Sunday Reflection

Heavenly Father,

Our greatest liberation is freedom from sin and death, a price paid through the suffering of Jesus Christ, your son, and my Lord. Today, my heart and soul is free to worship you; and for this gift, I offer my thanks.

As America celebrates her Independence Day weekend, we must remind ourselves of so many who followed the example of Jesus of Nazareth; laying down their lives to guarantee liberty to their countrymen. I pray that the American people will not forget the terrible price paid for their freedom.

Lord, I pray that you will bless those who serve our great nation, who continue to walk in harms way. I pray that you will continue to meet their needs, and those of their families, with favor and bounty.

In spite of so many blessings, our nation seems depressed these days. Help us to find glory in Thy name; help us to find the good in others. Help us to find our way at a time when turmoil rends the fabric of our society. Help us to find our way to you, Lord … and let thy hand guide us to find worthiness in one other . . . even in Ducky.

Amen

Question of the Week

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Please call 1-900-555-2956.

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Arrogant Americans

Patriotic Music Festival

This week, we’re celebrating America. Enjoy the music, but I’d like to remind everyone to have a SAFE July 4th weekend.

And what a great day to have another Tea Party! While I’m out doing that here in Central Florida, here is a short clip put together by a teenager in Alabama last April. The message is clear: Congress is underestimating the American people. Well, now that congress has done their part, it's your turn to do yours … vote out the incumbents in 2010.

Great Statesmen, and not

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant, and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”

"Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” —George Washington

“All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.”

“Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society.” —Benjamin Franklin

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”

“It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!” —Patrick Henry

“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.”

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” –Thomas Jefferson

[W]e hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth, "that religion or the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence.”

“The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” —James Madison

“Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things”

“Power over a man's subsistence is power over his will.”

“The courts must declare the sense of the law and if they should be disposed exercise will, instead of judgment, the consequences would be the substitution of their pleasure for that of the legislative body.” —Alexander Hamilton

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”

“The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history; and he failed to build a true international coalition.”—Nancy Pelosi

Social Sense would like to set forth the proposition that the American people must choose their government with greater deliberation, selecting leaders rather than showmen.

Andrew Klavan

Don’t forget: If you want to be a good American, shut up!

Pay to Play

“The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” —Will Rogers

Chris Smith (NJ)
Dave Reichert (WA)
Mary Bono Mack (CA)
Mike Castle (DE)
Mark Kirk (IL)
John McHugh (NY)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
Leonard Lance (NJ)

These individuals have two things in common: they are all republicans, and they all voted in favor of increasing each American’s annual tax burden by $1,700. I’m not yapping: my representative voted for Cap and Trade, too … but then, he’s a Democrat … you know, the people who have never seen a tax they didn’t like. But if the tax hurts Americans, why would members of Congress vote for it? I mean, don’t they have our best interests at the forefront of their consideration?

Possibly they do care about us … it’s just that they have been trained never to read a bill before they vote on it. That happened with the stimulus packages, and it happened with Cap and Trade. Of course, if they didn’t know what was in the bill, they can later argue a nefarious Speaker of the House tricked them.

But I think we all know what happened. The Pelosi machine was busy at work “twisting arms” to advance the socialist agenda. For example, my representative voted for the bill because Waxman promised him $50 billion of OPM. That stands for “other people’s money.” What do they call this in Chicago? Oh yes, of course … pay to play. And that’s what happened with the eight idiots I’ve identified above, too.

Apparently, Representative Alan Grayson has no problem spending money collected from taxpayers in other states in order to build a “hurricane center” in Central Florida. I mean, after all, it isn’t our money; except that if we assume that 20 million people reside in this area, and each of them will pay an increase of $1700 each year to support Cap and Trade, then the people of Florida —like those in the other states, are screwed to the tune of $3.4 billion annually. How has Mr. Grayson advanced the quality of life in Central Florida?

He hasn’t. Central Florida needs a hurricane center like Obama needs an ego.

Not to worry, though; I feel certain that most Americans will be so angry about this tax and spend congress that not a single incumbent will be reelected in November 2010. That includes Mr. Grayson. Well, that is if most Americans suddenly develop a sense of outrage and a memory that will allow them to remember past the day after tomorrow.

UPDATE: Carol posted this morning on this further example of political payback. As my friend, Heidianne would say, “disgusting.”

Right Cross

Social Sense is pleased to continue its weekly feature: Right Cross, a discussion involving my good friend Leslie, who regularly posts at Blunt Politics. Each week we select a pertinent issue involving politics, society, or culture; one of us will cover the “point,” which follows a conservative position, and the other will answer as its “counterpoint,” pursuing a liberal position. By now, our readers know that we switch viewpoints on alternating weeks. We thought this would be a challenging and fun pursuit because it causes both of us, who are by-nature conservative in our approach, to think through issues and attempt to understand how other Americans may see them. After reading this essay, please follow the link at the bottom of the page to read the opposing point of view. Please feel free to leave comments on either site after you have read both arguments.

