Devotional: Fall on your knees and grow there...

Fall on your knees and grow there. There is no burden of the spirit but is lighter by kneeling under it. Prayer means not always talking to Him, but waiting before Him till the dust settles and the stream runs clear. ...FB Meyer
image by Peter Castleton

Solar Bottle lights in the Philippines

Key evidence in Planned Parenthood case destroyed, prosecutors say

By BRAD COOPER And JOE LAMBE
The Kansas City Star
Fri, Oct. 21, 2011

The country’s first criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood was left teetering Friday when it was revealed the state of Kansas destroyed abortion records that prosecutors planned to use as evidence.

Johnson County prosecutors asked a judge to delay a Monday hearing to decide if there’s enough evidence to try Planned Parenthood on 23 felony counts of falsifying termination of pregnancy reports.

Prosecutors say the records, which are central to making their case, were shredded sometime in 2005, roughly two years before charges were brought against Planned Parenthood by former Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline. the rest

Albert Mohler: In the Danger Zone: Raising Our Children in the Age of the Screen

Christian parents must be concerned, not just with what content children are watching, but how much exposure they really experience. Something has gone wrong when the default position of the television is on, rather than off.
Friday, October 21, 2011

We are now the people of the screen. We are surrounded by screens, monitors, and other flickering devices, and each demands our attention. What began with the television has now spread to a host of other technologies. Our minds are increasingly shaped, entertained, informed, stimulated, and perhaps even altered by the Age of the Screen — and so are the minds of our children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, meeting this week in Boston, expressed concern about the effects of exposure to screens on children. Over a decade ago, the academy proposed that pediatricians should ask questions about screen exposure when conducting routine medical exams and evaluations. Just this week, the groups adopted a new set of guidelines, calling upon parents to put severe limits on the exposure of young children to television.  the rest

The physicians called for “unstructured, unplugged play” for toddlers, warning specifically that television exposure around bedtime is associated with “poor sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules, which can adversely affect mood, behavior, and learning.”

Promoting homosexuality to students

by Marcia Segelstein
October 21, 2011

Last week, students at Hartford Public High School (in my home state of Connecticut) were ushered into the school auditorium to watch a musical called Zanna, Don’t! What they saw onstage, among other things, was two guys kissing.

Zanna Don’t is set in a reverse world, according to a description in the Hartford Courant, where straight people are outcasts and the most popular kid in school is a flamboyantly homosexual chess player. And, you guessed it, the musical wasn’t intended as entertainment. It was another “anti-bullying” program that presumes that anyone who doesn’t believe homosexuality is morally neutral must be a bully.

One of the school’s principals, David Chambers, told the newspaper that many students had heard there might be same-sex affection portrayed in the play. Some reportedly asked to be excused, but their requests were denied. Chambers also says he considered sending a letter to parents giving them a chance to “opt out,” but decided against it.  the rest

Catholic adoption agencies given only 45 days to transfer all children after gay adoption dust-up

by Jeremy Kryn
October 20, 2011

 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lawyers for Catholic Charities affiliates in three dioceses in Illinois are protesting in court after the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) said it would transfer over 1,000 children from the church-run agencies by only a fraction of the original timeline.

The revelation comes at the same time as news broke that the Illinois child-welfare agency, which is taking over the children’s cases after the state passed its homosexual civil unions bill, has a history of subversively administering psychotropic drugs to children without permission.

“Why is the DCFS, particularly in light of the scandal that it is handling now, dealing with [Catholic Charities’] workload in a hasty manner,” asked attorney Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, who is representing Catholic Charities, in an interview with LifeSiteNews. Breen pointed out that the state agency has only imposed the accelerated time frame on the three affiliates that are appealing the court decision that effectively pushed Catholic Charities out of adoptions because it won’t comply with the state’s new homosexual civil unions law.  the rest

Man Nearly Starved to Death Like Terri Schiavo Now Responsive

by Steven Ertelt
10/21/11

A 55-year-old Maryland man who became temporarily unconscious after suffering a heart attack and a seizure has been saved from being starved to death like Terri Schiavo after an Alliance Defense Fund-allied attorney obtained an order in state court on behalf of the man’s mother and brother.

