil society, a free media, political parties, and an independent judiciary… and to abide by their international commitments to protect our diplomats and our property.

I will champion free trade and restore it as a critical element of our strategy, both in the Middle East and across the world. The President has not signed one new free trade agreement in the past four years. I will reverse that failure. I will work with nations around the world that are committed to the principles of free enterprise, expanding existing relationships and establishing new ones.

I will support friends across the Middle East who share our values, but need help defending them and their sovereignty against our common enemies.

In Libya, I will support the Libyan people’s efforts to forge a lasting government that represents all of them, and I will vigorously pursue the terrorists who attacked our consulate in Benghazi and killed Americans.

In Egypt, I will use our influence—including clear conditions on our aid—to urge the new government to represent all Egyptians, to build democratic institutions, and to maintain its peace treaty with Israel. And we must persuade our friends and allies to place similar stipulations on their aid.

In Syria, I will work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets. Iran is sending arms to Assad because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them. We should be working no less vigorously with our international partners to support the many Syrians who would deliver that defeat to Iran—rather than sitting on the sidelines. It is essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East.

And in Afghanistan, I will pursue a real and successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014. President Obama would have you believe that anyone who disagrees with his decisions in Afghanistan is arguing for endless war. But the route to more war – and to potential attacks here at home – is a politically timed retreat that abandons the Afghan people to the same extremists who ravaged their country and used it to launch the attacks of 9/11. I will evaluate conditions on the ground and weigh the best advice of our military commanders. And I will affirm that my duty is not to my political prospects, but to the security of the nation.

Finally, I will recommit America to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the Jewish state of Israel. On this vital issue, the President has failed, and what should be a negotiation process has devolved into a series of heated disputes at the United Nations. In this old conflict, as in every challenge we face in the Middle East, only a new President will bring the chance to begin anew.

There is a longing for American leadership in the Middle East—and it is not unique to that region. It is broadly felt by America’s friends and allies in other parts of the world as well— in Europe, where Putin’s Russia casts a long shadow over young democracies, and where our oldest allies have been told we are “pivoting” away from them … in Asia and across the Pacific, where China’s recent assertiveness is sending chills through the region … and here in our own hemisphere, where our neighbors in Latin America want to resist the failed ideology of Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers and deepen ties with the United States on trade, energy, and security. But in all of these places, just as in the Middle East, the question is asked: “Where does America stand?”

I know many Americans are asking a different question: “Why us?” I know many Americans are asking whether our country today—with our ailing economy, and our massive debt, and after 11 years at war—is still capable of leading.

I believe that if America does not lead, others will—others who do not share our interests and our values—and the world will grow darker, for our friends and for us. America’s security and the cause of freedom cannot afford four more years like the last four years. I am running for President because I believe the leader of the free world has a duty, to our citizens, and to our friends everywhere, to use America’s great influence—wisely, with solemnity and without false pride, but also firmly and actively—to shape events in ways that secure our interests, further our values, prevent conflict, and make the world better—not perfect, but better.

Our friends and allies across the globe do not want less American leadership. They want more—more of our moral support, more of our security cooperation, more of our trade, and more of our assistance in building free societies and thriving economies. So many people across the world still look to America as the best hope of humankind. So many people still have faith in America. We must show them that we still have faith in ourselves—that we have the will and the wisdom to revive our stagnant economy, to roll back our unsustainable debt, to reform our government, to reverse the catastrophic cuts now threatening our national defense, to renew the sources of our great power, and to lead the course of human events.

Sir Winston Churchill once said of George Marshall: “He … always fought victoriously against defeatism, discouragement, and disillusion.” That is the role our friends want America to play again. And it is the role we must play.

The 21st century can and must be an American century. It began with terror, war, and economic calamity. It is our duty to steer it onto the path of freedom, peace, and prosperity.

The torch America carries is one of decency and hope. It is not America’s torch alone. But it is America’s duty – and honor – to hold it high enough that all the world can see its light.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Senator Mike Lee Statement on Fallen Border Agent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Senator Mike Lee Statement On Fallen Border Patrol Agent

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Mike Lee issued the following statement regarding the death of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie, who was killed yesterday at the Brian Terry Station near Naco, Arizona.

