The Church Of State

Much has been made of the religious convictions of the current field of Presidential contenders.  Questions about about Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith along with Rick Santorum and Barack Obama’s Christian faith.

Whether or not Obama is a confessing Christian is not really a question anyone can answer.  Christians are warned ”Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matt 7:1 NIV).  Only God knows the condition of faith in his, or anyone’s, heart.

But the scriptures very quickly also remind us that we have a way to determine the sincerity of a professed faith.  “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matt 7:16 NIV).  We are reminded by Christ to examine actions, not words.  Words, especially in matters of faith, are easy and empty things.

So what do the actions of Obama and the left in general show us about their faith?

I believe their actions betray a very, VERY, deeply held religious conviction, however it is not a religion in the conventional sense.

The left worships government as it’s god.

Tax the Rich…Entertainers!

The left, led by the President of the United States, has for many years been calling on increased taxation of “the rich”.  Nevermind that the definition of ”the rich” has changed more times than Lady GaGa’s wardrobe.  The left sees whoever they define as “the rich” today as fair targets for punitive taxation.

What I find most interesting is that most of the entertainment industry, dominated by liberals, supports this call without reservation.  Hollywood and other assorted media millionaires even went so far as to join Occupy Wall Street to lend credibility to the cause, and promote the left’s call for increased taxes on “the rich”.

I have a simple proposal that will allow us to determine the genuineness of their beliefs on this subject.

I call on the GOP Senate members and House members to draft and propose a simple piece of legislation:  The Entertainment Industry Fair Share Tax Act (aka – The Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Act)

Politicians to Voters: Trust Me, I Am A Professional

In just about every campaign for office in my lifetime, candidates have relied on the “experience” argument to qualify their candidacy.

Experience is certainly a good thing when you are talking about picking a doctor or a pilot.  It can help you determine if the person you are hiring can really help you or might just kill you.

In politics, however, I would argue that this logic actually works in reverse.  Experience in the field should not be a comforting thing that we rely heavily on to make choices on who we elect.  I argue that the electorate should take a very skeptical view of “professional politicians” and limit their understanding of “experience” to include only those things outside the political world.

What Does “Poor” Really Mean?

My previous posting (link) discussed the data related to inflation adjusted incomes over the last 43 years (1967 to 2010).  The data showed that all income quintiles (20% segments of the population by income) saw real income growth in that time.  All quintiles saw double digit increases, including the bottom 20% of incomes (17% increase).

The next question I asked myself is what does it mean to be at the Federal Poverty line of $22,350, or roughly the bottom 20%, in monetary terms?  You see that number and probably think “How can anyone live on so little money?”.

I endeavoured to determine what that amount really means, after you include all the things beyond actual earned income that the quintile analysis leaves out.   I was stunned to say the least, and I think you will be too.

Christmas Music – Social Order’s Decline on Display?

Ok.  I will admit that I have been listenting to the local radio station’s “All Christmas music – all the time” broadcasts since last week.

Listening to the selections on the radio has opened my eyes to two things:  1) There really aren’t that many Christmas songs, and 2) our society is imploding.

Obviously trying to fill hour after hour forces stations to use ever more obscure carols and renditions of long time favorites.  So far, the one that makes me most want to puncture my eardrums is Christina Aguilera’s version of “This Christmas”.

Not only is it a fringe Christmas song, but Ms. Aguilera manages to make an already marginal song truly atrocious with her non-stop “look at me” warbling and wailing, even over the instrumental parts of the song.

Don’t believe me?  Listen for yourself, if you dare.  You have been warned!

The GOP’s 3 Stooges – Is This Really the Best We Can Do?

The GOP field of candidates has been pretty much set for the last month, and there are only 3 real front runners.  They are Larry, Moe and Curly….oops, sorry, I meant Romney, Cain and Perry.

THIS IS THE BEST WE COULD DO?  Seriously!?

OWS and the Golden Calf

When I was a kid learning the story of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, one part of the story was particularly remarkable to me.

A short 45 days after their miraculous liberation from bondage, witnessing the Lord delivering plagues on their overlords, and God parting the waters to allow them to escape, the Israelites seemed to forget everything that just happened.  At the foot of Mt. Sinai the people decided that it was a golden calf that had actually liberated them from Egypt, not the Lord.

In less than 2 months, they had turned their back on their deliverer.  The ingratitude, and more importantly the astounding arrogance seemed to me to be impossible.  People could not be that stupid, could they?

Along came OWS, and I realized that not only could people be that stupid, arrogant and ungrateful, but that it happens more often than you would expect.

Message To OWS: Why You Aren’t Part of the 1%

Dear Occupy Wall Street:

I would like to explain to you why you are not part of the 1%.  It is not because the world, government or corporations have conspired against you.  It’s most likely your fault, with some help from mom and dad.

When you were 5 years old, you were the kid that demanded your mom or dad get you a toy at the store.  When they said no, you screamed, cried and threw a fit.  You demanded they give you what you wanted because it “wasn’t fair” if they didn’t.  Your parents probably caved.

The Truth About the Top 1% Occupiers Don’t Want You to Know

The Occupy {Fill In The Blank} “movement” bills itself as the representation of the 99% of the US population (based on wealth), and as such they have been railing against the 1%.  They have portrayed the 1% as villains and scoundrels, who have abused the “poor, little people”.

This message is the only proof you need that these smelly people in tents (who are by the way breaking the law) occupying public spaces are about as smart as the boxes of rocks they have stashed for the inevitable riots.

They obviously know almost NOTHING about the 1% they hate.  Allow me to elaborate.

Walker Wins the Prank Call Skirmish

The big story in the Wisconsin Budget Battle yesterday was the “prank call” perpetrated on Governor Scott Walker by a leftist blogger purporting to be conservative activist and billionaire David Koch.

The left has been hyperventilating about the Walker – Koch relationship since the before the elections of 2010, and pointing out that Koch and his family donated heavily to the Walker campaign.  Factually, the donation references are accurate, but the left has made the accusations that Walker is under the control of the Koch brothers and is doing their bidding.

Thanks to a lefty blogger, who didn’t apparently think through what he was doing, we know that the lefts accusation have almost no validity.  While they use the call as evidence that Walker is at the beck and call of the Koch brothers, they and the media, both new and old, are entirely missing the point proven by the call.