Don't tread on me... unless you are a licensed massage therapist

On Capitalism as a Master

2009-03-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

"Capitalism has trounced all its enemies: socialism and communism and the rest. But it is now at its greatest danger, both as a theory and as something practical in terms of, say, daily consumerism. And we as followers of Jesus must give a theoretical critique of capitalism and a very practical critique of capitalism in terms of shopping malls, etc. And if we don’t, it is going to undermine itself and our culture." - Os Guinness from a 9 Marks.org interview

I Recommend This Months Christianity Today

2009-03-05T12:42:00.000-08:00

I would like to commend to you this months issue of Christianity Today. It contains an article that asks the question, "What would John Calvin say to Dick Cheney?" the Question is posed in regard to the law and how the rulers of God should rule. This article is fantastic. It is brief and to the point. I found it very helpful to my thinking on these issues. I also recommend their political blog. the url is below.
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/

On the Citizens Responsibility to Preserve His Freedoms

2009-03-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

" Those who desire that every individual should preserve his rights, and that all men may live free from injury, must defend the political order [against tyranny] to the utmost of their ability."- John Calvin

HB2564 update

2009-02-26T12:44:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report that the Arizona House Health and Human Services Committee approved HB2564 by a vote of 5-0 because the, “Democrats boycotted the 1 1/2-hour committee hearing, saying they were taking a stand against legislation that would crimp the availability of abortion services and emergency contraception, particularly in rural areas with fewer health care options. ” This is great news! The bill will now be proceed to the full house of a vote! As I have written before the bill would for the following:
1. For health care professionals to not be required to participate in the performance of abortions (under the current law whether you like it or not you are required to help with the surgery.)
2. Create a 24-hour pre abortion waiting period for the women seeking the abortion to consider all of the facts.
3. Increases prenatal rights to now about if an abortion is preformed on a minor.
4. Criminalizes the performance of an abortion by anyone with out a license to practice medicine.

In response to this you need to go to the link below and find your state rep’s email address and write to them asking them to support house bill 2564. Be kind to the rep and be informed. To find good arguments I recommend visiting Abort73..com or looking at my post archive for January.
http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H&SortBy=1

Additionally, please keep praying that the bill passes and more importantly seek to engage the issue on a personal level in two ways; share the gospel with women and find a way to be part of the national pro life movement. A great way to start getting involved is to go to abort73.com and by a T-shirt and wear it.

Arizona House Health Committee to bill 2564; Abortion Consent Act

2009-02-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, Feb 25th 2009, the House Health Committee will hear the Abortion Consent Act, HB 2564. The hearing begins at 9am and if you can I would recommend going down and hearing the legislation debate. You will be given a chance to address the committee and speak into the record. I may well be there, maybe we can sit together. If you can not attend I would ask that you take time to email one of the members of the Health committee asking him to pass the bill on the floor for a full vote. His Name is Ed Ableser and he is a democrat on the committee who is pro choice. He is also one of my state reps. Here is his info: eableser@azleg.gov

I can not articulate how important it is for you take 10 minutes and write a short email to Ed letting him know that you support this legislation. Even more important than your letter is your prayer pray to God that he would allow this legislation to pass. Lives depend on it.. I ask you to pray that this bill passes and is signed into law.

Expanding on the Link Between Slavery and Abortion

2009-02-22T14:10:00.001-08:00

Earlier in the week I posted a status update about the link between slavery and abortion. I need to get this off my chest. I would like to take some time and flush that here more fully. I would like to start with a quote that almost noted me out of my chair.

"[The] incidence of abortion has resulted in a tremendous loss of life. It has been estimated that since 1973 Black women have had about 10 million abortions [probably up to 13 million now]. Michael Novak . . . calculated, “Since the number of current living Blacks (in the U.S.) is 31 million, the missing 10 million represents an enormous loss, for without abortion, America's Black community would now number 41 million persons. It would be 35 percent larger than it is. Abortion has swept through the Black community like a scythe, cutting down every fourth member.” -Rev. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. founder of blackgenocide.org

the link is direct and viable; we (White America) can no longer enslave blacks and we can no longer legally segraget and marginalize them as a community so in the name of freedom and choice we have fooled them in to paying their former white master a fee to kill their future as a community. this is truly horrifying and must be opposed. Again I will allow the African American community to speak for its self.

" We have been fueled by the fire of “women’s rights,” so long that we have become deaf to the outcry of the real victims whose rights are being trampled upon, the babies and the mothers. . . . What about the rights of each baby who is artificially breached before coming to term in his or her mother’s womb, only to have her skull punctured, and feel, yes agonizingly “feel” the life run out of her before she takes her first breath of freedom. What about of the rights of these women who have been called to pioneer the new frontiers of the new millennium only to have their lives snuffed out before the calendar even turns?

Oh, God, what would Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed of having his children judged by the content of their characters do if he’d lived to see the contents of thousands of children’s skulls emptied into the bottomless caverns of the abortionists pits?

It is time for America, perhaps the most blessed nation on earth to lead the world in repentance, and in restoration of life! . . . Abortion is at the forefront of our destruction. Partial Birth Abortion is perhaps the most heinous form of this legal genocide. . . . The only healing and redemption is in the blood of Jesus, blood willingly shed so that we could stand today and cry out for the blood of the unborn that is drenching the land of our children.

. . . [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] once said, “The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.” How can the “Dream” survive if we murder the children? Every aborted baby is like a slave in the womb of his or her mother. . . . If the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is to live, our babies must live. Our mothers must choose life. If we refuse to answer the cry of mercy from the unborn, and ignore the suffering of the mothers, then we are signing our own death warrants.

