[I hope youll remember to tune in to *The Coral Ridge Hour]
[Note: While the following is in part a political story, I belief the two writers below share the moral implications for all the nation that the recent Congressional scandal points out. For that, I believe it deserves mention as part of a Sunday Special.]
June 9, 2010 John Hayward HumanEventsDaily@gmail,humanevents.com
“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion,” wrote John Adams. “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” It’s not hard to appreciate the wisdom of Adams in practical terms. A profoundly immoral people would be an unruly mob. Huge amounts of compulsive, often violent, force would be needed to maintain the most basic order. The American Constitution is among the highest achievements of human enlightenment. It is not a cage designed to hold a nation of brutal savages. If we would live as free people, governed with the minimum possible degree of compulsion, we must strive to deal with each other in a moral way, because we have to trust each other.
How can a moral people suffer the presence of deeply immoral leaders?
Discussion of these matters is often dismissed as the stuffy chattering of moralistic busybodies, but it’s actually a question of cold logic. We live beneath a gigantic government, so huge that it consumes or controls more than half of what America produces. Much of this government is justified in explicitly moral terms. We are always being lectured that everything from government-run health care, to vast subsidies for “alternative energy,” is the “right” or moral thing to do.
That’s one of the reasons it matters when someone like Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York is revealed to be utterly reprehensible – a compulsive liar who betrayed the trust of his wife, beginning not more than a month after they were married, and tried to ruin those who exposed him [On Monday he finally admitted to sending sexually explicit text messages to at least 6 women for years and then lied to colleagues and the public last weekend until forced to confess his lies.]
Even by the Left’s standards of collective ethics and submission to the State, it makes no sense to expect proper moral engineering from deeply immoral people. His sins of betrayal, deception, and negligence are the exact opposite of everything liberals expect us to believe about the demigods they would empower to manage our lives.[bold and italics emphases mine]
Symptoms of an Age-old Problem
By Chuck Colson nationalreviewonline.com http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/269055/symptoms-age-old-problem-chuck-colson June 7, 2011
The world is “a-twitter” over the latest case of a high-profile political figure having a moral failure. In this case, we’re hearing a lot about how the digital age contributes to many of the shameful acts we are witnessing in our culture. But all technology does is to magnify. What we see in this case is the age-old problem of human sin, along with the modern problem of refusing to recognize it and, therefore, restrain it.
The tragedy here is that congressmen, like schoolboys, have bought the modern myth: Life is all about us and our desires, and whatever we want to do is okay as long as we feel good doing it. We’ve lost the restraints of conscience and have abandoned the understanding of right and wrong that has been the foundation of Western ethics.
We are in an ethical mess today, caused by our embracing of relativism and abandoning truth and moral certitude. Nothing less than a total restoration of ethics can save us. People will recklessly pursue their passions as the consequence of what we Christians call “original sin” or “the Fall.” They can only be restrained in two ways: 1) personal integrity coupled with personal responsibility, or 2) the power of the state and the law. The less you have of the former, the more the latter becomes essential.
Freedom cannot be maintained without the cultivation of virtue. Whether it be Mark Sanford or Anthony Weiner or whoever will be the butt of jokes tomorrow, their follies are nothing more than symptoms of a false view of life that we embrace today in America — at our great peril.
— Former special counsel to President Nixon, Chuck Colson is the founder of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and has just produced a DVD series on ethics called “Doing the Right Thing.”_
today's THOT from MickeysFunnies.com
Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
#88 - Paul Ryan: The Truth About Medicare Will Wiin Out
1. As always, I encourage you to watch this week's broadcast of "The Coral Ridge (half)Hour" this Sunday. (in Orlando, 5 p.m., ch. 55.1) Also try to cast a broadcast of their other program "Cross Examine" that looks at todays issues from a Biblical worldview. (Check www.crossexamine.org for a listiing.)
2. Please check on Sunday for a Sunday Special posting.
3. I hope you will visit the site of Worldmag.com for more Christian views on the news. And be sure to check their great collection of political cartoons at: http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/ Remember: one picture is often worth a thousand words.]
[Note: This the third item this week focusing on the debate about reforming Medicare. The mainstream media rarely mentions what the Republicans are really proposing and then not necessarily with accuracy. People can be easily frightened and the shameless liberal strategy of MediSCARE needs to be countered with the truth. The consequences of not are just too dangerous.]
by Jason Mattera
05/27/2011 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43761
Paul Ryan rejects the narrative being pushed by the liberal media that his proposal to reform Medicare is toxic for the Republican Party. “Demagoguery can work for a short period of time, but it doesn’t last because the truth comes out,” he told Human Events. “Time is on our side. Truth and the facts are on our side, and all we have to do is get the truth out there.” He added: “It just takes time because you’ve got to get the facts out. If you have a tight time compression, if you have a short period of time, the demagoguery can work, but it can’t last.”
Mediscare can work in the beginning, Ryan told Human Events, “but it doesn’t have any endurance because it’s based on total falsehoods.” And those falsehoods are numerous, which is why Human Events gave Ryan the opportunity to respond to his critics. Even so, when your opponents are accusing you of murder for offering up gradual reforms to a system everyone knows needs revamping, you’re admittedly in a tough position. In other words, Ryan’s opponents are perverse. That being said, let’s go-ahead with some myth busting.[1] When liberal politicians aren’t accusing their Republican colleagues of forcing the elderly into a life of eating cat food and living in refrigerator boxes, they cite a Congressional Budget office analysis that claims seniors would have to pay on average $6,000 more per year under the Ryan plan. “That CBO analysis forgot to include $7,800 in additional support for low-income seniors,” the Wisconsin Republican pointed out to us in a phone interview.
