Category: politics, economy, etc.

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politics, economy, etc.

Left Wing Rhetoric as Reality

A Communist assassinates President Kennedy.  Decades later, Marxist pothead Oliver Stone produces a movie showing American business and the US military (the original “Right Wing”) responsible for Kennedy’s death.  Of course, Stone sells his lie as truth. 

Now, a left-wing pothead with apparent severe psychiatric disorders shoots a Democratic Congresswoman and a Republican federal judge.  This time, the lefties are much quicker to the trigger, claiming Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party (the “new Right Wing”) are linked and/or somehow responsible.  See, e.g. here, here, here.  As one of the fathers of the modern left once said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”

Updates: NYT’s joins the fracas in a sadly predictable fashion. See here.  In contrast, Dr. E. Fuller Torrey in the WSJ explains the lessons we should be drawing from the Tucson tragedy.  See A Predictable Tragedy in Arizona.

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culture politics, economy, etc.

Thankfully, there’s no there there.

During my Army officer training, I used to wonder whether being a leader was more of an art form than a learned skill.  Now, twenty years later, I see the same issues and questions about leadership present themselves repeatedly, if somewhat more subtly, in the business world.  I’ve concluded that leadership is a like being a quarterback — there are natural, intangible, non-replicable characteristics of some leaders, and for others it’s more learned.  From what I can tell, there’s a key difference between leadership and management and no matter how well someone naturally leads, experience only improves the ability to lead.  The abilities to analyze problems, communicate clearly, listen well, and instill confidence are important traits for both managers and leaders.  Nearly anyone can be taught to manage, however, and at some level, leaders have to understand management if not practice it as well.  All managers do not and need not lead though.  In fact, in my experience, many if not most managers are not leaders.  I believe leadership requires at the upper levels — political, business and military — traits that really cannot be taught.  It’s either there in some form or it’s not, kinda like the ability to throw a spiral 50 yards on target.

The essential leadership attribute is the ability to cast a vision that others want to pursue.  That attribute itself depends on two traits: the ability to envision something better for the group one is called to lead, and the ability to communicate and share that vision in an effective manner. President George W. Bush had vision with regard to foreign policy in the Middle East, however, he was nearly incapable to communicate and cast that vision for a majority of our fellow citizens to follow. 

Leadership is a skill.  By itself, it’s value neutral.  George Washington, Genghis Khan, Thomas Jefferson, Lenin, Churchill, Hitler, and Reagan each were able to motivate many to pursue a vision for tomorrow. Leadership also does not guarantee success.  Robert E. Lee had a vision and a powerful way of motivating his followers to commit to his vision and to make the ultimate, final sacrifice to fulfill that vision.  I just finished reading Killer Angels (great book).  The brief description of General Meade’s war council after the first day of battle in Gettysburg is an antithesis of leadership.  Lee led his troops to a catastrophic defeat.  Great terrain and strong leadership by his subordinates meant Meade won despite his pathetic leadership. Longstreet had a much better vision for the Confederacy at Gettysburg and was in fact a generation ahead of the rest of the world in understanding how technology changed the art of war, but thankfully for the Union, Longstreet could not communicate that vision well enough to get Lee to follow it. 

Leadership is rare in any sphere of activity.  It is too often sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.  In politics, it is also often subordinated to the fickle will of the electorate.  In any event, with all respect due to the sacred trust of the Office of the President, leadership is currently non-existent in our White House.

President Obama was certainly one of the best received news media candidates in modern history, and certainly of my lifetime.  The product of a biracial and bi-cultural marriage, the buzz was that he would transcend race, something many Americans are eager to see — a post-race country.  Early in his own campaign, then Senator Biden lauded then Senator’s presentation and demeanor.  As the general campaign unfolded, candidate Obama promised a third way.  Not only would he lift the nation to transcend issues of race, he would transcend partisan politics, a redundant phrase if ever there was one. Regardless, he cast a vision and he clearly could communicate well.  With the worldwide economic meltdown in the final stages of the national election, Oprah and many others in and outside the media saw a strong leader, even a secular savior. 

