Conservative Soup - food for thought

Darfur: up to 2 million without homes and hundreds of thousands dead

There is no monetary gain for U.N. member nations; no advancement of U.S. interests...only a chance to end human suffering. The word needs to get out about the atrocities. Hopefully, we will see some conviction on the part of our leadership. We need to save the innocent.

Will

Revised:

After reading a comment from our friend Dardin Edward, I revised this to better reflect its intended message.

This writing is actually geared toward the pseudo-Christians that he speaks of (and that represents a HUGE portion of those that go to church every week). Those people break nearly each of the ideals mentioned in the following paragraphs with reckless abandon.

The damage done to Christianity has been perpetrated mainly by those pseudo-Christians that claim to be doing the Lord’s work by condemning others - then, turning to commit even worse atrocities themselves!

Hypocrisy abounds inside the church walls causing the state of Christianity to be a major concern. Children abused, wars waged, people murdered and wholesale destruction of societies by people claiming to be Christ-like - what a joke! I am appalled by the damage they have done to my religion.

Today's Christians could benefit from a refresher course of Christ's word and the spirit in which he spoke them. The sins of Pride, Hypocrisy, and Judgment of Others were three overwhelming themes of Jesus Christ’s message (beside the obvious, of course! i.e. "the way to the Father is through the Son"). All three of these have to do with our relationships with others.

I found the following biblical passages especially appropriate:

Pride: social status, boastfulness, absorbed in one’s self, vanity
Roman’s 12:6 let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other (MSG)

Hypocrisy: preaching one way (especially in the name of the Lord) and behaving in another - THIS is taking the Lord’s name in vain
2 Corinthians 4:2, We keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God (MSG)

Judging Others: finding behaviors disagreeable and condemning as "most abhorrent" Luke 6:36-6:38 Our Father is kind; you be kind. Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, and criticize their faults--unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down (MSG)

A passage that deals with all three?:
1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other (NIV)

Today's Church of Followers would be better tuned to the real meaning of Christ-like if they would follow these disciplines. Don't get me wrong, I do not think for a second that I'm faultless in these. But, by recognizing my faults, I will be stronger.

Will

My "Easter" post has apparently ruffled some feathers! In an April post entitled "A Common Conservative Evangelical Blunder", this Mark Shea fellow has a bit of an issue with my factual writing regarding the pagan roots of some Easter traditions. It is worth the read - and the 60+ comments are even better. By the end, the readers discuss the merits of medicating one another to soothe their nerves!
Will

Congratulations to ExxonMobil for another strong performing quarter. I'm sure the employees, shareholders, and executive management members are being rewarded handsomely. But this is not a blog about unfair oil profits, instead I want to give a blogging middle finger to the whiners and big governement proponents that think the US government should increase its control over private enterprise. If you really want to see higher gasoline costs, let's remove the incentive for the american oil companies to produce at a net margin of only 8.2%. The banking, health care, and professional service industries all exceed this net margin by industry average. This is a dangerous slope to start down if we are going to target big corporations for making "unfair" profits. What is an "unfair" profit anyway? The last time I checked, we were still a capitalist nation, but not for long.

All of this talk makes me want to become a Libertarian. Very limited government, just enough to keep us from killing eachother and prevent foreign invasion. But then again, maybe we should tax or seize the oil companies. Yeah, that's a great idea. I'm sure the government wouldn't do us any wrong. We could have an entitlement program for gasoline. We could call it the "Big Three Security Plan". This way we will rightfully be "owed" our fair share of gasoline at a price Americans want to pay, $0.00. I'm sick and tired of hearing the complaints of people about gasoline prices. Especially those who drive a $40,000 vehicle and cry uncle when it costs them an extra $1,000 to drive it. Guess what, you made the decision to buy that vehicle, you chose to live in the suburbs, and you were the one keeping up with the Jones's.

This hurts me to say this, but Western Europe has it right. A workable public transportation system and limited suburban development. OOOUUUUUCCCHHHHH, that did hurt. Not that I am advocating the US to aspire to be Europe, but they did all of this because gas has been $3.00+ a gallon for years. What are we going to do about it? If you don't like the current situation, do something about it. Change your behavior or become an innovator and promote alternatives.

~Milt~

After weeks of student near-begging, I decided that my Macro-Economics students would be allowed a second extra-credit assignment. The topic is one that is near and dear to me. But, I have an overly-romantic view of economics! Essentially, the assignment is a look at the constrictive effect that taxation has on an economy.

Taxation hits each participant in an economy in a variety of ways. For example, the study of tax incidence measures how buyers of a product are negatively affected by a tax on the seller. To what degree each are affected depends on a variety of factors. But, the fact remains that both are negatively affected regardless of where the tax is placed!

For years, Democrats have sold the American public up the river on the "benefit and painlessness" of corporate income taxes. The theory of the Deadweight Loss demonstrates the constriction that occurs in a market (essentially, the reduction in numbers of buyers and sellers that participate in the marketplace) by virtue of any tax placed upon either the buyer OR the seller of a good or service. There are natural inhibitors that are enacted when a tax is placed on a good or service in the marketplace. This is a fundamental of economics upon which nearly all economists agree.

