Democrat values reflect their policies

I've watched 3 weeks of Democrats pointing fingers, and they just can't figure it out, was it racist white males, or disillusioned minorities, or her vice president choice, or lack of support from Biden staff, and on and on and on. So here's my repeat of November 6 for them to think about. Pick just 2 and Trump wins.

"Kamala gave a stirring and passionate concession speech today saying she would continue to fight for our democracy--for her principles--open borders, packing the court, gun confiscation, arresting people who use their first amendment rights like religion and speech, promising inflationary policies like price controls and government give aways to some home buyers, funding foreign wars, and destroying the unborn while our birth rate plummets. And the people cheered."

She thinks she's living in the twilight zone

 https://youtu.be/TQIL7bJ51mk?si=vV-uF1Eupab4qi4d

Young woman lists the craziness going on in our times.

Laying siege to the Institutions--Christopher Rufo

Christopher Rufo is the new "hate on him" guy that the Left loves to ridicule and demean. Why? Because he exposes Wokeism, CRT, trans-agenda, queer theory, intersectionality, etc. with the Sword of Truth, and a clear explanation of their own Leftist/Marxist history and direction. What looks like chaos to you, is well planned."The leftist dream of a working-class rebellion in America fizzled after the ’60s. By the mid-1970s, radical groups like the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground had faded from prominence. But the leftist dreamers didn’t give up. Abandoning hope of a Russian-style revolution, they settled on a more sophisticated strategy—waging a revolution not of the proletariat, but of the elites, and specifically of the knowledge elites. It would proceed not by taking over the means of production, but by taking control of education and culture—a strategy that German Marxist Rudi Dutschke, a student activist in the 1960s, called “the long march through the institutions.”

This idea is traceable to Italian communist Antonio Gramsci, who wrote in the 1930s of “capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches, and the media by transforming the consciousness of society.”

This march through our institutions, begun a half-century ago, has now proved largely successful. Over the past two years, I’ve looked at the federal bureaucracy, the universities, K-12 schools, and big corporations. And what I’ve found is that the revolutionary ideas of the ’60s have been repackaged, repurposed, and injected into American life at the institutional level." https://christopherrufo.com/laying-siege-to-the-institutions/

Controlling K-12 of public and private education is essential. Why else have the DoJ attack parents? The younger the better. Perhaps the only Biblical principal the Left has learned well, is Proverbs 22:6--"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." In my opinion, the Leftists are the losers with old, tired ideas in contrast to our U.S. Constitution (which they hate) has the fresh, recent and revolutionary ideas. The only similarity might be that the 60s Weather Underground and the 2011 Occupy Movement were the white, young, wealthy and best educated; our Founders were also white, young, wealthy and well educated. The difference is the radicals of the 1960s and 21st century were spoiled brats and guilt ridden by their own abundance. Their only desire was/is to create chaos--and the plan now begins in the schools--even pre-K. To create confusion about family, marriage, sex, religion, purpose, meaning, ambition, merit, etc.

Money can't fix everything

We sold our home of 34 years in 2001 and the new owners installed a professional kitchen, spending ca. $50,000 ($80,000 in today's dollars), and then got a divorce. The three signs of a marriage in trouble are 1) a new sports car for the husband, 2) an expensive get-away vacation, and/or 3) a ridiculous remodeling project for the wife. Or, maybe money just doesn't fix what's wrong.

Where do you get your information?

Gary asked, "Where do you get your information?"  He watches only MSNBC and CNN--two channels that pretend to be objective and fair, but repeat the Democrat party talking points, in my opinion.  That is a great question, however, something all librarians and teachers emphasize when teaching research skills. And it’s essential for him particularly to ask because so much of the news is infused with opinion, not research, and he spends a lot of time watching news from one viewpoint. His method is why librarians and teachers usually don’t accept “magazines” as a valid source when teaching research. Some won’t even accept an encyclopedia, which is a shame, in my opinion. I love encyclopedias, and most articles are signed. Not many people own the 11th, 12th, and 13th editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica, but I do.