[2] The second point is, and this is an important one, the CBO “doesn’t put any credence into competition.” As Ryan points out, pumping competition and free-market principles into the GOP’s “prescription drug” plan resulted in the program’s coming in 41% under budget. “CBO just does a very crude analysis where they don’t even bother assuming that competition works.” The thing is: Competition clearly does work in bringing down the price of… anything, really.
[3] What about insurances companies? Critics argue that Ryan’s “premium support” model in which seniors get to choose from a list of different private plans is a boon to the insurance industry and thus must not be implemented. “The whole premise of that argument is that we should not have a private health insurance company and that the government should run healthcare. I reject the entire premise of it,” Ryan fired back. “We already have great examples in healthcare today of how you can increase quality and lower costs with private plans competing against each other.” Under “premium support,” Ryan continued, “the senior is the chooser and the decision maker, not the bureaucrat.” ...
...Democrats have decided to abandon trying to fix the coming debt tsunami and instead are trying to exploit his solutions for political advantage. But will it work? Hardly, says a confident Ryan: “I believe that is going to backfire on them. And I believe that the Republicans are way ahead of the political class. This whole conventional wisdom of running ‘Medi-scare’ is not going to work in a day and age when people know that Medicare is going bankrupt and they know that we have a debt crisis.”
Mr. Mattera is the editor of HUMAN EVENTS and the author of Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation (Simon & Schuster). He also hosts The Jason Mattera Show on News Talk Radio 77WABC. Previously, he was the Spokesman for Young America's Foundation and a TV correspondent for Michelle Malkin. Follow Jason on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
2. Please check on Sunday for a Sunday Special posting.
3. I hope you will visit the site of Worldmag.com for more Christian views on the news. And be sure to check their great collection of political cartoons at: http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/ Remember: one picture is often worth a thousand words.]
[Note: This the third item this week focusing on the debate about reforming Medicare. The mainstream media rarely mentions what the Republicans are really proposing and then not necessarily with accuracy. People can be easily frightened and the shameless liberal strategy of MediSCARE needs to be countered with the truth. The consequences of not are just too dangerous.]
by Jason Mattera
05/27/2011 http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=43761
Paul Ryan rejects the narrative being pushed by the liberal media that his proposal to reform Medicare is toxic for the Republican Party. “Demagoguery can work for a short period of time, but it doesn’t last because the truth comes out,” he told Human Events. “Time is on our side. Truth and the facts are on our side, and all we have to do is get the truth out there.” He added: “It just takes time because you’ve got to get the facts out. If you have a tight time compression, if you have a short period of time, the demagoguery can work, but it can’t last.”
Mediscare can work in the beginning, Ryan told Human Events, “but it doesn’t have any endurance because it’s based on total falsehoods.” And those falsehoods are numerous, which is why Human Events gave Ryan the opportunity to respond to his critics. Even so, when your opponents are accusing you of murder for offering up gradual reforms to a system everyone knows needs revamping, you’re admittedly in a tough position. In other words, Ryan’s opponents are perverse. That being said, let’s go-ahead with some myth busting.[1] When liberal politicians aren’t accusing their Republican colleagues of forcing the elderly into a life of eating cat food and living in refrigerator boxes, they cite a Congressional Budget office analysis that claims seniors would have to pay on average $6,000 more per year under the Ryan plan. “That CBO analysis forgot to include $7,800 in additional support for low-income seniors,” the Wisconsin Republican pointed out to us in a phone interview.
[2] The second point is, and this is an important one, the CBO “doesn’t put any credence into competition.” As Ryan points out, pumping competition and free-market principles into the GOP’s “prescription drug” plan resulted in the program’s coming in 41% under budget. “CBO just does a very crude analysis where they don’t even bother assuming that competition works.” The thing is: Competition clearly does work in bringing down the price of… anything, really.
[3] What about insurances companies? Critics argue that Ryan’s “premium support” model in which seniors get to choose from a list of different private plans is a boon to the insurance industry and thus must not be implemented. “The whole premise of that argument is that we should not have a private health insurance company and that the government should run healthcare. I reject the entire premise of it,” Ryan fired back. “We already have great examples in healthcare today of how you can increase quality and lower costs with private plans competing against each other.” Under “premium support,” Ryan continued, “the senior is the chooser and the decision maker, not the bureaucrat.” ...
...Democrats have decided to abandon trying to fix the coming debt tsunami and instead are trying to exploit his solutions for political advantage. But will it work? Hardly, says a confident Ryan: “I believe that is going to backfire on them. And I believe that the Republicans are way ahead of the political class. This whole conventional wisdom of running ‘Medi-scare’ is not going to work in a day and age when people know that Medicare is going bankrupt and they know that we have a debt crisis.”
Mr. Mattera is the editor of HUMAN EVENTS and the author of Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation (Simon & Schuster). He also hosts The Jason Mattera Show on News Talk Radio 77WABC. Previously, he was the Spokesman for Young America's Foundation and a TV correspondent for Michelle Malkin. Follow Jason on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
#87 - Lost at Sea; Save Medicare Now, or Go Under Later
[While there are more timely things in the news that I'd like to comment on, I will instead continue the theme of "caring for the elderly" that was introduced in this past Sunday's posting. I think the analogy presented is so dead on; talk about one story worth a thousand warnings.]