After a year and a half, it appears no one is satisfied with President Obama’s leadership.  To the contrary, it appears that most are resigned to the fact he is not and likely will never be a great leader and as a result, his administration will not likely accomplish great things.  To the contrary, it appears his party and thus his administration is on the verge of an electoral disaster in the upcoming midterm elections.  In his essay  The Unengaged President, Mark Steyn details how President Obama fails at fundamental leadership tasks.

There are some areas where it should be easy to have a vision, any vision really, that’s easy to share.  The government’s role in exploring the limitless depths of the universe is one of the softballs of chief executive vision casting, or at least it should be.  The age of explorers … There’s something fundamentally contagious and exciting about our insatiable curiosity.  If curiosity contributed to the fall of mankind, it also is responsible for our endlessly seeking to overcome the next frontier.

Even if Obama fails at the more mundane tasks of domestic and international leadership, a new leader and a new way should be able to communicate  a new vision for the new millennia — new vision for pressing outwards the boundaries of human knowledge and exploration.  No chance.  One of the very few government agencies that captures the imagination … Provides hope in a more interesting tomorrow, inspires fantasy and fuels the imagination of every child that has dreamed of visiting planets or floating through space …  NASA.  The recently disclosed Obama imprimatur on our space agency: NASA Chief: Next Frontier Better Relations With Muslim World.  The ironies are too many and to painful to dwell upon.  NASA as an outreach tool to some of the most oppressive regimes in the world, none of whom have a space program? How does that fit with NASA’s mission over the past 50 years?  It doesn’t.  Regardless of agency purpose or history, it’s also a horrid “fit” for outreach.  While in early medieval times, the middle east was at the forefront of innovation and learning, the modern Islamic states have sat on the sidelines during the last two hundred years (or more) of western science and technology advances.  See here, here and here.  Why “reach out” with our most scientifically advanced agency?  Finally, the notion is simply goofy. NASA’s mission is space.  Outreach to foreign states and terrestrial people groups aren’t really what astronauts “do.”  That’s what the State Department is for.  In any event, hardly a compelling vision.  Better no leadership than misguided leadership.

Presently, President Obama’s failure of leadership is a good thing. We do not want him assisting us with charging uphill at the center of the line in Gettysburg.  There are enough really troubling things going on in this Country — a liberal Congress that without strong liberal leadership is bankrupting the country with out of control spending; federal district court judges cavalierly overturning well grounded electoral results on highly charged public policy issues (Arizona, California), Muslims building a $100 million mosque on the location where fundamentalist Muslims destroyed the largest symbol of western capitalism (which the Islamic states reject).  It can always be worse and it would be worse, much worse, if Obama was a strong leader.  He’s clearly a political elite, hardcore 1960s liberal.  We should give thanks and praise that as such, he has turned out to be a bit of dud on the leadership front.  It could be much worse.

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humor politics, economy, etc. video

Summer Days …

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culture politics, economy, etc.

God Bless America

Without God’s blessing, no effort, no person, and certainly no nation will prosper.

We continue to enjoy God’s grace.  Though we systematically ignore God in our schools and in the vast majority of our public assemblies, indeed, it’s effectively illegal to corporately acknowledge God when our public institutions are in session, yet he continues to bless our nation.  We practice our faith without interruption and largely without deterrence.  The tax code incentivizes giving to our faith institutions.  We evangelize without penalty or prosecution.  The average American enjoys a standard of living unheard of in the history of mankind. Starvation is unheard of within our borders. Obesity is one of the leading if not the leading health risk.  The books of the world are a click of a mouse away, and countless books are a short trip away to view for free in a library.  The greatest music and best entertainment of the world are all immediately accessible.  Access to education is universal. You can visit any portion of our continent with little preparation if you have the means to travel.  We can visit most places of the globe and the biggest impediment in the vast majority of places are the requirements of the host country.  Every community has healthcare, running water, and sanitation.  We take entirely for granted those things that hundreds of millions of people world-wide only dream about having.