"Our hearts are heavy from the loss of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie, who was tragically killed yesterday while serving his country and his community. His death is a solemn reminder of the selfless sacrifices made by our brave men and women in uniform every day. It also brings home the often silent and unseen sacrifices made by the families of those who serve and protect this great nation. Nicholas grew up in Provo, Utah, so today we mourn the loss of a great American, and a great Utahn, a servant we thankfully and proudly call one of our own.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Ivie family during this time."

Smackdown! Romney v Obama

October 3, 2012 - Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama

It was Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama in a debate on domestic policy, and it was a smackdown. When the two men entered from opposite sides of the stage, from the beginning, Mitt Romney was tall, strong, confident and ready to lay it out for the American people. Barack Obama, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Let's stop to consider for a moment. If you'd tanked America with everything you'd done, then gone on to tell lie after lie about your opponent, I'd think you'd be a little uneasy when you faced him for the first time. That was Barack Obama's dilemma last night. His demeanor, his lack of articulation, and his inability to look Governor Mitt Romney in the eye were blatantly obvious last night.

However, we were treated to some classic lines last night:

"Mr. President, you can have your own plane, your own house, but you can't have your own facts." Mitt Romney

“Look, I got five boys. I’m used to people saying something that’s not always true, but just keep on repeating it and ultimately hoping I will believe it.” Mitt Romney

"Mr. President, you gave $90 billion for green energy. $90 Billion would have given us 2,000,000 teaching jobs!" Mitt Romney

And the punches just kept on coming. Barack Obama would make a false statement and Mitt Romney would promptly counter with the facts. For ninety minutes Mitt Romney schooled Barack Obama on what America was really supposed to be like, and not Obama's vision of it. He spoke of American exceptionalism, the framework of the proper role of government, his belief in the American people and our spirit for entrepreneurship. Romney talked of cutting the federal budget until it was balanced and no longer using deficit spending, and he would do so using tax cuts, broadening the tax base, creating jobs, and turning the American people loose to succeed. It worked for Ronald Reagan, and it will work again.

Barack Obama, on the other hand, continued with the same old rhetoric. Government is best. Government can take better care of you than you can. Government, government, government. He quoted one study to prove his point, and Mitt Romney countered with six studies to prove him wrong. Obama talked of bipartisanship, Mitt Romney defined the word for him. Obama spoke of big dreams, Mitt Romney asked him why he hadn't delivered any of those in the last four years. Obama couldn't win for losing last night, and he lost. Big time.

Sean Hannity called it a "Rocky Mountain beatdown."

Chris Matthews was nearly reduced to tears.

Bill Maher reluctantly agreed that: "Obama made a lot of great points tonight. Unfortunately, most of them were for Romney."

Charles Krauthammer stated, "Romney won. Romney won big. Romney won by two touchdowns."

Last night's debate was the most talked about debate in recorded history with over 4,000,000 tweets, and Facebook was on fire. The reason for that is that we are at an historical point in history, and last night we saw the two visions of America.

Mitt Romney spoke of a booming American economy, a strong military, and a happy, productive American people. Energy Independence, appropriate tax cuts, business friendly atmosphere, fair trade agreements, and training of the American people for jobs that pay better and produce more were the hallmark of Romney's plan. Romney was strong, steady and very presidential.

‎"It is not the role of government to pick winners and losers in the private sector. The right answer for government is to make business and schools more effective and efficient." Mitt Romney

Barack Obama spoke of bigger government, more control, more regulation, more control over education, and, well, precisely what we have right now:

America suffering three credit downgrades;
America falling from #1 to #7 in world competitiveness;
America falling from #3 to #18 in free economies;
America's GDP falling below that of Pakistan and Cuba;
Nearly 50 million Americans on some sort of government welfare;
23 million Americans out of work;
Healthcare costs gone up by $2,000, and 21 new taxes await Americans on January 1, 2013, courtesy of Obamacare;
Gasoline, food, utility, school, and tax prices completely out of control;

and the beat goes on...

The choice is clear, and that choice last night was laid out for the American people. In a snap CNBC poll, Mitt Romney was declared the winner 67% to 29%. That, my friends, is huge, and accurate.

