on the Role of Government

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.- Thomas Jefferson

some Tmes a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Obama's Vacation Choice Reveals Much

I was reading online newspapers and came across a story that shocked me. The opening paragraphs reads as follows, "KAILUA, Hawaii — While on vacation in Hawaii, the Obama family is staying in a $9 million single-story oceanfront home in a laid-back neighborhood over the mountain from downtown Honolulu where the president-elect grew up.

The five-bedroom wood frame house sits on almost an acre of land fronting Kailua Beach, a favorite spot for windsurfers, kayakers and dogwalkers."

It would seem to me in a time of economic trouble that was created in large part by greed and excess that what is needed form our president elect is not the renting of a 9 million dollar beach house in Hawaii on top of spending millions and millions to win election but instead a display of modest living and restraint. I am not saying that it is wrong to rent a vacation home, or to go on vacation. What I am saying is that this particular choice seems a poor choice in light of the public nature of his position. He had an opportunity to show constraint in his vacation choice but instead Obama has demonstrated to me that no matter how much he will tell me in that he relates and understands my economic situation, he indeed does not understand and can not sympathize with those in foreclosure. He can not relate with those who have lost jobs or their retirement funds or both.

on the History of Liberty

The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it. - Woodrow Wilson

Responding to the 2008 Presidential Election: a Christian Perspective (part 5)

The last kind of ruler I would like to discuss starts out like the Pharaohs and Harad of the world and end up like David. To see this last type of ruler lets look at the book of Daniel.

“All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

Nebuchadnezzar was a proud man who was a ruler of the greatest nation in the world and God humbled him and saved him. This is my Pray for Obama; God save him and then allow him to lead with humility. There is so much hope for the workd in this section from Daniel, there is hope for the leaders of the world to do righteousness. Let us pray to that effect.

on True Nature of Conservativism

It is well known that the most radical revolutionary will become a conservative on the day after the revolution.- Hannah Arendt

Is There an Advantage of Incumbency in Congressional Elections and if so what Explains why it is Taking Pace?

There has been a strong advantage for incumbents for the last 100 years and margin of victory has been increasing since the 1960’s . This widening of the margin of victory is known as the vanishing margins. House incumbents perform slightly better than senate incumbents in their reelection efforts, wining reelection 90% of time to the incumbent senators’ 75% reelection rate. The reason for senators being defeated more often is that it is a bigger prize to be won than a house race. As a result there are better challenges due to the fact that the election is state wide allowing for more to run than in a given house district that only represents 480,000 people. What explains this advantage is fourfold; the four things reasonable for the high reelection rate of incumbents is that they discourage quality challengers, they have name recognition, they serve there districts though constituent services, earmarks, and pork and lastly, they are helped through partisan gerrymandering of district lines for the house. First in regard to the incumbent being able to discourage quality challengers, a quality challenger is defined as anyone who has run for public office before and won. Two factors allow for incumbents to discourage quality challengers. The first is cost; it costs about $1 million to be competitive in a house face and $30 million in a senate race. The second is the fact that politicians are linked and they have to vacate there current office to run for a higher office, politicians are on a strategic ladder, if you hope off to soon and lose you may not be able to get back on. In light of these challengers most quality challengers wait for an open seat to run for. The second element working to tilt the advantage towards the incumbent is name recognition. This recognition can be split into two measures; recall following two terms in the senate an incumbent senator has 90% name recognition. After 6 years in the House, a house incumbent has 75% name recognition. Third, Congressman spend lots of time on what is called constituents services. Constituent services are non partisan in nature. Examples are John McCain or Harry Mitchell helping Veterans with a getting there benefits. By engaging in this symbolic work on behalf of there constituents they are building favorable feelings and increasing there name recognition. Lastly, Partisan Redistricting has helped to create house districts that have large concentration of one party afflation, allowing for wider victory margins and few quality challengers. For example in Arizona District 4, Ed pastor wins reelection by 75% every time, this is due to the make up of his district electorate. The Republicans part has been helped most by this partisan Gerrymandering.

update

conclusion of perspective series coming later this week, until then enjoy selected essays on congressional elections.

on the moral weightiness of the statement, "does not want child at this time"

In Minnesota , from 1973 to 2002, 461,026 abortions were reported. There were 14,186 in 2002. 50% on women under age 24. 79% were unmarried. 40% has had an abortion before. 60% reported that the reason for their abortion was either economic or “does not want child at this time...” I do not want a child at this time”—we are near the heart of the issue. At this time in American history, that is one of the most powerful sentences a person can speak: “I do not want a child at this time.” It's powerful, because in a world without God, and without submission to his will, the will—the “want”—of a mother has become the will of a god. I say it carefully and calmly and sadly: Our modern, secular, God-dethroning culture has endowed the will (the “want”) of a mother not just with sovereignty over her child, but with something vastly greater. We have endowed her will with the right and the power to create human personhood. When God is no longer the Creator of human personhood, endowing it with dignity and rights in his own image, we must take that role for him, and we have vested it in the will of the mother. She creates personhood. In this sense: Minnesota , along with 33 other states has a fetal homicide law. A crime against a mother that injures or kills her unborn baby will be treated as a crime with two victims, not just one. The law makes it murder to kill an embryo or fetus intentionally, except in cases of abortion.” That is an accurate sentence and should make us tremble. Why? Because it shows that in a world without God, the will of the strong creates (or nullifies) the personhood of the weak. How can there be a fetal homicide law that is not broken by abortion? Why is abortion not fetal homicide? There is one essential answer. In the case of the fetal homicide, the mother wants the baby. In the case of abortion, she does not. The will of the mother is god.
And the awesome thing is that we endow her will not just with sovereignty over her unborn baby, but with the authority to define it: If she wants it, it is a baby, a person. If she does not want it, it is not a baby, not a person.
In other words, in our laws we have now made room for some killing to be justified not on the basis of the rights or crimes of the one killed, but decisively on the basis of the will, the desire, of a stronger person. The decisive criterion of personhood and non-personhood, what is right and wrong, what is legal and what is illegal, is the will of the strong. Might makes right. Might makes personhood. Might makes legal. This is the ultimate statement of anarchy. It is the essence of the original insurrection against God, and against objective truth and right and beauty.
- John Piper from his sermon,” Abortion and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil"
I don't normally comment on the quotes I post, but in this case I can not help it; abortion is the slavery of our day and I pray and invite you pray that a day will come soon when we look back on it with the horror that we look back on the ownership of African Americans in the south. This is a great evil and it must be stopped.