To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.
Albert Einstein
Koran Burning on 9/11? Thumbs DOWN!
I have a dilemma when I heard about some fringe "Christian" sect like Westboro Baptist Church, which has protested at military funerals, claiming that the deaths are God's way of punishing the US for tolerating homosexuality. As a Catholic, I'm not surprised by the group's virulent anti-Catholicism (equating the holy faith with "devil worship") and its ghastly characterization of priests, truly among the finest men I have ever met, as child predator vampires. By their words and by their actions, they have anathematized themselves from the fellowship of Jesus Christ.
The dilemma is that I don't want to give uncivil people and causes undue attention, the oxygen of publicity they crave. It's a lesson most of us learn early in life; one doesn't let another person jerk his chain. I suspect even my most faithful readers disagree with some of my opinions.
Sometimes you just have to let it go; I may have mentioned in an earlier post I used to participate in some low-carb diet forums years ago. Atkins diet followers can be fanatical in their point of view (literally to the point of citing chapter and verse); I had a more liberal perspective in terms of dietary restrictions, and it led to some debates beyond the scope of this post. But it struck me one day I was spending far too much time in the forums. The final straw was when this mother of an epileptic child flamed me in the forum, saying how a ketogenic diet (a type of low-carb diet) had been a lifesaver, and my dietary opinions were the equivalent of practicing medicine without a license and wondered how I could live with myself for misleading people on matters of health and nutrition. The Atkins fundamentalist wolfpack in the forum gave the mother virtual high-five's for putting me in my place. (It felt like I was back in elementary school...) No, I never claimed to be a doctor or nutritionist, nor was I trying to give dietary advice to people with specific health conditions. I decided to leave the group because I had made my points, and the dispute, from their side, was becoming personal in nature, not a free exchange of ideas.
The problem is, the national media give these stories air. I'm not going to speculate on any media conspiracy, say, of trying to portray fringe groups as representative of social conservatives, but we do have a moral responsibility to ensure that these fanatics do not co-opt the true message of Jesus Christ. We honor all men of good will whom authentically respond to God in their own language, faith, and good deeds. and I specifically acknowledge and express my respect to those Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others whom live their faith and morals in everyday life.
Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, a small evangelical church near Gainesville, FL announced plans to burn copies of the Koran, the holy book of Muslims, on the anniversary of 9/11. Let me make myself clear: this action is morally unacceptable and offends not just Islamic radicals, but nearly a billion Muslim people worldwide. Mr. Jones, if you have an issue with Osama bin Laden and other members of Al Qaeda, burn copies of their anti-American tapes and the like. But you need to honor the holy books of other faiths as you expect the Bible to be honored by others.
The Dove World Outreach Center, by its words and actions, has anathematized itself from the fellowship of Jesus Christ.
Obama: A Quick Take on Recent Economic Proposals
In a New York Times alert early today, President Obama made it clear that that he will reject any compromise including extension of the Bush tax cuts for higher-income taxpayers. In fact, even his own former budget director, Peter Orszag, has called for extending ALL the Bush tax cuts for 2 years. This proves what I've been saying all along--Obama is being ideological and is incapable of negotiating in good faith.
My message to the Congressional GOP: all the Bush tax cuts or nothing. None of this counterproductive picking winners and losers garbage. As I've pointed out on multiple occasions (and I should point out I'm not among the top 2 or 3% affected by Obama's decision), less than 25% of the tax break goes to the highest 2 or 3%. The problem is that this increase materially affects income for the job creator class (whom, by the way, spend a lot of their disposable income), not to mention an increase in investment taxes. This does NOT help job creation at all; it's counter-productive.
More infrastructure spending? It depends on specifics, including the nature of the budget offsets. I don't like corporate welfare, but I'm troubled by the fact that Obama seems to be essentially raising the taxes of domestic oil and gas producers--at a time we are continuing to import even higher percentages of natural resources, while our own is tied up by government policy. If infrastructure spending is increased, it should be funded on a broad-based level. Furthermore, I've been a persistent critic of high-speed rail spending, and I've heard that Obama is pushing more of that--from my standpoint: that's a non-starter. Ask Japan how much of a boom high-speed rail systems have brought to their economic growth over the past 20 years. I also want to know why Obama is asking for more infrastructure spending from our grandchildren when he still has unspent infrastructure spending on his plate.
Obama has rejected the idea of a payroll tax cut, something I've strongly encouraged which would have both consumers and businesses. I'm also intrigued by some conservative hot buttons on business R&D tax credits and accelerated depreciation; he's finally looking at things I've been saying for over a year and a half. But again, the devil is in the details. Obama doesn't really negotiate: he decides on a few concessions which he hopes will soften enough GOP support to get something passed. The problem is what else is in the bill which the GOP won't like. Obama is not in the business of passing Republican proposals; he expects a quid pro quo.
What should he do? Cut business taxes, lower payroll taxes, extend the Bush tax cuts across the board for at least 2 years. A long-term infrastructure plan--yes, if we are talking about independently-assessed priorities, not as a repackaged group of breaks for green energy companies, unions, etc. Chances that Obama will support my approach? ZERO.
Selected Quotations Obama Won't Like
- Those who, relying upon themselves only, not looking for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who will reach the top-most height. - Buddha
- You can fool too many of the people too much of the time. - James Thurber
- Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. - Ambrose Bierce
- The future is purchased by the present. - Samuel Johnson
- A man younger than 30 who’s not a liberal has no heart and a man older than 30 who’s not a conservative has no brain - Winston Churchill
- So, then, to every man his chance -- to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining golden opportunity -- to every man his right to live, to work, to be himself, to become whatever his manhood and his vision can combine to make him -- this, seeker, is the promise of America. - Thomas Wolfe
- A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel. - Heywood Broun
- Do not accustom yourself to use big words for little matters. - Samuel Johnson
- Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! It is a dangerous servant and a terrible master. - George Washington
- Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it. - Robert Frost
- Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us. - Henrik Tikkanen
- No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session. - Judge Gideon J. Tucker
- Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy
- He who will not economize will have to agonize. – Confucius
- Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher
- What ought one to say then as each hardship comes? I was practicing for this, I was training for this. - Epictetus
- The greater the difficulty, the greater the glory. – Marcus T. Cicero
- He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. - Benjamin Franklin
- If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions. - James Madison
- I had rather do and not promise than promise and not do. - Arthur Warwi
- It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. – Epictetus
- Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant. - Horace
According to reports, a huge traffic jam of over 75 miles has reappeared in China this week. The traffic is so bad, the kids can barely get to work... - Jimmy Fallon
[Some Chinese bureaucrat had the idea of renaming the highway "I-405 Los Angeles".]
President Obama is now trying for peace in the Middle East using a two state solution. I believe the two states are denial and delusion. - Jay Leno
[Well, Obama has applied his powerful out-of-the-box legal thinking to the problem. He figures if he could just convince Israel to rename itself West Palestine, technically the state of Israel would no longer exist...]
Musical Interlude: The American Songbook Series
Dinah Washington*, "I Can't Get Started" (Gershwin...)
(* I couldn't find a video reflecting my collection's artist, so I've substituted Dinah Washington's interpretation.)
