Walking Humbly

How are we to respond to social evils and immorality? This is a huge question. Unfortunately, too many of us aren't even aware of it. We see society accepting things that are clearly contrary to the Word of God and we scream at the top of our lungs, No! Acceptance of homosexuality and homosexual marriage, abortion, euthanasia, pornography, child abuse, human trafficking…The list is endless.

The trouble we have is that while we see sin for what it is, we spend too much time focusing on the sinner,and in the wrong way.

Yes, these things are wrong and they should not be sanctioned. But attacking the sinner is like throwing the baby  out with the bathwater. 

As emissaries of the One True King, ought we not behave that way? 

Micah 6:8 says 

He has shown you, o man, what is good
and what the Lord requires of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Its a question. What does the Lord require of you? The world loves the darkness. We are to be the light. But in truth and love.

We don't have to compromise our beliefs, but we don't have to compromise our love for the lost either.

What would Dr. King say?

In a recent press release, Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, said the following,

Why can't we have health care that provides healthy bodies for our families without the death and destruction offered by harmful contraceptives and abortions? I'm a mother and a grandmother. My girls do not need free contraceptives and abortions. My sons and grandsons don't need free condoms and easy access to abortions for the females in their relationships. They all need good education, healthy meals, decent homes and healthy morals and values.

The breakdown of morality in this country has emboldened liberal politicians to push contraceptive and abortion funding to the point where they will not negotiate on either point. The Department of Health and Human Services is charged with protecting the safety and well being of our citizens, but this is done selectively. To mandate that all health plans provide free contraceptives and abortion pills is to omit the safety of boys and girls at their most vulnerable age, and to encourage men to ignore their responsibilities in creating life and women in carrying life.

In a 1967 Christmas sermon, Martin Luther King said "The next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. ...Man is a child of God, made in His image, and therefore must be respected as such."

In the eyes of the architects of the HHS mandate, human life is not sacred, is not made in the image of God, and does not deserve respect.

 http://www.theconservativepundit.net/?page_id=1155

Shutdown Over Failure

I am so tired of the partisan politics in my country. But I am even more tired of the relentless obfuscation of the truth by the press.

Shortly after the midnight deadline passed, and the Federal Government shut down, BBC News ran with this lead,

The US government has begun a partial shutdown after the Republican-led House of Representatives refused to approve a budget for next year.

The House actually has passed numerous budget bills, several this week in fact. They just weren't anything the Senate like enough to sign onto. Whether or not you agree with their stance on the issues or their decision making, you should still portray the facts accurately.

This is also from the BBC article,

Shortly after midnight, President Obama tweeted: "They actually did it. A group of Republicans in the House just forced a government shutdown over Obamacare instead of passing a real budget."

 It may be true that the President tweeted those remarks, but his argument is disingenuous. He knows full well that both parties are to blame. The Republicans may not be willing to make concessions, but neither are the Democrats.


CNN's coverage began innocently and accurately enough,

"The two sides bickered and blamed each other for more than a week over Obamacare, the president's signature health care law. House Republicans insisted the spending bill include anti-Obamacare amendments. Senate Democrats were just as insistent that it didn't."

But soon drifted.

"Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen said the reason there wasn't a budget deal is because Republicans refused to negotiate months ago.

 "They want to go to conference with 45 minutes left," Van Hollen said late Monday night. "That is a recipe for a government shutdown."

Again, the budget process didn't begin the night of the shutdown. Publishing falsehoods and misrepresentations muddies the waters and leaves one wondering if this wasn't one of the purposes for such reporting in the first place.

The comment on CNN, that "The two sides bickered and blamed each other for more than a week over Obamacare, the president's signature health care law," doesn't tell the whole story either. The truth is the gauntlet was thrown down when the Affordable Care Act was voted upon and signed into law before more than a few had a chance to read it, and before anyone had the the time to digest it.It was pushed fast and furiously by the administration, as though to get it into law before anyone could dissect it.

The Republicans lost when enough of them helped make it law. They will lose this round as well, because the Democratic Party has claimed, with great support from the 5th Estate, the moral high ground.

Holding Shares

A lot is made of large conglomerates and their impact on humanity. Whether its a multinational banking and investment firm, a big box retailer, pharmaceutical manufacturer, or a firm like Monsanto that has made it big in the genetic engineering of agricultural products, there's just something about businesses so big that we cannot grasp their enormity, nor can we find it in ourselves to accept them.

I think we have a basic class envy when it comes to successful companies. Like the proletariate of ancient Rome, we lack the where-with -all to be as prosperous and we see them as the enemy.

I'm not saying these companies are lily white in their dealings. The truth is any company that is beholden to its shareholders will behave in a dispassionate manner when dealing with the public and the planet. The bottom line takes precedent.

But why? Because unless they have no competition they must guard tooth and nail against falling behind and that means making decisions that do not benefit anyone but those stockholders.

Is Monsanto creating a cabal bent on controlling the world? Is Walmart bent on eliminating all mom and pop shops? I doubt either of these is true, but their business practices make such ends inevitable.

Ultimately, its stockholders that are letting this happen. And will until the money stops.

Incubating Hostility

Yes, its been a long time between postings.

The 2012 elections are only a memory. Obamacare is wriggling its way into our lives, both corporately and privately. The Fiscal Cliff has been sidestepped for the moment. The debt ceiling is proving to be as nimble as the Cheshire Cat.

And yet we survive.

