It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself. -- Thomas Jefferson

Friday, October 28, 2011

Christians Need Not Apply - David Cortman - Townhall Conservative

Below is an excerpt from Townhall.com columnist David Cortman's article "Christians Need Not Apply":
  • How exactly do we move from a nation whose founders and first public servants included many Christians, to a place where Christians are no longer fit to participate in public life? Because if the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” (FFRF) has their way, that’s exactly what our country will look like.

To read the entire article please click the link below:

Christians Need Not Apply - David Cortman - Townhall Conservative

Monday, October 24, 2011

HOLY SEE CALLS FOR REFORM OF GLOBAL FINANCE



VATICAN CITY, 24 OCT 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a note from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace entitled: "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of a global public authority". The document was presented by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson and Bishop Mario Toso S.D.B., respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and by Leonardo Becchetti, professor of political economy at the Roman University of "Tor Vergata".

  Cardinal Turkson mentioned the sixth summit meeting of heads of government of the G-20 nations, due to take place in Cannes, France, on 3 and 4 November to discuss issues related to finance and the global economy. "The Holy Father and the Holy See", he said, "are following these matters with particular concern, constantly calling not just for 'joint action', but for 'examination of every facet of the problem: social, economic, cultural and spiritual'. It is in this spirit of discernment that the Holy See, with the note of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, wishes to make a contribution which might be useful to the deliberations of the G-20 meeting".

  Bishop Toso explained that the aim of the note is "suggest possible paths to follow, in line with the most recent social Magisterium, for the implementation of financial and monetary policies ... that are effective and representative at a global level, and which seek the authentic human development of all individuals and peoples".

  The Church does not wish to enter into the technical issues behind the current economic crisis, but remains within the ambit of her religious and ethical functions. Thus she highlights not just the moral causes of the crisis but, more specifically, the ideological causes. Old ideologies have been replaced by new ones, "neo-liberalist, neo-utilitarian, and technocratic which, by reducing the common good to economic, financial and technical questions, place the future of democratic institutions themselves at risk".

  Bishop Toso spoke of the need to overcome these ideologies by "a new global humanism, open to transcendence, ... an ethic of brotherhood and solidarity, and by subordinating economy and finance to politics, which is responsible for the common good".

  The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, drawing from the social Magisterium of recent Pontiffs particularly John XXIII and Benedict XVI, proposes "that globalisation be regulated by a global public authority", Bishop Toso explained. The council also suggests the reform of current international institutions. They "must become an expression of free and shared agreement among peoples; more representative, and with greater levels of participation and legitimacy. ... They must be 'super partes', at the service of the universal good, capable of offering effective guidance and, at the same time, of allowing each country to express and pursue its own common good, according to the principle of subsidiarity and in the context of the global common good. Only in this way will international institutions manage to favour effective monetary and financial systems; in other words, free and stable markets regulated by an appropriate legal framework and working towards sustainable development and social progress for everyone".

  This global authority "must see its power to lead and to deicide - and to impose penalties on the basis of the law - as a form of service to the various members States, a way of ensuring that they possess efficient markets".

  To this end, Bishop Toso concluded, "it is necessary to restore the primacy of ethics and, therewith, the primacy of politics, which is responsible for the common good".
CON-IP/                                                                                           VIS 20111024 (610)

Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence - Michael Barone - Townhall Conservative

TownHall.com colunist Michael Barone has written an article entitled “Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence”. Below are some excerpts from that article:

  • All the trappings of religion are there. Original sin: Mankind is responsible for these prophesied disasters, especially those slobs who live on suburban cul-de-sacs and drive their SUVs to strip malls and tacky chain restaurants.
  • The need for atonement and repentance: We must impose a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, which will increase the cost of everything and stunt economic growth.
  • Ritual, from the annual Earth Day to weekly recycling.
  • Indulgences, like those Martin Luther railed against: private jet-fliers like Al Gore and sitcom heiress Laurie David can buy carbon offsets to compensate for their carbon-emitting sins.


