About last night...

Historic day: a majority of Americans voted for a stronger central state and less liberty, and for the party that offered free abortion and birth control; and in Maine and Maryland for homosexual marriage; and in Colorado for legalization of marijuana for purely recreational use.

I don't recognize my country.

On the bright side (as my wife Cindy pointed out), a good and decent Latter-day Saint came within about 2% (out of over 120 million votes cast) of being elected president of the United States.

Please read or watch Elder Holland's recent CES devotional address (given prophetically in advance of last night): "Israel, Israel, God is Calling" -- proof positive that he is a living apostle of the living Christ.

Have seen a lot of Church members posting/tweeting/emailing/texting Mosiah 29:27-29 and Helaman 5:2 over the past several hours, and saying last night's election was a "tipping point."

I find it difficult to disagree. But -- when we "came down the chute" into these the latter days we knew these were the latter days and it was going to be our fight: to build the kingdom of God in the midst of Babylon. So, we shouldn't be surprised about last night or recent events.

As Elder Holland so eloquently counsels, there is no longer any place to flee. We need to stand and fight where we are. And we should be proud we are saving the world the only way it can be saved: by sending out 18- and 19-year-old young men and women to change it one person, one family, one branch, one city at a time.

As Nibley said so well at the end of his essay, "Beyond Politics":

"On the last night of a play the whole cast and stage crew stay in the theater until the small or not-so-small hours of the morning, striking the old set. If there is to be a new opening soon, as the economy of the theater requires, it is important that the new set should be in place and ready for the opening night; all the while the old set was finishing its usefulness and then being taken down, the new set was rising in splendor to be ready for the drama that would immediately follow. So it is with this world. It is not our business to tear down the old set—the agencies that do that are already hard at work and very efficient; the set is coming down all around us with spectacular effect. Our business is to see to it that the new set is well on the way for what is to come—and that means a different kind of politics, beyond the scope of the tragedy that is now playing its closing night. We are preparing for the establishment of Zion."

My mom suggests that, in a few months, Mitt Romney and Ann can begin another mission -- in direct service of the kingdom of God. Brings to mind a quote from C.S. Lewis that should apply to each of us: "Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle."

May we all be faithful where we are called to serve.

Am taking the "no politics" pledge again and going "off the grid" for a while.

Obama flip-flop

"Amnesty" means "desperate" in Spanish. As Glenn Reynolds says, every statement Obama makes has an expiration date: every single one.

Axelrod & Holder: conflicting stories

Glenn Reynolds: "HMM: Axelrod, Holder give conflicting tales on whether Axelrod gave political advice to Holder. Now, see, if I were Eric Holder I’d be worrying that I was being set up as the fall guy . . . ." We can hope...

"The private sector is doing fine." -- Barack Obama

Oops. It's not.

Maybe this is why this president clings to a teleprompter and has held exactly two (?) news conferences so far this year -- an election year.

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has the fallout.

Rhetoric, reality, and radicalism

NYT, 25 March 2008: "At the core of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is a promise that he can transcend the starkly red-and-blue politics of the last 15 years, end the partisan and ideological wars and build a new governing majority.

"To achieve the change the country wants, he says, 'we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.'"

In 2011, the president's proposed budget lost 97-0 in the Senate (controlled at the time by Democrats).

In 2012, the president's proposed budget lost 414-0 in the House. Not a single Democrat voted for it.

In the past two years, House Republican Budget Committee Chair, Paul Ryan (R-WI), has passed a budget in the House, and it received 40 votes in the Senate (i.e., 40 more votes than the president's plan).

And President Obama has the audacity to call the Ryan budget "radical?"

Bill Clinton on CNN: Romney's business record "sterling"

CNN's ratings are at 20-year low. Perhaps the former president is trying to make news and help CNN's ratings. Perhaps he's trying for some Hillary '08 payback. Or perhaps he's just telling the truth. What's Obama's business record? Governing record? "Sterling?" Or is he an "amateur?" What does former president Clinton think?

In wake of dismal jobs report, Obama wings his way to six fundraisers today

The endless campaign. Let them eat cake. When is he going to govern? Guess that's for second term. But need the bucks to get there. Hence...

If he were as zealous about a healthy climate for free enterprise so businesses could create jobs, instead of obsessed with keeping his own, perhaps there would be a reason to re-elect him.

Trademarks: on average, 46% of a company's value derives from its brands

Interesting stat. Read more about it here.

Obama bundler Corzine steals $1B from customers...media yawn

Insight here. From the comments: "Just imagine if Corzine was a Romney supporter and 500K listed campaign cash bundler like he is for Obama! The media would be going nuts following the slightest turn in the story to keep it in the news almost daily until the election." Read the whole thing.

Romney 2012 isn't McCain 2008

Romney in front of Solyndra HQ. Pro-Romney crowds heckle Axelrod in Boston. Glenn Reynolds has the details: "I think I like the cut of this Romney fellow's jib."