In a tense meeting with President Obama this morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ("Bibi") explained the essential position of his party and Israeli nation in rejecting an an old proposal recently promoted by President Obama.
On this new point of contention between the two statesmen, Netanyahu took part of the time in a shared press conference to explain the errors in President Obama's assertion that Israel should recede to its pre-1967 borders ("with land swaps" Obama supporters will chime in) as part of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Part of his explanation included a historical time-line of sorts.
The Israeli Prime Minister is not sharing an isolated opinion on this matter, either. It was President George W. Bush who rightly acknowledged that facts on the ground have fundamentally changed the dynamics for negotiations. Jewish settlements have legally proliferated in the West Bank. The handover of Gaza has only emboldened terrorists, now armed with political legitimacy, to harass Israel on both sides. Forcing Israel to pull back its borders would be suicide.
However, following Netanyahu's extended refutation of Obama's proposal, pundits from across the political spectrum are castigating Bibi because he was "lecturing" the President on the history of the protracted and frustrated peace process which has still refused fruition. Their criticism of the Prime Minister is short-sighted as well as arrogant and presumptuous.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is the head of state surrounded by states swapped by political chaos, all threatening to undermine any long-term stability OF Israel and the Middle East. He has every right to explain not just the White House, but to the misinformed world at large what is at stake in Palestine, both for the Jews as well as Arabs.
Furthermore it is sheer arrogance for the head of state from another nation to even insinuate to a fellow statesman where and how he should delineate the borders of his own country. How would we respond if a foreign statesman reprimanded us for protecting our own borders, for tracking down the merciless thugs who have attacked this country for years, and for undermining future attempts at national attacks against us?
President Obama, who has made a practice of maligning the policies of his predecessor (despite relying on the same to catch Osama bid Laden), has resolutely ignored the ongoing violent refusal of the Palestinians to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish State and the rights of every person living in Palestine, both Jew and Arab (as well as Christian). Prime Minister Netanyahu needed to hold our President accountable for this blatant lack of awareness.
In the face of Obama's complete ignorance of crucial developments the stalled Middle East peace process, Netanyahu justifiably addressed in a calm and cogent manner the folly behind suggesting that Israel renounce its current holdings in the West Bank, a move which would endanger civilians, invite more terrorist attacks, and severely compromise the Jewish State's capacity to defend (and define) itself.
To put it another way, Bibi shot down Obama, and not a moment too soon!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Obama must Pull Back on Pushing for Israeli Pullback
Amazing!
After all that the United States has done for the Jewish State, not to mention the incredibly important anti-terrorist fighting of Israel, President Obama wants the Jews to retract their nation back to 1967 borders.
Shameful!
That lands has belonged to the Jews ever since God himself made the covenant with the Partiarch Abaraham.
Christians and Muslims coexisted peacefully with the Jews in Palestine for centuries. Only recently have radical Muslims proclaimed Jerusalem as one of the Holy Sites of the Islamic faith. For hundreds of years before, they didn't care. Only when a well-established well-run Jewish State reappeared, just as the Prophets of old foretold, did radical Muslims get up in arms about the Holy Capital of the Jewish State.
Modern Israel has adeptly accomated the Arab/Muslim populations in its midst and in the near vicinity. In contrast, the Virulent Islamic Radicals forcibly created a permanent underclass of displaced Arab.Muslim rebels, refusing them citizenship in Jordan or surrounding Arab nations. Since then, they have unrighteously damned the rightful placement of the Jews in Palestine as "The Occupation".
In the face of virulent abuse from menacing opposition parties which refuse to compromise, President Obama still insists that Israel offer more concessions to the Palestinians. The Palestinian "state" (hardly a "nation" by definition) is ruled by the elected leadership of Hamas/Fatah (former rivals now sharing power), a political entity which blatantly repudiates the "Zionist Enemy" and all her supporters (especially the United States).
When Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians, they not only elected Hamas, but the newly-elected leadership in that now-terrorized snippet of land instigated on-going rocket attacks against Southern Israel, impoverishing their own people while using defenseless women and children as shields against Israel's justified defense maneuvers. This recent failure of diplomacy demonstrates once again that every time Israel makes concessions to the Palestinians, the PLO, Hamas, Fatah, etc. fire back: "Death to Israel!"