I too, like Martin Luther King, Jr., have a dream. I have a dream that the men and women, the boys and girls of America will come to our senses, and humble ourselves before God Almighty and pray for mercy, and receive His healing grace. I pray that this is the day, the hour of our deliverance. May God have mercy on us all." -Dr. Alveda C. King is the daughter of Rev. A. D. King, Martin Luther King’s brother. She is the founder of King for America.

Simply put for the democratic party to attempt to be the the party of racial reconciliation is foolishness. Additionally, for those of you who are die hard republicans. I would like to remind you that they are just as lost. read the words of john piper on the issue. writing on his blog Piper hits the nail on the head; the GOP can't save you. Furthermore the GOP of yesterday that all of my republican friends speak so wistfully about can't save you, it can't change anything. Yes, its true that it could maybe on a good day lower my taxes and shrink government, but in light of eternity these are seen as nothing. piper writes, "The inconsistencies of liberal and conservative compassion do not define the nature of good and evil.

That there are liberals who talk compassion for the weak and oppressed, but support the butchery of the weakest persons (the unborn even to the point of birth) does not make abortion less evil.

That there are conservatives who talk compassion for unborn persons, but feel little interest or compassion for their own neighbors, let alone the sorrows of the countless poor, does not make inattentive heartlessness less evil.

That liberals justify their support for butchery in the name of freedom, and conservatives justify their indifference to the miseries of poverty in the name of freedom, does not conceal the selective nature of the freedoms they want. The one says, Keep your hands off my body. The other says, Keep your hands off my wallet.

Will there ever arise a leader who can articulate a dream for overcoming this divide? There is such a Leader. But he will never be elected. His kingdom is “not of this world.” Therefore, it is both infinitely relevant and intolerably repulsive to the world. When he promotes his Way he gets crucified.

Yet, short of his perfection, let us pray that leaders will arise who labor with heart and hand, through Jesus Christ, to be wisely compassionate and to overcome every contradiction of the compassionate heart. "

Jesus. that is it! it is Jesus is who will change things. The political element of all of this has such limitations. Prayer does not. In response to all of this i would ask you to pray that abortion is ended and ask God what part you should play in it. Jesus died for all sins. the abortionist is winnable, the hardcore pro choice girls in my political science classes are winnable. we need to believe in the power of the gospel to change hearts and culture.We need to believe that God can change anything. for those of us who are christian we defy the testimony of the blood of Christ in our own life when we say things like," they will never change...they will only get judgment and condemnation." I ask you to join me in asking God to save them and join me in believing he will.

Please write your state rep about these bills

2009-02-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

Below you fine two bills that you should support by taking the time to write your state rep about.
the first is Arizona house bill 2564 Abortion Consent Act.
It resolves problems in Arizona’s abortion statutes regarding the rights of parents whose minor daughter faces an unplanned pregnancy, the informed consent rights of a woman considering an abortion, and the civil rights of health care professionals not to participate in abortion.
to read the bill in its entirety click or paste the link below:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hb2564p.pdf

the second is House Bill 2400 State Ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.
It Prohibits partial-birth abortion in Arizona law.
to read the bill in its entirety click or paste the link below:
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hb2400p.pdf

There are two things you should do; find out who your rep is and what district you live in. Google your address and look at a map of the house districts or your voter card. be informed. knowing is half the battle. Paste the link below to see a map.
http://www.azredistricting.org/2004legfinal/2004legfinal_phx_lgr.pdf

Here is a list of reps who need to hear your voice; they are democratic reps who have a strong pro choice voting record.paste the link below to see a map.
http://www.azredistricting.org/2004legfinal/2004legfinal_phx_lgr.pdf

Ed Ableser district 17 (my district) eableser@azleg.gov
David Schapira district 17 (my district) dschapira@azleg.gov
Kyrsten Sinema, Assistant Minority Leader 15 D ksinema@azleg.gov
David Lujan, Minority Leader 15 D dlujan@azleg.gov
Eric Meyer 11 D emeyer@azleg.gov
Robert Meza 14 D rmeza@azleg.gov
Rae Waters 20 D rwaters@azleg.gov

A great resource to help with writing a letter is found at:

http://www.azpolicy.org/breaking+news+1+21+09

Click on the fact sheet. It will give you talking points and what you can do.
I can not articulate how important is for you take 10 minutes and write a short letter or email to your state rep letting them know that you support this legislation. Even more important than your letter is your prayer pray to God that he would allow this legislation to pass. Lives depend on it.

on the Truth of Matter

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Nobody wants to perform abortions after ten weeks, because by then you see the features of the baby, hands, feet. It's really barbaric." - abortionist quoted in M.D. Doctors Talk About Themselves, by John Pekkanen, p. 93

the Cost of Choice

2009-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

WHO HAS ABORTIONS?

* At least 80% of all abortions are performed on unmarried women (CDC).

* The abortion ratio for unmarried women is 510 abortions for every 1,000 live births. For married women it is 61 abortions for every 1,000 live births (CDC).

* Women between the ages of 20-24 obtained 33% of all abortions (CDC).

* 50% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25; women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all U.S. abortions and teenagers obtain 17% (AGI).

* Adolescents under 15 years obtained less than 1% of all abortions, but have the highest abortion ratio, 773 abortions for every 1,000 live births (CDC).

* 47% of women who have abortions had at least one previous abortion (AGI).

* Black women are more than 4.8 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.7 times as likely (AGI).

* 43% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 27% identify themselves as Catholic (AGI).

WHY ARE ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

* On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner (AGI).

WHEN DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?

* 88% of all abortions happen during the first trimester, prior to the at 13th week (AGI/CDC).

HOW ARE ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

* 87% of abortions were known to have been performed by curettage (which includes dilatation and evacuation [D&E]). Most curetage abortions are suction procedures (CDC).

* Hysterectomy and hysterotomy were used in less than .01% of all abortions (CDC).

* Medical abortions make up approximately 10% of all abortions reported (CDC).

WHO IS PERFORMING ABORTIONS?

