Just What Did You Expect from Trump?

In the aftermath of weekend revelations concerning Trump's sexism and Monday night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, evangelical Trump supporters are rethinking their position.  Some have been "shocked" at Trump from the "hot-mike" comments made before a 2005 interview with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood.  Shocked that Trump views women as sexual objects.  Shocked that he goes after married women for sport.  Shocked that he assaults women because he can.  Just shocked!

Living in Bizarro World

Do you remember the Seinfeld episode which focused on Bizarro World, a concept taken from Superman comics? Also incorporating the now famous “man hands” sketch, this episode was hilarious. In Bizarro world, everything is backwards. Good is bad, up is down, left is right, etc. Lately, I feel as if I’ve been dropped into Bizarro world myself. “How so?” you may ask. Because the most recent 2016 presidential election polls show Donald Trump leading the Republican field with nearly 40% of evangelical Christians now supporting him. I am pausing now for emphasis … EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS!

Hurtling Down the Slippery Slope

(Author’s Note:  Though I originally wrote this post in July, I have been so busy that I have just now found a moment to edit it and step back into blogging.) 

I realize that the more I wade into this marriage water, the hotter it is going to get.  My views (though unchanging) are increasingly becoming politically incorrect and soon to be, if not now already, branded as “bigoted” and “hateful”.  I adamantly reject those labels and press on.  I suppose I want to get on record now so that as events and decisions regarding marriage play out in our country, a memory (however faint it may be) of these words may provoke others to consider what I’m saying.

Traditional Marriage – Facing a Painful Reality

I like war movies.  I guess I got that from my dad.  My father was a WWII veteran who lied about his age and volunteered as a 16 year-old to fight for America.  He was always quick to explain that his patriotism and desire for adventure greatly exceeded his knowledge of what he was getting into.  I have two sons of my own, the youngest of which is seventeen.  It is hard for me to imagine either of them going to Italy and fighting across the Apennine Mountains at the age of 17.   I can’t imagine having done so myself.  Yet my dad and many others did. I used to love to watch war movies with my dad and listen to him talk about the different battle tactics.

Is Olympic Pride a Bad Thing?

As I was doing some Bible study today, I came across a passage of Old Testament scripture that I don't often read.  It made me consider the topic of national pride.  I've always been a patriotic American, but is national pride always a good thing?  As I watch the Olympic games and smugly react when America leads other countries in medals, I have to step back and think about my attitude.

Chicken or Egg? Does Wealth Create Family Stability ?

While scanning news sites this morning, I saw a couple of headlines that caught my eye.  An article titled “Children suffer from growing economic inequality among families since recession” by Brigid Schulte was posted in the “Local” section of today’s Washington Post, but the implications of this article are anything but local.  The impetus for Schulte’s article is the report just released by Ohio State University social scientist Zhenchao Qian titled “Divergent Paths of American Families”.  Qian examined census and other data regarding income, poverty, and family status in the United States.  Both Schulte and Qian miss the point.



No Dog in This Fight

By the time this posts, the United States may well be involved in the conflict in Syria.  As I hear about what is going on there, I get an all-too-familiar feeling:  that we (the US) are getting sucked into another war, and I don't understand why.  Don’t get me wrong, I stand against people killing each other.  I do not support the use of chemical weapons.  I oppose a government’s exterminating its citizens.  I want to see stability in the Middle East.  I am against activities that strengthen a country’s ties to Russia and Iran.  Countries obsessed with opposition to Israel concern me.  Syria embodies all these things I oppose.

Ribeye Steak, a Polish Waiter and Being an American

For the first time in a long while, my wife and I have the chance to get away alone for a few days.  We chose to go back to Williamsburg, Virginia.  It’s been great so far.  I love Virginia.  The history here is incredible.  Both sides of my family have roots in Virginia dating back to the 1620’s in Jamestown.  During our tour of the Williamsburg capitol building, it was all I could do to keep from getting the tour guide’s attention and blurting out that my great-great-great-great…grandfather sat right here (well the capitol was actually in Jamestown then, but why quibble over historical details) in the 1623 House of Burgesses.  I was sure he would be automatically impressed and ask me to expound on my great knowledge of what it means to be an American.  Being the humble man that I am, however, I didn’t want to make others feel as if they were lesser Americans, so I held back. 

Boston Bomber Proves that Idle Hands Are the Devil's Workshop

Your grandma told you it was so: "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop."  The story of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder brother of the Boston bombers, lends strong credence to this largely ignored wisdom.  In the article linked below, we see that Tsarnaev was apparently lazy before he was evil.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/tamerlan-tsarnaev-and-family-received-welfare_719056.html

A New Era for Christians in America

Like any number of other (maybe "real" would be a better descriptor) culture observers, I came to the realization on November 14, 2012 that we were entering a new era for Christians in America.  After the second election of Barack Obama, there was no denying that "the times, they are a-changing."  The following months have only brought even greater clarity to that assessment.  Christianity is no longer culturally cool - at least not Biblical Christianity.  In fact, it appears the culture is heading toward downright antagonism toward historic Christianity.

Is Rand Paul Channeling Jefferson Smith?

I don't know how many times I had the debate with Republicans in 2010.  "How can you support Rand Paul?" they asked me.  "He's too polarizing!"  "His father's a kook!"  "What we need in Washington is cooperation and compromise."  "He won't work with the established senators."  "He's one of those nutty Tea Partiers!" "He's a loose cannon!"