The man, Daniel Sanger, is now responding to hospital staff after going six days without food and water.

Although Sanger told his doctor and his mother “I want to live” before he went unconscious, Frederick Memorial Hospital removed the public-assistance patient from life-giving food, water, and nutrients on Friday with the permission of his wife. the rest

Passion for churches declines

October 21, 2011

Bleak and bleaker.

That’s the assessment of a new report on the state of American religious congregations.

Many “Oldline Protestant” churches are showing little spiritual vitality, and their small, aging congregations are showing little of the openness to the kinds of changes that might turn things around.

Many Evangelical Protestant churches, which once seemed to be bucking these trends, are stalling out as well.

Yes, of course, there are vital and growing congregations, says the report’s author, David Roozen of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

But the overall trend is clear, Roozen said of the 2010 survey of more than 10,000 congregations — Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Baha’i. It compares results with a similar survey a decade ago and smaller ones in between. the rest

The worst news, Roozen wrote, is for what traditionally is called Mainline Protestantism because of its onetime cultural prominence, including the nation’s largest Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran denominations.

Ann Widdecombe is right: Christianity in Britain today is under severe persecution

By Reverend Peter Mullen
21st October 2011

I am very much looking forward to tomorrow’s speech by Ann Widdecombe in which she will criticise our government for its double standards in withdrawing aid from countries which persecute homosexuals while at the same time turning a blind eye to those realms around the world which persecute Christians.

Ms Widdecombe says, 'You have a better chance of earnest representation if you are a hedgehog than if you are a persecuted Christian.'

I am too old and cynical to expect anything better of governments, of whatever hue. But you might think that the leaders of the Church of England would protest more strongly against the persecution of Christians abroad and over here.

Recently a seventy-five year old woman in Saudi Arabia was given forty lashes for socializing with her men friends. Christianity is illegal in Saudi – one of our most important middle-eastern allies with whom we do massive trade in weaponry. If you are caught in that country with a Bible, or with the Cross around your neck, you will be arrested by the religious police and thrown into prison.

In Pakistan, a thirteen year old girl was taunted for being a Christian by five Muslim youths who then raped her. The rapists were not charged. the rest

South Carolina: The Church Needs Transparency

Written by: The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc.
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
byThe Reverend Dr. Philip Turner
Mark McCall, Esq.

We have considered carefully the available information related to the allegations against Bishop Mark Lawrence that are currently under review by the Disciplinary Board for Bishops. That information discloses an extended and troubling sequence of events that raises serious questions about transparency in the church.

We note the following:

1. In January 2010, Thomas Tisdale sent nine letters to the Diocese of South Carolina requesting voluminous documents from the diocese and its parishes. He advised the diocese that he had been retained to act “as South Carolina counsel for The Episcopal Church” by the chancellor to the Presiding Bishop. This caused the diocese to conclude that “perhaps the Presiding Bishop’s Chancellor, if not the Presiding Bishop herself, is seeking to build a case against the Ecclesiastical Authorities of the Diocese (Bishop and Standing Committee) and some of our parishes.” The Presiding Bishop subsequently told the Executive Council that “I think it’s important that people who want to stay Episcopalians there have some representation on behalf of the larger church.”
2. In August/September 2010 the directors of the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, a group that describes its mission as “primarily to promote The Episcopal Church, its vision and polity, within the Diocese,” wrote to the Executive Council and each member of the House of Bishops requesting an investigation by TEC “leadership” into allegations of “abandonment” by Bishop Lawrence that they attached to their letter. The attached allegations included matters previously raised by Tisdale on behalf of the Presiding Bishop’s office and allegations that were subsequently included, verbatim at points, in the “Addendum” of allegations filed with the Disciplinary Board for Bishops.  

  the rest

A.S. Haley: Conflicts Galore on the Kangaroo Court

Friday, October 21, 2011

In a series of five posts earlier this month (links to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth), I have examined the patent procedural irregularities and bias which attend the deliberations of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops as it looks into vague and vacuous claims that Bishop Mark Lawrence of the Diocese of South Carolina has "abandoned the Episcopal Church" -- by refusing to go along with the latter's theological and canonical excursions into a metaphysical Wonderland. In particular, we saw first how the Board's original "Church Attorney", and then its Chair and one other member, were hopelessly conflicted by the public stances they had taken earlier on issues which are in total disagreement with -- indeed, are the exact opposite of -- the stances of Bishop Lawrence and his Diocese on those issues.