Click the link below to read the entire article:


Cult of Global Warming Is Losing Influence - Michael Barone - Townhall Conservative

Friday, October 21, 2011

Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

The following excerpts are from an article by TownHall columnist Michael Youssef entitled “Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians”. Read the excerpts below:
  • Christians speak the truth about God’s best for humanity as it applies to morality, laws and governing principles, but the secular media views these truths as Hell. Truth always feels like Hell to those who reject, deny, or hate the truth.
  • When Bible-believing Christians share that there is only one true God who is lovingly inviting people to believe in Him and receive His redemption, or face His coming judgment, that is Hell to those who view themselves as their own gods—masters of their own fates. Many of these self-made gods control our media.
Click the link below to read the entire article at TownHall.com:


Why Do the Members of the Secular Media Hate Bible-believing Christians - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Monday, October 17, 2011

Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act | THE MATT MITTAN SHOW - News Radio 570am WWNC

Below are a couple of excerpts from this condescending speech by President Obama in Asheville, N.C. today. Does he think we are all third graders? Anyway, the excerpts follow:

  • Now, as you may have noticed, I came here on a plane. It’s a pretty nice plane. But I’m leaving on a bus. (Applause.) The bus is pretty hard to miss. And over the next few days, we are going to take this bus through North Carolina and Virginia and I’m going to get a chance to hear from folks about how they’re doing, what direction they want to take the country in.

  • And I’ll be doing a little bit of talking, but mostly I’m going to do a whole lot of listening — because there doesn’t seem to be much listening going on in Washington these days. (Applause.) People don’t seem to be paying much attention to the folks who sent them there in the first place. And that’s a shame. Because once you escape the partisanship and the political point-scoring in Washington, once you start really start listening to the American people, it’s pretty clear what our country and your leaders should be spending their time on.



Click the link below to read the rest of these dumbed down remarks:

Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act | THE MATT MITTAN SHOW - News Radio 570am WWNC

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Romney: Same-Sex Adoption ‘Should Be Assessed on a State-by-State Basis’ | CNSnews.com

The media tells us that this is the leading candidate. Or at least he is the media's choice. I do believe he is the Republican establishment's choice because they reject true conservatism, and fear the conservative voice. That is why I support Rick Santorum, the only true social and fiscal conservative.

Romney: Same-Sex Adoption ‘Should Be Assessed on a State-by-State Basis’ | CNSnews.com

A History Lesson For Today: Martin Van Buren And The Panic of 1837


Note: This originally appeared in 2009 on an older blog of mine. I thought it worth sharing here.


Since we are going through an “economic downturn” (depression/recession) as the pundits like to call it, I thought it might be interesting to look at another period of “economic instability” from a time other than the Great Depression, and the President who was in office at the time. I thought President Van Buren's comments regarding governments role in economic crises somewhat appropriate for today, especially considering the Congressional penchant for “bailouts”.



Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States serving from 1837-1841. He was the first American citizen to be elected President who had not been a British subject. He had served as the Vice-President during Andrew Jackson's second term as President from 1833-1837. He was nicknamed “the Magician” because of his behind the scenes political maneuvers. However, unlike Jackson, he was never able to win popular support for himself or his policies.

In his inaugural address Van Buren had assured the nation that he would attempt to continue to follow the policies and examples set forth by Jackson, and as evidence of his intent to play the role of caretaker, he reappointed all the member's of Jackson's cabinet. In his address Van Buren had described the United States as being “an aggregate of human prosperity not elsewhere to be found”. Then, the United States first major economic depression, the Panic of 1837, hit the country, when the banks suspended the payment of gold or silver for paper money. Van Buren got the blame for it, even though it occurred only two months after he took office, and effectively killed any chances of his ever achieving popularity.

When this depression hit, Van Buren called a special session of Congress in September 1837, asking for the establishment of an independent treasury system (so the government could retain control of collected tax money instead of depositing it in private banks), and proposed the government begin issuing paper money in the form of treasury notes. Van Buren warned that it was not within the constitutional rights of Congress to give “specific aid to the citizen to relieve embarrassments arising from losses by revulsions in commerce and credit.