I invite you to watch the debate for yourselves, I've included it in its entirety below:

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 1)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 2)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 3)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 4)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 5)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 6)

3 October 2012: Mitt Romney v. Barack Obama, 1st Presidential Debate 2012 (Part 7)

All in all, Mitt Romney walked away the clear winner last night. He was strong on the issues, his stances, the numbers, and what has gone on the last four years. He challenged Barack Obama on every single lie and misstatement, and countered with facts and statistics. It was a thing of beauty to behold.

Of course, there are those caught in a collective sore delusion that Barack Obama won last night. Pat, pat...you go right ahead and think that if it makes you feel better.

A word of warning, Barack Obama was shellacked last night, no question. However, the next presidential debate takes place in a townhall format, and I'm certain Barack Obama is going to come out swinging. Mitt Romney will be ready for him, but Obama will have a much stronger showing next time.

Here's the debate schedule for the remainder of the month:

October 11th: Paul Ryan vs. Joe Biden

October 16th: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama (Foreign & Domestic Policy)

October 22nd: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama (Foreign Policy)

I will have my popcorn at the ready, fresh baked homemade chocolate chip cookies and equal sizes of ice water and Diet Dr. Pepper. And all that is waiting for Ryan vs. Biden. It's going to be a metaphorical bloodbath.

Articles of Note on Last Night's Debate

Townhall: Actually Obama raised taxes on the Middle Class
National Review: The First Debate
Washington Post: Romney Goes on Offense
National Journal: Incumbent Debate Curse, Obama Falls to Romney
Daily Caller: Mitt Romney Came with a Chainsaw

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Marion G. Romney: America's Destiny

America’s Destiny
MARION G. ROMNEY

My beloved brothers and sisters, I invite you to join in a prayer that while I speak you and I may both enjoy the Spirit. I will give you a lesson today that the Lord has taken great pains to bring to us.

Among the questions frequently raised in connection with our upcoming national bicentennial is “Can we maintain our basic freedoms, peace, and prosperity for another 200 years?”

The answer to this question is yes, if we shall individually repent and conform to the laws of the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ.

He has stated the basics of his laws in the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, and in the two great commandments:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …

“And … thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:37, 39.)

Millennia ago he declared: “There shall none come into this land [he was speaking of America] save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.

“… this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them.” (2 Ne. 1:6–7.)

Another ancient prophet said,

“This is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.” (Ether 2:12.)

It is my purpose in making these remarks to point out from the record of ancient inhabitants of America that the foregoing decrees have been carried out.

In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation.

You who are acquainted with the Book of Mormon will recall that during the final campaign of the fratricidal war between the armies led by Shiz and those led by Coriantumr “nearly two millions” of Coriantumr’s people had been slain by the sword; “two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.” (Ether 15:2.)

As the conflict intensified, all the people who had not been slain—men “with their wives and their children” (Ether 15:15)—gathered about that hill Cumorah (see Ether 15:11).

“The people who were for Coriantumr were gathered together to the army of Coriantumr; and the people who were for Shiz were gathered together to the army of Shiz. …

“Both men women and children being armed with weapons of war … did march forth one against another to battle; and they fought all that day, and conquered not.

“And it came to pass that when it was night they were weary, and retired to their camps; and … took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people.” (Ether 15:13, 15–16.)

This routine was repeated day after day until “they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz.” Shiz himself “had fainted with the loss of blood.

“And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, [and] rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.

“And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.

“And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life.” (Ether 15:29–32.)

Thus perished at the foot of Cumorah the remnant of the once mighty Jaredite nation, of whom the Lord had said, “There shall be none greater … upon all the face of the earth.” (Ether 1:43.)

As I contemplated this tragic scene from the crest of Cumorah and viewed the beautiful land of the Restoration as it appears today, I cried in my soul, “How could it have happened?”

The answer came immediately as I remembered that some fifteen to twenty centuries before their destruction, as the small group of their ancestors was being divinely led from the tower of Babel, the Lord “would that they should come forth even unto [this] land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.

“And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared [their prophet-leader], that whoso should possess this land … from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.

“And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land,” wrote the ancient prophet-historian, “that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.” (Ether 2:7–10.)

Pursuant to this decree concerning the land of America, the Jaredites were swept off in the manner we have reviewed, because, rebelling against the laws of Jesus Christ—the God of the land—they “ripened in iniquity.”