On July 4, 1776, the success of this democratic experiment was anything but certain.  The most certain thing was that if they failed in their efforts against the then world superpower, each signatory to the Declaration of Independence would pay with his life and most likely his family’s wealth as well.  Countless many have sacrificed their life so that this American effort can continue and prosper.

We are doing far  too many things quite wrong now — our fundamental denial of our Creator and his relevance to how we govern and live, and from that denial pours forth a font of misfortune and evil. We threaten to unravel or squander what has been given to us.  But today is not a day of mourning or lamentations, it is a day of celebration and for thanks for what our forefathers have sacrificed to create this land of liberty and abundance and for God’s blessings.  By God’s grace, this nation will continue to prosper.

God bless America!  Happy Fourth!

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politics, economy, etc. video
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politics, economy, etc.

Dude, what’s up with Sarah?

Looks like she and the late William F. Buckley, Jr. share something in common: Sarah Palin wants cops to leave weed smokers alone

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entertainment politics, economy, etc. video

Moody’s Downgrades Greek Debt to Junk

Sell

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books culture politics, economy, etc.

Where are all the babies going?

 Everything’s made in China?  Apparently, not enough babies.  At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, it may be more accurate to say that China is very efficient at copying.  It appears they’re also copying some of the manifestations of the modern market economies, namely, plummeting birth rates.

USA Today recently reported on the declining birth rates in Asia.  A society needs a birth rate of 2.1 to sustain its population levels.  Of course, Communist China’s “one child” per family policy and brutal repression of its people don’t help the region’s demographic prognosis. 

 This pattern of reproductive decline to dangerously low levels is common to most developed economies. It’s also dangerous for the indigenous cultures.  The failure to populate leaves the native population vulnerable to being populated by other groups, such as through mass immigration or by war.  The problem is that most advanced economies have also adopted increasingly burdensome social welfare mandates that require a large base population to sustain a smaller number of infirm and elderly.  Kind of like how families in not-so-long-ago agrarian economies had to have a enough children to tend the farm and care for the parents as they aged.

As shown below, most of Europe, Japan, and the former Soviet Union are each in a demographic death spiral.  As also shown, the Islamic countries are “red-hot.”  Interestingly, the Muslim fertility rates in Western Europe maintain the same high levels.  Between those rates and Europe’s massive immigration of labor to sustain their social welfare states, the Muslim world should be poised to “take” Europe and much of Asia, accomplishing by birth and patience what Muslims have been largely unable to do through centuries of war. 

While nose diving demographics is common throughout the developed world, the USA is one of the few advanced economies whose fertility rate does not forecast civilizational suicide.  That and other cultural issues led Canadian Mark Steyn to write America Alone, whose thesis is essentially that the West is in a losing, long-term struggle against Islam and that the US is the last best hope for western liberalism.  Another commentator, Joel Kotkin, is coming out with a book,  The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, that is quite bullish on our nation’s future.  Real.tv interview here.

 A student at Stanford, Michael Shanks, has posted an excellent analysis with the Stanford Humanities Lab online on the aging populations in advanced economies.  His section on fertility rates and population aging looks at the data and its implications more closely.  The map below shows life expectancy by country.  Not surprisingly, the advanced economies lead the world in average life expectancy.

This information further underscores that the 21st Century will be quite interesting and challenging.  The advanced economies and most the West, will feature declining and aging native population bases and correspondingly strong pressures for greater immigration.  The demographics also suggest further cultural clashes between the advanced liberal democracies and Islamic nations, unless Islam rids itself of radical and violent elements and pursues moderation.  Between changing demographics, technology shrinking the globe, artificial intelligence and robotics, and genetic engineering, it will be a century unlike anything we’ve seen yet.

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politics, economy, etc.