Playing "Chicken" with the Country

Here comes the next chapter in our 2013 political crisis calendar – sequestration.  We’ll see who blinks first in this coming head-on game of chicken between the big-government do-gooders and the small-government do-it-yourselfers.  In an article titled “Defcon Hill” by Jeremy Herb posted today on The Hill, we learn that if we haven’t resolved the budget crisis by March 1, up to 800,000 civilian military employees will be impacted with furloughs.  These furloughs could be as much as one day per week the rest of the year – effectively a 20% cut in pay.  The Pentagon notes that because the President has the power to protect active military personnel, the civilian workforce is the only place to turn to respond to the forced reductions which will be required by sequestration if we do not come to a budget agreement by then.

Breach of Trust - Part 2

Link to Part 1

Some time ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding a Chinese businessman who had spent time working in the United States.  This man had an interesting observation about the success of American business.  He said America succeeds economically because, in general, we can trust each other in a way that was completely missing in China.  In China, he stated, you could not trust what anyone told you.  You just understood that others would take advantage of you if they got the chance.  He didn't see that in the United States.  He observed that at least in the business world, there was a general assumption of truthfulness and honesty.  He concluded that this is what makes American business work.

I find that interesting.  It wasn't our laws or our ingenuity that make our businesses work.  It wasn't our technology or our work ethic.  It wasn't our universities, our natural resources, or our intelligence.  He concluded it was our honesty in business that made our economy work.  He further concluded that it was our generally Christian worldview that provided the expectation of general honesty.  This Chinese man was so impacted by what he saw that he became a Christian himself.  He concluded that Christianity was the answer China needed for its own society, and he took his new faith with him when he repatriated.

Breach of Trust - Part 1

Do you ever think about what it takes to make a civilization function?  To prosper?  Is it possible to boil it down to a one-word concept?  It think maybe it is.  The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the necessary ingredient is trust.  Think about the implications of that notion.  What would life be like if we truly had trust in each other?  What would it be like if you knew another person always intended to do the right thing?  Forget whether or not he was capable of understanding what the right thing was.  Let's assume as a society we still have the same intelligence levels as now, the same skill levels, the same foolishness levels, the same error levels and the like.  If, in spite of all that, you could still trust that other people's intentions were to do the right thing and to be truthful with each other, how different would our society be?

It's Not About the Guns

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” - Benjamin Franklin

On December 14, 2012, a deranged Adam Lanza entered the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut and killed twenty kindergarten children as well as six adults.  This was the second-deadliest mass shooting in United States History.  The heartfelt outcry was universal and immediate.  How could this have possibly happened again?  When were we going to do something about these mass murders?  What were we going to do to protect the innocent among us?  Shouldn’t we get rid of these powerful and high-capacity firearms that always seem to be used in these killings?  Wasn’t this the obvious answer?  Were there other solutions?  Better solutions? These are all obvious as well as very good questions.  

I Say "Pedal to the Metal" As We Approach the Fiscal Cliff

In my previous post, I looked at the astronomical debt ($700,000 per taxpaying family) America has accumulated right now, with millions more in entitlement obligations per family coming.  If we are going to survive this fiscal crisis, we have to do three things and do them fast:

1.       Balance the budget TODAY and stop the bleeding.  It is insanity to keep piling on to a problem that is about to get away from us in the form of obligated payments alone.  We have to stop the interest growth, and running budget deficits for one more day is ludicrous.  If you don't hear the word "trillion" in a budget reduction plan, you're not hearing a serious plan!

2.       We have to pay down our $16 trillion national debt.  That means we really aren’t looking for a balanced budget, but rather a budget with a revenue surplus.  We need to do better than balancing the budget!

3.       Get focused again on being an innovative nation that produces things of value which other countries want to buy.

The Tax Man Cometh

I wish I could say I'm surprised that Obama thinks we can tax our way into prosperity without spending cuts.    Either he doesn't understand basic arithmetic, or there something else afoot here.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/mcconnell-burst-laughter-geithner-outlined-obamas-plan_664210.html

See earlier post for a dose of reality from the numbers.

Coming Soon - Uncle Sam Wants His Cash!

Today, November 29, 2012, I made the mistake of looking at the national debt again.  Hours later I’m still depressed.  If you haven’t taken a look at this web site (usdebtclock.org), you should.  It is sobering if you weren’t concerned already.  As the numbers spin upward at a dizzying pace before your very eyes, you begin to get a visual picture of the growing mess we are in. 

Deja Vu All Over Again

On August 3, 2011, I sent one of a life-long series of such letters to my US Representatives and Senators which they are duty-bound to accept.  This one was to Senator Mitch McConnell in the wake of the bi-partisan agreement to once again raise the national debt ceiling.  I meant what I said then, and I mean it now.  Republicans were banking on 2012, and it didn't work out well for us.  This letter, along with my previous post, really sets the framework for the next blog posts which will lay out some thoughts on the pending "fiscal cliff".

Senator McConnell, 

I’m extremely frustrated, but not surprised at this debt ceiling compromise.

Economic Thoughts That Still Apply Today

I was cleaning up some files today and found the following copy of a letter I sent to former Secretary of Education, Dr. Bill Bennett, on September 24, 2008.  I've had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Bennett a number of times on his nationally syndicated radio program.  I've sent him a handful of such letters through the years, and he has graciously read some of them on the air.  Following were my thoughts in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis and first Obama election cycle.  I still agree with them by the way (at least as applied in a secular sense without spiritual solutions), and they will help set the stage for some subsequent thoughts in a blog post on the "fiscal cliff":

Bill,
 I have been trying to call, but can’t get through.  All the analysis I hear is hitting on the symptoms of the current financial crisis rather than the root cause.