By: Chuck Colson|Breakpoint.com May 31, 2011
Medicare as we know it will change. The question is how. Because we sacrificed, or because we went bankrupt.
We really don’t get it, do we? A recent Associated Press poll reports that more than half of Americans believe we can balance the budget without cutting Medicare spending. As the late great Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.[I love that quote!]And the facts are clear. By the year 2024, unless we make real changes, Medicare will go broke. Done. Kaputt.
This is not a doomsday prediction like Harold Camping [who recently erroneously predicted the end of the world on May 21st]. It’s reality. Go ahead and Google “Medicare 2024” and read the results. Oh, and for the 6 out of 10 Americans who believe we don’t have to make any changes in social security, well, at least we have until 2036 before it runs out of cash. The urgent question before the American people is this: Are we willing to restrain ourselves now in a reasonable way or wait until bankruptcy forces us to -- with disastrous consequences?
Given the recent congressional election in New York, if the political pundits are right, the answer is frightening. In fact, Democratic politicians seem emboldened to hammer Republicans on Medicare reform, while many Republicans are becoming contortionists trying to avoid the topic. They’re both dead wrong. Even the liberal New York Times gets it. “Sooner or later,” it opined last Thursday, “Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is -- its medical costs are out of control.”
So, we fix things now, or we go under later. It’s like the old mariner's tale of the ship lost in a storm. The captain and eight surviving crew members found themselves in a small lifeboat far out to sea. By the captain’s calculations, given their position and the currents, it would take 24 days to reach shore. But the boat only had enough food and water to last 12 days. So, if all aboard agreed to half rations, they might just make it. But the crew refused. They demanded full rations, and they made it very clear to the captain that he had no choice in the matter.
The captain kept a diary of their perilous journey. By day 6 it became even more clear that they would run out of provisions before reaching safe harbor. Yet still the crew would not agree to reduce rations. Even though the sun beat down on them mercilessly, at least their bellies were full and they had yet to feel real thirst. By day 12, the captain recorded that the food and water were gone. Yet shore was nowhere in sight. By day 13, panic set in among the crew. It took every ounce of leadership skill to keep order on that little boat, surrounded by the endless expanse of the sea. On day 24, just as the captain had predicted the currents had dragged the boat ashore. At least that’s what the recovery crew surmised after they found the captain’s diary aboard. Along with eight dead sailors. The captain was nowhere to be found -- unless the gnawed bones found on board...well, that’s another story.
Folks, the moral of the story -- and of our predicament today -- is that we can make it to safety if we marshal our resources wisely. Or we can starve to death later. We must save Medicare and Social Security. But to do so, the American people will have to summon the courage to make sacrifices. And to do that, we’ll have to re-learn the what was once called the Protestant work ethic, and re-invigorate a nearly lost Christian virtue called delayed gratification.[emphases mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Running on Medicare the Right Way,The New York Times | May 25, 2011
Medicare to be Broke by 2024, Joe Wiesenthal | The Business Insider | May 13, 2011
By: Chuck Colson|Breakpoint.com May 31, 2011
Medicare as we know it will change. The question is how. Because we sacrificed, or because we went bankrupt.
We really don’t get it, do we? A recent Associated Press poll reports that more than half of Americans believe we can balance the budget without cutting Medicare spending. As the late great Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.[I love that quote!]And the facts are clear. By the year 2024, unless we make real changes, Medicare will go broke. Done. Kaputt.
This is not a doomsday prediction like Harold Camping [who recently erroneously predicted the end of the world on May 21st]. It’s reality. Go ahead and Google “Medicare 2024” and read the results. Oh, and for the 6 out of 10 Americans who believe we don’t have to make any changes in social security, well, at least we have until 2036 before it runs out of cash. The urgent question before the American people is this: Are we willing to restrain ourselves now in a reasonable way or wait until bankruptcy forces us to -- with disastrous consequences?
Given the recent congressional election in New York, if the political pundits are right, the answer is frightening. In fact, Democratic politicians seem emboldened to hammer Republicans on Medicare reform, while many Republicans are becoming contortionists trying to avoid the topic. They’re both dead wrong. Even the liberal New York Times gets it. “Sooner or later,” it opined last Thursday, “Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is -- its medical costs are out of control.”
So, we fix things now, or we go under later. It’s like the old mariner's tale of the ship lost in a storm. The captain and eight surviving crew members found themselves in a small lifeboat far out to sea. By the captain’s calculations, given their position and the currents, it would take 24 days to reach shore. But the boat only had enough food and water to last 12 days. So, if all aboard agreed to half rations, they might just make it. But the crew refused. They demanded full rations, and they made it very clear to the captain that he had no choice in the matter.
The captain kept a diary of their perilous journey. By day 6 it became even more clear that they would run out of provisions before reaching safe harbor. Yet still the crew would not agree to reduce rations. Even though the sun beat down on them mercilessly, at least their bellies were full and they had yet to feel real thirst. By day 12, the captain recorded that the food and water were gone. Yet shore was nowhere in sight. By day 13, panic set in among the crew. It took every ounce of leadership skill to keep order on that little boat, surrounded by the endless expanse of the sea. On day 24, just as the captain had predicted the currents had dragged the boat ashore. At least that’s what the recovery crew surmised after they found the captain’s diary aboard. Along with eight dead sailors. The captain was nowhere to be found -- unless the gnawed bones found on board...well, that’s another story.
