12-19 Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Texas, has been chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to give the invocation prayer at the inaugaration on January 20, 2009. Some on the right and the left are having a cow over this.
Gay-rights activists are livid at Obama because they consider this a sellout move. Rick Warren goes against everything they believe. Members of the right are upset at Warren because they think he's rubbing shoulders too much with Obama, who stands against much of what they believe.
CBN senior political correspondent David Brody has listed some of the posts about Warren on his blog “The Brody File,” which includes the following:
“I just lost a lot of respect for Rick Warren. How can someone who professes to be a Christian put himself into a situation where other Christians would question him?”
“This is terrible; this man calls himself a Christian?”
“When I first saw this headline, I thought it was a joke. For a man like Rick Warren to give the invocation for a man that has pledged to sign the Freedom of Choice Act is beyond the pale.”
I would personally advise these conservative Christians, of which I am one myself, to hold off on the attacks against Pastor Rick Warren. Pastor Warren will probably never hear from Obama again unless he gets into trouble like President Clinton did with his sexual liaisons and needed religious leaders to help give the image that he was getting his life into proper order. Other than something like that happening, Rick Warren will only be another face in the crowd to Obama.
However, I would like to address the first comment from Brody's blog that rips into Warren. Does this person ever go out in public? Unless one is a monk or nun hidden away from the world's influence, we will inevitably be put in a place where we will be questioned. Jesus talked alone to a Samaritan woman at a well and was questioned by people. It happens!
I think the world is in the mess it is in because Christians (and conservatives) have not been more a part of our culture. We have not tried to shape the culture; we have only resisted it. Pastor Warren has written several books, the most popular one being "The Purpose-Driven Life." In that book, he talks about the ways in which we can follow God. This is not the talk from someone trying to cater to "the other side," and I don't think he is doing that now. He is trying to engage someone who (from what I can tell) will eventually not listen to the populace but put into place legislation and taxes that will hurt all Americans.
But Pastor Warren is trying, and for that I give him credit.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The rich are people too!
12-17 New York's raising taxes!
Get those evil, rotten, rich few that still live in New York! Make them leave! Everyone knows that the world would be a better, happier place if everyone was poor. Who needs evil corporations that only pollute the world and create global warming that someday will burn us up into ashes!
(Of course, the ugly little fact that the world has been cooling since 1999 can't get in the way. Global cooling isn't near as exciting as heating up into a burning planet of flame. Not to mention that we can't expect people to believe environmentalists after they've been crying about global warming for the past decade and suddenly say, "Oops! The world is getting colder, not hotter. My bad!")
Evil corporations are also responsible for hiring innocent, naive, hard-working people who would surely quit if they realized what their evil corporations were doing to the planet, but so what? Punish the rich! Make them as poor as everyone else! But if that happens, who takes over?
Hmmm. Let me think a moment. Wait! I got it! The federal government can take control of meeting everyone's needs! Yes, that's it!
It doesn't matter that Russia (the former Soviet Union) tried that and is the "former" Soviet Union. Or that Cuba has done that. How many cars can be bought from Cuba? When is the last time (other than "War and Peace") any relevant literature or culture came from Russia?
Socialism doesn't work! Communism doesn't work! Letting the free market work is the best way. Yeah, you get some dumb things like disco and the Dixie Chicks, but they never stay for long! You need a variety of people, rich included, to get a well-rounded country that works.
Get those evil, rotten, rich few that still live in New York! Make them leave! Everyone knows that the world would be a better, happier place if everyone was poor. Who needs evil corporations that only pollute the world and create global warming that someday will burn us up into ashes!
(Of course, the ugly little fact that the world has been cooling since 1999 can't get in the way. Global cooling isn't near as exciting as heating up into a burning planet of flame. Not to mention that we can't expect people to believe environmentalists after they've been crying about global warming for the past decade and suddenly say, "Oops! The world is getting colder, not hotter. My bad!")
