Nixon’s Reaction to Roe v. Wade / Nixon’s racism:
Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases — like interracial pregnancies, he said.
“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding, “Or a rape.”
Abolish the Bank of England
List of Christian Libertarian websites
Defense Department sees protests as terrorism:
Antiterrorism training materials used by the Department of Defense teach that public protests should be regarded as “low level terrorism,” according to a letter of complaint sent to the department today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
Former AmeriCorps Official Says Obama Removed Him for ‘Doing My Job‘
Keep some of that extra weight, it might be helpful afterall
The 11 people every youth group needs
I hope my friend Charles won’t mind if I post a significant portion of a great summary he worked up on the big picture of national socialism in America. I have made several posts in the past couple of years accusing both right and left wingers of propelling the country towards national socialism and the response has been everything from cautious agreement to outright mockery. I have had dictionary and Wikipedia definitions of socialism thrown at me, as well as radical names like Hitler and Stalin, as if to show that national socialism is not in the mainstream today and it is not a concern.
I think Charles does a great job of summing up the amazing progress towards even more socialism in the past year or so:
• Treasury now holds essentially unchecked power to intervene in capital markets as it sees fit. Geithner himself argues that this mandate is perpetual, essentially permanent.
• The Federal government has taken controlling positions in the insurance, banking, and automotive industries. Obama promises that by the end of this year it will also essentially have taken over the health care industry. The government is also intervening heavily in energy, through regulation and subsidy.
• Despite claims from Obama and co. that they are unwilling owners of the economy, there’s substantial reason to think they’ve intentionally exacerbated the economic crisis in order to justify these nationalizations.
• Despite claims from Obama and co. that they hope the nationalizations will be short-lived, they’ve acted to block banks from paying back bailout funds, and they have no plan at all for ending the nationalizations.
• Despite claims from Obama and co. that they have no intention of actively managing nationalized firms, they are doing so, e.g. in the auto industry.
• The net effect of these developments is that the Federal government is seizing what Lenin identified as, and Obama calls (in his budget proposal) the “commanding heights of the economy,” and is giving indications of establishing what is effectively a form of central planning (one more akin to that of the Third Reich than that of the USSR).
• The Federal government is also likely to “bail out” otherwise bankrupt states, such as California. If so, once the Federal government has “nationalized” state governments, there’ll be no vestiges left of federalism. We’ll have an unchecked central government that controls the economy.
• If the EPA does indeed receive power to regulate carbon dioxide, there’s no aspect of life that won’t be subject to executive branch regulation. The 60 day comment clock is ticking on this one, and there’s great danger it will come to pass.
• Obama is maintaining and expanding the Bush policies on domestic spying.
• Obama’s Secretary of Transportation spoke in favor of mandating a GPS unit on every vehicle in America for purposes of tracking and taxing miles driven. He was subsequently ordered to shut up on this, and now simply talks about his role in modifying citizens’ behavior.
• And, and, and…the list goes on.
• Couple all of this with Obama’s accelerated fiscal and monetary irresponsibility, madness that makes Bush’s policy look almost responsible. (Note that most of the above was begun by George W. Bush; Barack Obama is Bush on steroids. It’s bizarre how his cult of personality has blinded his supporters to this.)
And don’t start throwing Wikipedia articles at Charles about socialism - he was there, having lived in the Soviet Union. I think he knows socialism when he sees it.
A couple more links:
Energy Department Fails its Own Energy Audit
Dr. Tiller, the abortion doctor murdered at his church, was previously excommunicated by a Lutheran congregation for refusing to repent and cease his profession.
GetReligion.org has some more discussion about the media’s failure to report on Tiller’s religious history: Tiller’s missing excommunication
As has already been established in part 1 of this series, Christ is the basis of our faith, and the grounding upon which the church is built. There can be no foundation laid without Christ being established as the cornerstone. Here are some facts from the gospel accounts about Christ that must be established before anyone can attempt to rightly build on this foundation:
We must now address the question of how the church is to build upon the foundation that has been established. In other words, which teachings apart from the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God are to be emphasized in order to secure a doctrinal foundation in those who already believe in Christ?
Many churches today disagree about which teachings are essentials. In fact, some teachings which are identified as essential are not even emphasized in the New Testament. The doctrine of the Trinity, while certainly important in my opinion, is not essential considering the New Testament record of doctrinal emphases; yet it is regarded as such in many churches. Again, I am not saying it is unimportant, because I believe it is. But it is not listed among the foundational doctrines of Christ listed in Hebrews 6, and there little if any evidence that teaching about the triune nature of God was a major emphasis of the early church. I comment on this only to communicate that what church tradition has prioritized in the way of teaching, in many instances, is not the express priority of God as outlined in the Scriptures.
The First Principles of the Oracles of God
In Hebrews 6, the author outlines the foundational teachings of Christ:
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Here we see that these teachings are the basis from which one may progress toward spiritual maturity. Believers who lack this foundation are not in a position to lead successful Christian lives.
The Sincere Milk of the Word
Jesus, quoting from Deuteronomy, said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4). By this he illustrated that God’s word is a source of spiritual sustenance, just like natural food is a source of physical sustenance. This same principle is emphasized in the epistles.