Folks, the moral of the story -- and of our predicament today -- is that we can make it to safety if we marshal our resources wisely. Or we can starve to death later. We must save Medicare and Social Security. But to do so, the American people will have to summon the courage to make sacrifices. And to do that, we’ll have to re-learn the what was once called the Protestant work ethic, and re-invigorate a nearly lost Christian virtue called delayed gratification.[emphases mine]
FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION
Running on Medicare the Right Way,The New York Times | May 25, 2011
Medicare to be Broke by 2024, Joe Wiesenthal | The Business Insider | May 13, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
#86 - Sunday Special - Caring for the Elderly - A Biblical Look
Chuck Colson|Breakpoint.com. May 24, 2011
[It pains me to see how so many seniors react when people who have no intention of "driving grandma over the cliff" are shamelessly accused of such when they try to explain the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid unless some changes are made. What started out under FDR as charity has predictably turned into an entitlement that those in government who want to corall the "senior vote" to hold onto their power continually exploit. What should be the church's role in caring for seniors? The following is a good starting point for such a needed discussion.}
What to do with mom or dad when they cant take care of themselves any longer?... I was traveling in Texas recently when I bumped into an old friend -- a man whose opinion on financial matters I really value. We got into a fascinating conversation; let me share it with you. My friend said, “I’m in a very good position financially. But both my parents, and my wife’s parents, are on Social Security. One night I sat down and thought about the cost to the taxpayers of the members of my own family. And then I realized that my wife and I could easily pay for those benefits ourselves. But somehow it had never occurred to us that we ought to.”
His comments really struck me. I remembered that when I was ten years old, my grandparents moved in with us. During the Depression, there were no government programs or nursing homes for the elderly. When relatives got sick, their families took care of them. But it wasn’t easy. My grandmother had terminal cancer. My mother exhausted herself caring for her day and night and never complained, even though she had so many other responsibilities, including me. But my point is that it never occurred to my parents that they were making any special sacrifice. This is just what you did for your family.
How different things are today. Now, when an elderly person becomes ill, it’s typical for relatives to strip him of all his assets, and then put him on Medicaid. Is this the right thing to do? Is it honest to take away everything from a sick loved one, and then claim he or she has no assets? And how do our parents feel when we choose to put them in a home instead of bringing them into our home? A bigger question is, what is our country’s philosophy now, given our current debt crisis? Do we go back to caring for our own, or do we palm everybody off on Uncle Sam?
Well, the Biblical model is quite clear: You care for your own family if you possibly can. Centuries of church history back up this view. I know what many of you are thinking: If I take care of mom, I’d have to quit my job. And if we pay for all of her care -- prescriptions, doctor bills -- we’d lose everything we put away for our children’s education. These are legitimate concerns. But we ought to be talking about it in the church. So far, all we’ve seen is religious believers attacking lawmakers for cutting programs for the poor and sick, bankruptcy or no bankruptcy. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to these folks to ask what the Bible says about this.
Families are responsible for sick and elderly relatives, certainly if they can well afford to help. (The Bible has a lot to say about the evil of debt, too, I might add.) I have to admit: My own mother died in an accident before I had to make any difficult decision about her care. Although, as many of you know, I do have an autistic grandson, and I’m not about to let the state take over our job. But most Christians will have to face this choice. Do we know what the Bible teaches? Are we prepared to follow God’s commands? [bold emphases mine]
A Senior HaHa - You know you're growing old when the bag boy volunteers to help load groceries into your car-in the "ten items or less" lane.
[It pains me to see how so many seniors react when people who have no intention of "driving grandma over the cliff" are shamelessly accused of such when they try to explain the insolvency of Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid unless some changes are made. What started out under FDR as charity has predictably turned into an entitlement that those in government who want to corall the "senior vote" to hold onto their power continually exploit. What should be the church's role in caring for seniors? The following is a good starting point for such a needed discussion.}
What to do with mom or dad when they cant take care of themselves any longer?... I was traveling in Texas recently when I bumped into an old friend -- a man whose opinion on financial matters I really value. We got into a fascinating conversation; let me share it with you. My friend said, “I’m in a very good position financially. But both my parents, and my wife’s parents, are on Social Security. One night I sat down and thought about the cost to the taxpayers of the members of my own family. And then I realized that my wife and I could easily pay for those benefits ourselves. But somehow it had never occurred to us that we ought to.”
His comments really struck me. I remembered that when I was ten years old, my grandparents moved in with us. During the Depression, there were no government programs or nursing homes for the elderly. When relatives got sick, their families took care of them. But it wasn’t easy. My grandmother had terminal cancer. My mother exhausted herself caring for her day and night and never complained, even though she had so many other responsibilities, including me. But my point is that it never occurred to my parents that they were making any special sacrifice. This is just what you did for your family.
How different things are today. Now, when an elderly person becomes ill, it’s typical for relatives to strip him of all his assets, and then put him on Medicaid. Is this the right thing to do? Is it honest to take away everything from a sick loved one, and then claim he or she has no assets? And how do our parents feel when we choose to put them in a home instead of bringing them into our home? A bigger question is, what is our country’s philosophy now, given our current debt crisis? Do we go back to caring for our own, or do we palm everybody off on Uncle Sam?
