Tag Archives: Republicans

Economics, Politics

Two easy pictures: How the welfare state begins and ends

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It is disappointing to see how people think the Greece situation is some sort of anomaly that could never happen here. But it is only a matter of time. Look at the reactions in Wisconsin and Occupy Wall Street when the entitlement crowd was asked to give up a small part of their higher-than-market-rate benefits.

See Two Pictures that Perfectly Capture the Rise and Fall of the Welfare State:

These images are remarkably accurate. The welfare state starts with small programs targeted at a handful of genuinely needy people. But as  politicians figure out the electoral benefits of expanding programs and people figure out the that they can let others work on their behalf, the ratio of producers to consumers begins to worsen.

Eventually, even though the moochers and looters should realize that it is not in their interest to over-burden the people pulling the wagon, the entire system breaks down.

Then things get really interesting. Small nations such as Greece can rely on permanent bailouts from bigger countries and the IMF, but sooner or later, as larger nations begin to go bankrupt, that approach won’t be feasible.

Here are some lessons from the European crisis that would help us, if only the voters would come to their senses and elect some leaders with the courage to carry them out, instead of continually electing people who fail at basic economics:

1. Higher taxes lead to higher spending, not lower deficits. Miss Morandotti looks at the evidence from Europe and shows that politicians almost always claim that higher taxes will be used to reduce red ink, but the inevitable result is bigger government. This is a lesson that gullible Republicans need to learn – especially since some of them want to acquiesce to a tax hike as part of the “Supercommitee” negotiations.

2. A value-added tax would be a disaster. This was music to my ears sinceI have repeatedly warned that the statists won’t be able to impose a European-style welfare state in the United States without first imposing this European-style money machine for big government.

3. A welfare state cripples the human spirit. This was the point eloquently made by Hadley Heath of the Independent Women’s Forum in a recent video.

4. Nations reach a point of no return when the number of people mooching off government exceeds the number of people producing. Indeed, Miss Morandotti drew these two cartoons showing how the welfare state inevitably leads to fiscal collapse.

5. Bailouts don’t work. This also was a powerful lesson. Imagine howmuch better things would be in Europe if Greece never received an initial bailout. Much less money would have been flushed down the toilet and this tough-love approach would have sent a very positive message to nations such as Portugal, Italy, and Spain about the danger of continued excessive spending.

Christian worldview, Politics

Obama knows the mind of God?!

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When politicians on either side make claims like this you should be skeptical.  If they quoted some actual Bible verses, in context, then that would be relevant — although in theory, the “separation of church and state” crowd should be going nuts about Obama’s statements [crickets chirping].

See Obama: God wants Congress to pass my jobs bill « Hot Air.

Urging Congress again to pass a portion of his jobs bill, President Obama claimed Wednesday that God is on his side.

Mr. Obama was standing at the D.C. side of the Key Bridge, calling attention to America’s crumbling infrastructure and the need to put more construction workers back on the job. He criticized House Republicans for ignoring his legislation while approving a measure that reaffirms “In God We Trust” as the national motto.

“That’s not putting people back to work,” Mr. Obama said. “I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.”

It’s hard not to ever-so-slightly suspect that, in Obama’s mind, God’s will ought to conform to his and not the other way around … but I’m trying very hard to banish that suspicion. Humility might not be Obama’s strong suit, but surely not even he is that arrogant.

At the daily press briefing, when a reporter asked Jay Carney whether Obama’s invocation of God might not have been a bit much, the press secretary defended it with this: “I believe the phrase from the Bible is ‘The Lord helps those who help themselves.’” Not so, Mr. Carney, not so. Nowhere in the Bible does that adage make its appearance.

Ugh.  Looks like his press secretary knows as much about the Bible as the President.

Politics, Pro-life

How Herman Cain should have answered the abortion questions

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Herman Cain
Image via Wikipedia

I believe that Herman Cain is authentically pro-life and that he would appoint judges who would interpret the Constitution properly.  But he tried to get too political in answering questions about abortion from Piers Morgan.

Please see How I wish the abortion-for-rape debate would go for a simple and effective way to navigate through the rape and incest exception questions.  This works whether you are being interviewed by a “gotcha” journalist or just having a conversation with a friend.

Pro-lifers need to quit apologizing for their views and start being more consistent.  This is not that complicated.  The unborn are unique, living human beings from conception.  That is a scientific fact.  They shouldn’t be killed because they are unwanted or as punishment for a crime someone else committed.

Also see ‘Controversy’ Over: National Right to Life Vouches for Cain’s Pro-Life Bona Fides where Stacy McCain advises how to navigate these questions.

Economics, Politics

Obama’s Social Security blackmail may backfire

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There are a few possible upsides to Obama’s threat that Social Security checks won’t go out if Congress doesn’t increase the debt ceiling.

1. The President’s Remarks Prove Social Security Trust Fund is a Hoax on the Public — As I noted in my piece about how Social Security is basically a Ponzi Scheme, there is no “trust fund.”  There never has been a trust fund.  They have always spent all the excess Social Security money on other projects.  Yet I’ll bet if you surveyed the average voter — and especially the average Social Security recipient — they’d claim otherwise.

But if there is a trust fund, how could the budget debate have any impact on Social Security payments, especially short term ones?  Hmmmm . . . maybe there isn’t a trust fund after all!

2. If our country’s financial status is so precarious — and it is — then perhaps the Left should be taking the whole “spend less / borrow less” themes more seriously.  Obama’s threat that we’re that low on funds is more proof that we need to do something significant about our finances.

3. Hopefully the independent voters will realize what a pathetic scare tactic it is and be further turned off by Obama.

Politics, Sexuality

Since California solved all their other problems, they had time for this

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See California passes bill mandating pro-gay teaching in schools, no parent opt-out | LifeSiteNews.com. What a freak state.  The Democrats have run that state into the ground, and now this.  Just another reason to vote Republican.

A bill requiring public schools to teach the “historical contributions” of homosexual Americans was approved by the California legislature on Tuesday, July 5. The bill also prohibits any school material or instruction that reflects adversely on homosexuality, bisexuality or transgenderism, and prohibits parents from removing children from classes over offensive material.

Bill SB 48 was sponsored by openly homosexual state senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and passed in the Democrat-controlled Assembly by 49-25, with all Democrats voting for the bill and Republicans opposing it. The legislation passed the state Senate in April.

If signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, schools would have to introduce the homosexual curriculum after the bill becomes law in January.

“This bill will require California schools to present a more accurate and nuanced view of American history in our social science curriculum by recognizing the accomplishments of groups that are not often recognized,” said Assembly Speaker John Perez, the first openly homosexual speaker of the California Assembly.

Republican critics of the bill observed, however, that the measure has less to do with education than with homosexual indoctrination of school children.

Bible

Why don’t false teachers use the “argument from silence” on their favorite issues?

Hint: Because they are false teachers.

False teachers* love the argument from silence that I blogged about yesterday, where they justify homosexual behavior and abortion because they think Jesus didn’t specifically forbid those.**  Therefore, they reason that those issues can’t be important.

But I’ve noticed they don’t use that line of thinking on their pet solutions, such as wealth redistribution or universal healthcare.  After all, Jesus never said to ask Caesar to take from neighbor A to give to neighbor B and call it generosity on your part.  Yet here is false teacher Chuck Currie, claiming to care about the “least of these” (when not endorsing their destruction in the womb): Paul Ryan Tries To Spin Letter From Roman Catholic Archbishop; Religious Leaders Remain Opposed To GOP Budget.

Yes, budgets are moral documents.  And it is immoral to borrow from those who can’t vote or haven’t even been born to sooth your guilty, selfish conscience.

If these fakes want to use the argument from silence on issues like homosexual behavior and abortion, then show them how it applies to their issues as well.

On what other favorite issues do they fail to use the argument from silence?

*False teachers are people like Jim “the Gospel is all about wealth redistribution” Wallis and Chuck “Jesus is not the only way” Currie.

** That argument fails on many levels: Arguing from silence is a logical fallacy, Jesus inspired all scripture, He supported the Old Testament law to the last letter, the “red letters” weren’t silent on these topics in the sense that they reiterated what marriage and murder were, He emphasized many other important issues that these liberal theologians completely ignore (Hell, his divinity, his exclusivity, etc.), He was equally “silent” on issues that these folks treat as having the utmost importance (capital punishment, war, welfare, universal health care, etc.), He didn’t specifically mention child abuse and other obvious sins though that wouldn’t justify them, and abortion and homosexual behavior simply weren’t hot topics for 1st century Jews.  See What Jesus didn’t say for more.

Politics, Pro-life

Good strategies to de-fund Planned Parenthood

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See the latest from Unborn Scheming Baby in Republicans move to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level.  Here’s one example:

Minnesota Republicans introduced SF 1224, a bill that does not mention Planned Parenthood by name, but which prohibits state grant funds from being given to any organization that provides abortions or refers patients for abortion.

If passed, the bill would remove state funds from all of the 24 clinics that Planned Parenthood operates in Minnesota.

Every bit helps.  Less $$ to Planned Parenthood will result in less abortions.  Don’t believe the nonsense about the public funding only supporting the condoms / pap smears side of PP.  If the government sends you money it ultimately gets spent any way you like.

Also see Planned Parenthood overview for how, in addition to being the top destroyer of human life in the country, they systematically hide statutory rape and sex trafficking (when not teaching your kids to ignore your perspectives on human sexuality).

Uncategorized

False teacher doubles down on Planned Parenthood; forgets to mention hiding of statutory rape and underage illegal alien prostitution

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Just an oversight, I’m sure!  See House Republicans Continue Assault On Women; Religious Leaders Oppose De-funding Planned Parenthood, written by false teacher Chuck “Jesus is not the only way” Currie, who is pro-legalized abortion and wants taxpayer-funded abortions but hypocritically mentions Jesus’ concern for the “least of these” in many of his posts.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I will continue to speak out in support of Planned Parenthood and their critical mission of providing health care. This attempt to strip away the rights of women to make their own reproductive health care choices cannot be allowed to stand.

Chuck appears to be as ignorant of basic science as he is about Christianity and economics: He doesn’t realize that abortion occurs after two people have reproduced and made a new human being.

But why didn’t Chuck even mention Planned Parenthood’s serial hiding of statutory rape. Is it good for women if you hide statutory rape so you can make money off abortions?  Chuck thinks it is a moral good to take 6 yr. old girls to gay pride parades.  You’d think that at least his atheist wife (yeah, he’s not much of an evangelist, is he?) would have enough human decency to stop that.  If his girls have 30 yr. old boyfriends when they are 13, will Chuck be glad PP is there to hide the crime of statutory rape and to kill his grandchild?

And why didn’t he mention how Planned Parenthood had been busted hiding traffickers of underage, illegal prostitution?  How does he reconcile that with his faux concern for others?

I will say this for people like Chuck: They make it easy to spot fake Christians.  Man, these guys aren’t even trying anymore!

Then there’s this big lie.

Planned Parenthood is proud of its vital role in providing young people with honest sexuality and relationship information in classrooms and online to help reduce our nation’s alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

Planned Parenthood helped cause the increase in STDs by giving false hope of the effectiveness of condoms and more.

Chuck also quotes the deceptively named Religious Coalition  for Reproductive Choice (they appear to be equally ignorant about science):

As a coalition sustained by our faith and pursuit for social justice, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice asks: Where is the justice in destroying services that support responsible behaviors and healthy life styles? The answer is obvious: there is no justice and no compassion. These cuts must be stopped by the Senate because they are morally indefensible.

How can these moral freaks prattle on about justice, compassion and morality when their sole concern is to increase this? And if PP is such a swell organization, why don’t they contribute themselves instead of forcing other taxpayers to?

Politics, Pro-life

Roundup: De-funding Planned Parenthood

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I love to see politicians doing something right for a change, like de-funding Planned Parenthood, one of the most vile, racist organizations on the planet (I say that without hyperbole).  They have been busted hiding statutory rape and covering up underage prostitution.  They have taught teens to ignore the morals of their religions and their parents.  They kill unborn human beings for a living.  They were founded by a racist eugenicist.  And so much more.

If pro-aborts want to exercise their “choice” to fund Planned Parenthood, then that sick, sick organization will be glad to cash their checks.  But they shouldn’t force their pro-abortion views on other taxpayers and make them part of the killing machine.

Abortion is the greatest moral issue of our time.  What are you doing about it?  If you are a Christian you should be voting against the destruction of innocent human beings every chance you get.  Sadly, too many Christians (the uninformed kind) and “Christians” (the fake kind) keep abortion legal.

It is great news that the House did the right thing, but the work isn’t over.  The Senate will be a harder battle.  But the good news is that the evils of PP will be more publicized (though still not enough by the pro-abort mainstream media).  The more people know the less they’ll support PP.

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Kudos to the House for restoring a cornucopia of pro-life policies

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Ramen Noodles, the official food of the pro-life movement

The House is currently debating the GOP proposal to de-fund Planned Parenthood.

Abortion radicals are raging mad.

Raging mad that Republicans are exposing the abortion predators with story after story of criminal negligence, death, and exploitation at America’s taxpayer-subsidized death clinics.

Raging mad that Republican women dare to talk about the psychological harm and trauma to young women lured to Planned Parenthood and kept in the dark about abortion alternatives.

And mad that Republicans are describing in graphic detail the procedures used to rid the world of The Unplanned.

Most macabre abortion defense of the night so far: Just a little while ago on the floor, Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Gwen Moore argued that abortion was better for unplanned babies than a life “eating Ramen noodles” or “mayonnaise sandwiches.”

Oh, the humanity — some kids might have to eat Ramen Noodles – just like my family!

And this gem from Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (an embarrassment from the Houston area):

This is not about abortion, this is about saving lives.

They use that self-parodying fallacy so often they don’t even realize they are doing it.  It is the foundationally bad  reasoning underlying nearly every pro-abortion argument: Assuming what you should be proving, namely that abortion doesn’t kill an innocent human being.

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From Jill Stanek:

Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards condemns House passage on February 18 of an amendment that would defund PP. “It’s funding that saves lives, and they killed it”…

Yep, because PP is all about “saving lives” and not killing things . . .

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Pro-abort congress members speak against the de-funding of Planned Parenthood by arguing by (irrelevant) anecdote and their classic “better dead than poor” rationale (which, btw, would mean these pro-aborts think 90% of the world should be dead).   One congresswoman is being made some sort of pro-abort heroine because she inserted her miscarriage story after a description of a second trimester abortion.

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Why do pro-aborts still trot out the “coat hanger abortion” canard while ignoring the damage done by “safe and legal” abortion mills?

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Make no mistake: Planned Parenthood is in the abortion business.

From 2002-2008, Planned Parenthood received more than $342 million in federal taxpayer money through Title X funding alone. In its 2008-2009 annual report, Planned Parenthood revealed that it received $363.2 million in various federal, state, and local government grants and contracts for that fiscal year, a significant increase from the prior year. During that same time period, they performed an unprecedented 324,008 abortions, which equates to 888 abortions each and every day.

If the number of abortions performed alone doesn’t convince you of Planned Parenthood’s agenda, just compare that number with other services the organization provides to pregnant women. In 2008, their number of adoption referrals dropped a staggering 51 percent from the prior year to a meager 2,405. Additionally, the number of prenatal clients they served was less than 0.09 percent of the total services provided by Planned Parenthood in 2008. Pregnant women seeking help from Planned Parenthood were 27 times more likely to receive an abortion than to receive prenatal care or be referred for adoption. That is an appalling and heartbreaking statistic.

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Lila Rose on Glenn Beck

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Then there is this false teacher who doubles down on Planned Parenthood but forgets to mention their serial hiding of both statutory rape and underage illegal alien prostitution.  How convenient.  I guess if you don’t mention it then it didn’t happen.  See House Republicans Continue Assault On Women; Religious Leaders Oppose De-funding Planned Parenthood, written by false teacher Chuck “Jesus is not the only way” Currie, who is pro-legalized abortion and wants taxpayer-funded abortions but hypocritically mentions Jesus’ concern for the “least of these” in many of his posts.