Just as there are stages of physical development, there are stages of spiritual development for believers. The stage of spiritual development one is in determines the proper diet he should partake of. Naturally speaking, infants need a steady diet of milk before they are capable of digesting solid food. The same is true for spiritual babies. Notice what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.
Here Paul explained his responsibility to “feed” the Corinthians. He determined their spiritual condition and taught them accordingly.
In Hebrews 5, the chapter preceding the one where the foundational teachings are presented, the author indicates that this audience was maturing at a much slower rate than they should have been. Although they should have grown considerably more, they had not graduated beyond babyhood.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
From this point, the author transitions into his statement about the foundational teachings of Christ in the very next verse in chapter 6, making it clear that the milk he was referring to were these basic doctrines. These are synonymous with the “first principles of the oracles of God” listed in Hebrews 5:12.
Israel Prime Minister approves a motion for blocking the marking of “Al Nakba”. According to the article (and the motion), even the peaceful marking of Al Nakba could be punishable by law, up to 3 years in prison. This comes on the heels of other thought/culture police notions such as the required “loyalty” pledge.
Another link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1085588.html
It’s bad enough that we still execute people in the United States. It’s absolutely chilling that we’re willing to do it when we’re not even sure we’ve got the right person in our clutches.
Apparently, it is against county ordinance for a home Bible study group to meet. (what is at issue is that they don’t have enough parking space, which has lead to complaints and an accident)
Another shooting in church. The good spin: at least it’s not in the schools?
A pretty interesting end of a long tail of discussions regarding abortion. The 4 posts by Halden (linked in above) are worth reading as well.
Inhofe: Federal highway fund will run out by August
Geithner tells China its dollar assets are safe:
“Chinese assets are very safe,” Geithner said in response to a question after a speech at Peking University, where he studied Chinese as a student in the 1980s. His answer drew loud laughter from his student audience, reflecting skepticism in China about the wisdom of a developing country accumulating a vast stockpile of foreign reserves instead of spending the money to raise living standards at home.
I realise that this site sometimes swings wildly from hard-core political and economic articles on libertarianism/anarchism to deeply theological and doctrinal discussions on Christianity. These last few weeks have been almost all Christianity - I admit I’m on a huge fellowship kick right now, but I really feel like I’ve got to get all of that off my chest and into written form. So I may be on that topic for a while.
However, I ran into a great talk today. I posted a link a while back (I think?) to this book: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will or How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Impressions, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, Etc.
The author of this book, Kevin DeYoung, recently gave a great talk on the subject here.
I think Christian Libertarians will find this talk extremely useful. DeYoung exposits on this subject rationally and intellectually. He deals with concepts such as opportunity cost, personal responsibility and the nature of God.
For more on this subject see the following articles on Decision Making and the Will of God:
Religious Extremism?
Ireland adds an all-inclusive anti-blasphemy law
Poll of Muslims in the UK goes against stereotype
2010: The National Year of the Bible?
Piracy and Privacy
France finally passes a 3-strike law for (software) piracy…against last week’s European parliament prohibition of such.
The Pirate Bay, which recently lost a case for (illegally) aiding in distributing copyrighted data, has devised a…unique method of not paying their fine.
Google-mobile banned from Greece.
While WI Supreme Court allows warrantless GPS tracking to continue, its NY counterpart stops it.
A kid at a very conservative Christian college is kicked out for a year because it discovered he was living a second life. Now some some commentary from Chris:
(1) What idiot goes to such a school and takes such an occupation?? Hello, McFly?! It’d be one thing if it were a liberal Christian school or a “Christian in name only” school, but a fairly well-known, conservative one?? (2) What of the other kid who “accidentally” found out? I seriously doubt he was doing “research!” If the college really is conservative and wants to kick idiot #1 out, then it should be doing something as well to idiot #2.
Ex-FBI agent: Waterboarding produced ‘no actionable intel’
Misc.
Pakistan president says Taliban was the joint creation of CIA and ISI
M&S caves in to protesters against charging more for larger bra sizes. How did they do it? Facebook!
Oregon using lottery to lay off teachers
Benjamin Franklin, On the Price of Corn and Management of the Poor:
“I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is, not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth, I traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the Contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”
Rand Paul announces run for Senate.
Your blog is a weapon? Bill suggests that hurting feelings is illegal:
Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both…
That commerce clause sure was a good idea, wasn’t it? Perhaps Montana can make a law that any insults to Montanans first initiated in Montana are not subject to this new bill?
Hate Crimes bill dubbed ‘Pedophile Protection Act’
Criminalizing Criticism of Israel: Interesting article from the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration.
More on Spain’s investigation into US torture (it’s in the Guardian as a reprint from the Washington Post).
Tech and Internet
Bill in senate will allow president to shut down the internet:
The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 introduced in the Senate would allow the president to shut down private Internet networks. The legislation also calls for the government to have the authority to demand security data from private networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule or policy restricting such access.
