Althouse: Amazing Grace.

June 27, 2015

Amazing Grace.

62 comments:

pm317 said...: Nice edification of Obama this morning on Althouse. I don't have much against it but just want to note he is least deserving of it.; 6/27/15, 9:19 AM
Louis said...: Obama is so deserving of praise and glorification.; 6/27/15, 9:20 AM
Anonymous said...: Nice moment..not presidential, ..but nice.; 6/27/15, 9:24 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's a beautiful morning. I think I'll go outside for awhile. And just smile.; 6/27/15, 9:25 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Nice moment..not presidential, ..but nice."

It's one of the most presidential things I've ever seen.

Like this.; 6/27/15, 9:26 AM
Rusty said...: Sincerity.
Once you can fake that, you have it made.; 6/27/15, 9:27 AM
Tom from Virginia said...: Reminds me of another church scene - House of Cards Season 1.; 6/27/15, 9:29 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I think my wife was watching something on TV, last night, about FDR, and there was footage of him all crippled up, which I understand was a fact kept from the public, back in the day.

I have no reason to think that things have changed appreciably since then.; 6/27/15, 9:32 AM
Æthelflæd said...: Gah. He doesn't believe a word of it. Glad it gives you the feelies.

Rainbow lights on The White House and gin control politics in the eulogy. So presidential.; 6/27/15, 9:34 AM
JD said...: It was a beautiful week for people of good conscience!; 6/27/15, 9:35 AM
Quayle said...: "I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling.
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.
And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me.
But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. "; 6/27/15, 9:42 AM
sunsong said...: Obama is coming into his own, it seems to me. He has nothing to lose so he can do and say more of what he really wants to...; 6/27/15, 9:45 AM
Anonymous said...: 13 dead at Ft Hood...another round of golf
beheaded Americans in Syria...another round of golf
bodies brought home from Afghanistan...another round of golf

9 dead in Charleston...a moment of grace.; 6/27/15, 9:50 AM
rhhardin said...: Women are hopeless as voting citizens.

It's schtick. Whatever side of the brain intelligence is on, it's not hooked up when schtick is offered.; 6/27/15, 9:55 AM
American Liberal Elite said...: Gin control, Ethelred? What about the 21st Amendment?; 6/27/15, 9:58 AM
Pete said...: Careful, Althouse. You'll spoil your all-gay-all-the-time theme for the day.; 6/27/15, 10:08 AM
Quayle said...: "It was a beautiful week for people of good conscience!"

It was a horrible week for democracy. On such a fundamental social policy, it would have been more democratic to allow the people to directly decide. What we have now is only more division.

And who here believes that the huge, fully developed machinery of social punishment and ostracism for the slightest public word deemed racist - who here believes that machine won't now be turned on religious dissenters to this policy?

And all this talk and glorification of love will vanish like the morning dew, and the core of enmity will be laid bare, as it is already for those with eyes to see.; 6/27/15, 10:08 AM
Wince said...: PML said...
"It was a beautiful week for people of good conscience!"

I suppose that depends on your definition of "good conscience"?

African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church rejects the ordination of openly gay persons to the ranks of the clergy in the Church. In a historic decision, which marked the first vote on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples by a predominantly African-American denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church unanimously voted to forbid ministers from blessing same-sex unions in July 2004. The church leaders stated that homosexual activity "clearly contradicts [their] understanding of Scripture."; 6/27/15, 10:12 AM
Michael said...: It really isn't a big deal to let a small percentage of the 2% of Americans who are not straight who want to get married to get married. It is a teensy tiny part of America despite its flamboyance and loud voice. Move on as the lefties say.