No amount of counsel, diplomacy, agreements, arrangements, hopes, dreams, fears, , manipulating, cajoling, or outright pleading will produce peace in the Middle East. Israel wants to promote freedom and democracy; the Palestinians "Leadership" does not. Israel values human life: Jew, Arab, and Christian; the radical Muslims do not, glorifying despicable suicide bombers who massacre innocents in public places. Israel has always been willing to negotiate, with the understanding that that the Palestinians cease attacking Israel, respect the rights of all people (including their own), and support the peace process. The Palestinian people, however, incessantly bombarded by Anti-Semitic and Anti-American Propaganda, have been indoctrinated into refusing peace with a "Satanic" nation which they sincerely, insanely believe has no right to exist.
Snap out of it, President Obama! We must protect and support the Jewish people and the Jewish State in their fight for survival, in their on-going operations against terrorism and radical Islam, which not only threaten the Western way of life in the Middle East, but endanger the peace and safety of the world at large.
We have no business dictating to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli people how big or small their nation should be. We must press for reasonable concessions from the Palestinians, including full and irrevocable recognition of the State of Israel, renunciation of terrorist activities, and full freedom of right and movement for all inhabitants in the region: Jew, Christian, and Muslim.
Along with the capture and execution of mass-murderer Osama bin Laden, complete support and advocacy for the State of Israel would culminate a fruitful and meaningful Middle Eastern foreign policy.
After all that the United States has done for the Jewish State, not to mention the incredibly important anti-terrorist fighting of Israel, President Obama wants the Jews to retract their nation back to 1967 borders.
Shameful!
That lands has belonged to the Jews ever since God himself made the covenant with the Partiarch Abaraham.
Christians and Muslims coexisted peacefully with the Jews in Palestine for centuries. Only recently have radical Muslims proclaimed Jerusalem as one of the Holy Sites of the Islamic faith. For hundreds of years before, they didn't care. Only when a well-established well-run Jewish State reappeared, just as the Prophets of old foretold, did radical Muslims get up in arms about the Holy Capital of the Jewish State.
Modern Israel has adeptly accomated the Arab/Muslim populations in its midst and in the near vicinity. In contrast, the Virulent Islamic Radicals forcibly created a permanent underclass of displaced Arab.Muslim rebels, refusing them citizenship in Jordan or surrounding Arab nations. Since then, they have unrighteously damned the rightful placement of the Jews in Palestine as "The Occupation".
In the face of virulent abuse from menacing opposition parties which refuse to compromise, President Obama still insists that Israel offer more concessions to the Palestinians. The Palestinian "state" (hardly a "nation" by definition) is ruled by the elected leadership of Hamas/Fatah (former rivals now sharing power), a political entity which blatantly repudiates the "Zionist Enemy" and all her supporters (especially the United States).
When Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians, they not only elected Hamas, but the newly-elected leadership in that now-terrorized snippet of land instigated on-going rocket attacks against Southern Israel, impoverishing their own people while using defenseless women and children as shields against Israel's justified defense maneuvers. This recent failure of diplomacy demonstrates once again that every time Israel makes concessions to the Palestinians, the PLO, Hamas, Fatah, etc. fire back: "Death to Israel!"
No amount of counsel, diplomacy, agreements, arrangements, hopes, dreams, fears, , manipulating, cajoling, or outright pleading will produce peace in the Middle East. Israel wants to promote freedom and democracy; the Palestinians "Leadership" does not. Israel values human life: Jew, Arab, and Christian; the radical Muslims do not, glorifying despicable suicide bombers who massacre innocents in public places. Israel has always been willing to negotiate, with the understanding that that the Palestinians cease attacking Israel, respect the rights of all people (including their own), and support the peace process. The Palestinian people, however, incessantly bombarded by Anti-Semitic and Anti-American Propaganda, have been indoctrinated into refusing peace with a "Satanic" nation which they sincerely, insanely believe has no right to exist.
Snap out of it, President Obama! We must protect and support the Jewish people and the Jewish State in their fight for survival, in their on-going operations against terrorism and radical Islam, which not only threaten the Western way of life in the Middle East, but endanger the peace and safety of the world at large.
We have no business dictating to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli people how big or small their nation should be. We must press for reasonable concessions from the Palestinians, including full and irrevocable recognition of the State of Israel, renunciation of terrorist activities, and full freedom of right and movement for all inhabitants in the region: Jew, Christian, and Muslim.
Along with the capture and execution of mass-murderer Osama bin Laden, complete support and advocacy for the State of Israel would culminate a fruitful and meaningful Middle Eastern foreign policy.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Schwarzenegger's Confession gives way to Christ's Profession of Grace and Repentence
It's now official.
Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on his wife Maria Shriver, and in the most clichéd fashion. He had an affair with his long-time live-in maid. After fathering a child with the woman, Schwarzenegger provided her and her child a new home in Bakersfield, though the maid continued working for the Governor and his family under a cloud of secrecy which kept the wife, kids, and the world at large in the dark.
I think the extensive media attention exposing this man's sin is just as sinful, distracting frail humanity from their own foibles, which in God's eyes are just as bad, even if they are not overt or exposed. Where do any of us get the idea that we are instantly morally superior because we have not stepped out on our spouses or have engaged in overtly unseemly conduct?
Jesus said that if we even lusts in hearts, we have committed adultery (Matt 5:28). We may not bed, rape, or molest someone, but if we have transgressed someone in our minds, we are just as guilty as the politicians, preachers, and pundits whom we so heedlessly condemn in the press.
By, expounding that God is also God of our thought-life, Jesus cast down once and for all the feigned fidelity of the Pharisees, the religious sect which in Jesus' time claimed the undeserved allegiance and admiration of many: "Your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees." (Matt. 5:20) He also undid any presumptuous claim to moral uprightness on our part in today's world.Scripture makes the universal depravity of man clear-cut: "For we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23)
Regarding intimate matters, not only are we all sinners, we are all like the adulterous woman featured in the Gospel of John Chapter 8. This flagrant woman was caught in the act of adultery, then put on impromptu trial by the vicious Pharisees, who were seeking to trap Jesus and undo his forceful grace-filled message of the Gospel.
Though we may not now be dragged and thrusted trembling before a public forum of self-righteous zealots, we all stand before God. We cannot hide our sins, whether public or private, from our all-seeing, all-knowing Father in Heaven (Heb 4:13).
For example, do we flirt with other who are not our spouses or significant others? Are we introverts in public, but perverts in private? Going no further than our minds, do we "slide into third base" with every person we meet, whether we actually accomplish anything physically? In these matters, no one can seriously claim to meet God's standard for moral purity.
Now, should this shocking revelation drive us into despair?
Yes, and No! Consider what Jesus did when confronted with the virulent hypocrisy of the Pharisees:
"Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8:5-11, KJV)
Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), including "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20). Despite his legitimage authority to have the adulteroud woman executed, Jesus did not judge the woman (John 8:15), but rather gave sight to those who were blind, and to blind those who claimed to see (John 9:39). The adulteress was blinded by her sin; the Pharisees, who claimed to see well enough that they wanted to put her death, Jesus did not let off so easily. He held the Pharisees to the same standard by which they were condemning the woman. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." One by one the Pharisees trailed off, tossing away their stones. Why? Their conscience testified against them loud and clear (v9), their inner discernment of right from wrong which declared without fail their own failure to live up to the moral law.
The law of Moses first prevents us from judging one another, for we are guilty. Then it brings us into absolute, dependent submission to the one who can save us, Jesus! For the law is our schoolmaster that leads us to Christ." (Gal. 3:24)
After the Pharisees left, John said "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8: 10-11, KJV). It's important to note here that Jesus refers to the sinner with great respect, just as he spoke to his Mother at the Wedding in Cana (John 2). More importatnly, the woman refers to Jesus as "Lord", not just "Rabbi", or even "friend". She believes on him, trusts him to save her and that makes her righteous. Compare Abraham before the LORD: "And Abraham believed the LORD, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6), the very righteousness that saves every believer from death and ushers him into eternal life.
Consider also Zechariah Chapter 3, a manifestation in the Old Testament of the Saving Grace to come. Joshua the high priest stands covered in filthy rags before the Angel of the Lord, the Pre-incarnate Christ. Satan, the Accuser (like the self-righteous Pharisees in John 8) stands off to the side, speaking against Joshua, judging him for his sin.
How does Jesus deal with Satan? "The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan!" (Zech. 3:2)
Does Jesus just leave Joshua as is, dirty and down? Not at all!
He then says, "Take away the filthy garments from him. Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. . . and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment." (Zech. 3:3)
What raiment does he give to naked, trembling, accused, caught-in-the-act sinners?
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. . .the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Is. 61:3)
and
" [God] hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Is. 61:10)
In light of these promises, Jesus indeed clothes the adulterous woman with righteousness, his grace, not hers. He gives her reason to praise, for by his righteous defense she has escaped death and has received her life, with the fullest love from Jesus, the kind of love that she was so desperate to find in marriages and lovers.