* The number of abortion providers declined by 11% between 1996 and 2000 (from 2,042 to 1,819). It declined another 2% between 2000 and 2005 (from 1,819 to 1,787) (AGI).

* Forty percent of providers offer very early abortions (during the first four weeksâ€™ gestation) and 96% offer abortion at eight weeks. Sixty-seven percent of providers offer at least some second-trimester abortion services (13 weeks or later), and 20% offer abortion after 20 weeks. Only 8% of all abortion providers offer abortions at 24 weeks (AGI).

ABORTION FATALITY

* In 2003 (the most recent year for which data are available), 10 women died as a result of complications from known legal induced abortion (CDC).

* The number of deaths attributable to legal induced abortion was highest before the 1980s (CDC).

* In 1972 (the year before abortion was federally legalized), a total of 24 women died from causes known to be associated with legal abortions, and 39 died as a result of known illegal abortions (CDC).

2009-01-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

Help make the case to end the evil.
These shirts are a great way to start conversations and engage the hurting where they are. they are only $7.50. WWW.ABORT73.ORG

the Hard Facts of the Matter

2009-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS

* In 2005 (the most recent year for which there is reliable data), approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S., down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002, 1.31 million in 2000 and 1.36 million in 1996. From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S. (AGI).

* In 2004, the highest number of reported legal induced abortions occurred in Florida (91,710), NYC (91,673), and Texas (74,801); the fewest occurred in Wyoming (12), South Dakota (814), and Idaho (963) (CDC).

* The abortion ratios by state ranged from a low of 43 abortions per 1,000 live births in Idaho to a high of 770 abortions per 1,000 live births in NYC (CDC).

* Overall, the annual number of legal induced abortions in the United States increased gradually from 1973 until it peaked in 1990, and it generally declined thereafter (CDC).

* In 1998, the last year for which estimates were made, more than 23% of legal induced abortions were performed in California (CDC).

* The abortion rate in the United States was higher than recent rates reported for Canada and Western European countries and lower than rates reported for China, Cuba, the majority of Eastern European countries, and certain Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (CDC).

* The national legal induced abortion ratio increased from 196 abortions per 1,000 live births in 1973 to 358 abortions per 1,000 in 1979 and remained nearly stable through 1981. The ratio peaked at 364 abortions per 1,000 live births in 1984 and since then has demonstrated a generally steady decline. In 2001, the abortion ratio was 246 abortions per 1,000 live births (for the states that reported, a 0.4% increase from 2000 (CDC).

* Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended; about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion. (AGI).

THE COST OF ABORTION

* In 2005, the cost of a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks of gestation ranged from $90 to $1,800, and the average amount paid was $413 (AGI).

MEDICAL ABORTION

* In 2005, 57% of abortion providers, or 1,026 facilities, provided one or more types of medical abortions, a 70% increase from the first half of 2001. At least 10% of nonhospital abortion providers offer only medication abortion services (AGI).

* In 2005, an estimated 161,100 early medication abortions were performed in nonhospital facilities (AGI).

* Medication abortion accounted for 13% of all abortions, and 22% of abortions before nine weeksâ€™ gestation, in 2005 (AGI).

ABORTION AND CONTRACEPTION

* Induced abortions usually result from unintended pregnancies, which often occur despite the use of contraception (CDC).

* 54% of women having abortions used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. Amont those women, 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users reported using the methods inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users reported correct use (AGI).

* 8% of women having abortions have never used a method of birth control (AGI).

* 9 in 10 women at risk of unintended pregnancy are using a contraceptive method (AGI).

ABORTION AND MINORS

* 40% of minors having an abortion report that neither of their parents knew about the abortion (AGI).

* 35 states currently enforce parental consent or notification laws for minors seeking an abortion: AL, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA,WI, WV, and WY. The Supreme Court ruled that minors must have the alternative of seeking a court order authorizing the procedure (AGI).

ABORTION AND PUBLIC FUNDS

* The U.S. Congress has barred the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, except when the woman's life would be endangered by a full-term pregnancy or in cases of rape or incest (AGI).

* 17 states (AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, IL, MA, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA and WV) do use public funds to pay for abortions for some poor women. About 14% of all abortions in the United States are paid for with public funds (virtually all from the state) (AGI).

to learn more visit www.abort73.org

Thoughts on Our New President

2009-01-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

It doesn't matter if you voted for him or not, this is amazing and historic. His election is one more step towards the fulfillment of the words of Dr. King, " I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." What Obama has done is a fulfillment of the american dream; the part of it where if you work hard you can be anything you want. While I am opposed to how he will conduct policy on most issues and am angered at his choices on life and abortion, today is historic and important and I will not try and take that away from him. I am hopeful that he will do much good and I fear that the pressures of the position will be too much, but in the end I am simply happy to move forward, away from the divisive politics of the election, away for the misguided Wilsionianism of the Bush years, towards a lively and civil conversation about the direction we should go in as nation. Over the next four years you will see me call him and others on the carpet, and in doing that I am fulfilling another part of the American dream; the part where we are free to think and feel and express our thoughts on the government with out fear. So today as we and many others walk in tandem with Obama with the goal of improving America, some of use through policy, some of use through analysis of that policy, all of use working for the common good,we will together archive the dream Dr. King spoke of so many years ago.

On Being President

2009-01-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous
administration for his troubles. -Author Unknown

MLK, Jesus and the Kind of Man Needed to Fight for Racial Equality

2009-01-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

What kind of man is needed to bring black and white together? What kind of man is can do that? What kind of man can over come such hate?

I am a lover of MLK and what he stood for. I am also a lover of God thru Jesus and all that He Died for...including Martin Luther King. I believe that Dr. King met God 12 years before that day a shot rang out in Memphis. below is the account of Kings conversion. I have always found it striking that only a man of God was capable of moving America towards racial equality.

