The senate just agreed on a 780 Billion dollar “stimulus” package to boost our economy. Obama’s words earlier today still ring in my ears. "If we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse."   Hate to say this, but the best thing Obama could do is sit tight and do… nothing! Let me explain.

There was a great article in the NY times (yes it occasionally happens) talking about Japan’s stimulus package from several decades ago. It was a colossal failure. It only put Japan in worse debt. The reason why is there are only so many ways you can get money. As the government doesn’t earn the money it gets, it has to beg, borrow or steal it. And that is exactly what the stimulus package does. It takes your money and gives it to such projects as food stamps. Projects that help people get more used to being out of luck not help them get jobs.

Ultimately we have to trust the free market rather than take from what isn’t there. If you spent a million dollars from the time Jesus was born. You would still not have spent as much as Obama wants to spend in his first month of presidency. Throwing out any semblance of partisanship. Not one, NOT ONE, republican member of the house voted for the bill. Japan testifies that stimulus packages don’t work. And now we will spend more money than the US government has ever authorized at one time before. 

I have already said my thoughts on stimulus. Cut spending and cut taxes. Obama promised this in his debates, but highly doubt anyone even expected him to be true to his word. I am immensely worried about the coming week. But then, we had our chance during the elections. So much for change. Just the same socialist policies. 

The beginning of a new era for America has been, to say the least, interesting. According to a gallop poll our new president has a 68% approval rating. Let us look at some of the major policies he is working on and analyze them.

The first big change was a notable one. Obama froze the pay of his staff. Making a cut for the economy and a brilliant gesture that helped get many in the nation on his side. Also putting some restraints of the lobbyists. Not only reducing their influence on politics, but also giving himself more power over congress and other agencies. But although both of these policies are of some repute I think that there might have been some additional changes that would have further bettered his approval rating and would have been good for the nation.

First, he could have cut his staff. He frankly doesn’t need a thousand plus staff. This is something that Bush should have done as well. Abraham Lincoln went through the civil war with a small staff of two. Even FDR had a staff of only a couple hundred during WW2. There is no need to have that many people in the executive branch. Although a wonderful gesture, freezing funds will do little to help the smothered economy. But cutting the bloated staff would have been a great way to streamline the Cabinet.

The second big change was not nearly so pleasant. Obama announced to the world and many pleasantly surprised terrorist groups, that he is closing Guantanimo Bay for “national security reasons”. What he forgot to mention is where we will put them. Coincidently, this story was highlighted by the fact that the last guy we released from the Detention center went and promptly blew 16 people sky high. Apparently not getting the message of the Saudi “Jihad rehabilitation center” that he attended.

Sooooo… Where do we send them? To another country? How about France? Imagine the headlines. “Mob attacks French prison. Terrorists mysteriously missing.” It would be Bastille all over again. Or maybe to the Saudi’s rehab for terrorists? Or to Yemen, where terrorists “inexplicably” disaster from prisons. 

How about the US? Well, there are several reasons why bringing them here would be a national security disaster. First, if they break out, were in deep trouble. (To say the least)  Second they get the same rights as an American citizen. So if they get a good lawyer, a couple of them could go scott free. Even though they are unlawful combatants. And where would we let them go? Here? I would not sleep a wink for months. The last reason I don’t think sending them to your local county prison is that we don’t need to be setting up terrorist “cells” in the US. These prisoners could get the opportunity to converse with each other, or worse US prisoners who will do anything for money. We could inadvertently have people who we would never expect being converted to jihad and helping with terror activities

I would like a better explanation from Obama what his national security reasons are. If they have to come here though I think we should send them all to San Francisco and Manhattan. If they have to be in the US, let the Obama lovers have them.

The next thing was the economic stimulus. Here’s a Lesson in economics. You don’t go into more bad debt to boot up an economy. That is basically what this stimulus does. Also interesting is the pork that is in the bill. For instance the Billions in the original bill that went to contraceptive devices. How does that help the economy? It is really simple really. Just cut taxes. That is the best economic stimulus. Ultimately it is the government’s duty to serve the people, and to protect the people from itself. And they can’t do one without doing the other.