The question is for how long? While special interests jockey for position in the buffet line that is the Federal teat, liberals and conservatives argue over increases in spending, cuts in spending, spending for the sake of spending.

And they kick the can a little farther down the road.

Sooner or later, someone's going to have to pay for all of this. Or, can we really get away with simply printing more and more money? Did it work for the Weimar Republic? Will Greece, Italy, and Spain ever prosper again without the EU printing more and more Euros?

In a perfect world, everyone would have plentiful health care, food, and shelter. Everyone would be in agreement and everyone would be happy to give to those who have not. But this is not the world we are developing.

Big government is an incubator.

Taking from those with more to give to those in need instills a sense of unfairness among those who are being taken from. This doesn't mean they are stingy, miserly, or mean spirited. It means they resent someone else deciding who should benefit from their hard work.

The intent is noble to be sure. And in some instances it takes a governmental institution to get something accomplished. But like everything else in our society we have let the pendulum swing too far.

Rather than encouraging hard working folks to reach into their pockets and give a helping hand to those in need, big government takes what it believes is its fair share and does the redistributing itself. This does nothing to engender philanthropy and everything to develop a bunker mentality when it comes to taxes of any kind.

Giving what it takes from others instills in those receiving a sense of resentment that they must accept handouts, presumably taken from those who are wealthy enough to have more than they need and who are forced through taxation to share. It creates animosity and class welfare. It creates anger in those who receive when they feel threatened at the thought of losing any of the handouts that they need.

Even the nomenclature instills animosity. Entitlements - This is not just needed, it is deserved. Rich- If you own more than I do you are rich and if you are rich you must have gotten that way on the backs of the poor.

Steadily, we are driving a wedge between these two groups.

For the last fifty years, the government has made itself the final arbiter in matters of conscience. We have driven God from the public arena. He cannot be mentioned in schools, courts, or other public venues. We are told this makes our schools, courts, etc, safer for all. We need not worry about someone trying to force their morality on us any longer.

But morality, like space, abhors a vacuum. The religious morality that sought to instill things like a sense of fair play, sharing with your neighbor, kindness to strangers, respect for others, has been replaced with the teaching of the good of the state. The state will tell you what fair is, who your neighbor is, what kindness is, who deserves respect.

We are the government. We have met the enemy, at it is us.

Voter Fraud Bias

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at New York University Law School, 

Fraud by individual voters is both irrational and extremely rare. Most citizens who take the time to vote offer their legitimate signatures and sworn oaths with the gravitas that this hard-won civic right deserves....Because voter fraud is essentially irrational, it is not surprising that no credible evidence suggests a voter fraud epidemic. There is no documented wave or trend of individuals voting multiple times, voting as someone else, or voting despite knowing that they are ineligible.

 So, if this is so, then as the Riddler would say, "Riddle me this,"

In February, the Pew Center on the States released a study called Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient showing that about 24 million U.S. voter registrations were no longer valid or had significant inaccuracies.

The research found: more than 1.8 million dead people listed as voters; about 2.75 million with voter registrations in more than one state; and about 12 million voter records with incorrect addresses, meaning either the voters moved or errors in the information make it unlikely any mailings can reach them. 

The Brennan Center for Justice calls itself 

...a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice.

The Pew Center on the States says,

The Pew Center on the States provides nonpartisan reporting and research, advocacy, and technical assistance to help states deliver better results and achieve long-term fiscal health by investing in programs that provide the strongest returns.

And yet they have reached disparate conclusions regarding voter fraud.

From the September 16th, 2012, Columbus Dispatch, 

More than one out of every five registered Ohio voters is probably ineligible to vote. In two counties, the number of registered voters actually exceeds the voting-age population: Northwestern Ohio’s Wood County shows 109 registered voters for every 100 eligible, while in Lawrence County along the Ohio River it’s a mere 104 registered per 100 eligible. 

And yet we hear over and over again that voter fraud is not an issue. It has no impact on elections.

Ohio is crucial to the 2012 Presidential elections, and yet time and time again we are told that it would be unfair to require proper identification in order to vote.

We require a photo ID to buy a beer. Is that more important that voting?



http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/policy_brief_on_the_truth_about_voter_fraud/ 
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/16/voter-rolls-in-ohio-are-bloated-experts-say.html
http://www.pewstates.org/about/mission-85899372169
http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=85899370677

Voter ID Nonsense

Not too long ago, I went to a restaurant with my son. When he ordered a beer, the waitress asked for his ID. A few days back, I was at a convenience store when a young man asked the clerk for a pack of cigarettes. They carded him as well. When I picked up my prescriptions at the drug store they required a proof of identity before they would give the medicine to me.

With these facts in mind, I wonder. How do seniors and minorities manage to buy alcohol? How do get the store to give them cigarettes? And how do they get the drug store to give them their prescriptions?

Well, you say, they simply pull out a driver's license, or another photo ID, and voila!

Really? It's that simple? Huh. 

A judge in Pennsylvania just blocked a PA voter ID law because he thinks its too hard for seniors and minorities to get an ID in time for the elections. How do they get around? They must all take public transportation. And they don't smoke, and they don't drink.

Democrats say any law requiring voters to show proof of identity is an attempt to prevent minorities and seniors from voting for Obama.

With that logic,

Minorities and seniors must have the lowest lung cancer and alcoholism rates in the world.

Good thing too. They'll never be able to pick up a prescription.