Well, the Biblical model is quite clear: You care for your own family if you possibly can. Centuries of church history back up this view. I know what many of you are thinking: If I take care of mom, I’d have to quit my job. And if we pay for all of her care -- prescriptions, doctor bills -- we’d lose everything we put away for our children’s education. These are legitimate concerns. But we ought to be talking about it in the church. So far, all we’ve seen is religious believers attacking lawmakers for cutting programs for the poor and sick, bankruptcy or no bankruptcy. It doesn’t seem to have occurred to these folks to ask what the Bible says about this.
Families are responsible for sick and elderly relatives, certainly if they can well afford to help. (The Bible has a lot to say about the evil of debt, too, I might add.) I have to admit: My own mother died in an accident before I had to make any difficult decision about her care. Although, as many of you know, I do have an autistic grandson, and I’m not about to let the state take over our job. But most Christians will have to face this choice. Do we know what the Bible teaches? Are we prepared to follow God’s commands? [bold emphases mine]
A Senior HaHa - You know you're growing old when the bag boy volunteers to help load groceries into your car-in the "ten items or less" lane.
Friday, June 3, 2011
#85 - Is Washington Doing Enough to Save the Economy?
From AskHeritage.com June 3, 2011 (The Heritage Foundation)
Newsflash from The New York Times: President Barack Obama’s stimulus did not work. No, the Times doesn’t say that in so many words, but in an op-ed this morning, the paper laments the sputtering economy and the fact that Washington just isn’t doing enough to help the economy grow. The problem, of course, is that Washington has done too much of the wrong things to get the economy moving again.
The economic news that’s really sticking ... is revised data released last week that shows the economy’s growth stuck at 1.8 percent, slow consumer spending, stagnant wages, higher prices for gas and food, the poor housing market, flagging consumer confidence and a recent Labor Department report showing a higher-than-expected rise in claims for jobless benefits. The Times complains:
*The grim numbers tell an unavoidable truth: The economy is not growing nearly fast enough to dent unemployment. Unfortunately, no one in Washington is pushing policies to promote stronger growth now.*
What the Times forgot to mention, though, is that Washington over the past two years has done a lot—a whole lot—with the biggest ticket item being the Obama-Reid-Pelosi $787 billion stimulus that was designed to “create or save” 3.5 million new jobs by 2011. Despite the extraordinarily high cost, that didn’t happen, and unemployment has increased to 9 percent....
For the American people,... that reality is hitting home.Joseph Lupton, an economist at JP Morgan Chase and Company, says, “There are pretty big costs to not really generating a sizeable recovery.” And as The Wall Street Journal reports, those costs are high unemployment, with 5.8 million people out of work for more than six months.
The House GOP last week issued a proposal to spur job growth, including reducing regulation and taxes and promoting free trade – essentially aimed at making it easier for businesses to grow, thereby growing the economy and reducing unemployment. And, like clockwork, the left went on the attack claiming that it’s nothing more than “old ideas, fancy new clip art,” while the Times described it as “more of the same ‘fixes’ that Republicans always recommend no matter the problem.” Ironically, though, the left is calling for more of their same ideas –“government help” must come to the rescue, the Times says.
And how do they plan to pay for it? Higher taxes to finance more spending, with “a combined federal and state top tax rate on earnings of 62%.” The government needs to stay home. Brian Riedl explained why government intervention to boost the economy doesn’t work: *Removing water from one end of a swimming pool and pouring it in the other end will not raise the overall water level. Similarly, taking dollars from one part of the economy and distributing it to another part of the economy will not expand the economy.*
There are no-cost ways to get the economy moving again, such as reforming regulations to reduce unnecessary business costs, reforming the tort system, removing barriers to energy production, reducing taxes on companies’ foreign earnings if they bring their earnings home, and passing pending free trade agreements. And with Congress confronting spiraling debt, they need to get their economic house in order. Despite all the “help” President Obama delivered in the first two years of his presidency, the economy is stuck in the mud and can’t get out. It is overburdened by taxes and regulations, and businesses don’t want to move forward into the dark abyss absent some certainty that the government won’t shackle them with more taxes and regulations down the road. America has had enough of that brand of “help.” It’s time for something different.
Newsflash from The New York Times: President Barack Obama’s stimulus did not work. No, the Times doesn’t say that in so many words, but in an op-ed this morning, the paper laments the sputtering economy and the fact that Washington just isn’t doing enough to help the economy grow. The problem, of course, is that Washington has done too much of the wrong things to get the economy moving again.
The economic news that’s really sticking ... is revised data released last week that shows the economy’s growth stuck at 1.8 percent, slow consumer spending, stagnant wages, higher prices for gas and food, the poor housing market, flagging consumer confidence and a recent Labor Department report showing a higher-than-expected rise in claims for jobless benefits. The Times complains:
*The grim numbers tell an unavoidable truth: The economy is not growing nearly fast enough to dent unemployment. Unfortunately, no one in Washington is pushing policies to promote stronger growth now.*
What the Times forgot to mention, though, is that Washington over the past two years has done a lot—a whole lot—with the biggest ticket item being the Obama-Reid-Pelosi $787 billion stimulus that was designed to “create or save” 3.5 million new jobs by 2011. Despite the extraordinarily high cost, that didn’t happen, and unemployment has increased to 9 percent....
