Remember the Beatles' tune "Suddenly?" Here's a new "hit."
Want to know more about Mike Huckabee's pathetic record on clemency as governor of Arkansas? Read here, and especially here, and don't miss this or this.
HT to the Arkansas Journal.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Clemency Came Suddenly With Mike Huckabee
Legislative Crackerbarrel in Rapid City
Rapid City’s first legislative crackerbarrel of the 2008 South Dakota legislative session was held at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology today from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
On hand were Rep. Gordon Pederson (Dist. 30), Rep Brian Gosch (Dist. 32), Rep. Gordon Howie (Dist. 30), Rep. David Lust (Dist. 34), Senator Dennis Schmidt (Dist. 33), Senator Tom Katus (Dist. 32), Rep. Mark Kirkeby (Dist. 35), Rep. Jeff Haverly (Dist. 35), Senator Bill Napoli (Dist. 35), Rep. Mike Buckingham (Dist. 33), Rep. Don Van Etten (Dist. 33), Rep. Brian Dreyer (Dist. 32), Senator Mac McCracken (Dist. 34), and Senator Jim Lintz (Dist. 30).
McCracken was the first featured speaker and spoke of some issues he sees as important in the 2008 legislature. These included property taxes, funding education, and the code of ethics.
McCracken discussed E-911 standards. He said there were 36 answering points throughout the state and standards are needed.
McCracken said the underground lab is the subject of legislation, and the legislature is already working on organizational and administrative structure for the lab in the old Homestake Mine.
McCracken will soon be term-limited out of the legislature, and made a few comments about what being a legislator entails. He said that he would not be attempting to switch houses and running for the House. 
Haverly was the second featured speaker. He is in his sixth year in the legislature, and serves on the appropriations committee.
Haverly said he was dissatisfied that technical institutes haven't been addressed as they should be. He said over last summer, a task force looked at tech school funding and analyzed the current funding structure. Haverly said that about 90% of the students achieved job placement in the skills they trained for, and almost that many stayed in the state of South Dakota. However, he said businesses in other states are interested in draining our trained students away from us.
Haverly said he understood that our resources are limited in a state of about 750,000, but he still believes more new programs should be pursued in the upcoming budget. He also criticized the governor's proposed cut in funding for the Highway Patrol, and feared that this would diminish the resources of the patrolmen keeping our highways safe.
Van Etten was the third featured speaker. He is on the taxation committee and human services committee.
Van Etten said there was a big push to immunize kids against the flu in 2007, and over 75,000 were immunized. HPV vaccinations were also offered by the state and 40% of girls between 12 and 18 years of age were immunized. He emphasized that this was a voluntary immunization. Van Etten said the state also received a federal grant to fight obesity last year.
Emerging superbugs and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a growing concern, said Van Etten, and cases in 2007 increased from 50 to 81 in South Dakota.
Van Etten said food ecoli infections most often come from livestock, and since we are a cattle state, our rates are high.
He said that the $1.00 tobacco tax increase is helping get the message out about the dangers of smoking.
Van Etten is also term limited but doesn't plan to run for the senate.
Howie was the fourth featured speaker. He talked about his proposal to reduce property taxes by 35%. He said this is separate from longstanding efforts such as those by Senator Lintz to make taxes, especially agriculture taxes, fairer. Howie said he knew of young families who are being forced from their homes simply because they can't afford the taxes on their homes. He said some rates are as high as 30% of a person's income, which means that every third year a person in this situation is surrendering their entire paycheck to cover taxes.
Howie is proposing a 2 cent sales tax to provide an across the board 35% reduction in their real estate taxes. It would also be a net reduction in taxes for South Dakotans, since visitors to the state would be paying a significant portion of this sales tax. He said this would make home ownership more affordable, especially for young couples. It would also help senior citizens to stay in their homes, and encourage investment in real estate. Finally, it would make it more affordable for people to stay on family farms, and would thus strengthen our agriculture industry.
He said that it's time to improve the tax situation in South Dakota, but he wanted to be clear that an income tax was not the answer. He said he wasn't "married to" his proposal and would be open to it if someone else had a better idea.
Q & A
A number of questions were asked about workman’s compensation bills and the Department of Labor, such as HB 1037, but none of the legislators present had been given enough time to review them in order to make an informed statement about them. Pederson said most of the bills were only received by committee yesterday. He said it would probably be next Wednesday before any action is taken on them. The Commerce Committee has received several, and Lust said that the Judiciary Committee has received at least one bill.
A question was asked of Howie about how his tax plan would guarantee a reduction of property taxes. Howie said that his proposal provides that the counties will receive payments on property taxes four times a year and they are to be applied specifically toward property taxes. It will be a simple dollar for dollar trade.
Katus said the situation with taxes could get out of hand and expressed the vague sentiment that he didn't like Howie's proposal.
Howie said the fairest tax of all is a sales tax, and even the poor are allowed a refund on the food tax.
Senator Napoli said he gave Howie credit for trying to work on the problem, but Nebraska did this same thing several years ago, and they ended up having a huge sale tax and a huge property tax. Napoli said freezing tax assessments is the only way to provide property tax relief. He said that there is growth in assessments each year. He said Howie's reduction will last 10 years but then we'll be in the same situation we're in now. Napoli commended Howie's efforts to address property taxes, but said he did not support Howie’s bill.