"He put his head in his hands and bowed over the table. “Oh Lord,” he prayed aloud, “I’m down here trying to do what is right. But, Lord, I must confess that I’m weak now. I’m afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I can’t face it alone.”

He sat there, his head still bowed in his hands, tears burning his eyes. But then he felt something—a presence, a stirring in himself. And it seemed that an inner voice was speaking to him with quiet assurance: “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And, lo, I will be with you, even unto the end of the world.” He saw lightning flash. He heard thunder roar. It was the voice of Jesus telling him still to fight on. And “he promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone. No, never alone, No, never alone. He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone . . . .”

He raised his head. He felt stronger now. He could face the morrow. Whatever happened, God in His wisdom meant it to be. King’s trembling stopped, and he felt an inner calm he had never experienced before. He realized that “I can stand up without fear. I can face anything.” And for he first time God was profoundly real and personal to him. The idea of a personal God was no longer some “metaphysical category” he found philosophically and theologically satisfying. No, God was very close to him now, a living God who could transform “the fatigue of despair into the buoyancy of hope” and who would never, ever leave him alone." (Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., 85)

So, returning to my original question of what kind of man can overcome that kind of hate; it is clear that only a God-Man can overcome that and only a man who has been covered by the God-Man's blood can seek to fight for true justice.

to see Pipers thoughts on this same portion of the book, visit http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1163_when_mlk_first_met_god/

it is where I go this post began.

Thoughts to Consider on the Eve of a New Era

2009-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

The citizen can bring our political and governmental instiutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can. - John Gardner

2009-01-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

GET THESE SHIRTS AND
SPEAK FOR THE WEAK.ONLY $7.50!!! WWW.ABORT73.ORG

on the Great Evil of Our Time 2

2009-01-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

"If the unborn is not a human person, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human person, no justification for abortion is adequate." - Gregory Koukl

2009-01-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

Abort73.com has these great shirts for only $7.50 a piece! They are AMERICAN apparel! you can't walk in to an AMERICAN apparel store and get a plain T for that little. do yourself a favor and go get one and wear it. I wear mine to class at ASU and get to talk with women about life and love. WWW.ABORT73.COM

on The Great Evil of Our Time 1

2009-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

"Simple morality dictates that unless and until someone can prove the unborn human is not alive, we must give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it is (alive). And, thus, it should be entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." - Ronald Reagan 1982

Preparing for the 36th aniversery of Roe V. Wade.

2009-01-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

On January 22, 1973 the supreme court ruled that abortion was legal in the first three months of pregnancy. In response to this over 49,551,703 children have been killed at the hands of their mothers in the past 36 years. The majority opinion from the case reads, "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." The 36th anniversary is on next Thursday.I would invite you to read along with me as I ponder this act, point to alternatives,and point out ways to respond. I will be posting quotes about the topic the whole week, along with data about abortion in an attempt to shed light on the evil it is, and pointing you to great resources. Lastly, I would ask you to consider fasting and praying on behalf of the unborn on Thursday.To be honest just thinking about it makes me not want to eat anyway.

the BART Shooting, Obama, Race Relations & the True Divding Line Amoung Men.

2009-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

So I’m listening to “all things considered” on NPR yesterday ( I know for some of you this was my first mistake), and they do this story on the black community’s response to the new years shooting of a young, unarmed black man by a transit cop. For those of you who don’t know what happened here is a brief run down, “Witnesses said Mehserle, who is white, fired a shot into the back of 22-year-old Oscar Grant while the supermarket worker was lying facedown on a train platform at a station in Oakland. Grant and others had been pulled off a train after reports of fighting, as New Year's Eve revelers were shuttling home after midnight. ‘Videos of the action show him being pushed facedown,’ Gonzales says. ‘Officer Mehserle has his knee in his back. Then the officer rises, pulls out his gun and shoots Grant in the back. The officer looks momentarily stunned.’” The video of the whole thing was captured on a cell phone and placed on youtube. These lead to rioting and protests in the bay area last week. While this is appealing and sad what is even sadder to me is the comment of an African American later in the piece. She says to the effect of the following ‘ this is strange week due to the election of Obama and the hopes tied up in him… this killing brings us as a black community back to reality. This stopped me dead in my tracks. I’m done with my dinner. All I’m doing int hat moment is thinking; thinking about race, thinking about the misplaced hopes of one community and the misplaced fears of another in regard to Obama, thinking about the way sin makes no race superior, thinking about the true dividing line of life, if you are in Christ or not. What I walked away with was this; the true reality of the situation as nasty as it was is that due to sin this should be expected, yes we should try and prevent it from happening, but when it does it should not shock us. Second, to hold the view that one racial group is better or worse than another in light of the universality of the fall of man is to ignore the facts. All men are evil, all hate god and all, whether black, white, purple or blue can and would kill of all common grace was removed. additionally to think that one man who is not God will be to you all the things you have collectively hoped for as community for the last 400 years is unfair not only to him, (think of the pressure of that task) or the community as a whole (how cheap to allow one man to define and embody what you are as a people). Lastly, I reflected on the true divide among men; being in Christ or not. This is an amazing divide. The power to heal all racial conflict is rapped up in it. The keys of life an pain are rapped up in it. In the end the color of your skin is not important, but if Christ die to save that skin.