For the American people,... that reality is hitting home.Joseph Lupton, an economist at JP Morgan Chase and Company, says, “There are pretty big costs to not really generating a sizeable recovery.” And as The Wall Street Journal reports, those costs are high unemployment, with 5.8 million people out of work for more than six months.
The House GOP last week issued a proposal to spur job growth, including reducing regulation and taxes and promoting free trade – essentially aimed at making it easier for businesses to grow, thereby growing the economy and reducing unemployment. And, like clockwork, the left went on the attack claiming that it’s nothing more than “old ideas, fancy new clip art,” while the Times described it as “more of the same ‘fixes’ that Republicans always recommend no matter the problem.” Ironically, though, the left is calling for more of their same ideas –“government help” must come to the rescue, the Times says.
And how do they plan to pay for it? Higher taxes to finance more spending, with “a combined federal and state top tax rate on earnings of 62%.” The government needs to stay home. Brian Riedl explained why government intervention to boost the economy doesn’t work: *Removing water from one end of a swimming pool and pouring it in the other end will not raise the overall water level. Similarly, taking dollars from one part of the economy and distributing it to another part of the economy will not expand the economy.*
There are no-cost ways to get the economy moving again, such as reforming regulations to reduce unnecessary business costs, reforming the tort system, removing barriers to energy production, reducing taxes on companies’ foreign earnings if they bring their earnings home, and passing pending free trade agreements. And with Congress confronting spiraling debt, they need to get their economic house in order. Despite all the “help” President Obama delivered in the first two years of his presidency, the economy is stuck in the mud and can’t get out. It is overburdened by taxes and regulations, and businesses don’t want to move forward into the dark abyss absent some certainty that the government won’t shackle them with more taxes and regulations down the road. America has had enough of that brand of “help.” It’s time for something different.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
#84 - A Memorial Day Sunday Special
(Yes, this is another long one. It contains 2 items. I think they*re both worth your time. Enjoy!)
GOLD STAR MOTHER (A Gold Star Mother is any American woman whose child has died in the line of duty of the United States Armed Forces.)
By Keo R. Gathman
(Keo herself is a former Marine, the sister of a soldier killed in Viet Nam ('70), and her son is in the Army.)
As she stands beside his grave
On yet another Memorial Day,
She remembers the boy she sent away
And how he became the man resting here today.
His heroes didn't become famous playing ball.
In fact most of their names were never well known at all.
They went to work wearing camouflage green and desert brown,
Earning their reputation as the toughest warriors around.
When he first saw them in dress blues
The heart within her little boy knew,
That nothing short of becoming one of them would do.
Time all too quickly passed by
As childhood things were put aside,
And his heart's desire would not be denied.
"I love you, Mom" he said one day
"But the time has come for me to go away,"
And she knew his decision she couldn't sway.
Through tears she tried so hard to keep inside
She told her baby boy goodbye.
Writing him letters nearly every day
She often took the time to pray,
"Lord be with my boy today."
"Help him clearly see the man I know that he can be,
Grant him his most cherished dream,
Let him come home, a United States Marine."
When the time came for him to go to war
She feared as she had never feared before,
Prayed there would be no knock on her front door.
They came that day dressed in their blues
And though in her heart she already knew,
She cried out "No, it can't be true."
The man child she had sent away
Was at last coming home to stay.
He never doubted what they did was right,
And he never wavered in the fight.
Forever and always as in his childhood dreams,
Her boy remains a United States Marine.
Copyright 2006 Keo R. Gathman ( beakerless@hotmail.com ). Permission is granted to send this to others, with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.
P.S. - *A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount up to and including their life.* (author unknown)
Memorial Day 2010, Gratitude
by Chuck Colson, Breakpoint.com May 28, 2010
Memorial Day is when we honor the men and women of our Armed Services who have made "the supreme sacrifice;" who gave their lives for their country.Especially these days, when Memorial Day seems nothing more than a time for cookouts and swim parties, we cannot be reminded often enough about how great a debt we owe our war dead.
They gave up their hopes and dreams, families and friends. They submitted themselves to rigorous discipline—something I understand as a former Marine—24-hour a day duty, and placed their lives in great peril. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Their sacrifice should inspire in us a profound sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, bought with a price. And that gratitude should compel us to lives of service as well. Serving Christ, our neighbor, and yes, our nation.
I can't help but recall the brilliant film Saving Private Ryan. James Ryan, now in his seventies, has returned with his family to the military cemetery in Normandy. He visits the grave of Captain John Miller, the man who, a half a century before, led the mission to retrieve—to save—Private Ryan. At the end of the mission, Miller was fatally wounded. As he lay dying, his final words to Private Ryan were, "James. Earn this...earn it." We then see Ryan kneeling at Captain Miller's grave, marked by a cross. Ryan, his voice trembling with emotion, says, "Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me." Red-eyed, Ryan turns to his wife and says, "Tell me I've led a good life...tell me I am a good man." With great dignity, she says, "You are." With that, James Ryan salutes the grave of Captain Miller.( I tell this story in greater detail in my book The Good Life, which you can purchase at ColsonCenter.org.)
You see, Private Ryan, out of gratitude for Captain Miller's sacrifice, did all in his power to live a good life. And Memorial Day is a great time for each of us to look into the mirror...to examine our own lives. Are we living good lives in gratitude for all those who have sacrificed for us—including our men and women in the military, our families, our friends, and most of all Christ?Are we, like Ryan, kneeling before the cross—Spielberg, a master cinematographer had to realize the power of this imagery. Are we, out of gratitude, doing our duty for Christ, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to those in prison, in whatever harvest field to which the Lord has called us? Examine your life.