Nor were they the only people who anciently were divinely led to this choice land to grow in righteousness to be a mighty nation and then to deteriorate in wickedness until they ripened in iniquity and were, pursuant to God’s decree, swept off.

I emphasize “divinely led” because, as above indicated, the Lord told them that they were being so led, and “that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.

“Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.” (2 Ne. 1:6–7.)

This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites’. From the account of their death struggle, I quote:

“And now,” says Mormon, their historian, “I finish my record concerning the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And it came to pass that we did march forth before the Lamanites … to the land of Cumorah. … And when … we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of Cumorah, … my people, with their wives and their children, did … behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them.

“And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with all manner of weapons of war.

“And it came to pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ten thousand who were with me, and I fell wounded in the midst; and they passed by me that they did not put an end to my life.

“And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow … from the top of the hill Cumorah, [230,000] of my people who were hewn down, …

“Even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had dissented over unto the Lamanites, had fallen. …

“And my soul was rent with anguish, … and I cried:

“O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! … How could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

“Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. …

“O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, … how is it that ye could have fallen! …

“O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you.” (Morm. 6:1, 4, 5, 7, 9–11, 15–19, 22.)

Moroni a little later wrote:

“Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. …

“… after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, … the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.

“And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people.” (Morm. 8:1–3.)

The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9.)

This information, wrote Moroni, addressing himself to us who today occupy this land, “cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles” (now, Gentiles is the term used by the Book of Mormon prophets to refer to the present inhabitants of America and to the peoples of the old world from which they came), “[this] cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.” (Ether 2:11–12.)

In 1492, in harmony with the Lord’s statement heretofore quoted, “that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord” (2 Ne. 1:6), Columbus was divinely led to America.

Away back between 590 and 600 years B.C., Nephi, looking in vision down the stream of time, “beheld a man among the Gentiles [that is, among the nations of Europe], who was separated from [this promised land] by the many waters; and I beheld,” said he, “the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto … the promised land.

“And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth … upon the many waters.

“And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise.” (1 Ne. 13:12–14.)

Columbus himself corroborated the fact that he was divinely led to this land.

“In the royal presence of Isabella, Irving [his biographer] says: ‘He unfolded his plans with eloquence and zeal for he felt himself, as he afterwards declared, kindled as with a fire from on high, and considered himself the agent chosen of heaven to accomplish the grand design. …

“His son Fernando, in the biography of his father quotes him as saying on one occasion: ‘God gave me the faith and afterwards the courage so that I was quite willing to undertake the journey.’

“And the will of Columbus reads:

“ ‘In the name of the … holy trinity, who inspired me with the idea and afterwards made it perfectly clear to me that I could navigate and go to the Indies from Spain, by traversing the ocean westward.’ ” (Nephi Lowell Morris, Prophecies of Joseph Smith and Their Fulfillment, Deseret Book, 1945, pp. 289, 294–95; italics added.)

Because Columbus was led, we are here in this choice land.

God gave us victory in the Revolutionary War. We are indebted to him for our nation’s independence. He has prospered us in every righteous endeavor. He established the Constitution of the United States “by the hands of wise men whom [he] raised up unto this very purpose.” (D&C 101:80.)

He himself with his Beloved Son appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith to open a new dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ here in this land. He has established his Church here and has sent and is sending representatives thereof into every nook and corner of the land—and as far as possible to all the earth—to declare and teach the laws of Jesus Christ, the God of this land.

He has revealed anew and repeated over and over again the ancient decree: “This is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God” concerning this land. (Ether 2:10.)

This knowledge has been revealed to us that we “may know the decrees of God—that [we] may repent, and not continue in [our] iniquities until the fulness come, that [we] may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon [us] as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.” (Ether 2:11.)

We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, which will be climaxed by the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. Concerning the approach of that event and what is in store for the inhabitants of the earth between now and then, the Lord said 144 years ago:

“The wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure. …

“Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear.”

And this is his message: “Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;

“And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. …

“The hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.

“And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon … the world.” (D&C 1:9, 11–13, 35–36.)

Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity?

That we will repent and obey and thereby qualify to receive the blessings promised to the righteous in this land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.