A warning to Republicans

Republicans have a majority in the House, the Senate and have the Presidency. This is a very good thing, only in that the Liberal party does not.

Republicans act very much like a majority party. They act to hold onto power. They came to power in 1994 on two themes. The Contract With America, and the overwhelming corruption of the House Democrats. The Contract was the most important. It was a new idea. Newt Gingrich successfully nationalized a very local animal, local House seats.

Democrats are trying to run on a theme of anti-corruption this year. I think that the Republicans will lose some seats, but I don't think it will be overpowering. First if is a mid-year election which is often not kind to the Presidents party. Second the corruption they are trying to sell, is not to the extent that the Democrats practiced in 1994. That being said it is time for the Republicans to get a wake up call.

They will not remain in power by out-spending the Democrats. They will not remain in power by ignoring the message of small government over big government. They will not remain in power by ignoring the problems of Immigration.

To date they have been lucky that the Democrats have no message other than hatred of Republicans in general and George W. Bush in particular. At some point someone in that party may actually put forth an idea, and then the party may be over.

Jesus is a Liberal Part II

In part one of this series I discussed that I saw a bumper sticker saying Jesus is a liberal.

I think the best argument against this belief is the doctrine of moral relativism. This seems to be a 'holy sacrament' of modern liberalism. No discussion with a left wing liberal can be completed without hearing 'who are you to impose your morals on everyone else'.

Jesus spent his entire ministry dealing with the left out of the world. The Poor, the hungry, a tax collector, prostitutes, etc. Not once did he tell them to continue in their sin. Every encounter was ended with "Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more". This is imposing his morality on the person involved.

Another huge part of liberal thought is utopianism. This is not unique to liberals, but is dangerous whenever practiced. The thought that would should refuse to pursue the good, in favor of the perfect. Conservatives do the same things but with different subjects. We hear it argued that for the US to attack Iraq was hypocrisy, because we supported Saddam. This is of course ridiculous since we slightly tilted to Iraq over another evil regime in Iran. There was never a serious allied relationship. The same people that believe this like to forget that Iraq was a client state of the Soviet Union. Jesus also does not throw us our for not being perfect. This is what the good news is all about. Jesus forgave us though we were yet in our sin. See the story of Ashley Smith and the Purpose Driven Life.

Jesus may not be a free market Conservative, but he most certainly is not a liberal.

Jesus is a Liberal!!??

I saw a bumper sticker that said "Jesus is a Liberal". At first I was annoyed. After that I thought I could analyze this for truthfulness.

Of course the left believe they have a monopoly on compassion. Since Jesus is the ultimate in compassion, he must be a liberal correct?

First of all I don't believe God has a political party. I can't find anywhere where Jesus says one word about how to organize governments. Anyone who says God is a friend of a particular party is I believe misguided.

That being said lets take a couple of issues and analyze how I think it stands up for Jesus. Besides the fact that a great many liberals detest religion and Christianity in particular lets start with the great sacrament of the left in America, Abortion. The book of Exodus says: "And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life." Exodus 21 22-23

Now on to Economics. Since Jesus never weighed in on the Laffer Curve we have to interpolate a little. Jesus is very well documented about helping the poor. Jesus also tells us to pay our taxes. We all know the scripture "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's". Additionally Joseph and Mary were going to Bethlehem to be counted to be taxed. That being said Jesus' ministry is about our personal relationship with God, not the government. I feel very good when I give money to the Salvation Army, or my church's fund for a local mission. That feeling just doesn't come up when I pay my taxes.

These are two issues that I believe prove Jesus is not a liberal or conservative, but certainly would not smile two of the pillars of left-leaning thought. I personally believe if we all adhered to the scriptures more whether from a Jewish, or Christian perspective, we would need discussions of government a lot less.

God is mad at America

They are at it again. Those right wing nuts who attribute every bad thing that happens as a sign from God. I quote "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country."

This was said not by Pat Robertson, Jim Dobson, or Chuck Colson. This was said by none other than Ray Nagin. According to a story by Brett Martell (an AP writer) Nagin said "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."

Now can anyone explain to me why it is not front page news when a noted African American Liberal attributes calamity to God but every time a religious leader does the same thing it is off to the presses. I personally wish religious leaders would stop this practice, likewise I wish Ray Nagin would as well.

Non-Representatives

Tired of Politicians that don't represent you and your views? I sure am. Why do we just accept this?