And this Memorial Day, at the very least, thank those who have sacrificed for you and those you know who have served in our nation's armed forces. Maybe you'll do what I do when you see a guy or gal in uniform...at the airport, at the store, wherever...walk up to them and thank them for their service. And then go and remember Whom it is you serve.
GOLD STAR MOTHER (A Gold Star Mother is any American woman whose child has died in the line of duty of the United States Armed Forces.)
By Keo R. Gathman
(Keo herself is a former Marine, the sister of a soldier killed in Viet Nam ('70), and her son is in the Army.)
As she stands beside his grave
On yet another Memorial Day,
She remembers the boy she sent away
And how he became the man resting here today.
His heroes didn't become famous playing ball.
In fact most of their names were never well known at all.
They went to work wearing camouflage green and desert brown,
Earning their reputation as the toughest warriors around.
When he first saw them in dress blues
The heart within her little boy knew,
That nothing short of becoming one of them would do.
Time all too quickly passed by
As childhood things were put aside,
And his heart's desire would not be denied.
"I love you, Mom" he said one day
"But the time has come for me to go away,"
And she knew his decision she couldn't sway.
Through tears she tried so hard to keep inside
She told her baby boy goodbye.
Writing him letters nearly every day
She often took the time to pray,
"Lord be with my boy today."
"Help him clearly see the man I know that he can be,
Grant him his most cherished dream,
Let him come home, a United States Marine."
When the time came for him to go to war
She feared as she had never feared before,
Prayed there would be no knock on her front door.
They came that day dressed in their blues
And though in her heart she already knew,
She cried out "No, it can't be true."
The man child she had sent away
Was at last coming home to stay.
He never doubted what they did was right,
And he never wavered in the fight.
Forever and always as in his childhood dreams,
Her boy remains a United States Marine.
Copyright 2006 Keo R. Gathman ( beakerless@hotmail.com ). Permission is granted to send this to others, with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.
P.S. - *A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount up to and including their life.* (author unknown)
Memorial Day 2010, Gratitude
by Chuck Colson, Breakpoint.com May 28, 2010
Memorial Day is when we honor the men and women of our Armed Services who have made "the supreme sacrifice;" who gave their lives for their country.Especially these days, when Memorial Day seems nothing more than a time for cookouts and swim parties, we cannot be reminded often enough about how great a debt we owe our war dead.
They gave up their hopes and dreams, families and friends. They submitted themselves to rigorous discipline—something I understand as a former Marine—24-hour a day duty, and placed their lives in great peril. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Their sacrifice should inspire in us a profound sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, bought with a price. And that gratitude should compel us to lives of service as well. Serving Christ, our neighbor, and yes, our nation.
I can't help but recall the brilliant film Saving Private Ryan. James Ryan, now in his seventies, has returned with his family to the military cemetery in Normandy. He visits the grave of Captain John Miller, the man who, a half a century before, led the mission to retrieve—to save—Private Ryan. At the end of the mission, Miller was fatally wounded. As he lay dying, his final words to Private Ryan were, "James. Earn this...earn it." We then see Ryan kneeling at Captain Miller's grave, marked by a cross. Ryan, his voice trembling with emotion, says, "Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me." Red-eyed, Ryan turns to his wife and says, "Tell me I've led a good life...tell me I am a good man." With great dignity, she says, "You are." With that, James Ryan salutes the grave of Captain Miller.( I tell this story in greater detail in my book The Good Life, which you can purchase at ColsonCenter.org.)
You see, Private Ryan, out of gratitude for Captain Miller's sacrifice, did all in his power to live a good life. And Memorial Day is a great time for each of us to look into the mirror...to examine our own lives. Are we living good lives in gratitude for all those who have sacrificed for us—including our men and women in the military, our families, our friends, and most of all Christ?Are we, like Ryan, kneeling before the cross—Spielberg, a master cinematographer had to realize the power of this imagery. Are we, out of gratitude, doing our duty for Christ, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to those in prison, in whatever harvest field to which the Lord has called us? Examine your life.
And this Memorial Day, at the very least, thank those who have sacrificed for you and those you know who have served in our nation's armed forces. Maybe you'll do what I do when you see a guy or gal in uniform...at the airport, at the store, wherever...walk up to them and thank them for their service. And then go and remember Whom it is you serve.
Friday, May 27, 2011
#83 - Looking At Natural Disasters Biblically
[Note: The following commentary was posted in the wake of the Alabama tornado destruction earlier this month but it has obvious application to the continued devastating natural disasters rocking our nation.]
1. Don't forget to check out "The Coral Ridge (half) Hour" this Sunday (in Orlando, 5 p.m., channel 55.1 In partiuclar, the later portion of the broadcast will contain an excerpt from a highly acclaimed documentary caled "Agenda" that exposes what many believe is behind the many unwelcome challenges to our nation the past 20 years. A fascinating, incredible presentation. Please don't miss this!)
2. Don't forget to view the editorial cartoons at http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/ Always great stuff!
