Labels: Economics, Foreign Policy, Free Market, Nanny State, Religion
"Our" Collective Goodness in the Tsunami Disaster
Stung by the suggestion that "we" (please note the quotation marks) are stingy because "we" (quotation marks again) were sending only $15 million to the tsunami victims, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell immediately upped the ante with another $20 million in U.S. government assistance. Powell also made it clear that this is just the beginning and that "we" will ultimately send billions of dollars to the victims. Extolling "our" generosity, Powell vowed, "We will do more." ...
... In the 20th century, "we" embraced a collectivized system in which "we" nationalized everyone's income and then made the government "our" agent for "our" goodness, compassion, and caring. The system that "we" adopted functions like this:
"We" authorize the Congress that "we" elect to take any portion of "our" income it wants, as long as the percentage is set in a democratic (i.e., majority-vote) fashion. Once that portion or percentage is democratically set, the Internal Revenue Service is authorized to use force to collect the assigned take from everyone. The IRS then delivers the take to other government agencies, which then distribute the take to the poor and needy of the world. Voila! "We" are caring, compassionate, and good—well, as long as "our" government officials and agencies are caring, compassionate, and good. If they are "stingy," then "we" are stingy.
Indeed, the forced redistribution of wealth is considered by many as evidence of our compassion. Unfortunately, there is nothing inherently Christian or moral about that. If anyone can use scripture to support the notion that compassion is defined as taking from one person to give to another, I'm all ears.
| 12/30/2004 |
| 12/27/2004 |
Labels: Government Corruption
Rumsfeld Says 9-11 Plane "Shot Down" in Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON – Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there have been questions about Flight 93, the ill-fated plane that crashed in the rural fields of Pennsylvania.
The official story has been that passengers on the United Airlines flight rushed the hijackers in an effort to prevent them from crashing the plane into a strategic target—possibly the U.S. Capitol.
During his surprise Christmas Eve trip to Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to the flight being shot down—long a suspicion because of the danger the flight posed to Washington landmarks and population centers. ...
What more can be said?
| 12/20/2004 |
Labels: Government Incompetence, Military, War
Rumsfeld acknowledged that he had not signed the letters to family members of more than 1,000 U.S. troops killed in action and in a statement said he would now sign them in his own hand. "This issue of the secretary of Defense not personally signing the letters is just astounding to me and it does reflect how out of touch they are and how dismissive they are," Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said on CBS's Face the Nation
In all fairness to ol' Rummy, that many signatures at his age could possibly lead to a mild case of writer's cramp. We wouldn't want such a valuable leader facing that kind of risk, now would we?
| 12/15/2004 |
Labels: Foreign Policy, Military, War
Iraq's defense minister on Wednesday accused neighboring Iran and Syria of supporting terrorists in his country and charged that a senior Iraqi Shiite was leading a "pro-Iranian" coalition into next month's national elections.
Defense Minister Hazem Shaalann is accusing Iran and Syria of funding and training members of al Qaeda. What this means is that the U.S. military may be heading off to Damascus and Tehran in the near future.
I believe there are two reasons for this: 1) Since Iraq is now the one leveling charges against Iran and Syria, it will appear to the rest of the world that the U.S. is simply honoring its commitment to working closely with Iraq's new democratic government—thus dispelling the notion that we merely set up another puppet regime. 2) George W. Bush is a lame duck with absolutely nothing to lose by expanding this misguided crusade. He has, as he says, "political capital," and he's going to spend it.
Unfortunately, America's young men and women in uniform will be the ones asked to pay the price.
| 12/07/2004 |
Labels: Culture/Society, Religion
It is a growing, and morbidly frank underworld of chat rooms and websites with names like "Suicide Club," where thousands of (mainly young) people meet and talk and plan their deaths.
At least 26 people have died in this manner in the past two months. ...
... "It's almost like a cult...these internet groups," argues Yukiko Nishihara, a Tokyo helpline worker. "When people are lonely and suicidal—but afraid of death—they find these websites which egg them on. There's an inhuman element to it."
But others see the sites very differently.
"There's nothing bad about suicide," said Wataru Tsurumi, author of a graphic, and best-selling handbook on the subject. "We have no religion or laws here in Japan telling us otherwise. As for group suicides - before the internet people would write letters, or make phone calls...it's always been part of our culture."
The article points out that "Japan already has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and so far the internet-related deaths are only a small proportion. But it's a growing one."
Suicide in Japan, infant euthanasia in the Netherlands, abortion in these United States—such devaluation of life demonstrates quite clearly what happens when human beings reject Christ, lose respect for God and His creation and embrace their own sinful desires.