This is not a recipe for impartiality, or for cool and calm judgments at the highest level. Like the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland, the people who are sitting in judgment on Mark Lawrence have already announced their predilections well beforehand. That they have not yet voluntarily recused themselves from these proceedings is a scandal. Indeed: their failure to do so is what allows the resulting proceedings to be dubbed, in the provincial vernacular, "a kangaroo court." (A tip o' the Rumpolean bowler to Robin G. Jordan of Anglicans Ablaze for finding the wonderful image with which to illustrate this post.)

In this post, I want to lay out for all to see the conflicts (in addition to those I have already made manifest) which should disqualify still other members of the Board from proceeding any further in examining the claims made against Bishop Lawrence. Let us start with his colleagues -- the bishops who sit on the Board besides its President, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey Henderson.

the rest

School District Reverses Prohibition of the Word “Bible” on a Christian Program’s Flyer

October 20, 2011

Watsonville, CA – The Pajaro Valley Unified School District approved Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) of Santa Cruz County to distribute permission slips for it’s Good News Club after-school program for students. The district originally did not allow CEF to distribute permission slips, simply because the slips contained the word “Bible,” describing “Bible stories.” Liberty Counsel represents CEF in this case.

CEF was told by the district that the word “Bible” in its permission slip must be removed in order to utilize the school’s flyer distribution channels. The district’s flyer distribution policy prohibited distribution of anything the district considered to be promoting a specific religion or “proselytizing.” CEF called Liberty Counsel, which wrote a letter to the district requesting an immediate amendment of their policy and approval of CEF’s flyers for distribution. The district responded with an abrupt reversal and expedited decision to allow CEF to distribute its permission slips. the rest

Obama administration pulls references to Islam from terror training materials, official says

posted October 21, 2011

Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole confirmed on Wednesday that the Obama administration was pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive.

“I recently directed all components of the Department of Justice to re-evaluate their training efforts in a range of areas, from community outreach to national security,” Cole told a panel at the George Washington University law school.

The move comes after complaints from advocacy organizations including the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and others identified as Muslim Brotherhood front groups in the 2004 Holy Land Foundation terror fundraising trial. the rest

Mounting Doubts About Same-Sex “Marriage”

Oct 20, 2011
Brian Raum

Excerpt:
So if you’ve been on the fence about protecting marriage—wondering how someone else’s same-sex “marriage” will affect your marriage—now you’ve got a good bit of the answer: if you’re part of the 62 percent of Americans who believe marriage should be defined only as the union of a man and a woman, prepare to be regarded as the Ku Klux Klan member next door—and for your children to be taught the same perspective at your local government-run school. As a post titled “Can We Please Just Start Admitting That We Do Actually Want To Indoctrinate Kids?” on the Queerty website put it:

They accuse us of exploiting children and in response we say, “NOOO! We’re not gonna make kids learn about homosexuality, we swear! It’s not like we’re trying to recruit your children or anything.” But let’s face it—that’s a lie. We want educators to teach future generations of children to accept queer sexuality. In fact, our very future depends on it.

The message is frequently that recognition for same-sex unions will have no effect on those who disagree with them, but the evidence clearly says otherwise. As Princeton politics professor Robert P. George notes, “once one buys into ideology of sexual liberalism, the reality that has traditionally been denominated as ‘marriage’ loses all intelligibility . . . one will come to regard one’s allegiance to sexual liberalism as a mark of urbanity and sophistication, and will likely find oneself looking down on those ‘ignorant,’ ‘intolerant,’ ‘bigoted’ people—those hicks and rubes—who refuse to get ‘on the right side of history.’”  the rest

London Protesters May Close St Paul’s, Cathedral Leaders Say

October 20, 2011
By Howard Mustoe

(Bloomberg) -- St Paul’s Cathedral, Christopher Wren’s 17th century masterpiece, may be forced to close as a growing number of protesters against economic inequality fill its churchyard and deter visitors, the church said.