Finally the most disturbing change was on the life issue. In an effort to make the world a better place, Obama reinstituted the “Mexico city policy.”  The funds aid organizations that do abortions in other countries. In addition to being yet another abomination of human rights, it takes my money and uses it to allow human traffickers an easy way to hide their dirty work, and continue to oppress woman.

On the same topic he also cleared the way for the useless, wrong practice of stem cell research. Many scientists have already found that adult stem cells are effective when embryonic ones are not. It makes not sense to do the unnecessary when we are talking about creatures that are just like what we once were. Many who would have grown up to live healthy fruitful lives if they were allowed to live. Liberals hate doing testing on animals. So why people?

In conclusion, Obama has made some good choices, and some not so good ones. On one hand he is not ending the war on terror. But on the other he is making it harder. He is decreasing government corruption. However he ignores much good advice too. I will admit I am not one of the 68% that approve of Obama first week as our leader. But I pray to God that our leader will represent a true worldview as much as possible in the years to come.   

I am happy to announce that I have gotten a post on the verivex politics site. I will be writing for them as well as continuing my blog. I will keep you posted.

http://politics.verivex.com/

Jonathan

We have been bombarded by ads that tell us it is our moral duty to go green. To protect the planet from ourselves and from, gasp, carbon. Even in the light of a recent cold snap over the last two years, environmental extremists continue with almost religious fervor. They tell us that “climate change,” as they call cold weather is a symptom of global warming. Seeing we as humans produce only three percent of carbon emissions, short of destroying every living animal on the planet, there is not much we can do to affect the climate. However we are told to buy the most expensive cars to protect Mother Nature. (My spell check just reminded me to capitalize Nature) Even though they cost more than they are worth, people feel good about buying these cars. Even when they were the size of sardine cans. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-environment. I think the environment is something worth preserving. But not to the point of shooting ourselves in the foot. For instance the “Metro.” The brain-dead idea from Los Angeles. “Why use cars,” they said. “You can just use mass transit to get to work”. One problem, people didn’t want to ride the metro. For some reason people didn’t like the idea of spending extra time to have the Metro drop them off in the middle of LA and then walking for another 20 minutes to work. Voter at least had the sense to vote down a measure this last year that would have made a mass transit system from LA to Sacramento.

My point is, environmentalism is becoming a religion. Any scientist who is not convinced the end is here for the world’s polar bears is reviled in the same category as a holocaust denier. I am willing to go green as long as it can save me money and keep my family from losing our business. For instance when Arrowhead water announced it’s bottles will now implode at the slightest touch because they have gone green and saved plastic. (And coincidently saved 33% on plastic costs.) People have replaced God with Nature. (with an uppercase N) And are willing to inconvenience themselves to feel better about it. That is the inconvenient truth. As for me, I will go green when it actually helps the world.        

The thing that stands in my mind when I think of Barack Obama is change. His message was exceptionally clear. “I will fundamentally change America”. Sounds rather appealing actually. Because we all know that America has problems and struggles. We need to have change. That is one of the main reasons Obama won. But I would like to challenge the left’s and Obama’s idea that we need to fundamentally change America. America’s fundamentals are the constitution and declaration of independence. And that God created all people equal. Why do we need to change that? Maybe it isn’t America’s fundamentals that are in need of change.

Also, what are we changing? Obama was not specific. He mentioned no fundamental changes. And his cabinet choices are not reflection any change I can think of. So is change for the sake of change what we really need?

I would argue that we don’t need politicians who want change without a direction. We need reform. Most of our problems rise from the fact that we have strayed from our fundamental principals. Not that fact we have some new change that is needed. The founding fathers were actually a lot smarter than we give them credit. And much of America’s troubles could have been avoided if we followed their advice. I think America needs a revival and reform. Not random change

I would take a quick moment to recommend a new blog written by my dad. He is a inspiration and a great analyzer of many issues. The link is http://rightblack.blogtownhall.com/. Hope you enjoy it.