But that won't happen. Because the teensy tiny part of America wants what cannot be.; 6/27/15, 10:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Cruel neutrality?; 6/27/15, 10:15 AM
Sydney said...: The Althouse blog today is pretty much the same as my Facebook news feed. Meh.; 6/27/15, 10:19 AM
garage mahal said...: I'm not a religious person but this eulogy was incredibly moving and it made me rethink my views about organized religion as only a negative force. The spontaneous Hammond organ playing toward the end was glorious.; 6/27/15, 10:24 AM
Michael K said...: garage has finally found a religion he likes. No surprise. Leftist theology was always what it was about.; 6/27/15, 10:33 AM
madAsHell said...: small percentage of the 2% of Americans who are not straight

Two percent??
Come on out to Seattle. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a homo!!; 6/27/15, 10:45 AM
Michael said...: garage

You should come down south and go to black church services. You might convert. It is unlikely you have ever experienced the energy of a choir in full throat infused with the Spirit. Black churches get it right. They won't be doing gay marriages, however.; 6/27/15, 10:51 AM
Steve M. Galbraith said...: That was very moving. Powerful.

Not everything is politics, folks. If you think it is, watch this and think again.; 6/27/15, 10:53 AM
jacksonjay said...: The grace and forgiving spirit of victims' family members should move Garage.

The statement by the murderer about how nice the victims were to him should move Garage.

But if the service did it for him, well who am I to judge.

BTW, Baritone Barry should stick to the Al Green songs. He doesn't have the pedigree for Negro Spirituals.; 6/27/15, 10:56 AM
Steve M. Galbraith said...: It is interesting, especially during these times, to note that the lyrics were written by a slave trader and slave owner.

Yes, who got grace and changed. That's what the song is about. A man who was evil and was saved.; 6/27/15, 10:57 AM
William said...: Ok, it's a moving moment. I wonder where are the eloquent sermons against the depredations of Boko Haram or the latest gang shooting,; 6/27/15, 11:06 AM
n.n said...: Amazing grace that denigrates individual dignity and debases human life. "Reverend" Obama likes his pro-choice religion.; 6/27/15, 11:06 AM
David Begley said...: It just came to me. The Obama post presidency will be the beginning of a fabulous singing career.

Coming soon to iTunes and Majestic Madison: Barack Obama and Donnie McClurken singing Gospel.; 6/27/15, 11:18 AM
FWBuff said...: "The bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral...."
Once again, he made himself the center of attention in a way that completely overshadowed the occasion.; 6/27/15, 11:19 AM
pm317 said...: Does anybody believe those nice folks in that church would have voted for him in 2008 and 2012 at more than 95% if he had shown his real intention about same-sex marriage?

The country has officially been "Gruberized," in more ways than one.; 6/27/15, 11:24 AM
Sprezzatura said...: If Reagan's speech was given today, would some folks question the comparison between the astronauts and a slave trading pirate? Imho, it seems a little odd.; 6/27/15, 11:33 AM
Michael said...: Awesome that it was unanimous too.; 6/27/15, 11:37 AM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: Obama's singing of Amazing Grace in this setting is a textbook case of using the Lord's name in vain.; 6/27/15, 12:01 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: I really liked that.

If only the resident spiritual leader of Lem's blog could be that graceful.; 6/27/15, 12:15 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: You should come down south and go to black church services. You might convert. It is unlikely you have ever experienced the energy of a choir in full throat infused with the Spirit. Black churches get it right. They won't be doing gay marriages, however.

They won't need to. Anthony Kennedy already did what needed to be done. With black America's leader (Obama) providing "full throated" support - lol.; 6/27/15, 12:18 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: A pleasant voice and a winning smile are by far the most important qualities in a commander in chief.; 6/27/15, 12:24 PM
rhhardin said...: I thought Idiocracy was dull by having the same joke over and over, but it's pretty accurate.; 6/27/15, 12:28 PM
steve uhr said...: I'm not a big Obama fan but h has hardly destroyed American as so many commentators believe. Destroyed means we will never recover. Do people really believe that or is it just blog bluster?

He may be a "failed" president by some reasonable interpretation, but one can say the same for many others. We can and do recover from failed presidencies.

The economy is better, the wars have not yet been lost (or won), and many people benefit from ObamaCare, esp. those with pre-existing conditions. The private insurance industry is a big fan so it is hardly socialistic. And if it turns out to be a really bad thing, there will be pressure to change it or get rid of it entirely. (SCOTUS did not find a constitutional right to health care.) And so it goes ...

When you can think of absolutely nothing positive to say about Obama you aren't trying very hard.; 6/27/15, 12:35 PM
Anonymous said...: LarsPorsena said...