Evil corporations are also responsible for hiring innocent, naive, hard-working people who would surely quit if they realized what their evil corporations were doing to the planet, but so what? Punish the rich! Make them as poor as everyone else! But if that happens, who takes over?
Hmmm. Let me think a moment. Wait! I got it! The federal government can take control of meeting everyone's needs! Yes, that's it!
It doesn't matter that Russia (the former Soviet Union) tried that and is the "former" Soviet Union. Or that Cuba has done that. How many cars can be bought from Cuba? When is the last time (other than "War and Peace") any relevant literature or culture came from Russia?
Socialism doesn't work! Communism doesn't work! Letting the free market work is the best way. Yeah, you get some dumb things like disco and the Dixie Chicks, but they never stay for long! You need a variety of people, rich included, to get a well-rounded country that works.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
12-11 I just wrote a wonderful piece about the Fairness Doctrine and its misleading title and then just censored myself and accidently deleted it. Well, maybe it's all for the best.
What I wrote concerned something I heard on the Glenn Beck program this morning. Apparently, the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, is upset with WSPD radio for not allowing him access to defend himself on their station. This comes, of course, after he got upset with comments they made about him and he demeaned them, their sponsors, and their listeners. He made a statement Monday that we need the spirit of the Fairness Doctrine to prevail in this situation. He needs access to defend himself on WSPD, he said.
The Fairness Doctrine, as it existed in the 1970's, was anything but fair. It only addressed political speech and it only applied to talk radio stations, not TV or newspapers or magazines. What the Fairness Doctrine did was make radio stations present opposing points of view when someone called objecting to what they had heard. This had the effect, after being beseiged with calls, of making stations eliminate all discussion programs and made AM radio very boring. I remember in the 1970's hearing a couple country stations, sports stations, and religious stations on AM and thinking that AM radio wouldn't last long.
President Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine, and now AM flourishes with all kinds of open discussion programs, and people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck are able to enlighten people to things going on in our government that the mainstream media were able to cover up for decades.
Barack Obama has appointed a goon to chair the FCC (I am not aware of his name) who worked with the FCC in the 1970's and is very comfortable with the Fairness Doctrine. Most likely, he will try to reintroduce the Fairness Doctrine. If liberals try to silence this free speech (guaranteed by the First Amendment), it will be to their detriment.
I value freedom and free speech, and that is the primary reason I started this blog. I know I am primarily writing to myself right now (and my dog Sasha who wholeheartedly agrees with me), but I do this in fear of the time when blogs and Internet speech may be all that stands up against government corruption and violation of the Constitution.
What I wrote concerned something I heard on the Glenn Beck program this morning. Apparently, the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, is upset with WSPD radio for not allowing him access to defend himself on their station. This comes, of course, after he got upset with comments they made about him and he demeaned them, their sponsors, and their listeners. He made a statement Monday that we need the spirit of the Fairness Doctrine to prevail in this situation. He needs access to defend himself on WSPD, he said.
The Fairness Doctrine, as it existed in the 1970's, was anything but fair. It only addressed political speech and it only applied to talk radio stations, not TV or newspapers or magazines. What the Fairness Doctrine did was make radio stations present opposing points of view when someone called objecting to what they had heard. This had the effect, after being beseiged with calls, of making stations eliminate all discussion programs and made AM radio very boring. I remember in the 1970's hearing a couple country stations, sports stations, and religious stations on AM and thinking that AM radio wouldn't last long.
President Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine, and now AM flourishes with all kinds of open discussion programs, and people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck are able to enlighten people to things going on in our government that the mainstream media were able to cover up for decades.
Barack Obama has appointed a goon to chair the FCC (I am not aware of his name) who worked with the FCC in the 1970's and is very comfortable with the Fairness Doctrine. Most likely, he will try to reintroduce the Fairness Doctrine. If liberals try to silence this free speech (guaranteed by the First Amendment), it will be to their detriment.