“The increased scale and nature of the protest camp is such that to act safely and responsibly the cathedral must now review the extent to which it can remain open for the many thousands coming this week as worshippers, visitors and in school parties,” Graeme Knowles, the cathedral’s dean and seven other leaders said in a statement. “Is it now time for the protest camp to leave? The consequences of a decision to close St Paul’s cannot be taken lightly.”

Anti-Wall Street demonstrations began in New York last month, with about 6,000 people gathering in Times Square for what organizers called a “global day of action against Wall Street greed” on Oct. 15. The protests then spread to Europe and Asia, with more than 100 people injured in Rome after as many as 200,000 people gathered, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. the rest

Obamacare: less-skilled workers will be most likely to be priced out of jobs

October 19, 2011
by Tina Korbe     

While the president talks and talks and talks about his commitment to “put people back to work,” Obamacare continues to make it less likely that unskilled workers will find full-time jobs, according to new research from Heritage Foundation labor expert James Sherk.

When an employer hires a full-time worker, he is legally bound to pay the minimum wage, the employer share of payroll taxes and unemployment insurance taxes. Now, thanks to Obamacare, that employer will also have to pay nearly $3,600 for a single employee or more than $11,000 for an employee with a family to provide the health coverage that PPACA requires him to provide. the rest

How much has the Obama admin wasted on the CLASS program?

Islamic Extremists in Somalia Behead 17-year-old Christian

Al Shabaab militants monitored home Bible studies of boy’s family.
NAIROBI, Kenya
 October 19, 2011

 (CDN) — Militants from the Islamic extremist al Shabaab beheaded a 17-year-old Somali Christian near Mogadishu last month, a journalist in the Somali capital told Compass.

The militants, who have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity, killed Guled Jama Muktar on Sept. 25 in his home near Deynile, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Mogadishu. The Islamic extremist group had been monitoring his family since the Christians arrived in Somalia from Kenya in 2008, said the source in Mogadishu, who requested anonymity.

The Islamic militants, who are fighting the transitional government for control of the country, knew from their observations of the family that they were Christians, the source said. the rest

Gaddafi killed as Libya's revolt claims hometown

By Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor
Thu Oct 20, 2011

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi died of wounds suffered on Thursday as fighters battling to complete an eight-month-old uprising against his rule overran his hometown Sirte, Libya's interim rulers said.

His killing, which came swiftly after his capture near Sirte, is the most dramatic single development in the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and threatened the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.

"He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head," National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."

Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy which NATO warplanes attacked. He said he had been taken away by an ambulance. the rest

What I wish every bishop would get

Rod Dreher
October 17th, 2011

Excerpt:
But you know, here’s what I wish bishops — Orthodox, Catholic, and otherwise — would get through their thick mitres.

Many of us parents are trying to raise children to be faithful to our churches in a secular, pluralistic age. As these children grow up, they will be able to entertain the thoughts of believing in other churches, in other faiths, or in no faith at all. If we’re serious about our Orthodoxy, or Catholicism, or Anglicanism, what have you, we will want our children to stay loyal to the faith. There are so many forces pushing and pulling them away from it. We’re living with it daily, and doing our best to build our kids (and ourselves) up in the faith: to know what we believe, and to be joyful in it. We need to be able to look to our church leadership with trust and respect. We don’t have a right to expect every bishop or priest to be a saint; we do have a right to expect them all to have basic integrity. And God knows we have a right to expect that if a clergyman has committed serious sins that compromise his ability to serve as a spiritual father, that the bishop will find something else for that man to do. Everybody who is repentant can be forgiven, thank God — but that doesn’t mean that every forgiven sinner has a right to serve as a priest or deacon.