This woman is not the first morally depraved figure whom Jesus meets and redeems. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar in John 4. She was lowly esteemed in the community, in a sense a veritable sex offender. Breaking all social conventions of the time, addressing a woman, a Samaritan woman, and a woman with a sordid history, even by Samaritan standards, Jesus asked her for a drink. She tried to put him in his place, but in the end Jesus exposed her fruitless yearnings, having married five times and living in fornication with a sixth man. Rather than condemning the woman, he simply revealed everything which she had deluded herself into thinking that she could keep forever private. Not from God, however. Yet Jesus did not condemn the woman, thrust her from his presence, throw her down the well. He offered her Living Water, the only thing that could who satisfy her.
Overcome with joy at meeting the Messiah, she ran into the village to proclaim her faith and his arrival. Jesus' private admonition became a public confession, not of shame, but of faith!
Thus, we should not look down on the downfall of public figures for their immoral behavior. Instead, we must face resolutely within ourselves how depraved we are, how we are all "caught in the act", unable to hide. Yet we need not hide our shame, as did Adam and Eve, but bring ourselves to the Loving Light of the World who will dispel the shamers and blamers in our lives and redeem us with garments of praise and righteousness, no matter how depraved we have been in thought, word, or deed.
Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on his wife Maria Shriver, and in the most clichéd fashion. He had an affair with his long-time live-in maid. After fathering a child with the woman, Schwarzenegger provided her and her child a new home in Bakersfield, though the maid continued working for the Governor and his family under a cloud of secrecy which kept the wife, kids, and the world at large in the dark.
I think the extensive media attention exposing this man's sin is just as sinful, distracting frail humanity from their own foibles, which in God's eyes are just as bad, even if they are not overt or exposed. Where do any of us get the idea that we are instantly morally superior because we have not stepped out on our spouses or have engaged in overtly unseemly conduct?
Jesus said that if we even lusts in hearts, we have committed adultery (Matt 5:28). We may not bed, rape, or molest someone, but if we have transgressed someone in our minds, we are just as guilty as the politicians, preachers, and pundits whom we so heedlessly condemn in the press.
By, expounding that God is also God of our thought-life, Jesus cast down once and for all the feigned fidelity of the Pharisees, the religious sect which in Jesus' time claimed the undeserved allegiance and admiration of many: "Your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees." (Matt. 5:20) He also undid any presumptuous claim to moral uprightness on our part in today's world.Scripture makes the universal depravity of man clear-cut: "For we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23)
Regarding intimate matters, not only are we all sinners, we are all like the adulterous woman featured in the Gospel of John Chapter 8. This flagrant woman was caught in the act of adultery, then put on impromptu trial by the vicious Pharisees, who were seeking to trap Jesus and undo his forceful grace-filled message of the Gospel.
Though we may not now be dragged and thrusted trembling before a public forum of self-righteous zealots, we all stand before God. We cannot hide our sins, whether public or private, from our all-seeing, all-knowing Father in Heaven (Heb 4:13).
For example, do we flirt with other who are not our spouses or significant others? Are we introverts in public, but perverts in private? Going no further than our minds, do we "slide into third base" with every person we meet, whether we actually accomplish anything physically? In these matters, no one can seriously claim to meet God's standard for moral purity.
Now, should this shocking revelation drive us into despair?
Yes, and No! Consider what Jesus did when confronted with the virulent hypocrisy of the Pharisees:
"Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8:5-11, KJV)
Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), including "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20). Despite his legitimage authority to have the adulteroud woman executed, Jesus did not judge the woman (John 8:15), but rather gave sight to those who were blind, and to blind those who claimed to see (John 9:39). The adulteress was blinded by her sin; the Pharisees, who claimed to see well enough that they wanted to put her death, Jesus did not let off so easily. He held the Pharisees to the same standard by which they were condemning the woman. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." One by one the Pharisees trailed off, tossing away their stones. Why? Their conscience testified against them loud and clear (v9), their inner discernment of right from wrong which declared without fail their own failure to live up to the moral law.
The law of Moses first prevents us from judging one another, for we are guilty. Then it brings us into absolute, dependent submission to the one who can save us, Jesus! For the law is our schoolmaster that leads us to Christ." (Gal. 3:24)
After the Pharisees left, John said "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (John 8: 10-11, KJV). It's important to note here that Jesus refers to the sinner with great respect, just as he spoke to his Mother at the Wedding in Cana (John 2). More importatnly, the woman refers to Jesus as "Lord", not just "Rabbi", or even "friend". She believes on him, trusts him to save her and that makes her righteous. Compare Abraham before the LORD: "And Abraham believed the LORD, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6), the very righteousness that saves every believer from death and ushers him into eternal life.