When I give an opinion, it’s that. Norma’s opinion. When I quote, I try to always cite the source, and my opinion may be learned from others over time, but by checking their sources. Dennis Prager’s recent tirade against Biden reflects mine, but I’ve followed Prager for years. He’s been on radio for 40 years, is Jewish, loves music, literature, politics, has great wisdom, and supports young conservative influencers like Candace Owens, Will Witt and Charlie Kirk who have gone on to their own careers. Pager was anti-Trump in 2016—converted to a fan when Trump accomplished conservative goals of lower taxes, less government control, border security, cutting red tape, best friend Israel had, priorities for prison reform, etc. https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager/05/22/joe-bidens-buffalo-speech-was-the-speech-of-an-indecent-man

My opinions are primarily built on my values, even if I don’t think about it. Christian, anabaptist, conservative fiscally, formed by the region I’ve lived in (Midwest U.S.), the language I speak, race/culture, college education, and career. However, my entire life I’ve been pro-life, even before I understood the science and politics of taking the life of a baby in the womb. Even in second grade, I remember thinking evolution was ridiculous and anti-science, because yes, evolution was being taught as truth at Forreston elementary in the 1940s. I learned to pretend I learne it, to answer the questions on the tests correctly, and not rock the boat. I love science—and I see my values about creator/created confirmed every day, especially astronomy and all the “new” critters found at the bottom of oceans. Love that stuff!

When it is rate, number, percentage, average, median, year, I am usually relying on a government or academic source (since academics have government grants it’s hard to know where one stops and the other begins). I always keep in mind those sources also have biases because they are collected and published by humans. For instance, after 2008, certain crime sources just disappeared. After certain years, census sources changed—for instance, additional groups or races were added or divided. What was called white was changed to create Asian or Hispanic (a made-up word that includes hundreds of cultures). Biracial white/black/Asian/Mexican/Cuban/Indian is almost always considered black—probably a carry over from segregation days. It's my impression that liberal/progressive sources are more likely to refer to numbers rather than rate. Most confusing (on purpose) is the writer moving from rate to number to percentage in the same article. For instance, violent crime may have black aggressors 8x the rate of whites, but because white criminals outnumber blacks due to the population, liberal sources will site numbers more often in crimes. You may have to go to the last paragraph or a graph/chart to see percentage or rate.

Over time, I’ve learned when there is a horrific tragedy like last Wednesday in Uvalde, Texas, the tsunami in 2005, or the Louisiana hurricane in 2006, or the strange conflicting figures for the 2020 vote, it may take years to sort out or find the truth. I’ve heard three versions by Saturday of how police acted/reacted to the Uvalde tragedy. Without even listening to the news we know there will be the anti-gun bills and the safety bills. We know Democrats will be anti-2nd amendment and the Republicans will focus on SRO, more cameras, better training.

For some reason, Gary often sites David Duke, a has-been, colorful Democrat, from many years ago, sometimes because he was a southerner, and that was the party of hate he grew up with, the party that held blacks back with various Jim Crow laws, and now do it with money from government programs. He’s really a creation of the media, unlike Antifa, which actually did roam city streets, who were well-educated, rich white supremacists, who covered their faces with hoods, who did burn down buildings, and had clout. When I was a Democrat I certainly didn’t associate my party with Duke, just as I don’t associate any Democrats I know with Antifa.

But Democrats do get in a rut.  They are very suceptible to "progressive" ideas and fall for the socialist clap-trap. They actually believe if we hand more money over to the government, it will be used for whatever purpose they claim.  Republicans have spaghetti spines and no balls, to stick with the body language. 

I think I know where this is going. . . a photo contest

“As engines of economic growth, markets extend the frontiers of human well-being; as sites of innovation, they expand the boundaries of human imagination; as a non-coercive means of coordinating behavior, they diminish the threat of tyranny. However, markets can also concentrate economic power in a way that limits individual opportunity, stifles innovation, and distorts public discourse. The need to respond to market incentives can distort relationships, dissolve communities, and harm the natural environment. The extension of markets into education, health care, and criminal justice threatens to undermine the distinct aims that those institutions were designed to promote. How do markets promote or hinder human well-being? What is the relationship between economic freedom and other freedoms? What are the proper limits of markets? What, if anything, should not be for sale?”