The inevitable creeps of socialism …

If the availability of healthcare entails or creates a “right” to other people’s wealth and labor, shouldn’t also housing and food and nutrition?  Of course, the popular and accepted belief is that the Constitution authorizes the “regulation” of all facets of industry (as written and originally intended it doesn’t).  Liberal constitutional jurisprudence has allowed over the past 60 years or so a nearly unlimited power grab by Congress under its Constitutional authority to ”  As the Supreme Court noted ages ago, the power to regulate includes the power to destroy something.  If Congress has the power to regulate anything that has an impact on commerce, it may also authorize total control or nationalization of the very same thing.  Good logic, but bad Constitutional law … .  The judicial branch really dropped the historical and constitutional ball in limiting Congressional power grabs.

In a moment of unscripted candor, Congresswoman Waters expressed her belief that fuel is also within the federal government’s scope of appropriation. If controlling healthcare services is within Congressional power, why not control or nationalization of the fuel industry?

One can only imagine Ms. Waters’ take on socializing/nationalizing the oil industry after BP Oil’s ongoing fiasco …

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politics, economy, etc.

Not Very Healthy …

Over at The City: The Fix Is In, Why Britain’s National Health Service spends so much and does so little

and this: Soaring costs force Canada to reassess health model

NRO reports that a recent survey of human resource and benefit specialists indicates Obamacare is going to adversely affect quality and cost of care in the U.S.  Among the findings: 

● 90 percent believe that Obamacare “will increase their organization’s health care benefit costs”;

● 88 percent intend to pass the increases onto employees by increasing employee premium contributions or other cost-sharing measures;

● 74 percent intend to “reduce health benefits and programs” by using stingier health plans, restricting eligibility for health coverage, and using spousal waivers or surcharges.

Well, at least nationalized healthcare systems provide equally bad and ineffecient care to everyone, at least in theory.  In reality, there are always “preferred” routes for those with means, see, e.g. the Canadian premier flying to the USA and the UK’s private insurance add-ons.

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culture politics, economy, etc. video

Robots robots robots …

My youngest brother just graduated from high school, and like his brothers, he plans on serving his country in the US Army, which awarded him a scholarship to study engineering in college while training to be an officer.

I admire and support his decision to commit to officer’s training; I don’t though envy him though.  It’s not because the US is in a land war in Asia; it’s because the future looks so uncertain for purposes of planning a career … we may hardly comprehend or even imagine today what our economy and technologies will look like in 40 years.

The rate of change only continues to increase.  The world in 2000 AD looked nothing like the world of 1900.  I’m afraid 2100 will be even more dramatically removed from what life in 2000 was like.  The founder of www.howstuffworks.com, Marshall Brain, hasa thoughtful essay on this topic titled Robotic Nation here.

National Review comments in their May 3 edition:

We have been hearing for some time — about a century — that we shall soon have robots to take over low-level manual tasks, leaving the human population free to write sonnets, compose symphonies, or paint in oils.  Perhaps there is something to it: Researchers at the University of California – Berkeley, have just demonstrated a robot that can fold towels.  There’s some way to go yet, though, before all drudgery is purged from our lives: The mechanical marvel takes an average of 25 minutes to fold one towel.

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politics, economy, etc.

Your federal tax dollars at work: renting from Hamas

From the Investigative Project on Terrorism: Government Pays Mosque it Considers Radical

My political outrage meter is so worn from the past year that this hardly registers … but it should.

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Atheism, agnostic, evolution, etc. politics, economy, etc.

National Day of Prayer

The following link is an interesting article by the president of Focus on the Family, entitled “A day of prayer for judicial common sense”

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politics, economy, etc. World etc.

Re: Big Bad Capitalism

  This is really a simple, every day picture.  It’s beautiful.  I’m not referring to the sapphire blue Carolina sky, though that’s beautiful as well.  It’s the FedEx and UPS trucks parked side by side at my client’s place of business.  Just prior to taking this picture, the FedEx delivery van driver was hustling out the door carrying a large box.  She ran into her van and drove off before I snapped the picture.  The tractor trailers from both UPS and FedEx were already parked at loading docks.  Within minutes of the FedEx delivery van leaving, the UPS delivery van pulled up.  You can barely see it in this picture, parked to the left of the FedEx trailer.  Here are two international businesses vigorously competing for my client’s business.  The fierce competition forces each one to drive down prices and innovate.  Akin to an arms race, it’s a “service race.”