ICANN (they’re the folks in charge of website names) is mulling a big change: instead of the standard top-level domains of .com, .org, and .net, what about allowing any top-level domains? Let companies register whatever they want, instead of just limiting it to the existing list.
Upgrade costs for broadband in Japan and the US. Oh, and that 150 Mb/s line in Japan costs only $60/month while the 50 Mb/s line in the US costs $90/month. The main reason for the disparity: distance.
Community Action
Privately funded proposal to fix Chicago’s potholes rejected by government.
Private citizens in Hawaii build their own road after government refuses to do its job.Communities print own currencies to keep cash flowing
Pat Buchanan: Should We Kill the Fed?
The bill implements a fee on carbon-intensive imports, as well, to press China to follow suit. Larson would use most of the income to reduce people’s payroll taxes: We tax your carbon sins and un-tax your payroll wins.
People get that — and simplicity matters. They are much less likely to support a firm in London trading offsets from an electric bill in Boston with a derivatives firm in New York in order to help fund an aluminum smelter in Beijing, which is what cap-and-trade is all about. People won’t support what they can’t explain.
Decriminalisation of Lifestyle Choices
Iowa legalizes same-sex marriage.
Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage, the first via legislature.
Texas Christian University has designated a section of its on-campus housing for gay students. TCU is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
And Then Some
More footage of questionable police actions likely connected to another death, this time from London during the G20 conference. Some may remember questionable police activity in San Francisco this past New Year’s as well.
11% of the general population and 19% of white Evangelicals believe Obama to be a Muslim.
Ontario man found guilty in HIV murder trial
Now you can play Quidditch too!
FoxNews.com columnist in hot water after reviewing the leaked copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which is not hitting theatres until 1st May). Update: he’s fired.
At least part of our recent economic turbulence can be blamed on what has become known as “The American Dream” - but which is, in fact, a gross distortion of this term’s former definition.
The current lifestyle goals of many Americans are to own their own home, own a couple new/newer cars and have children grow up to attend a university. For men, this often includes a white collar job (or at least a job with sufficient status - preferably “managing”, “supervisory” or “executive” something or other in the title) and for women, this also tends to mean a career in addition to motherhood. These two incomes keep enough money in the bank to stay a month ahead of the mortgage, bills and other debt payments.
Contrast this with the ideals that used to encompass this term: “The American Dream.” Originally, the associated with immigrants - who left places where they were less free to pursue their own goals in life and for their family. The American Dream first requires freedom. The primary mechanism of the modern American Dream, however, is unsecured debt, which is a contracted suspension of freedom. It is the modern equivalent of bond-service and, especially with consumer and lower-order goods, the very definition of short-termism.
Let me be clear that I am not speaking poorly of debt - especially debt that is wisely and responsibly used as a prudent financial tool. I am, however, asking how it is that values which were so fundamental to the growth of this country (especially from the 1860’s through the 1930’s) have been replaced by the trappings of a middle-class lifestyle without actual “lifestyle-capital” to back it up? Going into debt to get a house is not wrong (though it can be unwise), nor is debt for school or a small auto loan or something similar. But going into debt solely to obtain something now without regard for future returns or losses is not wise.
The original dreamers had to embrace practical realities in order to sustain and build towards their goals - which often took several generations to achieve. Namely: thrift, savings, ethics, closeness of family, hard work with little initial rewards and a vision to create and produce.
In many ways this is the exact opposite of the kind of virtues which are now embraced under the same term: excess, spending, expediency, broken families, rewards before work and an emphasis on recognition before achievement. Today’s American Dreamers want the dream first - no, they expect it first - and are content to push forward the creative efforts that make that dream to some obscure point in the future.
This has led to lifestyles that are exposed to even minor market corrections and poor investment decisions. Those who actually built their American Dreams rather than simply inherited them or presumed them, know that they can do so again. They have done it. But this modern Dream expects results to come first - and when they don’t come, are delayed in coming or are taken away due to a lack of capital - the modern American Dreamer finds himself dependent on others. In many cases, the Dreamer becomes a ward of the state or foreign producers.
This is why the New Deal, among many other reasons, was a so destructive. It taught people to depend on the hand of the state to secure their economic livelihood - rather than on those God and nature has ordained: ourselves, our family, our church. When we lose the understanding that wealth comes from work (and not from the benevolence of the state), then production no longer becomes valued - and hence, the society becomes poorer.
While there are, of course, many Americans who have gone through the required toil to achieve their goals - there are also many who, along with their possessions, own a mountain of debt (with interest). There are also some who are consuming the dream that their parents or grandparents worked for via an inheritance, gifts or just place financial dependency. But the American Dream was about producing something - adding to the material and spiritual wealth of one’s self, family and community (in that order).
In that sense, the American Dream is really about attitude. What are we pursuing and why are we going after it? Are we chasing vanity - material posessions or status for their own sake? Or are we utilising God’s great gift of freedom to wisely better our lives and the opportunities of our progeny.
The American Dream is not an entitlement we all have because we are born in a certain geography. The American Dream is a character trait which, when nurtured and allowed room to grow, brings out the best in each of us and articulates our future potential.
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