As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I will continue to speak out in support of Planned Parenthood and their critical mission of providing health care.This attempt to strip away the rights of women to make their own reproductive health care choices cannot be allowed to stand.

Chuck appears to be as ignorant of basic science as he is about Christianity and economics: He doesn’t realize that abortion occurs after two people have reproduced and made a new human being.

But why didn’t Chuck even mention Planned Parenthood’s serial hiding of statutory rape. Is it good for women if you hide statutory rape so you can make money off abortions?  Chuck thinks it is a moral good to take 6 yr. old girls to gay pride parades.  You’d think that at least his atheist wife (yeah, he’s not much of an evangelist, is he?) would have enough human decency to stop that.  If his girls have 30 yr. old boyfriends when they are 13, will Chuck be glad PP is there to hide the crime of statutory rape and to kill his grandchild?

And why didn’t he mention how Planned Parenthood had been busted hiding traffickers of underage, illegal prostitution?  How does he reconcile that with his faux concern for others?

I will say this for people like Chuck: They make it easy to spot fake Christians.  Man, these guys aren’t even trying anymore!

Then there’s this big lie.

Planned Parenthood is proud of its vital role in providing young people with honest sexuality and relationship information in classrooms and online to help reduce our nation’s alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

Planned Parenthood helped cause the increase in STDs by giving false hope of the effectiveness of condoms and more.

Chuck also quotes the deceptively named Religious Coalition  for Reproductive Choice (they appear to be equally ignorant about science):

As a coalition sustained by our faith and pursuit for social justice, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice asks: Where is the justice in destroying services that support responsible behaviors and healthy life styles? The answer is obvious: there is no justice and no compassion. These cuts must be stopped by the Senate because they are morally indefensible.

How can these moral freaks prattle on about justice, compassion and morality when their sole concern is to increase this? And if PP is such a swell organization, why don’t they contribute themselves instead of forcing other taxpayers to?

Politics, Pro-life

“Is It True That Science Had No Consensus on the Beginning of Human Life in 1973?”

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Not at all.

I urge you to check out the Blood Money website and blog.  The latest post addresses the seemingly willful ignorance of scientific facts that were well-known in 1973 when the Roe v. Wade decision was made.

We still have science deniers today who insist that they just don’t know when new human beings are created.  Ironically, most of these are in the science-worshiping camp that likes to pretend that Christians are anti-science and live by the circular reasoning that we can only trust what comes from science or that science trumps all other ways of gathering information.

Read the post for a clear and thorough recap of scientific knowledge about when life begins.  The Roe v. Wade decision was based on bad ideology and politics, not science.

During his majority opinion during the Roe v Wade trial of 1973, Justice Harry Blackmun said,

“The judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to… resolve the difficult question of when life begins… since those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus.” (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113. 1973)

The science had been “settled” for a long time and what we have learned since then just reaffirms that.  Just a couple of the many facts noted:

In the 1860′s, a movement was led by medical doctors(not religious enthusiasts) to take the common law a step futher. These doctors declared that that unborn children at anystage were human. In fact, as early as 1857, the American Medical Association stated, “the independent and actual existence of the child before birth as a living being is a matter of objective science.” As a result of this movement, laws were passed in all 50 states prohibiting abortions. These were the laws on the books that were challenged at a federal level in 1973 by the Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton decisions.

. . .

Did you catch that final entry? They had already cracked the genetic code 12 years before Roe V Wade! They already knew that a human embryo contained a uniquegenetic signature, never to be repeated. They knew the embryo was self-propelling, containing all of the information it would need to grow into an adult human being. They knew the genetic information in the embryo was not the same as the genome of the mother–in other words, they knew that the embryo was not the mother’s body, since every cell in her body carries exclusively her own DNA.

And, of course, even if Blackmun & Co. had not been so (deliberately?) mistaken they still should have erred on the side of life.  After all, if you aren’t sure if a medical procedure kills an innocent human being but realize it is a possibility, shouldn’t that make you think twice?

I’m too pro-science to be pro-choice.