Just a thought…

Heard this from pastor last week and I have been refelcting on this:

I want to be known what I stand FOR….not stand against.

I think that some christians need to chill out, back away, and sit down! Those people are not doing the kingdom work by using the bible as a sword.Jesus says it clearly that we need to love god first and the love our neighbors as ourselves. So this condemnation and fakery by some Christians  needs to be done. Just go away…

My buddy pastor Doug tells the kids in childrens ministry that every time you point your finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back at you. That is the truth, and when we immerse ourselves in the bible, the truth will will be evident and set you free.

Americans are infantile hedonists—The drug war

A great article by Burt Prelutsky:

http://townhall.com/Columnists/BurtPrelutsky/2009/02/27/this_war_is_not_the_answer

The war he is referring to is the losing drug war that America has been in for decades. We are not winning, plain and simple. I deeply respect those brave law enforcement officials who put their lives on the line to keep our neighborhoods safe. And maybe I am just frustrated at the relentless campaign that our law enforcement finds themselves in. But I think that we as a nation ought to take another look at this battle that we are in.

A quote towards the end of the first page really stood out in my mind.

“One of the most irksome aspects of the War is that we Americans are always claiming the moral high ground, righteously condemning the poppy growers in Afghanistan, the drug czars in Colombia and the Mexican cut-throats, as if they all conspired to turn us into a nation of junkies. The fact is, if so many of us weren’t infantile hedonists who can’t even go 24 hours without snorting, shooting or smoking, this crap, the Afghanis would start planting potatoes and the Latino criminals would have to find another way to make a living.”

The term “infantile hedonism” stood out in my mind. I dont think the author is  trying to minimize addiction which is very real, has physical effects, and heartbreaking. On the other hand, some people choose to live like hedonists and fulfill whatever dark and dangerous want/desire that they have. This desire is destructive for the brief moments of pleasure (which is superficial and always feels worse afterwards.)

As a Christian, Part of my witness and testimony is when I accepted Jesus Christ, the chains that I had were broken, my sins forgiven, and finally I was given peace. The peace came from god’s grace.

The paragraph after the one refrenced above, is that Americans are so hopped up on our own drugs that who are we to cast stones? And he is absolutely right. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 7:3. Enough said…

How I feel financially right now…

Jim Jubak at MSN Money, great article.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/5-ways-for-us-chumps-to-fight-back.aspx?

If someone lost their job or had health issues, then the responsible thing to do is to help that homeowner stay in there home! That is the first priority, but how many people did you know who used their homes like an ATM? Or bought more than they could afford?

In any other place in our society, if we gamble, we lose. We move on and live to fight another day. The precedent that Bush started and Obama continues is the era of lost accountability. No one is accountable, the first 350 billion in TARP funds? Gone! Obama is right that people need to take personal responsibility, but that includes the Democrats in charge! They are spending OUR money on this.

The political blame game has to stop and the mad dash to “save the people” has to stop as well. Politicians are NOT the best stewards and guides for our lives, when will the people wake up and see this? How can anybody rely on the same institutions that are responsible for Katrina, the IRS, and public schools?

The prodigal son: domestic automakers?

Check out this article by Steve Chapman at townhall.com :

http://townhall.com/columnists/SteveChapman/2009/02/22/detroit_as_the_prodigal_son

This article is the easiest to read and understand in economic terms, the case for why the big three should be allowed to fail. I supported the bridge loans pragmatically,  not based on my principles.

On the one hand, the author is completely right about the demise of the big three. I am getting tired of hearing the phrase “too big to fail.” In economics, failure is recognized as a deterrence and something that should be planned for and thought about. If there were no foreign competition, we would still be driving around K-cars and Chevy Cavaliers. The imports have forced the big three to a level of design and quality that is out of this world. Without competition, there was NO reason to change the status quo. Management was complacent for far too long from making the tough choices needed during the nineties. The labor unions are equally culpable in this mess because they chose greed during the present over sustainability and partnership with the company. After all, if the company goes belly up, the best contract in the world is worthless.

Instead of a BUT… I prefer the term HOWEVER… This country needs domestic manufacturing capability. Simply for matters of national security, we need to be able to manufacture and be somewhat self sufficient if needed. The correction of the market in this case would be absolutely devastating. Communities and livelihoods would be battered.

My dilemma is as follows:

As an American citizen, I want my country to be able to manufacture weapons and vehicles in case we have another world war such as we did during WWII.

As a Michigander, the loss of the big three or any variation of, would further push my colleagues, friends, and neighborhoods to despair. This would undoubtedly lead to greater suffering, crime, and just general malaise in my local society.

As a conservative, I believe in the markets. The invisible hand does work, is working, and should be allowed to work! Let those businesses that waste resources and capital inefficiently go away so better and leaner businesses can thrive. Get government out of the picture, let those rise and fall on the choices that they made, and allow citizens to determine their own best choices and actions not some fat cat bureaucrat in office. Not to mention, if we try protectionism, the foreign capital that has been propping us up for the last few years will dry up, exports will be frozen and what we do make will sit on the docks, inflation will be rampant, and that will put us in a depression for sure.

The success of the automakers depends solely on the marketplace. That is a fact that few people are discussing. If consumers CHOOSE not to buy that product, then no amount of bailing out by anyone will do any good. How can people think that they can legislate private and personal choices? Living in communist Russia or Venezuela, maybe but in America? Unlikely.

The analogy of the prodigal son does not quite work in this case. The son who stayed behind while the other partied was not cheated, because he was in his fathers grace and light the whole time the partier suffered in the darkness. I would not necessarily say “poor Honda and Toyota, you have suffered while your American counterparts yukked it up.” The only way the big three become the prodigal son is if the “buy American” marketing catches on and the consumer forgives. Will they? Should they?

What would you choose and why? Which principles guide your decisions?

My first post

You know, it was hard to actually think of a title and content for your very own blog.

Well, I now have a myspace, facebook, and a linkedin account. I may as well face the digital wave with a blog too.

With all of these social networking sites, why it is that we are closer than ever yet so far away?

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!