Pretty sure capitalism will be bashed in this photo contest promoted by Center for Ethics and Human Values at Ohio State University.  The solutions will be, of course, more government control. . . because markets

• concentrate economic power
• limit individual opportunity
• stifle innovation
• distort public discourse
• distort relationships
• dissolve communities
• harm the natural environment
• undermine distinct aims of institutions
• hinder human well-being
• proper limits

Yes, but you will be called judgmental

 

Being neutral on abortion helps no one.  Not the unborn, and not the woman in difficult circumstances.

Being neutral on socialist policies, ever growing, does not stop them, and helps no one get on her feet.

Being neutral on religion (all ways lead to God) could redirect someone to Hell.

Being neutral on pornography is supporting human trafficking.

Being neutral on “do these jeans make me look fat,” is just being smart.

Are they Bush values, and what happened to them?

Daniel Henninger remembers what happened in the 1990s, and it wasn’t President Trump in the Wall Street Journal.

“Most of the Bush values can be found on any list of what are called—or used to be called—virtues. It is telling that these same simple virtues are now being praised by a media that has done so much in the past 30 years to undermine them.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-didnt-kill-the-bush-values-1544053897?fbclid=IwAR3VqUXD2tkEEw39P17-ak0voNmiht5V_InCevSLoZ7sOqK0zTMfkCASJS8

I wasn’t even a Republican back then, yet I thought the way the media savaged Barbara Bush and Dan Quayle was disgraceful. The attacks on the religious right were loud and proud, and Jeff Bezos didn’t even own WaPo then!

We bought the tickets; we made them rich

For decades the entertainment industry has been pushing and eroding respect for sexuality, parenthood, women, men, children, family, and church, inserting its values into sit-coms, dramas and violent crime shows, until they convinced the world their values were normal. And all along, the men were pawing and raping boys and women, and the females were keeping quiet to protect their careers while performing the roles the men controlled and the women wrote in the screen plays. The industry glorified violence and crime while demanding gun control for the average person. They push dropping pronouns, changing the language and opening bathrooms in the name of "social justice." Sick. Too late now; we bought the tickets, we didn't change the channel, we laughed at their smarmy jokes. We made them rich.

The women blame power imbalance, the men blame their fathers for poor behavior modeling? Richard Dreyfuss calls it flirting and thought it was consensual. She let it go on for decades; I can see why he might get it wrong. So after 40 years of "I am woman hear me roar" it's still all about sex? Apparently, the Marxist message underlying much of the Feminist movement just didn't have much appeal for the ladies.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/richard-dreyfuss-accused-of-exposing-himself-to-woman.html?

 The Clinton News Network (CNN) last night at the Pub was featuring Putin and Trump meeting, making a big deal about it instead of pointing out the latest revelations from the entertainment industry, and all the people who knew all about Louis C.K. who could fill Madison Square Garden and masturbate in front of women and make films about 14 year olds and sex. And they all kept quiet while pointing fingers. I guess the late night comedians are not covering it either--comedians need to stick together, plus the Democrat Party hasn't given them the script.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/arts/television/louis-ck-sexual-misconduct.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/business/media/mike-oreskes-npr-sexual-harassment.html

Designing failure

"If we were to chuck every single educational “innovation” visited upon us by political hucksters in the last eighty years, and simply teach what was then considered the norm for a person with a half-decent background in arts and letters, and call it “classical,” we would at once stanch the bleed from our enrollments and give our young people a standard deviation or two over their schooled counterparts." Anthony Esolen

I wasn't in school 80 years ago, but I was in first grade 70 years ago (first grade and sixth grade in both Forreston and Mt. Morris due to family moves), so what would I bring back?