Haverly and Buckingham were asked if they would vote to kill the SB 26 which would authorize standards to be established for a state preschool education program. Haverly said government shouldn’t be involved in pre-k education. He said anywhere you look, state pre-K programs “haven’t worked out. Haverly said requirements end up becoming too bold, and it's not a good idea. He said this will affect the private providers that don't want to be involved. "Government doesn't belong in this business," said Haverly. He said this idea started as a pilot program, but now they want to move it to the general fund, and this will make it an ongoing program. He asked all his fellow legislators to work extremely hard to stop this insanity. Somewhat exasperated, Haverly said that next, government will be asking for control of our infants. 
Buckingham said the proposal last year wanted to regulate pre-k through 12, but no rules had been drawn up at the time the bill was offered. He said no statement of intent was provided by the Dept of Education, and he wasn't willing to provide a blank check to the Dept. of Education. He said he wanted to see what the proposed rules said before making any decision this year, but he said he didn't want to put private providers out of business, and didn't believe this service should be moved into government.
Lintz said we've been talking about increasing teacher salaries at the same time we're looking to add to the education budget by including pre-K. And at the same time, we're talking about high property taxes and the need for relief. He said we can't afford to do all this at once.
A question was asked about HB 1086 which would make having a gun on a college campus a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Napoli said our state is one of the few remaining free states where you can live and raise your children with minimal interference from government. He said he saw in a small town recently that there was a gun in the back window of every truck parked on main street, and no one in their right mind would pull a gun and try something there. He said this bill was a bad idea.
Buckingham said this is the worst piece of legislation he's ever seen. He said it would be a Class 1 misdemeanor to bring a gun on campus, but there are a number of exceptions. He said from his experience going pheasant hunting while he attended college, he could see a number of problems with practical application of this bill.
Schmidt said he is a gun owner and supports gun ownership. He credited Paul Harvey with an idea where a town decided to arm all the citizens, and crime rates went down. He said criminals are usually more afraid to commit crimes when they fear encountering a good citizen who is armed. Schmidt said he was a cop for 11 years, and that every day they hoped they would never have to draw their weapon He said 99% of people aren't going to hurt anyone. Schmidt said we should take the guns away from crooks, and if we try to take people's guns away from people, do you think the crooks are going to turn in their guns? 
Right as I was leaving the crackerbarrel early for a prior commitment, Katus said that he would be introducing a “living wage” bill that would apply to every business that had more than 10 employees. He said that certain government employees made over $11.00 an hour, and that all employees should make at least this much. He mentioned Wal-Mart’s proposal to bring a second store to Rapid City a few years ago, and spoke of their intention to pay an average wage of $10.00-11.00 an hour in a disparaging tone.
The crackerbarrel continued another 45 minutes after I left at 10:15 am, but further details can probably be obtained at the Hog House Blog and the Rapid City Journal later today or tomorrow. I believe I saw Denise Ross from the Hog House there and the Journal usually covers these events.
Pharmacist Speaks to Conscience Clause
Today's Rapid City Journal features a guest piece by Rapid City pharmacist Melissa Stahlecker, Pharm.D.
She addresses the controversy over pharmacists who exercise their conscience--and legal conscience clauses--to not dispense products that violate their conscience. In this case, contraceptives and abortafacients.
“My job” is not just to “dispense prescriptions that are legally prescribed by a doctor” as is stated. If that were the case, I could not be held accountable for recklessly dispensing a medication that I know has a high likelihood of harm through a drug interaction or for dispensing narcotics when I know they are not for a legitimate use. Your pharmacist always considers the risk, benefit, safety and necessity of medications as part of your health care. Your pharmacist is not a vending machine.
Of the frivolous argument that a pharmacist who doesn't want to dispense contraceptives or abortafacients should just "find another job," she says
One’s private and professional life cannot be compartmentalized; they are but parts of a larger whole. A health care right of conscience is firmly grounded in the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and freedom of speech; these rights are not suspended when the pharmacist walks through the door for work.
Stahlecker has a word for this integrated way of living: integrity
How Republicans can help elect a Democrat
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
COALITION ON URBAN RENEWAL & EDUCATION
The opportunity for Republicans to hold onto the presidency in 2008 is far better than what conventional punditry would have us believe. But for Republicans to capture this opportunity, they are going to have to stop the destructiveness that has been fomenting inside the party and the mudslinging against their own.
As I wrote in a recent column, year-end highlights from the Pew Research Center show the Republican Party in a state that can be seen as either a glass half empty or half full.
On the half empty part, Pew reports that now "fully half (50 percent) of Americans identified with or leaned toward the Democratic Party, compared with just 36 percent who affiliated with the Republican Party." (Full Article)
Washington Watch Weekly
Emotional breakdown propels Hillary Clinton to primary success
Washington State looking to allow assisted suicide
Companies such as BMW, Mercedes, Wal-Mart and others have pulled sponsorship of some smutty television shows
A taxpayer-funded Utah PBS station aired an ad against Mike Huckabee which trashed Jesus and the Eucharist. The ad was pulled and the station apologized.
Lawyer, author and radio talk show host Mark Levin talks about the election
Protecting children from the Bible
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Health Care Woes: Reagan is Still Right!
As I've said numerous times, we need LESS government intervention in health care, not more. A great deal of our current health care woes stem from too much government involvement in health care.
A new article from Investors Business Daily zeroes in on the problem:
Public health programs account for almost half of the $2 trillion spent on U.S. health care, a Hoover Institution report says. An astonishing 80% or more of all medical-care pricing is based on government reimbursement rates set by Medicare.
As for private costs, they would be lower if government didn't interfere in the market. Regulations imposed on the industry cost more than $330 billion a year, Hoover says.
Perverse tax policies have created a third-party payer system. Patients no longer have first-dollar responsibility for medical bills thanks to employer insurance.
Someone else is paying, so inflation goes unchecked and unabated.