2009-01-13T23:13:00.001-08:00

This week Obama indicated that he intends to close Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba. To this I say Amen. This prison and the actions taken there against enemy combatants captured in Afghanistan have in my estimation done more harm than good. I will not take time to outline or argue about the costs and benefits here. What I will say is that while I am very pleased that Obama will be closing the now infamous prison, it is important to point out that this will be a mute point if He does not make a clear break with many of the Bush administration's policies in acted in the wake of 9/11. The use of warrantless wiretaps, water boarding and harsh interrogation methods by members of the intelligence services and the U.S. military are deplorable. What is even more saddening is that these policies were not just allowed but apparently encouraged by high ranking administration officials, such as former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Chaney. Simply put, the United States in responding to murderous and evil men have take a few plays out of their play book and in so doing have abandoned the moral high ground, that among other things, lead them to attack us in the first place. Also if we simple transfer the detainees to another location either stateside or in their home countries where they will continue to be held indefinitely without being charged or put on trial would be to miss the point. I am not in any way defending their membership, association or sympathies to al Quada or the Taliban or standing up for their rights to hold jihadist ideology. What I am saying is that many of these men are criminals and should be treated as such (some are innocent and should be released). If the U.S. government has reason to hold them because of perceived wrong doing the correct course of action would be to charge them with the perceived wrong committed and conduct a trial and let justice be served. Right now neither justice nor the rule of law is being up held. So to reiterate; for Obama to simply close Guantanamo bay and not reform the current bush policies would not only be short sighted it would be to deny the rule of law, justice two of the guiding principles of the American way of life.

on How to View One's Government

2009-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under. - H.L. Mencken

Current Issue of Foreign Policy Worth the Read

2009-01-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

The current issue of FP is Fantastic! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to understand the numerous pressing policy issues facing the incoming Obama administration. There are great articles on Afghanistan, an interview with General David Petraeus, and an eye opening look at climate change along with an editorial by Christian Brose, former speech writer for Condoleezza Rice on what the Obama administration's foreign policy should look like.

this and all the rest can be read at:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=220

What I Learned on My Winter Vacation: the Gaza Invasion Lessons Two

2009-01-08T19:51:00.001-08:00

Lesson two: it is pre not post millennialism

The second point I would like to make is that the current conflict in the Middle East highlights why adopting a post millennial view of the end times is really silly. Outside of it being completely unbiblical ( to those who hold this position please read matt 24), an empirical analysis of world events points in a completely different type of second coming; on outlined in the scripture as being to a hostile world fool of non believers who are persecuting the church and fighting wars amongst themselves. For those of you who don't know what post millennialism is, here it is in brief. Simply put the church and the gospel will advance in the world to a point where most of the world is Christian and the church is a dominate player. This expansion of the gospel will result in world peace and at the close of the millennial period all this good feeling and "christianness" will bring about the return of the Jesus. This runs against the words of Jesus in the gospels and the words of Paul. Additionally it runs counter to an empirical observation of the world these days. The current Israeli conflict in conjunction with the words of Jesus and all of modern history highlights the falseness of this doctrine. In its place I recommend exploring a classical pre millennial view. I believe that it is the biblical correct position and that as a result of this empirically observable events will confirm it.

on Democracy as a System of Governance

2009-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Democracy's the worst form of government except for all the others. - Winston Churchill

What I Learn Over Winter Vaction: the Gaza Invasion Lessons

2009-01-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

The Israeli military attacks on Gaza are stretching into their second week and I think it is time to step back from the horror of daily rocket attacks and helicopter gunships and take a look at what can and should be learned from this conflict. So the question on the table is what did I learn on my winter break; the Gaza invasion lesson. Over the next few days I will share some observations I have made out of the current conflict in Israel.

Lesson 1: Demos=Hamas

One of the major planks in the neoconservative foreign policy platform adopted by the Bush administration was the global promotion of democratic regimes and more specifically, pushing hard for the adoption of democracy in the Middle East. An unintended consequence of rule by the people is that the people of a given country may not choose the best strategic choice for the promotion of U.S. interests in the region in question. Case in Point was the landslide electoral win of Hamas members in 2006 parliamentary elections. This was disaster for U.S. policy in the Middle East and for the peace process; a current terrorist network that wants to destroy Israel won. Let me point out right now what I am not saying; I am not saying that Hamas is a bunch of really good guys or that promoting democracy is a bad thing. What I am saying is that Hamas, As bad as they are, were democratically elected as the rulers of the Palestinian authority. In regard to democracy promotion I believe it is a good idea but it can and will weakening the short tem goals of the United States while in the long run working to the benefit of U.S. Policy goals. The bottom Line is that we need to be willing to take one in the teeth in the short term in the middle east as the electorates there, which have been suppressed for years, either internally like in Syria or Jordan, or externally as in case of the Palestinians, figure out how to do democracy. In light of this kind of brutal oppression and suppression it is only natural that the more radical, reactionary political parties will appear the most appealing. As a result they will win sizable portions of the vote if nor winning elections out right. They will either learn to rule effectively, be voted out of office in subsequent elections or seize power through a coup. We can only hope for the first two options and use our political and military influence in the region to seek these ends. If we allow these countries and their electorates to figure out democracy and how to vote in their best interest, with some unfortunate twists in the short term, the U.S. should come out a head in the more distant future. In light of this I would like to close with a note of caution; to believe that simply because two countries are democratic that they will get along is a very naive position to hold indeed. States balance states, not due to the type of governmental system they employ or in light of the perceived threat another nation poses but because it is the nature of states to compete for influence with other states. The balance of power is alive and well and very real. Democracy or not the Middle East and Arab-Israeli relations will be messy for years to come.

on the Role of Government

2008-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Obama's Vacation Choice Reveals Much

2008-12-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

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)

2008-12-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T22:53:00.001-08:00

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?

2008-12-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

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"

2008-12-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Responding to the 2008 Presidential Election: a Christian Perspective (part 4)

2008-11-29T22:51:00.001-08:00

The next kind of ruler I want to look at is the one who fears God. David is an example of this. So is Josiah. I think it is important to note two things about public, openly Christian leaders. They are men and they are sinful. First, they are men, not God and we must keep this in the forefront of our minds so as to protect our collective spiritual well being. Secondly, they are sinful. David used a war to commit murder.. The response for us when lead by this type of leader is to remember they are fallible and that God not them is our savior and help in time of trouble.