Further he said: “All communities are apt to look to government for too much. Even in our own country, where its powers and duties are so strictly limited, we are prone to do so, especially at periods of sudden embarrassment and distress. But this ought not to be. The framers of our excellent Constitution and the people who approved it with calm and sagacious deliberation acted at the time on a sounder principle. They wisely judged that the less government interferes with private pursuits the better for the general prosperity. It is not its legitimate object to make men rich or to repair by direct grants of money or legislation in favor of particular pursuits losses not incurred in public service. This would be substantially to use the property of some for the benefit of others.

Congress was slow in approving Van Buren's suggestions, with the independent treasury system not coming into effect until July 1840. Prosperity temporarily returned in the winter of 1839-1840, but bad times recurred at the end of the Van Buren administration, continuing until 1845.

Van Buren was unanimously chosen by the Democratic Convention to run for a second term in the election of 1840. Delegates were unable to decide on a vice-presidential candidate leaving the choice up to the electors, thus leaving Van Buren without a popular running mate to bring him support, and all the forces that opposed him united behind the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison.

Whigs called the President “Martin Van Ruin” because of the nationwide depression. They portrayed him as an aristocrat who drank his wine from a silver cooler and ate his meals from gold plates, and criticized him for using public money to install a hot water tank in the White House to warm his bath water. They featured Harrison as a man of the people who could live in a log cabin and be content with hard cider. The facts were that Harrison was born in a mansion as a Virginia aristocrat, while Van Buren was the self-made son of a tavern keeper. The voters believed the Whig version, and Van Buren was defeated.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Obama Plan: Teacher Jobs One Year Only

This article by Carolina Journal reporter Don Carrington, points out how the Obama Jobs Plan only provides funding to states, such as North Carolina, "to save the jobs of up to 13,000 North Carolina teachers, cops, and firefighters" for one year.

Below are some excerpts from the article, If you go to the Carolina Journal page to read the entire article, be sure to scroll down the page for the chart that has a breakdown of how the money would be distributed by state.

The excerpts follow:

  • A White House press release describing the benefits to North Carolina was more specific. “These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, and will provide $900,300,000 in funds to North Carolina to support 13,400 educator and first responder jobs.”
  • As in the president’s comments, the White House press release does not specify how long the jobs would be funded. Dividing $900,300,000 by 13,400 yields $67,186.57 to cover salary, benefits, and any other costs associated with providing each job in North Carolina. Since the average annual cost of teacher pay and benefits in the state is $56,000, funding in Obama’s jobs bill would cover a little more than one year of compensation.
  • Sections 204-209 of the bill include provisions requiring states to “meet the requirements” of the law for an additional two years. A White House spokeswoman told Carolina Journal that the bill includes no unfunded mandates. But unless North Carolina picks up the funding for these positions after the first year, it’s unclear how the teachers and first responders supported by it would be paid.


Click the link below to read the entire article:

Obama Plan: Teacher Jobs One Year Only

Sunday, October 2, 2011

The ACLU – A Change of Heart or Cowardice - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

  • The ANC [American News Commentary] reported in its September 21, 2011 issue that the ACLU is defending the right of Muslims to exercise prayer in public schools in San Diego… Really?
  • Is that a change of heart or the expression of a cowardly and terrified heart? It is most likely the latter. Let me explain.

Click the link below to read the entire article by Michael Youssef, Townhall columnist:
The ACLU – A Change of Heart or Cowardice - Michael Youssef - Townhall Conservative

Saturday, October 1, 2011

New Bishops' Committee Responds to Religious Liberty Threats | Daily News | NCRegister.com

 The following excerpt is from the article appearing on the NCRegister.com Daily News:

“The bishops have concluded that religious liberty is under assault from a variety of fronts in the U.S. — at the federal, state and cultural level,” said Bishop Lori, in an interview following the announcement today. “They have identified this issue as an important priority, and I am humbled and happy to help lead this effort.”

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the bishops conference, signaled that the new subcommittee would be one of several initiatives designed to strengthen the conference’s response and bring together a broad cross-section of churches and legal scholars to oppose attacks on the First Amendment.

“[T]he establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee is one element of what I expect to be a new moment in the history of our conference,” stated Archbishop Dolan in a letter to conference members. “Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith and as a service provider. If we do not act now, the consequence will be grave.”

Click the link below to read the entire article:

New Bishops' Committee Responds to Religious Liberty Threats | Daily News | NCRegister.com
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...