"Patients have no idea what their doctor visits, surgeries, diagnostic studies or other medical services — whether urgent or elective — will cost until the bill comes weeks later," said Dr. Scott W. Atlas, a senior Hoover fellow and chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical School.
Even then, they seldom flyspeck the bill. Why bother, when they're responsible for just 10% to 20% of it?
Between insurance and government involvement, there is little incentive among the consumers of health care to put a check on rising health care costs.
The law of the market is that providers of goods and services can only charge what the market will bear. If they charge more than consumers can pay, they will lose business--and perhaps go out of business, especially if there is competition which will under-bid them.
The deep pockets of insurance companies and the government, coupled with their inability to adequately monitor the validity of expenditures (they aren't on-scene as the consumer, so they cannot fully know what should and shouldn't be spent), has led to out-of-control prices and spending.
We need to move back toward a more consumer-involved model for the health care industry, one where the consumer has more responsibility--and motive--for keeping health care costs and expenditures down.
Calls for more government intervention to fix the health care problems in America are akin to throwing a bucket of gasoline on a fire in order to put out the fire.
As the great Ronald Reagan once said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Friday, January 11, 2008
How Accurate is Our Worldview Aim?
As numerous posts and comments in the past show, plus his latest, Cory Heidelberger at the Madville Times really seems to have a problem with a Christian worldview that doesn't have enough Marxism and Leftist pablum mixed in (which, incidentally, makes it NOT a Christian worldview).
I'm not too awful concerned with what people think of my personal opinions. I learned a long time ago that what I come up with on my own may or may not be true, and neither I nor anyone else should stake their life on it.
But when I write something that is clearly and solidly supported by Scripture and someone maligns it, it isn't just my credibility that's being undermined, but the character and authority of God that's being attacked. The Bible says over and over and over and over that this kind of thing will happen, and it really isn't personal, because it's not me they're rejecting but God himself. Yet the stability and welfare of our world--and everyone in it--depends on following the Creator's design, so it's important that we be able to identify and separate the truth from the lies.
As Dr. Del Tackett states in that "Truth Project" that Cory seems to despise so much (that I'm pretty sure he's never seen or attended), having a biblical worldview means that you study God's word with an intent to find out what it says, not how you can make it lend religious credibility to your own ideas. It means an effort to see the world through God's eyes. It means you want to see as good the things that God sees as good, and see as bad the things God sees as bad.
Using some things that Cory has said, here are some examples of what does NOT line up with a Christian worldview:
Here, Cory seems to confuse not only the role of private entities versus the government, but the very identity and nature of government itself. Jesus and His Bible admonishes PEOPLE to help people, not government to help people. And there are foundational reasons for that which the Bible also reveals.
Here, Cory states that capitalism is a great evil, despite the fact that capitalism is the economic engine that has provided us with the great affluence and comfort we enjoy in the United States. Capitalism also is harmonious with a biblical worldview, as there are numerous businesses and business people mentioned in the Bible; none are disparaged for being business people, only when they personally engage in unethical practices.
Meanwhile the Marxism he seems to embrace so lovingly is in direct conflict with the Bible because it crushes freedom, erodes human dignity and the Judeo-Christian work ethic, and denies the fallen nature of man.
Here Cory displays stunning ignorance about the Christian heritage of America, the nature of what an "official state establishment of religion" really is, and fails to recognize the Christian worldview of the Founders who wrote the Constitution and set up this great nation.
Here Cory dismisses the importance of examining the worldview and character of political candidates and the Christian duty to support the candidate that best matches God's character.
In this comment, Cory elevates public opinion over what is right.
Here, Cory advocates government control of our economy (socialism). This comment further illustrates Cory's animus for business and the free market, when neither the Bible nor the Founders of the United States indicate there is anything to fear from business or that anything is wrong with it. The Bible advocates morality in every sphere of life, including business, but it does not even remotely state that business and the free market are evil.
By displaying an overweening hostility toward business and the free market, Cory is drawing focus away from what can create problems in the business world: a heart disposed to greed and disregard for honesty and integrity. Immorality is bad; business is a legitimate tool for meeting material needs, and is only as good as those who use it. Wise, reasoned people don't advocate throwing out the baby with the bath water.
What's more, business does not have the same power to make law and punish lawbreakers that government does. As the writings of the Founders indicate, government is the entity to be feared and kept tightly restrained.
Here Cory pooh-pooh's the courage and fortitude the Bible encourages, in favor of the politics of victimhood so loved by today's liberals.
Here, Cory makes light of both drunkenness and abortion. The Bible condemns drunkenness repeatedly. It also affirms human life as being created in the image of God, speaks of the wonders of how God creates a human being in the womb, and speaks of the purpose and destiny of human beings even before they're born.
Here again Cory dismisses efforts to save unborn children by banning abortion.
Numerous times in the Bible God entreats people to "choose life" over choosing the way of evil, suffering and death. Can one genuinely say their worldview is a biblical one if they advocate practices that destroy human life in the womb, bring physical suffering on women, and wrenches their souls?
I wish for the sake of clarity he'd tell me what he finds so unbiblical about what James Dobson has said or anything said at Focus on the Family? It'd be nice if Cory would be specific instead of just maligning people and organizations that don't line up with his buffet-style pop theology?
It'd be nice if Cory would bring out his philosophy with specifics so we could compare them to the Bible--and to the Constitution and the writings of the Founders, since those are the standard by which public policy in the United States, a nation founded by Christians on Christian principles of whom most people still claim to be Christians, should be measured.