I value freedom and free speech, and that is the primary reason I started this blog. I know I am primarily writing to myself right now (and my dog Sasha who wholeheartedly agrees with me), but I do this in fear of the time when blogs and Internet speech may be all that stands up against government corruption and violation of the Constitution.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
12/10 I am already sick of hearing about president-elect Obama, and he hasn't even been sworn in yet! He scares me. People said they wanted change--well, is this the change you wanted? The government in control of health care? The government in control of big businesses and Wall Street? Where does it end?
This is what I meant by the world being turned upside down. Personal freedoms and personal motivation and incentive have all but disappeared in a short period of time. During the election season (which lasted two years too long, in my opinion), I heard a commentator say that the pendulum seems to be swinging further from far right to far left. I disagree. The pendulum is swinging further left and not as far right as it used to.
Conservatives who represent the Republican Party, like George W. Bush, are not true conservatives. A true conservative would never have agreed to a bailout of banks and other businesses. If they fail, let them fail. They will learn from their mistakes and return to fight another day. If the "Big Three" fall, let them. Other auto makers will step in to take their place and we will get better cars in the process. If people were stupid enough to get mortgages they couldn't afford and banks were stupid enough to let it happen, let them both pay the consequences. We are all paying for it, either way. Our economy is in the tank as a result of people's stupidity.
But you know what? The only way people learn to stay out of the fire is by getting burned. It hurts but they learn.
This is what Barack Obama will do: discourage personal freedoms and growth and encourage big government and our dependence on government. As a result, we will get lazier, our freedoms will continue to erode, and prosperity will continue to decline. If you think it's bad now, just wait! The return of the "misery index" is imminent!
This is what I meant by the world being turned upside down. Personal freedoms and personal motivation and incentive have all but disappeared in a short period of time. During the election season (which lasted two years too long, in my opinion), I heard a commentator say that the pendulum seems to be swinging further from far right to far left. I disagree. The pendulum is swinging further left and not as far right as it used to.
Conservatives who represent the Republican Party, like George W. Bush, are not true conservatives. A true conservative would never have agreed to a bailout of banks and other businesses. If they fail, let them fail. They will learn from their mistakes and return to fight another day. If the "Big Three" fall, let them. Other auto makers will step in to take their place and we will get better cars in the process. If people were stupid enough to get mortgages they couldn't afford and banks were stupid enough to let it happen, let them both pay the consequences. We are all paying for it, either way. Our economy is in the tank as a result of people's stupidity.
But you know what? The only way people learn to stay out of the fire is by getting burned. It hurts but they learn.
This is what Barack Obama will do: discourage personal freedoms and growth and encourage big government and our dependence on government. As a result, we will get lazier, our freedoms will continue to erode, and prosperity will continue to decline. If you think it's bad now, just wait! The return of the "misery index" is imminent!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
12/09/08 As with all new enterprises, it may take some time for me to get this looking the way I want, but my primary purpose in this blog is to express common sense and to give me a chance to growl about the stupid things people do (especially politicians). It's also about how we can work together to right a world that is currently upside down.
For example, why is the government getting involved in a bailout of the American car companies or any other business? Businesses have been allowed rise and fall in our country since its creation. Our current situation should be no different. Yes, people may get laid off and be out of work, but there are plenty of other job opportunities out there and new jobs are being created every day.
There is no need to prop up the American auto industry!
Anyway, this is an example of the type of growling I like to do, and I apprerciate you taking the time to read it. Please feel free to respond. I will either respond here or personally in an e-mail.
For example, why is the government getting involved in a bailout of the American car companies or any other business? Businesses have been allowed rise and fall in our country since its creation. Our current situation should be no different. Yes, people may get laid off and be out of work, but there are plenty of other job opportunities out there and new jobs are being created every day.
There is no need to prop up the American auto industry!
Anyway, this is an example of the type of growling I like to do, and I apprerciate you taking the time to read it. Please feel free to respond. I will either respond here or personally in an e-mail.
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