Still Remembering

Photo by Andrew Coulter creative common license

I am sure that we all remember exactly where we were on the infamous "September 11th". But few of us know anything about the 14,000+ other terrorist events that Islam has committed since then. For more information, go to The Religion of Peace website. They have cataloged each one.

Just this past week there were 46 Jihad attacks in which 131 people died and 263 people were critically injured.

Thomas Sowell on Pres. Obama's Health Care Speech

I really like Thomas Sowell. His recent article is about Pres. Obama's health care speech. Here are some of the best parts.

To tell us, with a straight face, that he can insure millions more people without adding to the already skyrocketing deficit, is world-class chutzpa and an insult to anyone's intelligence. To do so after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has already showed this to be impossible reveals the depths of moral bankruptcy behind the glittering words.


Obama can deny it in words but what matters are deeds-- and no one's words have been more repeatedly the direct opposite of his deeds-- whether talking about how his election campaign would be financed, how he would not rush legislation through Congress, or how his administration was not going to go after CIA agents for their past efforts to extract information from captured terrorists.


One of the secrets of being a glib talker is not getting hung up over whether what you are saying is true, and instead giving your full attention to what is required by the audience and the circumstances of the moment, without letting facts get in your way and cramp your style. Obama has mastered that art.
Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe. No message has been more welcomed by the gullible, in countries around the world, than the promise of something for nothing. That is the core of Barack Obama's medical care plan.

Mandates by politicians are what have driven up the cost of insurance already. Politicians love to play Santa Claus and leave it to others to raise prices to cover the inevitable costs.

While your thinking about the government and health care. . . Check out this video I found at Conservatives for Patients' Rights.



This video tells the story of people stuck in government health plans in Britain and Canada.

You Lie!

I am glad that at least one Republican (Rep. Joe Wilson) had the guts to say that the President was lying during his speech yesterday. It saddens me that the other Republicans didn't rally to Rep. Wilson and that Rep. Wilson tried to apologize. Has political correctness really won out over seeking and standing for the truth?

Didn't the Democrats specifically vote down an amendment that would have banned illegal immigrants from the new health system?

Critter Corner v. 8 Pet Capybaras

I have a thing for strange pets. The strangest pet I have ever had was an African pygmy hedgehog. His name was Alf. He was given to our family by a friend. He was friendly and easy to take care of. We really enjoyed him.

Anyway, a while ago I found out about capybaras as pets. Capybaras are 100 pound rodents that live in the grasslands of South America. I have no idea why someone decided to start breeding them as pets. One of the most famous ones, Caplin Rous, lives right here in Texas. He even has his own blog. Here is a video of him doing tricks.

No-fault Divorce

Michael Craven of Center for Christ and Culture wrote a good article about the evil of no-fault divorce. I will share a few clips here, but encourage you to read the whole thing.

No-fault divorce is much more than just divorce; it is a legal tyranny that denies the fundamental right of due process to a defendant. Prior to no-fault divorce, the party seeking divorce (plaintiff) was required, by law, to demonstrate cause on the part of the other party (defendant) prior to dissolving the marriage, dividing the family’s assets, and destroying the two-parent structure essential for children. These measures provided strong legal protections—primarily to women and children who might otherwise find themselves abandoned by husbands and fathers who simply sought “greener pastures.” (You might think me overly hard on men here. Granted, both men and women can be guilty of abandoning marriages; however, statistically speaking, women and children are most often the victims.)

Under the system prior to no-fault divorce, the state was limited in its actions and intrusion into the private affairs of the family except in those cases in which one of the parties committed a legally recognized offense against the other. In the wake of no-fault divorce, the state has been given unprecedented access into and unconstitutional authority over what was previously sacrosanct: the family. Historically, the law regarded the family as a preserve of privacy that was largely off-limits to the government. It was what Supreme Court Justice Byron White (1962–1993) called the “realm of family life, which the state cannot enter.”



No-fault divorce is a social and legal atrocity that needs to be abolished both for the sake of families and children that have, for too long, been subjected to the tyrannical actions of family courts, and because it has encouraged, through law, radical selfishness on the part of narcissistic, self-indulgent spouses. What must be understood by Christians is that no-fault divorce functions as a direct enemy of the gospel of the kingdom by opposing the in-breaking reign of God and his desires for the family.

You can also learn about the myths surrounding no-fault divorce here.

Gun Free Zone

When I was a little girl (about 6), there were a rash of burglaries in my neighborhood. As my parents sat discussing this, I came up with a plan. We could put a sign in our yard saying, "Please do not steal." Then the person would know that you shouldn't steal. My parents didn't follow my advice.

The other day my husband and I were watching short clip on YouTube and came upon this Gun Free Zone bit from Fox. It is about two years old, so you might have already seen it. But I thought it was funny.

Productivity

A friend e-mailed me an interesting (and convicting) article from American Vision about productivity. The main point is that increased productivity comes from "sacrifice, i.e. from forbearing present consumption plus ideas and work. Increasing productivity always comes at a cost."

The author laments that Americans have gone away from this principle that lead to our success.

For the last century Americans have gradually adopted an economic doctrine completely hostile to the spirit of their Puritan forefathers and to common sense in general: That not sacrifice, but consumption is what produces economic growth. We think we have found the way to both eat the cake and have it at the same time. If we eat more, buy new cars more often, spend more money on entertainment, these will somehow make us richer and more productive.

The author has some pretty pointed (and true) thoughts about the current government plans to "fix" our economy.

Even simple common sense tells us that production for consumption and investing for economic growth are two completely different activities, and they compete for our resources. The more we consume, the less we will have to make our life better in the future. And vice versa, the more we sacrifice and save, the more we will have to invest and make ourselves more productive.

I encourage you to read the whole thing. It really made me think and want to be more productive.