Posted by Larry Miller on February 27, 2009 under Why | 
Many of our problems today come, not from any particular event or situation, but from a lack of confidence to move forward. The stock market is basically in a downward spiral because investors don’t believe problems are being fixed… in fact they believe just the opposite. Banks aren’t lending money… maybe because they don’t have confidence in the economy the borrowers will operate in, or perhaps they feel they’ve been burned and lost confidence in their own ability to make good decisions and they’ve become overly cautious.
It appears that we don’t really have an economic problem… but a confidence problem. It’s not that we lack cash… the Fed is printing paper just as fast as the presses will run. We have a president with no lack of confidence in his ability to do everything short of walking on water. As we haven’t discussed the matter, it may be that he believes it possible to be an aquatic pedestrian. At this point thought, his extreme confidence in himself is not shared by Wall St. or Main St. People have begun saving what money they have and stopped buying much that they really don’t need. The economy is slowly grinding to a halt.
One would think that all the people who voted for the O-man would have the confidence to move the economy forward, yet even they… the bankers who received bailout money… and gave some to his campaign… don’t have the confidence to start the credit flowing again. For the bankers, it’s not a cash shortage, they just received billions of our money from the government, but an unwillingness to lend it out. It’s hard blame them too much as they’ve made a couple too many bad choices with their own money… some because of government rules and intimidation. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 25, 2009 under How |
Worshiping at the altar of diversity as advocated by the politically correct elites serves their purposes well, but what does it do for the rest of us? Does it help us unite to solve common problems, or does it split us into multiple camps where all we can see is our competing interests? If it is the latter, should we be viewing this politically correct article of faith as simply a well meaning error, or as a sinister attack on our country’s ability to function and lead the world?
Pursuing identity politics, that is, looking at each person as a member of some small, but downtrodden group rather than as an individual, serves to promote isolation from the rest of society and focus our attention on our differences rather than our similarities. It keeps us fragmented and distracted. We face many challenges in our country today. We need to pull together, but all we hear from our government is divisive rhetoric that keeps us at each others throats. The poor are told their plight is the fault of the rich. Union members are told corporate greed keeps them from getting what they want. One racial group thinks they are being held down by another. While the other group sees their opportunities given to less qualified workers based strictly on skin color.
The left, through the Democratic party has successfully balkanized America so many people see themselves first as members of some sort of aggrieved group that needs help in redressing some real or imagined wrong. One must give them credit for forging this disparate group, with often competing interests into a coalition that keeps many of them in office… even though few of the grievances are ever resolved. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 22, 2009 under How |
We can thank the Lord, even if we can’t thank our government that two former US Border Patrol Agents are back with their families. We also have to thank the public that kept up the pressure so finally the White House did a reasonable facsimile of the right thing.
Although they are still under house arrest wearing ankle bracelets, they are out of solitary confinement. They are away from the perils of prison but they are still not free to speak. Once the month long thumb twiddle leading up to their release is complete, we can hope that they will be permitted to return to a normal life.
We can also pray for their safety and the safety of their families as there are elements in our society that do not honor border patrol agents who do their job with integrity. Unfortunately, some of these elements appear to be in our own government. We have seen the Federal Prosecutor going out of his way to convince the media that these two men were more of a danger than the drug dealer they shot. In my humble, but accurate, opinion, prosecutors and other government officials who penalize these front-line warriors for doing their job and hand cuff them in their pursuit of our safety are a far greater hazard then anything these gentleman could be accused of doing. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 16, 2009 under How |
“We’re All Socialists” declares Newsweek magazine. They came to the conclusion because free spending Republicans have joined Democrats in forsaking our founding father’s vision of strength, non-intervention and individual responsibility to pursue the the false hope of the nanny state. It began creeping in years ago, but emerged full blown with the phrase “compassionate conservatism” which really meant that they wanted to be called conservatives, but they were not afraid to throw tons of federal money at hot button issues like education and drug programs while promoting greater federal intrusion in an ever expanding list of local prerogatives.
I guess it felt good to the political class to be benefactors to the downtrodden. Good grief, does that not sound like Democrat orthodoxy? It seems like the thinking was “if some is good, more is better”. Did it work? Hardly, as no matter what plan the Republicans came up with to distribute and redistribute federal funds and influence, they were always outdone by the even more expensive and intrusive schemes presented by the Democrats to whom government excesses are part of their political DNA.
We have only to ask John McCain how well this strategy worked last November. Having long rejected the conservative value of limited government, he looked like a piker compared to the high toned, ambiguous promises of his opponent. His “me too” was totally ineffective since the weak and incompetent who live for government support and direction know the Democratic penchant for taking from the productive for their own nefarious ends, and because the traditional virtues militated against frivolous waste and Republicans have no real credibility as giveaway artists.
This past week we saw liberal so-called Republicans throw their own supposed fellow party members under the bus as they sided with the other side to boost national debt further into the stratosphere and increase the giveaways that will help the Democratics stay in power and further erode our prosperity and freedom. The press calls them moderate, but there is nothing moderate about what they have done. These unprincipled Senators have become the pivot point around which all future legislation must turn.
This is a frightening thought that Washington excesses are only held in check by those with no aversion to them. What can we do? Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 10, 2009 under How |
Have you ever noticed that you never hear the term Liberal Republican? Many believe there is no such animal… that the term is oxymoronic. Actually the term is just moronic. To the press, and many others, Republicans are assumed to be conservative, by which they mean extreme. Those that don’t qualify as Reaganesque are called moderates, as if there is some sort of virtue to living in the mushy middle.