What is not harmonious with the Bible cannot be called Christian, and what is not harmonious with the U.S. Constitution and the intentions of the Founders cannot truly be called "American." If I say something of a moral bent that can't be supported by the Bible or isn't harmonious with it, then it doesn't doesn't deserve a hearing. But if it is backed by the Bible...well, I'm just repeating what God said.
The Bible warns about mixing human wisdom with God's truth; it doesn't take much "foreign matter" to spoil the batch.
I'm sure my worldview isn't nearly as Christian as it should be; as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12, in our humanity we see the truth through the flawed mirror or glass of our fallen nature, and we now know only in part what someday we will know fully.
But a person is more likely to get close to the bullseye when they focus on their target, than when they show no regard for their aim, or look at a different target altogether.
Misery in the Middle East
An article by Philip Carl Salzman in the Canadian National Post examines "Why Arabs suffer."
It catalogues a number of areas where the Arab world lags behind most of the rest of the world:
The Arab region not only ranked last on the freedom scale, but the gap between Arab countries and the next-to-last ranked region, Africa, was substantial. The authors also found the Arab world lagged in gender equality, education, Internet use, human welfare and technological development.
"The [total] average [scientific] output of the Arab world per million inhabitants is roughly 2% that of an industrialized country," the authors noted. "In 1981, the Republic of Korea was producing 10% of the output of the Arab world; in 1995, it almost equalled its output."
In the number of frequently cited scientific papers generated per million inhabitants, Switzerland scored 79.90, the United States 42.99, Israel 38.63. Among Arab nations, Kuwait led the pack with 0.53, followed by Saudi Arabia with 0.07, Egypt at 0.02, and Algeria at 0.01.
The piece places the blame not on Western imperialism--which usually gets the blame for everything under the sun--but on the governmental structure of Arab countries:
What is missing in the Arab Middle East are the cultural tools for building an inclusive and united state. The cultural glue of the West and other successful modern societies --consisting of the rule of law and constitutionalism, which serve to regulate competition among unrelated groups -- is absent in the Arab world. The frame of reference in a tribalized society is always "my group vs. the other group." This system of "balanced opposition" is the structural alternative that stands in stubborn opposition to Western constitutionalism.
The suffering is likely to continue until the Arab world decides to embrace an ordered system and the rule of law.
An Instrument of Evil
Renewing Your Mind - Dr. R.C. Sproul
At what point do God-appointed civil governments move from being negligent ministers of justice to instruments of evil?
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
For Such a Time as This
After Iowa and New Hampshire, presidential candidates suddenly want to know what evangelical voters think. Well, let's ask them what they think -- especially about the persecution of Christians.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Video: SC GOP Debate 1/10/2008
Here is the entire video of the 1/10/08 Republican debate from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:
From youdecide2008.com
Ditch the Preacher Man
GUEST COLUMN
By Mary Starrett
Constitution Party Communications Director
The fact that the media are toadying up to president wanna-be Mike Huckabee should tell you all you need to know.
He is not, never has been, nor will he suddenly turn into, a statesman who will get the United States back on a constitutional track.
The media have for one reason only blessed Mike Huckabee; and it has nothing to do with his profession of faith in the Nazarene.
Media have anointed him a ‘frontrunner’ despite his profession of Christian beliefs.
The reason is, Mike Huckabee embraces enough big-government, left-leaning socialist policies and ideology that his Christianity can be forgiven him by a press corps decidedly hostile to all that honors Providence. (Full Article)
Top Seven Acts of Christian Bashing in America in 2007
FT. LAUDERDALE, Florida, Jan. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- "From murder and intimidation, to the crass and the blasphemous, 2007 was a horrendous year of Christian bashing," said Dr. Gary L. Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Anti-Christian sentiments are being fomented in the culture and are becoming more deadly and cynical," said Cass. "Impressionable young people are being swept up in anti-Christian hysteria, aided and abetted by a greedy, a-moral entertainment industry. Mocking Christians, blaspheming their faith and ridiculing their values has become the easy way for 'entertainers' to shock their way to the top."
"The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) calls on anti-Christian politicians, Hollywood and New York media elites to stop the Christian bashing and take responsibility for the culture of hate towards Christians they have helped to create. The CADC will work aggressively to stop this dangerous and irresponsible Christian bashing in 2008." (Full Article)
Family News in Focus 01-11-08
States addicted to gambling for revenue
Catholic hospital is sued for not performing a sex change operation
"Pray for Election Day" campaign
Black Americans are speaking out about how abortion devastates the black community
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Parents Who Blow It
Psychologists Dr. James Dobson and Dr. Bill Maier suggest that parents not lower their standards for their kids just because they have made their own mistakes.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Lesson 2 - Philosophy and Ethics: Says Who?
Lesson #1 of the Truth Project was last week, and it was fantastic! Lesson #2 is this Sunday at South Canyon Baptist Church in Rapid City.
Even if you worship at an other church, you would still likely have time to attend and then make your 10:45 or 11:00 worship service. You won't be disappointed!
Truth is not simply an academic concept. The way we think about truth has a direct bearing upon the way we live our lives. What's more, our understanding of right and wrong is directly dependent on our worldview: is the universe God's creation or a closed cosmic cube?
Visit www.thetruthproject.org for more information.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
UTU Union Bribe Caught on Tape
Actual undercover footage of a United Transportation Union (UTU) bagman accepting a cash bribe for the union's president.
Forcing someone to join a union to work a job, and forcing employers to negotiate with unions, is un-American.
Create National Health Care, Wait Over a Year for Treatment!
Hey all you socialism-infatuated, big-government-lovin' folks out there who want the United States to follow other nations down the dead-end street of socialized medicine, take a look at how good they have it in the workers paradise of Great Britain.