• Bible reading and prayer to start the day, and as children learned to read, they did it. I think we said the Pledge to the flag. No one was converted if their family already didn't attend church, but it did set the tone. Each child had a New Testament in the desk provided by the Gideons. Today police would be called if they tried that, even though under the first amendment it's still legal.
• Money collected for savings bonds and we each had our own book (this extended well beyond WWII).  The stamps were 10 cents.  Not sure what poor children did. Very early we learned to watch our "savings" grow with pretty stamps. Today it would be considered discriminatory against immigrants or bad form to be patriotic.
• 
• Phonics, reading aloud, diagramming sentences to understand grammar and spelling bees. I really didn't enjoy being in front of the class, but I did learn from this to face my fears.
• Recess and physical education through all grades. We were a hot, sweaty mess.  Probably less hyperactivity in those days.
• School assemblies where we would gather for a lyceum event (speakers,magicians, inspirational, music, drama). The blind pianist was a favorite, I remember.
• School wide musicals. Classroom art instruction although we didn't have art teachers and the music teacher served several rural schools.
•  
• Story time by teacher and resting after recess (for younger children)--I remember this through 4th grade. Loved those stories. My first exposure to The Wizard of Oz.
• In room parties when moms brought cookies and we occasionally saw a movie. Halloween, Valentines and Christmas parties.  Principal read the Luke version of infancy story to the whole school.
• In the 2 elementary schools I attended, there were no cafeterias--I either walked home for lunch or brought a packed lunch which no one inspected for the USDA approval. If we had allergic kids, I didn't know about it.
• School wide vaccination programs--if there were religious exceptions, I wasn't aware of them. Small pox in kindergarten and polio in 7th grade.
• Math instruction even someone like me could understand.
• Geography and history, beginning with the world in the lower grades, then the nation, then the state and county.

There were other things that I hated then, and would hate now.  

• Team or group projects where my grade depended on the slowest and most irresponsible person in the group. I was a good student, and hated this.
• State testing--we didn't do as much then as they do now, but I hated it. Usually lasted a day. I was never a good test taker and it caused a lot of anxiety.
• No special instruction for slow students.  They just dropped out after a few years to work the farm with dad, or were passed along and aged out at 16 in 7th or 8th grade. 
• Grading each others work.  This was demeaning for both good and poor students.  I would sometimes "cheat" for the other guy, even if I wouldn't do it on my own, just so he could pass.
• Weighing in front of class (I think our height and weight was recorded on our report cards). 
• Mean teachers who bullied students. Yes, it happened then and probably happens now. I never experienced this because I was an excellent student and didn't cause trouble.

This campaign has been humbling

I don't know about you, but I was too smug about our American legal system and process for electing leaders. I'd look at what Asian countries, Eastern Europe or emerging economies or even Germany in the 1930s elected--crooks, liars, socialists, and haters--and wondered "What were they thinking?" Was their life that miserable that they'd fall for that? It's been a humbling experience watching Republicans destroy the best group they've ever put forward after years of struggle only the have the worst one emerge on top, and then the Democrats fall for 100 year old failed myths and the lies of the queen of corruption. I'm particularly disappointed in those who call themselves "Evangelicals." Is that a box you check or a church you attend? I don't recognize the term anymore.

 http://www.npr.org/2016/02/25/468149440/why-do-evangelicals-support-donald-trump-a-pastor-explains

 http://www.christianpost.com/news/john-piper-finding-inspiration-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-bernie-sande

 http://www.catholic.org/news/national/story.php?id=66759

Media tries to instruct Christians in how to behave

So many of current cultural values pushed by the media and government are not found in the Bible: tolerance, diversity, ecumenism, political correctness, body confusion, sexual immorality. Instead, Biblical values are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, mercy, justice, good works, fear of God, sincerity, truthfulness, respect, honoring elders, generosity, charity, being chosen people, compassion, humility (the queen of virtues), gentleness, thankfulness, gratitude, hard work, sharing in Christ's suffering, self-control, restoring the sinner, and so forth as found in the Gospels and Epistles.

Dear media; stop trying to teach Christians theology

Religion and voting, election of 2004 and 2008

Gallup's final survey conducted before the 2004 election estimated that 63% of voters who attended church weekly or almost every week voted for Bush; 37% voted for Kerry. Sixty percent of those who seldom or never attended church indicated a vote choice for Kerry; 40% voted for Bush. The same directional patterns have been observed between self-reported importance of religion and vote choice. http://www.gallup.com/poll/16381/Church-Attendance-Party-Identification.aspx

Barack Obama has made no headway among white evangelical Protestants who attend church at least once a week; just 17% of this group supports him. By contrast, 37% of white evangelicals who attend services less frequently support Obama. Similarly, while Obama has made gains among Catholics overall, he runs even with John McCain among observant white Catholics (45% to 45%). He now has a clear lead among white Catholics who attend Mass less frequently (53% to 38%). http://www.pewforum.org/2008/10/23/how-church-attendance-affects-religious-voting-patterns/

I guess this could account for the fact Democrats are more hostile to traditional Christian values—pro-life values, marriage, hard work, legal immigration--if they can just get enough Christians to stop going to church, think of the vote gain!

