Let's Be Nice To Iran?

While most people are focused on the current economic crisis and the Obama Administration's audacious response to it there is another issue that will soon be coming to head that could overshadow the economy in importance. Last week President Obama made a video that was shown on YouTube in which he respectfully addressed the leaders of the "Islamic Republic of Iran" and sought to find common ground. This was the first step in his effort to fulfill his campaign pledge of meeting with rogue leaders without preconditions. The leaders he addressed so respectfully are the Mullahs and President Achmadinajad who have enslaved their own people, refer to the U.S. as "the Great Satan" and who have sworn to wipe Israel off the map. It was obvious that the Iranian leadership saw Obama's video as a sign of weakness as they basically ridiculed the statement and said that any improvement in relations with the U.S. would be tied to dropping our support for Israel.

Meanwhile, as Obama tries to make nice with the Iranian leaders, Israel's next Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is putting together a government whose first mission will be to confront the growing threat of Iran's nuclear program. Many analysts believe that the Israelis will have to eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities by June to insure their country's safety. The irony is that as Israel has chosen a conservative hardline government to protect itself, its strongest ally, the United States, has elected a leftwing government that believes that the leaders of Iran can be charmed by Obama's diplomacy. The moment of truth could come if/when Israeli aircraft fly over Iraqi airspace to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. The Iraqi airspace is currently under the control of the United States. In the past there would be no doubt that the U.S. Government would "look the other way" and allow such over flights. One can only hope that the current administration will not interfere.

Obama's economic policies of big spending and higher taxes are in sharp contrast to those of the late Ronald Reagan. There is, however, an even greater contrast between Obama's effort to win over the rulers of Iran by going on YouTube and Reagan's strong words in Berlin 22 years ago, "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this Wall." The times they are certainly changing.

A Stimulus Program You Can Believe In

How about a program that doesn’t cost the tax payers a nickel, helps professionals get jobs every week, promotes spiritual values and is starting to get a lot of national attention. During the past year I have been involved in a number of networking groups attended by people who are seeking employment in the midst of the current economic downturn. What has been most impressive has been the involvement of churches throughout the country to help people in their communities. There is a large organization called Crossroads Careers consisting of 65 churches in 14 states that provides networking forums that help job seekers find employment and other needed assistance.

The most impressive group I attend is C3G –Christ Centered Careers Group.
The men’s version meets on Monday morning at a local deli while the women’s group meets on Wednesdays. When I started attending in September about 25 men were present. Currently between 75-100 are in attendance. Most of the attendees are middle age men who have had good professional and managerial positions in finance, IT, real estate and other industries that have been hit hard by the recession. The key to C3G is that it provides a framework for men to help other men go through career transition with a strong support network. The format consists of a devotional, prayer, announcements from recruiters of possible job openings, a chance for new attendees to give their elevator speech and then a breakout into small groups where people can share their needs and offer support and ideas to others. Every week between 4-6 men announce that they have found employment mostly with the direct or indirect help of C3G.

At a time when the administration announces a new mega-billion program almost every day to stimulate the economy, C3G and groups like it are delivering results without any cost to the taxpayers. These results are getting attention from the media. A magazine from New York had a reporter attend a session, the local ABC Channel (WSB) had a camera crew film the group. (It is supposed to part of a program on job hunting on March 11 at 800 PM in Atlanta) and last week a crew from the CBS Evening News (Katy Couric) filmed the proceedings. When the CBS representative initially called she was told how the group of men were working together to help each other and seeking God's help in their job search. The CBS representative said she understood the importance of men helping each other, but she didn't get the part about including God in the process. Despite this comment the crew came anyway. Isn't it amazing that our government, the media and many of our fellow citizens are willing to spend tons of money and try almost anything to get our country back on track except turning to ultimate source of wisdom?