Consider also Zechariah Chapter 3, a manifestation in the Old Testament of the Saving Grace to come. Joshua the high priest stands covered in filthy rags before the Angel of the Lord, the Pre-incarnate Christ. Satan, the Accuser (like the self-righteous Pharisees in John 8) stands off to the side, speaking against Joshua, judging him for his sin.
How does Jesus deal with Satan? "The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan!" (Zech. 3:2)
Does Jesus just leave Joshua as is, dirty and down? Not at all!
He then says, "Take away the filthy garments from him. Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee. . . and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment." (Zech. 3:3)
What raiment does he give to naked, trembling, accused, caught-in-the-act sinners?
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. . .the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Is. 61:3)
and
" [God] hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Is. 61:10)
In light of these promises, Jesus indeed clothes the adulterous woman with righteousness, his grace, not hers. He gives her reason to praise, for by his righteous defense she has escaped death and has received her life, with the fullest love from Jesus, the kind of love that she was so desperate to find in marriages and lovers.
This woman is not the first morally depraved figure whom Jesus meets and redeems. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar in John 4. She was lowly esteemed in the community, in a sense a veritable sex offender. Breaking all social conventions of the time, addressing a woman, a Samaritan woman, and a woman with a sordid history, even by Samaritan standards, Jesus asked her for a drink. She tried to put him in his place, but in the end Jesus exposed her fruitless yearnings, having married five times and living in fornication with a sixth man. Rather than condemning the woman, he simply revealed everything which she had deluded herself into thinking that she could keep forever private. Not from God, however. Yet Jesus did not condemn the woman, thrust her from his presence, throw her down the well. He offered her Living Water, the only thing that could who satisfy her.
Overcome with joy at meeting the Messiah, she ran into the village to proclaim her faith and his arrival. Jesus' private admonition became a public confession, not of shame, but of faith!
Thus, we should not look down on the downfall of public figures for their immoral behavior. Instead, we must face resolutely within ourselves how depraved we are, how we are all "caught in the act", unable to hide. Yet we need not hide our shame, as did Adam and Eve, but bring ourselves to the Loving Light of the World who will dispel the shamers and blamers in our lives and redeem us with garments of praise and righteousness, no matter how depraved we have been in thought, word, or deed.
Schwarznegger's Confession, the Media's Distraction
Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has owned up to having a child with his maid, a secret which he kept from everyone, including his wife and kids, for more than a decade.
This is what he had to say in response to the media onslaught which he will inevitably face:
"While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not."
No, Nein, Nicht! Schwarzenegger is wrong. He does not deserve the unremitting attention of the public or the media. Nor does he deserve the unmerited castigating which he will endure at the hand of Public Opinion.
No doubt, the former Governor's conduct is deplorable: cheating on his wife, fathering a child with the twenty-year live-in maid, hiding the secret with kickbacks and handouts to keep it quiet.
But for the media to insist on blasting a has-been governor, a so-so actor, and morally feeble human being, that is simply worse.
This country and its readers have more pressing matters to focus on. Let's consider:
-The plight of millions of displaced Japanese hammered into a humanitarian crisis by the worse earthquakes in the island nation's history.
-The growing clamor for freedom from oppressive governments sweeping across the Middle East, upsetting stable regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa, and endangering the State of Israel, the one long-standing democracy in the region.
-A now nuclear-armed Iran, run by religious zealots who openly avow a desire to impose freedom-killing, no, life-endangering Shariah law on the whole world
-Let's not forget the onerous budget deficit and escalating national debts eating away at Europe and threatening the fiscal solvency of the United States and the world, a financial disaster which would reap for worse havoc than the spreading military chaos engulfing the world.
And the media chooses to invest its resources in dishing on another philandering politician?
Consider also the invasive humiliation which Governor Schwarzenegger will face for his private failings.
We have no business bashing celebrities who do not affect or influence our lives. Statesmen and all other holders of public trust, however, must be open to public scrutiny. If they step out on their spouses, they must step out of office. After that, if we insist on purging a man for his private failings, we only debase ourselves, foolishly deluding ourselves into thinking we are somehow better.