And an opinion piece about the black church and voting: Many people call for the separation of church and politics. However, within the black community, the two cannot be separated. For this reason, my research looks at how African American congregants behave after hearing their pastors, and the church itself, preach conservative values on social issues, but yet, advance notions of voting for whoever is on the Democratic ticket, claiming the party of the left is the best way to advance the interests of the black community. This paradox is important because black churches are more than spiritual gathering places, they are power centers within the black community. For this reason, black churches have power – socially, economically, and politically. The political power of the church shows in the pulpit when pastors allow candidates to speak or advocate on behalf of a candidate or party. When looking at the structure of a black church, the public face of any black church is the pastor, and the pastor is seen as a cue-giver. With that said, this study is important because it has serious implications for the future of the Democratic Party. This is because scholars note African Americans are at a standstill between supporting a party which wants nothing to do with them and a party which takes them for granted. With pastors being cue-givers, they could become middle man to voters and candidates. This study is both qualitative and quantitative.   http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2524069

Immigrants want a conservative America

Why do people cross our borders risking life and limb, leaving families behind, and even participating in smuggling activities? Really, are we so great they just can't wait to get to Toledo or Peoria? No, it's because they want what conservatives offer, not the government heavy-handed control and bias of the liberals which they just escaped. They want a life without police control; without high crime; they want a chance to create a business; they want religious freedom; they want to voice their concerns without going to jail or having their taxes investigated; they want a good education for their children free of propaganda and historical revisionism. Liberals try to destroy what immigrants are trying to achieve and insist immigrants must vote for them. It's conservatism--free markets, smaller government, freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights--that brings them here--someone should tell them. Maybe you?

Tolerance is not a Biblical value

              

Shocking isn't it?  Love, compassion, gentleness, kindness, patience, cheerfulness, respect, humility, conjugal fidelity, familial caregiving, honesty, happiness (blessedness), beauty, discrimination between right and wrong, justice flowing from God, the existence of and battle against evil, mercy, work, sharing, responsibility, wisdom, hospitality, gratitude, obligations to God and family, unity as God's creation, holiness, chastity, virtue, children as gifts of God, corporate worship, and many more can easily be located in the Bible and church tradition.

Not on the list of Biblical values are tolerance, Marxism, statism, utilitarianism, multiculturalism, sustainability, environmentalism (worship of Mother Earth), diversity, nihilism, redistributive justice, redistribution of wealth (aka stealing), lasciviousness, permissive sex, cohabitation, unity created by national or political grouping, disrespect for the aged, poor and unborn, relativism, fraud, --these and many others are all the province of the secular culture. Humanists and progressives may borrow temporarily some values and ethics from the Bible and not hurt or change who they truly are, but Christians are at grave risk when borrowing from the secular culture for their values.

Dog and Pony Show--a Supreme and a McFaul guy

Ruth Bader Ginsberg tells Egypt our Constitution is old and shouldn't be their model--after all, in the U.S. the citizen is higher than the government and the Constitution is actually written to protect the citizen from the government. Plus, and she didn't say this or even think it, if you have our Constitution, people will be always crossing your borders attempting to get away from their own governments.

Wrote [John] Hayward of Ginsburg’s advice: “The last thing an Egyptian populace struggling for freedom from the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood needs to hear is a paean from a fashionable liberal about ultramodern state charters that enshrine the use of compulsive force in the service of leftist ‘positive rights,’ such as the right not to be offended.” He added that “the more fervent Muslims trying to turn Egypt into a theocracy are very good at becoming offended, and they love the notion of using compulsive force to remove the objects of their ire.” Link

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul tells NPR that President Obama's policy when it comes to Russia is that we're "going to support what we like to call universal values" and "not American values." The Senate confirmed McFaul as ambassador on December 17, 2011.