On Political Principle

2008-11-22T19:32:00.001-08:00

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle. -Alexis de Tocqueville

Responding to the 2008 Presidential Election: a Christian Perspective (part 3)

2008-11-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

I would now like to look at three types of rulers God has established and moved through in different ways. The First I would like to look are those Leaders who do not worship God whose opposition to Him He uses in the redemption of his people. I have two New Testament and one Old Testament examples. They are Pharaoh, Pilot, and Herod. Pharaoh was used by God to demonstrate his power by hardening his heart so that God might display his love for people and his Control over all things by sending the plagues and ultimately delivering the Israelites to the land He had promised them after years of slavery in Egypt. Similarly God used both Pilot and Herod in advancing his redemptive plan during the life and misty of John the Baptist and Jesus. Acts 13:27-30 says, “The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead.” God used all three men, all of whom were opposed to his puposes, used them to fulfill those puposes. The take home lesson is that, yes, while some Obama's policies are opposed to God He may use these proposed evils for our redemptive good.

Responding to the 2008 Presidential Election: a Christian Perspective (part 2)

2008-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

We will first look at God’s Sovereignty over rulers and government. I would like to turn to a few texts to show that God not only selects who rules but has shown that He is more than willing to use the rulers he puts in place for his purposes. We will begin by looking at God’s control over government.
The first text I would like to look at to show that God controls government and the selection of rulers are Romans 13:1, which states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” The Second Text for consideration is 1st peter 2:13-17, “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” These texts are very straight forward. We are to submit to the governing authority as far as it does not violate Christian principles, regardless if it is a democratically elected Barack Obama or an Iron fisted Caesar, which was the case during the writing of Romans. We owe Barack Obama our honor and submission simply due to his winning the election.

Responding to the 2008 Presidential Election: a Christian Perspective (part 1)

2008-11-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

In the days leading up to and following Barack Obama’s victory I noticed that evangelicals around me and nationally were behaving like his election was a grave evil and must be opposed as such. I have heard politically minded Christians sounding the battle cry to oppose his administration’s efforts at each and every turn. While I share their concern and disdain for President Elect Obama’s proposed policies, I fear that the scope of alarm and response to him is somewhat misplaced. I have heard very little discussion of prayer in combating his policies. In the same vain the idea of fasting has not come up once. I am all for political action in all lawful forms, but it seems that if political action is all we take we miss out on so much of what God has called us to in allowing the election of Barack Obama. I would like to take this opportunity to remind evangelical America of a few things. I would like to explore over the next few days two themes:
1. God’s sovereignty over all things including government and elections.
2. The appropriate Christian response to God’s wise, perfect choice as to who rules where and when.

On Thievery

2008-11-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
-Aesop

On Reading

2008-11-12T19:44:00.001-08:00

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain

who votes: what decides who turns out?

2008-11-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to look at three things that effect who votes. Social scientist call this things variables. The three variables I am going to look at the age of voter, educational level of the voter and race of the voter. By doing this I hope to help explain who votes and in turn help you all look at why Obama won. We'll begin with age. The effect of age on turn out is one of the strongest indicators of who votes and can be seen by looking at life cycles. Young people by and large do not vote like 40 year olds. The reason for this is that young people are less sedentary, more mobile. they have less invested in there communities than those who are married with families. for example a father of two elementary school age children is much more likely to vote for his school board than a 20 year old.With age turnout increases steadily and plateaus at around age 40. If you are not voting by 40 you most likely never will. The second variable is educational level. educational level is an even stronger indicator than age. for example some one with a collage degree has a 94% likelihood of voting as compared with a 58% likelihood among those lacking a high school diploma. This can be explained in three ways. First, those who have complete college have an increased sense of civic duty. Second, they are able to more easily overcome social hurdles such as being able to lose half a day's income to go and vote. Those lacking a diploma are more likely to be in lower paying jobs and cannot afford to lose money to vote. lastly, the cost of information gathering is lower. Additionally, this is all coupled with an increased interest in civic affairs that is corollary to educational level. Lastly we will address race. While hard to believe when you control for educational level and age both race fall out of the equation. They have no bearing on who votes in light of the educational level and age. The one exception to this is called the empowerment effect. the empowerment effect is when a minority candidate is running for office and his or her minority group turns out and trumps the age and eduction of the minority group in question. We saw this in the 2008 election of Obama.

After The Election

2008-11-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

“We are people that know politics is important, but not ultimate. We know that politics has its place, an urgent and important place where, in the City of Man, decisions are made that can make the difference between life and death, injustice and justice, mercy and no mercy, commonweal or common disaster.

But we also know that there is in this world at its very best only a hint of the kingdom that is to come, where God’s reign is supreme.

No government will ever be able to say, ‘Every tear has been wiped away.’ No government will ever be able to say, ‘The blind have received sight and the deaf have received hearing and the lame now walk.’…That power is God’s alone.”

—Albert Mohler, “After the Election”

On communism

2008-11-08T12:00:00.001-08:00

Communism is the corruption of a dream of justice. - Adlai Stevenson

whats on tap the next few weeks

2008-11-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks I'll be covering:

1. A few models as to why the electorate voted the way it did. This hopefully will be helpful in explaining to that annoying guy at work why things ended upthe way they did in under two minutes, so as to free you up to go back to trying to avoid him/her.

2. Looking at what the future holds for Obama and the country. More specifically, looking at his proposed economic polices effects short term and long. Additionally, looking at and evaluating his choices of who he puts in his cabinet and on his staff.

3. Looking at where conservatism as a movement should head next and where the republicans as a party will most likely head instead.

4. More collections of quotations.

on voting.