Of all the politicians that have gained publicity in the last year, my favorite had to be Governor Palin. She had great values, clarity of purpose, and a message with consistency that rivaled Barack Obama’s. McCain’s biggest weakness in the campaign was he had no clear agenda. Even today most people couldn’t tell what he stood for. Obama however had a clear message. “We can change the world.” Young people felt that they could fix the mistakes of their parents. Older people could live securely. Change, change, change. McCain had no real answer to that. It would have been a closer race if he had been as clear as his running mate, Sarah Palin. Smaller Government, that was the goal, fewer taxes, and a revival of American principles. That was Palin’s platform. Simple, and with more substance than anything Obama said. But she was deeply ridiculed by the press. They thought her stupid and tried to discredit her. They didn’t succeed completely. However they were able to partly neutralize her effect on the election. However I feel she is far from being finished. She has an 80% approval rating in Alaska. A percentage any politician would envy. She is obviously a brilliant woman. One who has run a state well when Obama has yet to run anything bigger than a lemonade stand.

With this in mind why was she branded stupid and incompetent? Why was she considered a worse choice than the man that promises us a national crisis before July? Why is Joe Biden, who makes a gaffe a minute so superior to her? I am about to tell you. It is because she is a woman. Although the mainstream media nor the democrats never said it implicitly, the implied reason for her being unfit as vice president was her gender. Yes, the party of tolerance, the party where everyone gets a chance, discriminated against a woman. This is not really that surprising. The democrats are the same party that was anti-black in the sixties. And the same party that support slavery in the 1860’s. All of this is verifiable. And I plan to devote an entire post to the subject. You see, the liberal idea is, “We tolerate all people, as long as they are liberal.” What other reason did they have for calling her such an awful choice? Unless hockey moms are unpopular there really is no good reason. This is very important as it shows that the worldview of the left is not as tolerant as they have you believe. Nor is the right bigoted as the left claims. Which view will America embrace? Only God knows for sure. As for me, she is my first choice for election 2012.

We are all living with the effects of a hurting economy. This Christmas season has been a lesson in making due. And this is not an isolated incident. You begin to lose faith in the big three automakers when they have to beg on their knees for enough cash to limp through the year. But what really makes this Christmas season odd are the scandals that have broken. With Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich  making a bizarre statement with vague claims of innocence. This is after the overwhelming evidence that points to his trying to sell Obama's senate seat, We are left wondering what the majority of Illinois voters use as their criteria at the polls. Is it transparency? Is it morality perhaps? As evidenced by the election, probably not. The people that vote in men like Blagojevich are not for his corruption, they just don’t take the whole person into account. Reading about a candidate's past, looking at a variety of sources for what they stand for, and researching how they vote seems to be too much for the average voter. Instead, they vote for the shell, the talking head that appears on the screen or the voice on the radio. And I must be blunt. It is not only irresponsible to vote for someone you don’t know anything about. It is immoral. I am not saying you are not allowed to make mistakes. Nor am I saying I believe you are eternally condemned. Far from it, we all commit immoral acts every day and can receive forgiveness. But it is our responsibility to try to see what we are voting for. Otherwise we reap the results. If we believe ourselves too busy to carry out our civic, and I believe moral duty, surley there are others out there who devote much of their lives to providing easy access to such information. It may be in our best interest as conservatives to help voters more easily find this material to help them. I do not know if the ethically liberal, or morally loose voters can be convinced of the importance of integrity in a candidate, This is especially true if they themselves are lacking.

Corruption in not limited to government. Financial advisor Bernard Madoff has been indicted for stealing fifty billion dollars. This is money stolen from investors and charities. This is as large as Bill Gates fortune. Much more than he needs. Much of this was money for people who are trying to just survive. Chances are, if you gave money to several charities, he spent some of it. Twelve years ago, someone noticed that some of Madoff’s records were inconsistent and reported it. Nothing happened. According to talk show host Michel Medved, it later turned out that one of the investigators was married to Madoff’s niece. The economy was hurt, as well as the confidence and trust of Americans. We have to realize that when a section of our nation has moral decline, the implications directly effect all of us. It kind of highlights how the classic verse, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is more practical than people give credit.