From the British Daily Mail:
Almost 400,000 patients are still waiting more than a year for NHS treatment, a think tank claimed today.
Government figures showed a rise in the number of patients being admitted for treatment within the 18-week target from referral.
The latest figures, for October 2007, showed 60 per cent were treated in that timeframe, up from 57 per cent the previous month.
But right-wing think-tank Civitas warned the figures were concealing a high number forced to wait far longer.
It said 713,513 (or 18 per cent) of patients needing elective treatment were waiting longer than 36 weeks, with 387,152 (10 per cent) of those having waited over a year.
Wow, the government is trying to get health care wait-times down to only 4.5 months! They must truly care there! Gotta love that government "compassion"!
Our health care system in the U.S. is far from perfect, but I don't think we need to screw it up even further with even more government meddling and end up with this kind of inefficiency.
This is what you get when government does what people ought to be doing for themselves.
Gilchrist Accepts Responsibility for Huckabee Misquote
OneNewsNow says Jim Gilchrist is taking responsibility for the confusion over Huckabee's support for a constitutional amendment to curtail automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal aliens.
Gilchrist admits the mistake was his own, and that it was not something the GOP presidential hopeful planned to pursue if elected.
"I should take the blame for this; I misquoted the governor. All the heat falls on me," he maintains, explaining Huckabee would leave it to the rule of law. "... He's going to leave it to the Supreme Court [or Congress] to handle. That's what he meant. When I talked to my writer, I took him out of context."
Gilchrist says he is supporting Huckabee because he is the only candidate who has released a written plan on how to deal with illegal immigration. Gilchrist has been stumping for Huckabee in Michigan.
I wonder if Gilchrist considered weighing Huckabee's record on immigration against what he's saying these days when he's looking for our votes.
Pursuing Plutocracy, Ptochocracy, or a Republic?
By Bob Ellis
Dakota Voice
There's been a fair amount of discussion in the public square lately concerning fears of a plutocracy, which is a state ruled by the wealthy. But what about a ptochocracy?
As well-intentioned as some of this plutocracy talk may be, I fear a great deal of it may just be more business-bashing and class-envy--something we have too much in this free country which is infected by a sickening dose of Marxism.
For the most part, all nations throughout all human history have at least in some sense been "ruled by the wealthy." After all, how many poor people and beggars are likely to end up in positions of power? (Full Article)
Gates on Iran
The veracity of the U.S. Navy's version involving threatening actions by Iranian gunboats Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz is beyond question.
Huckabee Snuggles Council on Foreign Relations
WorldNetDaily says Mike Huckabee is taking foreign policy advise from a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is getting more heat both online and in person from critics who scold the former governor for consulting the president of the Council on Foreign Relations on issues of international affairs.
Last month, Huckabee confirmed to CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he consults CFR President Richard Haass on foreign affairs matters – a fact that has circulated among bloggers and anti-globalism activists.
"Who are your principal foreign policy advisers, Governor," asked Blitzer.
Huckabee responded: "Well, I have a number of people from whom I get policy. I'm talking to Frank Gaffney. I talk to Richard Haass."
The National Expositor website pointed out Haass penned a column in the Taipei Times that called on sovereign nations to cede power to global bodies.
"States must be prepared to cede some sovereignty to world bodies if the international system is to function," Haass wrote. "This is already taking place in the trade realm. Governments agree to accept the rulings of the WTO because on balance they benefit from an international trading order even if a particular decision requires that they alter a practice that is their sovereign right to carry out.
I'm aware that a lot of people have concerns about the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). I've read a lot of material about globalist concerns and one-world government concerns, and the CFR is mixed up in many of these, but at the end of the day, I'm unconvinced by many of these conspiracy theories that claim the CFR et al are running the world.
Still, in the favor of these conspiracy theory groups is the fact that Mike Huckabee's star "coincidentally" began to rise around the time he made a speech to the CFR in September. Could he have reassured this group of elitists that he was "on the plantation" and thus received the favor he needed to become a "viable" candidate in the eyes of the establishment?
I don't know. But it makes me wonder. But anyone who is advising that American sovereignty be surrendered is working against the good of our country.
Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?
Are We Giving The Robots That Run Our Society Too Much Power?
Panelists discuss whether controversial decisions by the Robot Congress and President Executron indicate robots have too much control over our lives.
Video: U.S. Airstrikes on Al Qaeda
The U.S. military in Iraq released video Monday showing the destruction of an enemy mortar transport truck and suspected al qaeda safehouses.
Family News in Focus 01-10-08
Highlights:
Abortion advocates try to grab money from pro-lifers
Lottery income is falling off, so money-hungry state governments are upping the ante
Fewer teens are using illegal drugs, but more people are using over-the-counter drugs to get high
January 16 is Religious Freedom Day. President Bush is inviting schools to participate in this event which has been around since 1993, but it is doubtful that many will.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Hillary Clinton's Stunningly Unstunning Win
By Carrie K. Hutchens
I couldn't believe it when Wolfe Blitzer referred to the New Hampshire primary as a stunning win for Hillary Clinton. Stunning win? This allegedly invincible, unbeatable candidate only won the primary by 2%. That's hardly impressive within the scheme of things, even if one wants to believe that she was losing by large numbers 48 hours before the primary itself. Obviously, the polls were wrong, so why use them to define her win? (Full Article)
US footage of confrontation in the Gulf - 09 Jan 08
The Pentagon releases footage filmed from the USS Hopper showing Iranian boats heading towards the vessel as well as an audiotape of radio communications.
This is from Al Jazeera, but it doesn't look substantially different from the shorter Pentagon footage I posted earlier this morning.