I’m reminded of the line from Barry Goldwater’s 1964 acceptance speech that chased the “moderates” in the New York delegation from the hall. And what awful thing did he say?
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!” Apparently the “moderates” did not believe that liberty and justice should be pursued with everything we’ve got.
Unfortunately the actions of more and more Republicans shows that they too would run away from this statement. The most notable are the three who broke from a party just discovering the value of unity. While not from New York, it should be recognized that they are also from the northeast. What can be said of those who supported the current spending orgy coming out of the land inside the beltway?
Can they really be thought of as moderate in any way, shape or form? Can the rest of us join in their excitement at having trimmed a hundred billion dollars from an eight hundred billion dollar spending package? If you had three children, could you be happy if you convinced a kidnapper to only take one rather than all three? Would we have felt any better if only 2,000 hundred people died on 9/11 rather than 3,000? Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 8, 2009 under Why |
In a weekend speech to the Democrat faithful and Virginia fat cats, former President Bill Clinton told the crowd “the culture war is won” as he urged his fellow party members to take advantage of this new found power to implement the various schemes that have been on hold for years. Of course the crowd cheered… but will the country? Will you?
I’m willing to concede that the election was won by the nefarious forces of the left – BUT NOT THE WAR! Before we go on, let’s look at some of the changes the former prez would like to see the Obamessiah and his minions in congress pursue.
One item near and dear to the supporters of both is the ability to kill their offspring. The new president already has issued an executive order permitting use of our tax money to fund an increasing array of abortion activities. Many in future generations will not be around to thank him.
The next area to be addressed is the gay agenda where people of the same sex want not only the right to do disgusting things with each other (which they already have) but to have the rest of us accept this behavior as normal and just another option acceptable to us all. It’s not clear at what point pedophilia will be added to the list of acceptable choices. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 6, 2009 under How |
Many years ago when I worked at National Religious Broadcasters, we had our annual conventions in Washington DC. The President of the United States would usually address the assembled crowd. This was particularly exciting as this was all happening during the Reagan years.
However for me, the most memorable speaker one year, was Dr. Robert A. Cook from The King’s College in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He was a delightful gentleman who had a way of putting things into perspective. He began his address by telling us that two days before, he talked to the Vice President, and just the day before, he talked to the President. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said. “But this morning, I talked to God.”
In his own, plain spoken way, Dr. Cook showed he understood the what was important and where the real power lay. As great a man as Ronald Reagan was, he could not walk on water… and, even though this may come as a surprise to some, neither can the man who occupies his office now.
We are told to respect our leaders and pray for those in authority. This does not mean we are to blindly follow and not speak up when we see things are amiss. They are men, only men. We are privileged to live in country where we still have the ability to raise our voices when we see the train is headed off a cliff. With this privilege comes the responsibility to do so! After all, it’s not just about us. We are our brothers keeper.
As a practical matter, then, we need to stay in touch with our legislators, at all levels. We are not doing our jobs as citizens if we don’t and our complaints to others just become ineffective whining… and nobody likes a whiner. We need to be respectful, but keep in mind, they don’t walk on water either.
Posted by Larry Miller on February 4, 2009 under Why |
Four people high in the government, or aspiring to be, all having “missed” or “forgotten” tax payments. For the most part, payments greater than most Americans make in a year. Payments that, except for the good congressman were only considered when the prospect of high governmental offices came to light, and payments made without penalties and interest we mere mortals would be liable for.
There is no need to go into the gory details of Congressman Charlie Rangel, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, former Senator Tom Daschle who just withdrew his name from consideration for HHS Director and Nancy Kellefer, who was up for the imaginary position of Performance Czar. The important point is that for two, Congressman Rangel and the Treasury Secretary there were no real consequences. For the other two, the it actually brought an end, at least temporarily, to the dream of DC prestige and power. I guess two out of four is not too bad, especially for the party where problems of this type tend to give street cred.
One has to wonder if these are isolated cases or just the visible tip of the iceberg. There is growing concern and mounting evidence that our government and the people that run it are far removed from the concern and values of most Americans. We see these people explaining to us how we need to tighten our belts, cut back, and even be prepared to make further sacrifices to pay for their grandiose schemes, all the while congress increases its office budgets and the president raises the temperature of the oval office to tropical levels. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on February 2, 2009 under Why |
Two World Views
As we observe the world around us, we see what seems to be a chaotic multiplicity of viewpoints and voices. However, when we look at them a little closer, we see what some proclaim to be fresh, new and exciting concepts to be variations on one or two age old themes.
Essentially there are two primary ways of viewing the world around us. C.S. Lewis called it the “Great Divide”. Do we live our lives with the recognition of the supreme being, or do we consider ourselves (man) to be the supreme being? There is even a perversion of this thinking whereby man is the supreme underbeing and Mother Earth is the deity to be worshipped… in the way these unusual people shall specify for us.
In any case, the culture war that currently engulfs our country is one in which most who would claim the God centered world view are blissfully unaware of the seriousness of the conflict. They are absorbed in their own lives and problems. They have been distracted by the small acts of goodness they can do and totally miss the bigger picture that shows the Christian viewpoint being shuffled off to the side. Many of us have been majoring in minors, as the saying goes. Read more of this article »