Inside and outside of government, trust is essential, and trust can only be earned. When the trust of Americans is breached, There are two reactions we can have to these outrages. We can either forget they ever happened in six months and learn nothing, or we can remember that authority figures, leaders and representative must be accountable for their actions. As Americans, We have to vote for people that represent us, and our worldview. Not that we vote out of prejudice, but do what is in our power to avoid events like these unacceptable scandals, and even promote hope and confidence. 

I have wanted to do something like this for a long time. But before I begin talking about America’s worldview we have to ask ourselves. “What is a worldview?”

Simply put, a worldview is the basic principles of what we believe about life. These principles guide our everyday life. Everything we do, say or hear is filtered through our worldview. There are three different aspects of a worldview

1. What do I believe about God?    
2. What do I believe about man?
3. What do I believe about truth?

The answers to those questions guide us through every aspect of life. For instance, if I believe there is no truth. There is then no right and wrong. And if you are to take it to its full conclusion all actions are justified. If I believe I am descended from an ape, I in extension believe that apes are as important as humans.

So why is America’s worldview so important. As a nation, our worldview, that is what we the people and our representatives believe, is what will guide our future as a nation. If you like our worldview, you like the direction in which we are heading. If you are unhappy with what we as a nation buy into, then you need to change the nation’s mindset. Any group that wishes to get something done must start with these three basics.

So every so often I will take a current event or interesting aspect of America, and tie it in to what worldview this person our group of people subscribe to. So whether it is The Supreme Court or the ACLU, we will see where our nation is headed

© 2008

After the Blagojevich Scandal all eyes are on Barack Obama. As he is the future leader of our nation, what does he believe? I want look at this in a few parts over the course of a few weeks. So first, what does Obama Believe about the big three questions that a posed in my first blog. I will give you what I think about this by looking at what he said over the course of the campaign.

1. What does Obama believe about God, Man and truth.

Well on first glance things look pretty good for the Conservative, Christian Base.

Michelle Vu a Christian Post Reporter said in 2007 that Obama was not like the rest of democrats who dislike Christianity and quotes him in a speech:

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama is overturning the traditional view that Republicans are the religious-talking lawmakers with his faith speeches and frequent church visits on the campaign trail.

 “I think that what you’re seeing is a breaking down of the sharp divisions that existed maybe during the ‘90’s,” Obama said, according to CNN Monday. “At least in politics, the perception was that the Democrats were fearful of talking about faith, and on the other hand you had the Republicans who had a particular brand of faith that oftentimes seemed intolerant or pushed people away.”

The junior Illinois senator stood in the pulpit of a Pentecostal church Sunday to challenge the partisan religious perception by telling some 4,000 worshippers that faith “plays every role” in his life.

Looks good right? Well she goes on to make some great points. But lets pause for a second and look at what he said first.

1. “Faith plays a role in every life” What faith? He doesn’t say. Faith in Jesus? How could we know? Faith in God? We can’t even determine that. Everyone has faith in something. Whether it is a Maker or just Matter. But he doesn’t specify. If you think I am hard on the poor guy think of this. If we can faith in whatever we want, we can do whatever we want (big questions 2 and 3). It is deadly important.

She goes on:

Obama, although saying he personally does not support homosexuality, has refused to
support a constitutional amendment banning homosexual “marriage.” Also, although Obama personally opposes abortion, he refuses to support overturning Roe v. Wade.

“The problem is that all of this ‘God Talk’ misses the point: what Christians want – or should want – is a candidate who shares their moral and culture concerns, not just their religious vocabulary.”   

She is dead on. Realize, for the next four years our country will most likely tip in the direction of this man. He will be the most powerful man on earth for nearly half a decade. But we have no idea what his worldview actually is. We just know what it isn’t

© 2008