13 dead at Ft Hood...another round of golf
beheaded Americans in Syria...another round of golf
bodies brought home from Afghanistan...another round of golf

9 dead in Charleston...a moment of grace.

2010 - black racist lunatic Omar Thornton massacres 8 White men.......nothing.

4 White men dead in Bengazi? The biggest concerns were a fake movie diversion and alleged racism against Susan Rice by Republicans.

Certain people are more worthy of grace and concern than others.

EDH said...

PML said...
"It was a beautiful week for people of good conscience!"

I suppose that depends on your definition of "good conscience"?

African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church rejects the ordination of openly gay persons to the ranks of the clergy in the Church. In a historic decision, which marked the first vote on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples by a predominantly African-American denomination, the African Methodist Episcopal Church unanimously voted to forbid ministers from blessing same-sex unions in July 2004. The church leaders stated that homosexual activity "clearly contradicts [their] understanding of Scripture."

A lot of White folks still like their Negroes religiously pacified and non threatening to their agenda. They like this black churchianity but they weren't happy about the black anti-gay marriage vote in Cali a while back.

I guess they figure Obama will help blacks "get over it" and get over their religious "hang ups" about homosexuality.

We'll see.

Althouse as a liberal and mother of an out homosexual has her point of view about "love winning" but to religious black America AND THE BLACK AFRICA FUTURE OF EUROPEAN CHRISTIANITY....they see it as the triumph of sin, "satan winning" and to a degree another example of "the White man's corruption".

Dylann Roof expressed "the White man's nature" one way, homosexuals and those who legalize gay marriage another.

All evil, all sin. I'm sure black Islam feels much the same way.; 6/27/15, 12:38 PM
eddie willers said...: The private insurance industry is a big fan so it is hardly socialistic.

When you're robbing Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul.; 6/27/15, 12:43 PM
jimbino said...: Amazing, but without Grace.; 6/27/15, 12:50 PM
Michael said...: Those people on the podium will not perform same sex marriages in the AME church.; 6/27/15, 12:52 PM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: I agree with Obama that he is a "wretch".

words 9-12 of first stanza

wretch:
an unfortunate or unhappy person.
a despicable or contemptible person.
scoundrel villain rogue rascal reprobate criminal miscreant good-for-nothing heel creep louse rat swine dog lowlife scumbag scumbucket scuzzball sleazeball sleazebag blackguard picaroon; 6/27/15, 1:03 PM
SteveR said...: There's so much irony these last couple of days...; 6/27/15, 1:11 PM
Charlie Bixby said...: I find it hard to compare Obama's speech to Reagan's challenger speech, as Althouse does. Reagan did not blow up the space shuttle. Yet Obama, through his cynical leadership, race baiting and deliberate division of the the American people, has blood on his hands.

My view is that the 2012 Trayvon Martin and the 2014 Mike Brown controversies were deliberately fomented by power-hungry Democrats in an effort to get out the black vote. The Obama Democrats realized long ago that the strategy to win the Presidential game is not about appealing to the center but about getting their supporters to the pool. Hence, Obama's remarks about how if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon. The media's cult of Obama got the message and ran with the story. In 2014, another election year, they did again.

What did the Trayvon Martina nd Mike Brown incidents have in common, other than happening in election years? There were controversies in both cases that could be used to divide and conquer. George Zimmerman was painted a white Hispanic. Blacks saw Trayvon Martin as an innocent and other saw him as a thug who was up to no good. In the Mike Brown case, the so-called victim had just robbed someone and accosted a policeman. The handsup narrative was a lie but served its purpose. They wanted to make black people angry enough to go to the polls. The best way to do that was to paint the other side as racist because they saw the two incidents as self-defense.

Then you have Charleston. Obama cynically uses a funeral for political reasons to continue to divide on race, on guns. He is not Reagan.

I've despised Obama from the beginning. I saw him as a phony and charlatan. I still can't stand him but have to admire his skills as a politician. He is a cynical, divisive ugly President who doesn't respect the law or constitution, who embraces America's enemies (Castro, Putin, Ayatollah) but won't work with his political opposition ( who is sees as enemies).