2008-11-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. "
-Samuel Adams

"A share in the sovereignty of the state, which is exercised by the citizens at large, in voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject, and in a republic ought to stand foremost in the estimation of the law. "
-Alexander Hamilton

"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation , to select and prefer Christians for their rulers. "
-John Jay

"Should things go wrong at any time, the people will set them to rights by the peaceable exercise of their elective rights. "
-Thomas Jefferson

I will be voting for...

2008-11-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

I will be voting to keep my commitment to the Iraqi people because we owe them that and their lives depend on the U.S. giving them a country.
I will be voting to support future generations of Americans having protection under the 14th amendment who now do not because of Roe vs. Wade.
I will be voting to keep the government out of my life and trusting me enough to do the right thing.
I will be voting begrudgingly for McCain. I don't like him but I fear the alterative.

Why I can not for...Obama.

2008-11-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

He is the most pro choice candidate in history. He is a proponent of partial birth abortion. “He opposed the ban on partial-birth abortion -- a practice a fellow Democrat, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once called "too close to infanticide." Obama strongly criticized the Supreme Court decision upholding the partial-birth ban. In the Illinois state Senate, he opposed a bill similar to the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which prevents the killing of infants mistakenly left alive by abortion. And now Obama has oddly claimed that he would not want his daughters to be "punished with a baby" because of a crisis pregnancy -- hardly a welcoming attitude toward new life…. These trends reached their logical culmination during a congressional debate on partial-birth abortion in 1999. When Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer was pressed to affirm that she opposed the medical killing of children after birth, she refused to commit, saying that children deserve legal protection only "when you bring your baby home." It was unclear whether this included the car trip.” – the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040102197.html

His plan for Iraq is short sighted.

His declared plan to intervene in the case of genocide in places like Darfur while commendable for its humanity is also shortsighted. I would love to see how he would answer the following question “Mr. Obama do you plan on reinserting troops into Iraq after you pull them out when the death squads and militias start ethnic cleansing again to stop the insuring genocide.(NOTE: to all of you who tuned out the last four years, before the surge Iraq was an inch away for all out ethnic civil war. It would have made Rwanda or the Balkan wars of the 1990’s look tame. This could and most likely WILL happen if we pull troops out prematurely.)

Biden is only helpful to America when his party is in the minority. In this role he is an annoying and effective counterbalance to corruption and rubber stamp policies.

He has used language in a criminal manner, pumping slogans and lacking substance. (yes we can, I believe in hope, Hope we can believe in. I can go on. What do these saying tell me about what he will do? Nothing.)

He has prayed on the idealism of youth. I have so many friends who love him for no reason other than he is young and black and a good public speaker and supporting him makes them feel good and cultured and like they are part of something bigger than them. None of these feelings and warm fuzzies will set national policies that will effect them.

He has painted himself as an outside when in fact he is a Chicago insider.

I don't want to be tucked in by the government every nite.

Government is not the solution it is the problem.

why I can not for...McCain.

2008-11-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

He is an opportunist not a maverick.
He moved closer to the bush position on issues where the wise thing to do was move away.(torture, rights for enemy combatants, Guantanamo Bay, Iran.)
His most noteworthy policy is to not bring pork home to AZ.
There is some truth to Obama's claim that he will be more of the same, in some ways this will be fine but in others it will prove painful.
Sarah Palin is a poor choice.
He is not the same kind of conservative as me.
Huckabee was my man.

On being right

2008-11-01T15:54:00.001-07:00

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. – Voltaire

why I will not vote for...Bob Bar

2008-11-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

I need more market regulation.

Because he says stuff like this on energy and the environment, "The free market, driven by consumer choice and reflecting the real cost of resources, should be the foundation of America’s energy policy."

Has a fundamental misunderstanding of foreign policy issues. Is a classic isolationist. this will not work in a unipolar world run by the U.S.

Wants to cut and run in Iraq.

why I can not for..Nadar

2008-10-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

why I will not be voting for nadar:
I already made this mistake once.
I'm not from cananda.
I don't want to live in socialized europe.
because the big three didn't kill my baby.
he even freaks the green party out.

why I can not for..

2008-10-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

I will be doing a series on why I can't vote for the national candidates who are runnig for president. I would recommend you all write someone in becasue these guys are all nuts.

On being proud to be an American

2008-10-30T19:05:00.001-07:00

Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. - Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.

We, the people, are the rightful masters of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the constitution. - Lincoln

on liberty

2008-10-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

No constitution, no court, no law can save liberty when it dies in the hearts and minds of men. - John Perkins

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. - George Bernard Shaw

on the protection of freedom

2008-10-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent which will reach to himself. - Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government, 1795

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. - James Madison

I would remind you, that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And... moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. - Barry Goldwater

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. - Edward Abbey

on freedom

2008-10-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.
- Alexis de Tocqueville "Democracy in America" (1835)

no on 105!