That bit at the end where the U.S. sailor says in response to the Iranian saying {garbled) in a few minutes, "You will explode after a few minutes" was good, though it wasn't clear whether he was transmitting to the Iranians when he said this.
Cohabitation
James Dobson Family Minute
Author Dr. James Dobson and Dr. Bill Maier bring the brutal statistics to light when it comes to living together before marriage.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Iran Boat Video
The U.S. Navy has released video showing Iranian fast boats swarming around three American war ships Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz in what President Bush is calling a provocative act.
Most F-15s Return to Air Force Service
Air Combat Command cleared a majority of its F-15 A through D model fighters for a limited return to the sky on Tuesday following two months of detailed inspections.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Poverty and Marriage
KOTA has a story today about the poverty level in South Dakota.
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, South Dakota's overall poverty rate in 2005 rose to 13.6 percent. That was the highest level since 1997.
The statewide poverty rate in 2004 was 12.9 percent. The 2005 figures show that just over 100,000 people in the state lived below the poverty level in 2005.
In 1997, the poverty rate was 14 percent. And in 1989, 14.8 percent of South Dakotans were at or below the poverty level.
Interestingly, 2006 statistics were available on the Census Bureau website, so I'm not sure why KOTA went with 2005 statistics. Maybe because there was no change at all between 2005 and 2006, so a headline that said "SD's 2006 poverty level no change from 2005" wouldn't have quite the same impact?
Take a look at these statistic and see if you find something interesting (click on the images to make them larger, if necessary)
2005
2006
Did you notice the difference between "Married Couple Families" and "Families with female householder, no husband present"? There is quite a difference in both years, but look at the widest, which is 2005: you have a full 30-point spread in poverty between intact, traditional families and single-female households. That's more than 7.5 times the rate for intact, traditional families.
Now I know there are some situations where this is beyond the woman's control, such as widowhood, abuse situations and such, but look at the primary factor in poverty: intact marriages and families.
Typically, when poverty statistics are touted by the media, it's a prelude to calls for more government handouts. But decades of the "New Deal," the "Great Society" and unrestrained welfare (should have) taught us that throwing money at a social problem solves nothing and usually makes things worse.
What we've been doing is like giving a cancer patient some aspirin and sending him home. We've been trying to alleviate some of the pain without trying to cure the problem that's eating him alive. What sense does that make?
What if, instead of throwing away more of the taxpayers dollars, the government actually tried to work on the root problem itself? What if government tightened up the no-fault divorce laws that started loosening the bonds of marriage several decades ago, so that a commitment meant a commitment and not just "until I get tired of you" or "until it gets difficult"? There will always be a need for some divorces for unfaithfulness, abuse and such--especially when warning signs are ignored before marriage--but how much family disintegration would be avoided by getting rid of the no-fault divorce?
How many would be saved from poverty if we encouraged strong moral values and saving sex until marriage? How much could be avoided if parents taught it and enforced it in their children, schools encouraged it, and churches reinforced it?
And what might happen if some of the PSAs we see on TV and hear on the radio actually started touting the health and economic benefits of marriage and intact families (and the academic benefits to the children who don't have to live in a chaotic home)?
Too many times an unnecessary divorce or unwed pregnancy leaves one person doing the work and producing the resources that God intended for two people to do. If reducing single-parent families could even cut the poverty rate in half, wouldn't it be worth it to promote marriage and sexual responsibility?
The remaining unavoidable poverty can easily be handled by the private sector (churches and charities). The government needs to get out of the business of weakening the family and marriage...and charity. There is no Biblical or Constitutional role for it there, and this is an illustration of why.
AP Says Richardson Drops Out
AP: Richardson to End Presidential Bid
By NEDRA PICKLER (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
January 09, 2008 8:05 PM EST
MERRIMACK, N.H. - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ended his campaign for the presidency Wednesday after twin fourth-place finishes that showed his impressive credentials could not compete with his rivals' star power.
Richardson planned to announce the decision Thursday, according to two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision. They spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the governor's announcement.
(Full article)
This article reminds me of the hostage negotiators that actually create the miracles and save the people, while it is the front person that talks to the media that is remembered by the public and receives credit for the results.
I'm betting this man's resume for the past 35 years is far more impressive than Hillary Clinton's.
Unchurched View Christianity Positively, Church Itself Negatively
From Baptist Press comes news of a survey conducted by LifeWay Research of unchurched people.
Here is just a little of what they found:
"A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church 'is full of hypocrites,'" Stetzer said. "At the same time, however, 71 percent of the respondents said they believe Jesus 'makes a positive difference in a person's life' and 78 percent said they would be 'willing to listen' to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity."
Concerning the biblical understanding about God and Jesus among unchurched Americans, Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, recounted, "While 72 percent of those surveyed said they believe God -- a higher or supreme being -- actually exists, only 48 percent agree there is only one God as described in the Bible, and 61 percent believe 'the God of the Bible is no different from the gods or spiritual beings depicted by world religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. At the same time, 66 percent of adults ages 18-29 agree that Jesus died and came back to life, compared to 54 percent of adults 30 years and older."
As the article goes on to say, these misunderstandings aren't surprising, given today's culture of tolerance, moral relativism and "all roads lead to heaven" mentality.
Also, if they're not going to church, why should they understand much about Christianity? You wouldn't expect most people to know much about science if they never went to science class, would you?
The Sword and the Keys
Renewing Your Mind - Dr. R.C. Sproul
Does the church have the right to criticize the government's decisions? Does the government have the right to intervene in ecclesiastical matters?