In the Aftermath of the Tornadoes
By: Chuck Colson, Breakpoint.com, May 2, 2011
Once again, nature has brought devastation to the lives of men.... As terrible as the Tuscaloosa tornado was -- and watching the video, it looked like one of plagues of Egypt -- it was only part of an outbreak that killed at least 263 people in six states. It was deadliest outbreak of tornadoes since 1974, when a storm system in the Midwest killed 315 people. It is natural to try and make sense of out terrible events such as this. Some people will see it as a sign of the end times. That’s always speculative. It would be presumptuous to offer definitive lessons, but there are eternal truths that calamities like this should bring to mind.
The first is that, as theologian David Bentley Hart once put it, we “exist in the long melancholy aftermath of a primordial catastrophe.” The result is that “this is a broken and wounded world” and “that the universe languishes in bondage to ‘powers’ and ‘principalities’ -- spiritual and terrestrial -- alien to God.” Thus, the world that is our home, that nourishes and sustains us, can turn on us, kill us, and destroy the work of our hands, as the people of Alabama and Japan have recently learned in such a tragic way.
The second lesson is that there is little, if anything, we can do about it. To think we can control nature or, “heal the planet” (as President Obama once said in a public address), is folly. For starters, we simply don’t possess that kind of knowledge or power. We can barely warn people to seek shelter immediately, whether in Japan or Alabama. We’re not as clever as we like to think. More importantly, creation doesn’t need to be “healed,” much less controlled -- it needs to be redeemed. In Romans, the apostle Paul speaks of creation "groaning," of it being “subjected to frustration” and in “bondage to decay,” a frustration and bondage that will only end when the children of God are fully revealed. Its destiny and ours are inextricably intertwined until Christ’s return.
The third lesson is about the fragility of human life. On the same day that hundreds were killed by tornadoes, evangelist and pastor David Wilkerson died in an automobile accident. The one thing I’m fairly certain they had in common was that none of them woke up and said, “Today is the day I will die.” But they did. And some day, so will we. We should live our lives in light of that fragility. Not in a morbid sense, but as motivation to love God and our neighbor. We shouldn’t go to bed without asking, “Did I walk as a Child of the Light today? Did I serve Christ in whatever guise he came to me?” No one is promised another chance to answer those questions in the affirmative, so let’s get it right today. Getting it right means, as Hart put it, “[hating] death and waste and the imbecile forces of chance that shatter living souls.”
And it means being in solidarity with those who have been shattered -- by prayer and works of mercy that bind the wounds inflicted by those imbecilic forces -- always aware that before we know it, we may not have another chance to do so.
1. Don't forget to check out "The Coral Ridge (half) Hour" this Sunday (in Orlando, 5 p.m., channel 55.1 In partiuclar, the later portion of the broadcast will contain an excerpt from a highly acclaimed documentary caled "Agenda" that exposes what many believe is behind the many unwelcome challenges to our nation the past 20 years. A fascinating, incredible presentation. Please don't miss this!)
2. Don't forget to view the editorial cartoons at http://www.worldmag.com/editorialcartoons/ Always great stuff!
In the Aftermath of the Tornadoes
By: Chuck Colson, Breakpoint.com, May 2, 2011
Once again, nature has brought devastation to the lives of men.... As terrible as the Tuscaloosa tornado was -- and watching the video, it looked like one of plagues of Egypt -- it was only part of an outbreak that killed at least 263 people in six states. It was deadliest outbreak of tornadoes since 1974, when a storm system in the Midwest killed 315 people. It is natural to try and make sense of out terrible events such as this. Some people will see it as a sign of the end times. That’s always speculative. It would be presumptuous to offer definitive lessons, but there are eternal truths that calamities like this should bring to mind.
The first is that, as theologian David Bentley Hart once put it, we “exist in the long melancholy aftermath of a primordial catastrophe.” The result is that “this is a broken and wounded world” and “that the universe languishes in bondage to ‘powers’ and ‘principalities’ -- spiritual and terrestrial -- alien to God.” Thus, the world that is our home, that nourishes and sustains us, can turn on us, kill us, and destroy the work of our hands, as the people of Alabama and Japan have recently learned in such a tragic way.
The second lesson is that there is little, if anything, we can do about it. To think we can control nature or, “heal the planet” (as President Obama once said in a public address), is folly. For starters, we simply don’t possess that kind of knowledge or power. We can barely warn people to seek shelter immediately, whether in Japan or Alabama. We’re not as clever as we like to think. More importantly, creation doesn’t need to be “healed,” much less controlled -- it needs to be redeemed. In Romans, the apostle Paul speaks of creation "groaning," of it being “subjected to frustration” and in “bondage to decay,” a frustration and bondage that will only end when the children of God are fully revealed. Its destiny and ours are inextricably intertwined until Christ’s return.
The third lesson is about the fragility of human life. On the same day that hundreds were killed by tornadoes, evangelist and pastor David Wilkerson died in an automobile accident. The one thing I’m fairly certain they had in common was that none of them woke up and said, “Today is the day I will die.” But they did. And some day, so will we. We should live our lives in light of that fragility. Not in a morbid sense, but as motivation to love God and our neighbor. We shouldn’t go to bed without asking, “Did I walk as a Child of the Light today? Did I serve Christ in whatever guise he came to me?” No one is promised another chance to answer those questions in the affirmative, so let’s get it right today. Getting it right means, as Hart put it, “[hating] death and waste and the imbecile forces of chance that shatter living souls.”
And it means being in solidarity with those who have been shattered -- by prayer and works of mercy that bind the wounds inflicted by those imbecilic forces -- always aware that before we know it, we may not have another chance to do so.
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