We have all fallen short of the glorious moral ideal which we insist on for others. Instead of slaughtering another celebrated celebrity for his or her intimate escapades, we ought to take a look at ourselves.
Do we flirt with other who are not our spouses or significant others? Are we introverts in public, but perverts in private? Do we "slide into third base" with every person we meet, in our minds at least, whether we actually accomplish anything physically? No meets the standards for moral purity when it comes to matters of intimacy.
Rather than hounding one more ousted political figure with moral failings, let's focus on global issues that affect us, and mind our own P's and Q's.
This is what he had to say in response to the media onslaught which he will inevitably face:
"While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not."
No, Nein, Nicht! Schwarzenegger is wrong. He does not deserve the unremitting attention of the public or the media. Nor does he deserve the unmerited castigating which he will endure at the hand of Public Opinion.
No doubt, the former Governor's conduct is deplorable: cheating on his wife, fathering a child with the twenty-year live-in maid, hiding the secret with kickbacks and handouts to keep it quiet.
But for the media to insist on blasting a has-been governor, a so-so actor, and morally feeble human being, that is simply worse.
This country and its readers have more pressing matters to focus on. Let's consider:
-The plight of millions of displaced Japanese hammered into a humanitarian crisis by the worse earthquakes in the island nation's history.
-The growing clamor for freedom from oppressive governments sweeping across the Middle East, upsetting stable regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa, and endangering the State of Israel, the one long-standing democracy in the region.
-A now nuclear-armed Iran, run by religious zealots who openly avow a desire to impose freedom-killing, no, life-endangering Shariah law on the whole world
-Let's not forget the onerous budget deficit and escalating national debts eating away at Europe and threatening the fiscal solvency of the United States and the world, a financial disaster which would reap for worse havoc than the spreading military chaos engulfing the world.
And the media chooses to invest its resources in dishing on another philandering politician?
Consider also the invasive humiliation which Governor Schwarzenegger will face for his private failings.
We have no business bashing celebrities who do not affect or influence our lives. Statesmen and all other holders of public trust, however, must be open to public scrutiny. If they step out on their spouses, they must step out of office. After that, if we insist on purging a man for his private failings, we only debase ourselves, foolishly deluding ourselves into thinking we are somehow better.
We have all fallen short of the glorious moral ideal which we insist on for others. Instead of slaughtering another celebrated celebrity for his or her intimate escapades, we ought to take a look at ourselves.
Do we flirt with other who are not our spouses or significant others? Are we introverts in public, but perverts in private? Do we "slide into third base" with every person we meet, in our minds at least, whether we actually accomplish anything physically? No meets the standards for moral purity when it comes to matters of intimacy.
Rather than hounding one more ousted political figure with moral failings, let's focus on global issues that affect us, and mind our own P's and Q's.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Ron Paul Throws His Hat in the Ring, Again
Ron Paul, Tea-Party favorite before there ever was a Tea Party movement, is officially entering the 2012 Presidential Campaign.
He deserves the honor.
Twice before he has run for President first as a non-major party candidate in 1988. The second time, he ran in 2008, an outspoken wonk outspent by Romney and outdone by needless attacks by Rudy Giuliani over his stand on the war in Iraq.
In previous presidential contests, Paul stuck to sound and solid libertarian principles, which he still proudly endorses:
1) End the Fed (also the title of one of his books)
2) Return the U.S. Currency to the Gold Standard
3)Shrink the size of Government (including the Presidency, with Paul promising to cut his paycheck in half, since he would be overpaid considering all the cuts he would make in the federal bureaucracy)
4) Get the U.S. Armed forces out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and any other nation where they are needlessly stationed.
Paul is real, he's articulate, he's outspoken, and he has twenty-plus years of experience in government, yet has not sold out his libertarian beliefs. On the contrary, the whole country is starting to buy in to what he has been talking about all this time. Hardly the "cheerful anachronism" plaintively dismissed by columnist George F. Will four years ago.
If enough people in the United States begin to appreciate the gravity of runaway debt, sky-rocketing inflation, burgeoning government, and exorbitant taxes, then Ron Paul, the wacky also-run of yesteryear may become the next President of the United States.
He deserves the honor.
Twice before he has run for President first as a non-major party candidate in 1988. The second time, he ran in 2008, an outspoken wonk outspent by Romney and outdone by needless attacks by Rudy Giuliani over his stand on the war in Iraq.