In this “service race,” the companies “battle” by trying to out-serve the other. The story on how the UPS representative managed to get some of the business away from FedEx is funny and heartwarming.  And there’s the reality of capitalism, survival in the “struggle” of a competitive marketplace means understanding and serving others — your customers.  Absolutely contrary to what Marxist twits write into too many of the television and movie scripts, corporations don’t succeed by being greedy, self-centered, and evil.  To the contrary, success requires exactly the opposite – delivering the best value possible to the consumer, understanding and anticipating the consumer’s wants and needs, and being trustworthy.  Brands that fail these standards ultimately fail to survive.

Markets function because they satisfy human needs.  To the extent those “needs” can become perverted and twisted, the market can (and does) deliver evil.  Further, markets depend on fallen people for production and consumption.  Accordingly, like any human institution, markets are fallible and make mistakes.  However, companies that fail to correct mistakes in a timely manner fail to survive.  Further, consumers can be fooled, but where information is freely exchanged, the consumer eventually learns and corrects his or her behaviour. 

Democracy operates on similar principles.  Politicians provide what voters want.  Too often, politicians “advertise” one set of policies, but govern according to another once elected.  When that happens and voters realize it, corrective action should occur.  President Obama ran for election on platitudes that sounded centrist.  As it turns out, he is in no way a moderate when it comes to domestic policy.  President Obama is the most statist, big government president since FDR and perhaps in the history of this Country.  At least during the FDR administrations, the country was in a World War and centralised economic planning had not yet been exposed as a complete failure.  Six decades later, no one should be falling for the lie and false promises of centralized planning.  As aptly pointed out by D.O.M., we shouldn’t even fall for the lie of Euro-socialism.  Let’s hope and pray that this November, enough political consumers, ie voters, will learn from their mistakes, take corrective measures, and vote the Euro-socialists out of office.

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politics, economy, etc. World etc.

Reality Check on the Record of Big, Bad Capitalism

Our current President has defined his core economic tenets on the assertion of fairness, or to be more accurate, the unfairness of our economic system. Equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity is the root principle. A forced re-distribution of wealth will act as an equalizer for the past sins of Capitalism.

The administration, the Congressional majority, and an agreeable media are systematically dismantling the free-market mechanisms and installing a centrally regulated, command economy all for the sake of fairness. Evidence over the last fifteen months is overwhelming: Government takeovers of major industries and individual companies, massive ramp-up of government regulations on industry, tax changes to force re-distribution of wealth, and lectures on behavior by our Grand Arbiter of Fairness, the President. The consequences on all 330 million Americans are enormous.

But where is the clear, unemotional evidence of either how bad it was under capitalism or how many more people will benefit under the new system? What is the alternative system? Where is it working today? All we have seen are a string of anecdotes and a parade of victims. Wall street bonuses are bad, out-of-work people are victims, millionaires don’t deserve their wealth, change will make it better.

Facts are rarely useful in debates with ideologues and religious zealots. Yet we cannot allow partisans to make unchallenged, generalized claims about the free-market system with such consequential implications. Using comparative data over the long-term, we can find objective conclusions on the comparison of free-market capitalism to more regulated economies. The last twenty-five years, virtually a generational view on economies, gives us a broad perspective of market performance during a relatively stable period.

Let’s compare countries side-by-side, answer claims of economic unfairness with facts, and decide which economy we would like for our children.

Data source: The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a 30 country member group1 that provides unbiased, consistent economic data comparisons. Please note: For purposes of balance, comparisons are made of the U.S. economy compared to the top five western democratic economies, and the OECD average where data was available. 1987 through 2007 were selected only for completeness of data.

Claim #1:
Our economy has been weak for the last decade. Our problems have only been covered up by deficit spending and cheap credit.

Facts:
The U.S. has out-performed all economies over a 20 year period, out producing goods and services, worker for worker. In terms of annual growth rates, our free-market system has more extreme highs and lows but has climbed out of recessions faster and provided more sustained growth periods.