Obama is not a good person or President. Yet he is a consequential one. He pushed the limits of his power knowing that the first black President will never be impeached. The mainstream, which went wild over the Valerie Plame nothing burger and ignored Patrick Fitzgerald's prosecutorial abuses, doesn't bother to report on horrifying scandals like the IRS mess, the lies about Benghazi and Hilary's email server. Instead, the only stories are interested in reporting are about Republican "overreach."

Kennedy was a failed, do nothing president who was canonized by the left-wing media. Obama will be turned into a God, There will be schools, highways, and airports named for him. He will continue to manipulate the media for decades. He will make the Clinton's corruption look like a couple of kids running a nickel lemonade stand.

This man is no Reagan. But he is a force of nature. Like a tsunami or an earthquake.; 6/27/15, 1:16 PM
mccullough said...: Obama, like W and Reagan, is very good at the symbolic things presidents do. Like W, he's not good at anything else. HW Bush was not good at the symbolic stuff, but made many good decisions.

The symbolic stuff is important as people respond to fluff. The decision making is more important.

But elections are about fluff since most people respond to it.; 6/27/15, 1:18 PM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: btw, in the area of unintended consequences, by not allowing any criticism of Obama to be unalloyed with racism, the Left has practically insured that he will be America's last Black President.

We simply cannot afford to be prohibited from criticizing White House policy.; 6/27/15, 1:26 PM
garage mahal said...: Michael
I have been to many to many church services but I have never attended a southern black church service with a choir. I would love to someday. I love gospel music and choirs are very moving for me. Particularly a full children's choir. How can you not?; 6/27/15, 1:42 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Cons are funny.

Reagan reading Peggy's words that compare Americans to a slave trading looter is the best thing eva.

But, BHO, w/o teleprompter, delivering remarks almost ten times as long as Reagan was reading, which BHO wrote himself during a time period where he had a few other things going on; well, that's just mom-jeans/can't-plug-the-hole/doesn't-know-the-number-of-states/black-guy-gets-a-pass dopiness.

Sheesh; 6/27/15, 1:44 PM
MayBee said...: So he didn't tell them to get off their high horse?; 6/27/15, 1:46 PM
jimbino said...: Those of you who like gospel choirs should attend the First Church of Deliverance on S. Wabash on Chicago's South Side, not far from Obama's old hunting grounds. When I attended back in 1963, they had a 500-voice choir and an audience "filled with the spirit."; 6/27/15, 2:18 PM
Phil 314 said...: Its a beautiful song and the President has a good voice. It was a good moment though I'll admit his adoption of the black preacher cadence was a bit unsettling....

playing to the audience and all.

Black churches do worship well. In our church its hard to get people to clap.

Well we all have our different styles of worship, but we worship the same God.

"Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." from Paul's letter to the church in Rome, chapter 14; 6/27/15, 4:04 PM
Michael said...: Garage

Agreed. I would guess that there are black churches in Milwaukee you could visit and be welcomed in. Doubt there would be that much difference from a southern version.; 6/27/15, 4:35 PM
sdharms said...: only tyrants sing in public to their subjects. elected officials don't do that.; 6/27/15, 5:07 PM
MathMom said...: Only Obama could take a hymn about forgiveness and redemption and turn it into performance art, complete with his phony black preacher accent and cadence. I wonder if he has ever looked up the word "blasphemy".

He uses the black people around him. Why do they swallow this shite?; 6/27/15, 5:30 PM
Æthelflæd said...: I hear Nero wasn't actually that bad with the lyre.; 6/27/15, 6:15 PM
chillblaine said...: It was supposed to be a eulogy. Obama made it about guns and the confederate flag and racism and slavery. If that was Presidential, we have set the bar pretty low.; 6/27/15, 7:57 PM
Henry said...: It was a beautiful speech. For those offended by the President's mild references to the issues of the day, remember that the President was eulogizing a specific person, representing a specific congregation. The President specifically acknowledged that these issues invoked disagreement at the political level, but it does him no shame that he projected them they way he did in remembrance of the man he honored.; 6/27/15, 10:20 PM
SukieTawdry said...: Oh please. It was a dreadful rendition. He's lucky the choir and musicians joined in.; 6/27/15, 10:25 PM