In previous presidential contests, Paul stuck to sound and solid libertarian principles, which he still proudly endorses:
1) End the Fed (also the title of one of his books)
2) Return the U.S. Currency to the Gold Standard
3)Shrink the size of Government (including the Presidency, with Paul promising to cut his paycheck in half, since he would be overpaid considering all the cuts he would make in the federal bureaucracy)
4) Get the U.S. Armed forces out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and any other nation where they are needlessly stationed.
Paul is real, he's articulate, he's outspoken, and he has twenty-plus years of experience in government, yet has not sold out his libertarian beliefs. On the contrary, the whole country is starting to buy in to what he has been talking about all this time. Hardly the "cheerful anachronism" plaintively dismissed by columnist George F. Will four years ago.
If enough people in the United States begin to appreciate the gravity of runaway debt, sky-rocketing inflation, burgeoning government, and exorbitant taxes, then Ron Paul, the wacky also-run of yesteryear may become the next President of the United States.
The Donald Won't Run
Donald Trump has announced that he will not run for President in 2012.
That is the wisest political move that he could have made.
Rather than giving the American public the coveted privilege, Donald Trump has basically said to himself:
"You're Fired!"
That is the wisest political move that he could have made.
Rather than giving the American public the coveted privilege, Donald Trump has basically said to himself:
"You're Fired!"
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Response: "Report: GOP budget plan would leave 44 million more uninsured"
Response to "Report: GOP budget plan would leave 44 million more uninsured" from AP
How would this occur?
1) The Republican program would cut states' Medicaid funding by about one-third over the next 10 years.
According to the study, "Under the GOP plan, Medicaid would be converted from an open-ended program in which the federal government pays about 60 percent of the cost of services, into a block grant that would give each state a fixed sum of money. "
"Under current laws, Medicaid is expected to cover 76 million people in 2021, the end of the ten-year estimating window used in federal budgeting. Of those, some 17 million would gain coverage under Obama's expansion."
The more insurance and subsidies are made available, the more people will want to take advantage of government hand-outs. Free money has that strange, hypnotic effect of transforming people into leeches who croak "Give!" and "Give!!"
If the United States Government cannot take the bold action to cut insurance subsidies altogether, at least Paul Ryan and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives are willing to make cuts. A block-grants approach ensures that any money appropriated by the government is well-spent, tailored by state officials to meet state needs. With all the time and energy saved, not to mention to cut in bureaucratic waste, more people will receive better care with less money.
Besides, states are better positioned to take dependents slowly off the system.
Since when was it acceptable for any number of people in this country to be "expected" to live off the government dole? Good government, imbuing students with the skills and capacity to be independent, would not look proudly at the expansion of government welfare rolls.
The Republicans' plan, though not going far enough, begins limiting citizen-dependency on the federal dysfunctional bureaucracy, which is bankrupting the United States and impoverishing future generations.
Let's not forget that this nation is already broke. Since when should anyone project increasing enrollment in government largesse, when there isn't anything left to hand out?
How would this occur?
1) The Republican program would cut states' Medicaid funding by about one-third over the next 10 years.
According to the study, "Under the GOP plan, Medicaid would be converted from an open-ended program in which the federal government pays about 60 percent of the cost of services, into a block grant that would give each state a fixed sum of money. "
"Under current laws, Medicaid is expected to cover 76 million people in 2021, the end of the ten-year estimating window used in federal budgeting. Of those, some 17 million would gain coverage under Obama's expansion."
The more insurance and subsidies are made available, the more people will want to take advantage of government hand-outs. Free money has that strange, hypnotic effect of transforming people into leeches who croak "Give!" and "Give!!"
If the United States Government cannot take the bold action to cut insurance subsidies altogether, at least Paul Ryan and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives are willing to make cuts. A block-grants approach ensures that any money appropriated by the government is well-spent, tailored by state officials to meet state needs. With all the time and energy saved, not to mention to cut in bureaucratic waste, more people will receive better care with less money.
Besides, states are better positioned to take dependents slowly off the system.
Since when was it acceptable for any number of people in this country to be "expected" to live off the government dole? Good government, imbuing students with the skills and capacity to be independent, would not look proudly at the expansion of government welfare rolls.
The Republicans' plan, though not going far enough, begins limiting citizen-dependency on the federal dysfunctional bureaucracy, which is bankrupting the United States and impoverishing future generations.
Let's not forget that this nation is already broke. Since when should anyone project increasing enrollment in government largesse, when there isn't anything left to hand out?