Continue reading “Reality Check on the Record of Big, Bad Capitalism”
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politics, economy, etc.

April 15

The Titanic sank on this day, Abraham Lincoln died on this date, and it’s our deadline for paying the government what we owe.  The “good news” is, compared to what’s coming down the pike, we’re getting off lightly today.  See here and here.  Spending, particularly entitlements, is spinning out of control.

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politics, economy, etc.

Demographics as Destiny … or is it?

I’ve been following Mark Steyn’s demographics is destiny observations and arguments the past several years (as well as his critique of modern, western culture).  Mr. Steyn argues persuasively that the demographic patterns for most western liberal democracies show a cultural death spiral for native-born citizens.  In contrast, in most these same countries and indeed worldwide, he presents data showing strong birth rates among Islamic populations, who in Europe make up a very large percentage of the immigrant populations.  Mr. Steyn argues that for most of these countries, the “native” western culture appears demographically doomed, claiming that no civilization in history has returned from similar low rates of reproduction.  He also posits that these nations will be primarily Islamic within a few generations, i.e. westerners should start familiarizing themselves with Sharia law.

I’ve read some critics of his works, but most that I’ve found take issue with his premise that we should be concerned about this trend.  The premise of these critics being that it’s either alarmist to assume Islamic citizens will not assimilate or that it’s arrogant to judge western culture as superior.  A few have argued that overall, the total population of muslims in these countries is relatively small.  I haven’t found these counter-arguments persuasive.  In these countries, significant muslim populations are not assimilating and the diversity culture encourages such subgroups to maintain their original identities.  Further, the fundamentalist Islamic worldview is simply not compatible with western liberal notions of human and political rights, as demonstrated by the messages of the Denmark and Paris rioters, those advocating for Sharia in the UK, and others.  Most of the Islamic nations hue fairly closely to Islamic law in how they organize themselves and recognize rights.

I’m not sure, however, that past is prologue.  Computer memory continues to spiral downward in size and cost while processing speed and power continues to increase exponentially.  Moore’s Law and the Law of Accelerating Returns, see here, indicate that our rate of progress and innovation is only going to quicken.  Some of the consequences are potentially quite profound, even changing what it means to be human or changing the nature of thought and communication.  Regardless, this dizzying rate of technological innovation is heavily centered on non-Islamic countries and particularly on liberal democracies.  Indeed, outside of China, which is rapidly liberalizing at least its economy, most innovation comes from the world’s “free” people. 

Technological innovation, to include artificial intelligence, robotics, nanobots, etc., is a wildcard in the mix regarding the relationship between demographics and cultural, economic, and political strength.    According to some, see e.g. Ray Kurzweil, “computers” will surpass humans in their ability to parallel process information sometime within the next decade or so and people will use technology to augment and improve their own organic “processing power.”  This should all have profound implications for production, military strength, and cultural innovation.  

Regarding warfare, right now we’re sending remote-controlled drones into tribal areas.  In fifteen years, we could be sending devices that are much more up-close and personal and autonomous.  What will happen when our machines are our designers for free around the clock?  In short, I’m not convinced that the past is in any way prologue regarding demographics and how society will function. Absent Christ’s imminent return, the 21st Century will be unlike anything humanity has ever seen.  Given the promises of ongoing medical innovation, many of us may be around to witness most of the 21st Century.

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politics, economy, etc. praise theology World etc.

Rights?! What Rights?!

We live in a world obsessed with personal rights.   The recent political manuverings in Washington highlight a popular worldview that everyone has extensive rights, including health care.   Many wonder, how far do personal rights extend?   However, it’s nothing new.  It’s been with us since the curse.

Yet there was One Man who lived very differently.  We read in Philippians 2:6-8 that when Christ came to our world from the Father, he set aside his rights as God to fully incarnate into humanity.  The Apostle Paul tells us that Christ, though God Himself, gave up his rights to live like, look like and be treated like God.