It isn't limited to one party. Just this week we had Ted Kennedy channeling Joe McCarthy, last year we had George Voinovich sobbing tears on the Senate floor because he didn't like the candidate. We had Dick Durbin comparing our troops to Pol Pot and Hitler.

What do all of these people have in common. They are continually re-elected by overwhelming margins. Who elects these people? WE DO!!!

Lots of reasons for it. They bring home money to their states. They have name recognition. Most of all we as voters are lazy. You have all heard it 'Democrats are for the working man and Republicans are for big business'. 'I'm a Republican because they will fight the deficit'. There are as many stereotypes as we can count.

Last time I looked Democrats get about as much in Campaign Contributions from Corporate America as Republicans, and under Republican Leadership spending has hit dizzying levels. Just as a thought do a couple of things:
1: VOTE. Why can't we muster a single majority to the polls once in a while?
2: Get past the money that these crooks bring home. Walter Williams once compared a common thief to a Congressman by pointing out the thief doesn't ask you to thank him.
3. If they went in honest and trustworthy changed in office, do us a favor and don't return them!!
4. Demand better alternatives. I live in Ohio. Mike DeWine or possibly Jerry Springer is not a choice. If we continue to turn out incumbents the two parties will get the picture in time.

You can't live without religion

In our political world, we talk much about the effect of religion on politics. How about those who don't have a specific religion or don't believe in a particular religion?

For this discussion lets define religion as an overwhelming force that governs your life. I would submit that most people (remember generalizations do not imply all, not are they wrong because they are generalizations) do have religion in their lives. Those of us who submit to an organized religion that isn't much of a shock. Observant Christians, Jews and Muslims gladly admit to turning their lives over to God, Jehovah or Allah.

Let's start with the Atheists. I can't speak and wouldn't attempt to speak for all Atheist, (nor Christians for that matter). Probably the most visible Atheist today is Michael Newdow. I think it is pretty obvious a major force in his life is ridding the public sector for faith. He probably spends more time on his pursuit than I do on my Christianity.

Lets look at the extreme Political Left. I am not talking about garden variety Democrats, I am talking about the rock-ribbed Bush hating, Abortion loving Political Left. Some of the people I am talking about are Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan, and well most of Hollywood. I would submit to you that a driving force in their lives is hatred of all things Conservative, and most of all GW Bush. I believe this happens in a manner consistent with religious fervor.

Let spear another political group while we are at it. The are fire breathers on the Political Right. There were people during the Clinton Administration that were so invested in hatred of Clinton that it took over their lives. I heard a radio station where a man was laying out a case for Bill Clinton being the anti-Christ. If this man was a professing Christian, I would bet, his hatred took over a part of his heart that should have been reserved for Christ.

Think we can rid your life of religion? Maybe you need to define what you mean by religion. All this considered, the debate about religion in the world of Government and politics should take on a different light.

Politicians and the Cost of Judicial Activism

There is no topic more hotly discussed than judicial activism and what that means. Certainly this is a current theme with the Supreme Court Senate hearings going on.

I would like to take a different tact on this subject. My belief is that we have a lot politicians but not a lot of leaders. Activist judges run interference for wobbly, mealy mouthed politicians.

One of the costs of judicial activism is that it allows politicians to avoid leading. When Prohibition was passed, it was done through a Constitutional Amendment. As this was a very hot topic of the day, elected representatives had to go on record about this controversial topic.

Just imagine we didn't have an activist judiciary. Just imagine if you will, a world where if a legislator wanted to make Gay Marriage, Abortion or your favorite cause legal, he or she would go to Congress and pass a bill.

(Imagine the School House Rock song "I'm just a bill" is playing. If this makes no sense to you that is because you are too young and you missed a lot of fun).
School house Rock

Instead of empty platitudes about fairness and compassion, they would go on record about a difficult subject. They would face the voters who would want answers about their vote up or down. This would require a leader, not a seat holder. I'm sure you can all think of an example of a seat holder.

First Post

This is my first post and I am new to blogging so feel free to post suggestions. I will comment on things that interest me. Those things include politics (I am an un-ashamed conservative), religion (I am a United Methodist Christian) and cooking. I am a recently diagnosed diabetic so I have a particular interest in low carb healthy recipes.

Economics is a passion of mine, although I am hardly an expert.