Osama Bin Laden: DEAD and BURIED
Finally, they caught and killed Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda Mastermind, the Architect of 9-11.
He was in hiding in Pakistan, in a compound which anyone within a five-mile radius could have found. He was hiding in plain sight. What does the Pakistani Government have to say for themselves?
Notwithstanding the set-backs and incompetence of our Middle Eastern ally in catching this international criminal, the United States has every right and reason to rejoice.
This man deserved to die. He refused mercy, he scorned human life, he plotted the demise of many, all in the name of "Our God is Greater" Allah.
Should we celebrate? Yes. Should the United States relax its vigilance at the downfall of a major adversary? No. Terrorism is a 24-7 evil. Should we be paranoid, though, in the wake of other Al-Qaeda operatives rising up and threatening retaliation? Absolutely Not. We do not give terrorists the satisfaction of inducing us to live in fear, all the more because they may run, but in the end they cannot hide!
He was in hiding in Pakistan, in a compound which anyone within a five-mile radius could have found. He was hiding in plain sight. What does the Pakistani Government have to say for themselves?
Notwithstanding the set-backs and incompetence of our Middle Eastern ally in catching this international criminal, the United States has every right and reason to rejoice.
This man deserved to die. He refused mercy, he scorned human life, he plotted the demise of many, all in the name of "Our God is Greater" Allah.
Should we celebrate? Yes. Should the United States relax its vigilance at the downfall of a major adversary? No. Terrorism is a 24-7 evil. Should we be paranoid, though, in the wake of other Al-Qaeda operatives rising up and threatening retaliation? Absolutely Not. We do not give terrorists the satisfaction of inducing us to live in fear, all the more because they may run, but in the end they cannot hide!
Crackdowns in Syria, Civil War in Libya, Nowhere to Run
President Bashar al-Assad is not going down without a fight. Firing on his own people, pressing past the rising protests now bursting out throughout the region, clutching his authority following the mass resignation of state officials, his delusional seizure of power will not ease.
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi still clings to power in civil-war-striven Libya. Western and Eastern cities have risen up, beaten back his official armed forces, then been beaten back in turn.
The Jasmine Revolution is hitting some stiff resistance. The people are rising up, but the leaders in these are other countries are not backing down. Well-entrenched leaders have built up enough strength and resources to maintain their positions.
Moreover, if these rulers do abdicate, like Hosni Mubarak and President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they will face more than search and arrest at the hands of Interpol.
Assad and Gadhafi are mass-murders world-renowned for their depravity. What nation would take them? Where could they claim refugee status? They are on the wanted list of some people, that even if they managed to flee to a nation whose leader was friendly towards them, countless adversaries would attempt to take them out.
Assad and Gadhafi will fight to the end, even if it means the dissolution of their respective countries. They have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
Colonel Moammar Gadhafi still clings to power in civil-war-striven Libya. Western and Eastern cities have risen up, beaten back his official armed forces, then been beaten back in turn.
The Jasmine Revolution is hitting some stiff resistance. The people are rising up, but the leaders in these are other countries are not backing down. Well-entrenched leaders have built up enough strength and resources to maintain their positions.
Moreover, if these rulers do abdicate, like Hosni Mubarak and President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, they will face more than search and arrest at the hands of Interpol.
Assad and Gadhafi are mass-murders world-renowned for their depravity. What nation would take them? Where could they claim refugee status? They are on the wanted list of some people, that even if they managed to flee to a nation whose leader was friendly towards them, countless adversaries would attempt to take them out.
Assad and Gadhafi will fight to the end, even if it means the dissolution of their respective countries. They have nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
Dangers in the State of the Rebelling States in the Middle East
"The thing which I greatly feared has come upon me." Job 3:25
Perhaps the dread of Jewish pundits is coming to pass.
Radical groups are rising up in Egypt, in the wake of the power vacuum following the flight of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Egyptian interim government has also begun normalizing relations with Hamas and Iran, two states which the previous government spurned, two states on the United States terrorist watchlist, two states inimical to the existence of the State of Israel.
Democracy does not a moral state create!
Perhaps the dread of Jewish pundits is coming to pass.
Radical groups are rising up in Egypt, in the wake of the power vacuum following the flight of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Egyptian interim government has also begun normalizing relations with Hamas and Iran, two states which the previous government spurned, two states on the United States terrorist watchlist, two states inimical to the existence of the State of Israel.
Democracy does not a moral state create!
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