The party of NO and the party of KNOW

The party of NO. That would be politicians and voters who support:

No life for those children who aren't perfect or wanted; or who are inconveniently conceived; or who have Downs Syndrome; or who are the wrong sex.

No life for the elders or parents who have outlived their usefulness to society and are gravely ill.

No freedom of speech except their own.

No freedom of religion except their own.

No need for the Constitution.

No need for trust or honesty, masquerading as moderates to get votes.

No need for free markets.

No need for capitalism.

No need for investment in business.

No need for private sector growth to employ more people.

No need to think about unintended consequences.

No need for border control.

No need for military courts for terrorists.

No respect for women politicians who didn't ride into town on their husband/father's coattails.

No understanding of history.

No right to decide how to use your own wealth.

No human of greater value and worth than any animal.

No school choice except for their kids.

The party of KNOW, on the other hand, is just about any other party--conservative, libertarian, Republican, Populist, Tea Party--who KNOWs what's going on in Washington, DC and will support candidates and legislation with their values.

Sports and Greed

Recent events in science, politics, national security and the economy have caused many of us to completely lose faith in our so called “free and independent press,” because broadcast and print journalists carried the water for Obama in 2007-2008, downplayed the pinholes in the expanding housing bubble when there was still time to do something, research institutions and gatekeepers of the peer review sources manipulated data and blacklisted colleagues for the sake of government grants and personal gain in science, and cable, new media “fact checkers” and news aggregators played up every mistake of the military during the Bush years while ignoring the big picture with an end result of helping our enemies. The final straw has been the Tiger Woods story, at least for me. Yesterday I was reading How Tiger Protected his Image, in the WSJ. As I tried to work my way through the convoluted, complex story of Tiger’s deal with Golf Digest, I stumbled over many other media sources--Conde Nast, Tiger Woods’ own foundation, American Media, Inc., The National Enquirer, Men’s Fitness, News of the World, News Corp., Woods’ handlers, representatives, photographers, Laveley & Singer law firm in LA, spokespeople, editors, Media Industry Newsletter, and finally (but not the first) the hapless, untipped waitress in the church parking lot and her family.

And no, this isn’t just a story about sex, or even possible redemption, which for some reason many Christian writers are playing up. It’s a story about a systemic problem--greed. When his wife or babies test positive for an STD, then maybe we can say it’s about infidelity and sex, but in the meantime, the sports and information industries have some explaining to do their values.

Prosperity in the Heartland

A recent study at the University of Illinois found that much of rural America is actually prosperous. What accounts for their flourishing? Family ties and civic-minded churches, says the blogger at First Things, at Green Acres is the Place to be. I receive regular newsletters from the U. of I. on research, but must have missed this one of a few days ago.

"Why Some Rural Places Prosper and Others Do Not" was coauthored by Andrew Isserman, Edward Feser, and Drake Warren and published in the International Regional Science Review in July 2009.

Counties in America's Heartland came out on top with half its rural counties prospering. USDA defines the Heartland as Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa and parts of six adjacent states.

In the Southeast and Southwest, fewer than one in twenty rural counties prosper.

Prosperous rural counties have more off-farm jobs, more educated populations, and less income inequality than other rural counties. Geographical factors like climate, topography, distances to cities and airports, and interstate highways are unimportant in distinguishing prosperous counties from others.

"Instead, the results supported what many rural people believe to be true—civically engaged religious groups and a common ancestry can really matter," Isserman said.

Interstate highways and airports not so much. Hmmm. Go tell that to the pork fed Congress that never misses an opportunity for naming. From reading the press release it doesn't look like the scholars will pursue faith and shared values as a reason for prosperity--plan to dig deeper on the lack of prosperity in those counties with high minority populations.

Humility isn't his strength

Or maybe it's just his generation. "By our count there were 38 I's (including two I'ms, but excluding two I's in a quote from Martin Luther King) in President Obama's speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize." James Taranto, Dec. 10

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. . . . I cannot argue with those who find these men and women--some known, some obscure to all but those they help--to be far more deserving of this honor than I. . . . I am the Commander-in-Chief. . . . I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict. . . . I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. . . . I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said. . . . I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. . . . I face the world as it is. . . . I--like any head of state--reserve the right to act unilaterally. . . . I prohibited torture. . . . I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. . . . I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions.