05.18.06
Posted in Politics and Issues, Culture and Ideas, Business and Economy at 12:27 pm by Jeff
Once upon a time, conservative thinkers shared a consensus opinion that troops should only be deployed with a clear plan, a well defined objective. Any well defined objective includes an endgame so that success can be evaluated and resources can be reallocated accordingly. A danger of our current engagement in Iraq is the apparent lack of such a well defined objective. Unfortunately, the government is at it again, planning to commit troops while not clearly defining success versus failure and a timeframe for the mission.
I a glad to see Governor Schwarzenegger bucking this trend. He is asking the right questions of the administration.
On Tuesday, Schwarzenegger made public a letter he sent to [to the administration] that questioned how the Bush administration plans to use the Guard. He asked what the government believes would constitute a successful border deployment and when it might end.
Hopefully the Governor from California will have an influence on the National Guard deployment policy that is shaping up as part of the Immigration Reform package.
Read it: Schwarzenegger Has Questions About Bush Border Plan
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05.15.06
Posted in Politics and Issues, Culture and Ideas, Business and Economy at 8:55 pm by Jeff
In President Bush’s speech on immigration, he highlighted “five clear objectives”:
- secure (our) borders
- create a temporary worker program
- hold employers to account for the workers they hire
- face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are already here
- honor the great American tradition of the melting pot
Do solutions exist which can meet all of these criteria? Absolutely. Do politicians exist with the fortitude to set aside political expediency in favor of a true solution to the issue? We’ll get our chance to see the answer to that question over the next few weeks.
Be informed. Read the Full Text of the speech.
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05.12.06
Posted in Faith and Practice, Culture and Ideas, Music and Literature at 3:46 pm by Jeff
Nathanael Blake has some harsh words regarding the Christian Music industry. While his tone borders on the vitriolic, I think he brings up some good points regarding the conflicts of interest inherent in the marriage of big-business and the Christian community in America.
Check it out and tell me what you think.
Nathanael Blake: Christ as Commodity
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05.11.06
Posted in Politics and Issues at 8:32 am by Jeff
All sad, but all so true.
The Republicans talk about cutting spending, but they increase it–a lot. They stand for making government smaller, but they keep making it bigger. They say they’re concerned about our borders, but they’re not securing them. And they seem to think we’re slobs for worrying. Republicans used to be sober and tough about foreign policy, but now they’re sort of romantic and full of emotionalism. They talk about cutting taxes, and they have, but the cuts are provisional, temporary. Beyond that, there’s something creepy about increasing spending so much and not paying the price right away but instead rolling it over and on to our kids, and their kids.
So, the normal voter might think, maybe the Democrats. But Democrats are big spenders, Democrats are big government, Democrats will roll the cost onto our kids, and on foreign affairs they’re–what? Cynical? Confused? In a constant daily cringe about how their own base will portray them? All of the above.
Where does such a voter go, and what does such a voter do? It is odd to live in the age of options, when everyone’s exhausted by choice, and feel your options for securing political progress are so limited. One party has beliefs it doesn’t act on. The other doesn’t seem to have beliefs, only impulses.
What’s a voter to do?
…
The oddest thing about Republicans and Democrats in power is that they always know the technical facts, always know about fund raising, always know what the national committee is saying about getting turnout. But so often they don’t know the message or even have a message. Which is funny, because they’re in the message business. They’re like shoemakers who make pretty shoeboxes but forget to make the shoes.
Read it all: OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan
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05.10.06
Posted in Politics and Issues at 9:56 am by Jeff
What’s a libertarian to do?
It’s hard to summon up hope that libertarians might find common cause with the Democratic party.
But the Republican party doesn’t seem very inviting lately, either.
As one astute commentator said recently: “The Republican Party in Washington is in trouble not because it’s overrun by crooks, but because . . . it has degenerated into a caricature of the party that swept to power 11 years ago promising to take on the federal bureaucracy and liberate the creative genius of American society.”
And Tony Snow was right.
Cato.org: Where There Is No Vision, the People Perish
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05.09.06
Posted in Faith and Practice at 9:04 am by Jeff
Joe Carter has some interesting insights into what is “wrong” with church.
I have a confession to make: I don’t like church… [N]o matter where I go there is always one idiot who ruins the experience for me. They think they know more theology than the pastor or believe they would do a better job leading worship than the music minister. They are invariably unfriendly, judgmental, hypocritical, and more than a little bit smug. Every church I go to I find a fool like that and so I shop around trying to find one that won’t let someone like that join their ranks. But he’s always there. No matter what I do I can’t shake him. Because that guy is me.
Read more: Deadwood in the Pews: The Trouble with Church
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