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Christians and Politics
Truths That Transform
When you are accused of trying to impose your morality on others, remember this—every law is an imposition of someone's view of morality. Learn the truth about Christians and politics, when Dr. D. James Kennedy interviews Gary DeMar, on Truths That Transform.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Mid-Life Crisis: Buying Into the System
James Dobson Family Minute
Author and psychologist Dr. James Dobson offers insight into what can trigger a man's mid-life crisis.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Report: American Schools Trail Behind World In Aptitude Of Child Soldiers
Report: American Schools Trail Behind World In Aptitude Of Child Soldiers
A shocking new study finds U.S. children lag far behind their international peers in subjects like rifle assembly and mine defusing.
How Could a Loving, Intelligent God Create a World of Suffering?
Answers with Ken Ham
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Washington Watch Daily
Taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood produces a new ad promoting "safe sex" which involves a homosexual flight attendant propositioning an airline pilot on an airplane.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Monsters of Our Own Making
BreakPoint - Chuck Colson and Mark Earley
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
More on Huckabee's Constitutional Cha-Cha-Cha
Yesterday the Washington Times reported that Mike Huckabee wanted to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens.
Then Huckabee's office issued a statement yesterday afternoon that this was NOT the case. At that time I asked, "What gives?" And I'm still asking.
Today's Washington Times takes up the issue again and says
The Times reported that Mr. Gilchrist, in a half-hour conversation while campaigning with Mr. Huckabee last week in Iowa, pinned down the Republican presidential candidate on various immigration stances, including how he would address what most legal scholars see as the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship to any person born in the United States, except for diplomatic situations.
Mr. Gilchrist said Mr. Huckabee promised to bring a test case to the Supreme Court to challenge the matter, and also would press Congress to pass an amendment to the Constitution.
And after Huckabee disavowed this
But Mr. Huckabee's spokeswoman, Kirsten Fedewa, did talk to The Times for the article. She did not challenge any of Mr. Gilchrist's statements at the time, and was quoted as saying Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Gilchrist were "united by a mutual desire to end illegal immigration and are political allies toward that end."
You would think that between talking to Huckabee's new immigration guru buddy John Gilchrist and Huckabee's spokeswoman, this would be authoritative enough. Guess not.
The Times also said that back in August during an interview with them, Huckabee had expressed a willingness to look at a constitutional amendment dealing with automatic citizenship:
"I would support changing that. I think there is reason to revisit that, just because a person, through sheer chance of geography, happened to be physically here at the point of birth, doesn't necessarily constitute citizenship," he said at the time, according to the audiotape of the interview. "I think that's a very reasonable thing to do, to revisit that."
The article says Gilchrist insists he read his notes back to Huckabee on this issue before speaking, and that as far as he knows, this was Huckabee's intention.
So I'm still at a loss to "What gives?" Did Huckabee become fearful that he was driving too many of his liberal followers away with his recent "Tom Tancredo" stance on immigration? I don't know, but I have to wonder. For a man who used to think immigration and border control was "racist" and "bigoted," he's all over the road, these days.
Hillary Clinton Claims Own Voice in Wake of NH Win
By Carrie K. Hutchens
In Hillary's victory speech last night, she thanked the people of New Hampshire for helping her find her own voice. I wonder what it is that voice will say in comparison to all the other voices we have heard in the past months upon months of listening to her. Curiosity is not something I have ever denied having. I even wonder if the Clinton new-found voice will accidentally give voice to others more deserving. (Full Article)
Family News in Focus 01-09-08
Coast guard officer is forced to choose between honoring his country or his faith
Porn on library computers is becoming pervasive problem in America. What does federal law have to say about it?
Christian organization has developed a program to bridge gap between those struggling with same-sex attractions and the churches they attend
Friday is set aside as a day to raise awareness and opposition to human trafficking
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Homosexuals Demand Christians Help Them Defy God
A confused transgender man has filed a discrimination lawsuit against a Catholic hospital for not coddling him in his confusion.
From NewsMax:
Fifty-seven-year-old Charlene Hastings already had one major surgery she needed to become a woman. But she says when she called Seton Medical Center to inquire about breast enlargement surgery, an official told her it wasn't "God's will" for her to get that treatment.
If it had been God's will for this man to have larger breasts, God would have made him a woman--but obviously He didn't.
If this man wants to pretend he's a woman, I suppose there's nothing anyone can do to stop him, though it would be good if he got some therapy to help him deal with reality.
But in filing this lawsuit, he's demanding that a Catholic hospital join him in defying God's will and implying that God doesn't know what He's doing.
It's not good enough for the sexually confused to gain acceptance from normal people--they now demand our assistance, regardless of our religious beliefs, in going against God's design.
Very dangerous days we live in. Very dangerous, indeed.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
More than One Third Consider Marriage Unnecessary
According to OneNewsNow and a new Zogby poll, 44% of Americans between 20 and 69 find marriage unnecessary.
Zogby International and AOL surveyed more than 7,000 Americans in that age bracket and found 44 percent who said marriage is not necessary in order to have a committed, fulfilling, life-long relationship.
This despite research which finds married people are healthier and live longer--so it's not only a moral imperitive but a practical one.
Cohabitation prior to marriage is also a bad idea:
...research by Rutgers University's National Marriage Project indicates that couples who live together before marriage are 46 percent more likely to divorce and significantly more likely to experience domestic violence within their relationships.
The erosion of marriage chips away mightily at the foundation of societal order and well being. Moral compromises usually have practical consequences.
Technorati tags: marriage, family, cohabitation, polls
Study: Homosexual Recovery Rate Better Than Drug, Alcohol Addiction
OneNewsNow has an article on a new study about programs that help homosexuals get out of the lifestyle.