Imagine a king leaving the glorious and lavish environs of his palace to live among the poorest of the poor in his kingdom.  But not just for a night (as if a publicity stunt), rather for years.  Regardless of the squallor in which he lives, where he lays his head or stale bread he feasts upon, the fact remains he is still king.  Christ, the King of Kings, did just that – He left his glorious, righteous throne and laid aside his rights to live as God.

What if you were to wake up tomorrow and be summoned to court only to learn that due to enormous debt you are now a slave of your creditors – for the rest of your life!  You no longer have personal rights – where to live, what to do for a career, ownership of personal property, access to a bank account, or anything that is yours.  You are now the one that is owned.  A bit frightening isn’t it?  The prophet Isaiah foretold the Christ would not have any form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  Christ stepped in humanity not as a nobleman or into a well to do family, but as a lowly slave.  He gave up his rights to look like God.

To leave your rightful throne and live like a common slave is one thing .  To do so to sacrifice your life for wretched lost mankind is completely something different.  Scripture tells us that he humbled himself to the point of death on a cross.  The final hours of Christ leading up to the crucifixion was perhaps that most humiliating and excruciating experience anyone could ever face.  The betrayal, false trials, cruel beatings, mockings and jeerings would crush any man.  Yet Christ endured them all to rescue you and me.  He gave up his rights to be treated like God. 

What’s more amazing is that Christ gave up his these rights so that you and I would gain one of the greatest rights known to man.  In John 1:12, we read these priceless words, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

He gave up his rights so we could have the right to call heaven our eternal home. 

Thank God for the cross! 

Thank God for the empty tomb! 

Thank God he gave up his rights to rescue us.

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politics, economy, etc.

Allied Abuse

While the Obama administration has been putting most of its public efforts behind promoting the federal overhaul/ownership of domestic healthcare, the affairs of the world and our place in it press on.  There appears a disturbing pattern of the current administration attempting to placate our enemies and mistreating key allies.

Mary O’Grady has an important article in the WSJ on US foreign policy toward one of our regional allies:  The U.S. vs. Honduran Democracy .  With the crumbling and strains suffered by market democracies over the past decade in this region, we should be doing everything we can to encourage Honduras to stay the course.  Trying to placate Chavez instead is a bad move.

The Obama administration has treated Britain, our closest European ally, with disrespect, see here and here  and here. 

While trying to carry through on the campaign promise to open and strengthen diplomatic ties with Iran, the Administration has taken a hard-line with Israel, our closest and perhaps only ally in the mideast. See here and here. Gary Bauer recently commented,

“What is particularly telling is that this is a president who has bowed to a Saudi king, who has repeatedly held his hand out to Iran only to have his face slapped in response and who has regularly suffered the slings and arrows of insults from Russia, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, to name a few. For whom does he reserve his anger, toughness and vehemence? For Israel, the only reliable ally we have in the Middle East.”

The Obama administration stunned Poland, our closest East European ally, as the administration attempted to court favor with the Russians, an attempt that utterly failed.  See here . 

John Bolton’s comments on this same topic here.

While critics of the administration focus efforts on rolling back the President’s aggressive, statist domestic policies, they should keep a close eye as well on how well we’re promoting and supporting our ideological and political allies worldwide.

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politics, economy, etc. Uncategorized

Contact NC Attorney General to Join Constitutional Challenge

I am told that Roy Cooper, the Attorney General of NC, will join with the other 13 states to challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed health care legislation.  I am not sure if he is sincere, but, in the event that he is, here is the contact link:

Here is my letter:

Mr. Cooper:

Please join with the other 13 states and challenge the constitutionality of the recently signed health care bill. Our rights under the constitution should revolve around freedoms that are intrinsic to individuals that do NOT infringe on the rights and liberties of others. There is no authority in the constitution for Congress to mandate that private citizens must purchase a good or service from a private company. It simply is not an option that is available to Congress. I would urge you to support your constituents by challenging this egregious encroachment on our liberties.

Now is the time to stand for liberty rather than to simply give the appearance of it. Esse Quam Videri