2008-10-22T00:56:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons why I find prop 105 wanting is that it is attempting to abandon the traditional democratic mechanism that have served us so well for so many years. The bill says that to “A "yes" vote shall have the effect of requiring that a majority of registered voters approve any initiative measure establishing, imposing or raising a tax, fee, or other revenue, or mandating a spending obligation, whether on a private person, labor organization, other private legal entity, or the state, in order to become law.” This is not how it works. If you don’t vote you are not counted as a no. that is exactly what this prop is trying to do.
If this bill was in place today a number of props that passed by larger margins would not be law. The average turn out for election in America is very low. For example only about 50% of Americans vote in presidential elections. This number gets smaller and smaller the more removed for that national context one gets. If prop 105 passes there is little chance that any prop with a money increase will pass.
Additionally, I believe that because we have an expressed right as American citizens to vote, this implies a right to abstain from voting. There have been times in the past were I have exercised this implied right. If Prop 105 were to pass this right to not vote would be infringed upon because my vote would count as a “no” vote. When I chose to abstain I am choosing to do just that. I am not choosing to abstain to vote no. If I wanted to vote no I would have gone to my polling location and voted no. at the end of the day this prop is infringing on my voting rights.
This can only lead to people staying home and not participating in the political process at all. This is so dangerous to our civic virtue. At a time in which our poltics are so polarized we need to be creating incentives for the middle to vote not creating obstacles. In his 1830 work entitled democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville talks the dangers of this. He calls it a soft despotism. In Volume II, Book 4, Chapter 6 of Democracy in America, de Tocqueville writes the following about soft despotism:
“After having thus successively taken each member of the community in its powerful grasp and fashioned him at will, the supreme power then extends its arm over the whole community. It covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, and guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting. Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”
This soft despotism leads to a tyranny of the majority. A tyranny of the majority is when the majority creates political situation in which it takes advantage of the political minority or minorities.
This is exactly what would happen if prop 105 passes. Those who do not want to increase government spending of any kind become unlikely bed fellows with registered voters who choose to not vote to prevent the most noble employment of the direct Initiative system; the betterment of the common good of Arizonans.

Vote no on prop 105 part 1: what does it propose?

2008-10-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

To prevent myself from becoming victim to one of my own pet pevs I'm going to start by looking at the orginal document and not just start talking about it. So here it is in its own words:

The Constitution of Arizona is proposed to be amended by adding Section 1.1 to Article IV, Part 1 as follows, if approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon and on proclamation of the Governor:
Section 1. Article IV, Part 1, Constitution of Arizona, is amended by adding Section 1.1, as follows:
§1.1. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH TRUE MAJORITY RULE
SECTION 1.1. TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH TRUE MAJORITY RULE, AN INITIATIVE MEASURE THAT ESTABLISHES, IMPOSES OR RAISES A TAX, FEE, OR OTHER REVENUE, OR MANDATES A SPENDING OBLIGATION, WHETHER ON A PRIVATE PERSON, LABOR ORGANIZATION, OTHER PRIVATE LEGAL ENTITY OR THIS STATE, SHALL NOT BECOME LAW UNLESS THE MEASURE IS APPROVED BY A MAJORITY OF QUALIFIED ELECTORS THEN REGISTERED TO VOTE IN THIS STATE.
Section 2. Short Title: This Constitutional Amendment shall be known as the "Majority Rule--Let the People Decide Act."

ANALYSIS BY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Proposition 105 would amend the Arizona Constitution to provide that an initiative measure that establishes, imposes or raises a tax, a fee or other revenue or mandates a spending obligation on a private person, a labor organization, other private legal entity or this state shall not become law unless the initiative measure is approved at the election by a majority of qualified electors registered to vote in the state.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
State law requires the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) Staff to prepare a summary of the fiscal impact of certain ballot measures. The fiscal impact cannot be determined in advance. Ballot propositions are currently approved by a majority of votes cast on a measure. By increasing the current vote threshold for an initiative that increases a tax or fee or creates a mandatory spending obligation, Proposition 105 may reduce the number of such initiatives that are approved in the future.

BALLOT FORMAT

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
BY THE INITIATIVE RELATING TO THE INITIATIVE
OFFICIAL TITLE
MAJORITY RULE-LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE ACT
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF ARIZONA: AMENDING ARTICLE IV, PART 1, CONSTITUTION OF ARIZONA, BY ADDING SECTION 1.1 RELATING TO INITIATIVE MEASURES AND REQUIRING THAT ANY MANDATORY TAX OR SPENDING INCREASE BE ENACTED BY A MAJORITY OF QUALIFIED ELECTORS.
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
REQUIRES AN INITIATIVE MEASURE THAT ESTABLISHES, IMPOSES OR RAISES A TAX, FEE, OR OTHER REVENUE, OR MANDATES A SPENDING OBLIGATION, WHETHER ON A PRIVATE PERSON, LABOR ORGANIZATION, OTHER PRIVATE LEGAL ENTITY OR STATE, SHALL NOT BECOME LAW UNLESS THE MEASURE IS APPROVED BY A MAJORITY OF QUALIFIED ELECTORS REGISTERED TO VOTE.

A "yes" vote shall have the effect of requiring that a majority of registered voters approve any initiative measure establishing, imposing or raising a tax, fee, or other revenue, or mandating a spending obligation, whether on a private person, labor organization, other private legal entity, or the state, in order to become law.

A "no" vote shall have the effect of retaining the current law under which an initiative measure is enacted upon approval of a majority of registered voters that vote on the measure.

here is who is in support of this messure:

Chad Kirkpatrick, Arizona Chairman, Americans for Prosperity, Phoenix
Tom Jenney, Arizona Director, Americans for Prosperity
Kevin Rogers, President, Arizona Farm Bureau, Gilbert
Jim Klinker, Chief Administrative Officer, Arizona Farm Bureau, Gilbert

source: http://www.azsos.gov/election/2008/Info/PubPamphlet/english/Prop105.htm

VOTE NO ON PROP. 105

2008-10-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days I'll be commenting on why prop 105 is bad for political participation, bad for preventing taxation, bad for democracy and bad for Arizona. Stay tuned.

why write? why blog?

2008-10-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Why on Gods green earth would I want to do this? There are a few reasons.
1. I need the structure and effort that writing some thing down provides me to see if it is worth thinking about. If I'm not willing to commit it to the writing process maybe I should put my mind on other things.
2. I am a Christian of the reformed tradition. I am finding that there is not a lot of political writing coming out of this rich theological tradition. there may be publications out there, I just haven't seen them yet. In an effort to answer some of my theological/political/ethical questions. I thought a blog would be a helpful tool in that it allows me to write it out and receive feed back.
3. To improve as a writer and communicator.
4. Most important to try and bring glory to Jesus by using my mind.