When our kids get old enough to start questioning their faith, as most of them naturally will do, what will they think when they see bishops like Finn of Kansas City, who covered for a priest who possessed child pornography? What will they think when they see all kinds of lesser but still significant failures by church leadership? We will tell them that the failures of men do not obviate the truth of Church teaching, and we will tell them that the Church is made of fallen men, and we will tell them that they too are sinners. And we will hope that that will work. But we will know too that they are part of a generation that feels no loyalty to a particular church or tradition. Maybe the groundwork we will have laid in their childhood will stand them in good stead once they start to question everything they were taught. We have to hope so. What we could use, though, is strength, integrity, and consistency in the priesthood.  the rest

A long, steep drop for Americans' standard of living

Not since at least 1960 has the US standard of living fallen so fast for so long. The average American has $1,315 less in annual disposable income now than at the onset of the Great Recession.
By Ron Scherer, Staff writer
October 19, 2011

Think life is not as good as it used to be, at least in terms of your wallet? You'd be right about that. The standard of living for Americans has fallen longer and more steeply over the past three years than at any time since the US government began recording it five decades ago.

Bottom line: The average individual now has $1,315 less in disposable income than he or she did three years ago at the onset of the Great Recession – even though the recession ended, technically speaking, in mid-2009. That means less money to spend at the spa or the movies, less for vacations, new carpeting for the house, or dinner at a restaurant.

In short, it means a less vibrant economy, with more Americans spending primarily on necessities. The diminished standard of living, moreover, is squeezing the middle class, whose restlessness and discontent are evident in grass-roots movements such as the tea party and "Occupy Wall Street" and who may take out their frustrations on incumbent politicians in next year's election.  the rest

How Long Can Evangelical Chaplains Effectively Function Within the Military?

Written by Roy L. Bebee
Wednesday, 19 October 2011

The failure to stand behind the DOMA (Defense 0f Marriage Act) legislation by the Commander in Chief is a clear sign that there will be a compromise of the chaplain‘s (and likely all uniformed personnel) freedom of religious expression. No doubt in my mind.

While serving as a military chaplain in the past, one notable challenge was providing a viable religious ministry for soldiers, sailors and marines not from traditional Christian backgrounds (Jewish, Wiccan, LDS etc.), without compromising my own faith system.

Another recent and ongoing challenge for the chaplain is the rendering of public prayer without compromising one‘s conscience or personal Christian faith within an ever-growing pluralistic and anti-sectarian audience.

Today, the landscape has radically changed. Up to this point, Christian Chaplains have been able to navigate the minefields (while holding to their values and faith) reasonably well within the changing cultural landscape. But the future is certainly in question. Can Christian evangelicals continue to operate with the freedoms of expression and remain faithful to the Gospel in the future? the rest

Does Sex Ed Undermine Parental Rights?

By ROBERT P. GEORGE and MELISSA MOSCHELLA
October 18, 2011

IMAGINE you have a 10- or 11-year-old child, just entering a public middle school. How would you feel if, as part of a class ostensibly about the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, he and his classmates were given “risk cards” that graphically named a variety of solitary and mutual sex acts? Or if, in another lesson, he was encouraged to disregard what you told him about sex, and to rely instead on teachers and health clinic staff members?

That prospect would horrify most parents. But such lessons are part of a middle-school curriculum that Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, has recommended for his system’s newly mandated sex-education classes. There is a parental “opt out,” but it is very limited, covering classes on contraception and birth control.

Observers can quarrel about the extent to which what is being mandated is an effect, or a contributing cause, of the sexualization of children in our society at younger ages. But no one can plausibly claim that teaching middle-schoolers about mutual masturbation is “neutral” between competing views of morality; the idea of “value free” sex education was exploded as a myth long ago. The effect of such lessons is as much to promote a certain sexual ideology among the young as it is to protect their health.

But beyond rival moral visions, the new policy raises a deeper issue: Should the government force parents — at least those not rich enough to afford private schooling — to send their children to classes that may contradict their moral and religious values on matters of intimacy and personal conduct? the rest

It’s Official: To Protect Baby’s Brain, Turn Off TV

By Brandon Keim
October 18, 2011

A decade ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested that parents limit TV consumption by children under two years of age. The recommendations were based as much on common sense as science, because studies of media consumption and infant development were themselves in their infancy.

The research has finally grown up. And though it’s still ongoing, it’s mature enough for the AAP to release a new, science-heavy policy statement on babies watching television, videos or any other passive media form.

Their verdict: It’s not good, and probably bad.