The study was conducted by psychology professors Stanton L. Jones of Wheaton College and Mark A. Yarhouse of Regent University. It's called "Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation."
The results were impressive: 38 percent of the participants in the Exodus program had either embraced "chastity with a reduction in prominence of homosexual desire" or experienced "a diminishing of homosexual attraction and an increase in heterosexual attraction with a resulting satisfactory heterosexual adjustment." According to press reports, another 29 percent had had only partial success in leaving the homosexual lifestyle but were committed to continuing their efforts.
Compare the success rates of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Some studies indicate the success rate is less than 25% at a year and less than 10% at 5 years. I'd say Exodus is having pretty good success.
And alcoholics and drug addicts don't usually have practically all of the elites in culture telling them over and over again that their destructive behavior is normal, natural and healthy--which would further undermine their chances of recovery.
God repeatedly condemns homosexual behavior in the Old and New Testaments; it turns His design for human sexuality upside down. God wouldn't have created people a certain way, only to condemn them for acting that way.
In fact, the Bible makes it clear that people can leave the homosexual lifestyle and be restored to obedience to God:
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
The politically correct in our culture are only perpetuating the slavery of homosexuals to this addictive sin when they tell them it's "natural" and that it's impossible to break this habit.
Technorati tags: homosexuality, gay, ex-gay
Spanking on the Spot
James Dobson Family Minute
Psychologists Dr. James Dobson and Dr. Bill Maier talk about appropriate punishment at the right time instead of sending mixed messages to a child.
Click here to listen
From OnePlace.com
Now Huckabee DOESN'T Want to End Anchor Babies?
Well, now this is interesting. I posted this morning on a Washington Times article that said
Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.
Mr. Huckabee, who won last week's Republican Iowa caucuses, promised Minuteman Project founder James Gilchrist that he would force a test case to the Supreme Court to challenge birthright citizenship, and would push Congress to pass a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to remove any doubt.
This, of course, runs completely against Huckabee's record of pandering to illegal aliens. But it is within keeping with his recent "conversion" on immigration and border control.
But this afternoon RedState reports that Huckabee's website issued a statement disavowing any support for such an amendment
"I do not support an amendment to the Constitution that would prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens. I have no intention of supporting a constitutional amendment to deny birthright citizenship."
So what's the deal? Obviously if Huckabee' website says this, then this is the official position (for today, at least) of the candidate. But why would the Washington Times print a story like that if there was no foundation for it?
There were no direct quotes from Huckabee in the article about this proposed amendment, but it seems to indicate that this information came through his new buddy, border control advocate Jim Gilchrist:
Mr. Huckabee told Mr. Gilchrist that he supports a Supreme Court test case but also would encourage Congress to introduce a constitutional amendment to exclude from automatic citizenship any children born to illegal aliens.
So is Gilchrist going rogue here? Is he running ahead of Huckabee? Hopefully more on this will develop.
Too bad Huckabee doesn't support such an amendment. It would be a good way to slow down the illegal alien problem by ending the "anchor" by which some maintain residence in the United States. As I stated this morning, if we limited birth citizenship to children whose parents were in the country legally at the time of birth, this could be an effective and fair measure.
Technorati tags: election, Huckabee, immigration, border control,
Seeing Through the Lies about Lethal Injection
Debra J. Saunders at the San Francisco Chronicle has a piece on the case before the Supreme Court arguing that execution by lethal injection is "cruel and unusual" based on the contention that these convicted murderers might feel some pain as they meet justice.
Saunders sheds some scientific light on these thin arguments:
Start with the bogus medical argument that the three-drug protocol may cause "excruciating pain" - and hence violates the Eighth Amendment protection against "cruel and unusual punishment." In that the Kentucky protocol starts with the administration of 10 times the amount of sodium pentothal needed to start invasive surgery, there is no chance that the other two drugs will cause pain for a convicted killer during execution. And no one has proven that an executed inmate has felt any pain from the three-drug cocktail.
Yes, some politicized medical journals have been willing to publish alleged research that supports the bogus pain argument, but they do so to their own discredit. In 2005, the British medical journal, The Lancet, ran a piece that reported that blood samples taken from executed prisons showed concentrations of the sodium pentothal that "were lower than that required for surgery in 43 of 49 executed inmates." It turns out the samples were taken as long as two days after death, which allowed the drug to dissipate.
Death penalty expert Dudley Sharp also pointed out in a Dakota Voice article in 2006 that the drug quickly dissipates in the body...but not before the lethal cocktail has a chance to do it's job.
Judge Scalia also helps put the matter in better judicial perspective:
Justice Antonin Scalia seemed to get it when he commented, "This is an execution, not surgery." As the Washington Post reported, Scalia also asked where the Constitution says that "in the execution of a person, who has been convicted of killing people, we must choose the least painful method possible?"
The death penalty--including the method of lethal injection--are completely Constitutional and Biblical, both from an Old Testament and New Testament perspective.
Only an uncivilized people would fail to place the proper value on innocent human life by refusing to demand commensurate payment for the innocent life wrongfully taken.
HT to Free Republic.
NBC Admits to Some Bias
From Media Bistro:
NBC's Brian Williams took to MSNBC today at noon and had this to say:
WILLIAMS: I interviewed Lee Cowan, our reporter who covers Obama, while we were out yesterday and posted the interview on the web. Lee says it's hard to stay objective covering this guy. Courageous for Lee to say, to be honest.
When it comes down to it, it's "hard to stay objective" when the media covers ANY Democrat...or Republican, only in reverse.
Refreshing to see this admission, however limited in scope it may be.
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