Ronald Reagan drove down the corporate income tax rate from roughly 70% to approximately 20% during his time in the White House. The liberal media lambasted the idea claiming appeasement of the rich. The fact that federal tax revenue doubled during the same four years point to the expansive policy undertaken by President Reagan (my leftist friends will undoubtly insert ridiculous claims that this tax policy caused the budget deficits and federal debt of the eighties. The decade of greed indeed!). The subsequent economic benefit (not squelched until fairly recently) to most everyone was to the extreme.

The fact is that public naivety abounds about the effects of taxation. If this wasn’t the case, the economic health of the U.S. would be stout and the tide of rising standard of living would raise all who live here.

Will

During Saddam Hussein: Estimates of child mortality rates hovered at 125 deaths per 1,000 births for children under the age of five - diarrhea and acute respiratory infections accounted for 70 percent of the deaths

Now: Ministry of Health and Environment: indicate that the last year has witnessed an important drop in rates of disease among children under five, particularly for cholera and diarrhea

Now: Current child mortality estimates at 50 deaths per 1,000 births

Now: The US has assisted in training over 2,000 health educators, teachers, religious leaders and youth on hygiene, diarrhea, breast feeding, and immunization issues

hmmm....

Will

On April 23, Hillary stated that she is for a "smart-fence" separating Mexico and the U.S.

She had previously stated that she supports the separation fence Israel is building along the edges of the West Bank.

But, she recently said that the GOP immigration bill would "criminalize Jesus" because the bill would make it a felony to enter into the U.S. illegally.

So, imagine my confusion when I ask - whether she really believes that it makes sense to construct a multi-billion dollar border fence to prevent...uhhhh....misdemeanors from being committed?!?!?

Does she have ANY convictions??

Will

Easter has become one of the most holy Christian celebrations. However, it is not found anywhere in the Bible. My family celebrates Easter every year. But, we have always maintained a careful awareness of its meaning. I don't believe that most have done this. I believe that knowing the pagan roots of Holy observances is key to maintaining purity in one's worship.

Easter? Most don't even know the origin of the name! Two pagan goddesses were the source. Estere was a pagan fertility goddess and Ishtar (an Old Testament pagan goddess that rose with the sunrise). Female deities, the rabbit and egg have represented pagan fertility celebrations for milleniums.

The problem is obvious. Holy observances that have been leached forward to convert pagans to Christianity many centuries ago have some inherently dangerous undertones. His death and resurrection should be celebrated - but, His supreme sacrifice should be observed everyday, not when the moon is lined-up correctly with the earth (Easter's celebration is ted to the spring equinox - the actual date is set as the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs after the spring equinox). Let the kids enjoy Easter...but, you might consider telling them its just for fun.

Will

The Indiana Court of Appeals overturns a Morgan County Judge's decision to overturn an adoption of an infant girl by a gay couple.

Click here for the story:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS01/604140505


~Milt~

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "If the protesters really want to honor America's values, they would stand up to lawbreakers and embrace an enforcement-first approach to fixing our broken system."

Typical Leftist rant from Ted Kennedy: "This is reminiscent of the civil rights movement." American blacks should be outraged with this statement. Is illegal a color?

Will

Interestingly, it is the Left that is most critical of American immigration policy. However, it is their beloved FRANCE that has a bill in it's parliament expecting passage. The fact is that the French bill is EXTREMELY radical in comparison to the American policies. Oh yeah! Imagine if the U.S. required each new immigrant to know and appreciate American culture! Ha! Such a thought flies in the face of all that the Left in America has tried to accomplish during their assault on American culture during the past several decades!

Oh, but don't expect Liberal outcry! The reason? Because the Blame America First Liberal crowd is loaded with subversive agenda, hypocritical nature, and pure hatred for all things America. Remember Alec Baldwin's "threat" that he was moving to France if Bush was re-elected? Where is HIS protest?

Will

As the father of a LEGAL immigrant (read prior post "Reagan Legacy"), I feel slighted by those that feel that they deserve the rights of Americans by virtue of their illegal entry (the burglar in my house has no rights thereof).

Look at the attached report...dozens of illegals have been arrested at our nation's nuclear plants and military bases over the past several months (you think the Left would be angry at the mere threat of environmental crisis)! Shouldn't we be somewhat alarmed about the fact that we currently have an estimated 8 million undocumented immigrants in this country? Demonstrate all you want. But, this is concerning.

I can attest that our country needs to accommodate the growth of an immigrant population. But, is it too much to ask have this done by a structured means?

Will

University of Texas Professor of Biology suggests population control through the intentional spread of disease (suggests HIV is "too slow") - subsequently, proposes that he NOT be included in the infestation...idiot.

Will

uhhhhh.....whatever.

Will

Montgomery Alabama 12 yr old expelled for bringing a multi-purpose tool to school (Johnny can't read...now, he can't whittle either!). Even more frightening, earlier in the year, the same school had a student disciplined for bringing a deadly...hold on to your hat...PECAN CRACKER to school. Oh, the humanity!

Government officials are still investigating whether the pecan cracker was a high-capacity assault version.

Will

It's time to get off of Jill Carroll's back. I'm proud that Jill came out to strongly retract the statements she made while being held captive (I'm sure that the Left is reeling after that one). Just maybe, her newly found appreciation for the U.S. military will be spread amongst her peace-loving friends...she obviously seems to have been enlightened beyond those that paint our heroes as terrorists.

Will