Media, whether playing in the background or designed explicitly as an infant educational tool, “have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years,” concluded the AAP’s report, released Oct. 18 at the Academy’s annual meeting in Boston and scheduled for November publication in the journal Pediatrics. “Although infant/toddler programming might be entertaining, it should not be marketed as or presumed by parents to be educational.” the rest

UK: Elderly patients condemned to early death by secret use of do not resuscitate orders

Elderly patients are being condemned to an early death by hospitals making secret use of "do not resuscitate" orders, an investigation has found.
By Laura Donnelly, and Alastair Jamieson
15 Oct 2011

The orders – which record an advance decision that a patient's life should not be saved if their heart stops – are routinely being applied without the knowledge of the patient or their relatives.

On one ward, one-third of DNR orders were issued without consultation with the patient or their family, according to the NHS's own records. At another hospital, junior doctors freely admitted that the forms were filled out by medical teams without the involvement of patients or relatives.

Under medical guidelines, the orders should only be issued after senior staff have discussed the matter with the patient's family. A form, signed by two doctors, is then placed in the patient's notes to record what decision was taken.

The findings emerged in spot checks of 100 hospitals undertaken by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), an official watchdog, earlier this year. the rest

Ground Zero mosque owes $1.7 million in back rent; faces eviction

October 17, 2011
by Howard Portnoy

The infamous Ground Zero mosque, which quietly opened in September, faces a new dilemma. This time, the difficulties are unrelated to religious freedom.

According to the New York Post, Park51, the development company behind the mosque project, owes Con Ed $1.7 million in back rent. They have been given an ultimatum by the utility: settle up or forfeit their claim to the property.

Currently, there are two buildings on the site. The one on the eastern half, a former wholesale clothing outlet, is owned outright by Park51. The one on the western half is a former substation owned by Con Ed, which has been leasing the space out to Park51. Currently, the ground floor is being used for prayer services, though eventually both structures are to be razed in preparation for the construction of a new $100 million, 15-story community center and mosque. the rest

Ground Zero Mosque grounded

Anglican Unscripted Episode 14 for October 17, 2011

Kevin and George both seem to be qualified to perform the Sacrament of the Eucharist under new rules readopted by the diocese of Sydney. Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury had a very successful visit to Zimbabwe and our hosts tip their hats to the new and improved head of the communion. Almost predictably, Allan Haley builds a defense for the Diocese of South Carolina while stacking the deck against the most arrogant Presiding Bishop to serve in North America. Kevin also interviews Bishop Abraham Neal (formally one of the Lost Boys) of the Province of Sudan.

Nazis and Communists Throw Their Support Behind Occupy Wall Street Movements

Jim Hoft
 Saturday, October 15, 2011

The American Nazi Party likes what it sees.

Today the American Nazi Party released a statement in support of Occupy Wall Street movement...

...Then there’s this…

The Communist Party USA also supports the Obama-endorsed Occupy Wall Street Protests.

the rest

The Exasperation of the Democratic Billionaire

Real-estate and newspaper mogul Mortimer Zuckerman voted for Obama but began seeing trouble as soon as the stimulus went into the pockets of municipal unions.
By JAMES FREEMAN
OCTOBER 15, 2011

'It's as if he doesn't like people," says real-estate mogul and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman of the president of the United States. Barack Obama doesn't seem to care for individuals, elaborates Mr. Zuckerman, though the president enjoys addressing millions of them on television.

The Boston Properties CEO is trying to understand why Mr. Obama has made little effort to build relationships on Capitol Hill or negotiate a bipartisan economic plan. A longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, Mr. Zuckerman wrote in these pages two months ago that the entire business community was "pleading for some kind of adult supervision" in Washington and "desperate for strong leadership." Writing soon after the historic downgrade of U.S. Treasury debt by Standard & Poor's, he wrote, "I long for a triple-A president to run a triple-A country."

His words struck a chord. When I visit Mr. Zuckerman this week in his midtown Manhattan office, he reports that three people approached him at dinner the previous evening to discuss his August op-ed. Among business executives who supported Barack Obama in 2008, he says, "there is enormously widespread anxiety over the political leadership of the country." Mr. Zuckerman reports that among Democrats, "The sense is that the policies of this government have failed. . . . What they say about [Mr. Obama] when he's not in the room, so to speak, is astonishing." the rest