Nuclear Proliferation

The United Nations have attempted to limit the spread of nuclear weapons technology since 1968. Since then, 189 countries have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), a document that provides a three-tier system designed to reduce nuclear tensions in the world. These three programs include:

1. A promise not to transfer nuclear weapons or explosive devices to any other nation, prohibitions of providing assistance, encouragement, or inducements to any non-nuclear state to acquire nuclear weapons, and disallows states from receiving, manufacturing, or acquiring nuclear weapons. It further obligates all states to accept monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

2. The second-tier of the treaty is the disarmament of all nuclear weapons throughout the world; there is no mandate to do so, only a requirement to negotiate reductions of nuclear inventory in good faith.

3. The third and final tier of this agreement permits the development of nuclear energy programs so long as nations can demonstrate that they not used developing weapons grade materials.

In my view, the NPT is an utter failure —as are most UN programs. The bedrock of all international laws and treaties is a good faith effort among signatories. In this one area alone, Russia continues to provide nuclear engineering and technological assistance to Iran, much as France did on behalf of Saddam Hussein. After all, even leftists like the idea of making a ton of money, which I suppose some might argue is hypocrisy in its worst form. I wouldn’t know about that, but it does remind me that an unenforceable law is worthless.

Currently, there are five nuclear weapons states (NWS): China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States. Non-signatory nuclear states include India, Israel, and Pakistan. Two non-aligned nations with the stated intention to pursue nuclear development, including the production of weapons grade materials, are North Korea and Iran —the latter, as I’ve already pointed out, is receiving nuclear technology assistance from Russia, and (we suspect) fissionable materials from North Korea.

Presently, an American warship is shadowing a suspected North Korean vessel suspected to contain cargo in violation of the NPT. This issue isn’t about whether North Korea routinely violates international law, it is rather about what the United Nations should do about it, and why.

Perhaps the most glaring failure of NPT is that it does not pertain to the so-called rogue states; beyond tiring rhetoric, there is little the UN can do about this kind of proliferation. Well, that is to say, “lacking the will power” to do anything about it. Almost as soon as Iraq signed the agreement in 1968, it began to develop a nuclear program with much needed assistance from France.

The justification for this violation was the since Israel had a nuclear arsenal, so too should Iraq. Today, the greatest danger to world safety appears to be North Korea, who we suspect obtained their nuclear technology from the United States via China during the Clinton Administration. At first, North Korea blackmailed the United States into providing monetary aid in exchange for North Korea’s suspension of nuclear programs development. Apparently, North Korea later determined it is more economically lucrative for them to sell this technology to non-aligned nations, or groups with an interest in global terrorism.

The UN’s inability to enforce the NPT places a great deal more emphasis on the importance of protecting our borders from the possibility of some one smuggling explosive devices into the United States. The effectiveness of defensive measures doesn’t inspire much confidence, however, particularly since America cannot even protect its borders from 20 million illegal aliens. Nor does the new administration seem to regard security as a foremost concern.

If there is one-thing terrorists have plenty of —it is time. This is particularly true since the last election. Eight years respite from aggressive anti-terror campaign is plenty of time to plan, set into motion, and execute the ‘mother of all attacks’ against the Great Satan. Here at Social Sense, we wonder how it is possible for most Americans not to care about this, nor even demand that government fulfill its foremost responsibility: to keep the American people safe.

We suppose that failing to learn the lessons of history the United States will have to suffer the loss of another major city before the light bulb comes on. Among those of us who do think about such things, it will give us no pleasure to say “I told you so,” but let us recall that if the destruction of a small portion of downtown New York City caused a major disruption to our economy, imagine the impact of losing an entire city.

Photo credit: University of Texas

[Counterpoint]

Sunday Reflection

Some Time

by May Riley Smith

Some time, when all life's lessons have been learned,

And sun and stars forever more have set;

The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,

The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,

Will flash before us out of life's dark night.

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue,

And we shall see how all God's plans were right,

And how what seemed reproof was love most true.

Then be content, poor heart,

God's plans, like lilies pure and white unfold;

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart.

Time will reveal the chalices of Gold,

And if, through patient toil we reach the land,

Where tired feel with sandals loose may rest;

Where we shall clearly see and understand,

I think that we will say "God knew the best."

Saturday Music Festival

Here is another English group originating from Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. One of this group’s most innovative accomplishments is the infusion of classical instrumentation and orchestra with progressive style rock music. With more than 50 million album sales, and 15 platinum and gold discs, this group continues to perform today. I remember them as The Moody Blues.

Disclaimer: The individual pictured below left is not LA Sunsett.

Middle East Conflicts

Apparently, our problems in the Middle East have been going on for quite some time. In this newsreel presentation from the 1950s, we find LA Sunset confronting that American trouble maker, George er … Bugs Bunny.

For an unscheduled rant, click here